Maasdam-- any opinions?

[patrickc]

Great itinerary from Norfolk & no real options from Baltimore anymore since Celebrity pulled out -- lots of bad reviews on this ship, but still curious.. any insight greatly appreciated! thanks.

[CDRMark]

If you have been reading here you have noticed, but to recap:
Probably more sailings/arrivals than not have been delayed due to weather and/or mechanical problems. Some A/C and, ahem, sewerage problems have been noted; some more serious than others. The single largest problem (IMO) has been how the staff has handled the complaints, which, boiled down, seems to be "Yes Sir(Maam) Sorry Sir (Maam) There is nothing I can do (or, can be done) Sir (Maam)". This serves only to exacerbate even the smallest problems, and is difficult to understand.
DW and I were on the 11/20-11/30 sailing and (nearly) everything was perfect. Search for the reviews (mine and others).
Cheers
MarkB

[bwelborn]

If you don't mind staying on the boat for a few days straight it is an OK trip. We missed half moon cay because of very late departure and spent three days solid on the ship. My hubby was crazy-I did not mind. We have been on the Maasdam several times and thought it was great. Some people realy have to try hard not to enjoy their cruise. But if you are concerned about getting to ports on time and staying exactly on schedule, this is not the cruise for you.

[Linda&Vern]

Great itinerary from Norfolk & no real options from Baltimore anymore since Celebrity pulled out -- lots of bad reviews on this ship, but still curious.. any insight greatly appreciated! thanks.
We were on the recent Maasdam 11-day Holiday Cruise. Ditto CDRMark's comment "everything was nearly perfect!" Yes, we departed late (due to weather problems the ship returned to Norfolk very late) ... but HAL kept us advised every step of the way and took very good care of early arrivals at the nearby Marriott. When I discovered thru a phone call with my DD that an item she ordered was not in our cabin the first night I went to the front desk and asked about it. They had the order on file and said they would check into it and have the item delivered. When it didn't come in a couple of hours I went to the desk again. Little did I realize that is was 2:00 in the morning - until the sweet girl at the desk said that the delivery person probably didn't want to wake us so late at night and assured me it would be delivered in the morning. Came back from breakfast - and there it was! On day #2 when our room seemed a little too warm I called the front desk. Within an hour maintainance left a note in the room that air was fixed, but asked us to call immediately if any more problems ... (there weren't). When DH couldn't open the safe one night he called the front desk. An appointment with the locksmith was made immediately for him to come at OUR convenience. A phone call from the front desk followed a few hours later to ask if all was fixed and well. The front desk never give us the impression of not caring anytime either of us stopped by there. Please remember that this ship holds 1,266 passengers each cruise, and while some write here of legitimate concerns ... you are only reading the reviews of a very small percentage of passengers. After reading these reviews for over six months before my cruise I was convinced of several things. Among them (1) The ship would be so overcrowded (Holidays) and overrun with kids (Holidays) I would not be a happy camper (it didn't happen). (2) Soda cards were no longer available (I wasn't on the ship 30 minutes and I had purchased one). You get the idea. So do your research - but do it with an open mind. AND - IF YOU GO - HAVE A GREAT CRUISE - WE DID! (And FYI - we arrived back into Norfolk at 7:30am - ahead of schedule.

[MUKTUKMARY]

We were some of the unfortunate passengers who were on the October 30 sailing of the Maasdam. Approximately 10 suite cabins that I know of had no air conditioning. Repeated phone calls, letters to the Captain, Hotel Manager, and Chief Engineer brought no reply. The front desk denied there even was an A/C problem because they had had no notification from the Engineer---so therefore..."there is nothing wrong with the air conditioning." Some people resorted to sleeping out on their balconies, some threw their cushions from their sofa out on the balcony and slept out there and we slept with wet washcloths and towels on us for any relief at all. We only slept 3 of the 10 nights.

