Maasdam - Reviews

Leadership on this ship was bad. Captain is arrogant and had zero personality. Hotel direct Florin was the exception. He was absolutely all in and did a fabulous job. If there was a problem he fixed it, then followed up with us to let us know what had been done. Best ship hotel director ever! Best room stewards ever! Food? Here’s a shocker for you: on a 24 day French Polynesia cruise where everywhere you stop is lush with bananas and coconuts... you can’t get EITHER on board!!! About 10 days into the cruise I asked why and was told by the food and beverage director that the ship buys NOTHING from any of the places we visit!! That ALL THEIR FOOD, 100%, comes from the US because one time they had a problem with food purchased elsewhere. So this cruise left from Singapore, then took on more passengers in Brisbane, then more in Auckland. And all our food was from the US! So zero bananas for us. That was a problem for MANY passengers. I asked the food and beverage director why we couldn’t have some tropical fruit sorbets like coconut and was told they buy them all from the US also and don’t make them. He was insulted when I asked! But confirmed that they don’t. This was my first (and last) Holland America cruise. I’ll stick with Celebrity and NCL thank you very much. No problems with either.

We loved some of the small islands, Easter Island and Peru...but disliked when we returned to some of the islands again to fulfill the 48 days.... repeating itineraries. Tahiti was not a great island !

The overall itinerary was fantastic, with Easter Island being the main drawing card. The stops in Costa Rica were disappointing because of road blockages most of the excursions were cancelled. The voyage southward toward the equator was rather cool with overcast skies in large part but when the ship got to Easter Island the weather turned great and remained so for the rest of the voyage. The captain made a great decision on the way to Easter Island by changing course to avoid a storm which made the voyage more comfortable and gave us great weather for visiting the Island. The voyage to and through French Polynesia was great.

Poor cabin conditions at the start of the cruise and the fraudulent advertising/marketing of Pitcairn Island as a port-of-call made an otherwise enjoyable cruise disappointing.

Not the best cruise. Bad tours, noises on boat. bad hide a bed

Once we were moved to a different xabin, the cruise was good.

As this was our second time on the cruise we knew what to expect. However, it seems they have relaxed their rules for using the dining room. Rules were not enforced on a uniform basis. This caused our only problem on the cruise. Food, service and our room were excellent. Very relaxing with smooth waters. Would not recommend Sydney as a stop. Very small town with very little to do.

I was disappointed with the constant pressure to spend and buy more in the spa after I had already purchased three expensive spa treatments and special access to the thermal room. Vitamins, orthotics, soaking solutions, they just would not give up. Unfortunately, despite many other positive experiences with the food and service, this overwhelms my memory. I loved the service and the food was very good. There was lots to do and see.

This is the first cruise we had taken in 15 years. Our experience with American Airlines and Holland America could not have been better regarding registration, documentation, etc. The staff was very friendly and efficient on board the ship. Canada is beautiful and weather was very pleasant. We actually registered for another cruise in 2019 because of our experience this time.

Maasdam is old and warn and in need of updating desperately. Service in the dining room, lido deck and bar by pool are extremely understaffed. Service is friendly but so slow and unsatisfactory!

THE CRUISE OVERALL WAS EXCELLENT. SERVICE AND ENTERTAINMENT WAS GOOD. THE EXCURSIONS WAS WELL ORGANIZED AND HANDLED GREAT. IT WAS A WONDERFUL CRUISE AND WE ENJOYED VERY MUCH.

It was great , relaxing, seeing beautiful and untouchable cities and let me describe in one word, it was unpredictable.

A great cruising experience. Highly recommended.

We arrived in Montreal a day early and enjoyed the city. The cruise was very relaxing. Much quieter than on the larger ships.

Beautiful countryside; so many excellent shore excursion it was a difficuly choise as to which ones to select. Food and entertainment was very good. Have a wonderful time.

Nice relaxing cruise. Good learning experience for first cruise.

We have taken 10 cruises on 4 lines but this was our first Holland America experience. We felt that, overall, this cruise included the best food and entertainment of any we have taken. The food was delicious. We especially appreciated that the desserts were actually sweet. The quality, professionalism and skill of the entertainers was superior to that found on our other cruises. The ship offers fewer options for fun (such as rock-wall, golf, water features, etc.) and the program offers fewer entertainment options. But it we enjoyed being mellow.

Great cruise, great entertainment, great service and good food.

Had a great time. A lot of sea days, I'm surprised I enjoyed the sea time so much. Looking forward to our cruise next year.

Very good itinerary. Lower staterooms needs to be brought up to date, for the $$ you spend for them. Better training for room stewards and wait staff and folks incharge of the muster stations.