Maasdam review pt1

My wife and I have just returned from the 7/24-7/31 Maasdam sailing along the Canada/New England coast. I thought I would take a few minutes to pass along my experiences.

Embarkation:

We arrived at the terminal around 11am. They had starting distributing numbers to passengers to keep everything in order. All in all we were on the ship in about 15-20 minutes. On the lido deck they offered a place to check your carry on luggage while you waited for your room to be finished (about 1:30pm). We hit the buffet right off which was in the Lido restaurant. It was small but good offering Orange roughie, pork roast, and Chicken ala King.

Our luggage arrived promptly to our room shortly after 1:30pm.

The Room:

We were in stateroom 536 which was an inside cabin on the main deck. Our stateroom was clean and we immediately noticed the new touches. First of all they offer robes for the guests. We were surprised to find that they were remarkably soft. Better actually than the robes we had on our last Celebrity cruise. There is softer bedding with throw pillows included. A lighted make-up mirror adorns the vanity which made my wife happy. Each day they deliver a bowl of fruit (apple, pear, orange, banana) however we never really ate any of it. A few changes we would have liked to have seen…A water pitcher would have been helpful. My wife had to run to the bathroom just to get a drink of water. On Celebrity they would have fresh ice water with each stateroom cleaning and it was a nice touch. Another downside is that there is only one electrical outlet in the whole room. This meant we had to swap the hair dryer, curlers, and alarm clock over and over. I suggest buying a $4 multiplug at Wal-mart and using it.

The food:

The lido restaurant…

We had breakfast here most days. We have found that Holland America has the best breakfast at sea. There were two omelet stations so the lines were never long to get an omelet or fried egg. They had all the standard morning staples such as French toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs, etc.

At lunch they have a sandwich bar which offers a different specialty sandwich each day as well as a stir fry station offering various stir fries and pasta dishes. They also serve two different pizzas however I was disappointed that most of these were gourmet ( I would like an old fashioned pepperoni once in a while).

At dinner they do casual dining. They put nice tablecloths and china on the tables. You still go through the line to get your salad, soup, and appetizers but they cook your entrée to order. Some items are the same as what you get in the Rotterdam dining room but they mix in a few surprises as well. One night when the Rotterdam was having sirloin steak the Lido was serving Filet Mignon so we had to eat in the Lido.

The Rotterdam dining room…

We had quite a few of our meals here. The blueberry pancakes at breakfast are not to be missed. We had a lot of our lunches off the ship in the ports but the ones we had here were good. We thoroughly enjoyed the dinners here with the beef dishes being our favorite. There was one night I would suggest avoiding though and that is “Dutch” night. My pot roast was painfully dry and you needed a microscope to find the seafood in my wife’s seafood dish.

Service was moderate at best. Overall our waiter was good but he forgot things we ordered sometimes. The biggest complaint I heard echoed on the ship was the night they served lobster they only give you half a tail (small at that). Now while you can always ask for more we found ourselves waiting an additional 10 minutes waiting for tail number two. My suggestion to Holland America would be not to serve lobster the night of the baked Alaska parade. This puts too much of a strain on the waiters.

The Pinnacle Grill…

We did not eat here. When we cruised Celebrity we ate at the Normandie restaurant because the menu was much more diverse than the normal dining room fare and the décor was extremely elegant. The Pinnacle seemed to offer little out of the way of the normal dining room experience. The grill itself seemed to be lacking in its décor. I would have preferred much more subdued lighting with some artwork adorning the walls rather that all the window light streaming into an otherwise uninteresting room. HA should reevaluate this restaurant and its menu to make the experience more unique. They offered us a half price coupon for the dining room our first day on board which is something to keep in mind if you are wishing to book here. They were never filled to capacity so you should no trouble getting a table so I would suggest waiting till you get onboard to book your reservation.

Poolside Grill…

Typical fare including hamburgers, hot dogs, a sausage of the day, a taco bar was offered. I would have like to have seen more hand made burger patties rather than the prefab ones they used. It was still a good place to grab a quick snack.

