Review: Holland America Line - Maasdam - [July 02 , 2005]

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Maasdam review

July 2 - 9, 2005 Montreal to Boston, via Quebec, Charlottetown PEI, Sydney,
Halifax, and Bar Harbor.

Overall

Great ship, great itinerary, great crew, great time

Background

This is our 4th cruise, third on Holland America, not really because we are
big HAL fans, more because we pick some ports we really want to see, and end
cities we'd like to spend some time in, and then pick the cruise that best
includes these. This year we wanted to do Canada/New England in the summer,
while the kids were out of school. We wanted to start or end in Montreal
and stop in Quebec. We don't like sea days. This was the only cruise line
offering that in the summer. I don't know why, it's a great itinerary for
kids. (I suspect those really big ships can't make it all the way up the
St. Lawrence.)

Embarkation

Though we got to Montreal on Thursday, we were in no hurry to get onto the
ship. Friday was Canada Day, and we got to see parades and old town, we
still wanted to get some shopping in. The ship tickets said boarding was
from 2pm to 5pm. The hotel said it would take 10 minutes to get there, but
we wanted to be safe, as the Montreal Jazz Festival was in full swing, and
streets were closed. We left at 2:30. It took about 45 minutes to get
there, with so many blocked off streets. We were on the ship, in our state
room by 3:30. (We did get to use the suite check-in, so we did not have to
stand in line. There was still a line for regular check-in.)

The Ship

Well, it's a HAL ship, so it's pretty much the same as the others I've been
on, missing a set of elevators and stairs perhaps, but pretty much the same.
We sailed on the Magic her first season, the Volendam her first season, and
the Rotterdam when she was 3 years old or so. So this was the oldest ship
we've been on. You couldn't tell at all. When the captain mentioned how old
the ship was my husband was very surprised. They keep her up well.

That said, sometimes stuff happens. The Maasdam was down her main engine.
Given so, the sea day would be making tracks to Charlottetown, which we made
a little early and the captain gave us a little more time in port.
Unfortunately, this meant we didn't have scenic fjord cruising, but I think
he did the best he could. Also we left Sydney an hour early (no big deal)
and Halifax an hour early (which was a bummer as we didn't have a chance to
wander Halifax after our excursion) but all in all, we got all the ports
advertised.

Room

We had a suite. Looked just like the suite on the Volendam and the
Rotterdam. Enough room for four people to unpack and store suitcases under
the bed. It came with a wonderful room steward, Edi, who was a whiz at
finding stuff, like the shirt lost in the laundry. It also came with a very
efficient concierge, Nancy, who got all our excursions ironed out. It also
came with more invitations to "meet the captain" than we knew what to do
with. We went to the first cocktail party, and the lunch, and then skipped
the third cocktail party, and the Mariner's party, and the captain's welcome
because it just got to be a little much. Just mentioning this for those who
love opportunities to rub shoulders with the crew.

Food

We mostly had breakfast in the Lido, Dinner in the Main dining room, and
lunch either in the Lido, by the pool, or off the ship. We did tend to like
the afternoon snacks from the Neptune lounge, and I love the cappuccino
machine in that lounge though the cups were too small for my caffeine
addiction. I fixed that by getting a "Dam Ship" mug, and using that for my
morning fix.

The Lido was good solid food. The oatmeal was thick, the powdered donuts
were tasted just like they were out of the Entemann's box, the orange juice
was fresh. At lunch the burrito bar had plenty of choices, the pizza was
good, there were occasional flashes of brilliance in the steam tables. And,
my downfall, the bread pudding was always there at lunch. I did notice they
are a bit gonzo on the carrying your tray for you. I can't possibly look
that feeble, but they were always sure I need help. I can't imagine there
were folks that needed help that didn't get it. And they were Johnny on the
spot with coffee refills, cleaning tables and resetting the silverware. The
only time I had trouble finding a table was at the embarkation day, but I
did find one eventually. (And really, when I have a table on my verandah,
one stairway down, how bad do I need a table.)

