Maasdam Cruise Reviews

With a bit of free time after doing some gardening this morning, I decided to have a look at some CC reviews on Maasdam, which is the next ship we will be sailing on. I really am not crazy about them. I don't recognize the names of any of the reviewers, I don't know how long they have been members of CC, or how many posts they have (!), they're not my friends!:D

That said, I can't believe they were all on the same ship, their opinions are so varied. There were two that were very similar - posted the same date, about the same cruise - they even had the same room!

I think most of those reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt - I prefer the "home-grown" reports (with photos) that we have on this forum. Thanks all!

With a bit of free time after doing some gardening this morning, I decided to have a look at some CC reviews on Maasdam, which is the next ship we will be sailing on. I really am not crazy about them. I don't recognize the names of any of the reviewers, I don't know how long they have been members of CC, or how many posts they have (!), they're not my friends!:D

 

That said, I can't believe they were all on the same ship, their opinions are so varied. There were two that were very similar - posted the same date, about the same cruise - they even had the same room!

 

I think most of those reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt - I prefer the "home-grown" reports (with photos) that we have on this forum. Thanks all!

If it is of any help, we were on in March (I did a live thread too).

Forget the posts about yellow, faded towels and sheets. Everything we had was fine. Possibly some things were held up from somewhere, not sure, but all was good when we were on board.

The two negatives we experienced were the Pinnacle Grill (which now seems to be fixed as soon as a cruise or two after) and a slight sewage smell in one spot close to the Casino when you passed by.

Other than that, the ship was great. The crew wonderful and the MDR was really, really good (maybe why the Pinnacle was not that great?).

That was our experience - I know everyone has different ones.

We still like this ship. Have a great cruise:D

With a bit of free time after doing some gardening this morning, I decided to have a look at some CC reviews on Maasdam, which is the next ship we will be sailing on. I really am not crazy about them. I don't recognize the names of any of the reviewers, I don't know how long they have been members of CC, or how many posts they have (!), they're not my friends!:D

 

 

 

That said, I can't believe they were all on the same ship, their opinions are so varied. There were two that were very similar - posted the same date, about the same cruise - they even had the same room!

 

 

 

I think most of those reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt - I prefer the "home-grown" reports (with photos) that we have on this forum. Thanks all!

I sailed on the Maasdam for two weeks June into July. It was wonderful! The itinerary was great. The crew was very attentive and friendly. The ship itself was in good shape. I would like to sail on her again.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Thanks Jacqui and Jake!

I was wondering if others felt the way I do about the "formal" reviews. Do you study them when you're choosing a ship/cruise?

Thanks Jacqui and Jake!

 

I was wondering if others felt the way I do about the "formal" reviews. Do you study them when you're choosing a ship/cruise?

a tad but with a BIG grain of salt. There are a lot of errors in them. I remember one on the P'dam with the reviewer saying they were in a PS/Suite, their cabin number was shown and it was on OV.

If I had taken them seriously I would have never gone on the Prinsendam.

I think if you knock out the glowing and the awful and find the in between ones you get a decent idea. But, I put more faith in what is reported here because I feel like I 'know' some posters and accordingly can put some faith in the words reported ;)

the thing is - things can change in a week or two. Every review is only one person's experience in a small moment in time. How many times have we seen conflicting reviews by people on the same cruise on the boards?

Have a great time Vict0riann

Thanks Jacqui and Jake!

 

I was wondering if others felt the way I do about the "formal" reviews. Do you study them when you're choosing a ship/cruise?

Not a lot. Our first sailing on HAL was the Veendam and after we booked it I found CC. Well the reviews on the Veendam were not good, I almost cancelled but we went ahead and had a great cruise. I find that you just need to go with the flow when cruising. I pretty much refuse to let anything upset me, at least for long.

Take anything you read here with a grain of salt.

Reviews are entirely subjective, what one person likes, another may not.

Thanks Jacqui and Jake!

