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Why Go?
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 Cruise ambience is a mix of traditional and contemporary
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Charming service
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Spacious standard cabins
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Editor's Picks: Best Family Cruises (Canada and New England)
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Panoramic views from dramatic two-story dining room
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Itineraries and Ports of Call: Caribbean - Eastern • Caribbean - Southern • Caribbean - Western
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Maasdam Review
In the embarkation lounge, my eyes were searching for signs of youth. A Hello Kitty backpack, a stuffed animal, a Game Boy, a mouth full of braces, anything. I was about to begin a seven-night cruise with my husband and our five-year-old son, and even as we'd booked our tickets, the jury was still out on whether Holland America's stately Maasdam was a good choice for a family. I'd done enough research to know that there are plenty of older Holland America devotees who make no bones about the fact that the absence of kids is, for them, a good thing. There are 60-somethings who've said they felt like spring chickens on this line's ships. But I'd heard that demographics were changing, that the late summer season cruises out of Boston would have plenty of family appeal. But Maasdam is a ship whose godmother is June Allyson -- R.I.P. Frankly, I was worried.
Turns out I didn't need to be. While the ship does lack the state-of-the-art facilities and programs offered by lines for whom families are a significant passenger base, Maasdam was just fine. There were enough kids onboard that a certain critical mass was achieved -- but not so many that adults looking for Holland America's brand of sedate-style cruising would be annoyed.
With its mid-sized capacity and classic styling, Maasdam is a manageable and pleasant ship. After thirteen years in service, it has succeeded in retaining its youth -- with a major sweep of contemporary updates just last year -- but has resisted the impulse to act like a teenager. As such, Maasdam has retained some of the traditional sensibilities that appeal to its older audience base -- high tea, formal nights, ballroom dancing and displays of antiques -- while adding elements to appeal to younger audiences (and not just families at that), with features that include a contemporary alternative restaurant, wireless hotspots and an iPod tour of the aforementioned antiques.
Indeed, there are some of us who say hats off to Maasdam for resisting some of the more radical trends of the behemoth ships (no surfing wave simulators or rock-climbing walls here), while stepping ahead on other fronts, with an extensive state-of-the-art library, for example. For my little family, it proved to be an enjoyable ship on which to spend a week meandering up the New England coast.
Read Complete Maasdam Review
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Holland America Ships: Amsterdam • Eurodam • Maasdam • Nieuw Amsterdam • Noordam • Oosterdam • Prinsendam • Rotterdam • Ryndam • Statendam • Veendam • Volendam • Westerdam • Zaandam • Zuiderdam
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