On the Oosterdam until December 14!

[canadianbear]

We had dinner at the Pinnacle last night.  I’ll attach menu photos (again, I’m not great at photos just using my phone). I will post photos of our dinner later too.  It ended up being 2 hours which was too long.  The place was busy and others were also getting ancy as well.  I tried the scallops and it was delicious.  

[GTVCRUISER]

Have a great day in Puerto Vallarta 🍺😎🍷 🌴

[canadianbear]

2 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

Have a great day in Puerto Vallarta 🍺😎🍷 🌴

Thank you!  We are currently at Aft pool (water is wonderful!). Doing a sunset excursion later-just decided to book it last minute.  

[canadianbear]

For our Pinnacle supper we had:

 

Appetizers: Crab cakes; jumbo shrimp cocktail and lobster bisque.  

 

Main course:  Braised short ribs; seared jumbo scallops.  Side dishes: mashed potatoes, asparagus and mushrooms.  

 

Dessert:  sorbet; key lime pie.  

 

I loved the scallops-all items were very good.  Just too long between courses.  We have reservations for Friday again so will see if service is the same and decide if we will book next week or not.  

 

[Vic The Parrot]

17 hours ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Vic,I am soooo sorry😞 It was you and I got Mixed up with my responses!

Thank you for the correction👍
Denise😊

No worries, just wanted to clear the air. Hope you're enjoying the start of the holiday season.  😚😎

[Vic The Parrot]

Huh? 

 

You're in PV already?  😵

 

[*Miss G*]

I am not fussed on the new PG menu.  (Nor the new Tamarind menu.). Didn’t enjoy it as much.  I will be dining in the MDR next cruise.  Now that’s saying something!  😂

[canadianbear]

2 hours ago, Vic The Parrot said:

Huh? 

 

You're in PV already?  😵

 

😁😁 just had 2 sea days.  PV today is all aboard at 8:30pm.

 

Tomorrow Mazatlán and next day Cabo.  

[canadianbear]

2 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

I am not fussed on the new PG menu.  (Nor the new Tamarind menu.). Didn’t enjoy it as much.  I will be dining in the MDR next cruise.  Now that’s saying something!  😂

 

I enjoy fish so have had the halibut before and liked it.  The scallops were really good.  We talked to people that had the crab legs (too much work for me) and said they were good.  I’ll probably have the tenderloin on Friday which is often my favourite.  Personally, if we weren’t 4* I am sure we wouldn’t spend $39 each to go there though.  

[Vic The Parrot]

1 minute ago, canadianbear said:

😁😁 just had 2 sea days.  PV today is all aboard at 8:30pm.

 

Tomorrow Mazatlán and next day Cabo.  

Oh ok, I forgot that they reverse itineraries sometimes. 

 

Like Emily Litella said, "Never mind!".    🙃

[DeeniEncinitas]

Hope the weather is great for you in PV today!! Very overcast and our rain is expected here in San Diego late this evening into tomorrow. 
We love PV and we walk into The main part of town. It is a long walk but fun for us. We always stop at the bank where we get our pesos. We go to Crazy Burro a place on the beach get beer and great Mexican food. 
Hope you have a nice time there! Enjoy Mazatlan and Cabo👍
Food at PG looked yummy but I know how slow they are. On our last cruise on the Maasdam to SA we had our standard window table and I believe they just wanted us to relax and savor everything. It seemed to us like at least 2 hours while we were there. Hope the key lime pie was good👍 One of my favorites.

Denise😊

[canadianbear]

On 12/2/2019 at 6:07 AM, kapear said:

Say hello to my mom Susanne and her friend Frank. She's a 70ish woman with short blond hair. Frank has dark hair and a beard. They will most likely be at the Pinnacle or Ocean Bar during happy hour. They will be in the Pinnacle Grill at Breakfast and will be in the casino in the evenings. 

 

FOUND THEM!!  Finally met & chatted briefly in the Neptune lounge a few minutes ago.  We were just heading to an excursion.  

[cat shepard]

4 hours ago, canadianbear said:

We had dinner at the Pinnacle last night.  I’ll attach menu photos (again, I’m not great at photos just using my phone). I will post photos of our dinner later too.  It ended up being 2 hours which was too long.  The place was busy and others were also getting ancy as well.  I tried the scallops and it was delicious.  

 

 

The high and low points of my October - November 17 day cruise on the Oosterdam were in the PG.

