Maasdam, April 6, 2012 - April 16, 2012

[sail7seas]

I just about never do reviews after cruises as I have so little left to say. We've cruised HAL so much and Maasdam, in particular..... there is little 'new' for us but if anyone is interested, here are a few comments.

 

** Maasdam looks beautiful and though not a new ship has been beautifully maintained.

 

** We found our cabin in great condition except the tub was never replaced at dry dock and it is time they did so. If anyone from the Department in Seattle that authorizes such things is reading..... please, come on.... we've been in that cabin dozens of times and the tub stains are really getting annoying. May we please get a new tub like most of the suites did? Thanks for thinking about it. :0

 

** We loved our cabin stewards. They were so capable, hard working, pleasant, always a lovely greeting and like magic genies took the best care of us. They could not possibly have done a better job. Hope to see them again.

 

** Very nice Suite Welcome Aboard party and we were delighted to see Captain Ane Jan Smit. We knew him from sailing as Chief Officer on Maasdam for years, then Prinsendam and now a fine Captain on Maasdam. A true gentleman who exudes confidence and competance and it doesn't hurt how handsome he is. :)

 

** Hotel Manager Douglas Hernandez is back on Maasdam. We have sailed with him before and many may know him from Oosterdam. A wonderful gentleman who does such a great job with Maasdam. He never seems to get rattled no matter what. Steady as he goes with a great sense of humor. Wonderful sailing with him again.

 

** Best Room Service breakfast we have had in years. We always used to have Room Service on every cruise, every day but we stopped when we never seemed to get what we ordered, the way we ordered it for when we ordered. I really wanted to try it again and we did so on Maasdam. It was perfect.... really perfect and we totally enjoyed it. We did go to Pinnacle most mornings as that too was terrific but good to know Room Service on Maasdam is doing a great job.

 

** Speaking of Pinnacle, we loved our breakfasts there and enjoyed four dinners as well. Goren was Pinnacle Manager and he is truly outstanding. Another very able, very experienced capable man doing a great job with the best sense of humor. DH used to have a smile on his face just to see him in the doorway of Pinnacle. DH loves his humor. Food was consistently wonderful throughout our visits to Pinnacle. I ordered egg white omelette with sun dried tomatoes and goat cheese that was so good. I also really enjoyed the southwestern omellete. There was another egg white offering that I also had several times. Highly recommend it.

 

Pinnacle is worth the upcharge. I don't think that is arguable. What, of course, is the discussion is whether one person or another chooses to pay the upcharge. IMO, Maasdam's Pinnacle is so consistently good, the choices varied and plenty of them and the lovely stewards (almost all women though one or maybe two men), is outstanding. Sri and .... oh darn I've forgotten the lovely lady's name now, are terrific stewards and a pleasure to see each morning at breakfast and when we went to dinner.

** Silly to add here but it was something I enjoyed so I'll point it out. :o For years, HAL has offered exactly the same muffins, danish, sweet rolls, croissants and they are really good but after so many cruises, I sometimes yearned for something new.... a real decadent treat I would allow myself a few times while on vacation. Wow, how happy was I to find a (RuthC are you reading???? :D ) Chocolate muffin with chocolate chips. Moist, rich, delicious. For someone who at most has a few spoonfuls of sorbet for dessert, that chocolate treat was appreciated. :)

 

** We were thrilled to have 'our' table for dinner..... many a Maitre d' (Dining Room Manager) has teased us our names are carved in the base. They kindly assigned us there once again and we were happy cruisers. We had a good but overworked dining team. They were working as hard as anyone can expect a person to work but there is too much for too few to do IMO

 

I admit to not being the easiest person to feed but DH eats a far broader range of dishes. I am happy for a well prepared, beautifully plated simple dish of a nice fish, veggies, a wonderful plain salmon, chicken in many forms/preparation methods but skip the sauces. If food has to be buried in a sauce to be palatable or appetizing, I don't want it. While I'm happy to see so many vegetarian dishes offered, they all seem to have lots of butter, cream, bread crumbs, sauces...... Not something I will order. In short, I am struggling with the new menus a bit. The food is good, it is well prepared, there is variety, it is plated nicely and is served hot and cold as appropriate. It is my fault if I am too selective and am struggling with the menu and wonder if there are others like me.

