Oosterdam Mexican Riviera

Would love to hear from you if you have sailed on the Mexican Riviera (Oosterdam)! We are not new to cruising but we are new to the Holland Line.

Appreciate any feedback on:

1) Favorite excursions

2) Specialty dining

3) Favorite onboard activities

4) Things that you wish you had known before getting on this boat...

Many thanks!

My "best thing" is that there are just the right amount of sea days for a 7 night trip.

David

Would love to hear from you if you have sailed on the Mexican Riviera (Oosterdam)! We are not new to cruising but we are new to the Holland Line.

 

Appreciate any feedback on:

 

1) Favorite excursions

2) Specialty dining

3) Favorite onboard activities

4) Things that you wish you had known before getting on this boat...

 

Many thanks!

There is tons of info around this board about several of these items. By the way, it is a ship.

There are many threads about the specialty restaurants. Pinnacle is a great restaurant in the steakhouse vein. Canaletto is Italian restaurant. Dive In is a burger joint.

You should go on the excursions that most interest you.

We sailed on the Oosterdam to Alaska 8/6/17... Pinnacle Grill was very nice.

Mexican Riviera... We cruised there Nov 2016 on the Westerdam, a sister ship to the Oosterdam. One shore excursion I would highly recommend would be Las Caletas. Its a boat trip to a private beach area with snorkeling, zip line, paddle boarding, food, parrots flying around ect... On the way back the crew on the boat put on a great show! This is in Puerto Vallarta

Here is a link to my collection of the current HAL Specialty Restaurant menus:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/hal-specialty-restaurant-menus/

My "best thing" is that there are just the right amount of sea days for a 7 night trip.

 

 

David

Thank you!

There is tons of info around this board about several of these items. By the way, it is a ship.

 

There are many threads about the specialty restaurants. Pinnacle is a great restaurant in the steakhouse vein. Canaletto is Italian restaurant. Dive In is a burger joint.

 

You should go on the excursions that most interest you.

Thank you for your help!

1) Favorite excursions

I second Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta. It does take the entire port time, we got off the westerdam, walked to the excursion boat and spent the entire day there, returning with just enough time to get back on the ship for departure. We loved the day though. Worth the cost.

2) Specialty dining -

doesn't count as specialty, but I liked the dive in fries and cheese sauce by the pool!

3) Favorite onboard activities-

our dec 2016 sailing had a lot of Mexican dancers and singers out on deck by the lido pool a few evenings as the sun was setting. Very talented and set the mood nicely. I also loved attending the Test Kitchen cooking demos!

4) Things that you wish you had known before getting on this boat...

Wasn't on this one, sorry.

We sailed on the Oosterdam to Alaska 8/6/17... Pinnacle Grill was very nice.

 

Mexican Riviera... We cruised there Nov 2016 on the Westerdam, a sister ship to the Oosterdam. One shore excursion I would highly recommend would be Las Caletas. Its a boat trip to a private beach area with snorkeling, zip line, paddle boarding, food, parrots flying around ect... On the way back the crew on the boat put on a great show! This is in Puerto Vallarta

That sounds like a lot of fun! Appreciate the feedback.

1) Favorite excursions

 

I second Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta. It does take the entire port time, we got off the westerdam, walked to the excursion boat and spent the entire day there, returning with just enough time to get back on the ship for departure. We loved the day though. Worth the cost.

2) Specialty dining -

 

doesn't count as specialty, but I liked the dive in fries and cheese sauce by the pool!

 

3) Favorite onboard activities-

 

our dec 2016 sailing had a lot of Mexican dancers and singers out on deck by the lido pool a few evenings as the sun was setting. Very talented and set the mood nicely. I also loved attending the Test Kitchen cooking demos!

 

4) Things that you wish you had known before getting on this boat...

Wasn't on this one, sorry.

The test kitchen has me very excited - love to cook! Was it hard to get into a demo? Would love to hear more if you are open to sharing.

Here is a link to my collection of the current HAL Specialty Restaurant menus:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/hal-regular-and-specialty-restaurants/hal-specialty-restaurant-menus/

This is wonderful!! Thank you so much.

The test kitchen has me very excited - love to cook! Was it hard to get into a demo? Would love to hear more if you are open to sharing.

The demos were about an 45 min presentation, held where the blues band payed, seating for quite a few, maybe 150 people? On my cruise if we got there 10 min before there were seats but not super up close. They also showed a live feed to the TV's in the room, so you could see well if in the back.

They gave out recipe cards and the presenter did a fantastic job. Felt like a live cooking show you'd see on tv. They did not give out any tastes though, and there wasn't any audience participation.

I would strongly recommend that you arrive 15 minutes before the presentation if you want a decent seat. Since the presentation is on an elevated stage, you cannot see the actual food so finding a seat with a good view of the TV screens is the best plan.