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Holland America Line

MS Maasdam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Tom Baker
# previous cruises: 10+
Date of Trip: October 21, 1999
Itinerary: Canada / New England

It was generally a good cruise experience with a few drawbacks as related below.

Public rooms were many and varied. Nice decor throughout. I liked the full promenade ( a rarity in the newer ships) and wooden deck chairs! Casino very big, but not important to me. Did not use pools on this cold weather cruise but central pool terrace was a nice place for lunch. My only complaint is that there were no quiet lounges for reading other that the library (very nice but small for this size ship)

Food was so-so. Some things very good and others terrible. Salads very unimaginative (mostly iceberg lettuce used). Soups not good at all - too much cornstarch in "cream" soups. Fish courses the best. Meat courses on the weak side. Desserts pretty good (cakes were terrific). Vegetables just ok. Dining room service was excellent. Wonderful waiters and wine steward.

Cabin was excellent. I had a standard outside. Nice big window, lots of room, big closet and ample bathroom. Plenty of desk space. I was alone, but had my beds arranged in twin configuration. I did think the soft drinks for sale in the room a bit chintzy. Also, the $3.50 charge for a liter of water that probably cost them 50 cents was a rip-off. TV was up on a high shelf, which made it uncomfortable to watch. Plenty of closet space. In room safe a nice touch. Too bad they don't provide bathrobes. Room steward excellent.

Went to a couple of shows, but this is not my favorite thing to do so I am not a good judge. Most "Broadway" type shows on ships seem to me like high school plays. I usually like to walk the deck after dinner or go to my room and read. Cruise directors are a special breed. Mostly come off as phonies in my book and so I try to ignore them.

I take cruises to relax and do some sightseeing when in port. Rarely take shore excursions as I prefer to do my own exploring. Shore excursions are almost always overpriced and don't deliver what they promise. This is on all cruise lines I've traveled on, not just on Maasdam. On this cruise, we stopped at Newport, Boston, Portland(Maine, and a pleasant surprise), St. John NB (a bore), Halifax (mildly interesting) Bar Harbor (been there before and it has become T-shirt shop heaven), and Martha's Vineyard (my first time there and I was charmed by it). The pool and health club looked more than adequate, though I did not make use of them.

I don't want to sound like a snob, but this cruise was polyester heaven! A Norwegian Cruise Line ship transferred many passengers to this cruise due to a mishap and I feel that there were a lot of people lacking in even a small bit of sophistication. Never saw so many overweight people in one place and all cramming in the food as fast as they could. I did meet some very nice people and had drinks with them and found out they were HAL regulars, not from the NCL ship. Further more, the ship was totally booked and there were mobs everywhere, which I did not like. Prefer ships with more space per passenger. I know this sounds terrible of me to say, but you wanted my opinion! I think that had it not been for the NCL problem, the passengers would have been more experienced travelers.