Entertainment:

The entertainment on this cruise had its ups and downs. We enjoyed the shows in the Rembrandt lounge. The comedian/violinist was good as well as the “Gossamer Magic” show. By far our favorite was Paul Tanner who was a singer/impressionist. He did everything from Neil Diamond to Tom Jones. This was the second time we have seen him on a cruise and he is always entertaining as well as having a tremendous voice. We skipped the Maasdam singers and dancers since once you have seen one of those shows you have pretty much seen them all.

The bands on board were a disappointment. There was absolutely no vocalist to be found. Just lounge music in every area. I was beginning to think that the “Girl From Ipanema” was the official song of the Maasdam. The pianist in the piano bar was not very good. During our “name that tune” game he tried to award three groups of six two picture frames each. It would be nice to see a little more music diversity in the various lounges.

The Staff:

Enough praise cannot be heaped upon the dedicated and attentive Filipino/Indonesia wait and room steward staff. They are the standard of excellence that other cruise ships should measure up to. Never on any other line will you find a more hard working and professional group of people. Those who have cruised Holland America before know what I am talking about. Our cruise director was very entertaining and had a great sense of humor. He made a great host for the “ Not So Newlywed” game. We would have liked to see more poolside activities though. I know that H.A. tries to appeal to a quieter older crowd but I find the occasion belly flop, sexy legs, or limbo contests a great way to break up the day. Carnival does not have to be the only fun ship at sea.

wdblake,

that's for taking the time to write your impressions of the ship, especially the detailed write-up of the different dining options.:)

wdblake - Thanks so much for taking the time to share with us. I sailed this itinerary in June on the Maasdam, and every time I read a review, I relive my sailing!! Bar Harbor was my favorite port too, but I certainly enjoyed them ALL. I hope to do this itinerary again.

Will you sail with HAL again?

Marie

Thanks for your review. I enjoyed reading it and reliving our cruise on Maasdam two weeks ago. We had a wonderful time and would do that cruise all over again in the blink of an eye.

We leave tomorrow...almost all packed...we are ready!!

Thanks for the review. We leave in two weeks and can't wait.

If you have time, please write something about the places you had lunch in each port. We are planning to have lobster EVERYDAY and would love to know where you may have found some delicious lunches!!!

I know I should wear layers of clothing, but I can't seem to decide if I need to take winter type clothes for the night time or summer weight and colors with a wrap, and I don't want to overpack! Any suggestions you can make will be appreciated.

Dee

Oops, I just saw your part 2 posting and realized we are not going to the same ports except for Halifax and Bar Harbor. Thanks for the information.

Dee

Hi!

We were also on the July 24th sailing and had a great time. I basically agree with everything you said.

We had breakfast and lunch each day in the Lido and thought the food was very good. The only disappointments were the muffins at breakfast and the pizza at lunch. Both were of much poorer quality than on our previous 30 cruises (on a variety of cruise lines). The fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast was THE BEST.

Although the food in the dining room each night was quite good, we missed the "always available" menu that we have found on other ships. For example, on Princess, one can always get a shrimp cocktail, caesar salad, sirloin steak, grilled chicken breast, or broiled salmon. When I asked our waiter one night if I could get a sirloin steak, he told me this could only be done if I ordered it the night before. Unfortunately, I didn't know that I wouldn't like the menu choices until I entered the dining room that night, and then there was nothing that could be done.

We had dinner in the Pinnacle grill one night and found the food to be outstanding--well worth the $20.00 per person charge. The service and ambiance were also great.

We saw all the shows and found them all to be excellent. The production shows were very good as well as the individual entertainers. Paul Tanner was outstanding--don't miss him!!!

All in all, it was a fabulous cruise. We would sail the Maasdam again in a heartbeat!

Reggie

Hi WD, DH & I were on the same cruise with you. We were on the lower promenade deck - first time on that deck & we loved the location so much that we have reserved the same location on our next 2 cruises. However, we were very lucky, because several cabins just aft of us were flooded & since the ship was full, the folks were not relocated. We felt sorry for them -the carpet was real stinky! Hope they got a good bonus.

