FloridaTourist

Has anyone done the galley tour on Oasis? Our son is a chef and is interested in seeing the galley tour. They charge $35. Didn't know if it was really paying for the same meal we already paid for or was doing the tour and meal something special?

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Last year we visited kasadusi turkey on the Oosterdam. Several ships had stopped because of terrorism there. If it isn't safe ships won't stop there. Some even pulled in port and didn't let people off. If you are going to be afraid to travel or let politics get in the way then you should stay close to home. We found the people in turkey to be very friendly and warm. Terrorism is not going away and might even get worse but can't let them win and if you don't visit a country cause you don't like a leader, just think how tourism in the USA would suffer cause almost all counties hate Trump.

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hi, wondering if anyone checking this old thread. great info, but now concerned about first post dry dock voyage of westerdam april 27 to the Med. very port intensive, but wouldn't want to face plumbing issues described in some posts. Thoughts now looking back? we would be in a newly refurbished signature suite. Appreciate hearing from anyone, especially looking back on it! thx.

Do it! Yes we had some minor issues but the ship made up for it with additional discounts and comp wine bottles etc. I would do it again but my wife says she wouldn't. Some people had serious issues but ours were minor. We are actually thinking of doing westerdam next summer.

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Just received an email from HAL offering an upgrade from a Verandah to a Signature Suite for $800 for two. Besides more room, how much difference is there between the two cabins? Are there perks that go with being in a suite?

 

It's a 12 night cruise so it's about $67/day. I have no clue whether I'm missing out on a deal or are they are just trying to fill up empty suites.

 

 

Any wisdom will be appreciated.

We did a 12 day cruise on the Oosterdam and took the $800 upgrade from Vereradah to SS. SO GLAD WE DID. the ship had just come out of dry dock and the SS was brand new. Loved all the space. The bathroom alone was worth it. Would do it again if had the option but I would not book it that way upfront.

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This is not personal but I always laugh when the "drink police" come into these threads and keep harping the same old story. I laugh because the majority of cruisers bring on their own water, soda or whatever -including said police.

 

Both are against the rules and yet I never see the "non-alcoholic drink police" around. It still takes money away form RC.

 

Both of these rules will continue to be broken until changes are made or are better enforced but that's on royal not us and, in until that time, people will do what they will do.

 

Do I care if someone shares a package, not one bit. Just like I don't care if someone brings 2 cases of bottled water on board. Either way, there is consequences if RC starts enforcing, as long as those people realize what those consequences are then that's all that matters.

 

Cheers.

 

I wish CC had a like button like Facebook

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As usual, some very good answers to your question.

 

 

 

I would only add that on the Viking river cruises, you will find plenty of people who will be up after 10 in the bar if that's what you want to do. Also, the bar won't close until everyone has gone to bed. Now having said that, the majority of the folks are in their cabins by 10 or so. But you will meet plenty of people to stay up late with and converse. I will also tell you that there will also be dancing and drinking. It is a vacation, and a really fun one, after all.

If we can make it a Gator's Only Cruise we can have a little extra fun[emoji246]

But thanks everyone for all the info. Still undecided on what we will do but lots of time still to plan it out.

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My wife and I are finally able to enjoy traveling. We are in our early/mid 50's and still very active and healthy. This year we took our first trip to Europe and did a Med cruise on Holland America starting in Rome 11 ports in 12 days. We had a blast. This was not our first cruise but was our longest. We love the entertainment, the food, and meeting so many interesting people. We are looking for a trip next year. We already booked a cruise early in the summer to take our boys on Oasis of the Seas (more their style). Now we need to plan a cruise of our own in the August/early September time frame. I was looking at the Viking website and it seems as though they are running some great deals. My wife is very concerned that the ship is so small and there won't be enough to do when on board. On our Med cruise even though we got off the ship by 830 almost every day and stayed out all day we never went to bed before 1am. We stayed up and shut down every venue. We are not huge drinkers either just loved talking and the entertainment. Will a river cruise be boring to us? Our Holland America cruise had an average age of 67. It was a little old but we found people to mix with. Will we be the "kids" on a river boat? What about entertainment? Any dancing? Need some help? Is Viking a good line for river cruising? Are there other lines that would fit us better? Thanks all for he help!

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Was in kusadasi at the end of April on the Oosterdam. At that time it was one of the best protected ports we stopped in. The people there truly want tourists and especially Americans ---I would guess mostly for money but either way they hate what terrorists have done to their country and tourism. The coup is a different story but I would think security will be just as tight or tighter. If your ship stops and you don't get off you missed a fantastic site.

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That is a good point as we were just there on the Oosterdam in April and had to wait for the boat to fill

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What car company did you rent from in Crete? We are doing the same itinerary and are thinking of renting a car in Crete to reach better remote beaches. Please let us know your experience. We arrive at 12 and leave at 8pm. Thanks!

