MAASDAM

[mcrcruiser]

We love to take a 10 day  or more cruise to Mexican Riviera & into the Sea of Cortez  ;but ,not on this very old ship ;because of potential air conditioning & or plumbing problems  &  no  balconies except suites.

 

 When do you think HAL will  replace Maasdam ?  Could we see a replacement  by the beginning of  the  2021  cruise  season ?  We also don't like that there is no  show entertainment on Maasdam  any longer

[RuthC]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

 When do you think HAL will  replace Maasdam ? 

Hopefully, it won't be for a long time. Some of us prefer the smaller ships, although we realize they don't have as many years to sail for HAL as we would want. We don't want to see that time shortened. 
There are plenty of newer, larger HAL ships for those who prefer them. 

I sailed the Maasdam June/July this year, and was pleased with the HVAC system. I didn't even need to keep the temperature at the coldest setting to have a comfortable cabin. On many ships that coldest setting isn't low enough. 
It was a great cruise, with some excellent entertainment at night. 

[TiogaCruiser]

24 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Hopefully, it won't be for a long time. Some of us prefer the smaller ships, although we realize they don't have as many years to sail for HAL as we would want. We don't want to see that time shortened. 
There are plenty of newer, larger HAL ships for those who prefer them. 

I sailed the Maasdam June/July this year, and was pleased with the HVAC system. I didn't even need to keep the temperature at the coldest setting to have a comfortable cabin. On many ships that coldest setting isn't low enough. 
It was a great cruise, with some excellent entertainment at night. 

Ruth, did they really do the “EXC” thing on your cruise ( with itinerary themed speakers and cultural options), or has that faded away?

I’m considering taking Maasdam on one of the Sea of Cortez trips next year, and the whole EXC description is right up my alley, especially with it being Mexico. (And I’ve got a bunch of vacation to use.)

[mcrcruiser]

29 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Hopefully, it won't be for a long time. Some of us prefer the smaller ships, although we realize they don't have as many years to sail for HAL as we would want. We don't want to see that time shortened. 
There are plenty of newer, larger HAL ships for those who prefer them. 

I sailed the Maasdam June/July this year, and was pleased with the HVAC system. I didn't even need to keep the temperature at the coldest setting to have a comfortable cabin. On many ships that coldest setting isn't low enough. 
It was a great cruise, with some excellent entertainment at night. 

Thanks for your input Ruth  . If there is really good entertainment ,then we  will take a  2nd look for the  Mexican riviera /Sea of Cortez cruise . We wish that HAL would be  bringing on  the 60 to 70000 ton size ships  .however ,we also realize the path of most main stream cruise lines to the larger ships 

[RuthC]

26 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

Ruth, did they really do the “EXC” thing on your cruise ( with itinerary themed speakers and cultural options), or has that faded away?

We had several itinerary themed speakers! I liked some more than others, but I'm sure even those I didn't care for had their fans, too. There were days I was in the show lounge for two or three hours in a row, listening to one lecture or another. There was one or two speakers I never got to because the timing was just not right---like someone who was always scheduled for 6:30 (there was also an alternate time, but I forget when. maybe 8:00 PM?). 
I was happy with how the concept was executed on that cruise. 

[oaktreerb]

Maasdam was recently refurbished and was very nice in May and June.  Food and service were excellent.   No kids club (yea).  Plenty of lectures and cultural emphasis on Alaska.  Individual and group performances on stage.  TV’s are not updated and the tenders are old.  It’s an older, smaller ship which was clean and easy to get around.  Like the other ships it was understaffed in the dining room but the menu was great.  I would not hesitate to cruise on her.  We were busy going to presentations and lectures and definitely not bored by a lack of entertainment.  

[ger_77]

We had the pleasure of being on the Maasdam in February/March this year for a SE Asia cruise and it was great!  We had excellent air conditioning - and needed it with temperatures hovering in the high 80's during the day.  We didn't hear of any plumbing issues, and were satisfied with the entertainment / enrichment provided during the 3 weeks we were onboard.  Would we sail the Maasadam again?  In a heartbeat!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂 

[Ken the cruiser]

This is all great to hear! We're going on a 40 day cruise around Australia and some Polynesian islands in one of their veranda cabins in a few weeks and are hoping the Maasdam and their in-depth EXC program remains in full swing. Actually, the Maasdam "reinvention" is the only reason we booked a HAL cruise again as their other ships have simply moved away from the reasons we used to enjoy cruising with them.