By the 8th day, the temp in our cabin reached 86 degrees. Several of us suite passengers went to the front desk with my thermometer in hand to show them how hot it was in our rooms. Only then would they admit there was a problem. We were told to contact Seattle upon our return to receive compensation.

Meanwhile we had brown water in our tub, sink and toilet on and off. Here we were so sweaty wanting to take a shower and then we had that water that we could not tell if it was sewage or what. Phone calls made again to the front desk and they said there was no problem with the water!

We also had a problem with our door lock---it continually locked us IN the room unable to get out. We asked to have it fixed 4 times and still it did not work correctly. On the 8th or 9th night there was a fire on the Lido deck right above our floor. Thankfully the lock worked that night and we would have been able to get to the lifeboats if necessary. But...a serious safety issue.

In three months of trying to get an answer from the HAL offices in Seattle, we finally recieved a letter back offering a small voucher towards a future cruise. This does not seem acceptable to us as we felt a partial credit would have been more fair. We did not pay for this cruise with vouchers...we paid in cash, but we have to receive any compansation back in the form of a voucher that must be used by this November. So we will be forced to spend thousands more on another cruise in order to get anything. Those of us who all sweltered in the heat all received different types of vouchers.....seems like the vouchers would have all been the same.

My disappointment as well as many other passengers is in how this was handled. While we were on the ship it was just DENY, DENY, DENY. One person I spoke with said that if we were not happy with our accomodations we should have gotten off the ship. I had to remind them that the first port was Half Moon Cay and there is no airport there. The first airport we came to was St. Thomas and that was on day 5. On that afternoon we had noticed the crew loading onto the ship several air compressors. The air conditionig did come on for 2-3 hours before we left port so we thought the A/C had been fixed and we were all so happy. Shortly after leaving port, the A/C quit and never did come back on. So...had we chosen to fly back home, the next port would have been Antiqua. Flying home from there one way on short notice would have cost a fortune. We were just resigned to stay on board.

This was our 13th cruise on HAL. The first 12 were great, but this trip was a huge wake up call that if you end up in an unfortunate cabin with sewage leaking all over your floor, or no A/C.......there is no recourse and you are not in control of anything. If you were on a lond trip you could certainly pack up and move to the next hotel down the street.

I had always wondered why some passengers on our first 12 cruises were having a bad time and complaining about issues like this....I now understand how this can happen. It is just luck of the draw where your cabin is and who the Officers are on your ship. This ship had no one for 10 days who would respond to us in any way. All we heard was----"someone will get back with you." No one would and this is just the worst customer service we have ever experienced.

[ExpCruiser]

Just returned from Maasdam. If you like the itinerary, understand that the listings are pretty much false advertising! Half Moon Cay stop, 11 - 6. Tender began at 11 and at 1 pm I still was on-board. Return to ship at 4:30!
St. Thomas next. 10 - 8 pm Oops. We were out of the country (Half Moon Cay is the Bahamas) so we need to go thru immigration. Landed in St. Thomas at 10:30, immigration over an hour, got off the ship at noon, return time 5:30! Antigua was all right, but tendering in St. Maarten slowed everything down again, San Juan from 7am - 1 pm. Well... we did arrive at 7 am. Off to immigration, over an hour) and what can you do in San Juan at 8 am. Nothing opens until 10 or 10:30. Back on ship at 12:30. Ports of call were VERY brief, so if it's the itinerary, think again. Bring warm clothes. All public areas of the ship were so cold, people were wearing turtle necks and jackets. (Guess they fixed the A/C problem too well!) Shows are pretty mediocre as is the food. If you get a GREAT DEAL (<$70/day) you may think its worth it but otherwise, I'd pass.

[ekerr19]

We were on the Maasdam out of Norfolk last 4/3/04 - it was one of the best cruises we have ever taken. We cruised with our children over Spring Break. The weather was fantastic, the service was the best we had received on HAL in along time and the ship was in excellent shape. The food was great. We encountered no mechanical problems, other than one of the elevators being out of commission.