 

 

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We went to Hertz but just so you know Hertz as well as others close for lunch from 1-5pm. Yep a 4 hr lunch.

If you take the speedboat, you can pre purchase cable car tickets for the way down. I don`t think you can purchase cable car tickets prior to arriving at the port.

Was just there. True statement

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Thanks everyone for your inputs. We aren't looking for a party boat but would like to see more than a dozen folks at the piano bar or dance club. We really did like the ship we were on. Nice size. Not big but yet big enough. This was a vacation so even though we did 11 ports in 12 days we stayed up at night till at least 12 or 1. (Ok we did nap before dinner) and up by 8am. We have been on Freedom of the Seas. Huge ship for sure. And we have been on Island Princess years ago. I guess it will be very hit and miss depending on length but we plan on making cruising regular travel method. Just want to try to stay to one line to get the perks. Of a frequent traveler.

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My wife and I are in our early 50s and very active. The kids are finally on their own and the dog has passed on. We can finally enjoy some cruising. We just got off a 12 day 11 port cruise on the Oosterdam, with Holland America. We loved our trip, the ports, the food and our signature suite. But the age group was a little old for us. The average age of this sailing was 67. By 10 every night the ship was dead. The few couples our age found each other and made our own fun. But many of the entertainment venues played to empty rooms. We are looking at doing a Baltic cruise possibly next year. Is Princess the right line? We sailed on The Island Princess in Alaska 10 years ago with our kids and had a great time. But now we want to be serious cruises. What is the best for us? I don't want a party boat but would like a ship with a little younger crowd.

You can't miss the speed boats. They have hawkers on the dock when you tender.

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Hi Florida Tourist and thank you so much for your wonderful review!

 

 

 

Another poster from the same cruise mentioned that there was complaints of a bad sewage smell on deck 8 and later in the trip on deck 4. Did you experience this? Which deck was your SS on?

 

 

 

Also, I was wondering about your bathroom. From the pictures you posted it looked like you just had a tub in the bathroom. Was there a shower? If you have any other pics of the stateroom and/or bathroom I would love to see them! Again thanks and glad you had a wonderful trip!

Don't have any other bathroom pics but we had a shower and tub. The bathroom was large and nice. There were some plumbing issues on some decks. We were on deck 6. We had no toilet when we first arrived. No hot water the next day. We heard of some folks with issues for several days. Our dinner mates even had a plumber show up at 330am! But all in all I think most had it worked out after a few days.

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Currently sitting on my connection to Orlando at JFK. Last time the pilot came on we were number 30. Ugh!!!!!! Arrival at JFK before getting our bags with global entry was a piece of cake. After getting out bags the line literally wrapped the entire room. The global entry line was actually slower than the normal line. We had one person. The other line had about 15 checkers. So that made no sense. Oh well. All went smooth dropping off our bags again but as I made my way toward the security check point to at JFK the delta person at the beginning of the line said my carry on was to big. That lead to a little disagreement but finally she let me pass. No way was I giving delta $100 to check my big. It has been on 3 flights and now they say it is to big. Lol. So ok it was a little over stuffed but I had to get my lemoncello in my checked bag. Pilot says we are now 5. When we get home because it is late we will call an über to take us home. I will post a regular review in the next few days about the Oosterdam once I have a chance to reflect. Also will post some tripadvisor reviews of our tour company and hotels. If you haven't researched the JW Venice yet take some time and so it. Wish we had more time there to unwind.

Thanks for following us. Hope I have been a help to others. I believe in giving back and have learned so much from many of you.

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Had dinner last night at the roof top restaurant at the JW. Excellent meal. It is the cheaper of their 2 main restaurants. But let's just say it ain't cheap. The nicer one which has several Michelin stars would have cost us over $400 for 2. It was beautiful though. Breakfast at the JW was really nice. It is in their lobby restaurant. Awesome buffet. 28e if it wasn't included in your room. Ours was. They collected our bags at 1015 and water taxi arrived at 1030. It is raining here today. The only rainy day we have had. Good thing it's the last one. It is a process at the Venice airport. Taxi was 40 min and 130e. The walk from the taxi dock to the actual terminal is 25 min with no help so be prepared. The terminal it self is under construction so be prepared to move around the airport for long walks a few times. Italian security is different than US. All electronics come out including iPads etc. but shoes stay on. Short line though. Delta by the way has lots of folks around the airport offering directions. Something HAL should learn from.

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We also did a tour through Livitaly with Francesca and she was fantastic. Would recommend her and Livitaly for sure.

We stayed up late last night saying good bye to all our new friends. Oh and by the way we finally were in the main dining room on a night they served prime rib. Oh so good. We barely got our luggage out in the hall on time. Had to be out by midnight. We pretty much just through it in the bags. We figured we would re pack at the hotel. We fly out Sunday.

The ship had all the luggage well sorted and organized. Used a cart to wheel out stuff down to the water taxi. Room service is a great option on departure day. They ended up calling us 30 min early. The taxi to go the 2 blocks charges 20 euro. That was just crazy to me so we walked. We had a private taxi reserved but they were short on water taxis So we ended up waiting 40 min.

