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Maasdam - Review - Just out of dry dock Jan 17th but...

July_Cruiser

By July_Cruiser,
in Holland America Line

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July_Cruiser

July_Cruiser

Posted
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Maasdam – Just out of dry dock but...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Our first day on the ship many bathroom stalls were “out of service”. There are only two toilets in the ladies room by the fixed dining room and one toilet was out of service and one sink was “out of service” with standing water in the sink! My husband went to 3 bathrooms in the Lido before finding one that was operable. Elevators were often out of service. Not a problem for us but-

The first evening the power was lost in the dining room.

The second day, the show lounge had to be evacuated due to smoke, which turned out to be a faulty air conditioner that was smoking.

The ship did not seem to be well maintained.

We enjoy small ships and had spent a month on the Prinsendam last fall. We spent 21 days on the Ryndam several summers ago and expected a similar experience on the Maasdam being it is the same S class ship. While the Maasdam is a wonderful size, it was underwhelming. We’ve also enjoyed the Azamara Quest (small ship). We are seasoned cruisers with about 25 cruises on various lines.We’ve also done HAL’s Noordam – very good and the Zuiderdam – fair.

 

Fellow passengers – Interesting and well traveled. Saw familiar faces from previous HAL cruises and Cruise Critic’s Meet and Greets. Always great to hear others experiences and suggestions. Friendly and helpful crowd. On a small ship you run into acquaintances and it was a genuine pleasure.

 

Entertainment – We only needed to leave one show due to being too loud of volume with flashing lights. The singers and dancers were impressive and talented. The shows were brand new to the Maasdam as it came out of dry dock. We had already seen some of the same newer shows on the Prinsendam but we still enjoyed them with different performers in a different venue. The MIX piano bar was good. Mix Guitarist was good. Adagio Strings were just okay, and we usually love the strings on the various ships. The Strings were not nearly as good as Prinsendam in September, but that more experience pair has moved on to one of HAL’s large ships.

Hubby liked his 2 lessons on the steel drum. He said the steel drum player Eldon, is an excellent and patient teacher. It would be nice to have two steel drum players insead of just the one drum and electronic accompaniment (especially on Caribbean cruise.) We’d gladly sacrifice the Hell Cats for more steel drums!

 

Dress – Passengers dressed up nicely for formal nights. Guys in tuxes & suits, ladies in sequins. It gave the dining room a special ambiance. Non-formal nights were quite casual though. Mediterranean cruises seem to be dressier, We were fixed seating.

 

Photographers – very available if you wanted photos. They were not obnoxious if you declined the photo opportunities.

 

Cabin – Our cabin was pleasant and well laid out. We had an outside cabin with two portholes, which is basically the same configuration as the standard outside cabins with windows. The amount of storage in this cabin was more than adequate; we had 3 empty drawers and just enough room on the closet rods for all our clothes. Our cabin steward was efficient and kept our cabin clean and made nice towel animals. While the cabin stewards are friendly on the Maasdam, they were not as engaging as those on the Prinsendam. The first night the hot water was cold but I thought maybe the tanks were shut off during dry dock so we took our cold showers and didn’t complain about it. At least our toilet always flushed and water drained out of the sink and shower. The next night we enjoyed the mini bathtub with warmer water. We had a couple nights where the water was actually hot like it was on the Ryndam, where we really enjoyed having a bathtub in a standard sized cabin.

 

Food

Lido – breakfast

If food trays became empty they were not refilled. Example: Bananas sliced in orange juice, once they were gone staff claimed there weren’t any more. My opinion is that they were so short of help that no one had time to replenish the bins on the food line. Short staffed.

 

Lido – Lunch

The wraps are tasty. Example: Veggie wrap, Cobb salad wrap, and chicken with pesto wraps are all good choices. Lines could become long in the Lido.

 

Snacks – Something is wrong with either the ice cream or the freezers. The ice cream had the consistency of an Arby’s milkshake. We substituted the chips and salsa by the pool for our afternoon snacks. The salsa and pico de gallo were good, very fresh. Hubby liked the guacamole too.