The Rotterdam Dining room was fantastic. There were several times I was
thinking nothing looked that good on the menu, or perhaps I wasn't hungry,
but when the food came it really exceeded expectations. We were traveling
with our two girls, ages 10 (Almost 11) and 15. We were joined at our
table by a charming grandfather traveling with his equally charming
grandson, who was 13. That young man highly recommended the HAL teen club,
but could not persuade my daughter from giving up her afternoons and
evenings with her "East of Eden" novel. (Required reading for English next
fall.) Our table mates did persuade my daughter to order 4 lobster tails,
instead of two, after eating the two lobsters on our Peggy's Cove excursion
that afternoon. She finished them all, and was still hungry. The Baked
Alaska did fill her up. Now, we've seen the Baked Alaska parade a few times
now, and it's kind of homespun charm to us. To our table mates, who hadn't
cruised on HAL before, it was really special. I'm not a fan of singing
waiters, but one sparkly parade of deserts a week I think works. On the
last night they brought a birthday cake out for our 10 year old, who was
turning 11 in two days. No one at the table told them, they pulled it from
their records. That was a wonderful surprise. She was in heaven. Even
before that she had convinced my husband to tip our wonderful waiter, Dono,
and our Asst Steward Indria, extra, because they were so good to us.

The Pinnacle Grill was open to suite guests for breakfast. My daughter and
I walked in 10 minutes after they were supposed to open on the first
morning. They looked very confused. "We are here for breakfast." They
still looked confused. "You have breakfast for suite guests." That's
right, they knew they were dressed up and assigned there for something,
asked our room number, sat us down, and gave us the strangest service
anywhere on that ship. We ordered pancakes and waffles. Took them twenty
minutes. When they came our pancakes were luke warm, the waffles were cold.
Meanwhile they did set out the pastries under the glass display, never
offered us any. I asked for coffee with milk instead of cream. He brought
the coffee. Ten minutes later he came out with a carton of milk, poured
some in, and wandered away with the carton. Then he wanted to add more
coffee. Gave up on them after that. As I said, the Lido breakfasts were
good, the pancakes there were hot off the grill. Why go back.

Entertainment

Our kids like to watch shows, so every night we hit the show room. First
night was a very funny ventriloquist, talk about a lost art. There were
also a magician couple called DV8 that we still can't figure out how they
did some of their tricks, and an amazing guitarist historian, Justin Miller,
who brought the house down every time he played. The Maasdam cast did three
shows. I'm a bit tone deaf, but with a dancing daughter and haven taken
some dance myself, I've seen enough dancing to know what's hard, and what's
sloppy. The first show, Romance on Broadway, had a bit of real dancing, lots
of showing off costumes, and enough singing on key that we thought at least
two of the four singers had good voices. The second show, set in a NY
subway, had extremely mediocre dancing done with choreography that could
have been performed as well by a beginning adult jazz class. This show was
written in some key that three of the four singers could not hit. The lead
male singer, who could sing, couldn't move, kind of like the singing statue.
The third show, with a Mardi Gras party theme, was the best of the three.
All four singers could sing in key, and some of the dancing rivaled what
I've seen at dance competitions. (Though, my daughter did point out that this
was the only show where the women wore shoes you could really dance in. The
high heels might look nice when they are standing there, and yes, you can
still kick high, but if you really want to dance full out, turn, leap, you
need jazz shoes.)

Disembarkation

We started in Canada, and our second to last stop was in Maine, so
immigration was done before you got off at that port. Those on early
excursions were told to show up 10 minutes early for immigration. I heard
it took them longer than the 10 minutes, but this was the day after the
London bombings, so that's not too surprising. At 8:15 they started calling
non-excursion folks by first letter of last name. For those who tried to
get through immigration before 9am, the lines were long and slow. After the
last morning excursion was off the number of immigration officers available
for every one else went up. Our letter was called about 9:30, we were out
by 9:40.