 

The scallops were outstandingly good. The beefsteak tomato and burrata salad was the low point. The tomato was pink and hard. Someone actual cut that tomato and deemed it edible. Minor, when I consider how many great meals I enjoyed. Not so minor when one considers it was the PG. But those scallops! WOW!

 

Quote

 

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by cat shepard

[MoyCoy]

5 hours ago, lazey1 said:

I am just off the Oosterdam Thanksgiving sailing. There were 500 minors under the age of 18 on our cruise. I don't know if they still have the Club HAL on the upper deck or not however there were at least 2 very large rooms on deck 3 forward where the children were being entertaibed by the staff.  One room was younger children, the other room appeared to be older, maybe teenagers. Ane of course the Lido pool and spa's were filled with kids almost all the time. The weather was cold, (jeans and sweatshirts) so I doubt there would have been many adults swimming anyway.

Your the best. Thank you. Did you notice the age ranges in the younger kids area. 

[Kelownabccan]

My god....!!!!....you guys are making me hungry......having burgers on the barbie tonight as the snow has melted away.....and easy to go outside but still chilly....about 34 degrees or plus one for us....lol......anyways been reading about this club orange stuff....is that on this ship???? or another way for HAL to get extra money....haha.....prob will try the PG for one night on the cruise....what is a good night to go or is busy all the time....we are only three star so still save some $$$   .Ken in Kelowna

[kapear]

3 hours ago, canadianbear said:

 

FOUND THEM!!  Finally met & chatted briefly in the Neptune lounge a few minutes ago.  We were just heading to an excursion.  

Good news! Once you find her, she's pretty recognizable.

[Kelownabccan]

OH DEAR....just go this....what a bummer.......too late to cancel and the weather in SAN looks crappy....was looking to some sun....

 

Dear Valued Guest:

 

 

We look forward to welcoming you on board Oosterdam for your upcoming cruise

 

 

While we are in port in San Diego before your cruise we will be performing maintenance on one of the ship’s Azipod propellers. While this in no way affects the safety of the ship or our guests and crew, which is our highest priority, we must complete these repairs before the ship can depart for your voyage. To allow time for this work, some adjustments to our upcoming itinerary have been necessary.

 

 

We will now remain in port overnight on Saturday, December 7 and depart San Diego on Sunday, December 8, at 6:00 PM. As a result of our late departure from San Diego we will no longer be able to call to Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, on Wednesday, December 11, and will reverse the port order of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico and Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

 

 

Our revised itinerary is now as follows:

 

 

Date	Port	Arrival	Departure
Saturday, December 7	San Diego, California, U.S.		Overnight
Sunday, December 8	San Diego, California, U.S.		6:00 PM
Monday, December 9	At Sea
Tuesday, December 10	Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico	10:00 AM	6:00 PM
Wednesday, December 11	Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico	Noon	9:00 PM
Thursday, December 12	At Sea
Friday, December 13	At Sea
Saturday, December 14	San Diego, California, U.S.	7:00 AM

 

 

We sincerely apologize for these changes and realize that the cancellation of a port of call, regardless of the reason, is disappointing. We sympathize with our guests whenever an itinerary revision is required and we are unable to take you to all of the destinations you expect to visit.

As a gesture of concern for your experience and gratitude for your understanding, each guest will receive $100.00 USD as a refundable onboard credit applied to your shipboard account. The onboard credit cannot be redeemed for cash or used in the Casino, but may be used toward all purchases in the bars, boutiques, and photo gallery, as well as spa treatments and shore excursions. Each guest will also receive the refundable portion of the taxes, fees and port expenses associated with Mazatlán.

 

 

For those guests with Holland America Line tours booked for Mazatlán, your shipboard folio will be credited automatically with your refund. We are working with our tour operators to reschedule Holland America Line tours for Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, and if your tour is rescheduled or cancelled you will be advised on board.

 

 

Guests will be free to come and go from the ship while we are in San Diego. A complimentary shuttle will be available from the port to the Gaslamp Quarter/Downtown on Saturday evening and during the day on Sunday. We will also have San Diego shore excursions available for Sunday, which you can learn about and book once you are on board.

 

 

We regret any disappointment these changes may cause, and look forward to our voyage together. Thank you for choosing Holland America Line.

