MS Oosterdam - Mexican Riviera 2/26/05 to 3/5/05

[nobbync]

Just came back from the 7 day voyage to the Mexican Riviera on Holland America’s MS Oosterdam. Overall the cruise was very enjoyable and I’d go again for the right price. This is only my 3rd cruise and 1st on HAL. I also tried RCCL’s Vision of the Seas and Regal Princess so these are all I have to compare it to. My first cruise on Vision I loved and thought the service was great. Then when I went on Regal Princess I saw there were some things better in Regal. In choosing HAL I wanted to take that next step up. Many things it was an improvement but I did have a few problems that I’d like to start with. I want the good stuff to be at the end so here were the 3 problems.

 

1) When I booked this cruise we got a package that included dinner for 2 at the Pinnacle as well as 1 8x10 photo and 2 bottles of wine. On Sunday I still did not receive anything so I thought I’d inquire at the front desk. They just told me I had to check with my TA since they did not have it. I asked if they could check with HAL to see if they forgot. The lady I talked to insisted I contact my TA first. I sent him email and since it was Sunday he would call on Monday. Monday he sent me an email saying HAL was going to send it in but as of Monday night, nothing… I kept checking with the front desk. Tuesday still nothing. It didn’t come in till Wednesday of a 7 day cruise that started Saturday. Found out that there were a few others with the same problem. I don’t expect much from this but in this day and age with the internet I am not sure why it took so long to confirm this from the main offices. At the least it was inconvenient and it also cost me about $15 in internet . All I can say is if anyone gets these free services please check with your TA before you leave to verify it. My TA just had HAL verify everyone, on future cruises, had all the extra items but I would also check before leaving.

 

2) The first night in the main dining room service was horrible. Our table ordered our food at 8:40 and we did not even get our first dish till 9:30. Our glasses of water were left empty for 15 minutes at times. After finally talking to the Maitre D’ things got much better and faster. For this problem it was not so bad since they fixed it and service was much better later.

 

3) My DW and I paid $30 to use the Thalassotheropy Pool the day we were in Mazatlan. It was wonderful and we went in about 11 am. Since I had never been in one I didn’t know what to expect but it was very nice. The middle area did not work and people were working on it. We left for a couple hours to eat and walk before returning. We spent a few more hours in the room reading and sitting in the pool. The middle worked for a few minutes and it was really nice but then stopped. So for about 3 hours total time in the room we only enjoyed half of it except for 5 minutes when the middle did work. When I left I asked the spa attendant why they didn’t say half was broke before we paid. She just said they were told it will be working before 5 pm so they didn’t bother to say anything. I did tell them we had other plans so we couldn’t use it after 5 and the lady just said there’s nothing they can do. I felt what we did have was nice but it would have been better to have the entire pool. I did not push this but felt we should have been told before paying $30 for 2 that it was broke.

 

Okay, now that I got the bad stuff out of the way there was a lot more good things.

 

EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION

 

I guess HAL has this down. There were no problems at all and it went fast. We got to the pier at 11:15 am and we were onboard eating at 12:15. Very smooth and much better then my other 2 cruises. Leaving the ship was as easy as getting on. We live in San Diego so we were #26 in getting off but it didn’t take that long. We were allowed to wait in our cabin which we were not allowed to do on other ships. That made it very comfortable. We were back at home unpacking at 10 am so that was nice.

 

OOSTERDAM & PORTS

 

The first thing I noticed coming aboard was how clean the ship was and how nice it all looked. When looking at photos of the MS Oosterdam I felt it looked a little tacky or loud. But when I boarded it really looked perfect. I loved the color and layout of everything except the Vista Lounge (the large poles blocking views) which others have also mentioned. Everything was easy on the eyes.

