What I do Love about 'MY Maasdam" ...

[sail7seas]

Maasdam is such a beautiful ship; she is so well layed out and is so designed for everyone to find just the perfect sport for their personal taste.

Plenty of quiet nooks to sit and enjoy the quiet; read the book you've wanted to read for ages; to stare at the sea uninterrupted by anyone/anything; then there are the lounges with all sorts of music and dancing and conversation and laughing and people enjoying. The noise of the Casino and the excited screams of winners when their slot machines loudly are ringing their bells.

Or Promendade Deck to walk and walk and lose oneself in their own reflections.....to be mesmerized by the Motion of the Ocean.

The most beautiful floral presentations; the sparkling crystal in the dining room, the shining silver; the polished brass rails.

The comfort of the show lounge; the wonderful entertainment; the huge selection of wonderful breakfasts and lunches in Lido. A hamburger mid afternoon as a treat you never allow yourself "in your regular life". A dripping ice cream cone makes you feel like a kid you can barely remember ever being.

When the sun shines, take your choice of the louder, more active Lido pool or go hangout with the adults and more quiet setting of the Aft Pool. Meet lots of friends....or hog your honey just to yourself. Enjoy him/her undivided attention uninterrupted by all the demands of our usual lives. Give him/her an extra hug; a special smile.

The comfort provided in all the cabins; the service of the finest cabin stewards anywhere. To simply ask for an extra pillow......and like magic, it is delivered.

To enjoy a meal with new friends (or your best friend you came with). To select from generous choices of old favorites; to sample new tastes.

To greet and be greeted by those handsome officers in their smart whites; to see their smiles are genuine. They are happy to meet friendly pax who are enjoying their ship/their crew; the fruits of their hard work. Who of us does not want our work appreciated/enjoyed to the fullest? To share a cocktail with them; a short chat.

I just enjoyed the last five minutes fantasizing I was aboard "MY Maasdam" and I can't bring myself to erase those precious thoughts.

Sorry......guess you all now know a tiny, very few things of what I so love about Maasdam.....just a teeny bit more than I love about all the "dam" ships of HAL.

...and love them ALL, I do.

[Vicar]

S7S,

That does sound beautiful.

Just looking at a few of the pics on the HAL website of the Maasdam. It is a gorgeous ship. Very classic looking as all the ships in the HAl line are.

I have always been on the larger ships on the other lines and I loved them all, and they are all beautiful and fun in their own right.

But the HAL ships really do remind you of the "Golden Days" of travel if you will.

I am just gonna have to get on one of those "Dam" ships *LOL*

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

And to smell the beautiful flowers throughout the ship.

And to be spoken to by crew members who may be just cleaning your verandah, sweeping the carpets, etc.

:)

[LoveLifeAtSea]

Sail ----

Your post almost has me packing my bags today!

[sail7seas]

LoveLife..........you'd best be packin' 'dem ' deer bags!!!


I'll be stuffing ours VERY soon. :)

[Charlie2na]

We're thinking of Maasdam in Jan , loved Veendam, but was worried about Maasdams age and leaving and getting back to Norfolk in Jan... any advice,... thanks

[sail7seas]

Maasdam has been lovingly maintained and is in excellent condition....at least so far as pax eyes can see.


We cruised her as recently as b-to-b's this past Thanksgiving and found her in great shape. She is very elegantly beautiful IMO

We have our docs for Canada/New England cruise for next month. Had we been displeased with the ship in November, of course, we would not have booked another cruise.

As to weather in January in Norfolk....very small gamble but no guarantees. We cruise from FLL every winter (several times) and fly from Boston. Folks fly from Montreal and Toronto and Greenland.......well, you get the point.

What in life carries an absolute guarantee?

[Peggy Sue]

S7S - what a beautiful post. captures the reasons we all love to cruise. Can certainly understand why you're looking forward to your upcoming cruise. Hope you have smooth seas, sunny days and a wonderful time!

Peggy Sue

[sail7seas]

Thank you, Peggy Sue.

I wish us all blue skies and calm seas and a cruise in all our futures.

[Orcrone]

We're thinking of Maasdam in Jan , loved Veendam, but was worried about Maasdams age and leaving and getting back to Norfolk in Jan... any advice,... thanksWe do get winter weather here, but not like New England or other northern climates. Being close to the coast keeps it a bit more moderate. However, to get to Norfolk you usually have to go through some hub. So you will be at the mercy of the weather in other cities. If you come in a day ahead of time you should have no problem.

I moved here from New England 10 years ago during the summer. In March I walked up to a coworker and asked him, totally serious, when does winter start?

[Bill S]

sail7seas: when is your next Maasdam experience? We will be on her for the Aug 7 sailing! We were last on her in 2000 and thought she was fine-I especially like the Crows Nest lighting at night--hope that hasn't changed.

[LizB1]

sail, as to Maasdam's condition, we had friends who recently returned and were disappointed in a few things that they felt needed attention. One was all the rust on their verandahs (one couple was in a Suite and the other in a Mini-Suite). Felt the ship is not being painted and maintained like it used to be. Also, the couple in the Suite complained about their cracked bathtub...plus a few other small things. The couple in the Mini-Suite complained they had replaced the refrigerator but had stuck it under the dresser where the chair should go and then just strung the cord over the mirror.
Hope you find it in better condition as we will be sailing the long one from Boston next year and it has been a few years now since we did a few cruises
on this ship.

[wcolucci]

I just got off her on the 19th and I did notice the rust on the rails below from our s balcony...but...I have to give credit, as soon as we hit a port, the crew was out there scraping, painting etc...the sea is a harsh environment, just compare the Maasdam to any freighter in port when you pull in.....they too are maintained but nowhere near the level a cruise ship it is a never ending process.. yeah, my tub had a crack, the venting in port was not what it could have been I was particularly amazed by the sad state of the plants and flowers in the public areas and the pepper grinder at our table that never got replaced, even tho we asked three times....but what a beautiful ship!!!! in spite of the above MINOR issues, I would give it a 9 out of 10,

The sevice was outstanding, the food delicious, (believe me I tried most of it), itinerary was great, (we had 70's and sun every day except MV, but MV is always better in the fog)....yup she is showing her age but I'd sail her again whenever next time is

[Charlie2na]

Thanks everyone, going to wait till my big payday in August then look at availability and pricing. Think southern carribbean is a good bet in Jan.Don't know if Maasdam still has trouble getting back on time, probably in winter. Will wait ,watch and listen

[Orcrone]

Thanks everyone, going to wait till my big payday in August then look at availability and pricing. Think southern carribbean is a good bet in Jan.Don't know if Maasdam still has trouble getting back on time, probably in winter. Will wait ,watch and listenCharlie,

The problems with the late arrivals seemed to have been solved when they changed around the itineraries. They changed the last port visited to San Juan, which is the northernmost island. They also leave that last port earlier (1:00 PM) than they used to.

[sail7seas]

Liz......I hope they are addressing those areas that obviously need attention. I love that ship so much, it would make me very sad to find her deteriorating. She's too "young" for that. We read the itinerary for your cruise next year and it sounds fabulous. When DH decides to retire someday, we will look forward to having the time to do cruises like that.





Bill.......We are booked for July 17 and are only doing one week. That will be a very brief time aboard for us as we never do such a short cruise. The only reason we decided to is that for us it is a hassle free "quickie" as we leave just a bit north of Boston.

[marie55]

S7S....Thanks for bringing back memories of my first cruise 3 years ago on the Maasdam!! Am actually hoping to take my mother on her first cruise later this summer on the Maasdam out of Boston...she's 80 years old and she deserves to be treated like a queen for a week!!!