The
ms Maasdamcompleted all Signature of Excellence enhancements to her public rooms and staterooms in Spring 2006.
This Holland America ship, built in 1994, is the fifth ship to bear this name. She is a tribute to the line's classic tradition, incorporating state-of-the-art technology as well as a wealth of classic and contemporary art and artifacts.
Like her sisters, the Ryndam, Statendam, and Veendam, the Maasdamis an elegant, spacious Italian-built vessel that looks more like an ocean liner of old than many of today's ungainly bunker-style cruise ships. She registers 55,451 tons and extends 720 ft. Most officers are Dutch, while the crew is largely Filipino and Indonesian. Service, though generally efficient, does not brim with graciousness or charm, nor does it offer anything more than the expected minimum. This comes as an unwelcome surprise to old HAL fans accustomed to more attentive and friendlier service.
From May through September, Maasdammakes her way to New England and Canada on 7- to 14-day cruises. At the end of September and into spring, her itineraries are predominately Caribbean, from 6- to 14-plus day voyages. Many of these stop at HAL's lovely private island in the Bahamas, Half Moon Cay.
Shore excursions tend to be of the standard run-of-the-mill variety, often inaccurately or inadequately described either in the tour booklet or by the shore-excursion staff.
The ship's interiors are by the same Dutch design firm who established HAL's signature look in earlier ships, using fine appointments from the world over and capitalizing on the Netherland's rich history of shipping. A 30-ft glass sculpture under a mirrored ceiling dazzles with fiber-optic lighting in the ship's three-story atrium. Wrapped in floor-to-ceiling windows, the main dining rooms are airy and panoramic by day, formal and elegant after dark, with Hungarian strings playing softly from a raised platform. Farther aft are the open Explorer's Lounge, a card room, library, Internet center, theater with a popcorn machine at the entrance, and meeting rooms. On the deck below are the photo center and purser's and shore-excursion offices, the latter in desperate need of a more experienced staff. A gym, massage and steam rooms, saunas and a juice bar pamper and tone fitness buffs, and a long jogging track encircles the funnel. Children and teens now have their own game room and a disco aft on the Sports Deck. The intimate Piano Barnext to the casino and shopping arcade draws nostalgic patrons into the wee hours, with its popular young crooner inviting sing-alongs.
Meals offer a wide selection of choices and quality is above average for this class of ship. One of the side rooms, once available for private groups or special-occasion dinners, is now the Pinnacle Grill, serving steaks, fish and chicken for an extra charge. The spacious Lido Restaurant offers a casual cafeteria-style dining alternative, in addition to breakfast and lunch, with hot and cold buffet selections. Hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos and spaghetti are served by the central pool with its retractable roof until 5 pm when the ship is in port, and ice cream is free in the Lido Restaurantin late afternoon. A weekly Indonesian dinner in the Lidois also popular, as is the chocolate midnight extravaganza. The 24-hour room service is a welcome amenity, especially at breakfast.
Her 629 staterooms are arrayed over five decks, with units on the top two providing verandas or balconies. The rooms range in size from 182 square feet for inside cabins to the extravagant Penthouse Verandah Suite, measuring more than 1,100 square feet. The long, narrow cabins (three-quarters of which are outsides) have sitting areas, TVs, VCRs, good stowage and baths (with tubs in outside cabins). Suites add dressing rooms and minibars, and six cabins are wheelchair-accessible. This is a beautifully designed ship that will appeal to more mature passengers, though more staff training is in order.
This is a beautifully designed ship that will appeal to more mature passengers, though more staff training is in order.
