Maasdam June 21 to July 5

[Crazy For Cats]

This cruise was our first 14 day adventure and was booked to mark our 20th anniversary. In short it was a good cruise.

 

The Maasdam itself is a wonderful ship. I really enjoyed the back pool area. This is much nicer than our experience last summer on the Veendam. We also like deck 9's aft seating area as it was lesser known and a very short walk from our cabin, 214. I did see some signs of wear but nothing that would be a major concern.

 

We started our cruise with Captain Ane Jan Smit and in Montreal Captain Colm Ryan took over. Both captains allowed access to the bow of the ship which delighted me as we entered and left ports.

 

The Indonesian crew were wonderful. They were very friendly and seemed genuinely happy to see us. We quickly became friends with bar staff thanks to happy hour. Edison in the Ocean bar was fantastic and even made sure that we were ok outside of the bar. Edwin from the Crows nest was also wonderfully attentive, again even outside of the bar. The cabin stewards and lido staff were also very friendly and again seemed happy that we were there.

 

I did have an issue with the Future Cruise consultant, Tina. I planned on booking a FCD while on vacation. She told me that the new policy was to fill out a form, submit it into a box and then get an e-mail confirmation of the deposit. The form would be available on the last night of the cruise. I believe that the "new" policy is hers. We certainly did receive the form on the last night but the form clearly states that up until two days before leaving the ship you can book and get the paperwork before you leave the ship. Tina did send me a copy of the form ahead of the last night as a special favor. Since she did not seem eager to take our money I decided to wait until our next cruise on the Eurodam.

 

The food on the Maasdam was typical HAL fare. The best food we got was at a luncheon for the Collector Voyagers. It was "An Indonesian Rijstaffel". The food was very flavorful and some of it was spicy. Too spicy for some guests but we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Of course free flowing wine was a wonderful addition.

 

The entertainment was, for the most part, not up to par. There were a few good performances by some of the singers but overall not that appealing. Comedian Kevin Jordan was the best of the entertainers. The other highlight was the crew show. They were better than some of the paid talent!

 

Other pluses was that they got our ship board credits correct. I also had pre-ordered the birthday flowers for my DH and the flowers were wonderful and the balloons on the door made him blush. :D

 

In the end we would be very happy to sail on the Maasdam again but perhaps for a shorter cruise that is port intensive. We both missed the added entertainment that can be found on the larger ships, especially the Northern Lights.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

Sorry that your FCC didn't seem to want your money.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review of your Maasdam cruise. Sounds like you had a good cruise and a Happy Anniversary.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your review.

[Jean1946]

Thank you for your review. We will be getting on her July 12th! First time on the Maasdam for us.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report! We look forward to our first Maasdam cruise next Feb.

[Moriah]

Thanks for reviewing! I'm boarding Maasdam this coming Saturday for one week and really excited.

Is there a hot tub near the aft pool on deck 10? For some reason i remember there being one, but a friend just told me that the aft Maasdam "pool" is now just a shallow water feature and there is no hot tub?

Also, just wondering - Did you eat in the Pinnacle or Cannaleto? Would love to hear your review on those.

Thanks for the reminder about the crew show. I always love those and will make a point of going this time. They are often late at night "after my bed time" LOL, but when I do go I always enjoy them so much.

[RuthC]

... a friend just told me that the aft Maasdam "pool" is now just a shallow water feature ....

That's not correct. The aft pool is still there on the Maasdam. It was removed from the Veendam and Rotterdam. The "shallow water feature" was later removed from the Veendam, and replaced with several hot tubs.

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your Maasdam cruise.

 

During our first cruise, we visited the Future Cruise Consultant to book the Trans Pacific cruise the following year, but he told us that the Neptune Suites for the cruise were sold out....... this was more than a year ahead.:(

The following year, did a land trip to Britain and Ireland instead, then decided to give HAL another chance.:D

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Thank you for this encouraging review of Maasdam. I will be sailing her in 11 months, and I'm enjoying reading everything I can. Cheers.

 

Sent from my HTC One using Forums mobile app

[Keith1010]

Enjoyed reading your report.

 

Keith

[Crazy For Cats]

Thanks for reviewing! I'm boarding Maasdam this coming Saturday for one week and really excited.

 

Is there a hot tub near the aft pool on deck 10? For some reason i remember there being one, but a friend just told me that the aft Maasdam "pool" is now just a shallow water feature and there is no hot tub?

 

Also, just wondering - Did you eat in the Pinnacle or Cannaleto? Would love to hear your review on those.

 

Thanks for the reminder about the crew show. I always love those and will make a point of going this time. They are often late at night "after my bed time" LOL, but when I do go I always enjoy them so much.

 

 

The hot tubs are by the inside pool. There are none near the aft pool. We did not visit Pinnacle or Cannaleto on this cruise. The steak Diane is no longer on the Pinnacle menu and that was my favorite.

 

The crew show was at 11:30, past my bed time as well. I really thought that they were better than some of the "professionals".

 

 

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[Moriah]

That's not correct. The aft pool is still there on the Maasdam. It was removed from the Veendam and Rotterdam. The "shallow water feature" was later removed from the Veendam, and replaced with several hot tubs.

 

Thanks Ruth and Crazy.. too bad the aft pool does not have a hot tub - I enjoy that on the Vistas. The inner pool always seems so frenetic and noisy..

Edited July 7, 2014 by Moriah

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the review!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It was a fun cruise.

[Lil' Baba]

Thank you for the review...

 

We will be sailing Maasdam on August 23rd from Montréal.

 

Quick question: Was the main dinning room open for lunch on port days? If so, do you remember which days?

[Crazy For Cats]

Thank you for the review...

 

 

 

We will be sailing Maasdam on August 23rd from Montréal.

 

 

 

Quick question: Was the main dinning room open for lunch on port days? If so' date=' do you remember which days?[/quote']

 

 

I had to check the dailies. The MDR was only open for lunch when we were in Sydney. The sea day was Mariners Lunch. The other days it was closed.

 

 

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