Maasdam

About to book on the Maasdam for next July, 7 days from Montreal to Boston.
I've been a lurker here for a long time, and I've learned a lot and enjoyed
reading the posts.

This will be our 4th cruise, the first on the old Regal Empress (5 days out
of NYC), the others on the Fascination and Sensation. Went with groups of
15 - 12 couples each time and had a ball. Will be with a group this time,
too. Being with a group contributed to our great times as much or more than
did the ships, so I'm sure this time will be a ball also.

Was wondering if anyone had any tips, hints or suggestions.

Thanks. AG

About to book on the Maasdam for next July, 7 days from Montreal to Boston.
I've been a lurker here for a long time, and I've learned a lot and enjoyed
reading the posts.

This will be our 4th cruise, the first on the old Regal Empress (5 days out
of NYC), the others on the Fascination and Sensation. Went with groups of
15 - 12 couples each time and had a ball. Will be with a group this time,
too. Being with a group contributed to our great times as much or more than
did the ships, so I'm sure this time will be a ball also.

Was wondering if anyone had any tips, hints or suggestions.

Thanks. AG

We boarded the Maasdam on November 16, 2003 for a 7 day Eastern Caribbean
cruise. The ship is very nice.
The Maasdam just came out of dry dock and we thought it looked great. The lady
in the cybercafe said that lots of changes had been made. For one thing, they
increased the size of the casino. I spent lots of time there
The food was good most of the time, among my favorites were the
crab legs, the dover sole, the rack of lamb, and of course the lobster tails.
I was disappointed with their escargo. However, the desserts were especially
wonderful. While I am not normally a "dessert" person, the Maasdam's
selection was really tempting, especially the famous bread pudding with the hot
vanilla sauce. Others worth mentioning were the flourless chocolate cake and
the creme brulee.
My weight gain on this cruise was a whopping one pound!
Dining room service left a lot to be desired. Performance by the wait staff
was barely acceptable, and our tips were for the normal amounts. Nothing
exceeded our expectations, but nothing was bad enough to get excited about. So,
we would probably sail on this ship again. It's just the right size since we
don't prefer the megaships.

Our dining room was on Deck 7 (aft), and the main showroom is also on deck 7 at
the opposite end of the ship. What I didn't like was
that you can't go from the dining room to the show room on deck 7.
I dislike going up and deck, walking the length of the ship, and then back down
a deck. If, dining on the upper level (deck 8), one could walk through the
casino, clubs and shops, to the upper level of the show room. I find
visibility difficult from the balcony. We usually went UP, then to the other
end of Deck 8, then back down to deck 7

Our stateroom was very comfortable. We had an outside cabin; with king size
bed, sofa, desk and chair plus plenty of closet space. There were shampoos,
lotions and a hair dryer in the bath
room and a very comfortable bath tub. The bath tub was rather deep and a
handicapped person at our dinner table remarked that she had a difficult time
getting in and out of the tub.

The safe is opened and closed by magnetic strip (credit card).
..
I paid $100 for 250 minutes of online time. The speed of the
computers was pretty good and my I used all but a few of my
purchased minutes.

There was no problem getting lounge chairs around the pool, and plently of
towels were available there. The hot tubs were very hot
on at least one occasion during the week, and just lukewarm when I tried it on
a port day.

This was our third HAL experience, the first two being the
Rotterdam V and the Statendam. We enjoyed all three but
the Rot V was by far our favorite.

Ermalee

Where are ya, Erm? In Florida or home? Sounds like you had a good
time. Was the crowd to old for you?

Howie

Erm369 wrote:

About to book on the Maasdam for next July, 7 days from Montreal to Boston.
I've been a lurker here for a long time, and I've learned a lot and enjoyed
reading the posts.

This will be our 4th cruise, the first on the old Regal Empress (5 days out
of NYC), the others on the Fascination and Sensation. Went with groups of
15 - 12 couples each time and had a ball. Will be with a group this time,
too. Being with a group contributed to our great times as much or more than
did the ships, so I'm sure this time will be a ball also.

Was wondering if anyone had any tips, hints or suggestions.

Thanks. AG


We boarded the Maasdam on November 16, 2003 for a 7 day Eastern Caribbean
cruise. The ship is very nice.
The Maasdam just came out of dry dock and we thought it looked great. The lady
in the cybercafe said that lots of changes had been made. For one thing, they
increased the size of the casino. I spent lots of time there
The food was good most of the time, among my favorites were the
crab legs, the dover sole, the rack of lamb, and of course the lobster tails.
I was disappointed with their escargo. However, the desserts were especially
wonderful. While I am not normally a "dessert" person, the Maasdam's
selection was really tempting, especially the famous bread pudding with the hot
vanilla sauce. Others worth mentioning were the flourless chocolate cake and
the creme brulee.
My weight gain on this cruise was a whopping one pound!
Dining room service left a lot to be desired. Performance by the wait staff
was barely acceptable, and our tips were for the normal amounts. Nothing
exceeded our expectations, but nothing was bad enough to get excited about. So,
we would probably sail on this ship again. It's just the right size since we
don't prefer the megaships.

Our dining room was on Deck 7 (aft), and the main showroom is also on deck 7 at
the opposite end of the ship. What I didn't like was
that you can't go from the dining room to the show room on deck 7.
I dislike going up and deck, walking the length of the ship, and then back down
a deck. If, dining on the upper level (deck 8), one could walk through the
casino, clubs and shops, to the upper level of the show room. I find
visibility difficult from the balcony. We usually went UP, then to the other
end of Deck 8, then back down to deck 7

Our stateroom was very comfortable. We had an outside cabin; with king size
bed, sofa, desk and chair plus plenty of closet space. There were shampoos,
lotions and a hair dryer in the bath
room and a very comfortable bath tub. The bath tub was rather deep and a
handicapped person at our dinner table remarked that she had a difficult time
getting in and out of the tub.

The safe is opened and closed by magnetic strip (credit card).
.
I paid $100 for 250 minutes of online time. The speed of the
computers was pretty good and my I used all but a few of my
purchased minutes.

There was no problem getting lounge chairs around the pool, and plently of
towels were available there. The hot tubs were very hot
on at least one occasion during the week, and just lukewarm when I tried it on
a port day.

This was our third HAL experience, the first two being the
Rotterdam V and the Statendam. We enjoyed all three but
the Rot V was by far our favorite.

Ermalee

Where are ya, Erm? In Florida or home? Sounds like you had a good
time. Was the crowd to old for you?

Howie

Hi Howard, We're back home now. Circled the PHL airport for an hour yesterday
morning, waiting for the foggy conditions to improve before landing. Crowd too
old? Hmmm, I really didn't notice.
Age is a matter of the mind: I don't mind, so it doesn't matter.

Ermalee ---will be shopping for wedding gown with granddaughter tomorrow :-)

Welcome home, Sexy.

Erm369 wrote:

Where are ya, Erm? In Florida or home? Sounds like you had a good
time. Was the crowd to old for you?

Howie


Hi Howard, We're back home now. Circled the PHL airport for an hour yesterday
morning, waiting for the foggy conditions to improve before landing. Crowd too
old? Hmmm, I really didn't notice.
Age is a matter of the mind: I don't mind, so it doesn't matter.

Ermalee ---will be shopping for wedding gown with granddaughter tomorrow :-)

From: Howard Garland

Welcome home, Sexy

Who? Me? Thanks Howard.

Ermalee