Condition of the Maasdam

[calteacher]

Has anyone returned recently from the Maasdam? We will be boarding her on March 15 for a 10-day cruise of the Southern Caribbean. Have just read the reviews of the Maasdam on CruiseReviews.com and the last several seem so negative. Is that really the condition? No A/C, plumbing problems, etc.? We sailed her 2 years ago, and found her to be excellent. But, has she developed problems?

[arlenez]

Hi Calteacher:

 

We have a roll call going on for the Maasdam on March 15th. We would love to have you join our group. I have arranged a meet and greet on March 16th at 12 noon and hope you will join us. The location has not been decided yet, but if you keep in touch through the roll call, as soon as I hear back from HAL I will post it.

 

Regards,

[sk8teacher]

Has anyone returned recently from the Maasdam? We will be boarding her on March 15 for a 10-day cruise of the Southern Caribbean. Have just read the reviews of the Maasdam on CruiseReviews.com and the last several seem so negative. Is that really the condition? No A/C, plumbing problems, etc.? We sailed her 2 years ago, and found her to be excellent. But, has she developed problems?

 

We were in her in November and thought she was lovely. Will you see some spots on the rugs? Yes, but overall quite a beautiful ship. Were there some problems? Yes.

 

One steamroom in the thermal spa didn't work one day, one "rain shower" didn't work properly, the hydrotherapy pool was cold one day, pressure to flush the toilets in some rooms was lost one day for just a couple of hours.

 

Did it spoil our cruise? Absolutely not. Did we complain about how bad the ship was? Absolutely not. These are things that happen with any ship sometimes. Look for the overall experience. The crew is excellent, and always smiling and saying hello. The food and service is great.

 

Go and enjoy your cruise. don't think negative or you will find negative. Think positive and you will find positive!

 

Cheers!!

[beatlejuice]

We just returned from the 10 day southern Caribbean on the 24th. A good time was had by all 7 of us. Our family age ranged from 18 to 63. We had 3 cabins, 2 outside staterooms and a verandah. We thought the ship was in very good condition. We personally had no plumbing problems at all. The service was exemplary and the food in the dining room and at the buffett was generally very good. The food and service in the Pinnacle Grill was even better. Also, we found the entertainment to be better than most (i've been on over 30 cruises). Doug, and his assistants were great. Barrie in the piano Bar, wonderful,and the violinist and cellist exceptional. The only suggestion I can make is to liven things up at one of the pools with a steel band and perhaps a pool game/activity. The evening barbecue was DULL. Otherwise, the beautiful ports made up for some of the dullness. We had sun every day and their private island was a paradise.

I would like to commend of the officers for helping us with an embarkation problem.Thank you, Amber Coomer, for your gracious assistance. We all enjoyed your company at our table and wish you calm seas and many good adventures! Sandy and family:)

[Sam D.]

Hi sk8teacher,

Sorry that this is an unrelated post. I was wondering if you could tell me how to get in touch with Fredo the tour guide from Dominica.

I can't seem to find a contact for him. My email is dahodas at yahoo dot com.

Thank You,

Sandy

[calteacher]

Hi Arlenez,

My DH and I will be on the March 15 Maasdam celebrating our 40th anniversary and our fifth cruise. I also posted on the roll call board--included our names on that board.

 

Looking forward to the meeting on Friday, March 16 at 12 noon in the Piano Bar.

[diboja]

We just came back Feb 3rd from the 10 day S. Caribbean....Verandah BA

 

Last time we were on the Maasdam was to Alaska 4 years ago and we were just as happy this time as the previous sail on this beautiful ship.

 

The ship is clean, the upgraded beds were great for a good nites sleep...

I had read some of the problems that other folks had with A/C, toilets plugging, etc - and we did not encounter any of these issues. I think that some of the problems are created by the passengers themselves by leaving the Verandah doors open and placing things in the toilet that shouldn't be in there. At times I think that people who post a lot of negative things expect the impossible - I agree with sk8teacher - Go and enjoy your cruise. don't think negative or you will find negative. Think positive and you will find positive!

 

We are in our early 60's and found that there were many activities on the ship to keep everyone happy and in 10 days we just didn't have time to do many of the activities that we found interesting.

 

Food was fantastic, the shows run from "so-so" to truly enjoyable, the Pinnacle Grill was a disappointment and we would not return - the service was over the top but the quality of the food and preparation was just as good if not better in the Rotterdam. We were travelling with my sister and her hubby - his fish dish was presented to him "Cold" which should never happen in a "fine dining" setting. No big deal but at 30 bucks a pop extra - we would stick with the Rotterdam Dining Room.

 

The staff thoughout the ship would bend over backwards to help and assist - our room steward "Ridho" performed his duties beyond our expectations.

 

Bottom line is that it was a truly enjoyable 10 day vacation and we would get back on the Maasdam in a heartbeat.

 

The night that we returned home the temperature hit a windchill of -50 below! Yup, we are ready to go back NOW!!!! :D

[dolls4sell]

Thank you Diboja for your post about the the Maasdam I too was wondering about her as we booked a 10 days cruise on her in Oct. There reallu hasn't been any recent reviews on her.

Glad you you had a good time!

Susie

[marco]

We were on last month. We had no problems, noticed no short falls nor heard of any. We were a group of 30, with cabins scattered through out the ship and no one mentioned anything being problematic. I do have to agree with one of the above posters about the bar-b-que being "dull". It was very casual picnic food. No entertainment, no festivites. It was 5:30 to 7:30 (or something like that).

 

Go for a look and maybe a nosh, then head to dinner in the dining room!

 

Hope you have a great trip!