Oosterdam Better Than Ever! A Review

[bepsf]

Accommodations:

 

The main reason one books an aft-corner suite on the Vista-Class is the wrap-around verandah. 4185 (Category S/SC) offers a nice balance of openness and privacy – if you wish to see the upper decks, you can stand at the aft rail and look up & back, but just two steps in and you’re in almost total privacy with little wind while underway. The deck on the side is also about a foot deeper than the verandahs above, but is more susceptible to the wind and some of the view is partially blocked by a piece of machinery whose function I never did figure out. The interior is a fair bit smaller than the Category S/SA Suites located on the side – think of an SS plus the dressing room, angled dry-bar, twin beds that make into a king and all the Deluxe Suite perks and you’ll get the picture.

 

 

The Neptune Lounge is a bit of a hike, but just lift the phone and the concierge team is not only friendly and efficient, but also eager to please and can take care of most needs over the phone. It would seem that no reasonable request is too big or too small for them to handle for the Deluxe Suite passenger (and sometimes their guests!)

 

 

The best news about this location besides the panoramic view off the verandah, and the sight of the wake from your bed is that it’s a short wander down one flight of stairs to the Vista Dining Room. The worst news is that while underway, the noise and vibration from the azipod propulsion units 5 decks below is somewhat more apparent when quietly lying in bed then when at table in the boisterous dining room just below.

 

Food:

 

Speaking of the Dining Room, the quality of food aboard Oosterdam in the Vista Dining Room is quite an improvement over what has come from the HAL kitchens in recent years. Although the presentation and ingredients used have always been quality, flavor has often been lacking. Well, no longer does one have to try to recall from past cruises what was good and what was bland – the menus have been updated and the flavors are top-drawer! Even the Baked Alaska is better!

 

 

Of course, the Pinnacle Grill is exactly as good as it’s always been – but now that the staff has been ‘edited’, the service is so much friendlier. One thing that is relatively new in Pinnacle is the luncheon service: 3 courses for $10, no reservations required. The luncheon menu is completely different from the dinner menu, but no less enjoyable. A new personal favorite is the Thai Beef Salad: petite filet medallions on mescalun w/ roasted peanuts, crispy fried cellophane noodles and fried lotus root topped w/ a slightly sweet Thai dressing.

 

 

Room Service is much improved as well – butters, jams, cream for coffee and sugar for tea are all in place on the breakfast trays – no more calling back for little incidentals. Delivery is always prompt, and metal discs keep plates warm. Within 5 minutes of receiving a delivery, the phone rings to ensure that everything is all right. You can tell that efforts are being made to ensure that every room service order is perfect.

 

 

Of course, the Lido Restaurant is as it’s always been – all kinds of good food served practically round the clock.

 

 

The Staff:

 

We’ve never experienced a friendlier or more welcoming staff and crew than were assigned to Oosterdam for our week in Alaska. Captain Jeroen Van Donsselaar is the most engaging captain that I’ve had the pleasure to meet. He and Hotel Manager James Deering are incredibly gracious hosts – they will make a great team again when they transfer to Zuiderdam in mid-October. Cruise Director Steve Gayda clearly loves his job – he had a grin from ear-to-ear the entire week witnessing the ship’s company enjoying themselves. The concierges in the Neptune Lounge, Lizzie (sic) and Marj are tireless in their efforts to take care of our little needs – even running to the back of the ship to deliver a pair of tuxedo pants to replace ones that were forgotten at home! Peter Allen, the Pinnacle Maitre’d never complained when I added guests to an already full dinner table. Our steward in the Vista Dining Room (Table 135) spent time chatting with us while his assistant performed goofy magic tricks for us (Hey, it’s funny after a couple glasses of wine…) When wine steward Ferdinand delivered two cases of champagne on ice for a party to my suite, he asked if I needed someone to come back to serve on my verandah – He then proceeded to set up tables for hors d’oeurves and glasses – then came back and stayed for over 2 hours serving and cleaning up afterwards! The next morning when he came in to check the mini-bar, he took one look at me in my hung-over state and asked if I’d like his cappuccino – he hadn’t had any yet. When I responded that I couldn’t take his coffee from him, his reply was “It looks like you need this a lot more than I do”, and when I tried to give him a tip to pay for it, he brushed off my money saying ”That’s not necessary: This is how we take care of our guests.” Even our cabin steward Fausi was tireless in running errands & getting our laundry done in record time.

