Maasdam Review
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Additional details
Maasdam from Tahiti to Auckland via Fiji, Samoa and other Pacific Islands. Two of us in our 60's had a Neptune Suite midships (010) which was quiet, roomy, in excellent condition and fabulous. The staff were great, nothing was too much trouble, smiles and greetings everywhere, loved them. Food was the best of several cruises we have done (home made burgers were to die for), excellent range of food options all well presented, hygienicly handled and delicious. Evening entertainment was top class, especially "The Unexpected Boys" (similar to The Jersey Boys) who put on 4 different shows during the cruise. My only suggestion would be to improve the range of films and shows on ship TV - very limited range of boring news channels, and two movie channels (which repeated the same film for a day each) - fortunately we found the onboard video range and overdosed on Netflix shows. We have previously cruised with P&O, Carnival and Princess, and this ship was better than all of them. Would definitely cruise with Holland America again.
Cabin Review
Neptune Deluxe Verandah Suite
Excellent. Roomy, quiet, comfy bed, great bathroom, plenty of storage, reasonable TV (bigger would be better!!), close to everything. The Neptune room with dedicated services for those in suites added a special something to the experience, with its own well stocked library, snacks and drinks all day (pay for grog), and dedicated staff member happy to help with anything
Port Reviews
Rarotonga
Nice little island but not much to see unless you do a tour. Plenty of local taxi's near the port offering tours of the island - all very expensive, but got to do it once.
Suva
Hired a taxi and did an island tour of about 3 hours with another couple off the ship. Well worth a trip around the island, not a wealth place but reasonable shopping in the city. Appears to be a bit of tension between the native Fijians and Indian retail traders.
Auckland
We left the ship at Auckland and embarked on a 10 day trip around the north island by car. We have been to Auckland a few times and love the place. One of the best cities in the south Pacific to see a wide range of great attractions
Tahiti (Papeete)
This is one port to AVOID. Typical grubby Pacific Island, very run down and everything is grossly overpriced. Nice place to land, then travel to somewhere else!! Accommodation around the island is mostly poor and expensive (a couple of good but pricey resorts), range of restaurants is poor and expensive. Much better to spend the money and go to Moorea