 

I was very impressed by the Lido Deck Buffet. They have many different stations of food, like a large food court. Both sides had a deli with some very good grilled sandwiches. Everyday they have one vegetarian, 1 wrap and 2 others. You can also have them make what you want as well. Also on both sides is a bistro that offers carved meats and other hot dishes. Between the sections are the drinks and salad bars. Farther down they have an Italian place that offers pizza and pasta. The pasta they prepare in front of you. The two times I tried it, the pasta was excellent and hot since they make it in front of you. This place also has good pizza that is available everyday till midnight. On the other side they had oriental food that I really wasn’t impressed with. They do have sushi and a few Chinese dishes. Most of the time, it was not so crowded. Also on the lido is the famous ice cream bar that was really popular. I was never really a big fan of bread pudding but I have heard many people rave about this so I tried it. I am glad I did because that was the best dessert I had on here till the Pinnacle.

 

We had cabin #5154 and it was really nice. We had a verandah on the port side and the room was big. After sleeping the first night I agree with most reviews saying the HAL beds are wonderful. This was the best hotel or ship bed I ever slept in. There was also plenty of room for all our clothes and bags. The bathroom was also large with a bathtub. The tub was just a normal size tub but nice to have that option instead of feeling like I’m showering in a closet. Also the toilet was not crammed in either, plenty of room in the bathroom. I noticed there was no pitcher of water in the room like the other ships I was on. I asked our room steward and he just said to call room service. I did and had water delivered to the room everyday at 11 am. They were there everyday on time and when I wasn’t there it was put in the room. I liked that the room not only had a safe but also a drawer you could also lock. I felt our room steward was the best I ever had. In the full 7 days I never saw him cleaning our room but when we’d step out, even for just 15 minutes, we’d come back and our room was clean. That was a big change from the other cruises where we’d come back and the room steward was still cleaning. It’s not a big deal for me to wait a little while but on this cruise I was impressed and gave our steward extra money on the last day.

 

This ship never felt crowded and it was full. I think I heard the cruise director Peter say we had about 1890 people onboard. There were plenty of lounges and bars to hide. The pool areas were also very nice. I enjoyed the piano bar and spent some time there. As others have said before I am quite surprised how they remember your name so fast. On the 2nd night I spend 30 minutes in the Piano bar and ordered one drink. When I came back to the Piano bar 3 nights later the waiter came up and repeated and called me Sir Nobby and remembered my drink asking if I wanted the same. Later on I talked to him and asked how he can remember the names and he just politely said “Sir Nobby, it’s my job.” Little touches like this made the trip more memorable.

 

Internet café was quite expensive at .75 cents a minute but you can get package deals for less. I believe its 100 minutes for $55. Also some days they have specials. One day it was buy 5 minutes and get 5 for free. Also they had on the last night 30 minutes for $15 or something like that.

 

As I said above the Vista Lounge was beautiful but those dreaded poles that block your view! You have to get there early enough or there are some bad areas to watch from. The shows that I saw were good but not great. We had 2 nights where they did production shows. Two nights had a singer and another had a juggler but I did not see these shows. I watched a little of the singer and he was good.

 

Oosterdam Superstar was a fun show but get there early as the Queens Lounge filled up fast. This is their version of American Idol. I have never seen American Idol but have heard of Simon Cowell and his comments. The guy playing his part (musical director) was very good or I should say funny but he was booed (all in fun) a few times with his comments. The show was fun and by the last night it was standing room only. The guy who won was really a good singer.

 

I’ll post photos of the trip soon and let you know where they are.

 

As far as the ports go I have been to all 3 before so we didn’t plan much but in Puerto Vallarta we did go to Las Caletas. Cabo San Lucas was the first port and tendering on HAL was very smooth and fast. My DW and I just walked around Cabo and then took one of those glass bottom boats around Lands End. As always that area is very beautiful. Leaving Cabo was the most beautiful sunset.

