Maasdam perceptions from an infrequent cruiser

[dfish]

We are two sisters in our 50’s. Our first cruise was to Alaska aboard the Zuiderdam in 2007 and our second cruise was aboard the Maasdam for the Historic Coasts cruise on 8/29. We totally enjoyed our Zuiderdam cruise and didn’t think it possible to improve on that experience, but the Maasdam did just that.

Boarding was very easy. We arrived at Black Falcon around 11:45 am and we were onboard by 12:10 pm, on our way to the Lido for our first Maasdam meal. We expected a crowd and wait in line for our food, but we were able to make our salads quickly and even scored a table by the window.

Our room steward, Teguh, did an outstanding job for us. He was there to introduce himself the first day when we first made our way to the cabin. If we needed something, he magically appeared. Our cabin was always made up promptly and was very clean and fresh looking. Teguh made the towel animals each night and never forgot the pillow chocolates. One night we even received two each!! But, mostly, it was his always smiling face and willingness to answer any question that impressed us the most.

We made good use of the fitness center almost every day. If we didn’t go up there to use the treadmills and weight machines, we walked the deck. Some days we did both. We were bound and determined not to be one of those who gains the average 7-14 pounds on a cruise.

We remembered the food from our previous cruise was good and I was a bit worried after reading on CC that some thought the quality had gone down. Not so on the Maasdam. It was even better than I had remembered. On our previous cruise we had traditional fixed dining and really enjoyed that. On this cruise we had open seating and found that we enjoyed that as well. We liked the freedom to eat when we were hungry. Some nights we ate early and some nights we ate later. Some nights we went to the dining room and some nights we went to the Lido.

On the last cruise we had room service breakfast almost every morning. On this cruise we only ordered room service one morning. We opted for the Lido instead. We are early risers and the first thing we did was a coffee run up two decks. Taking along an insulated cup with a lid was one of our better decisions. We then had our coffee while we were getting ready to go to breakfast. We enjoyed the crew manning the breakfast stations and tried out the omelet station and the eggs to order frequently. I liked the variety of items for the omelets and one morning, when I chose jalapenos for my omelet I received a great thumbs up from the crew member making them. Apparently, he agreed with my choice. Firdhaus, who came around with the coffee pot, always had a big smile and friendly good morning for us and quickly learned that, yes, we did want more coffee. He never let our coffee cups sit empty. We considered room service later in the cruise and decided we would miss the Lido too much.

We were pleasantly surprised by dinner in the Lido. Having only experienced dinner in the dining room previously, we were hesitant at first, but after that experience opted to return. Again, we never waited long to make our selection and receive our food. We usually started with a nice big salad and ate that first before going to make our entrée selection. That way we never had too much to carry and the food did not get cold while we ate our salads. We generally do not choose starchy foods and it was much easier to forgo the potatoes, rice and pasta and fill our plates with non-starchy vegetables. It was also nice to see the entrees each night and the vegetable selection before making our decision.

Someone in the kitchen must have gotten a great deal on carrots as they seemed to be served at every meal. I love vegetables and eat a lot of them at every meal, but carrots are the one vegetable I just can’t stomach. In the dining room if I ordered extra vegetables from the always available list, they came with carrots. In the Lido, I could get just what I wanted and managed to avoid the carrots completely.

Right before leaving for our cruise we were concerned with the weather as it looked like Tropical Storm Danny might be accompanying us to Canada and New England. It was raining when we embarked in Boston, but the next morning dawned with sunny skies. We complimented Felipe, the Lido manager, on Holland America’s ability to provide great weather for us on our first port stop in Portland. Felipe replied that Holland will do anything in its power to make sure their guests have a great cruise. It became a running joke each day as the weather got better and better. Felipe said that he lives a good life and the gods shine favorably on him. We think it was more because I told my sister not to buy sunglasses as it was looking like she wouldn’t need them on this trip.

The port stops were Portland, Saint John, Halifax, Sydney and Bar Harbor. In most of the ports we did our own thing and mostly walked around and saw the city along with a little shopping. We did take the tour to Irving Nature Park in Saint John and enjoyed it. We could have hiked longer, but what we did hike was beautiful. In Sydney we took the excursion to Baddeck and the Alexander Graham Bell museum. The museum is great and I learned a lot about Bell that I didn’t know, however, Baddeck is only an afterthought and I was disappointed that we had very little time there. Basically, we had enough time to buy a cup of coffee, but not drink it before we had to reboard the bus. Perhaps the description should not include the visit to Baddeck and just emphasize the Bell museum.

Our favorite port was Bar Harbor. We got off the ship early and walked to village green to catch the Island Explorer, a free shuttle to Acadia National Park. We spent the morning hiking the shoreline trail between Sand Beach and Otter Cliffs, pretending to be mountain goats in a few places on the rocks. What a thrill! I have to say that when I got out there on the trail I was in heaven. I didn’t care if we made it to any other area of the park or if I even made it back to the ship. Acadia is definitely on the list to be revisited for a longer period of time. After the morning hike we caught the shuttle bus over to Jordan Pond where we ate lunch and then hiked around the pond. Then we caught the shuttle back to Bar Harbor in time to pick up some gifts for friends and board the ship.

We had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill the last night on board as a culmination to a great cruise. We both ordered the filets, creamed spinach and asparagus. The asparagus was good, but I would leave off the hollandaise sauce the next time. The creamed spinach wasn’t bad, but just not to my liking. The filet was outstanding and well worth the visit. We both broke our dessert rule and had the chocolate volcano cake. I had read a lot about it here on CC and had to try it. It was a perfect cheat!

