Maasdam 7/17 cruise

My husband and I just got home from the New England/Canada cruse on the Maasdam. This was our first time on a Holland America ship and I was very impressed by the food, service and staff. The Maasdam, in my opinion, is the perfect size ship. It is small enought to feel intimate but large enough that you are never bored. The rooms, we were in a category B, were a good size. We had a whirlpool tub in the bathroom.

The food was excellent and the service from our waiter, Tony, and his assistant, Dion, was wonderful. Tony not only did a wonderful job but was funny and charming. Dion was adorable, very sweet and shy. I have never seen a maitre d' work as hard as, Andre.

The ship is well maintained and decorated very nicely. The flowers around the ship were beautiful.

We ate in the Pinnacle one night and it was certainly worth the extra cost. The food and wine list are just that much better than what you got in the Rotterdam. Ioanna was our waitress and she was very good.

The weather was fine when we sailed out of Boston last Saturday. During the night, we sailed into fog and we never sailed out. It was foggy for the entire cruise. The crew members we spoke to said they had never seen it that bad. The Captain mentioned every night about us sailing "in our own little world". It was interesting hearing the fog horn every minute and 50 seconds. You do get used to it and after a while, bearly hear it. The fog would lift in the afternoons when we were in port. I feel bad for the people who had tours to the top of Cadillac Mountain yesterday morning. All they would see was fog.

They had some good shows last week. I usually dislike jugglers but Jeff Civillico was so talented and funny that tears of laughter were rolling down my face. Regarding the Maasdam Cast, the less said, the better. On Monday, Doug Mattocks played the banjo. I didn't see him that night but I did see him Friday night. He is an amazing talent. Gossamer Magic was on Thursday and that was a lot of fun.

Now for the ports:

If I take this cruise again, I would not get off the ship at Oak Bluffs. Too crowded, too many cars.

Portland is a very nice city. We took the trolly tour which is right down the street from the ship. You can find discout tickets on the internet. It was an interesting tour around the city and then out to the Portland Light. You can get off and get on the next one or just stay on to see the town.

Saint John was my favorite stop. The ladies were given roses and the men, pins on disembarking. There was a men's glee club singing. It is a very quaint city with many beautiful old buildings. What impressed me most were the wonderful people we met. I have never been in any place where the people were as nice as in Saint John. Everyone we met said hello. If someone realized that we were tourists, they would suggest a nice place to go or something that we shouldn't miss. There was a very nice young man who was changing lightbulbs in the park who suggested places to eat and things to see. The hills were a little tough to walk. The above ground tunnels were an interesting way to get around and they have better malls than we do here in the US. I loved the piper who piped the ship out of the harbor. It was really a nice touch. I would love to go back to Saint John.

Halifax was another nice city. You should really see the public gardens. The flowers were just glorious. If you stop at the information booth when you get off the ship, they can mark a walking route for you that will take you to the gardens, the Citadel and down through some of the quaint areas. They also told us about "FRED", the free bus that takes you around the city that you can get off and on. (Something you would never learn on the ship). The boardwalk along the shore was very nice. We ate at Murphy's on the boardwalk and that was very good. Some tall ships were in for the Op Sail that will be taking place next week. The Maritime Museum is well worth a visit. I have to go back to Halifax because there are many more things I would like to see.

I have been to Bar Harbor before. I don't know why I like Bar Harbor so much since it is primarily (other than Acadia NP) a tourist trap. The free buses that run through Acadia are very nice. There are 7 different bus routes that start at the Village Green. They are sponsored by LL Bean to try to cut down on the amount of traffic. These buses are also hop on, hop off and run every half hour.

The fog rolled in again around 5 o'clock so the trip back to Boston from Bar Harbor was in the fog. We didn't get to use our verrandah very much on this cruise, it was just too wet and chilly. I would certainly make this trip again on the Maasdam. The crew members were very nice. I especially liked the waiters in the Ocean Bar. The three of them were a lot of fun and the music was very good.

Marge

Thanks for the review - it helped me decide on a future "must-do" cruise for us. So glad you had a good time and were happy with the Maasdam.

Marge - Thank you so much for your lovely review. I found myself reliving my trip :). Bar Harbor was one of my favorite ports too. They all have their highlights. I love this itinerary, and the cruise was wonderful too.

WindyCity - Happy Birthday! Yes, this itinerary is a MUST DO!

Marie

Marge: thanks so much for the informative report on the Maasdam. Sorry about the fog-at least you saved on the sunscreen! We are booked for the same cruise on Aug 7, so really appreciate the report on the ports.

Thanks so much for the real review, Meridianfan. We were on the same cruise in June and it is always interesting hearing the details from someone else who had a similar experience. I know everyone appreciates the time and effort it takes to write a thorough review. Sorry about your weather though.

Welcome home, and thank you for posting your review! We leave on Maasdsam in four weeks -- also our first time on HAL. Our itinerary is a bit different, but we still stop at several of the ports you did. Glad for the additional info on Halifax and Bar Harbor. Even though we've been there before, there's always more to learn. Thanks again.

Great review, and thank you for all the details.

One question: Do you remember what the high temperature during the day? I know to layer, but I am not sure how heavy a jacket I might need.

Thanks,

Dee

Marge,

Glad you had a great time and that you were impressed with the Maasdam. We're taking out first HAL cruise on her in October, although with the eastern Caribbean itinerary.

When we were at the Citadel in Halifax the sun came out long enough for both my husband and I to get burned. The temperatures were cool and damp in the morning due to the fog, probably low 60's. Since it usually looked like rain, my husband wore a sweatshirt under a rain jacket; I just wore a rain jacket. By 11 or noon we were carrying our outerwear. It was probably in the mid to upper 70's in the afternoon.

Marge

Sounds like you had the same impression as us last month only we didn't have the fog to contend with. It also looks like you got a totally different entertainment crew than we had. Hard to say who had the best although I'm fond of banjo pickers. Goes to show you that when you read about how the entertaiment was good or bad here when your week comes up it could be entirely different as they do switch out more often than you think. Good food and good service would be hard to beat on any cruise. This is one cruise that it takes several trips to see it all so worth going back. Fall is pretty up there but I liked the spring just as fine.

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. I enjoyed reading it.:)

:) Thanks

Thank you for taking the time to write your review. So glad you enjoyed the Maasdam and the cruise. Tony was our waiter when we were on the Maasdam in May. Abdu was our maitr'd - he said that he was leaving for vacation soon.

When we did a similar cruise in May, we had to blow our fog horn for a couple of nights. The only bad day we had was in Bar Harbor - both rain and fog. Cadillac Mountain was a myth - you couldn't see it.

:)

We also had Tony as our dining steward and I will just assume we are talking about the same Tony. :) There is no doubt Tony is considered to be at the top of the stewards and will be headed for bigger and better things. Abdu was the maitre d' in June and he was a jewel. For some reason he had my DH call him George!

Thanks, Marge, for taking the time to give us your extensive review. Glad you enjoyed the Maasdam but sorry about all the fog you had. I tried to get the ship on KrooozCams when you were in Halifax but the fog was so thick that morning you couldn't see anything. I guess it lifted in the afternoon only to return later.

Thanks for posting this, Marge. It was fun reading your impressions of the cruise to see if we both experienced it similarly. We Did :) It was a wonderful cruise, wasn't it?

It was a wonderful cruise. We had an early dinner so we were never in the dining room or show room at the same time as you.

Marge

Sailed this cruise on 6/19/04. Cruise was nice and weather was foggy. In Bar Harbor we cancelled our kayaking tour because of thr cold and fog. As of this date HAL refuses to refund the tour.

Hi Marie

Fred