The Maasdam is a ship built back in 1993 which accommodates up to 1,258 passengers. When initially built and christened it was probably was shining star in the Holland America fleet. Even though, it has been operation for now going on 21 years and has undergone several refurbishments, the years have taken a toll on this ship.

I embarked on my 21 day journey to many of the magnificent islands located in the Eastern Caribbean on January 17th, just a little late to fully escape the bitter temps of the polar vortex. Embarkation, in Ft. Lauderdale went very smoothly, from the time HAL representative met me in baggage claim at FLL until I boarded the ship. I was able to avoid the elevator lines as my stateroom was on the same floor.

The ship offers 5 locations for dining, the Lido (cafeteria style dining), The Rotterdam Dining Room, The Cantelleto (Italian dining at $10), The Pinnacle Grill (Steaks and Seafood at $29) and now the newly established Dive-in (Hamburgers and Hotdogs), First I will address the Rotterdam, where I only ate 4 times in 21 days. In the beginning of my cruise, the dining room was appointed with smelly canvas drapery, filthy windows, burned out lights, and our table was accented with a dead flower arrangement, that I asked to be removed. The dining room steward and his assistant was very sociable, and very apologetic, as it took almost 2 hrs to complete my meal, as they were consistently waiting on the kitchen staff. The meal was presented uniquely, the vegetables were luke warm and the meat selection was sub par. I tried 3 more times through out the 21 day cruise, and eventually the outside windows finally got washed and the light bulbs were replaced. Now the Lido, a different style of dining. The food selection was adequate only if you like chicken, beef or pork a lot. Almost all the side dishes were luke warm. The real treat for the Lido was the late night menu selection. For 21 days, the menu never changed, same old french bread style pizza (cheese never melted), a satay beef dish, almost like shoe leather, chocolate cake, the usual lunch meat, sliced fruit and a couple other things not worth mentioning. I guess to change the menu may have been to stressful for the chef. Another issue with the Lido is staffing and cleanliness. Tables weren't being bused during prime periods, the kitchen staff were disorganized consistently running out of supplies. The Pinnacle Grill was a disappointment and not up to par as other HAL ships I have been on. The new Dive-in was a great place to get semi cooked hamburgers or dried out hotdogs. Miss the old days of brats, chicken burgers, veggie burgerss, salmon burgers, lamb burgers, accompanied with sweet potato fries. Read more