Maasdam Recent Reviews

We are booked on a short Boston to Montreal cruise on the Maasdam in early June. We want to get what might be a final chance for us to cruise on an S class ship. While I have never had a bad cruise in almost 60 cruises, the recent reviews of this ship are really spooky. Would love to hear any recent experiences you would care to share.

Will be on her for The Inca Empires out of our home town in San Diego 2/25/2018!!! I have read great reviews!

We have cruised on Her smaller ships from Ryndam, Veendam, Nordam, and look forward to sailing her!!

Still our favorite HALS Nieuw Amsterdam and The Eurodam.

Hope you get some reviews! Look forward to them!

Denise:)

Recent reviews where? And spooky, how?

She was on the ropes as the worst ship afloat according to the "reviews" back in 2009, and she smelled bad too., Yet she was the ship that hooked us on cruising and then we took another long voyage on her later and have another planned this year, so reviews can be more "personal" than accurate.

She certainly is now an older ship compared to what else is out there. Can't hide that. So maybe a reasonably aging ship is "spooky" to some, because she has more than few layers of paint covering the ravages of years on the high seas?

If you have concerns up front, it is probably best to make another choice rather than worry about your vacation. Plus a lot of those who love her will be wanting to take your place anyway, if she indeed heading soon for her final cruise. :loudcry:

I don't know if September of 2016 is recent enough for you. My sister and I very much enjoyed the Maasdam, as did other members of our roll call. Food, service, entertainment, cleanliness, maintenance, all was fine. I know there are people who will disagree with me, and that's their perogative.

Here's my philosophy about cruise reviews: I learn more about the reviewer than I do about the cruise ship being reviewed. We all take our attitudes, biases, life experiences, expectations, and prejudices with us whether we realize it or not, and it invariably comes out in our personal observations.

Bon Voyage, and enjoy the Maasdam. She and her remaining HAL sister, Veendam, will pass into maritime history when they go, and we will not see their type again. Some people would say "good riddance", but I will be grateful I had the opportunity to sail Maasdam and Ryndam, when she was with the fleet.:D

"Spooky" is a word I substituted for awfully bad. I did not mean to infer that the recent reviews suggested that there were any super-natural occurrences on the ship. Perhaps if you check the recent reviews you might better understand what I meant. I am sorry to have confused you.

"Spooky" is a word I substituted for awfully bad. I did not mean to infer that the recent reviews suggested that there were any super-natural occurrences on the ship. Perhaps if you check the recent reviews you might better understand what I meant. I am sorry to have confused you.

We read the recent reviews on CC (is this where you were reading them?) -- and most of us 5 star HAL Mariners would never sail a HAL ship if we actually found the remotest credence to most/all of the negative reviews. Always a mystery how people can have the same experience, yet report it so differently.

However, that is no reassurance something will not strike you the wrong way. So if you think you would be signing up fro a "awfully bad" cruise, (according to what people are reporting) and this "spooks" you now, I think you should keep looking. No I did not take your term "spooky" to mean haunted. But it does need a little more precision about what concerns were raised for you.

Was it the food, cabin, service, maintenance, plumbing, lay-out, fellow passengers, decor, personnel, attitude, delays, rough sailing, noises, vibrations, and yes smells ...... at any given time there can be a problem with any one of those. Cruising brings its own unique challenges - some roll with them and others get "spooked".

We were on the Maasdam for 66 days in Oct/Nov 2016. Had a great cruise - there was a broken pipe in a cabin up the hall that caused some issues but that Hotel Manager (Mike Mahn) handled the issues personally and all was good. We would sail here again in a minute if it was going were we are going.

OleSalt thank you for your advice. I am sure I shall profit from it! PS don't be so up tight.

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OleSalt thank you for your advice. I am sure I shall profit from it! PS don't be so up tight.

 

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I lead with my strengths. So apparently do you. Happy cruising.

We love the Maasdam. It has everything we want in a cruise. Seattle to Sydney last year and Sydney to Sydney via Tahiti booked for this year. We love the quiet ambience, and that we can sit on the Promenade deck and read or sea watch for hours. Our cabin was spotless, the staff were lovely and we never felt pressured to buy anything. We only went to the MDR once as the Lido catered well to our tastes. The ship was spotless, everywhere you went the crew were cleaning and polishing. The thought of anything bigger than the Maasdam " spooks" me! We will be very sad when she is retired.

We were on the Maasdam in 2010 back when the bad reviews were coming in. It was our first Holland cruise and we were not impressed. One thing was the previous cruise had left it a sick ship. Back then the sick ship protocol was overbearing and impacted our trip negatively. A lot can change over the years. We avoided Holland for years and tried them again last spring. We enjoyed it so much we are sailing with them this summer.

I am going!! Thank to everyone, you too Olesalt.

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We were on the Maasdam September 2016 with Old as Dirt Mom and agree with all she said. We have 48 days booked on her Spring 2017 and counting the days.

We were on the Maasdam September 2016 with Old as Dirt Mom and agree with all she said. We have 48 days booked on her Spring 2017 and counting the days.

Mike Mahn is one of the champs of Hotel Directors and Maasdam is an incrredib le ship . My late DH and I sailed her around 100 or so cruisess, ( We sailed the Boston to Motreal itineary a great many times, b-to-. loved staying on when we got to Montreal and sailed back to Boston. :)Clearly we loved her though I have not sailed her for about 3 years It is my sincere hope to sail Maasddam again soon.(especially since learning Mike Mahn is the Hotel Director on her now.) since losing my DH, I have not sailed much but do have an upcoming HAL ccruise booked. :)

Sorry you were distrubed by some reviews you seem to have run across. Gain of salt is my rule for most formal reviews when I DO NOT PERSONALLY KNOW THe authors. What they may not care for, might be my 'cup of tea' What they think is out of this world, I might think doesn't need to be in my world..