We did not attend any of the shows while on board. We seemed to find plenty of other activities to keep us busy. We did manage to achieve our goal of not being cabin rats like we were on our first cruise, although one night we did go back to the cabin and watch TV. That was actually a treat as neither of us does that much at home.

We loved the size of the Maasdam. The ship was easy to get around and never seemed crowded to us. When we went to the Lido, no matter what the time, it was easy to find seating and rarely was there much of a wait for our food. Public areas were generally uncrowded and there was always plenty of seating in any public venue we visited. We thought the decorating was very classy and the Maasdam is truly a beautiful ship. The ship’s crew is extremely friendly. When we ran into the Executive Chef in a hallway it wasn’t just a nod and greeting, but a conversation about how our trip was going and were we enjoying ourselves. Everyone aboard seemed to be willing to deal with any problem, even if it wasn’t their department. They would advise on what to do in order to make their guests satisfied.

All in all, we had a great cruise, thoroughly enjoyed the Maasdam, the itinerary, the crew and all the people we met onboard, especially our CC friends from our rollcall and the gang on the aft deck. Would I return? You bet!

[lka1012]

Thank you for your review. I am looking forward to my Maasdam cruise Nov. 6. (I enjoyed your comment regarding carrots, but for me that is broccoli.)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Enjoyed it.

[brucory]

Great to hear more good reviews about the Maasdam. Everyone seems to love this ship. The itinerary sounded wonderful as did the rest of your cruise.

Thank you for sharing it!!!

[IRL_Joanie]

OK, after reading your review, I now have to find an itinerary she goes to for us to try her out.

Great review thank you!!

[GmaPajama]

Glad to hear you were so taken with the gorgeous Maasdam. She is my favorite ship.

[airlink diva]

Glad to see yet another great review about the Maasdam. I fell in love with the "S class" ships in 2007 when I sailed on her the first time. I love sailing on her so much that I booked her again in 2008 and 2010!!
To me so many things make it a perfect ship! The size being the main factor. The staff and the themal spa also.
Thanks once again!!

[dfish]

Originally Posted by lka1012

Thank you for your review. I am looking forward to my Maasdam cruise Nov. 6. (I enjoyed your comment regarding carrots, but for me that is broccoli.)

There was plenty of that around, too, but they also had a great squash medley, asparagus and one night they had a cauliflower with a white sauce and cheese on it. That was one of my favorites.

[dfish]

Joanie, I'm glad you found my review to be inspiring. I would get back on the Maasdam in a heartbeat, however, I must go back to work and make some money first.

Airlink diva, we tried the thermal suite and truly enjoyed it on this cruise. It was a nice treat after the treadmills and weight machines. I'm glad they limit the passes as it was always accessible with no crowds.

[airlink diva]

Originally Posted by dfish

Joanie, I'm glad you found my review to be inspiring. I would get back on the Maasdam in a heartbeat, however, I must go back to work and make some money first.

Airlink diva, we tried the thermal suite and truly enjoyed it on this cruise. It was a nice treat after the treadmills and weight machines. I'm glad they limit the passes as it was always accessible with no crowds.

I understand about the working to get back on the ship!! That's why my cruise is over a year off. I set aside so much out of each check for my cruise!! Being on the ship is worth working under the sun in the summer and in the near freezing rain in the winter!!! I just think "cruise"!!!
I learn on my sailings that the best time to head to the thermal spa was late afternoons around 4 p.m.. On both my 10 and 14 day sailings, there was only one day when someone else was in the area with me. It was like having my own private spa No chair hogs with the heated tile loungers and the steam areas to myself!! It was the best way to relax after returning to port and after tea. I would stay until a little after 6 p.m. and head to the room to get ready for dinner.
The first thing that I do when getting on board is heading to the spa to purchase my pass for the cruise.

[sail7seas]

Great review, dfish.

So happy you had such a great cruise. We did, too.
Maasdam was as wonderful as ever and the amazing weather was such a bonus. It was a great trip. IMO

[EbayCruiser]

Thanks for the comments .... can't wait for our turn on the Maasdam 10/03!!

[suse]

I liked it! Especially the bit about the carrots. I know what you mean. I do like carrots but if it was something I didn't like, say beets or brussell sprouts (gack!) and they were "fitting them into the menu", I would so gag.
Anyway, thanks for a great review!

[DFD1]

Good review. Fun to read. Thanks for sharing your good time on Maasdam. She's on of our favorites.

[pipedreams62]

Of your trip on the

[DFD1]

Nice picture. Looks like a ship ought to look.

[catl331]

The Maasdam is a great ship and we hope to travel on her sometime. I think your attitude and personalities made this a great trip for you. You were personable, non-demanding and friendly. You tried a little of everything. I commented on the multitude of carrots on our last cruise. They do make a colorful plate but one asset is that they travel well. I notice bananas disappear toward the end of the week on a cruise unless it stops in Costa Rica. (also blue cheese)

[Willem Ruys]

We have sailed in the MAASDAM many times since 1995 and are soon enough off again to sail in her for 48 days. She is our favorite ship still in being (thus we're NOT looking forward to the SOE changes they plan to do to her between April 4 and 26, 2011). She is a honey of a ship, and some of the reason she is so good is not just her fabulously friendly, sweet and competent bar and dining staffs but her top management, her two Captains Henk and Andre and HAL's BEST Hotel Manager Firmin van Walle. As Firmin's signatures go, "There's no 'I' in 'TEAM' and he MEANS it - and as he says in his email signatures "You've tried the rest, now try the best. Welcome to the MAASDAM"...and he's SO RIGHT!