This itinerary seems to draw the most complaints. We knew going in that we may be delayed and we were one of the few groups flying in and out of Norfolk. We had rough seas through Cape Hatteras, but we've been in worse along the Baja Pennisula coming back from Mexico. If you are not concerned about the short stop in San Juan, this is a great cruise.

We had a blast and would recommend the 10-day cruise, especially if you don't have to fly in and out. If we weren't flying, we couldn't have cared less what time she got back to port - but we booked late enough flights to accomodate and Delta allowed us on the earlier flight for $20 change fee and off we went. The ship arrived on time and we were in the first group off the ship, arrived at the airport by 10:00 and made a 10:45 flight home.

All in all, a fantastic cruise and we loved cruising from Norfolk. :)

[sail7seas]

By the 8th day, the temp in our cabin reached 86 degrees. Several of us suite passengers went to the front desk with my thermometer in hand to show them how hot it was in our rooms. Only then would they admit


I've seen mention of your bringing the thermomenter to the Front Office before and I have been intrigued at how you managed to keep the thermometer reading 86 degrees during the trip from your Suite down all those decks? The elevators/staircases/general public area must have been air conditioned. Didn't the thermometer drop in temperature?

[MUKTUKMARY]

When I left my cabin with the sound soother showing 86 degrees, "D.J.", the concierge in the Neptune Lounge was right there to see it as well as four other suite passengers that I ran into in the hall. All of them saw the reading. Yes, it did drop a few degrees by the time we all got to the front desk. The fact that the front desk girl actually saw that I had a digital thermometer is what made her finally confess that indeed there were problems. In the 8 previous days, the front desk said there was "No problem because they had not received any noticfication from the Chief Engineer regarding A/C." They could no longer keep up the lie with the proof sitting right in front of them.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your explanation.

[dakrewser]

In the 8 previous days, the front desk said there was "No problem because they had not received any noticfication from the Chief Engineer regarding A/C." They could no longer keep up the lie with the proof sitting right in front of them.

Lie? Perhaps the Chief Engineer really hadn't sent them any notification.....

-dave

[MUKTUKMARY]

I might have agreed with that but when we all first arrived down at the front desk (after having been there multiple times over 8 days dropping off letters for the Captain, Hotel Manager and the Chief Engineer---never did get an answer or phone call in 10 days form any of them) and started explaining once again we were all sweltering in those cabins, the head gal said----there is NO problem with the A/C. At that time I put the sound soother down to show them the temperature and it was only then that she said-----"Actually........ we JUST did receive notification from the engineer---there is a problem with the A/C--they are working on it." Within a matter of one minute she totally changed her story as needed.

[dakrewser]

Within a matter of one minute she totally changed her story as needed.

In that case I would have immediately asked to speak to her supervisor. That's simply unprofessional.

-dave

[Orcrone]

In that case I would have immediately asked to speak to her supervisor. That's simply unprofessional.

-daveAnd you're assuming that she wasn't instructed to respond in this way to the complaints about the A/C.

[MUKTUKMARY]

The Guest Services gal was out "sick" every time we asked to speak to her. Then on days when they said she would be at her desk, she was not there. We left two messages for her and also......no answer in 10 days.

Hi Marc---did you get my letter regarding the vouchers?

Mary

[xpcdoojk]

What is the human body temp .... averages 98.6 or so? what temp will a thermometer maintain in your armpit.... I wonder...:D

jc

[dakrewser]

The Guest Services gal was out "sick" every time we asked to speak to her. Then on days when they said she would be at her desk, she was not there. We left two messages for her and also......no answer in 10 days.

That's when you camp out in the Hotel Manager's office, then.

I do realize it can be frustrating to have to interrupt what should be a vacation in order to pursue repairs, and some would probably just say "oh, forget about it." But stewing for a couple of weeks just leads to a shortened life expectancy - better (I think) to confront those in authority in person rather than via mail.

