Thread: What is the Massdam like ?

Do I get a prize for being the first to post in this Forum ?

My question is for people who have sailed her. Since she was built in 1993 is she showing her age ? My last cruise was on the similarly aged Norwegian Majesty. After that it made me very cautious about sailing on an 'old' ship again.
Any opinions ?

We've sailed on the Maasdam twice for a total of 20 days.

Yes, the ship is small and old. And depending on when it last went through refurbishment, it can definitely show signs of age. But then the same thing can be said with alot of ships.

Personally, we like the smaller ships of the Holland America fleet, having been on 4 of them. The provide us with a very nice experienc; good service, good food, and not too crowded.

By comparison, we were on another small ship last year with a different cruise line and it was not all that great. While the service was good and the ship was nice, even though it was old, the food was not good and it always seemed crowded.

Keep in mind that the usual demographics for Holland America is an older crowd. Obviously, if you're going when school is out, you will have kids onboard. But if you're going when school is in, it will definitely be an older group. But this is also a good thing in that they are never in a hurry to do anything and it never seems crowded, which is why we really like the Holland America experience on their smaller ships.

We're scheduled to do a 12-night Baltic cruise on the Eurodam in June and this will be our first time on one of their larger ships, so it'll be interesting to compare the differences.

But comparing the Maasdam versus the NCL Majesty is not a fair comparison. I've been on both and MUCH prefer the Maasdam because we did not like the Majesty at all. Have nothing good to say about that ship.

Pete

The cruise ship was built 1993 and is a little bit old for this sector of maritime transport, but it is really luxury and beautiful. Actually in the newly built, shining vessels, something from the spirit is missing. This can be got only on board of older cruise ship, just like this one. The capacity of Maasdam is not so big – 1,266 passengers, who will be served from 561 crew members. The ship is really amazing and good looking in spite of the ages. The length of Maasdam is 219.45 meters and the beam is 33.52 meters. The cruise ship has draft of 6.59 meters, which gives deadweight of 55,451 metric tons. The cruise ship Maasdam is well known around the cruise lovers. The ship is beautiful designed and the outlooking is really nice. The ship is equipped with most modern and environmental equipment for the ages of building. Maasdam is ship part of the long history of Holland America Cruises and the ship definitely describes good the sense of cruise shipping. The ship is really nice place for your vacation, for finding new friends and spending good moments with your family.
The ship is giving the sense of freedom and also very comfortable vacation on board. The staterooms are divided into several categories – VIP apartments (the upper passengers’ deck), large staterooms with balconies, small staterooms with balconies, small staterooms with ocean view and finally small rooms without ocean view. All these categories of rooms on board are giving for the passengers comfort and pleasure on board. Maasdam is made for all kind of people, so staterooms are not the most important thing on board. The public places are offering large number of entertainment combined with calm places of large gardens. The cafes and restaurants are perfect places for getting rest after hard day on board, where you can get good food from different kitchens. Maasdam has a lot of entertainments and sports activities. You can play football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming and golf in some of the fields on board. Also the fitness hall is equipped for people, who want to look good and to continue their body building programs even on board. The spa centers are open more than 18 hours daily, and will care about your beauty. Of course the night life is one of the most important things for all young people, and on board of Maasdam they will find 2 disco-clubs, some bars and of course one big lounge. The cruise ship is really nice, keeping the atmosphere of old cruises, but combinating this with modern and luxury equipment. The two large pool situated outside are surrounded with open-air bars and one open air cinema, where you can watch the newest movies, in the hot tropical nights. Also you can have a look in the gallery and art museum on board, or just prefer traditional library for the most interesting novels. All on board of Maasdam is created and built to be beautiful and comfortable for cruising.

And that being said, How did I sail on this ship two years before it was even built ??

We have sailed on the Maasdam several times -- our first HAL cruise was on the Maasdam back in 1996 -- Baltic cruise.