So, coming into Boston there were no calls for folks for immigration. The
people who preferred to roll their own luggage could disembark around 8am.
We chose to have our baggage picked up in the morning (after 6am, from
inside your room..) which I think meant we were put in the first group to
disembark. (We told them we were in no hurry.) We were off, and checked
into our hotel in Boston by 9am. I'm thinking if you are on this itinerary,
and immigration is done the day before at Bar Harbor, you could easily make
a morning flight out.

Ports

Montreal

As mentioned earlier, it was Jazz Festival week in Montreal, and we were
lucky enough to run into a delightful Canada Day parade. The park on the
hill in the middle of the city is beautiful. Shopping on Ste. Catherine is
diverse, you can find about anything. Most folks in Montreal are bilingual,
so you can try out your French in a friendly environment, or safely stick
with English.

Quebec City

The old city of Quebec is so French you would swear you were on the
continent. Lots of quaint shops, and one of those Canadian Pacific built
castle/hotels that are just stunning. We did not take an excursion,
choosing instead to wander aimlessly. We enjoyed this stopped immensely.

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Here we made it into town a bit before our bicycle excursion. We loved the
cow store, really, don't miss that. They had lots of tours, ranging from
historical walks to kayaking. Our youngest daughter was a few years short
of the age limit for the bicycle trip, but we knew she would have no trouble
on a flat seven mile ride, so we brought her along. Sure enough there were
younger, and slower riders, and they expected some smaller folks, as they
brought some very small bikes. It was extremely scenic, and easy. (She
came in first, though it was NOT a race.)

Sydney, Nova Scotia

The people here were the friendliest of any stop. But you could tell they
needed the ships more than the ships needed them. The town wasn't
particularly scenic, though they were trying. On days a ship comes to port
they open craft fairs to sell local goods, and built a scenic boardwalk that
needs to be expanded a bit down to the ship docking area, and maybe add a
few businesses along it. The excursions were all long, as the bus rides to
get to anything were at least an hour each way.


The real downside of this port however was how important the ships are seen
to the locals. When the ship tried to leave we were blocked for about an
hour by the local fishermen protesting a Nova Scotia law concerning crab
limits. Now, the ship had nothing to do with the crab limit law, but
because the ship was the biggest thing to happen locally, the only way they
could get publicity was by blocking the ship. And I got to say, if you are
going to protest something, signs saying what you are protesting would go a
long way towards getting your message out. The captain was not amused, as
he was already worried about making the next port on time being down one
engine.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

This was a great port. We took the Peggy's Cove excursion that included the
lobster lunch, and it was a photographer's dream. The lunch was good too.
We do wish we had another couple hours in this port, as we would have loved
to do the walk along the harbor to the historic district. We will have to
go back on a land vacation, with lots of time to spend in the area.

Bar Harbor, Maine

Another adorable town, with an amazing National Park just a few feet away.
We took the Acadia tour with another lobster lunch. (California girls just
can't get enough lobsters.) We are going to have to come back and spend more
time on land. The inns and scenery just can't be done in a few hours.

Boston, Mass

They may not dock in a scenic area, but how can you fault Boston? We did
the aquarium, Quincy Market lunch, followed the freedom walk, did the sky
bridge on top of the Prudential Building, and a duck tour.(If you haven't
tried it, this is the place to do it, a land and sea tour in an amphibious
vehicle built for the military, called a DUKW.) And of course, before
boarding our train to NY I had to get in a run in the city of the Boston
Marathon. I think everyone runs here. The paths along the Charles look
like a parade, and this is 7am on a Monday morning. It was always a great
running city, but with the Big Dig winding down, the parks along the Charles
are the place to be.

We had a wonderful time and would recommend this cruise line and itinerary
to active families, though I suspect others would have a good time also.