There was a lot to like on this cruise, starting with the selection of ports. With only one exception, the Maasdam docked near the center of each town and so avoided the delay and inconvenience of tendering. The weather was perfect for the first half of the cruise, but after that, dense fog set in during the evening; much worse, Hurricane Arthur was projected to hit the New England coast just a few hours before our scheduled arrival in Boston. The final afternoon of the cruise saw the crew tying down or removing deck furniture and a number of passengers decided to disembark at Bar Harbor rather than stay on board and ride out the storm. Fortunately, Captain Ryan was able to steer a course well to the west of Arthur, so the sea turned out to be calmer than expected.

As this was our first cruise with the Holland America Line, we couldn’t help comparing the Maasdam with the newer and larger ships we had previously been on. One noticeable difference was the strong vibration throughout our cabin, especially in the bathroom. This apparently was nothing out of the ordinary for experienced HAL hands but was an unwelcome surprise for us. Another negative was the daily 8 a.m. wakeup call in the form of the cruise director’s cheery announcements, all of which were of a routine nature. We were told that this is a company policy that caters to the interests of HAL’s elderly base clientele. But for light or late sleepers, it’s an annoyance that other lines avoid by keeping the early morning in-room announcements to a minimum.

The food ranged from good to excellent, though service in the main dining hall was so slow that we began taking all of our meals in the self-service restaurant, which offered most of the same appetizers, entrees, and desserts but was less crowded and more casual, as well as quicker. The dining room waiters were in constant motion, so it seems that the problem was due to understaffing. Read more