[dakrewser]

And you're assuming that she wasn't instructed to respond in this way to the complaints about the A/C.

Yes. I do tend to assume that people's intentions are good until I'm proven wrong...

-dave

[MUKTUKMARY]

Dakrewser-I would have loved to had spoken to anybody in management. Everytime we asked....."They are not available at this time." Day after day. We felt we had exhausted every avenue. There were so many people miserable with the heat in their cabins, we felt they were hiding out! ;0)

[Orcrone]

The Guest Services gal was out "sick" every time we asked to speak to her. Then on days when they said she would be at her desk, she was not there. We left two messages for her and also......no answer in 10 days.

Hi Marc---did you get my letter regarding the vouchers?

MaryMary,

I didn't receive your letter, or any e-mails either. I didn't think HAL would come through with any significant compensation. I was wondering if the credit card company was able to help in any way.

[bookworm0911]

Dakrewser-I would have loved to had spoken to anybody in management. Everytime we asked....."They are not available at this time." Day after day. We felt we had exhausted every avenue. There were so many people miserable with the heat in their cabins, we felt they were hiding out! ;0)
What I have a question about is why is poor Mary having to defend herself and explain every action as if she is on trial here? There have been many complaints in the last few months about the Maasdam A/C in the suites, about lack of customer service skills at the Front Desk, and about slow repair situations with little or no communication. So Mary's complaint is not out of left field or the twilight zone.

We have no reason not to take her at her word that the situation was as she states. Why should anyone have to put up with no A/C in the Caribbean after having spent thousands of $$$ on a vacation and worse yet, not being treated like a customer/guest of the cruiseline where those in positions of responsibility would be handling the problem on a timely basis. The HM and GRM should have been falling all over themselves to apologize to the effected pax and fix the situation or explain why it wasn't. On the first day. It's their job!

[Orcrone]

Bookworm - excellently put. I was on the 10/30 cruise, but luckily DW and I were in a room with working A/C. However, I happen to be at the front desk when people were complaining about the A/C. The young lady behind the counter didn't really seem too concerned.

[dakrewser]

What I have a question about is why is poor Mary having to defend herself and explain every action as if she is on trial here?

I'm certainly not asking anyone to "defend themselves" except, perhaps, the staff on the ship. I'm simply stating what I would have done, or asking what steps were taken. Hopefully this can serve to educate others before they cruise so they'll know how best to handle the situation should it arise.

[ExpCruiser]

Hey Dakrewser, what makes you think you need to educate travelers on how to handle problems. :eek: :eek: The fact is that I've personally experienced ...as have many others here a total lack of concern from the front desk staff and HAL personnel. We spoke with the officer who "manages by walking around" and offered to walk with him AT HIS CONVENIENCE to show him what we and our companions were experiencing. Needless to say, he "was too busy"!

[RuthC]

ExpCruiser, with all due respect, may I ask why you are using such a large font?

Several replies have noted that it is difficult to read.
I agree. It's very hard on my eyes.

[MUKTUKMARY]

What is the human body temp .... averages 98.6 or so? what temp will a thermometer maintain in your armpit.... I wonder...:D

jc

I even had to giggle at the thought of me running down to the front office with that sound soother with digital thermometer stuck in my armpit! No need for that....we had take that machine to several rooms to check temperatures so plenty of witnesses as well as the concierge "D.J" seeing the recordings.

[dakrewser]

Hey Dakrewser, what makes you think you need to educate travelers on how to handle problems. :eek: :eek: The fact is that I've personally experienced ...as have many others here a total lack of concern from the front desk staff and HAL personnel. We spoke with the officer who "manages by walking around" and offered to walk with him AT HIS CONVENIENCE to show him what we and our companions were experiencing. Needless to say, he "was too busy"!