 

The galley and Chefs are doing a fine job but there is no doubt they are being creative. I read menus very carefully and admire the work they are doing with the budget they have.

 

Maybe this is too honest for me to have written here but that is what I do. If I write it, I believe it to be true.

 

** Eric was our concierge in Neptune and we recognize him from a previous cruise on another ship but never did decide where/when. :) He was always polite and a nice hello and though we had almost no special requests, I found him amenable and politely friendly whenever we entered. I felt I could ask anything but truly had nothing we wanted for. He will be going home soon.

 

** Captain and Hotel Manager did the Mariners Medallion portion of Mariners Reception REALLY GREAT!!! They had a cocktail party in Crows Nest the night before the Mariners Brunch. It was a wonderful party and seeing there were NINE Platinum Medallion Holders, as well as some Gold Medallion Holders it was nice for them to pose for photos with us and for us to watch a few be awarded their Medallions. They only had those who held Silver, Gold or Platinum Medallions to the party and it was a nice size group. Another testament to the popularity of Maasdam. Seeing World Cruise was still on-going and there is a Grand Voyage in Europe right, now that was a lot of high number Mariners to be on a ten day Caribbean cruise. We haven't seen that very often.

 

Many thanks to Captain and Hotel Manager for such a lovely evening. We really enjoyed it.

 

** Mariner Brunch was last sea day and seeing there were over 900 Mariners on board, they had to run two seatings. Considering Maasdam only carries about 1,250 guests, that is a huge percentage for repeaters. It was the same menu we're all familiar with, champagne was poured and anyone who wanted red or white wine was served the same. I asked for red and they promptly poured me some and later asked if I'd like more.

 

We received a tile each but Maasdam is still giving the 'old' style.

 

**All too often, no one ever mentions Shore Operations and that doesn't seem quite right to me. We think the staff in Port Everglades do a great job getting us and our mountain of luggage on and off the ships so smoothly with so few 'situations'. They handle whatever comes their way and always do it so well. Great appreciation to them is due IMO

 

** We had gorgeous weather excepting San Juan where we had a few tropical downpours. They didn't last long and didn't ruin our fun in any way. We ducked into a shop until they passed and we were fine.

 

We had a late lunch at Parrot Club. I enjoyed my one and only mojito of the trip and it was delicious. We had a wonderful lunch and really enjoyed ourselves. We love San Juan.

 

** St. Bart's is a great port and a treat as few cruise ships can call there. We were treated nicely there but in truth, there is so much smoking in the cafes, on the street, everywhere, that it took from our enjoyment.

 

** Speaking of smoking, we were SO SO lucky we did not have a smoker on either side of us and got to fully enjoy our veranda and I truly did enjoy it this trip.

 

**We went to no shows so cannot comment.

 

**MIX has surprisingly grown on us and we think (aside from the bright shop lights), it was a good idea. It brings more people out after dinner and there is more 'going on'. We stopped each night after dinner for a drink or even just a soda water to chat a minute with one of our favorite bartenders..... Nick. Have a great vacation, Nick. You have well earned it.

 

** Beautiful day for HMC but we stayed aboard. We didn't want to fool around with the tenders though we were only ship there and they were using island tenders. Tendering in St. Bart's had been extremely slow.

 

** Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't but this cruise, there was a laptop available for guests' use in Neptune Lounge.

 

I know there's more but this is enough for now. :)

If anyone has any questions, please ask. Happy to answer if I am able.

[portofrome]

Thanks so much for your great review.

[aliaschief]

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us.

[Krazy Kruizers]

004 stills has the old bath tub -- and it needs replaced as well -- lots of scratches.

On the second segment of our cruise we had 22 Platinum medal holders -- most had been on the World Cruise in 2011 and will be on the 2013 World Cruise. Also had 2 brunches -- over 1000 Mariners.