 

I was wondering if others felt the way I do about the "formal" reviews. Do you study them when you're choosing a ship/cruise?

I agree with Jacqui and Kirk. A lot of the reviews depend on the writers expectations going into the cruise. I've found that if you want to find problems somehow you will. If you want to have a great time that will happen as well. No doubt some things can go wrong, they can in everyday life off ship, I just choose to not let them ruin a cruise. I feel very lucky to have the chance to sail on HAL, there was a long time when I couldn't.

I also choose to stick with HAL because I know what to expect and that relieves a lot of stress when traveling. I have met some wonderful people on those dam ships, passengers and crew, and I hope to run into them again.

I don't discount reviews just because the reviewers aren't people who post frequently on this forum. But I look for consistency - do several posters from the same time frame say the same thing?

Take anything you read here with a grain of salt.

 

Reviews are entirely subjective, what one person likes, another may not.

Totally agree with Typhoon, if I believe everything I read about some of these ships, I would never go on them. Go and make up your own mind about ships and what you like and what you don't like.:D

With a bit of free time after doing some gardening this morning, I decided to have a look at some CC reviews on Maasdam, which is the next ship we will be sailing on. I really am not crazy about them. I don't recognize the names of any of the reviewers, I don't know how long they have been members of CC, or how many posts they have (!), they're not my friends!:D

 

That said, I can't believe they were all on the same ship, their opinions are so varied. There were two that were very similar - posted the same date, about the same cruise - they even had the same room!

 

I think most of those reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt - I prefer the "home-grown" reports (with photos) that we have on this forum. Thanks all!

Let me put it this way Vict0riann: When I got off the Maasdam after 15 days in May, I immediately cancelled my fall cruise on the Eurodam and booked the 42 day TrnsAtl on the Maasdam. That says it all.

We really disliked Maasdam. The ship (to us) looked really outdated and rundown. The towels in our bathroom were old and stained. We would never sail on this or any of the S-Class ships again. It was the first time in 30+ cruises that I had to write a complaint letter to a company.....and HAL gave us a very handsome credit. Having said that, I completely respect the opinions of those who like this ship - which just goes to show the differences in reviews of people who were on the same cruise. We did love the service, food and staff and have booked a cruise on Westerdam for next summer to give HAL one more try =)

Michael

Just got back from the Montreal to Boston trip. Loved the ship...clean, friendly staff and good food. The ports were really nice and I wish we had more time in them. I wasn't totally thrilled with the entertainment in the Showroom at Sea, but that was personal taste. Both my husband and I enjoyed Jamm the piano man at Mix 8. We had a guaranteed cabin so it was really the luck of the draw with the room that we got. It was an outside cabin with no obstruction. I loved the fact that there was a bathtub in the room! The only problem we had was that on our arrival into Quebec and also into Boston, because of the location of our room (towards the back) we were woken up by the engines or lines as we were preparing to dock. It didn't seem as if we had that noise in the other ports. We had anytime dining and never waited. We also ate in the Caneletto. Food was good and I would highly recommend the veal osso bucco. It was very tender. I would definitely sail on the Maasdam again.

I too just got back from the Montreal-Boston Run. Great time... 6th time cruiser. Best thing is the ship never felt crowded -- MDR, casino, showroom, on-off ramps.

I just submitted a short review...

I forgot in my review to mention how tasty the beef was -- everywhere from pinnacle rib-eye to lido midnight snack. Was it because it was fresh Canadian beef, or was it the kitchen? Whatever the reason it was wonderful.

Hi Ann,

We too, just got off the Maasdam, less then 2 weeks ago. We enjoyed every minute. In comparing to the Volendam in February, it was very similar experience. We enjoyed the food, found the staff excellent and entertainment better on the Maasdam. It could have been we were too tired ifrom long day tours in Southeast Asia to enjoy the shows. Have a great cruise! Gail

Thanks all, for the good words about Maasdam. I'll take your opinions over some of the reviews I've read!:)