HAL's New Unwelcome Changes on the Oosterdam

[RocketMan275]

Are ebooks a lot cheaper than paper for Americans? One reason I do not buy them is that often they are almost the same price as paper books. I think they are only about 15% of the market here.

 

I love ebooks for other reasons than price. I can browse a site, find what I want, and download it to my electronics. I don't have to go to a store or wait for the mail. My IPad is much easier to transport than a bunch of books. I will usually carry four or five books on a cruise.

[aa7yy]

I looked at the title of this post and thought, this is right up my alley. My wife and I had just gotten off in Tampa from a 27 day TA. Read the post and decided "nothing in there that bothers me."

 

Thought about it, then thought some more. Here is where I ended up.

 

Both of us were terribly disappointed in the transformation of the Crows Nest into a very difficult place to hang out. Used to be big comfy chairs and beautiful views. Now noisy and the garbage basket for all events not having a home.

 

Yep 65-85 year old women trying to sit on bar stools to work on projects. Of course the instructions needed to be screamed. Craft courses on our first cruises a #10 , last TA a 0/Zero.

 

Then HAL found it necessary to provide a location for people to get together and talk about "shared" interests. Think of it as a platform for your brother in law.

 

Then we had the afternoon get together for "Stump the Captain". (If I ask a really difficult question these guys will think I am smart)

 

Then on our last sea day some pour lady was expected to give a seminar on Herbs and Acupunture. Her audience didn't want to give up there seats or couldn't get there walkers through traffic.

 

Now a lot of this could of been forgiven, but the rest of the ship was refrigerated. 100% no place warm and comfortable to sit and read. All of those great bars on 3 an 4 are deserted and COLD !

 

Now. have they gone back to keeping the dirty cruisers out of the food for 72 hours ? That was horrible !

[EDLOS]

With the rise of travelers bringing their own Kindles or other e-readers, or using iPads for reading, library usage is clearly sharply lower, and I share your pain. I love the look and feel of a library full of books and there's something really wonderful about browsing the shelves and finding something new. My wife is a librarian and we have a house full of books.

 

My advice, though, is to try to accept the trend and join the ranks of ebook users. if you were unhappy with the e-readers of a few years ago you might be surprised at how nice the newer models are. I got a Kindle Voyage recently that I think really reproduces the experience of reading text from a page very well, and is lighter than a paperback. There's very little downside (other than the cost of getting the reader in the first place).

 

And if you don't mind a very slightly heavier and more expensive device, the newest iPad mini is very light, has a lovely screen, and can be used for a variety of entertainment in addition to reading.

 

One caveat with any of the e-reading solutions is that I find that books with large numbers of diagrams or charts still tend to be inferior in electronic form (with some exceptions). So I tend to read popular science books and technical books on paper. But novels work great on e-readers, and Amazon has constant sales on older backlist titles they've acquired over the years. It's very easy to build up a substantial library of good stuff with just a few weeks of checking the regular Amazon Kindle deals pages.

 

It's not just the books, it's the space, comfy chairs, quiet seclusion, the ambiance of a dedicated ship's Library where I would read from my Kindle.

The Crow's Nest just does not cut it, I was shocked when I sailed the Oosterdam in July to find the "Library" gone, in fact calling the area in Crow's Nest a "Library" is rediculous ! Maybe similar to closing the N.Y. Library and saying we still have a "Library", but it's now in Madison Square Garden. Ditto for the Eurodam in November.

[Tinknock50]

Drums, keyboard, sax, trumpet, guitars.

 

Each group is different, of course, and play blues, motown, pop, soul with one or two vocalists.

 

Best thing HAL has in entertainment!

 

Do they take requests? I would just love if they would do "Into the Mystic". The two saxophones would be perfect!

[whogo]

Finally a seasonal beef. We heard Christmas music all over the ship for 24 hours per day. The Cruise Director said this is company policy not to be changed once it was implemented on December 1st.

I like Christmas music. I do not want to hear it all the time, certainly not all the time on a 14 day cruise. It must be particularly unpleasant for those who do not celebrate Christmas. Then again, I am not a fan of any canned music. It is a shame there was no quiet place to avoid the Christmas music, maybe with some comfortable chairs and some books...

[boards]

Unfortunately there was no 7PM happy hour on the 11/25-12/9 Oosterdam cruise, otherwise I would have gone.

 

I was stating from "the On Location today", and actually we only walked through there after dinner on our way to the Mainstage. We did occasionally stop to listen to the music if there was time. The music was popular songs and we thought the young couple were enjoyable.

[boards]

Unfortunately there was no 7PM happy hour on the 11/25-12/9 Oosterdam cruise, otherwise I would have gone.

 

I was stating from "the On Location today", and actually we only walked through there after dinner on our way to the Mainstage. We did occasionally stop to listen to the music if there was time. The music was popular songs and we thought the young couple were enjoyable.

