bodget
January 10th, 2010, 07:58 PM
quick run down of the maasdam cruise over new year.
we travelled on the westerdam earlier in the year so had a insighr into what HAL offer.
ft lauderdale: stayed at the hilton marina.nice pool looks like it needs a facelift,especially the corriders.food outside was more expensive than our previous stay in orlando pre cruise.ate breakfast facing the beach.terrible food and service and not cheap.
boarding: painless,arrived at 11.45 on the ship by about 12.had my cossie in my bag,ate a burger in the lido I think the dinning room was open,not 100%.
rooms available annouced over the tannoy proceded to find room 411.
excellent position 2 cabins away from outside doorway,(dw is a smoker) cabin in good order.ur friends were in 504.
food: ate in the lido and the dinning room never had a bad meal,service was prompt in the dining room.struggled to get a anytime dining reservation for our party of 8.most nights we got a 6 and 2,despite ringing as soon as we could.dining room stardard actually approached me in the lido to reserve a table for the masterchefs dinner 2 days before!
entertainment: main acts were good shows not too bad but a lot off miming going on.cruise director was on his last trip and it showed very little enthusiasum or activities organised.
excursions: only did the horse riding on grand turk with the ship.
st kitts - bit scurffy outside the port,took a taxi to cockleshell bay,very nice place.
santa domingo went to bocha beach - nice place with sheltered safe swimming.lot of hawkers bothering people constantly.lot of police presence in the main square.
ponce: looked like the ship hadn't been there before,large dignitory presence and tv.police everywhere in the centre even following tourists to atm's to keep an eye on them.good shopping with decent prices.
ship: thought she was in good order the odd sign of wear and tear but very little.maybe because its a smaller ship than the westerdam ship apppeared to rock a bit more in light seas.ship also appeared to list slightly to one side most of the time.friends in 504 said that at night it appeared the were floating above their beds as the ship went up and down also a loud buzzing noise outside the room was evident.cabin 411 was good,cabin across the way had sanitary problems as there was a weird smell eminating from the cabin when the door was open.
overall an excellent trip - would I recomend the maasdam,yes.possibly be sticking to the slightly larger ships westerdam in future couldn't fault the crew.
word of warning - on certain nights in the bars they will offer you a drink with a complimentary glass.on the bill it will show the drink was $2.25 and the complementary glass was $4, same price as the normal drink in the bar!!
we travelled on the westerdam earlier in the year so had a insighr into what HAL offer.
ft lauderdale: stayed at the hilton marina.nice pool looks like it needs a facelift,especially the corriders.food outside was more expensive than our previous stay in orlando pre cruise.ate breakfast facing the beach.terrible food and service and not cheap.
boarding: painless,arrived at 11.45 on the ship by about 12.had my cossie in my bag,ate a burger in the lido I think the dinning room was open,not 100%.
rooms available annouced over the tannoy proceded to find room 411.
excellent position 2 cabins away from outside doorway,(dw is a smoker) cabin in good order.ur friends were in 504.
food: ate in the lido and the dinning room never had a bad meal,service was prompt in the dining room.struggled to get a anytime dining reservation for our party of 8.most nights we got a 6 and 2,despite ringing as soon as we could.dining room stardard actually approached me in the lido to reserve a table for the masterchefs dinner 2 days before!
entertainment: main acts were good shows not too bad but a lot off miming going on.cruise director was on his last trip and it showed very little enthusiasum or activities organised.
excursions: only did the horse riding on grand turk with the ship.
st kitts - bit scurffy outside the port,took a taxi to cockleshell bay,very nice place.
santa domingo went to bocha beach - nice place with sheltered safe swimming.lot of hawkers bothering people constantly.lot of police presence in the main square.
ponce: looked like the ship hadn't been there before,large dignitory presence and tv.police everywhere in the centre even following tourists to atm's to keep an eye on them.good shopping with decent prices.
ship: thought she was in good order the odd sign of wear and tear but very little.maybe because its a smaller ship than the westerdam ship apppeared to rock a bit more in light seas.ship also appeared to list slightly to one side most of the time.friends in 504 said that at night it appeared the were floating above their beds as the ship went up and down also a loud buzzing noise outside the room was evident.cabin 411 was good,cabin across the way had sanitary problems as there was a weird smell eminating from the cabin when the door was open.
overall an excellent trip - would I recomend the maasdam,yes.possibly be sticking to the slightly larger ships westerdam in future couldn't fault the crew.
word of warning - on certain nights in the bars they will offer you a drink with a complimentary glass.on the bill it will show the drink was $2.25 and the complementary glass was $4, same price as the normal drink in the bar!!