This was our first Holland America Cruise. Normally we cruise with Princess but wanted to try HAL just to compare. Most experienced cruisers know that the Maasdam is an older HAL ship and smaller with only 1,236 (give or take) passengers. My husband and I love the Tahitian Princess and thought the Maasdam would be comparable. Ours was a 10-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary calling on St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Barbados, Martinique, Tortola, and Half Moon Cay. Our favorite was St. Lucia with Tortola second. If we ever do the Eastern Caribbean again, we will try to find an itinerary that by-passes Barbados and Martinique. There were five ships in port besides the Maasdam in Barbados and the traffic and trying to get into town by bus or taxi was a nightmare. Martinique was nothing special, in our opinion; pretty, but not overly so.

The Maasdam is a beautiful ship with a lot of woods, marble, etc., that gives it a truly old-world feel. The ship was spotless. The crew worked constantly keeping the ship in tip-top condition. The crew as a whole were very gracious and friendly. It amazed me that several of the crew remembered not only my name, but the name of my spouse.

In the Rotterdam Dining Room, we had first seating, second level, table 83 overlooking the lower level. It was the perfect location. You could see the entire dining area and most all your fellow diners. The service was fabulous. However, we found the service to be superior throughout the ship. The Lido was also very good with a wide selection and we ate most of our meals there other than dinner. We did pay an extra $30 per person to dine in the Pinnacle. The food and service were excellent, but not $60 worth. We got the same quality of food and service in the Rotterdam Dining Room. The only complaint I had was the coffee; it was just too bitter. Read more