Oostercam 12/10-12/24 Cruise review

[big green]

We are veteran cruisers but this was our first cruise on HAL. The cruise was ok—not our best cruise. HAL was ok-after reading many reviews by experienced HAL cruisers we feel that HALl is very over rated for the price they charge. We booked an SB wrap around aft suite and were disappointed with the suite and amenities when compared to suites that we usually book on NCL (more later). The biggest advantage for us on this cruise was not having to fly anywhere to cruise since we live in the San Diego area. Since there is a Hawaiian Ports board—this review contains no information on the ports we visited.

 

Embarkation: smooth—as expected for a deluxe suite passenger.

 

Debarkation: OK—customs check for foreign nationals delayed debarkation as expected—why does San Diego continue to operate like this???

 

Service was excellent.

—Our dining room waiter after the second night was one of the best we have ever had. We had open seating—the first two nights service was 0k but table location was terrible—in real noisy area with a lot of foot traffic. I had used the concierge in the Neptune lounge to make these reservations and asked for quite table –but later was told the concierge can not guarantee tables so I had to speak with the MDR Head manager and once I did we had a 4 top for two every night in the same location with a nice window and a wonderful waiter. We are use to the concierge making sure the table is what is requested like on NCL.

 

Neptune Lounge/concierge service: we found the service here to be excellent—the concierge arranged a wonderful cocktail party in Lahaina sail away on our extra large balcony which turned out to be a real success with about 30 people. The ship provided hot and cold appetizers including some special items we requested..to our surprise the Hotel Director attended.

 

The one thing we missed was our own super coffee machine (with sxpresso, cappuccino, and tea} like what is available in NCL suites.

 

Suite steward was excellent and met every request---the laundry loss some of our items—not a big deal the steward looked for the items for a week.

 

Bar service and lido service was also excellent.

 

 

Food:

 

--MDR food was IMOP excellent well above NCL MDR food. The Lido buffet was also better than NCL and excellent for breakfast and lunch—we never had dinner there. Just a note the bread pudding is un-remarkable—for the life of me I do not know why all the hype over it—

Also the MDR had prime rib three times and it was really good with the normal au jus.

 

Loved the eggs benedict station in the Lido—this is a great buffet item.

 

The Hawaiian BBQ held on the aft lido deck during the Honolulu stop at night was IMOP one of the highlights of the cruise—the sunset was beautiful—the buffet with real sucking whole baby pigs, bbq chicken and ribs and everything else was great HAL gets five stars for this.

 

Pinnacle Grill—a real disappointment—nowhere near the menu or quality as Cagenys on NCL. Service was very slow. We also tried the Pinnacle at breakfast on two occasions (the first two days) the service was very, very slow -2 hours on both days-- we never went there again for breakfast—I actually spoke with the Hotel Director about this.

 

Our dinner at Pinnacle was very unremarkable—the surf and turf was not seasoned well and the lamp chops were very small and not well seasoned. Desserts were below average—our experience with the food and especially the service caused us to cancel the Le Critque dinner.

 

 

Cannellto was unremarkable—barely average for an Italian eatery.

 

Deserts on the ship were average –the Pinnacle Grill deserts were very unremarkable for an up sell restaurant.

 

Entertainment: HAL needs some work here—the only show we thought was at the NCL level was the Joe Mason show—everything else supar---the lack of dance pop band was really apparent on the ship—there was really no dancing any where—the forward observation Lounge never had a dance band at night such as pop band or something, This was really bad for a 14 day cruise with a cross section of age groups—we are in our early sixties and still enjoy dancing, Basically by 10;30pm the ship was dead. So IMOP if you are looking for entertainment do not expect too much on HAL.

 

Day time activities limited to cooking classes, trivia, Hawaiian culture/history lectures (very, very good), movies (theater very small—HAL needs to show the movies in the Show lounge—I am sure they could find the appropriate times ).

 

Cabin:

 

We were in a SB deluxe suite aft wrap around—we found the suite out dated-

Furniture old and very outdated—suite was clean—one sink faucet was broken and need to be repaired—water flow in bathtub was very,very slow and was fixed upon request. The TV in the room are very small compared to TVs in NCL suites—no coffee machine---no drawers to store items –everything has shelves which you store items like socks etc.—not very well designed.