 

 

The Ship:

 

Oosterdam is as beautiful as ever and well maintained. Everywhere, one could see freshly varnished teak furniture and railings, gleaming hardware and spotless glass – however one can also see signs of wear and tear such as frays at carpet joints in some elevator lobbies, scuffs on corridor walls at the 90-degree turns, slashes in some vinyl elevator door upholstery, wear on the backs of the wicker lounge chairs on our verandah and on the seats of the chairs in our suite. Hopefully when she goes in for her first drydock next year, she’ll receive more wear-resistant materials in these areas. And unfortunately, the Smoking Room at the aft-end of the Explorers Lounge is now locked up and reserved for ship’s photographers and their equipment for private photo sessions.

 

 

The Olive Pit martini bar at the bottom of the atrium under the stairwell is a great use of that out-of –the-way space, and Edwin gets raves from everyone he serves! Sadly, over in the Explorer’s Lounge there was only one steward assigned there after dinner, so he was having a difficult time trying to fulfill orders for après-dinner liqueurs – but that may have been because all the other available bar stewards were up in the more populated venues for this charter cruise.

 

 

The Itinerary:

 

This being my second time to Alaska, I knew to expect outstanding scenery, variable weather and rough seas. We got the first two - not bad at all!

 

 

Juneau was rainy and chilly – a perfect day to stay in, but we went to Mendenhall and Buchert Gardens anyway. Thankfully, the folks at the visitor center tell us that Mendenhall had a better year and didn’t recede half as much as last year. Buchert Gardens is a great place if you’re into rocky trails, plants, little waterfalls and upside down trees…

 

 

Hubbard Glacier & Disenchantment Bay is so much more impressive than Glacier Bay – the ice is bigger and bluer and we were witness to several calvings! This is why you get a corner verandah in Alaska!

 

 

Haynes is the town that’s named after your underwear (…or so the joke went aboard ship that week) I didn’t go ashore, and from what I was told and from what I could see from deck, I didn’t miss much except the cool vintage DeSoto’s being used to give guided tours of this cute little town. Personally, I’d have rather gone into Sitka again.

 

 

Ketchikan is just too much like San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf unless you can get away from the piers. Unfortunately, unless one purchases a pricey excursion such as floatplanes to the Misty Fjords, you’ll probably end up just wandering the streets near the ships. We did go see the Lumberjack Show, which was great fun if somewhat kitschy – especially for the young kids who got to help keep score! One bothersome thing that happened was that passengers from the two Mega-Princess ships were incredibly rude, exiting en-masse halfway through the show! Did someone hear a chow-bell, ‘cause the boats weren’t leaving?

 

 

Sailing to Victoria, we saw a great number of whales – it was amazing! Even as we were on deck getting some sun one afternoon (!) we could see spouts and hear the clap of Humpbacks fluking…

 

 

Victoria: What’s the point in getting off the ship? We hosted our traditional rowdy “Drink-the-last-of-the-wine-and-gift-champagne” dinner party in the half-empty Pinnacle and had a great time enjoying the company of our shipboard friends…

 

Room for Improvement:

 

One thing that doesn’t make much sense is the big SOE hullabaloo about the new flat screen TVs. If they were flat TV’s (LCD/Plasma) – that would be a great thing, but these are still great big tube televisions that take up as much space as the old ones and impinge on desk space, so they’re no big deal. Another thing that disappoints slightly is the lack of input jacks in the TV & Stereo so that one can’t plug in their own music/video from an iPod or camcorder, but I understand that most HAL guests aren’t that up-to-date w tech. And am I the only one who thinks that the little faux-silk pillows on the leather sofas in suites are kinda cheesy? How ‘bout some of that cool Batik from the spa? And the coffee tables in staterooms – they really ought to be adjustable in height so that one can enjoy room service indoors without being uncomfortably bent over.