We also only found the Gallery Lounge on our last night. It was quite nice with comfortable seating, good to spend time chatting and enjoying a refreshment.

[Alberta Quilter]

I got a Kindle Paperwhite a couple of months ago and I am in serious need of help using Amazon to build a Kindle library. If you don't mind helping a computer illiterate senior please e-mail me at themanginosatcoxdotnet. Put cruise critic-Kindle in the title

 

Thank you, if you don't have the time I understand.

 

Try signing up for daily emails from Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/ebook-deals/free-ebooks

 

Here is the sales pitch (no, I'm not affiliated with them): Looking for free ebooks? BookBub features limited-time offers for the best free books in over twenty genres, from both top-tier publishers and critically-acclaimed independent authors. These free ebooks are available on all devices, including Kindle, Nook, iPad, and Android.

 

Once you sign up and set your preferences, you'll get a daily email with about 4 - 7 available books within those parameters. You can purchase what you want but you must do it within a limited time frame otherwise you may miss out. I've been introduced to authors that were unknown to me previously. I won't kid you, there are hits and misses, but since the books are rated well by other readers, there are few misses. I don't have the time to search the Daily Deals for Kindle so this works well for me. Hopefully, it will for you (and any others), too.

[Tampa Girl]

We cruised about 4 years apart on Sapphire Princess and Star Princess. Basically, the Sapphire Princess had a library taking up a room, but a few years later, the Star Princess had a couple of book cases.

 

I wish instead of getting rid of the books, they'd create an electronic library that would let people download books to their Kindles.

 

This misses the whole point of a library, which is to browse and relax. We love our e-books, but they do not, at least in our minds, take the place of a library. People can download books to their Kindle at home. Why should HAL provide that service?

[Tampa Girl]

The Explorers Lounge classical music was down to just a pianist and violinist last year. Now with the Lincoln Center, there are 5 musicians : pianist, two violinists, viola, and cello. Very nice! The Ocean Bar has just a pianist. We enjoyed both.

 

Lincoln Center does not have the same ambience at all. I think my overall impression of the new Oosterdam is that it is geared to being a spectator, not a participant. Come watch our performances; come listen to our music but don't come to talk with your partner or others; and God forbid, want to dance. Look but don't touch! And forget the BB King and other venues if you don't want to blasted out of the room. We miss the Explorers Lounge classical music and the Ocean Bar of the past.

[Wonderingabout]

Lincoln Center does not have the same ambience at all. I think my overall impression of the new Oosterdam is that it is geared to being a spectator, not a participant. Come watch our performances; come listen to our music but don't come to talk with your partner or others; and God forbid, want to dance. Look but don't touch! And forget the BB King and other venues if you don't want to blasted out of the room. We miss the Explorers Lounge classical music and the Ocean Bar of the past.

 

That was pretty much what I was trying to say but you put it much more succinctly.

[SeaBands]

in dry dock to change them to look more like the new ship and I don't think it's for the better. Reduced libraries, Lido stations, big interactive tvs that you need to watch from your bed and other unlike HAL features. Just sailed on Kdam and would not again. Also cancelled 2 cruise on OO for 2017. We are ready to go back to X or Princess.

[SilvertoGold]

Do they take requests? I would just love if they would do "Into the Mystic". The two saxophones would be perfect!

 

Yes, we have seen this. Ask the vocalist and they will confer.

 

Hope you enjoy these groups!

[kazu]

in dry dock to change them to look more like the new ship and I don't think it's for the better. Reduced libraries, Lido stations, big interactive tvs that you need to watch from your bed and other unlike HAL features. Just sailed on Kdam and would not again. Also cancelled 2 cruise on OO for 2017. We are ready to go back to X or Princess.

 

Lido Marketplace was in place when we were on the Westerdam and the salad bar was a big hit. Other than no made to order sandwiches, I thought it was quite good.

 

Haven't sailed on the "King" and not drawn to her because we are itinerary driven,and....

 

I hope the libraries don't disappear as we enjoy them very much - especially on the S & R ships and the Prinsendam but....

 

If HAL is trying to update to appeal, it's not necessarily a bad thing. It means they are doing things with their ships. How we will feel when we encounter the other changes, I don't know. For now, I am sailing on ships where the changes haven't taken place (other than the Lido) and before those ships sail into the sunset, so to speak.

 

Hopefully if you were unhappy, you spoke up to Seattle and other that are unhappy do so. HAL may rethink it's other ships. Similar to the retreat on the Veendam and Rotterdam which were halted.

[Guinness1000]

I'm not surprised about the libraries. We've only sailed with HAL, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, and we have never seen the libraries busy. Makes sense to me to make better use of the space. I know if they all went away, it would make no difference in our cruise experiences. Having read through this thread, I understand why some people will be disappointed about the changes, but if they're not used much...