 

Pinnacle Grille – Soups and desserts were good. The shrimp that accompanied the planked halibut were quite undercooked. The manager of the Pinnacle Grille noticed that we weren’t eating our shrimp and I wasn’t eating my fish. I told him that my fish was not hot, even though my husband had the same entrée and his fish was fine. My fish was heated up and was then good but the shrimp were not cooked any further. Before all this, my husband explained that the shrimp were not properly cooked or they would not still be translucent. The manager’s response was that this is how they serve their shrimp! Except for a small taste of one shrimp, which my husband declared as raw, the shrimp were left behind. We cook steamed shrimp once a week at home but they are never translucent and we do not like to overcook our shrimp. The plates were pretty and the quiet atmosphere was pleasant.

 

Main Dining Room – The waiters have so many tables that it’s impossible to give good service. I don’t blame the waiter, or assistant, for any shortcomings. They were doing the best that they could considering all the people. Was this good service – no. But still better service than the Pinnacle Grille, at least our waiter noticed when something was wrong and tried to correct it. At times it was difficult to get a water glass refilled. You actually receive better service at a Denny’s chain restaurant. Gone are the days of pleasantries and follow up service. Example: We were done with dessert and leaving the dining room when the waiter finally had the chance to ask why we didn’t drink our tea. (The water for the tea bag wasn’t hot.) after that, he always made sure our coffee or tea was actually hot. Sad that it has come to this, that waiters are so pressed that we don’t have chances to set these little things right.

 

Food Quality – I used to love the chilled soups on HAL. However, they are now served at room temperature. Not refreshing. (We didn’t have any ice in our ice water to be able to put into our “chilled” soup either.) The food was edible but nothing to rave about as it used to be in years gone by… I can’t say we looked forward to dinner.

 

All in all, the Maasdam fell short of our expectations and WAY below the Prinsendam.

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mamaofami

mamaofami

Posted
Posted

Sorry to hear all these complaints about a ship I love. I do hope they can get their act together.Unfortunately for all of us, the staff cutbacks on all the ships are really being felt in the dining room and Lido.

 

Right now, as reported by a regular CC poster who signed in from an internet cafe in port, there's no internet service at all on board Maasdam. I'm sure she will write a full review when she can.

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Himself

Himself

Posted
Posted
Maasdam – Just out of dry dock but...:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

Our first day on the ship many bathroom stalls were “out of service”. There are only two toilets in the ladies room by the fixed dining room and one toilet was out of service and one sink was “out of service” with standing water in the sink! My husband went to 3 bathrooms in the Lido before finding one that was operable. Elevators were often out of service. Not a problem for us but-

The first evening the power was lost in the dining room.

The second day, the show lounge had to be evacuated due to smoke, which turned out to be a faulty air conditioner that was smoking.

The ship did not seem to be well maintained.

We enjoy small ships and had spent a month on the Prinsendam last fall. We spent 21 days on the Ryndam several summers ago and expected a similar experience on the Maasdam being it is the same S class ship. While the Maasdam is a wonderful size, it was underwhelming. We’ve also enjoyed the Azamara Quest (small ship). We are seasoned cruisers with about 25 cruises on various lines.We’ve also done HAL’s Noordam – very good and the Zuiderdam – fair.

 

Fellow passengers – Interesting and well traveled. Saw familiar faces from previous HAL cruises and Cruise Critic’s Meet and Greets. Always great to hear others experiences and suggestions. Friendly and helpful crowd. On a small ship you run into acquaintances and it was a genuine pleasure.

 

Entertainment – We only needed to leave one show due to being too loud of volume with flashing lights. The singers and dancers were impressive and talented. The shows were brand new to the Maasdam as it came out of dry dock. We had already seen some of the same newer shows on the Prinsendam but we still enjoyed them with different performers in a different venue. The MIX piano bar was good. Mix Guitarist was good. Adagio Strings were just okay, and we usually love the strings on the various ships. The Strings were not nearly as good as Prinsendam in September, but that more experience pair has moved on to one of HAL’s large ships.

