Maasdam Review

4.0 / 5.0
0 reviews

Small Ships Have Some Advantages

Review for Canada & New England Cruise on Maasdam
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drtenor
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Aug 2010
Cabin: Large Ocean-View Stateroom
Traveled with children

First, we would like to thank previous reviewers for their helpful advice. We found their observations regarding the ship and its crew to be very accurate. There truly is only ONE outlet in the entire stateroom; this is not a dual outlet, mind you, but a single AC outlet, so plan accordingly by charging your devices on a rotating schedule, or bring a small power strip. We also found that the air conditioning was inadequate. The cooling unit was working, but the amount of air stream and coolness was not enough to cool the stateroom on days when it was above 85 degrees outside. The public areas were always comfortable, but the stateroom was unavoidable when it came time to sleep! Most nights, I would go to sleep with no covers on, then find myself waking @3am when the temp finally dropped to necessitate some light covering. We were extremely lucky that outside heat and humidity conditions were ideal throughout our trip; had it been much warmer or more humid, we would have been miserable all night long. When this ship goes in for remodeling next year, I hope this ventilation issue is addressed.

We agree also with others that this ship is showing some signs of wear and tear, but not so much as to detract from its overall elegance. The stateroom bathroom showed the most wear, especially the basin, which showed crazing and cracking of the finish. Our toilet functioned well as long as we were careful not to put too much paper in it at one time. We overheard other passengers complaining about their toilets backing up and spilling; this seemed to be a system issue that worsened in the final days of the cruise. Aside from these potentially serious issues (again, we were lucky with the weather and very careful with the toilet), we found the entire cruise experience to be very positive.

A key advantage to the size of this ship is that it can clear under all the bridges necessary to reach Montreal. I learned from a tour guide in Quebec that most cruise ships must terminate in Quebec City because they are too tall. At 719 feet and 12 decks, this small ship maneuvered well into and out of each port, ducking under low bridges and steering in between bridge pillars. The captain and crew needed to stay attentive to achieve this, plus, navigate the St. Lawrence as it narrowed into shipping lanes. With a total of 1200 passengers, it was possible to meet up with people that you had met and conversed with earlier, thus making for a familiar friendly atmosphere.

Cabin Review

Large Ocean-View Stateroom

Cabin F

Stateroom 720, on deck 4, forward starboard, was in a very quiet location. It is a quad room ,of which there aren't very many. It has a view window, which we appreciated, so we could see when we were underway and when we were pulling into port. The window also helps make the room feel a little bit bigger.

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