 

No real flowers delivered to suite as advertised—asked the concierge several times about this. Slippers were delivered after request—so real amenities in bathroom like on NCL—no shower caps etc. IMOP suite was below the quality of NCL suites and suite amenities also way below NCL.

Balcony furniture was in bad repair---table needed to sanded and stained—furniture pads ripped etc.

 

Dress code: the formal dress code is way over stated on this board--we saw many slacks and shirts no ties on formal nights--no real gowns on women=---smart causal wAs just casual amd in many cases we thought some of the passengers where sloppy in their dress at all times-- we saw some things like bathrobes in the buffet--people picking therr teeth with their dinner forks in the MDR-- that made us laugh after reading some the threads on this board about how classy HAL is.

 

 

Will we cruise on HAL again—probably—will we book a deluxe suite on HA

maybe on a new ship or if they improve their amenities for suite guests. IMOP NCL still has the best suites and suite amenities in the cruise industry.

 

Big Green

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review.

 

It is surprising that there was not a little bowl of fresh flowers in your suite.

[ASIWISH]

Thanks, BG... It was a good review IMOP.

[woody73]

Thank you for posting your review. We are booked on an Oosterdam "Circle Hawaii" cruise, and appreciate your candor.

 

Woody

[LAFFNVEGAS]

BG, as you may remember We too had a corner after Suite SB on our Hawaii cruise on the Oosterdam and while I love HAL because we know so many Officers and crew and we have sailed on the Oosterdam 9 times the Oosterdam is home to us and Officers and Crew are like family. And like Family and home we often tend to over look things we are accustom to. But I agree with you 100%

 

We too did not have the small bowl of flowers, nor did we have slippers. I mentioned to our cabin steward about the flowers and nothing ever appeared. We actually bought flowers in Hilo to bring on board. Finally going into the 2nd week I mentioned something to the Concierge that there were no flowers and she stated... Are you sure? Then I asked about the slippers and was told we had to place a special request. I did not bother.

 

Entertainment on HAL has always been very weak with the exception of a few entertainers such as Joel Mason. I am a personal friend of Joel's so I have to like him :D All kidding aside Joel is an exceptional entertainer. As is a few others that make the rounds on the HAL entertainment circuit.

 

Pinnacles like Cagneys on NCL I feel are hit and miss. I think Cagneys is great for breakfast or lunch that is free for Suite passengers but find the quality not as good as Le Bistro in the evening. Some Pinnacles on HAL are amazing some are just fair. We have a way of judging that if the Main Dining room is really good on HAL then the Pinnacle will be just OK and if the Maining Dining room is just OK then the Pinnacle will be amazing only one time has this been proven wrong to us and it was the last time we were on the Westerdam this past May when both exceeded our expectations.

 

Just last week there was a thread that I mentioned that NCL Suites had this great coffee maker. I totally agree that NCL knows how to do Suites and Suite amenities, we are returning to NCL and will be on the Dawn in November but in the mean time I have 3 HAL cruises. There are so many good things about HAL from the Officers and Crew to having for the most part a very good Buffet and Main Dining Room. On the newer Signature Class ships you will find the Tamarind steps ahead of the Asian venue on NCL and is always very good. For some reason it is never inconsistent. I like the feel of a HAL ship because it feels and looks like a ship and for the most part while the cabin may need some refreshing of the furniture at least it does not have that 70's College Dorm motif that I learned to over look on NCL ;)

 

I think each cruise lines has pros and cons but you have to decide which ones have more pros for you personally.

 

It does sound like there a lot you liked about HAL, I would give it another try.

 

I enjoyed your review and could relate and like I stated I totally agree with you Thanks for sharing it with us. :)

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

[Caribbean Chris]

To both Big and Laffnvegas...Many, many thanks. These were candid and balanced reviews, exactly what I like to find.

 

We are on the Feb 4 Oosterdam sailing to Hawaii, so your input was especially welcome. Both the ship (not HAL) and the destination will be new for us.

