Review of Maasdam cruise beginning March 8, 2013

We took a ten day cruise of the Eastern Caribbean on HAL Maasdam out of Fort Lauderdale. We have used HAL twelve times in the past and were quite familiar with the demographics and level of activities on this cruise line so no surprises there. We were surprised and disappointed when we discovered after the fact that Canaletto restaurant is an upcharge venue now. There was no sign there nor were we told when making reservations, that there is a $10 per person charge nor was our key card scanned. When it appeared on our charges I approached the front office and was told the change to an upcharge was made over one and one half years ago. The front desk person said he would speak to the restaurant manager but the charge was not removed. Like customer service everywhere these days the representative never says "no", but proposes an appeal to someone else who just doesn't respond at all. We took this same ship ten months ago and the restaurant was free but regardless of the timing please be aware that passengers will be charged.

We had noticed that Canaletto's was just about deserted most nights with wait staff working in other areas and the reason for this is clear now. Read more