Embarkation was fast and efficient. We were among the first onto the ship and our cabin was ready, which was handy as we had carried on our own luggage. HAL had upgraded us from inside to out, which was delightful except for the joggers who could not read the "Please, no jogging" sign on the promenade deck directly overhead. I(f you really want a dark, quiet room, then book an inside. Don't spring for a balcony in May on the Atlantic, it's too cold.) However, the views and the bathtub more than made up for a little noise overhead at night. The Maasdam has more room for storing clothes, etc than pretty well any ship we have ever been on, and is certainly looking and smelling better than our other cruise on her a few years ago when the plumbing was problematic.

The only thing that stunk on this cruise was some of the food in the Lido. Raw meringue (runny, anyway. Can you spell Salmonella?) on a lemon pie, stale pastry, burnt and weird toppings for waffles, which were cold and rubbery if you didn't specify that you wanted "fresh." The sundae bar was also unfortunate: ice cream that had been melted and refrozen, full of little crunchy ice crystals; and toppings that included chopped candied ginger, giant marshmallows and some sort of fruit sauce that I couldn't identify. Note that all of these problem foods came from the same rather ill managed bar of food.

Generally the rest of the Lido food was fine, if unexciting. You could make yourself a pretty good salad. Read more