 

I love HAL, feel "at home" on board, and feel like I am cheating on my spouse when I go on other lines. (Not saying I have personal experience with the example!!) :o

 

But I have had much better experiences with main lounge entertainment and specialty restaurants on Celebrity. We haven't bothered to go to the Pinnacle on recent cruises, and usually only attend the piano bar shows on HAL which often have been excellent.

 

We usually take lower priced outsides or verandas. I would certainly be disappointed if I had booked a suite and experienced those lapses. The items you mentioned like flowers are basics! Very disturbing, and a disincentive to pay the difference.

 

But glad to hear all the good things. Your verandah party sounded great, Big! Great way to enjoy a suite!

[kazu]

Thanks for your review. Appreciate your candor and objectivity. You definitely should have had flowers and slippers in your suite!

 

Suites are supposed to have preferred dining so it is disappointing to see the issues you had with your table.

 

Great report. Thanks again:)

[Viesczy]

BG,

great, objective review listing your likes and dislikes.

 

I agree with your listed comparision of HAL to NCL food in the MDR and LB--HAL is a bit better. Pinnacle to Cagney's, I definitely feel the Cagney's has better food and neither line's Italian eatery really is worth the time unless you really are dying for something vaguely Italian.

 

HAL boats are bedded down by 10, that is for sure. NCL definitely has more going on at night.

 

Great, objective review!

 

Derek

[LADYLAYLA]

We were on this cruise as well, in the SB Aft Wrap on the opposite side of the ship from BG

 

We had flowers on the coffee table when we arrived in the room as well as his and hers slippers on the bed. The flowers were replaced midway through the cruise. So perhaps it is the room stewards who are the missing link?

 

It is interesting to see the differences in the perception of the cruises.

 

We felt the luau on deck in Honolulu while a nice presentation and touch, had sub par food. We agree that the Pinnacle breakfast for Suite guests is a let down. We went once and swore never again. But we had 3 dinners in the Pinnacle and 3 dinners in Cannaletto's. The only disappointment in those 6 dinners was the the Veal Chop I had in the Pinnacle the 2nd time we ate there. Had that been my only experience there, I would not have returned.

 

The Neptune staff are tremendous as were our room stewards Agus and Hery. We will definately return to HAL when Life will allow it (just found out last day on job is 2/15 so have to leap that hurdle before we can even think of cruising again) WE have FCC so hopefully something in the next 4 years

 

Lesa -- thanks for your assistance with the banner wave and allowing us the opportunity to meet James Deering. He made the cruise incredible

 

It was a joy meeting all the CCer's at the M&G and lunch HAL organized for us

[gelo7]

Thanks for reviewing.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We were on this cruise as well, in the SB Aft Wrap on the opposite side of the ship from BG

 

We had flowers on the coffee table when we arrived in the room as well as his and hers slippers on the bed. The flowers were replaced midway through the cruise. So perhaps it is the room stewards who are the missing link?

 

It is interesting to see the differences in the perception of the cruises.

 

We felt the luau on deck in Honolulu while a nice presentation and touch, had sub par food. We agree that the Pinnacle breakfast for Suite guests is a let down. We went once and swore never again. But we had 3 dinners in the Pinnacle and 3 dinners in Cannaletto's. The only disappointment in those 6 dinners was the the Veal Chop I had in the Pinnacle the 2nd time we ate there. Had that been my only experience there, I would not have returned.

 

The Neptune staff are tremendous as were our room stewards Agus and Hery. We will definately return to HAL when Life will allow it (just found out last day on job is 2/15 so have to leap that hurdle before we can even think of cruising again) WE have FCC so hopefully something in the next 4 years

 

Lesa -- thanks for your assistance with the banner wave and allowing us the opportunity to meet James Deering. He made the cruise incredible

 

It was a joy meeting all the CCer's at the M&G and lunch HAL organized for us

That is great you had a good cruise. But I feel bad for you about the news about your job. Trust me I know how that feels. On October 2008 a week after I got home from a cruise on the Oosterdam I was told my position of 15 yrs was being eliminated. At my age I could not retired yet so I had to start over in a whole new career because what I was doing with Sub Prime Financing basically no longer existed. So nothing like reinventing yourself in your mid 50's :D But trust me it is true when a door closes another one opens. I did not believe it at the time.

 

I am curious what deck were you on wondering if BG was in the same cabin we were?, since it sounds very familiar.