 

 

I also understand that the stateroom corridors on Noordam will receive some colors and artwork to brighten them up – I certainly hope that Oosterdam and her sisters will receive similar updates, as her corridors are tract-house drab in comparison to her lobbies, staircases and public rooms.

Pretty nit-picky, huh? That should indicate to you how good it all was...

______________________________________________________________

 

Overall, I have to say that this, my 3rd HAL cruise, and my second aboard the beautiful Oosterdam has been my best cruise thus far. Many of her staff and crew are moving on to other ships, including the new Noordam, and I look forward to meeting them again on other ships of the Holland America fleet.

[dakrewser]

Good review, Brian - it was a great week in Alaska, wasn't it?

 

 

 

I didn't mention it in my Infinity review, but the best parts of their "art" were framed old photos mounted along the walls of the stateroom corridors - something HAL could imitate quite nicely!

 

We'd agree that Hubbard is much better than Glacier Bay - but do want to get back to College Fjord again - that's glacier heaven!

[Atomica]

Glad to hear you had such an awesome time on the Oosterdam - of the ships I've sailed on, it's my number one favorite so far, and I can't wait to sail her again. Thanks for the great review.

[Esme]

Great review Brian. Glad you had such a good time.

 

Captain van Donselaar asked me to tell you that he is not transferring to the Zuiderdam until December 10th, in case you were thinking of going before that.

 

He said the weather has been dreadful the past week and very rough yesterday and last night.

[etoile]

Psst, Brian - Butchart Gardens is in Victoria. I can only assume you must have meant Glacier Gardens, HAL does offer an excursion that visits both there and Mendenhall Glacier. I'm sorry I missed seeing the sights of Juneau - once my excursion was canceled I was befuddled as to what to do and I just wandered around town on my own.

 

What a wonderful review though! It's interesting to hear an experienced cruiser's perspective. I didn't notice the signs of wear and tear that you did, and I never would have known about the vibration from the Azipod if you hadn't mentioned it! I don't remember receiving a checkup call from room service either - another little difference between categories! ;)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Great review Brian. Glad you had such a good time.

 

Captain van Donselaar asked me to tell you that he is not transferring to the Zuiderdam until December 10th, in case you were thinking of going before that.

 

He said the weather has been dreadful the past week and very rough yesterday and last night.

 

Esme, does this mean that it is for sure that Captain Mercer will not be on our Oosterdam cruise October 8th?? I take it we will have Captain Jeroen Van Donsselaar. That is still good since I really wanted to meet him also along with James Deering, will he also still be there?

 

Brian, I loved your review, it gave me added excitement that everything went so well and we will be on the Oosterdam in less than 19 days. We will be right about you in 5187 and our friends from Boise will be in your cabin.

 

Also just a note Brian, the televisions have not yet been replace on the Oosterdam those are not the new flat screens, it is my understanding they do not plan to give the Oosterdam the new TV's for a while since these TVs are fairly new.

 

Here is a picture from the Ryndam of the new TVs

 

Thanks again for your wonderful review.

[Esme]

LAFFNVEGAS - Captain van Donselaar asked me to tell you that Captain Mercer will definitely be on your cruise.

 

"Wow, what a great review!!!!

 

I saw a little further down someone posted concern over not sailing with Jonathan Mercer Oct 8. Trust me, he'll be there. HM James Deering will be leaving 10/8, he does go directly to ZUDM."

 

Captain van Donselaar leaves the Oosterdam 8th for vacation.

[doone]

Brian, what a great review, so glad you enjoyed the Oosterdam. I have only been in a suite once and it was on the Zuiderdam, a corner aft suite, I agree, for us as well, it was wonderful. Not sure if and when I'd be able to sail in a suite again, but if and when the opportunity presents itself, I would choose a corner aft suite if offered.

 

Welcome back to reality.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

LAFFNVEGAS - Captain van Donselaar asked me to tell you that Captain Mercer will definitely be on your cruise.

 

"Wow, what a great review!!!!

 

I saw a little further down someone posted concern over not sailing with Jonathan Mercer Oct 8. Trust me, he'll be there. HM James Deering will be leaving 10/8, he does go directly to ZUDM."

