The Suite Life on HAL is definitely sweet!

[Sunshine10]

We just got back from a Canada/New England cruise on the Maasdam. It was our 1st HAL cruise but certainly won't be our last. The crew and service were amazing - I have never met so many "happy" workers in my life.

 

This was our 3rd cruise. We were in cat S suite on the Maasdam. Prior cruises were on RCCL Enchantment of the Seas in the Royal Suite, and the Island Princess in a PH suite.

 

I can honestly say that HAL's suite "experience" far, far surpasses either of our other two cruises, although I am discounting the fact that the Royal Suite at 1300 sq ft was simply over the top in terms of accomodations. I can't say enough good things about HAL.

 

Having the Neptune Lounge right down the hall was wonderful. We stopped in at least twice a day and were personally greeted by Rachelle each and every time. On a port intensive itinerary, it was nice to just get a quick bite for breakfast there instead of going to the full buffet. Plus I loved the coffee/cappuccino machine. And it was nice having Rachelle there to make our reservations and answer questions.

 

The room seemed much nicer than our PH on Princess. I really liked having the separate dressing room area with the sink so that I was not using the bathroom to get ready.

 

Between our online travel agency (1st using them as well) and HAL, it seemed like every day we had some gift or invitation waiting for us. That was such an unexpected treat! Overall, we had champagne, a fruit basket and flowers in the room when we arrived, free 6x8 photo from our agency, continual food offerings in the Neptune, invitation to a Captain's Party, Dinner for 2 at the Pinnacle Grill from the travel agency, invitation to a Captain's suite luncheon in the crow's nest on sea day, priority tendering (which avoided a 2 hr wait in Bar Harbor), 2 bottles of wine from the travel agency, and boutonnieres on our 1st formal night. Plus free same day laundry which we also had on Princess. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. And the nice thing was that Rachelle made sure that the travel agency gifts were interspersed with all the other perks and didn't all just arrive on the 1st day. Khanna our stateroom attendant was terrific, always there, always helpful.

 

We enjoyed our table for two in the dining room and the dinning room staff - Su, Louie, and Jeffery were a delight to see every evening. Excellent service.

 

We got to know all the blackjack dealers which made it fun, and the spa services were top notch.

 

Okay now for the not-so-good - The Maasdam itself - it would be very difficult to get me back on that ship only because of the continual vibration. Honestly, it gets to you after a while - you just want to make it quit. What is that all about? If it wasn't for the non-stop vibration, I would love the Maasdam. Perhaps we are just more sensitive than others, but by the end of the week, I was ready to stop having my entire body vibrated :( . Also, we had some rough seas the last 2 days in which the ship both pitched and yawed (moved side-to-side). Several cabins including ours had plates and bottles go flying and bust in the middle of the night. Since I like to keep a neat cabin, we only lost an appetizer plate that was on the counter. Don't know if that's what you get with a small ship, but I would have expected the stabilizers to limit some of that since it was only 7 ft seas, but who knows.

 

The only other 2 areas we found that needed improvement was 1) the service in the Pinnacle Grill. When literally everyone else was stellar, the service there was just okay at best. Really stuck out. But the food made up for it. And 2) the buffet was nothing too interesting - just food. Princess does much better. We were glad that we ate most of our lunch meals on shore.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed cruising with HAL. We certainly will be return customers. Thanks again for all the help this forum provided. :)

[grannynurse]

Sunshine,

We didn't have that vibration on last summer's Maasdam cruise. I know she's been having engine problems, we experienced an engine loss and had to miss saguanay fjords. she's 13 years old and due for a major overhaul. I know she had her SOE refit but that was not mechanical.

We also loved the Maasdam, having been on Rotterdam 4 times and Zaandam once, we are familiar with HAL's S and R class ships, and we were very happy with the Maasdam. We were in S041, our only ever starboard-side cabin. I agree the suite life is very sweet.

GN

[dakrewser]

Good summary. While I've not travelled on the Maasdam myself, it echos what many others have said about her. The beating she takes on the Norfolk-to-Caribbean runs has really taken its toll, evidently. So glad that the crew seems to have made up for the physical problems you encountered!

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your review. I so agree with all your comments about what a wonderful crew there is on Maasdam.

 

All the times we have cruised Maasdam, we have never been bothered by any vibration. (I was terribly disturbed by it on the old Noordam.) I sure hope we don't encounter a constant vibration on Maasdam when we sail her in August.

 

Hopefully, whatever is causing it will be repaired.

 

Welcome Back.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for your review. Glad to hear that you enjoyed the "suite" life on HAL.

[Host Walt]

We had the pleasure of sailing on the maiden voyage of Maasdam in 1993 in Suite #22 (the only time we splurged like that) and had the same impression. What accomodations! No Neptune or Pinnacle back then but still had everything we could ever want.

 

We also were able to entertain our tablemates a few nights with the complementary hot hors d'oeuvres and had more storage space than we could ever use.

 

Yes it was 13 years ago but it still seems like yesterday. Great memories.

[twinkletoes4445]

Thanks for the review. I am so looking forward to our cruise and experiencing the "suite" life. I may never get off the ship... :)

 

I hope they resolve the vibration issue. It would drive me nuts. :(

[crafter315]

My husband, daughter and I cruised on the Veendam in a Deluxe Verandah Suite. Oh my...it was our nicest accomodations so far! We had more storage than we needed. A bottle of champagne, flowers, invitations, Neptune Lounge, a huge verandah suitable for eating meals at the table...all of it together made for a wonderful time! My husband swears he will never take anything less than a suite from now on. We were in an S catagory suite on the Zuiderdam several years ago, and last year settled for a verandah cabin...not a suite...and he was unhappy with the size. The S suite was nice for 2 people, but I wouldn't push it with 3.

We took our bottle of champagne to dinner on formal night and shared it with our tablemates. One couple had furnished a bottle of wine another night.

Our 20 something daughter thought the best part of the cruise was napping on the verandah! I thought she would be into the lounge and music scene, since she's a musician, but she said living in Manhattan made her want to enjoy the quiet solitude of the verandah.

If you can afford a suite, then by all means do so! They are heavenly! But I know some people just don't want one because they figure they won't be in it often enough to make it worth the money spent. My brother is traveling on Westerdam this October and he thinks an inside cabin is just fine. To each his own!

[cuppy]

Thank you for the review. My hubby & I will be sailing on August 26th in an S suite cabin S015. This is our first time on HAL and our very first sweet. We will be celebrating our 10 yr wedding anniversary on this cruise and decided we deserved a suite.

 

Do you have any recommendations for excursions? How were the shows?

[Sunshine10]

Just for the record we were in suite 010. It was so strange - the vibration was strongest by the entry way and bathroom but virtually disappeared out on the verandah. In the dining room and lido, all you had to do was look at the flowers in the bud vases and they'd be "dancing" and "bobbing". :)

 

I'd be curious to know if others had/have the same experience and whether HAL can make some sort of repair. If so, we'd be back on the Maasdam in a heartbeat. I imagine with warmer weather, it wouldn't seem as noticeable since more time would be spent on the balcony.

 

Anyway, we loved the cruise and would encourage anyone to try the Maasdam out just for the crew itself. They were such a delight.

 

I think I'll post a separate review of our tours if anyone is interested. I have one picture that I think would be a contender in any photo contest - IMHO. Does Holland America do photo contests?

 

Unfortunately we did not go to any of the shows. We never could make it past the violin & piano players in the lounge. They were very good and dh is big into music.

[cruznon]

Our one S suite experience was great also. HAL does spoil suite pax. I LOVED the coffee machine in the Neptune Lounge!!!!