Hubby liked his 2 lessons on the steel drum. He said the steel drum player Eldon, is an excellent and patient teacher. It would be nice to have two steel drum players insead of just the one drum and electronic accompaniment (especially on Caribbean cruise.) We’d gladly sacrifice the Hell Cats for more steel drums!

 

Dress – Passengers dressed up nicely for formal nights. Guys in tuxes & suits, ladies in sequins. It gave the dining room a special ambiance. Non-formal nights were quite casual though. Mediterranean cruises seem to be dressier, We were fixed seating.

 

Photographers – very available if you wanted photos. They were not obnoxious if you declined the photo opportunities.

 

Cabin – Our cabin was pleasant and well laid out. We had an outside cabin with two portholes, which is basically the same configuration as the standard outside cabins with windows. The amount of storage in this cabin was more than adequate; we had 3 empty drawers and just enough room on the closet rods for all our clothes. Our cabin steward was efficient and kept our cabin clean and made nice towel animals. While the cabin stewards are friendly on the Maasdam, they were not as engaging as those on the Prinsendam. The first night the hot water was cold but I thought maybe the tanks were shut off during dry dock so we took our cold showers and didn’t complain about it. At least our toilet always flushed and water drained out of the sink and shower. The next night we enjoyed the mini bathtub with warmer water. We had a couple nights where the water was actually hot like it was on the Ryndam, where we really enjoyed having a bathtub in a standard sized cabin.

 

Food

Lido – breakfast

If food trays became empty they were not refilled. Example: Bananas sliced in orange juice, once they were gone staff claimed there weren’t any more. My opinion is that they were so short of help that no one had time to replenish the bins on the food line. Short staffed.

 

Lido – Lunch

The wraps are tasty. Example: Veggie wrap, Cobb salad wrap, and chicken with pesto wraps are all good choices. Lines could become long in the Lido.

 

Snacks – Something is wrong with either the ice cream or the freezers. The ice cream had the consistency of an Arby’s milkshake. We substituted the chips and salsa by the pool for our afternoon snacks. The salsa and pico de gallo were good, very fresh. Hubby liked the guacamole too.

 

Pinnacle Grille – Soups and desserts were good. The shrimp that accompanied the planked halibut were quite undercooked. The manager of the Pinnacle Grille noticed that we weren’t eating our shrimp and I wasn’t eating my fish. I told him that my fish was not hot, even though my husband had the same entrée and his fish was fine. My fish was heated up and was then good but the shrimp were not cooked any further. Before all this, my husband explained that the shrimp were not properly cooked or they would not still be translucent. The manager’s response was that this is how they serve their shrimp! Except for a small taste of one shrimp, which my husband declared as raw, the shrimp were left behind. We cook steamed shrimp once a week at home but they are never translucent and we do not like to overcook our shrimp. The plates were pretty and the quiet atmosphere was pleasant.

 

Main Dining Room – The waiters have so many tables that it’s impossible to give good service. I don’t blame the waiter, or assistant, for any shortcomings. They were doing the best that they could considering all the people. Was this good service – no. But still better service than the Pinnacle Grille, at least our waiter noticed when something was wrong and tried to correct it. At times it was difficult to get a water glass refilled. You actually receive better service at a Denny’s chain restaurant. Gone are the days of pleasantries and follow up service. Example: We were done with dessert and leaving the dining room when the waiter finally had the chance to ask why we didn’t drink our tea. (The water for the tea bag wasn’t hot.) after that, he always made sure our coffee or tea was actually hot. Sad that it has come to this, that waiters are so pressed that we don’t have chances to set these little things right.

 

Food Quality – I used to love the chilled soups on HAL. However, they are now served at room temperature. Not refreshing. (We didn’t have any ice in our ice water to be able to put into our “chilled” soup either.) The food was edible but nothing to rave about as it used to be in years gone by… I can’t say we looked forward to dinner.

 

All in all, the Maasdam fell short of our expectations and WAY below the Prinsendam.

 

I'm sorry your experience left much to be desired.

