Dining on the Maasdam of Holland America Line

Diverse Venues and Interesting Cuisine on Mid-Sized Cruise Ship

The Maasdam cruise ship of the Holland America Line has several different dining venues, ranging from the casual Lido Buffet and poolside Terrace Grill to the elegant Pinnacle Grill. The ship also has special dining events, including "A Night at Le Cirque" and a Cellar Master's wine pairing dinner.

This photo gallery includes pictures of all the dining venues and some of the interesting dishes served on a "Voyage of the Vikings" transatlantic cruise itinerary between Boston and Amsterdam.

The Maasdam is filled with fresh flowers like these outside the Rotterdam Dining Room.

The sweet chili mustard sauce made these Dungeness crab cakes even more tasty.

These tomatoes were vine-ripened and came with purple onions and a blue cheese dressing. Delicious salad for the summertime.

This small taste of foie gras was just the beginning of a memorable Le Cirque dinner at the Pinnacle Grill.

This rack of lamb was accompanied by artichokes, goat cheese, and arugula. It was delicious!

This black cod was in a very nice red wine beurre rouge and was cooked perfectly.

Don't you just love this Bvlgari china and Riedel stemware? This table setting is used at the Cellarmaster's Dinner in the Pinnacle Grill.

I'm not much of a foie gras fan, but this rouleaux with pastrami and the delicious carrot and ginger marmalade was very good.

I love dark chocolate, and this dessert was sublime! It is a dark chocolate mousse, dark chocolate Bavarian cream, and dark chocolate brownie, with a mixed berry compote on the side. Heavenly!

The hot bread pudding on the Maasdam is a passenger favorite, so the chefs showed us how to make this tasty one at the Culinary Center cooking demonstration.

Delicious Baked Alaska is on the Pinnacle Grill menu and was prepared by the chef at one of the cooking demonstrations.

The Maasdam had a cooking demonstration on every sea day, and we got to get the recipe and sample the results! This lobster salad is served at the Le Cirque dinner in the Pinnacle Grill.

Canaletto is a casual Italian restaurant on the Maasdam that occupies a small corner of the Lido buffet space. This photo was taken during the daytime to show the table layout. In the evening, it's much more elegant and very cozy. Plus, the food is terrific!

The Veal Milanese main course at Canaletto on the Maasdam consists of breaded veal scaloppini, accompanied by Porcini mushrooms, spaghetti, and vegetables. Very tasty!

Most everyone seems to love the Italian dessert tiramisu. This trio at Canaletto comes in three flavors--espresso, amaretto, and lemon.

The casual Terrace Grill is located next to the indoor/outdoor pool and serves hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, and sandwiches every day. On one day each cruise, the pool grill serves up Indonesian specialties, and other days the ship has a crab fest, fish market, or Dutch pea soup by the pool.