 

Mazatlan we just stayed on the ship. We spent the day in the Thalassotheropy pool and the regular pool. I like lounging around the ship on port days as it’s quiet. Tried the taco bar and I will never try that again… After throwing out the taco after one bite I tried a burger and my DW tried a hot dog. Both were good but not great. We’ll stick with the lido and dining room from now on.

 

In Puerta Vallarta we spent the day on Las Caletas. We enjoyed this trip tremendously. We booked through the ship and were off the boat fast. Since 4 ships were in they were waiting for people from the other ships but we finally got going about 9:30 AM. The boat was a nice catamaran from the company Vallarta Adventures. The boat ride was almost an hour. As soon as we got on board they were handing out muffins, OJ and many other things for breakfast. The crew did a song and dance that made it fun. On the ride over a huge manta ray swam right by the boat. It was a site to see. Once on Las Caletas they had lots to keep you busy or if you wanted to it was nice to relax. All food and drinks are included. As you lay on the beach people will come by and fill up your beer or whatever you have. They also had a huge bucket of ice cold bottled water. We did the kayaking and it is much harder then I thought. Had to have my DW paddle us back! :) You could also snorkel if you wanted and they had a yoga class. About 1 pm they served lunch that was very good. There are tables all over the sides of the hill looking over the beach area. The Paella was delicious. It had lots of crab, shrimp and other sea creatures. After dinner we had a walk around and found someone with a monkey that was very friendly, the monkey that is! :) It wanted to jump on everyone there. Also you could hold parrots and we saw a few wild iguanas. The rest of the day we found a nice hammock and laid there till the whistle blew and it was time to go home. The boat ride back had an open bar and they played a lot of classic rock songs that got the blood pumping. Overall it was a fun trip. The ship was in till 10 pm that night be we headed back to the ship right away. That night they had the lido deck barbecue which was good.

 

Heading back was nice and relaxing. I did a lot of reading on the verandah and spotted quite a few whales including one that was about 50 yards away from the ship. I saw more whales here then when I went to Alaska a couple years ago.

 

The last night the weather was windy and we had up to 7.5 ft swells but I didn’t feel it much. Nobody we met got sick at all. I did like the ship had the antibacterial containers all over and at each station on the lido buffet. The last night we tried the Pinnacle and I wish I tried it earlier because I’d go again. My DW had the filet mignon and she loved it. I had the halibut with king crab and it was delicious. They give you this sample plate of 3 items that were also very tasty. The northwestern chowder & crab cakes were outstanding. The sides we had were scalloped potatoes, creamed spinach and asparagus. The potatoes were a little dry but tasted good. The spinach and asparagus were also very tasty. We both had the crème brulee and this was the best I have ever had. It was excellent with 3 flavors.

 

Overall it was a very enjoyable cruise and I’d go on Oosterdam again at the right price. It is a big ship but it didn’t feel like it was a big one. I had a short chat with James Deering (hotel manager) a couple times and he enjoys reading this group. I also had a short chat with Peter (cruise director) a few times and he was a pleasant guy.

 

I’ll let you know when my website is updated with photos.

 

Nobby

[joyus]

Thank you for taking time to write your honest evaluation of this ship and cruise. We are sailing on 4/23/05 and this is our first on HAL and only the second cruise my mom will take. This is a birthday gift to her, so I'm praying everything will be perfect. I've learned so much from this board. Looking forward to your pictures.

[stanford's girl]

Thanks for the tip about checking with your TA about your package deal. I have one with my 10/22 Oosterdam trip and you can bet I'll be sure to give her a call before leaving. You covered all the things that I haven't been able to find on these boards. Thanks again for a fair and informative review.

 

I will be a first time HAL cruiser also so I enjoyed your take on things. Done the others and looking to step up also.:D

[whotze]

Thanks for the post. We were on the "O" last October, Western Carib and are booked on her again in Dec Mexican Riviera. We found the first night at dinner to be the same as your experience. We found out later that they had just changed crews.

 

Glad you enjoyed HAL.