 

Captain van Donselaar leaves the Oosterdam 8th for vacation.

 

Esme, Thanks so much for the information:) While I am excited that we will get to cruise with Captain Mercer I was also hoping to meet James Deering since I had heard so much about him. I also was looking forward to meeting Captin van Donselaar. I am looking forward to seeing Captain Mercer again he may or may not remember me but he will remember the cruise we were on because it was a bit eventful toward the end when we were in port and the Diamond Princess about hit us and had her accident in Victoria in 2004.

 

 

Brian, I suspect you did leave our friends suite in Tip Top shape;) You mentioned a vibration, was this your first time in an Aft suite? I am wondering if it will be as noticable in 5187? Actually I am sure it will not bother us that much, it will be just something more we will miss once we get home:D

[CDRMark]

Brian,

 

Great review as always. Thanks!

Now get back over and check in with your shipmates!:)

Cheers

MarkB

[trubey]

Of course, the Pinnacle Grill is exactly as good as it’s always been – but now that the staff has been ‘edited’, the service is so much friendlier.

 

Can you explain: ‘edited’

 

 

[doone]

Laffnvegas, we had suite 5187 on the Zuiderdam and we did not notice any unusual vibrations. There was movement, but that's part of being on the water, but we felt nothing unusual. Hope your experience is the same, that cabin is awesome. Enjoy.

[K&RCurt]

Great review Brian!

 

 

 

You made me wish I were there. I am looking forward to lunch in the Pinnacle Grill after you description of the Thai Beef Salad! Sounds Great.

[jhannah]

Thanks for the thorough review, Brian. We look forward to being on the Oosterdam next April.

[RuthC]

Thanks for such a great review---made me want to go back. Oh, right! I am going back next July! :D

 

I agree that Hubbard Glacier and the sail up Disenchantment Bay is spectacular. It's one of the top three sails I've ever taken.

Now, welcome back to real life.

[TedC]

Good review, Brian - it was a great week in Alaska, wasn't it?

I didn't mention it in my Infinity review, but the best parts of their "art" were framed old photos mounted along the walls of the stateroom corridors - something HAL could imitate quite nicely!

 

 

 

The Westerdam has art in the stateroom corridors and it really brightens things up. And it appears the new Noordam will also have corridor art, which is especially beneficial on Vista ships because of the longer corridors.

 

Brian, thanks for the review

[bepsf]

Esme--

Thanks for sharing the kind message from Jeroen - Yes, I forgot that we were chatting about his upcoming vacation. If you hear from him again, please let him know that the offer for dinner and/or cocktails (with Pam, of course) in San Francisco still stands!

Etoile--

Thanks for the correction -- I guess I was thinking of the last names of the owners: Steve and Cindy Bowhay. Here's their site for those of you who are curious: http://www.glaciergardens.com/ It's really very pretty up there, and would be the perfect location for a romantic wedding in Alaska...

Lisa--

Thanks for your correction too -- I sorta assumed that the TV's had come in w/ the new mattresses and linens. (...but why let facts get in the way of a perfectly good gripe? :rolleyes: ) BTW - Non-Suites have the new mattresses and linens as well. Oh, and the folks upstairs didn't have any wild parties, so you should be fine when you board! ;) ...and Fausi is a great cabin steward - he's got everything set for your friends. :)

Susan--

From what I understand, there were issues with many of the Eastern Europeans in the Pinnacle Grilles - that their service and attitude was not as gracious as the Indonesians and Filipinos had been in the earlier Marco Polo's, therefore HAL decided to do some 'editing' and start bringing the Indonesians back to Pinnacle.

There was also some talk of HAL experimenting with taking a section of the Lido Restaurant and by adding removable draperies/panels, linen tablecloths, etc. and using the existing kitchen facilities on the Lido creating another specialty restaurant in the evenings - Maybe serving Italian dishes? Maybe called Marco Polo?

Incidentally, I personally have little problem with noise and vibration of the engines (unless I've had a Flaming Spanish Coffee on the first night - then I'm just too excited to sleep!) but I did include it for those who may be disturbed by such things and may prefer a stateroom farther forward.