I don't "need" to do anything. But I'd hate for someone new to HAL to come here and be drawn in by your shouting and go away thinking this reflects the typical HAL experience.

I've found that the front desk (and everyone else) responds quite well when I'm on the ship. Not only on HAL ships, but on all the other lines I've cruised. And, frankly, I don't understand how they do it given the nasty attitudes that people have when addressing them.

And, evidently, you could suse some education in problem solving since your problem wasn't resolved, was it?

-dave
"It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off."

[dbullsfn]

Ive been reading the reviews that have been poste here for awhile now (only just started posting) since im going on March 10th. However, maybe its the lawyer in me, but I think everybody is missing the point that everyone else is saying. I dont think anyone would disagree that the ship has problems. Just how many they are or their frequency/intensity is in debate. And furthermore, alot of the postrs here who are allegedly frome a "HAL Cult" as they have been referred to do often blow out of proportion some of the comments being said.
This is not to say these folks defending the ship are wrong either however. What alot of the folks who have had bad experiences seem to describe the ship like its possessed and demonic. The fact remains though that though your experience was terrible, it was YOUR EXPERIENCE. How many times have we seen posts on the same voyage where there are differing opinions. Something also has to be said about the fact that in the grand scheme of things, there are far fewer negative reviews than positive. Its just that the negatives, like anything else, stands out. Finally, one final observation that needs to be pondered. It seems that many of the complaints apply to the Norfolk cruise, not the New England one. My theory is that the problems in Norfolk, coupled with the fact that you are traveling through the graveyard in the atlantic, warps the perception of the cruise from the onset. Many times I dont think you all are able to see the possitives. All Im asking is that everyone be objective, and lets discuss these issues without name calling and the sort. Everyone is titled to their own opinion, jsut be civilized about it.

[CDRMark]

..dbullsfn, to the HAl boards!
Re: your post, wish I'd said that!
Cheers
MarkB

[TeresaJenkins]

"All Im asking is that everyone be objective, and lets discuss these issues without name calling and the sort. Everyone is titled to their own opinion, jsut be civilized about it."

Dang, there goes my 50 page *itch letter, and 3 day long proof slide show plan for after my upcomong cruise! LOL Just kidding ;o)

I like your post. Very well said BTW.

[Keith Rita]

We have received a couple emails from folks telling us we need to visit this thread, and another that has apparently disappeared, to get a good laugh. All we can say is UNBELIEVABLE! We haven't been here in a while, and now we remember why!
The name of this site is Cruise Critic! With over 300 looks, we just hope lurkers don't think you are all typical HAL cruisers. If so, well . . .

[RuthC]

"All Im asking is that everyone be objective, and lets discuss these issues without name calling and the sort. Everyone is titled to their own opinion, jsut be civilized about it."

Dang, there goes my 50 page *itch letter, and 3 day long proof slide show plan for after my upcomong cruise! LOL Just kidding ;o)

And there's my guffaw for the day! Thanks, I needed that. :D

[xpcdoojk]

We have received a couple emails from folks telling us we need to visit this thread, and another that has apparently disappeared, to get a good laugh. All we can say is UNBELIEVABLE! We haven't been here in a while, and now we remember why!
The name of this site is Cruise Critic! With over 300 looks, we just hope lurkers don't think you are all typical HAL cruisers. If so, well . . .

While I don't disagree with this poster completely... :D

I do find these kinds of posts just as derogatory as anything in any of these threads. :mad:

When people post things that are outside of the experiences of most posters should everyone say well they said it therefore it must be true. Guess what there is more BS posted on the internet than good information.... How do we know anything anyone posts is gospel. Answer we don't, hence people tend to view things outside of their personal experience with skepticism. I am sorry that I fail to see this as a bad thing. If people are more skeptical that means they are less likely to fall prey to many of the dangers that are present in the world and on the internet. JMHO... and thanks for disparaging ours.:rolleyes:

jc

[dbullsfn]