 

Bill

[cruisenw]

We were on the same cruise. Just got home today. We had many of the same thoughts. I will try to post a review after I dig out from under all of the laundry. We were in cabin #5162 (was Agus your steward?) and we were also on the Las Caletas trip with you (I was the one dancing with the tour guide at the front of the boat on the way back). I probably shouldn't admit to that part.:o

[pachecos]

What beverages are included on the Oosterdam in the buffet area and in the dining rooms?

[ianj]

Hi Nobby, we were also on the 2/26/05 Oosterdam, fortunately without any of the problems you had. After 20 something cruises this was definitely close to the top in value and quality, with little if anything negative worth a mention.

 

Boarding couldnt have been easier, taking about 20 minutes from shuttle to ship, we were in cabin 6148 and our steward, Budi, kept the place spotless. We had table 25, early seating, Bakat was the waiter and we had excellent service throughout

 

Getting off back in San Diego was as easy as getting on, as you say, it was good being able to stay in your cabin until your number is called and even get room service up 'til the last moment.

 

I hate to overuse the word, but excellent is the best description for the all around experience, I'd make a point of taking the Oosterdam again, if the price is right.

[Bucky3]

Thank you SO MUCH for your great review. Meant a lot to us particularly as we are going March 26 with our family and have four rooms together, one being 5154!! We have also booked Las Caletas for the day. Again, thanks so much. Question: What drinks were available during the day on deck such as lemonade, ice tea, etc. We're looking forward to a great cruise.

[Iggipolka]

Thanks for the great review! Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

 

I had heard that there were bar cards avaliable on other HAL ships. Something like $20 for 6 drinks. Was this offered during your cruise?

[hbogart]

Sounds like you had a wonderful trip...we are on the same cruise this coming Saturday March 12.

 

Do you happen to have the menus for the week?

 

We are wanting to book the Pinnacle Grill for one night, but having sailed HAL before, we also know there are some particular entrees we don't want to miss in the dining room. So it would really be helpful if we knew the main entrees for each night.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

HB

[nobbync]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'll try to answer everything that I can...

 

For those of you that asked for menus, sorry I did not get these for this cruise. I will scan in the daily activities and put them on my website. When finished I will let you all know.

 

They did have the barcards but I believe the only ones I saw were for the daily drink specials where it is $20 and you get 6 specials but one in each bar/lounge. I saw a few couples with these and they listed the 6 lounges you had to get them in. If they had any other bar cards I was not aware of them.

 

For the beverages they always had glasses of water & iced tea out and a few different coffees. At lunch or dinner you can ask someone for milk, fat free, low fat or chocolate milk and juices. At breakfast I saw fresh squeezed OJ, apple, V8, tomato and some sort of fake OJ. I'm not sure if they had lemonade but I think I remember seeing people have it. None was left out that I saw.

 

Nobby

[nobbync]

we are going March 26 with our family and have four rooms together, one being 5154!! We have also booked Las Caletas for the day.

 

If you have all these rooms in a row you'll enjoy it. It's all about location as well. The room is very close to an elevator and you're two decks above the main dining room and 4 decks below the Lido Buffet. Probably the 2 most important places on the ship! :) In fact, the elevator going up drops you off at one end of the Lido Buffet. Makes it too easy to eat.... They can open the balcony doors between your rooms. Room 5154 was nice with lots of room. The beds are fantastic and the bathroom has more room then either of the other 2 ships I have been on. I only took a few shots of the room but I'll let you know when I post them. If you have the same room steward (Agus), he was a good one. I have always heard from people saying they stepped out for a few minutes and come back and the rooms are clean but I haven't experienced it 100% till now. They do clean it once in the morning and once in the evening and I honestly hardly ever saw him and we did spend lots of time on the verandah.

