Maasdam First Time HAL after Regent

[richnot]

:) We just returned from the Maasdam, our first HAL cruise after over 100 nights on Regent. We were very favorably impressed. We had gotten the impression on this board that the Maasdam was showing signs of needing the upcoming drydock badly, but we were hard pressed to find much evidence of wear and tear,and although there was a little, there was certainly no overall impression of any shabbiness. We had read many comments about how friendly the crew is and that is very true -they are outstanding.

The one area we found the Maasdam falling down on was dining in the Rotterdam main dining room. As you wish dining simply did not work the first time we tried - at 7:15, the entry area was crowded with people clutching pagers and we were quoted a 25 to 45 minute wait. So we found an available table in the Pinnnacle Grill. of which more later, and made a reervation in the MDR for the following night at 8:00, which is later than we like to eat, but the earliest availble. The food was simply awful - salmon badly overcooked and beef extremely tough. We vowed not go back, but later on a night when there was a barbecue in Lido, we ended up there because when we went to the barbecue at 7:00 (it was shown as 5:30 to 8:00), many fod items were gone and not being replenished. So, we went back to theMDR and had a fine meal with not wait. So a very uneven expereince.

But I dwell too long on the one problem area. WeE found the Pinnacle thebest restaurant we have seen afloat, with a great variety, excellent food, and a great serving staff. Service for ths most part was the equal of any ship we have been on, exceptions being the Lido Grill and pool area both of which seemed understaffed. The Lido did have a good menu variety.

In all, a fine experience which we thought enough of to book our next HAL cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

welcome home

it seems that a lot of people are having problems with the open seating on most of tthe ships

glad you enjoyed the pinnacle

thanks for your review

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I have to agree with the poster. My MDR experience was nothing to write home about. My tablemates were awesome though and they wondered why I wasn't turning up night after night. It wasn't them.. it was the food. Just very average. I ended up eating most nights from the buffet. This way I could see everything and if I didn't like one dish= could try another. This worked well. Also, the desserts were wonderful in the buffet but crappy in the MDR- my cheesecake for example was frozen solid.

The Pinnacle Grill was fabulous! I liked it more than Murano's on Celebrity by far. It was so worth the surcharge.

Don't get me wrong, I am doing Holland again because the food to be honest is not why I cruise. There is always something I like to eat but I go for the destinations and the ambiance. Holland has both of these things going for them.

[erewhon]

richnot,
Thank you for reporting your experience on the Maasdam.

[kazu]

Thanks for your review. sorry to hear about the MDR - glad it didn't ruin your entire cruise. Thanks for sharing.

[MrsMuir]

Thanks for sharing your experiences on Maasdam. My TA tells me that Regent is even better than HAL, but their fares are out of our comfort zone ("2-for-1" notwithstanding). It's great to hear that your HAL cruise was enjoyable enough to book another, despite some shortcomings in the MDR.

Mrs M

[sail7seas]

I very much agree about how good Maasdam's Pinnacle is. We have enjoyed many a wonderful Pinnacle breakfast, lunch and dinner. We think they do a great job.

Maasdam is a fabulous ship with an outstanding crew.
They are currently at their drydock and I'm sure working ridiculously hard in the high Bahama heat. I keep thinking about them and wishing them a quick return to air conditioning.