The last time we were on her was in 2007 -- yes she is showing her age. We were in the Penthouse -- new carpeting -- but many places on the ships really new carpets -- they have been cleaned so many times that they are now separating at the seams -- looking bad.

The Maasdam has had some engine problems but the biggest thing happening all the time is the plumbing -- many toilets out of service for long periods of time. The air-conditioning can be bad at times as well -- just doesn't cool off many public areas well and quite a few cabins have reported no air.

She will be the last ship to do have the massive renovation done to her in spring 2011 -- lani cabins will be added as well as the Mix. New carpeting and furnishings will done in the majority of the cabins. She will undergo another renovation about 2 years later when they add on more cabins at the rear and remove the pool from the navigation Deck and move it up to the Lido Deck. But it won't be a big pool anymore -- a wading pool with lounge chairs in it. Also in this area "Slice" the new pizza area will be added and there will be a big screen TV there.

Sadly the problems with the air conditioning and plumbing will not be addressed.

Originally Posted by GeneK

The cruise ship was built 1993 and is a little bit old for this sector of maritime transport, but it is really luxury and beautiful. Actually in the newly built, shining vessels, something from the spirit is missing. This can be got only on board of older cruise ship, just like this one. The capacity of Maasdam is not so big – 1,266 passengers, who will be served from 561 crew members. The ship is really amazing and good looking in spite of the ages. The length of Maasdam is 219.45 meters and the beam is 33.52 meters. The cruise ship has draft of 6.59 meters, which gives deadweight of 55,451 metric tons. The cruise ship Maasdam is well known around the cruise lovers. The ship is beautiful designed and the outlooking is really nice. The ship is equipped with most modern and environmental equipment for the ages of building. Maasdam is ship part of the long history of Holland America Cruises and the ship definitely describes good the sense of cruise shipping. The ship is really nice place for your vacation, for finding new friends and spending good moments with your family.
The ship is giving the sense of freedom and also very comfortable vacation on board. The staterooms are divided into several categories – VIP apartments (the upper passengers’ deck), large staterooms with balconies, small staterooms with balconies, small staterooms with ocean view and finally small rooms without ocean view. All these categories of rooms on board are giving for the passengers comfort and pleasure on board. Maasdam is made for all kind of people, so staterooms are not the most important thing on board. The public places are offering large number of entertainment combined with calm places of large gardens. The cafes and restaurants are perfect places for getting rest after hard day on board, where you can get good food from different kitchens. Maasdam has a lot of entertainments and sports activities. You can play football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming and golf in some of the fields on board. Also the fitness hall is equipped for people, who want to look good and to continue their body building programs even on board. The spa centers are open more than 18 hours daily, and will care about your beauty. Of course the night life is one of the most important things for all young people, and on board of Maasdam they will find 2 disco-clubs, some bars and of course one big lounge. The cruise ship is really nice, keeping the atmosphere of old cruises, but combinating this with modern and luxury equipment. The two large pool situated outside are surrounded with open-air bars and one open air cinema, where you can watch the newest movies, in the hot tropical nights. Also you can have a look in the gallery and art museum on board, or just prefer traditional library for the most interesting novels. All on board of Maasdam is created and built to be beautiful and comfortable for cruising.

Where did you get this information?? There is not an open air cinema on her -- yet!! Two disco clubs -- no way!!

Here's where he got the information, which as you pointed out, is incorrect;

Cruise Ships - Maasdam

Pete

Now I thought this was very interesting.

Maasdam has a lot of entertainments and sports activities. You can play football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming and golf in some of the fields on board.

Obviously, English is not his first language.

Pete

I clicked onto that link.

Oh Lordy -- where did that site get that information??

People reading that would who love sports and booked for that purpose would be so disappointed once they got on the ship.

Yonnie, where have they been hiding "the fields" (there must be more than one since he used the plural) !
I might want to play some football!
Since English is not his first language, maybe he was talking about soccer, not American football!