I have sailed Holland America (HAL) vessels 6 times. I have always been very satisfied with every cruise and very impressed with their whole operation. On October 2, 2010 our ship the Maasdam left Boston for a 7 night cruise that ended in Montreal.I was with a group of 6 other people who also have sailed HAL many times with me. All of us were very disappointed with the condition of the boat. The boat was tired and worn. The linens and towels were worn and many of them were gray. Towels would be stacked in the bathroom and some were white and others were thread worn and way off color. The lines were shot, they were not dirty but they were thread worn and gray. Our third night we went to the Pinnacle Room and it didn't measure up to Denny's. We mentioned our displeasure and the boat comped the next time we were there and it was very good. We went to the Italian themed room and discovered that it was nothing more than an area that was separated from the main dining area and not too becoming. The food was adequate but nothing to write home about.

We talked to one of the Officers and mentioned how we thought the boat was tired and run down. He said that it was going into dry dock in March of 2011 for a refurbishment.

To top things off I went into the elevator one evening and leaned against the rail in the elevator and it came off the wall. In closing our group was really surprised that we paid top dollar to cruise on a premier line with a boat that was just worn and tired. This is a competitive world and if HAL doesn't want to put the money into keeping their boats in first class shape other cruise lines will eat them alive.When we go on our yearly cruise next year we will spend more time checking out the condition of the boat or switch to another cruise line. Read more