We started cruising in December 2006 with our first cruise on the Maasdam from Norfolk VA on an 11 day cruise to the Caribbean. In an anniversary cruise this December we reenacted our first cruise (now our 7th overall) on the Maasdam which has remained our favorite ship compared to the Volendam, Ryndam, Zaandam, RCL Grandeur of the Seas and the NCL Majesty in a far distant last place. We still love the Maasdam and there are so many positives that others have written about that I will heartily agree with. Overall the food, crew, facilities and embarkation and disembarkation are very good and with few to no faults and we had a more or less perfect cruise experience with exceptions noted below.

However, other recent CC reviewers have pointed out some problems on this old grand ship that we have now experienced for ourselves. We had the same problems with the control of cabin temperature in cabin 581 on the main deck as mentioned by others on this level. When we boarded the room temperature was very cold and could not be raised; after a call to the front desk we were informed that the maintenance staff would be called and the problem then went away for several days. Mid cruise the cabin temperature was too warm and temperature could not be reduced until the obligatory call to the front desk which again solved the problem temporarily. Later in the cruise the frigid temperatures returned and the temperature was 65 degrees F and falling according to the digital thermometer on our travel clock. One of our fellow cruisers called the thermostat a cabin ornament with little other function.

The periodic and recurring problem with cabin temperatures and lack of function of the thermostat were matched by blistering hot scalding water from the tap in the basin in the bathroom. The water was so hot for the whole cruise that extreme care was needed to prevent burning your hands. This would be a serious problem for people traveling with children but we endured and used extreme care in keeping the tap at the coldest end of the range and inching up to the hotter settings. Read more