We love the Lido food. For the last 2 cruises we have not eaten in the dining room & plan to continue our pattern. We met a lot of others who do the same. The burgers & fries by the pool were lucious. However, did you notice the cook/server used the same tongs for the raw hamburgers that he used to serve the french fries! Can't believe no one got sick. We advised the front desk on the first day, but nothing changed. So couple days later I found the Lido food manager & told him. The server immediately got 2 tongs & used them properly.

We did take advantage of the half price for the Pinnacle. First time we have tried this alternative dining. I also felt the menu should have offered items not found elsewhere, but we love filet mignon. We did not find it to be the greatest of dining experience, but glad we tried it. The service was great & the staff was friendly - we enjoyed all of them. The manager stopped & chatted with us several times. They were trying so hard that we did not have the heart to tell them how we really felt. We are "picky" about our clam chowder - not too thin or it is milk soup & not too thick or it is paste - we classified it as milk soup- good flavored but still too thin. We couldn't believe how small the crab cakes were - two little gum ball sized things - but they were delicious - wish there had been more than 2 bites. We each ordered our filets the same way - "pink, but not red juices" - the server said that was medium. Even though my husband's filet was a little larger than mine & we were the first customers to order (so I am assuming they were placed on the fire at the same time), my steak was "bloody" & his was perfect. Well - my steak was "recooked", which meant it was crunchy on the outside & tough on the inside. That happens sometimes. Wish they had cooked me another one. However, the chocolate volcano was worth the $20 plus tip. WOW! So hard to finish one, but I would love to have a dozen! WOW is all I can think to say.

Our cabin steward was great - Bang Bang he said to call him. We left the auto tips on but tipped him extra.

I agree with you - boarding was so easy. We arrived at about 10:30 am.

Sorry if I ran on too long; didn't mean to rain on your parade; maybe I should have posted my own review; i've not made very many posts on here.

Julie (& Don)

I was beginning to think that the “Girl From Ipanema” was the official song of the Maasdam.

Back in 1999 I remember that I was beginning to wonder if the official song of the Maasdam was "More" (a.k.a the theme from "Mondo Cane"). The Champaign Strings in the Explorer's Lounge did a fantastic version of it -- they sounded like they were trying to copy the Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete arrangement -- but, after hearing it twice nearly every night it began to get a little thin.

In the Caribbean, in 2000, they had switched to the "One Ton Tomato" song. :D

I hope no one thinks I was too critical of the Pinnacle. I guess I was spoiled by Celebrity's alternative restaurant. I would like to see the cuisine differ greatly from the usual fare. I had Filet Mignon 3 times just in the regular restaurants. I would have liked some chateaubriand (yum).

Cruisinnana look for the lobster claw in Bar Harbor for a great lobster roll. They are across the street from the "aquacat" booth. As far as clothing goes I would pack a light sweater for sure. Load up on the rain gear as rain is not unusal. I don't think you need winter clothes per se since most of your nights will be spent inside the boat.

Marie I would definately sail Hal. They have the best service at sea and you can't beat the luxuary for the price. They treat Mariners to some great deals!

We do want to try Princess next since we have'nt been but Hal is alwats a steady favorite.

Cruisinnana look for the lobster claw in Bar Harbor for a great lobster roll. They are across the street from the "aquacat" booth. As far as clothing goes I would pack a light sweater for sure. Load up on the rain gear as rain is not unusal. I don't think you need winter clothes per se since most of your nights will be spent inside the boat.

WDBlake...thank you for the advice. One dumb question.....what's the difference in a lobster roll and just plain lobster????

Dee

Lobster rolls come in two varieties. One is the lobster salad roll which is a toasted sub sandwich bun filled with lobster meat and mayonaise. This is the more popular on in Canada. There is also the drizzle butter lobster roll which is the same bun and lobster but instead of mayo they pour melted butter all over the top. This is more available in Maine. Both are packed with lots of lobster meat and are very yummy. They run about $10 -$15 depending upon where you are. If you like lobster (and who doesn't) you'll love these.

Lobster rolls come in two varieties. One is the lobster salad roll which is a toasted sub sandwich bun filled with lobster meat and mayonaise. This is the more popular on in Canada. There is also the drizzle butter lobster roll which is the same bun and lobster but instead of mayo they pour melted butter all over the top. This is more available in Maine. Both are packed with lots of lobster meat and are very yummy. They run about $10 -$15 depending upon where you are. If you like lobster (and who doesn't) you'll love these.