Thanks everyone for your welcome's home - but this real-life stuff is kinda over-rated. Like the Celebrity commercial: "I think of this as a temporary exile..."

[LAFFNVEGAS]

The Staff:

 

Our steward in the Vista Dining Room (Table 135) spent time chatting with us while his assistant performed goofy magic tricks for us (Hey, it’s funny after a couple glasses of wine…)

 

Brian, DH noticed before I did but I forgot to ask. You said you had table 135, that is the table we requested and have had previous on the Oosterdam. Do you remember your steward's name? I wonder if we will have the same Wine Steward?, we so love our nightly bottle of Champagne and so do the friends we are cruising with so he will get to know us quite well.

 

One more question do you by chance remember seeing on the Wine List under Champagnes Lenardini Spumanti or sometimes they call it Lenardini Asti it is fairly cheap it is normally $23.00?

 

Thanks again Brian.:)

[KAYEF]

GOSH but it was great to read your Oosterdam review. Our first cruise was last Sept./Oct. for the 23 day repositioning cruise and we LOVED her.

We learned our lesson by cruising on the Island Princess in Dec. and the Norwegian Dream this Sept.

We are returning to HAL in November and are REALLY looking forward to it; it will be the Veendam this time, however.

The quality, staff, food, etc. on the other two ships just didn't compare to HAL at all............our adult kids had NO artwork in their NCL cabin and ours would have been better turned to the wall. The "art" looked like what my kindergarteners would have produced.............made us appreciate the Oosterdam's are even more!

We have to say the entertainment on the Princess was FAR better than on the O.............and the cruise director as well.

NCL completely destroyed both of our suitcases and we drove to Seattle, so NCL were the only personnel who touched our suitcases...........no flying this time.

Thanks for the reminder of our great O cruise; we're sticking with HAL and maybe trying Celebrity.

[bepsf]

Lisa--

 

Yes, table 135!

I tried to get table 136, but someone else already had that one reserved...

(they must have read my review from last year - Grrr....)

Manny was our very busy wine steward that week and Muhamad was our table steward - sadly I cannot recall the name of his young assistant who did the 'magic' tricks for us - he was so much fun!

The ship is stocked largely w/ Chase-Limogere Brut which is a sparkling wine from California - not as sweet as an Asti - so if you simply ask for a glass of champagne anywhere that's probably what you'll get (no more splits of Freixenet!) I don't generally drink Spumantes, so I can't recall which types are on the menu...

Be sure to chat w/ CD Steve Gayda - he was CD on Prinsendam during the Grumpy and Slinky World Cruise and he has stories to tell! ;) (and give him a hug for me too!)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Brian, a wonderful review! Thanks so much! It does look like the food in the dining room has improved in flavor just since one year ago. I'm so glad to hear it.

 

Captain Mercer is, in my view, my idea of the Captain of a ship. He was very impressive while at the same time willing to chat at a moment's notice. I enjoyed him.

 

I have a question, Brian. Why do you say "what's the point of even getting off the ship?" in Vancouver???

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Brian, you said (no more splits of Freixenet!) :( :( I liked those, especially in the Piano Bar, I do like Chase-Limogere Brut and we will order it by the bottle if they do not have our regular. Gee, I wonder if it is possible I am almost positive that our Wine Steward on the Oosterdam in May 2004 was named Manny. I guess we will find out.

 

 

Thanks so much for your help

[RevNeal]

EXCELLENT review, Brian!!!! THANKS for the good news!

[bepsf]

Heather--

 

 

I was referring to the 4 hour stop in Victoria, BC the night before we return to Seattle - it's pretty much technicality because of US trade law (the Jones Act?)

Arriving there for such a short time late in the evening, IMHO why bother going off the ship when we can have a lovely relaxing dinner on board?

Lisa--

Could very well be the same fellow! You'll also love Ferdinand, one of the wine stewards in Pinnacle - He's a joy!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thanks, Brian! We'll be there all day and I was looking forward to it so I'm glad to know it was only timing that stopped you.