Maasdam Questions

Well, DH and I have decided on the Maasdam for our anniversary cruise this fall. We'll be departing Ft. Lauderdale on Oct 20 for a 10-day cruise. Three of the ports are new for us: Half Moon Cay, Roseau, and Curacao. Cannot wait!!

We are new to HAL, but not new to cruising. So, I have a few questions.

1. How do you pronounce Maasdam? Do the a's rhyme with cat, or bar, or mom, or something else? :rolleyes:

2. We will book a BB guarantee. Can we get a full breakfast room service menu? Or is it abbreviated?

3. We've never sailed HAL. Has anyone had an upgrade with their first cruise on HAL?

4. How old is the ship? Has she been refurbished lately?

We've sailed Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, and Commodore (remember them?) Anything we need to know pertaining to HAL?

Thanks for your help and answers.

Shay

Also,

How is the air conditioning and sanitation system on the ship?

Thanks,

Shay

MAHZ-DAHM!

We loved her. She is an older ship but is in good condition, the air conditioning and sanitation worked fine, and the crew was wonderful. On all HAL ships, the full dining room menu is available during dining room hours. However the little card to hang out side the door worked well too and had a lot of choices on it. Really, though, I prefer the buffet for breakfast.

Check out our trip report here

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/maasdam.html

Have a GREAT cruise!

My DW and I spent our 25th aniversery on the Massdam. I pronounce it like MA's dam.

The service was great and the ship was in great shape. If Randal is in the piano bar. He is a lot of fun.:D

Have a great time.

Cabin breakfast:

Cabin Breakfast Menu

Preferred Time Frame

6 AM - 6:30 AM 7 AM - 7:30 AM 8 AM - 8:30 AM 9 AM - 9:30 AM

6:30 AM - 7 AM 7:30 AM - 8 AM 8:30 AM - 9 AM 9:30 AM - 10 AM

Juices

Grapefruit; Orange:; Cranberry; V-8; Prune, Tomato

Fresh Fruit

Half Grapefruit; Sliced Bananas; Diced Oranges; Mixed Fruit; Seasonal Melons; Stewed Prunes

Low Fat Yogurt

Plain; Fruit

Breads

English Muffin; White Toast; Wheat Toast; Rye Toast; Danish; Croissant; Blueberry Muffin; Bran Muffin; Bagel

Preserves

Assorted Jams; Marmalade; Honey; Butter; Margarine; Cream Cheese

Cereals

Corn Flakes; Special K; Mueslix; Raisin Bran; Granola; Fruit Loops; Frosted Flakes; Rice Krispies; Shredded Wheat

With: Milk; 2% Milk; Skim Milk

Eggs & Meats

Two Eggs: Scrambled or sunnyside up or over easy

Omelet: With Cheese or With Ham and Cheese

Eggbeaters: Scrambled or Omelet with Cheese or Omelet with Ham and Cheese

Meat: Ham or Sausage or Bacon

Beverages

Regular Coffee; Decaf Coffee; Tea; Hot Chocolate; Milk; 2% Milk; Skim Milk; Half & Half

Maasdam was buit in 1993. We first sailed on her in 1996 and have since sailed on her many times.

We just did the 10 day (Feb/Mar) cruise you will be doing. Loved it. Have been to all those ports many times.

HMC is HAL's private island - you will love it and won't want to leave.

Thank you all (ya'll) for your replies.

I'll be calling my TA first thing Thursday morning and getting it set up. We'll fly in a day early. Our anniversary is the 21st, so we'll actually be cruising for the celebration.

So, the Maasdam, (ma's dam) it is!

Thanks for the breakfast menu. We already know what we are going to order. I need to lose weight so I can gain weight...

Roseau: Is that Rose-0 or Rose-ow?

Thanks for the invite to the roll call. I always join in on them before cruising. See you soon over there!

Shay

Roseau: Is that Rose-0 or Rose-ow?

Shucks, ah thanks y'all sez it:

Roo-sew

lak theyuns wood in N'awlins.

;o)

And Dom'-in-eek-a is one of our favorite ports!

Shay.............You will LOVE the Maasdam. Good Choice! A wonderful ship with an excellent crew. I agree with Cruisebumm.........if Randal is in the piano bar, you'll go there every night! Here are some pictures we took in Nov. 2005, sailing out of Norfolk, for my wife's birthday..........

http://travel.webshots.com/album/515193880uJXZBL

We are currently on the second leg of a back-to-back on Maasdam and have sailed her a great many times in the past.

IMO.....she keeps getting better and better. A fantastic crew who lovingly maintains this ship in beautiful condition.

We will hate to leave after two weeks and the only thing that will get me calmly down the gangway is that we are booked to return for two more weeks in August.

That must tell it all as to how much we love her. We'll be aboard a full month this summer and are looking to more future cruises on her.

You're going to love her!

Great pics, but I didn't like looking at them because they made me want to be cruising NOW :D !!!!

Shay

Since nobody else has answered #3 - yes, we got an upgrade on our first HAL cruise! :) And on #4: all HAL ships recently went through a Signature of Excellence program to upgrade bedding, TVs, and many public areas. I can't give you the date it was done on the Maasdam, though.

Cabin breakfast:

 

Cabin Breakfast Menu

Preferred Time Frame

6 AM - 6:30 AM 7 AM - 7:30 AM 8 AM - 8:30 AM 9 AM - 9:30 AM

6:30 AM - 7 AM 7:30 AM - 8 AM 8:30 AM - 9 AM 9:30 AM - 10 AM

We were on the Maasdam in May, Boston to Montreal. The only glitch was whatever time frame we chose for breakfast room service, they were 20 to 30 minutes early . . .which is far better than 20 to 30 minutes late.

It's a beautiful ship and in very good condition.

It all sounds good!

I just can't wait to eat breakfast out on the balcony. We took a cruise last fall on Celebrity and had concierge service. We had breakfast brought up to eat in the cabin, since we were doing a Canada/New England cruise and it was too cold to eat outside on the balcony. So on this one, it's b'fast on the balcony with great scenery!!!

Jtl513, maybe we'll get an upgrade, too. How many categories was your upgrade?

Shay