I do think it is the cabin Stewards were the problem.

 

You are more than welcome about the Web cam wave, it is just a fun way to start a cruise. And I totally agree about Mr. Deering. He can definitely make a cruise incredible ;)

[big green]

Thank you for your review.

 

It is surprising that there was not a little bowl of fresh flowers in your suite.

 

I saw the bowl in another suite and small is right--unlike the fresh flower arrangements on NCL for suites. We just bought a nice arrangement in Hilo for the cabin.

 

BG

[LADYLAYLA]

That is great you had a good cruise. But I feel bad for you about the news about your job. Trust me I know how that feels. On October 2008 a week after I got home from a cruise on the Oosterdam I was told my position of 15 yrs was being eliminated. At my age I could not retired yet so I had to start over in a whole new career because what I was doing with Sub Prime Financing basically no longer existed. So nothing like reinventing yourself in your mid 50's :D But trust me it is true when a door closes another one opens. I did not believe it at the time.

 

I am curious what deck were you on wondering if BG was in the same cabin we were?, since it sounds very familiar.

I do think it is the cabin Stewards were the problem.

 

You are more than welcome about the Web cam wave, it is just a fun way to start a cruise. And I totally agree about Mr. Deering. He can definitely make a cruise incredible ;)

 

We were both on Rotterdam deck - I was in 7142 so he was in 7151. I had an opportunity rear it's head today that may be the other door opening so <crossing fingers>

[socmft]

Ladylayla...were Janji and Hery your room stewards? We were in 7134 in November and think they were great!

[Boatdrill]

Thank you for the review; it was interesting to read about your experience and perceptions.

 

Was happy (or relieved) to read how you compare things on HAL to another cruiseline that you like. I do the same when I'm on HAL..can't help but compare this or that to how it's done elsewhere, on my favorite cruiseline.

 

Also I was curious about your question : Debarkation: OK—customs check for foreign nationals delayed debarkation as expected—why does San Diego continue to operate like this???

 

Why does San Diego continue to operate like what ? :confused:

[RuthC]

Why does San Diego continue to operate like what ? :confused:

San Diego completes the Immigration check on the ship, instead of on the pier---which is what is done elsewhere. No one can leave the ship until everyone has completed the Immigration check.

If even one person does not appear, then all others are delayed in disembarking. Missing flights is a distinct possibility.

[TheEmerson]

I am booked on the Oosterdam May. With more and more comments, I think I will bow out of the Pinnacle for any meal.

[big green]

San Diego completes the Immigration check on the ship, instead of on the pier---which is what is done elsewhere. No one can leave the ship until everyone has completed the Immigration check.

If even one person does not appear, then all others are delayed in disembarking. Missing flights is a distinct possibility.

 

Thanks for answering question on the review I wrote!!

 

Bg

[localady]

I plan to give the Pinnacle at least one more chance on my upcoming cruise. Will let you know how it is. It was "just okay" in October and one lunch we weren't even offered coffee after our meal....it was odd....:rolleyes: :D

[LADYLAYLA]

Ladylayla...were Janji and Hery your room stewards? We were in 7134 in November and think they were great!

 

was Agus and Hery. Amazing thing about Hery is he saw us walking down the corridor, called us by name and asked how the family was. He had been our Room steward last year when we went to Alaska and was able to remember all that

 

The Emerson -- give the Pinnacle a try --especially for their steaks -- the Steak Diane is absolutely wonderful

[Boatdrill]

San Diego completes the Immigration check on the ship, instead of on the pier---which is what is done elsewhere. No one can leave the ship until everyone has completed the Immigration check.

If even one person does not appear, then all others are delayed in disembarking. Missing flights is a distinct possibility.

 

The layout of the cruise terminal during debarkation in San Diego prevents doing immigration ashore. In the new terminal there's a dedicated area for it. In the original terminal, and for ships on the south side of the pier, it's not possible.

 

That's why HAL and CPB continue to run it onboard.

 

A delayed debark - either from the ship arriving late, or fellow passengers not showing up for immigration - is part of travelling.

Where a cruiseline and immigration set up camp, is up to them and also part of travelling.

Booking an early flight is the risk the passenger takes.