We loved those dark chocolate muffins as well. One of those was the only thing I had for breakfast a couple of mornings.

DH eats anything. I can't have sauces. But he also thought that some of the dishes were too salty.

So who hosted your table for the Mariner's Brunch?

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for posting your review. Sounds like you had another awesome cruise on the Maasdam. You very lucky to have Douglas as your hotel manager, we think the world of him.

[sail7seas]

Yes, we agree. We were happy when we learned Douglas Hernandez would be HotMan on our cruise. We have great respect for him.

 

** We enjoyed Antigua. The last few times we were there was a Sunday and almost everything was closed. This time we got to putter around all the shops and crafts areas and I found some interesting shell jewelry and a necklace made from coconuts. FAR from anything I usually buy but these were quite artistic and nicely designed. Costume pieces seem to be en vogue at the moment so they'll be fun for summer.

 

** I always have petite filet in Pinnacle if I don't order the salmon. The first evening we were in Pinnacle this time, I tried the rib eye steak. I had never ordered it in the past but it was delicious and cooked perfectly to my taste. It was so good, I ordered it a second time during our cruise. :eek: It will probably be years until I order it again.

 

** Lido lunch never felt particularly crowded which was good but there were some of the most ignorant people I've ever encountered. I was waiting for a sandwich one day and was next in line. A man came from the other direction and cut right in front of me. That annoyed me, of course, but annoyed the woman behind me even more. She literally placed both of her hands at the small of my back and pushed me forward. She told me I should not be permitting that jerk to cut in front of me. :eek: Sort of made me lose my appetite for a sandwich at that point. I made it clear she was to remove her hands from my body and to never place a hand on me again. Yah, okay...... think I'll stick with the salad bar.

 

** Good wine choices. We had no difficulty finding nice wines to order. HAL's wine list is more than adequate IMO for all to find at least a few wines to enjoy. Yes, there are some better that are not on the list and some that are worse. But few of us require such perfection in our wines IMO that we can't find a drinkable bottle or two for a week or two cruise. JMO......

 

** Ice cream was good. We really didn't like the ice cream they served on Nieuw Amsterdam but whatever they served on Maasdam was tasty. DH had a small cone a few days and liked them.

 

** Easter dinner was nice in the dining room but not too much was made of the day. Of course, it was Passover as well but we think the dining room handled the holiday's very well with no discomfort for those who do not celebrate. They did a great job.

 

** Aft pool was glorious and we enjoyed sitting out there many an afternoon. Nice BLD's out there to get us beverages and great weather made for very relaxing and enjoyable idling away of afternoons.

 

[kazu]

Nice review Sail - thanks so much. Good point on the shore staff as they make a difference how smoothly things go:D

 

Welcome Home:D

[Copper10-8]

.............................

IMO, Maasdam's Pinnacle is so consistently good, the choices varied and plenty of them and the lovely stewards (almost all women though one or maybe two men), is outstanding. Sri and .... oh darn I've forgotten the lovely lady's name now, are terrific stewards and a pleasure to see each morning at breakfast and when we went to dinner.

................................

 

Kristina?

Ary?

[sail7seas]

Kristina?

Ary?

 

:) Thanks, John.

 

I was thinking of Kristina specifically but all the ladies in Pinnacle are delightful. :)

 

We also waved 'happy vacation' to one of your fellows. Happy Vacation Rueben. :)

 

[Copper10-8]

:) Thanks, John.

 

I was thinking of Kristina specifically but all the ladies in Pinnacle are delightful. :)

 

We also waved 'happy vacation' to one of your fellows. Happy Vacation Rueben. :)

 

 

Ruben is an awesome guy work to with! He's a rock! It's not for nothing that he made employee of the month for December last:)

[sail7seas]

He and Bernie. ;)

 

We think very highly of both.

 

Always a pleasure to see them on the gangway. :)

 

[mamaofami]

Sail, we also love Nick. He was the bartender at the old Piano Bar when we were on Maasdam January of 2011. We were there every night singing along with Mark Farris and he always knew what everyone around the bar wanted. Then we saw him again in June and again this past January. Very nice man.

