Maasdam - Vista vs Neptune Suite - Newbie

Going in June from Montreal to Boston. Big difference in price between Vista and Neptune Suites. Is it worth it? I think only the Neptune Suites have king beds. I have only been on one cruise before years ago and it was Carnival. Also which end of the ship is better situated for the room? We are a couple in our mid 50s. We like luxury and want a nice size room. Are the perks of the Neptune worth it? More than double the price of Vista.

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

Only you can decide if something is worth it. There are considerably more perks (each of which will have a separate "worth it " factor that only you can determine) at the Neptune Suite level. The descriptions of what comes with each cabin type are here:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Resp.action?requestPage=ships_suites_staterooms&showHeader=true&showFooter=true

Location of "best" cabin is also personal preference. Many like the aft suites (on the ships that have them)- we just sailed in one for 21 days. If sea sickness is a problem, midship location is probably the "best".

Only the Neptune and Pinnacle Suites have king size beds. We have only sailed in Neptune and Pinnacle Suites (10 HAL cruise, with one booked for October), so obviously we think they are worth it. But that doesn't mean they will be worth it to you.

If you're concerned about motion, definitely go for midships. CruiserBruise is right, the value of the Neptune suite is very subjective.

One of the nice perks of the NS is the free laundry. But for just one week, you won't get much use from it.

Breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill is pleasant, but it is the same food as MDR, just a smaller, nicer setting. Or will you want room service breakfast? If you think you might want to have some meals on your balcony, the NS will have a table and chairs you can eat at. VS will not, although the coffee table in the room can be raised to a height comfortable for eating.

On the larger ships, we get a NS to get the huge corner aft balcony. The smaller ships, like Maasdam don't have the corner suites, so the times we've been on that class of ship, we've gone in Vista suites. I didn't think the NS was worth the double price, especially when the cruises we've done on those ships have been port-intensive.

We're used to a king bed at home and did not find the bed in the VS too small.

One thing to consider about location if you decide you will go for a NS is that there are public spaces above. Try to avoid being under the Lido Pool area, because there could be noise from chairs being moved on the wood deck. The buffet is carpeted and should give you less overhead noise.

Here are a couple of photos of our Maasdam Neptune suite from last September. It was mid-ships, port side, right near the Neptune lounge. I was traveling with my sister, and we requested the bed (which is a king size) be separated to form two twins.

https://twocruisingsisters.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/wp-image-1195173187jpg.jpeg

https://twocruisingsisters.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/wp-image-446175448jpg.jpeg

Looks like you picked a 7 day, port intensive trip. Keep in mind, your time to enjoy a Neptune Suite will be far more limited since there are no stretches of at-sea days.

We enjoy Neptune Suites very much, but for a short cruise like that I would rather put the money into shore excursions to get the most out of your time off the ship, instead of the shorter time you will be actually spending in the cabin itself. You have a great cruise ahead of you, we did this portion last year on a ship like the Maadam in a regular verandah cabin. The Maasdam cabins are a bit bigger than other HAL ship regular verandah cabins.

The Maasdam is a small, very nice ship so I suspect you will enjoy yourself pretty much without the extra Neptune cabin size and Neptune Lounge perks - which are very nice but i fear you will not have much time to enjoy them. Not enough time or need to have the Neptune staff pamper you, really. Spend the extra money on lobster .......and poutine.

Let us know what you finally decide.

We only do Neptune and Pinnacle Suites -- but we do longer cruises.

For a 7 day cruise you will not enjoy all the perks offered by staying in a Neptune Suite.

Save your money and do a Vista Suite -- spend the money on tours.

Agree -- if you are prone to sea sickness - midship cabins are best for you.

Looks like you picked a 7 day, port intensive trip. Keep in mind, your time to enjoy a Neptune Suite will be far more limited since there are no stretches of at-sea days.

 

We enjoy Neptune Suites very much, but for a short cruise like that I would rather put the money into shore excursions to get the most out of your time off the ship, instead of the shorter time you will be actually spending in the cabin itself. You have a great cruise ahead of you, we did this portion last year on a ship like the Maadam in a regular verandah cabin. The Maasdam cabins are a bit bigger than other HAL ship regular verandah cabins.

 

The Maasdam is a small, very nice ship so I suspect you will enjoy yourself pretty much without the extra Neptune cabin size and Neptune Lounge perks - which are very nice but i fear you will not have much time to enjoy them. Not enough time or need to have the Neptune staff pamper you, really. Spend the extra money on lobster .......and poutine.

 

Let us know what you finally decide.

