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Our first HAL cruise was great As usual, I had no luck getting an Easter Week deal with our favorite cruise lines (Princess and Carnival.). Holland America has always been out of my target price range of $100 per person per night or less. This time, they had an unbeatable price on Maasdam, so we booked two outside cabins. Once again, it was me, my wife Barbara, my high school senior daughter Annie, and my retired mother. Embarkation First impressions The classical quartet played as the white-gloved attendant, clad in the pillbox hat and colorful uniform look of the 1940’s, escorted us to our cabins. Fresh flowers were everywhere, and the main public areas of the ship were spotless and as classically designed as the Maasdam’s exterior. Public restrooms were spotless and featured rolled hand towels instead of paper towels. Much has been said about the declining state of Maasdam's maintenance, but we saw no evidence of that at all. No power failures, no obvious wear and tear, and no unpleasant smells (other than that emanating from the considerable number of smokers on board.) Cabins The cabins are nice sized. Ours had the single beds made up as a king. Unlike other lines, this means full king linens and bedspread, which is the only civilized way to do it. With the piece that fills the space between the two halves of our bed, you could scarcely tell it was not a true king bed. We also had a nice love seat and the usual dresser/TV stand combo. The closet space is unbelievable, with several sections for hanging and storing clothes in addition to the dresser space. Controls for all lighting are built into the headboard, as is a music system that plays through a speaker in the ceiling. The bathroom is reasonably sized and tiled throughout. The only storage space there is a single narrow shelf that runs along the bottom of the mirror, a shame since additional shelves or drawers could have easily fit under the sink. A small bathtub/shower combo is provided, although the tub is a bit short and narrow. This is good if you like to take baths (bring your bubble bath) but more awkward if you like to shower, since it’s quite a step up or down between floor and tub. You will not get bathrobes unless you book a suite. That’s a disappointment, since robes seem to be getting more and more standard with other lines. We missed them. I was also disappointed to find that the only electrical outlet (above the dresser) is situated such that my battery charger couldn’t be plugged in. I was lucky my digital camera’s rechargeable batteries lasted all week. TV channels are limited, but include CNN, TNT, and some pretty good movie channels (playing movies you’d have to rent or pay-per-view at home.) Maasdam also has the Wajang Theater, which runs recent movies and offers fresh-popped popcorn. It’s a small screen, rather like a big screen TV, but my family enjoyed it nonetheless. We didn’t see our cabin steward at all during the week except for a couple of chance encounters. The room was immaculately maintained, but I had to chase him down even at the end of the cruise to give him his tip. I kind of missed the artificial camaraderie. Our pre-lifeboat drill checklist Maasdam’s design is fascinating. It has many small, intimate spaces: lounges, strategically placed tables and chairs, and small nooks perfect for getting away from the almost nonexistent crowds. Chairs are exceedingly comfortable and attractive, providing an elegant atmosphere in conjunction with the subtle gleaming of natural wood and metal. This is a very well maintained vessel. Maasdam’s an “old timer” at 10 years of age, but it has been kept in beautiful condition by endless pampering and polishing. You won’t see a lot of neon, flashing lights, and scenic elevators, but instead will be surrounded by amazing fresh flower arrangements, works of art, and subdued, comfortable public areas. The casino is small by megaship standards, but was almost never crowded. The nickel slot machines are the most popular attraction, it seemed (certainly true of my family.) The spa and gym are very nice. Annie signed up for unlimited classes for $44 for the week and took advantage of several sessions of kickboxing, yoga, and pilates. The library has wonderful furniture and views, but a very small selection of books. Average age of passengers on this cruise was probably late 40’s. Since it was Easter week, about 200 children and teens were on board, probably more than usual. It wasn't a stuffy and sedate crowd like we expected. Some nice surprises this first day:
Just a few disappointments:
Food I have to say honestly that Holland America’s buffets, while acclaimed by various books as the best at sea, are far inferior to those we had on the Golden Princess, both in variety and quality. About the same as Carnival’s, which isn’t saying a whole lot. You won’t go away hungry, but I doubt you’ll be trying to pry recipes from the chef, either. Still, it all tastes good when you’re overlooking Fort Lauderdale and having your first of many meals on board. Lido staff were very friendly, setting up trays and offering to help with drinks. Service was basically in one long line on each side of the Lido, with a desserts off to one side, salads in the middle, and the ice cream bar on the other side. That slowed things down occasionally, but at least it was clear how the line should move. Drink glasses were very small, requiring frequent refills of water. Breakfast buffets were particularly uninspiring: frozen hash browns and the same few items repeating every day. Puzzling, though, that they did squeeze fresh orange juice. I would rather have had real potatoes, biscuits, scones, fruit tarts, or other goodies instead of the extra-work OJ, personally. Pastries were excellent, though, especially the doughnuts. We had our first dinner in the Rotterdam Dining Room. It’s a beautiful space on two levels, with views all around. Nyoman our waiter ("call me Yo Man," he said) and Tarigan his assistant took great care of us, remembering our names and preferences after this first night. The entire staff is from the Philippines and Indonesia, trained at Holland America's facility in Djakarta. They are exceedingly professional, friendly, and seemingly happy in their jobs, something we’ve not generally seen in prior cruises. Food was mostly slightly fancied up versions of “safe” menu items. This first night, I had fruit salad, soup, and pan roasted snapper with hickory smoked pepper aioli. All breads and soups were first