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We recently completed a 13-day cruise on Holland America's MAASDAM on a repositioning cruise from Montreal to Ft. Lauderdale. This was cruise No. 14 for us, having experienced NCL, RC, Princess, Renaissance, Celebrity and Holland America back in 2001 on VEENDAM.
As is our custom, we always fly to the embarkation port a day before sail day to avoid a whole lot of stress. We stayed in the Bonaventure Hotel and took a taxi to the nearby port the next morning.
EMBARCATION
Embarcation was a breeze as we had done the details online months before. The pier was fairly easy to maneuver and people were helpful. We were taken up to the Lido Restaurant for a noon snack, which was welcome and busy. The food was OK and very typical. No real complaints with good variety.
Our cabin was 144 on Verandah with a very spacious balcony - much deeper than our experiences in other ships. It also included a full size bathtub with a whirlpool (which we didn't use). It also had two hairdryers - one in the bathroom (the old style) and one at the desk. We were impressed with our own personalized stationery. The bed was very comfortable - mattress thicker than most - and the room had plenty of storage space - even for a 13-day stay.
Sailaway was routine, but the next night our captain announced that there would be no potable water for a few hours, due to a ruptured pipe. We did not have water for about 12 hours and no hot water for another 6 hours. Those wonderful Philappino room stewards delivered bottled water to our rooms very promptly. They were always so anxious to please during the whole cruise. We learned later that 8 cabins had been flooded and carpets were replaced quickly.
FOOD
We dined every evening in early sitting at 5:30 PM in the main dining room - THE ROTTERDAM and found the food most satisfactory. The beef was the most consistent on the menu with the seafood marginal with the exception of the shrimp cocktails and the lobster on the final night. We opted for the PINNACLE GRILL twice and found it most worthwhile for the money. We would still rate the food on Celebrity a little better. The desserts all looked fantastic with great presentation, but flavors were sometimes missing.
PORTS OF CALL
We had never cruised the St. Lawrence before and found it pleasing. Had the weather been sunny and warmer, it would have been spectacular, but we experienced overcast days that were very cool. We can't blame H/A for that. We thought QUEBEC CITY was the most interesting of all the ports. It definitely felt like France and was worth the visit.
The port of SANGWENAY was very friendly, with a brand new pier that was very clean and featuring local crafts. Not much to see but a charming town at the end of a fjord.
SIDNEY was interesting in that we took an excursion to BEDDECK and a neat visit to the ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL MUSEUM which was well worth the trip. The village of Beddeck is nearby and is charming. Much like New England. We were greeted at the pier by the world's largest violin.
HALIFAX has a great Maritime Museum just a few minutes walk from the pier that should not be missed. Upstairs features an extensive Titanic exhibit.
BAR HARBOR found us touring ACADIA NATIONAL PARK in our own taxi. We could stop where we wanted and the price was resonable. Marvelous views around every corner. Cadillac Mountain was closed that day due to icing on the roads, though we didn't see any.
ENTERTAINMENT
Our cruise director Mike was absolutely first class and "wore well". He was everywhere and kept everyone laughing.
The entertainment was excellent and every bit as good as any we have seen on shipboard. The "singers and dancers" were only featured three times. We had a great musician and an outstanding pianist - Paul.
We were delightfully surprised with the entertainment on board. The usual "singers and dancers" bit only happened three times, but they were very energetic with beautiful constumes.
DISEMBARKATION
Holland America has a new baggage option that takes your bags from the hall outside your cabin door to your final destination. You are given gate passes in your cabin and never have to fight the ocean of bags on the pier. You simply get on the bus for the airport. We used it and it works well.
All in all, Holland America has great service. Their stewards and waiters are very anxious to please and work hard to make for an outstanding cruise experience.
The ship is a bit tired and could use a minor revamp. Little things went wrong, but it is lovingly cared for and very clean. We like the size of the S-class ships in H/A and find them to offer everything we need.
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