WDBlake. OK, my mouth is watering! Either sounds fabulous and I will try both....maybe at the same meal :D :D :D ....... For lunch, can you also get a whole Maine lobster instead of the rolls? About how much does a whole Maine lobster cost?

Dee

Thanks for the review. We leave in two weeks and can't wait. I know I should wear layers of clothing, but I can't seem to decide if I need to take winter type clothes for the night time or summer weight and colors with a wrap, and I don't want to overpack! Any suggestions you can make will be appreciated.

Dee

Hi CruisinNana. We will be on your cruise -- this will be our fourth time cruising C/NE, although our first time on HAL.

We are New Englanders, and this has been a fairly cool summer for us so far. I've been following the forecasts for Quebec and Nova Scotia. Looks like we can expect 70s during the daytime, dropping into the 50s in the evening (when we'll be at sea). Definitely bring a windbreaker and sweater -- at least for our sea day/Saguenay Fjord and those cool evenings out on deck.

Edited to add: Great review, wdblake! I enjoyed part 2, as well!

Hi CruisinNana. We will be on your cruise -- this will be our fourth time cruising C/NE, although our first time on HAL.

 

We are New Englanders, and this has been a fairly cool summer for us so far. I've been following the forecasts for Quebec and Nova Scotia. Looks like we can expect 70s during the daytime, dropping into the 50s in the evening (when we'll be at sea). Definitely bring a windbreaker and sweater -- at least for our sea day/Saguenay Fjord and those cool evenings out on deck.

 

Hi Lisa63! This is my 8th time on HAL and my first time on C/NE cruise. It was my husband's choice, and I am also looking forward to it. This is our anniversary cruise along with my brother and sister-in-law's anniversary cruise.

 

I am not one who enjoys a ship-run tour; I usually enjoy doing my own exploring with a cab driver. But then, I do make sure I am back at least 2 hours before sailing. I would be quite upset if I missed the sailing!!!! Do you have any advice for the ports we will be in? I also enjoy just walking around the towns and shopping. And we do want to do the lobster thing for lunch each day.

 

Thanks for the advice, and I hope to see you on board.

 

Dee

Cruisin Nana,

We are also on your cruise in two weeks time. We have been on this run twice before but this is our first time on HAL. We ae really looking forward to the experience.

You were owndering what to do in the ports. In Quebec City, there is so much to do. It is North America's only walled city. you can actually walk parts of the wall into the old city. There is a funicular (cable car) that take s you

itno the upper city which is full of history. there are cobblestone streets etc.

it is very European.

In Sydney Nova Scotia, the town is very samll. i would suggest you try to get on a toyur to Fort Louisbourg. It is phenominal! There is a lot of walking however, so if that is not good for you I would not go. Also the national parks system in Canada, their employees are talking about going on strike. If thye stike, that will close Fort Louisbourg for the present time. An alternative is to take the tour to the village of Baddeck. It is a lovely spot and has a lot of history around Alexander Graham Bell.

AS far as Halifax is concerned, if you have chance there is a novel written

around Halifax and the great explosion that occurre there in 1917. It is called Barometer Rising and the author is Hugh Mac Lennan. It is worth the read.

The Halifax waterfront has a great boardwalk, shops etc and is a great place to go off the ship.

Peggy's Cove is also worth the trip. It is so picturesque.

I hope this helps.

Enjoy your cruise.

I would suggest bringing summer clothes for both day and evening but bring along a sweater or two and rain jacket/umbrella.

We have had a cooler than normal summer in New England this year but we have also had high eighty and ninety degree weather. Next week they are predicting very warm with it becoming humid by midweek but today was cool in the seventies.

This is New England....the weather can change in ten minutes.

You do not need winter clothes. You do need a sweater and a lightweight, rain jacket. Call it insurance that it won't rain if you have it with you.

My DH sat most afternoons at the pool on our Maasdam cruise a few weeks ago and there were lots of other folks there with him.

In the mornings, I had long sleeve jerseys on but my noontime, I had pushed the sleeves up and we were comfortably warm walking around.