 

Las Caletas was also very nice. I took many photos there so those will also be on my website soon. I am trying to get them up as fast as I can but so much work was waiting for me at home.... :(

 

You'll enjoy the ship. I thought overall it was fantastic and the 3 problems I mentioned were all that I could complain about and I tried to find other problems. :)

 

Nobby

[nobbync]

We were on the same cruise. Just got home today. We had many of the same thoughts. I will try to post a review after I dig out from under all of the laundry. We were in cabin #5162 (was Agus your steward?) and we were also on the Las Caletas trip with you (I was the one dancing with the tour guide at the front of the boat on the way back). I probably shouldn't admit to that part.:o

 

Hi there neighbor! Agus was our steward and he did a fantastic job.

 

There were a few people in the front dancing and now I wish I had took photos of everyone to find out who you were... :) I was sitting on the port side with my DW and good thing it wasn't either of our brithdays or we would have been dancing up there after those tequilla's!

 

Glad you had a good time. I was having withdrawel symptons last night as I had a choice of one dish for dinner and then reality struck when it was time to do the dishes.... Yikes, tonight is toilet cleaning day! hehehehe...

 

Nobby

[haywood]

thanks for your review. We are on the 4/9 cruise and look very much forward to it. Can't wait to see the pix :)

[hbogart]

Please let us know your website URL when you have the pics ready!!!

 

Counting down the minutes now....we are in cruise mode!!!!!!

[ekerr19]

Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us. Glad to hear you had a great time.

 

Las Caletas and Vallarta Adventures are one of our favorites tours and tour operators - glad to hear they did not disappoint. :)

[SHayesShip]

Nice review. I am looking forward to my cruise on the O in November.

Steve Hayes

[Iggipolka]

Nobby,

 

One more question as I'm living vicarously through your cruise report. :) Do you remember what time you were back at the ship from Las Caletas?

 

Thanks!

[pachecos]

Thanks for the info and welcome back to the grind UGH!!!

[Bucky3]

Look forward to your pictures - and thanks for replying to my questions. We're ready to cruise!!!

[nobbync]

One more question as I'm living vicarously through your cruise report. :) Do you remember what time you were back at the ship from Las Caletas?

 

I don't remember exactly but my guess is we were back on the ship by 4 pm. I know we went to our cabin to relax, shower and change before heading up to the Lido barbecue about 5:30.

 

Nobby

[Tinknock50]

Hi Nobby,

 

We almost met a couple of years ago when I took my Mom on the Ryndam. You had to cancel and I called you after the cruise. Remmember? I still have your phone number .:) Glad you enjoyed the Oosterdam.

[nobbync]

I am tryng to hurry with my website but hought I'd share with you a sneak peak of the first 2 pages. I think I will have the rest done by the end of the weekend but until then, enjoy... There are some mistakes but the photos you can see.....

 

http://www.nobbync.com/Oosterdam1.html

 

If you go back to my home you can get photos from a Regal Princess cruise we took to Alaska as well... When the full page is ready I'll post another thread to say so...

 

We almost met a couple of years ago when I took my Mom on the Ryndam. You had to cancel and I called you after the cruise. Remmember? I still have your phone number .:) Glad you enjoyed the Oosterdam.

 

I do remember you and sorry we never did meet. I really wanted to go on the Ryndam but had to cancel. My friends still ended up going and they loved it. hope you and your mom also enjoyed. Finally I was able to experience HAL and overall it was good. If it wasn't for those problems it would have been fantastic.

 

Nobby

[dakrewser]

Good pictures, Nobby! It is such a relaxing feeling to wake up in Cabo and see Los Arcos sitting what appears to be just a few yards away!

[DrivesLikeMario]

We're also on the March 26th sailing and I can't thank you enough for your review! The information you included about the waves, ship movement, cabin steward, waiters, spa pool, etc. is just what I was looking for! This will be our 1st time on HAL, but we've cruised many times on other cruise lines.

 

Off to see your pics now. Thanks so much!!