Well I must say thank you to those who replied to my post. Ill be the first to admit it, Im a huge HAL supporter. That being said, however, i haven't been on any cruise since 1988. In total ive only been on 4 (Nieuw Amsterdan, '85, Noordam '86 Noordam '88 and the old Constitution in Hawaii back in '84). My memories about those HAL are almost perfect (except Jamaica, I hate that place). Im trying HAL again. Im really looking forward to it but I realize the ship has problems. And for anyone who ever says its only the Maasdam that has problems, well lets just leave it with Id like to see that person's SAT scores. Back in '84, on the Constituion, you would think sometimes you were on a new version of the Titanic with all the problems. Its sister ship, the Independence, even broke down circling Maui I believe. A worker dropped a wrench in some machienry and the ship lost all power, including electricity. $%*$ Happens, plain and simply. Yet what I remember most about that cruise are the wonderful people I met, and the beauty and serenity of the Islands. Now for those who think the Maasdam should be towed off Norfolk and sunk as an artificial reef for fishing let me ask this one question. If I was conducting a voir dire of you to be on a jury, after swearing on a bible to tell the turth, could you look me straight in the eye and tell me there was nothing good about your trip. Thats where I have problems with some of the posts.

[JDee]

Say what you want about the Independence and Constitution. Took my first cruise on the Independence(don't ask me when), and still think it was one of the best cruises I ever had. The best part were formal nights--aloha shirts and mumus for the ladies.....

Happy cruising.

[dbullsfn]

When did you cruise on those ships Jdee. When I was on them they were what liek 30 years old?

[HeatherInFlorida]

Yet what I remember most about that cruise are the wonderful people I met, and the beauty and serenity of the Islands. Now for those who think the Maasdam should be towed off Norfolk and sunk as an artificial reef for fishing let me ask this one question. If I was conducting a voir dire of you to be on a jury, after swearing on a bible to tell the turth, could you look me straight in the eye and tell me there was nothing good about your trip.

I just love this post. I just had to pull it up and quote it here because I believe it bears saying over and over again. Over the past few days when I tried to stand up for HAL against what I believed to be overwrought and irrationale criticism, my posts were pulled. So for the most part, I'm simply not going to say anything negative or positive anymore.

So thank you, dbullsfn, for putting it so well. All I know is I come away from every cruise just a little better and much happier than when I embarked. And that's really what it's all about.http://cdn-cf.aol.com/se/smi/0201e05b9a/01

[jeffanddawn]

Ok Ok i must confess... all the negative posts and misreporting of the ships problems/engines/late arriving/missed ports/things that go boom while your dining:eek: /air conditioning problems, etc etc .... well they are all false... it was just us and cheric ( both sailing on the 27th of Feb)... you see it was our master plan to spread this misinformation so we would end up having the ship all to ourselves, but alas we can't go through with it so..... i guess the gig is up.

Everyone is free to come spend 11 days with us on the Maasdam and have the time of your lives!!!

:D :D :D

[dbullsfn]

All I can say to JeffandDawn is this. Yall better have that ship in perfect shape for me since Im boarding while your disembarking :p . Hope yall have a wonderful, stress free trip. :D

[cheric]

Thanks Jeffanddawn for relieving me of all this guilt I've been feeling. I should have confessed sooner!! Seriously, I am not letting any of this negative "stuff" get in the way of my having a good time. The time is getting closer, I'm getting more excited by the hour and I will report only good things when I return. As I said before, we;ve only had two previous cruises (the Millennium and Galaxy) and we had both mechanical and weather-related problems on both of those. I only remember the good things! See you soon!

[sweetiefeetie]

Sorry JeffandDawn, but the two of you and cheric and her DH will have to share the ship with myself and my DH. However, Cheric knows this...I am her "younger" sister and we are going together. All I can say is you are in the for time of your life with us....be prepared. We will have fun, regardless of the so-called problems!