Maasdam - what happened?

.....................So while open verandah doors may be an issue the larger issue is poor maintenance/elongated maintenance and failure/unwillingness by the cruise line to invest the capital and take the out of service time required to truly refresh these systems. So on some cruises, on some ships, some customers are cheated. They take a back seat to quarterly financial results and stock price......................

 

I hope chengkp will provide more good technical insights into these chronically unvarnished claims about the older HAL ships.

 

1. Poor maintenance

2. Elongated maintenance

3. Failure to invest in capital improvements

4. Unwillingness to invest in capital improvements

5. Cheating passengers

6. Putting profits over customer value

7. Refusal to take out older inventory for complete overhaul

. . . This is why we do not bother with older ships. Why take a chance when there are so many other ships to choose from?

Because no other ship does such wonderful itineraries. I loved the Maasdam when we were on her two years ago, and I'm really excited to be on her next year for a 21-day Alaska itinerary that no other cruise line does. That's why.

Because no other ship does such wonderful itineraries. I loved the Maasdam when we were on her two years ago, and I'm really excited to be on her next year for a 21-day Alaska itinerary that no other cruise line does. That's why.

 

Many of Prinsendam's itineraries are pretty amazing and unique too ;)

We were on Maasdam's 39 night Sydney-San Diego this past Jan-Feb. I thought it was a lovely ship, and in very good condition, especially considering its age. We didn't experience any hvac issues in our cabin, and our plumbing was okay, save for a few occasions of delayed flush. No biggie.

There were issues with a few of the public toilets that seemed to be out of order again and again; the ladies room next to the upper level of the diningroom had many issues. Also, there were several times that the ladies room by the aft pool was out of order. Somehow, we managed to have a perfectly wonderful cruise despite these horrid things. ;)

People are weird. Go have fun. :cool:

I hope chengkp will provide more good technical insights into these chronically unvarnished claims about the older HAL ships.

 

1. Poor maintenance

2. Elongated maintenance

3. Failure to invest in capital improvements

4. Unwillingness to invest in capital improvements

5. Cheating passengers

6. Putting profits over customer value

7. Refusal to take out older inventory for complete overhaul

 

There is nothing technical about these.

There is nothing technical about these.

 

Sure there is technical insight to get gained. From a ship engineer's perspective, what are the pros and cons operating an older HAL ship in the condition described. Or are other maintenance condition considerations in play, that have nothing to do with HAL management simply wanting to cheat passengers as the poster claims is the primary case. The bummer of course is how many positive reports we also read where people don't feel they got cheated. Or materially inconvenienced by all those dastardly cheapskates in Seattle.