Maasdam Final Cruise?

[Seavoyage]

We sailed on her in 2016 - a fire started in the engine room....not something you want to hear at 3am in the middle of the ocean...have fun - good luck.

[kazu]

We heard the usual speculation regarding ships...when on the VOV this past August. The general "word" from a pretty reliable HAL source, was that the Prinsendam would be leaving the fleet sometime in 2019 and the Maasdam would take over some of the more interesting itineraries traditionally done by the Prinsendam. When we protested (the Prinsendam is our favorite HAL vessel) we were told that many P'Dam fans were unhappy but it was a decision of necessity because it is becoming difficult to justify the big operating costs of the P'Dam.

 

Personally, when it comes to HAL, we have learned to take all the ship rumors with some degree of skepticism :). But keep in mind that the Prinsendam is 5 years older then the Maasdam.

 

Hank

 

The Maasdam cannot do some of the itineraries that the Prinsendam does. And frankly, for me, does not warrant the higher price attached to them.

 

I liked the Maasdam, yes, but the Prinsendam is special (for us) and many of her itineraries are fantastic.

 

Maasdam is too big to get to the spots we are going to this year for at least 5 ports unless we want to do a very long drive.

 

HAL is missing the boat here IMO.

 

But, that's JMO ;) If her hull is going to pass the necessary inspection in 2018 (I believe that's the date) then $ are better spent on her or a replacement ship (which could be bought) than the Maasdam.

 

the Massdam is NOT the Prinsendam.

[sammiedawg]

The Maasdam cannot do some of the itineraries that the Prinsendam does. And frankly, for me, does not warrant the higher price attached to them.

 

I liked the Maasdam, yes, but the Prinsendam is special (for us) and many of her itineraries are fantastic.

 

Maasdam is too big to get to the spots we are going to this year for at least 5 ports unless we want to do a very long drive.

 

HAL is missing the boat here IMO.

 

But, that's JMO ;) If her hull is going to pass the necessary inspection in 2018 (I believe that's the date) then $ are better spent on her or a replacement ship (which could be bought) than the Maasdam.

 

the Massdam is NOT the Prinsendam.

 

I freely admit I was not impressed by the Prinsendam. I am puzzled with the opinion Prinsendam is worth a higher price but Maasdam is not.

Just did simple math on passenger space ratio-

Maasdam 49.86

Prinsendam 45.48

 

Food and service on Prinsendam was no better or worse than the rest of the fleet. Physical plant was depressing but I acknowledge it has been updated since we sailed.

[kazu]

I freely admit I was not impressed by the Prinsendam. I am puzzled with the opinion Prinsendam is worth a higher price but Maasdam is not.

Just did simple math on passenger space ratio-

Maasdam 49.86

Prinsendam 45.48

 

Food and service on Prinsendam was no better or worse than the rest of the fleet. Physical plant was depressing but I acknowledge it has been updated since we sailed.

 

I totally acknowledge that you did not have a good experience on board and I sympathize 100% as we did not either on a different cruise line. I know the frustration with that.

 

The simple fact is that the Maasdam cannot go to the places that the P'dam can. We don't do Caribbean cruises on that ship. We choose it for the unique itineraries and so far, I have seen none offer the itinerary we are doing in May.

 

I have never found the P'dam crowded, never found a problem finding a seat and I guess we have been lucky, but so far we have found the service stepped up a notch, the food up a notch on our sailings on her.

 

May will mark over 100 days on her and I will be doing a live thread. If I find things have deteriorated, believe me, I will report.

 

We can agree to disagree but trust me, no ship much larger than the P'dam can go to several ports on our itinerary. That's what makes the P'dam special - and her crew and the ship :). JMO.

[sammiedawg]

I totally acknowledge that you did not have a good experience on board and I sympathize 100% as we did not either on a different cruise line. I know the frustration with that.

 

The simple fact is that the Maasdam cannot go to the places that the P'dam can. We don't do Caribbean cruises on that ship. We choose it for the unique itineraries and so far, I have seen none offer the itinerary we are doing in May.

 

I have never found the P'dam crowded, never found a problem finding a seat and I guess we have been lucky, but so far we have found the service stepped up a notch, the food up a notch on our sailings on her.

 

May will mark over 100 days on her and I will be doing a live thread. If I find things have deteriorated, believe me, I will report.

 

We can agree to disagree but trust me, no ship much larger than the P'dam can go to several ports on our itinerary. That's what makes the P'dam special - and her crew and the ship :). JMO.

 

Good explanation, you are worried about ports.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just heard back from the HAL revenue folks via our PCC regarding HAL circumnavigating Australia in 2019.

 

2019 Australia NZ itineraries are currently scheduled to be open for sale by end of March. This is always tentative and can be shifted due to work volume and priorities. The itineraries are currently not finalized and until published cannot be confirmed. It looks like we may be doing a 2019 Circumnavigation cruise, however until the pricing files are received and itineraries finalized this is tentative.

 

Don't know if the Maasdam will be the ship, but it does look promising that they might do another circumnavigation in the Fall of 2019. At least that's our hope. :D