Was on Maasdam last year for two weeks and she was great! She lacks some of the amenities and sparkle of newer ships (HAL and otherwise), but we found everything to be in good order with some minor wear and tear that didn't affect our enjoyment of our cruise one bit. We're booked on her again next year for three weeks. She'll also be in Boston when we depart for Bermuda on her sister ship Veendam next month. Frankly I'd rather be on Maasdam mainly because of many complaints about Veendam that I've seen on this board, but I've also seen here that as others have alluded to with Maasdam, things on the ship seem to have made a turnaround since the major negative chatter. Anyway, glad you decided to give Maasdam a try, Dag, and I hope you enjoy your cruise!

These are great reviews - on the same cruise in July this year and quite sure there will be the wonderful HAL experience I have always had. Gotta be flexible when you travel and many posters expect perfection or close to it.

I don't know if September of 2016 is recent enough for you. My sister and I very much enjoyed the Maasdam, as did other members of our roll call. Food, service, entertainment, cleanliness, maintenance, all was fine. I know there are people who will disagree with me, and that's their perogative.

I was also on Maasdam in September 2016 (unfortunately, not on the same cruise as Old As Dirt Mom) and I agree with all of her comments concerning the condition and general ambiance of the ship.

I was also on Maasdam in September 2016 (unfortunately, not on the same cruise as Old As Dirt Mom) and I agree with all of her comments concerning the condition and general ambiance of the ship.

While it t is true, crew comes and goes from ship to ship and for vcations etc., , I have always found the crew on Maasdam has been pariticularly, happy, eager to make pax satisified and there seems to be speciaL feelilng of welcome on Maasdam and when I am in Maasdam, I have a feeling of comfort, care and happiness. She and Noordam will always be my two most speical ships of all I have sailed.

Not to be the party pooper here with all this Maasdam love going around but we were on her March 2016 for an 11 day cruise and she had some air and plumbing issues. We were told that she has been sold and that may have accelerated repairs. Not sure if the problems are/were fixed, but assume they may have since many have said she's fine now. She is an old HAL ship and while regular maintenance can head off many problems, they can occur. It would have to be a very special cruise for us to go back on her.

Dan

Here is a CC member review from March 2016 - She did hit a bit of trouble on that cruise:

"As we left port we sailed into some heavy thunderstorms and heavy rain that lasted several hours. As we took a stroll after dinner we realized that parts of the ship had actually flooded. We were thankful that our cabin had not been affected. On this itinerary we had two sea days before reaching our first port.

On the night of our second sea day we were awakened about 2:00 am by the fire alarm sounding. Quite scary In the middle of the night from a sound sleep. There was a report of smoke in the engine room and the engine had been shut down while they investigated. The all clear was finally given about 2 hours later.

We made it to our first port of St. Maarten successfully. That night we received a note that the AC would be down for repairs the next day from 9 til 6. We left for our shore excursion thinking that it would be fixed shortly after we returned. Unfortunately repairs were not made until almost 11:30 which made for a very hot night.

Once we made it through this rough patch things seemed to even out. We made all of our scheduled ports as planned. We did enjoy this itinerary and each of the islands. "

We were on the Maasdam (our first HAL cruise) in August 2016 for a 14 day Alaska cruise. Loved every moment of it. It was the type of experience we were looking for in the sense of being on a ship verses a floating resort. I highly recommend it. While you're doing research, you might like to see pictures my wife took during our cruise for her website at this link 14 Day Maasdam Cruise

We sailed the Maasdam in June 2014 on the Montreal - Boston itinerary. She was the smallest cruise ship we have ever sailed. As a result, it was easier to meat fellow passengers and exchange with them; which we really enjoyed. We enjoyed the food, may be with the exception of a lunch at the Canaletto restaurant, which was not bad; but not better than the MDR; therefore the extra cost seems unnecessary. We enjoyed our cabin, service on board, and most activities including the shows, with the exception of the "pushy" art auctions. We absolutely loved the itinerary and ports of calls, to the point of considering doing it again. Some wear and tear related to the ship's age were visible, here and there, but nothing to the point of raising any concern. The wine master was the best at sea and made our cruise quite enjoyable. The ship layout was not as impressive as the Rotterdam, but nice enough to enjoy every aspects of the cruise. In my opinion, two elements will make or break your enjoyment of this cruise: weather and staff. The first one is hard to predict, while the odds are on your side for the second one. Enjoy your cruise!

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We are booked on a short Boston to Montreal cruise on the Maasdam in early June. We want to get what might be a final chance for us to cruise on an S class ship. While I have never had a bad cruise in almost 60 cruises, the recent reviews of this ship are really spooky. Would love to hear any recent experiences you would care to share.

We booked the Boston to Montreal for July 2018. I e-mailed an internet friend who does a lot of cruising. He and his wife recently did a 25 day Transatlantic on the Maasdam. His comment was that HAL was rapidly becoming his favorite cruise line. I would take that as a very positive review.

We were on the Maasdam for the 17 Christmas Cruise Sydney to Auckland sailing. There were lots of kids on board the ship with a good mix of nationalities. There was very limited boredom by anyone on board (unless they chose to be bored or disengaged). The crew was amazing! The ship is older but well maintained. The entertainment on board was terrific. Our rooms were spotless. We were lucky with the weather compared to other ships sailing similar itineraries. The best part of this small ship? It gave us the opportunity to go to ports that many others were unable to go to as well as the crew were able to get to know us. We would sail her again in a heartbeat with teens anytime over the holidays.

We did 80 days on the Massdam September 2016.

She was fine.