Maasdam or Veendam for Canada and New England

We (family of 3) are considering an August 2017 cruise in an inside cabin. We are leaning to the Veendam southbound because of the 2 hour longer port time in Bar Harbor, as we would like to ride bikes in Acadia DIY.

Are there any other advantages/disadvantages of (1) one ship vs. the other or (2) northbound vs. southbound that we should consider?

We (family of 3) are considering an August 2017 cruise in an inside cabin. We are leaning to the Veendam southbound because of the 2 hour longer port time in Bar Harbor, as we would like to ride bikes in Acadia DIY.

 

Are there any other advantages/disadvantages of (1) one ship vs. the other or (2) northbound vs. southbound that we should consider?

How important are pools to you and aft views?

The Veendam's aft sea view pool was destroyed and replaced with hot tub things that block the view, so, there is only one pool - the Lido.

The Maasdam still has the beautiful aft pool.

Are the itineraries identical other than the time in Bar Harbor?

If they are, you need to balance the two hours extra in port with that.

I would choose the Maasdam only because I do not care for the Veendam's aft area.

JMO

We did a B2B a few years ago. Going north-bound allowed for you to be up on deck when they passed under the Confederation Bridge. That was a cool experience. :)

Been on both and I would pick the best itinerary since that is the main star on this cruise. Both are fine choices, and may not differ in substance as ships as much as the final itinerary choice might. That is a wonderful route any way you take it. Enjoy.

Maasdam over Veendam every time, all else being equal.

Not only has the aft Lido of the Veendam been ruined (twice) when the Sea View pool was removed, but the cabins that were added made for more passengers in less public space. Public space matters a lot when you live in an inside cabin.

It also matters when trying to find a place to sit together in the Lido or the evening show.

Both ships have lanai cabins, which reserve public loungers on Lower Promenade for those in the cabin, but Maasdam has many fewer lanai cabins as compared to the Veendam, which means you will have a better chance of sitting on the promenade, should you wish to do so.

Given the choice, I too would pick Maasdam. Just off of Veendam two weeks ago, sailed Maasdam last year. I much preferred Maasdam's aft area. Only plus to Veendam's is the New York Pizza, which Maasdam didn't have and was quite good. The hot tubs were quite popular though. The other differences between the ships are pretty minor, but Veendam's lido did seem to be busier. Having said that, we booked a new Canadian itinerary on Veendam next August (I swear they put the more interesting itineraries on Veendam because the ship has a bad rep here). But we'll be on Maasdam again next April. :)

Just left the Maasdam in Montreal 2 weeks ago and loved the ship.

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We cruised southbound on the Veendam a couple years ago. It was our first HAL cruise and we enjoyed it so much that we have cruised HAL several times since then.

As others have said, the itinerary is more important than the ship since it's a port-intensive cruise. (We only had 1 Sea day on a 7day cruise). With so much time spent off the ship, things like aft pools have less importance.

I would definitely like 2 extra hours at Bar Harbor. Acadia NP was fabulous (plus, you'll need extra time as it's a tender port.)

I've done the Montreal to Boston itinerarty on both ships, and I wouldn't hesitate to sail either of them again.

Choose the best itinerary.

We're about to embark on this exact cruise in less than 3 weeks! Same family of 3. We're on the Maasdam heading North/West. Will let you know how it is.

Hi Just to follow up: The Maasdam was very good and I liked our route. We're in Canada so it was easy heading home etc.

I'm not sure if your Lil One needs a pack and play or not but it works in the rooms. It's fairly tight as you'd imagine but it works.

Bar Harbor is the 'trickiest' port if that's really even a thing because you needed to take a tender. It's a pretty small town. We didn't bike around nor see anyone really biking there. Most of the biking we saw was in Halifax. You can just rent them by the waterfront. I don't know if they had seat attachments as they were the cruiser type of bikes.

But the boat was really nice, there were lots of kids of all ages and we and our DD had a great time.