Maasdam doesn't have regular verandah cabins. The balconies are either Neptune or Vista suites. The vista suites are larger than the regular verandah cabins on other ships, but not much. There aren't a lot of balcony cabins on the S class ships, so HAL charges a premium for them. The Vista suites are probably called suites so that HAL can justify the price and give double Mariner days to soften the blow.

Maasdam doesn't have regular verandah cabins. The balconies are either Neptune or Vista suites. The vista suites are larger than the regular verandah cabins on other ships, but not much. There aren't a lot of balcony cabins on the S class ships, so HAL charges a premium for them. The Vista suites are probably called suites so that HAL can justify the price and give double Mariner days to soften the blow.

Call them what you will - they are still the old verandah cabins to me. Sorry for not keeping up with the latest names HAL has chosen for them

But you are right, a new cruiser would not know there are only the two private deck cabin choices for cabins on these smaller HAL ships: Neptune or verandah "Vista Suite".

Calling the old verandahs "vista suites" does get you extra Mariner's points which may be the only serious change to the standard old verandah cabins however. They are larger on the Maasdam and Veendam than on the real Vista ships and even the Rotterdam/Amsterdam/Volendam/Zaandam ships.

Oh dear, what is a new cruiser supposed to do other than take heart, I can't figure them all out by their proper names either. But in this case on the Maasdam there are at least only two (not counting of course the Pinnacle grand suite with verandah - or whatever that one is called on these smaller ships.)

Call them what you will - they are still the old verandah cabins to me. Sorry for not keeping up with the latest names HAL has chosen for them

 

But you are right, a new cruiser would not know there are only the two private deck cabin choices for cabins on these smaller HAL ships: Neptune or verandah "Vista Suite".

 

Calling the old verandahs "vista suites" does get you extra Mariner's points which may be the only serious change to the standard old verandah cabins however. They are larger on the Maasdam and Veendam than on the real Vista ships and even the Rotterdam/Amsterdam/Volendam/Zaandam ships.

 

Oh dear, what is a new cruiser supposed to do other than take heart, I can't figure them all out by their proper names either. But in this case on the Maasdam there are at least only two (not counting of course the Pinnacle grand suite with verandah - or whatever that one is called on these smaller ships.)

HAL's names have always been confusing. Remember when there were Superior suites and Deluxe suites? I could never remember which was the larger/better category. Neptune Suites to go with the Neptune Lounge makes a lot of sense. But why did they have to re-use names of ship classes--Signature and Vista--for other suite names? And it doesn't help that the Vista ships don't have Vista suites! :eek:

I need more coffee... :hot-beverage:

We did a Vista Suite (VS) on Rotterdam, another small ship. Three words, "Long and Narrow."

We got double loyalty credit. We had one lap blanket as well as cushions on the balcony chairs.

Our cabin steward was superb. We got a smaller queen bed, but were able to make due for our cruise. We found the VS equivalent to balcony rooms on other ships. It was long and narrow. Like the Maasdam, I think the only way to a private balcony was to book a VS or higher. It had a couch and one chair that doubled as a desk chair. Our Television was across from our couch, so that's a plus.

For the difference in price between the VS and Neptune, you can pay for your laundry service plus have a lot left over for shore excursions and drinks. We added the suite amenities package to our room, and got the free laundry service as well as flowers, alcohol, etc.

I organized a cabin crawl and got to see the neptune suites. They're really nice, but twice the cost!

Reading this I chuckled thinking of the time we had printed stationary that after our names is said "Inside Verandah Suite. I spent the whole cruise looking for our Inside Verandah, never did find it.

Seriously, for newbies - it simply was referring to the deck we were on "Verandah". We were actually right next door to the Neptune Lounge but of course could not use it. (Our friends had a Neptune Suite cabin (our whatever it was called at the time) across from our room and we used their "outside" verandah to enjoy the scenery, cocktails, etc.

HAL's names have always been confusing. Remember when there were Superior suites and Deluxe suites? I could never remember which was the larger/better category. Neptune Suites to go with the Neptune Lounge makes a lot of sense. But why did they have to re-use names of ship classes--Signature and Vista--for other suite names? And it doesn't help that the Vista ships don't have Vista suites! :eek:

 

I need more coffee... :hot-beverage:

Your post just made me spit my coffee, laughing, all over my keyboard. Yup, exactly. I fall back on any dam ship is good enough for me. That is as much detail as I can handle.

Reading this I chuckled thinking of the time we had printed stationary that after our names is said "Inside Verandah Suite. I spent the whole cruise looking for our Inside Verandah, never did find it.

......

I think that meant you were supposed to turn the TV on and look at the ship's webcam ......... for your "inside verandah".