We are staying at the JW Marriott. I will write about the JW from the airport Sunday. The place is crazy. Look it up on the Internet. It's one of those places you see in pics in magazines and wish you could visit

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Had a fun day in Venice. Started out odd. It was the first time i can say HAL did a very poor job. Started the day with a sail-in party on the bow on deck 4. The crew has blankets there to wrap us in cause of the chilly weather, coffee and pastries for us as we arrived in Venice. A very cool site to see. Definitely something not to miss. Shane our cruise director made announcements telling us how to get to. The city - Either a one hr walk or taxi. That was really all he said. So we got off the ship and we saw a free shuttle bus sign. Not knowing where the taxi was we waited for the bus. And we waited and waited 20 minutes. There was literally one bus. Well the walk is about 2 blocks but no one from the ship was there to tell us. We could have walked. So anyway we took the bus which dropped us at the far end of the building where the water taxies were next to a gate. The entire bus literally exited and waited for someone to tell us where to go or what to do. No one from the ship was there to meet us. It was very odd. We talked to several people later that night. They all felt the same way. The ship pretty much just dumped us off with no help. We were left to figure everything out on our own. I don't need hand holding. But this was really bad. Then when we came back there was no shuttle. You had to walk back to the ship. Now it's not far for me. But I'm only 55. The average age of this sailing is 67. There are lots with mobility issues in this ship. No one told us there would not me a shuttle.

Anyway we had a nice day. Coffee and snacks in a locals bakery, lunch along the water near the rialto bridge

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Yesterday was a great day in Split. Since Dubrovnik was so cold we prepared for that in Split but was pleasantly surprised how nice it was. Could have worn shorts and left the jackets on board. We were told to have our passports when we left the ship but never needed them. Split is a large city with an old section. We strolled through it all. Easy walking. Had some wine with our friends that we have made, ex-pats that now live in Panama and then lunch with our North Carolina friends. Although the age group is older than us, the people in our own age group have seeked each other out and had a blast. Last night the NC group all came to dinner in togas. Great production show last night. The best so far. BBKING was dark last night and the piano bar was packed as we all did an impromptu singalong with Megan and Diego. We made them play later than normal because we were having such a good time and after the production show they were the only entertainment left.

Right now we are getting ready to enter Venice. We will gather on deck 4 for the sail in party shortly. Tour today at 3 for us. Hard to believe this trip is almost over. Ugh!!

Rise and shine Venice here we come!!

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We have arrived in Split Croatia. Forecast was for rain but looks nice and sunny right now. Little chilly but not as bad as Dubrovnik was. Enjoyed dinner last night in the Canaletto. We didn't even order. Mini our waitress at Pinnacle used to work in Canaletto and wrote out everything we were to eat so we just told Nury our waitress in Canaletto and she just brought it all. Great service. The ratio of staff to guests just screams great service. Did out usual in the piano bar and BB King. Doing anytime dining tonight to see a show that was only offered at 1 time. We also tried Lincoln Center for the first time. They get a packed house but wasn't for us s. We made it for 1 piece and left. Here is a little video from last night. https://vimeo.com/164531165https://vimeo.com/164531275

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We are on the Oosterdam right now. Did both and they were excellent. Would do them both again. If on the Oosterdam ask for Mini. She is sounding and cute. Really enjoyed her service.

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Shuttle into town IS NOT FREE. In Corfu it was $14. In Dubrovnik is $16. But should have taken a cab in Dubrovnik. Almost did but didn't have Luna to pay. Found out after they toll euro and friends paid only $5. The wall took about an hour but depends how the traffic on the wall is. It is lots of steps. I would suggest sneakers. My wife is all about her shoes and she did sneakers

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Had a nice day in Dubrovnik The weather was a little chilly.....alright a lot chilly and windy. Took the Hal shuttle into old town. Walked the entire wall. FYI- this is not an easy walk for those with mobility issues. Tons of stairs. Steep and narrow. But incredible views. Came back to the ship and for the first time had normal lunch hours and the entire lido was open. The staff on this ship is extremely helpful and polite. Even in the lido where you kind help yourself they are there to get you anything additional you need from drinks to dessert. Every morning our room steward sees us and runs over to say hi and ask about our day and how the day before was. Mostly Indonesian crew. Well trained. My wife thinks I'm going to call her madam when we get home......Hahahha .... Not happening. While in the old city we did find the famous Buza bar. Beautiful views but warmer weather would have been even better. Tonight is the Italian speciality restaurant. Our waitress in the Pinnacle and Le Cirque used to work here and she wrote out everything we should order. Should be fun .

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Here are a few more pictures

ocean bar

forgot to mention we tried the afternoon tea. Was very nice. Think we were the only couple not Asian or British. But was a fun experience. Had to do it once

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