Maasdam review - Montreal to Boston 13May

[oceandrive]

Embarkation in Montreal:
Long and painful. The staff ashore is obviously not well trained. Checkin took about 2 1/2 hours. The minute we boarded our situation looked much better.

First impression:
The Maasdam is in TOP SHAPE after drydock and after receiving the SOE upgrades. I was very critical last fall after a cruise on the Century. It was in bad shape for a 1995 ship. The Maasdam is stunning in comparaison. All the public rooms were impeccable, the cabins very very clean and the SOE upgrades are stunning !

Cabin: We had 1 inside cabin and 1 outside cabin (5 of us). The cabins are very generous in space compare to other cruise ships. New flat screen TVs and DVD players in EVERY cabin (two thumbs up!) SOE beds, new capet, very large shower (inside cabin), new "mailboxes" in corridors.

Public rooms: The Crows Nest is stunning. Very appealing to the eyes. The colors, curtains light fixures and the "marble bar" is a hit for my taste.
The Exploration Cafe is also amazing. Very large collection of books, Music listening station with comfy chairs, Games, puzzles, you'll find it all !
The beautiful Pinnacle Grill delivered the same top quality that we came to expect (We were also on the Volendam, Zuiderdam and Westerdam).
All the other rooms were in great shape as well (Piano bar, Ocean bar, Explorer's lounge). It looks like all the public washrooms have been upgraded.

Gym: All the equipment is brand new ! Private TVs on every treadmill (Wow!) Two eliptical machines (Always available...) Free weights. The men's locker room looked brand new as well. The sauna is brand new no doubts. Shower stalls are freshly tiled. Again two thumbs up !

Dining room: Looked the same however the old light blue "metal tube" chairs have been replaced by better chairs (Thank God!) Food and service was, as usual very good.

Entertainment: The Maasdam singers and dancers were amazing ! I was impressed by the fact that they gave us 3 !! production show on a 7 day cruise. Trio at the Ocean bar - very talented and very friendly. We also enjoyed the personal touch of Steven at the piano bar. We wanted to see everything and do it all at night but we ran out of time !

Ports: Quebec City - my favorite, Halifax also has a lot to offer. Sydney is a disappointment. Charlottetown is charming with Ann of the Green Gables everywhere. Bar Harbour is very quint and has very restaurant (lobster, losbter).
I come to the conclusion that after many cruises, I prefer the smaller ships with fewer passengers. I will certainly go back on the "dam ships" again and again.

[PrincessMelody]

Great review!! Glad you enjoyed the ship! We hope to sail her again soon.:)

[laminar]

How was the immigration process? Us officials went onboard in Bar harbour? Was it fast? They brough onboard al the equipment to finger print anf take pictures to non us nationals? Customs was in Boston right?? I will be doing the same itinerary next month and 2 non us nationals will be traveling with me. They are a little concerned about the :new" screening process.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your great review. I can't wait to see 'My" :) Maasdam after her dry dock. We're on for the round trip, Boston to Montreal and back. Can't wait.

Welcome back. :)

[oceandrive]

The immigration officials were onboard in Bar Harbour.
US citizens reported to the Show Lounge by Alphabetical order.
Canadians and Foreign travellers reported to the Crows Nest. immigration officials simply reviewed passports and I.D. They don't have the technology onboard to take pictures and to fingerprint cruise passengers. It took much longer to screen U.S. passenger simply because 90 percent of the passengers onboard are Americans.
Once in Boston, Immigration officers collect the blue form (I-94 ??) at the bottom of the gangway. Very easy... No concerns !

[oceandrive]

P.S. Sorry about to typos in my review... I will try to post my cruise pictures in the next few days. I took a lot of pictures of the ship's ''new'' looks ! I forgot to mention that the culinary center is also very beautiful ! The galley tour include a short cooking class. It was fun !

[RuthC]

Thank you for your report. I was able to sail the Maasdam last summer---before the SOE upgrades. And loved my time aboard, I might add.
Your report has made me want to see her after the upgrades have been completed. I'm very glad to read that the treadmills were replaced; last summer they were horrible.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad to hear that you survived embarkation and had a wonderful cruise.

[Tricia724]

Thanks for this great, positive review. We booked Maasdam for next February after our Westerdam trip went sour. After reading a couple of so-so reviews of Maasdam after drydock, I was beginning to wonder whether that was a wise choice. Like RuthC, I was pleased to hear that the gym has been given a facelift and am hoping the Veendam has also been upgraded since we'll be spending 30 days on her in October. Can't imagine what a treadmill with a TV would be like, but it sounds great!