We had lunch at a few lobster places and it was wonderful. A little overpriced but, so what.....we were on vacation and it was delightful sitting at outdoor patios, with wonderful views eating wonderful steamed Maine hardshell lobsters. (I get them often close to our home at a wonderful lobster pound and I steam them at home....but they sure tasted wonderful when someone else cooked it for us and the view was so beautiful.)

If you like lobster (and who doesn't) you'll love these.

Had to chuckle at your last sentence, I'm a Maine gal and don't like seafood at all. Kind of sad really, LOL! Too much Texas heritage from Dad in me, I guess. I much prefer a good steak and barbecue sauce :)

Also the national parks system in Canada, their employees are talking about going on strike. If thye stike, that will close Fort Louisbourg for the present time.

Oh oh. I guess we should have a back-up plan for Sydney as we are booked on the Fortress of Louisbourg tour. I imagine the Citadel in Halifax would be affected as well?

CruisinNana, I agree with what Haze posted. Quebec City is among our favorites, and is among the reasons we booked this particular itinerary. There is great shopping both in the Upper and Lower Towns. This time, we plan to have lunch in town, as well. Halifax has a superb maritime museum (which includes an exhibit on the Halifax Explosion Haze mentioned) and the Citadel, which is a wonderful fortress. There is also a strong connection to Titanic, as Halifax was the closest port to the recovery site. As far as coastal scenery, we went to Peggy's Cove our first time there and enjoyed the scenery.

In Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park is a big draw. The view from Cadillac Mountain is spectacular on a clear day. This will be our first time in PEI. We plan to walk around. I read about a walking tour map one may pick up at the visitor center.

Hope to see you on board!

Oh, my goodness! I am blown away with such wonderful responses, and I am so appreciative of your taking the time to give so much detail! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am truly getting excited about our upcoming adventure.

I am going to copy and print this "travelogue" for our traveling companions. I can't seem to get them interested in the boards since they are not computer people, but I know they will enjoy reading the information.

Haze and Lisa, are you by any chance in suites? The Neptune Lounge is where I have run into fellow CC corresponders and have had fun putting faces with names. For some reason, I've never had any luck being available for the planned get-togethers.

For those of you who have not sailed HAL, you are in for a treat. I have been on 5 different cruise lines, and I always return to HAL for so many reasons that have already been mentioned in many posts. I believe HAL will become your favorite, also.

Dee

I hope no one thinks I was too critical of the Pinnacle. I guess I was spoiled by Celebrity's alternative restaurant. I would like to see the cuisine differ greatly from the usual fare. I had Filet Mignon 3 times just in the regular restaurants. I would have liked some chateaubriand (yum).

Nope, you were not too critical. There have been a couple of others that did not rate it very high. I always appreciate different views.

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

To Cruisinnana,

Glad you found the info helpful. You may have by now guessed that we are Canadians and that is probably one reason for our love for this area. I have to also say that I absolutely love Boston and Bar Harbour also. We are actually doing a back to back on this cruise so we have a lot of time in Boston before the ship sails back on August 28.

We would love to put a face with your name also. We do not have a suite but we are in cabin K576 and would be pleased to meet up with you. There are two of us, my husband and myself.

If you would like to arange to meet please feel free to send an email to pagehaze@hotmail.com. If you do not receive an immediate answer it is because we are flying out west tomorrow for a week. We are back one week and then go on the cruise.

We will look forward to hearing from you.

Haze

Hi Maasdam people,

Can anyone of you confirm that you saw whales while on this cruise? I'm so curious to know? Tell me about your sightings? Thanks!

Nancy

I am about to go on this cruise Aug 21 and back again Aug 28. I can't speak for this HAl cruise but having done this run once on Cunard and once on NCL

I can tell you where we saw whales both times. This cruise goes to the same place so I am assuming........................ The location is on the Saguenay river in Quebec. It is about one hour into the journey up the river. The whales actually come up beisde the ship. It is phenominal. The other two cruise lines we were with announced the sitings so everyone knew where to go to see them.

I am looking forward to a repeat peformance.

To CruisinNana -

We are not in a suite, but can arrange to meet up. See the HAL Roll Call board...