[kevingastreich]

Are you still able to have a drink served while listening to the musicians in what was the Explorers Lounge? I'm boarding the Oosterdam in two weeks.

 

Thanks!

 

Of course you can. That is one feature that will not be changing anytime soon! :D

[boards]

Lincoln Center does not have the same ambience at all. I think my overall impression of the new Oosterdam is that it is geared to being a spectator, not a participant. Come watch our performances; come listen to our music but don't come to talk with your partner or others; and God forbid, want to dance. Look but don't touch! And forget the BB King and other venues if you don't want to blasted out of the room. We miss the Explorers Lounge classical music and the Ocean Bar of the past.

 

Since when was the music played in the Explorers Lounge (now the Lincoln Centre) ever music to dance or be talking during a performance. It is music to listen too and let others listen to it too.

 

In reading this thread I haven't realized how unenjoyable a time we had on this cruise. I better pay attention on our next one.

[Tampa Girl]

Since when was the music played in the Explorers Lounge (now the Lincoln Centre) ever music to dance or be talking during a performance. It is music to listen too and let others listen to it too.

 

In reading this thread I haven't realized how unenjoyable a time we had on this cruise. I better pay attention on our next one.

 

I may have confused the Explorations Cafe with the Ocean Bar, where there was a dance floor and live music, including a quartet. It was obviously not all music to just listen to. The Adagio Strings did use that venue on occasion. There was a bar and comfortable chairs. The Oosterdam has done away with that. The only dance floor that I saw on that ship was on Deck 2, right next to the Casino. Did you see another cocktail lounge venue where there was anything other than a pianist? Lincoln Center is not a cocktail lounge venue.

 

I am glad that you enjoyed the cruise. Whether we liked it or not is our prerogative and our opinion. Your sarcasm is unnecessary. We dislike the lack of a library; others have no problem with it. You enjoyed the entertainment venues on the TA; we did not. Each to his own. There are other ships and other cruise lines to enjoy. This forum is to share opinions and compare various feature of the ships. It is not a matter of being right or wrong.

[boards]

You are right of course.

[EDLOS]

I'm not surprised about the libraries. We've only sailed with HAL, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, and we have never seen the libraries busy. Makes sense to me to make better use of the space. I know if they all went away, it would make no difference in our cruise experiences. Having read through this thread, I understand why some people will be disappointed about the changes, but if they're not used much...

 

Try to find a place in the former library's on a sea day. You better get there early. Oops! the bars are empty on port days, we should cut back on them !

Edited December 14, 2016 by EDLOS

[jhsocal]

Changes to Ocean Bar are what we would miss the most. Fortunately, combo still played in Ocean Bar on Westerdam in July.

[igraf]

I have to check the deck plans when referencing a given lounge, even though we have sailed several times with HAL. To me a lounge is a lounge...

 

The "Lincoln Center" moniker is now being applied on other ships to what used to be the lounge where the Adagio Duo performs. Seating has been changed to make it a music appreciation venue rather than a cocktail lounge.

 

igraf

 

 

 

I may have confused the Explorations Cafe with the Ocean Bar, where there was a dance floor and live music, including a quartet.

 

....Did you see another cocktail lounge venue where there was anything other than a pianist? Lincoln Center is not a cocktail lounge venue.

 

....

[MisterBill99]

Carols are fine. Do you play them 24/7 in your home during the holidays, or do you, like I, appreciate some break time?

Are they playing all carols, or all holiday music? Many pop music radio stations play holiday-themed music almost exclusively in December. Of course, you can turn those off and switch to something else. You can't do that on a cruise ship.

[dag144]

Are they playing all carols, or all holiday music? Many pop music radio stations play holiday-themed music almost exclusively in December. Of course, you can turn those off and switch to something else. You can't do that on a cruise ship.

 

From Silent Night to the Chipmunks they played it all! Unlike a mall or even a hotel one cannot escape from a cruise chip at sea. One can remain in the cabin alone I suppose. What I am suggesting is that the music be more varied. It is the holidays and carols should be included in the background music, included but not 100 percent of the offerings.

 

We had a lazy cruise director who, I suspect, told me it was company policy to play Christmas music 24/7. I doubt it is HAL's ironclad directive.

[TampaMike]

I am sitting in the Crows Nest right now and there is no Christmas music. Nor was there any in th we Lido at breakfast earlier. I have not heard 24/7 Christmas music in public areas. Since leaving last Tampa, I would say 75% was holiday music and some Big a band sprinkled in. Since there are 4 music channels onboard, what usually happens is the staff changes the channels in their work area before going totally mad. Seattle may mandate the programming from ashore, but it is easily overridden by the flip of a switch by a quivering hand.

 

I can also promise you for every complaint on the holiday music there is one to counter due to lack thereof.

 

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