Maasdam- Lemonade? Horsehockey

[dewhit6959]

In exactly 96 hours, my wife and I will embark on the Maasdam for a ten day cruise. This will be the first true vacation we have taken in several years.

I am a bit apprehensive. I shouldn't be, but I am. I have received an onboard credit which conveniently covers the suggested tip amount. I am booked in one of the suites that has a history of a.c. and plumbing problems. I am booked into a cabana I requested in June for my wife. I have been told, the requested and confirmed cabana will be changed to lighten the load for the butler. I have boat charters and excursions involving flights in ports which may have to be shortened or bypassed due to the mechanical difficulties of the ship.

Am I a bit pessimistic? Yes, I am.

Before someone tells me to make lemonade out of lemons, let me say that I did not quibble over the fare or the cost of the add ons. I made my requests and paid for them. You get what you pay for. Don't you? What am I going to get? I do not care if the meat is slightly under cooked, I am not concerned if I sit at a table that is not the best. The steward makes no difference to me. I would not know a bad wine from a good one and do not care to learn. I do not regularly eat cakes named after states and cannot pass judgement there. I could care less what the name of the bingo director is.

But I do know when the rug is being pulled over me. The trust fund recepients and the social page mavens can spout all they want over all the grand and glorious cruises of their past, but I am going on one cruise. That is all that matters. The problems with this and other cruise lines is the same problem that is wrong with damn near all corporate America. A whole lot of promises, a whole lot of marketing, a whole lot of words, great plans, mission statements. I hope this is a good cruise.
My wife deserves a good holiday. I deserve a good holiday.
I paid what you wanted. now, deliver.

[Orcrone]

DwWhit,

I understand your apprehension. I'm probably behind some of it, with my recent reviews of the Maasdam. As you say, the little things are not going to affect your enjoyment, so you're ahead of 98% of the people already. As far as missing ports, most private excursions won't charge you if you're not there due to the ship arriving late or missing the port, but you may want to contact them to be sure. The several I took had that policy. Then the only concern is the A/C, and that is a valid concern. I don't know if they fixed the problem, but from what I've seen over a long period of time it's possible, but I wouldn't count on it. You may wish to contact your TA and look at switching to a different suite. If there are none available then you may wish to consider contacting your TA, explaining what you've read, and moving to a verandah cabin. It's not ideal, but it may be a solution.

However, as I said before, with your attitude about all the other items, you'll probably have a great time.

Marc

[Krazy Kruizers]

I do hope that everything turns out well for your DH and you after all these months of planning.

[dakrewser]

You don't sound pessimistic, but apprehensive. That's not such a bad thing. It probably means that little things won't affect you the way they seem to affect some others - you know, those who whine and moan if their cruise isn't more than perfect. So little in life is perfect. So a little healthy scepticism could make for a far more enjoyable experience. Bon Voyage!


-dave

[DFD1]

deWhit: What a great posting. You sound like a perfectly reasonable person who only expects what they pay for and does not want to be jacked around. I am in your camp on this one!

After reading the posts about the Maasdam, I think you have reason for concern. I would be!

We've got our fingers crossed. Hope you have a good vacation and the Maasdam reverts back to her old self....being a fine cruise ship.

[jmvt]

Dewhit5969-

Hoping you have a better trip thatn we did on the Oct. 30 sailing of the Maasdam. We were in one of the suites with no a/c. We share your exact sentiments. Tried to "go with the flow" (as a fellow cruise mate told me---but then she had a/c in her cabin!) but night after night of no sleep in a sweltering cabin made for a miserable trip. When we were counting on lots of rest to recover from a stressful year with our businesses this was not what we paid for. We shall see what HAL's response is to a partial refund.

If you end up in a cabin like this, I would go to the front desk immediately and see if there is another cabin with a/c you can move to. In ten days we only slept 3 nights total. In going back for months on the message baord, this ship and those cabins (near the Neptune Lounge) have been affected for over a year now and they continue to book passengers in them. They told us at the front desk they had not experienced that kind of problem in over a year! The message board contributors say otherwise.

Hoping the best for you!

[iluvcruzin]

CLAP CLAP CLAP! All you can do is take a positive attitude going forward. Hopefully the room will have all the bugs fixed. If not be the first one to request a fan (they are limited) and hope for the best.

[wander]

Hopefully the ac will be fixed. No fun to swelter. However, this exchange reminds me of a long cruise I was on (2 months) where friends were very dissatisfied with their suite. Everything seemed to be wrong, including a mysterious banging sound that periodically disrupted their sleep. No fun for them. I do believe that they were being very honest and objective. After one port another Suite opened up, they were moved and love their new setting. Now, other friends were lusting after a suite (willing to pay), and grabbed the chance to take over the suite the others left. They had heard all the complaints, etc, but still wanted it. They love the suite. All the conditions were the same, including the banging, but they did not mind. They said it was not that loud and the only time they even heard it is if they were already awake for some other reason. They too were being honest and objective. It was all very interesting. Same situation, different perspectives. Was the first couple too fussy or the second couple too accepting? I am not here to judge either one, just to mention the differences.

[starysacz]

Is it one specific suite (#)? or several. Would appreciate information. Booked on Maasdam in May. Presently in CAT B. Have been upgraded to CAT S several times on other HAL ships. Hope it works out for you.

[jmvt]

On the Oct. 30, 2004 sailing the cabins affected that we definitely know of are : 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 19, and 21. They probably were more, but these are the people we spoke to ourselves.

[the2ofus]

Dewhit6959 - Yours was an honest and forthright post. Hopefully your apprehensions will be proved wrong. I second iluvcruzin's suggestion but propose a premptive strike. Go to the front desk immediately on boarding and request a fan, saying that you need moving air in order to sleep comfortably. You can always return the fan if the A/C works properly.

I have been lucky enough to have taken 10 cruises. During two of them things happened to put a damper on the experience. Still, we preferred the cruise, with it's flaws, to staying home. In both cases, HAL did provide appropriate compensation.

Very best wishes for a wonderful, restful cruise.

[jmvt]

THE2OFUS-

If you don't mind my asking, did HAL give you a voucher towards a future cruise or an actual partial refund? Thanks so very much!

[the2ofus]

JMVT - we had a choice. We opted for the vouchers which we applied to next month's cruise. Others in our group accepted a partial refund. I felt we were treated fairly.

[starysacz]

Thank you JMVT for the suite numbers. Will have to watch for those. Could be others as you say.

[jmvt]

Thanks the2ofus! I will post what sort of a response we get from HAL.