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boards Holiday Sharing Rare

boards

Posted
Posted (edited)

Based on the review I wonder why the ship even into dry dock because we were on it Dec. 6 - 20 and the ship was okay. We did not have the problems or service that was reported in the review, at least we did not see or have them. We enjoyed the cruise very much. In fact I guess we must of had the last Caesar salad made at our table. I am not looking forward to having one now in the Pinnacle the way it is made. If you don't have the Halcats, you don't have music to backup the entertainers that appear on the ship. They are the band and they did a great job when we saw them in the shows. Any way sorry to hear things appear to have gone downhill on the Maasdam. Yes we have a problem, the infamous internet, it was a waste for me, couldn't get any e-mails. My wife was happy though.

Edited by boards
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ICUQT

ICUQT

Posted
Posted

Thank you for your review. About two years ago I made similar comments about a cruise on the Noordam. She was going into dry dock the cruise after mine. Since then I have a different set of expectations for HA. I am not saying I have lowered my expectations but I realize that cuts throughout the industry have not escaped HA. Do I like reductions in staff or services? No, because I think it affects my overall cruising experience. That said I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam this past June and the Zuiderdam this past January and my cruising experience was quite the opposite of the Noordam Cruise. I know she just came out of dry dock and there are some glitches that need to be corrected on Maasdam. I have a cruise booked on her for January 2015. One thing that I do now is when I get the survey from HA they do not automatically get "9". They get an honest score with a comment on why they got that score. You may want to consider this when you receive it.

 

bob

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G&G

G&G

Posted
Posted

Thanks for your review.

 

Sounds like nothing has changed since our 42 day cruise on the Maasdam (10/25-12/06/13) even though the ship was two weeks in drydock. I wrote HAL corporate after our Maasdam cruise stating that it was impossible for the waiter and their helper to provide good service to 30 passengers (# in each station) at Anytime Dining. HAL only responded to me that the ship's staff would be informed. It is obvious HAL cut back the staff in the MDR. There are four dining sections in the lower MDR. I counted three waiter stations that once were utilized by the staff no longer being used.

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July_Cruiser

July_Cruiser

Posted
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Posted
I don't know where I saw this on CC Boards, but the advice was that it usually isn't a good idea to be on the last cruise before dry dock, or on the first cruise after dry dock.

 

Thanks, I think you have something there, good comment.

 

Maybe that is why that particular sailing was priced a couple hundred dollars lower that the next.

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July_Cruiser

July_Cruiser

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Sorry for your disappointment. We have always loved Maasdam and have sailed her over 30 cruises. It really hurts to read these comments but I thank you for sharing.

 

Welcome back.

 

Wow! 30 cruises on the Maasdam, so you started cruising before it was "Carnivalized " and had the true HAL experience that we all miss. These S class ships are a perfect size, with everything we need and lacking things like water slides and rock climbing walls that would turn us off! Too bad HAL doesn't wake up and properly maintain and adequately staff these wonderful older ships.

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hal lover

hal lover

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Posted

Thanks for your review. When a ship comes out of dry dock, unfortunately there are issues remaining. It's sad but it happens. I was once on the MS Statendam as her first sailing after dry dock and she had many issues! HAL should "dry" run her with the HAL official's onboard and see how quick the issues are taken care of instead of leading the oncoming paying passengers that everything is so lovely. I love MS Maasdam and am sorry to hear she has so many not normal issues going on.

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RJ2002

RJ2002

Posted
Posted

Thanks for your review, and sorry to hear about all the issues you experienced.

 

In 2012, we booked a cruise on the Oosterdam and later realized it was the cruise just prior to going into a dry dock in Sydney. I was apprehensive about how the onboard experience might be affected. Fortunately, there was hardly any impact at all. There were a few areas very late in the cruise where materials were staged, but no public areas of the ship were inaccessible, and all the venues were open. Pretty much business as usual!

 

However, I do think we'd avoid any ship that was just coming out of drydock, or a ship on its maiden voyage.

 

Hopefully many of the "hard" issues will work themselves out. I would not be so hopeful about some of the "soft" issues, such as stretched MDR staffing. I am afraid that is here to stay.

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