rate throughout the cruise, as were the vegetables and generally the desserts. Entrees were usually very good, appetizers were fairly creative, and salads not nearly as interesting. The iced tea was predictably awful (why do they use concentrates!) and soda was overpriced at $1.75 for a warm can or $26.25 (without gratuity) for an unlimited soda card, so I drank water. Lunches were OK, nothing special, either at the buffet or in the dining room. Hamburgers on the Lido Deck were excellent – they appeared to use the rather expensive Bubba Burgers. Pizza was pretty good, and the ice cream bar was open much of the time and even had waffle cones. High points of the dinners: duck in various forms, escargot, lobster tails, prime rib, filet mignon, and some Indonesian dishes that I enjoyed. Before dinner, a steward circulated throughout the ship ringing dinner chimes, a nice touch. After dinner, he manned a display of mints, candied ginger, and other post-dinner treats in front of the dining room. The “special” desserts of Baked Alaska and Mambo #5 were the usual awful concoctions accompanied by waiters singing and sparklers sparkling, leaving us longing for a simple piece of cake or dish of ice cream.. Dining room staff wore different uniforms virtually every night, but adherence to the recommended dress code by gentleman diners was spotty (shorts on occasion and lack of jackets on semi-formal night.) We wish our fellow passengers would either follow the rules or eat at the buffet, and we wish that Holland America would enforce its stated rules. We had little luck with room service. We put out breakfast cards on the doorknob three different nights, but got no breakfast two of those times. The one time it arrived it was very nice. Perhaps a child removed the card from our door, or maybe they messed up in the kitchen. Evening room service was better, although it invariably involved a 25 to 45 minute wait for simple cold sandwiches. The apple pie is the best I’ve ever had. An on-deck barbeque was held one night and it was great: the staff had set up a fully working grill by the pool and was cooking steaks, chicken, salmon, and ribs with all the trimmings. Food on Half Moon Cay was not worth the trouble: grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, prefab (bad) potato salad and coleslaw, soggy corn on the cob, and a few kinds of fruit. I had a taste and decided to return to the ship to eat that day. Afternoon tea was very good, particularly on the day Dutch High Tea was served. Late night snacks were served instead of a full buffet, and while I didn’t try them, my daughter enjoyed them the one time she did. Hot snacks are set out in every bar at 5:00 daily, such as chicken strips, fried shrimp, and sausages. On the second night, I asked Nyoman if Maasdam served dessert soufflés. After
consulting with Tika the head steward, he announced that they normally do not
feature soufflés any more, but that he and Tika would try to get the kitchen to make some as a
farewell to us. Sure enough, on the last night of the cruise, they proudly
served us beautiful soufflés with Grand Marnier and vanilla cream sauce. That
was an amazing gesture, unlike anything I would have expected from a mass
market cruise line. In addition, the soufflés were the best we’ve ever had.
Kudos to Maasdam for going out of their way to please us, and apologies to the
fellow passengers near our table who asked "to have
what they're having" and had to settle for less. |
Tip questions We tipped generously due to the excellent service received in the dining room and cabin. I used the cruise tip web page at http://members.aol.com/CruiseTip/ and chose a similar line to calculate how much to tip and what bills to bring. Unmarked envelopes are available at the front desk. Bar staff were more complex, since for us that involved only the occasional drink. I tipped a couple of dollars in cash the first time but it seemed awkward to the waiter, so from then on I didn't tip for just bar service. I figured the majority of tips would come from frequent customers. Looking back, perhaps I should have brought more $1 bills and tipped each time. Shows and activities A great treat on Formal Night was the captain’s reception, featuring not only the usual free drinks and appetizers but a chance for every guest to meet the Captain and have a photo made with him. We enjoyed that greatly. Our favorite time is to return early on days ashore and have the ship to ourselves. We enjoyed the hot tub, the uncrowded dining areas, and the quiet views from anywhere we chose. We also took advantage of some in-port specials at the spa. We were also surprised at the low prices of the on-board shops. Selection was about the same as on every other ship, but they actually had sale prices from the day we sailed away, not held until Thursday or Friday. Liquor prices were low and for 20% extra, you could take bottles to your cabin for consumption during the cruise. Rum cakes were cheaper on board than on any stop. We also got some really nice Holland America logo aprons for $12.95. The kitchen tour was interesting, but short. We missed the chef's cooking demonstration done on Golden Princess. Ports We did the usual in the other ports. Cozumel
was crowded and hot, but good for souvenirs and Mexican food. Grand
Cayman is too expensive to do just about anything except take a Stingray City and snorkeling tour (which we
did and enjoyed, booked over the Web with Nativeway Watersports.) Key West was
a much better stop than we expected, docking right on Mallory Square with lots
of shops and open-air restaurants and bars just a few yards off the gangplank.
We had a nice walk there and bought some last-stop souvenirs. Debarkation Little things
Maasdam summary I expected HAL to be comparable to Celebrity and Princess. I definitely preferred HAL over Celebrity, but our experience with Century is a few years old now, so that's probably unfair. HAL vs. Princess I'd rate as a toss-up. HAL gets points for service, Half Moon Cay, cabins, and the classic experience of an old-time ocean liner. Princess wins on food, entertainment, and possible value depending on what discounts are available on each line. Still, I would recommend
Holland America to anyone looking for a relaxing, relatively
sophisticated, and well attended vacation. It is considerably
different that its competitors. I only hope that rampant
discounting doesn't force HAL into eliminating those differentiators
in order to compete on cost alone.
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