[Sayyadina]

P.S. Sorry about to typos in my review... I will try to post my cruise pictures in the next few days. I took a lot of pictures of the ship's ''new'' looks ! I forgot to mention that the culinary center is also very beautiful ! The galley tour include a short cooking class. It was fun !

Oooo! OOOOO! I've been waiting for some post SOE Maasdam pictures! :D

Tell me about the mailboxes in the hallway....?

[sail7seas]

We saw Veendam's gym since her drydock and it is really nice. The same treadmills with individual flat screens. Fabulous!!!

Veendam looks really wonderful since her drydock.
She's a great ship IMO
Lucky you to be looking forward to 30 days aboard her!!!

[carolyn22]

Thanks for the great review! I was on the Maasdam just before she went in drydock, and I was very pleased with it even before the SOE upgrades! I have another cruise booked on her this fall, so I'll be interested to see the changes first hand.

One really stupid question - do you still use a separate door key for the cabin or did they integrate the door key with the boarding pass? (I hate having to keep up with two things!)

[RuthC]

Can't imagine what a treadmill with a TV would be like, but it sounds great!
They are great! I enjoyed them on the Noordam. You can set the station to any of the ship's channels---at least on the Noordam that included the music stations (in place of a radio). The earphones HAL provides enable you to listen without disturbing those around you (unless you start to sing out loud, as I tend to do :rolleyes: ). Your own earphones also should fit the plug.
The only thing I didn't like was that the screen blocks direct view of the ocean, but you can still see it at an angle.

[Tricia724]

Wow! Thanks Sail and RuthC....I'm starting to get excited....didn't think it would be about exercising, though! We haven't been on Veendam since 2002, and my one disappointment was the gym. That was our first "S" ship after sailing Amsterdam and Zaandam, both of which had nice gyms. The gym on Veendam was sadly lacking, in comparison, which gave me a perfect excuse for not using it!

When we booked the September Canal/Amazon cruise I hoped they had replaced some of those old treadmills. I sure as heck can't go 30 days with all the shipboard temptations without using the treadmills....especially since we're going where it's hot, hot, hot and with a little asthma, I don't always do as well walking out on deck in the humidity.

My last cruise on Explorer OTS has made me long for the smaller ships of HAL. I'm really looking forward to Veendam and Maasdam.

[wolfatlga]

We are booked for June 10th leaving Montreal. We had planned on heading to the port around 11 am. since that is the check out time for the hotel. I thought we might be too early but that sounds about right.
I was getting concerned about the plumbing and AC. A previous review said they were having problems, but I think she was on the first cruise out of dry dock, so it sounds like everything is working. This is our first time on Hal, have done NCL and RCCL, so we're really excited. I just turned 50 on May 1st, so I now fit the demographics I keep hearing about...lol...can't wait.

[Jemima]

Plumbing and AC were fine also on the first cruise after drydock (4/28). I am not aware of any cabin plumbing problems other than the one person who posted that. During the 15 day cruise there were a few occasions when there would be a public toilet "out of order", but those were quickly remedied. The temperature and controls were fine in my cabin and I did not hear complaints about cabin temperature onboard.
There were some problems with temperature (way too chilly) in the Crow's Nest, but by the end of the cruise the temperature was fine there. The Crow's Nest had been redone and the spa extension was of course added on the deck below. That may have resulted in a need for temperature readjustment there, but as just stated it was working well towards the end of the cruise. Elsewhere we did not note any problems in the public areas. Whatever the temperature in a public area there will always be some who want it a bit cooler and some a bit warmer.
As for the pumbling, putting things in that don't belong will create problems. Again there were no major widespread plumbing problems.
The Maasdam was wonderful after drydock and I'm happy to read that Ocean Drive has similar good experiences on the 5/13 cruise.

[eden]

Great review. Can you tell me which nights were formal ? semiformal ? and casual ?Was there a Dutch night? We are also cruising from Montreal to Boston.

[oceandrive]

I posted a few pictures:

http://community.webshots.com/user/oceandrive44

[mrskmirolla]

OCEANDRIVE,

Do you remember how much the unlimited laundry was???

Kathy

[oceandrive]

I didn't use the laundry service nor the laundromats.