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise on the beautiful Maasdam.

[Hawkeye1946]

We were on the Maasdam March 12-23. We, too, had a great cruise but with different ports. Only complaint....the chain smoker on the verandah next door.

We've not had to deal with that before!

May I suggest we bombard HAL about this issue? I've already written our PCC and Mr. Kruse. Princess and X don't allow smoking on verandahs..HAL needs to get "on board"!

[hal lover]

Sail,

Thanks so much for your review! I enjoyed it! Sounds like you had a great time as usual on the MS Maasdam. I really have been longing to read a review from you!:)

[sail7seas]

Sail,

 

Thanks so much for your review! I enjoyed it! Sounds like you had a great time as usual on the MS Maasdam. I really have been longing to read a review from you!:)

 

 

:) I'm happy you enjoyed reading the comments. We don't do excursions in the Caribbean (we've been so many times) and never go to the shows so those are two big things I can't include in a review, per se. I find it best if I only make comments as to the things we did, saw and enjoyed or we think could be improved.

 

[innlady1]

Thank you for your review of the Maasdam, Sail. Nick is such a nice man...he's been on both our Maasdam cruises and always recognizes us! John's Ruben is also a great guy!

[fatcat04]

Thank you for the review. Very nice.

 

We have got to get back on the Maasdam and soon. Loved her too much. Glad to see MIX is growing on you. We enjoyed it's fun atmosphere. :)

[RuthC]

Glad you had such a nice time on your cruise, Sail. Interesting review; I enjoyed reading it. Thank you for at least mentioning the entertainment; I know you don't go to the shows very often, so there wasn't too much you could say.

Those chocolate muffins sound so delicious. I'm pretty good about will power in the morning, so I don't know how tempted I'll be to have one. But I may try just one on my upcoming cruise. Thanks for mentioning them. :D

[cruisun]

I agree with you regarding the menu, budget cuts are obvious, I find myself ordering the "everyday" salmon more often than I would like. Clearly you love HAL, but why the sugarcoating? The menus need improvement, MDR budget needs increasing!!

[erewhon]

sail7seas,

 

Thank you for taking time to write a detailed cruise review.

 

Wonderful that you had non smokers next door, so you were able to use your balcony when ever you wished.:)

 

Thank you again for the thorough review.

[erewhon]

Only complaint....the chain smoker on the verandah next door.

We've not had to deal with that before!

May I suggest we bombard HAL about this issue? I've already written our PCC and Mr. Kruse. Princess and X don't allow smoking on verandahs..HAL needs to get "on board"!

 

Good for you writing these letters.

 

Thank you.

 

Please let us know if you receive a response to your letters.

[sail7seas]

Casino was very smokey most nights but that is the only place we were bothered by smoke this time on Maasdam. Fingers crossesd our luck holds on our upcoming cruises. I'd hate to not have use of our veranda due to smokers.

 

Smokers at aft pool were respectful of smoking/non-smoking sides and stayed in the smoking permitted area.

 

 

[vivavegas]

Thanks for taking the time to write a great review! :)

[elycelynne]

I'm glad to hear that the tasteless ice cream on the Nieuw Amsterdam isn't something that's being served fleet-wide. (Yes, I know it's a very small matter, but I was SO looking forward to some good ice cream when I sailed her this past January and was really disappointed in both the lack of variety and the lack of flavor.)

[Hawkeye1946]

Good for you writing these letters.

 

Thank you.

 

Please let us know if you receive a response to your letters.

Erewhon...

Regarding the " letter" I wrote to mr. Kruse and my PCC ( actually I sent an email) about the smoking on the verandah issue....I got an email the next morning from PCC telling me he agrees. Yesterday I was surprised to get a snail mail response ..two pages, yet..from the Office of the President!! Resonse basically stated that the issue is frequently visited. Also, " Guest input is always welcome..we do note comments and they have an influence on future policy" . So....send letters! HAL listens and they care!

P.s. I got the lettter within a week of my email...impressive!