Kind regards,

Holland America Line

 

 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Kelownabccan

[cat shepard]

36 minutes ago, Kelownabccan said:

OH DEAR....just go this....what a bummer.......too late to cancel and the weather in SAN looks crappy....was looking to some sun....

 

Dear Valued Guest:

 

 

We look forward to welcoming you on board Oosterdam for your upcoming cruise

 

 

While we are in port in San Diego before your cruise we will be performing maintenance on one of the ship’s Azipod propellers. While this in no way affects the safety of the ship or our guests and crew, which is our highest priority, we must complete these repairs before the ship can depart for your voyage. To allow time for this work, some adjustments to our upcoming itinerary have been necessary.

 

 

We will now remain in port overnight on Saturday, December 7 and depart San Diego on Sunday, December 8, at 6:00 PM. As a result of our late departure from San Diego we will no longer be able to call to Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, on Wednesday, December 11, and will reverse the port order of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico and Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

 

 

Our revised itinerary is now as follows:

 

 

Date	Port	Arrival	Departure
Saturday, December 7	San Diego, California, U.S.		Overnight
Sunday, December 8	San Diego, California, U.S.		6:00 PM
Monday, December 9	At Sea
Tuesday, December 10	Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico	10:00 AM	6:00 PM
Wednesday, December 11	Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico	Noon	9:00 PM
Thursday, December 12	At Sea
Friday, December 13	At Sea
Saturday, December 14	San Diego, California, U.S.	7:00 AM

 

 

We sincerely apologize for these changes and realize that the cancellation of a port of call, regardless of the reason, is disappointing. We sympathize with our guests whenever an itinerary revision is required and we are unable to take you to all of the destinations you expect to visit.

As a gesture of concern for your experience and gratitude for your understanding, each guest will receive $100.00 USD as a refundable onboard credit applied to your shipboard account. The onboard credit cannot be redeemed for cash or used in the Casino, but may be used toward all purchases in the bars, boutiques, and photo gallery, as well as spa treatments and shore excursions. Each guest will also receive the refundable portion of the taxes, fees and port expenses associated with Mazatlán.

 

 

For those guests with Holland America Line tours booked for Mazatlán, your shipboard folio will be credited automatically with your refund. We are working with our tour operators to reschedule Holland America Line tours for Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, and if your tour is rescheduled or cancelled you will be advised on board.

 

 

Guests will be free to come and go from the ship while we are in San Diego. A complimentary shuttle will be available from the port to the Gaslamp Quarter/Downtown on Saturday evening and during the day on Sunday. We will also have San Diego shore excursions available for Sunday, which you can learn about and book once you are on board.

 

 

We regret any disappointment these changes may cause, and look forward to our voyage together. Thank you for choosing Holland America Line.

Kind regards,

Holland America Line

 

 

Bummer. I do have one question, how can one receive a refundable OBC that can not be redeemed for cash?  I always thought refundable meant just that.

 

I used to work for the US Federal Government and we had refundable credits vs non-refundable credits. Non-refundable credits could only reduce account charges down to zero. But any excess refundable credits would go to the citizen as a check.

[twodjs]

The refundable will probably work the way any refundable OBC from a travel agent would work - any left over is refunded back to your credit card at the end of the cruise. Just my guess. We're actually happy with the change since we weren't planning to get off the ship in Mexico anyway. Now we have one more day with no ocean movement. Mid 60s in San Diego is a little chilly for sunning by the pool, though. But we'll still have data access with our U.S. phone plan.

[sevenseasnomad]

Always disappointing when an itinerary changes.  At least you have advance notice.  While this may not be much in the way of consolation, at least you can take heart that you know about it in advance.  Any chance you could enjoy San Diego Saturday evening.  Lots of nice opportunities.  Have you planned on how to spend your onboard credit? 

 

I hope the rest of your cruise turns out to be fabulous, the best yet, Kelownabccan.

Edited December 4, 2019 by sevenseasnomad

[sevenseasnomad]

22 hours ago, canadianbear said:

No. It was questions from passengers and no mention of fleet wide anything except more ships down the road.  

Duh!  I kind of figured there would be more ships at some point.  Is it silly of me to hope some of them will be smaller ships, or should I have my head examined for even wishing it?

[Kelownabccan]

refundable.....that is what I thought....if you have money left in your account they will give it back after the cruise.....drats......my wife is already thinking of what to buy in the shops....lol.....maybe there will be none left....

 

we already have lots of credit with Hal after they cancelled our Cuba cruise and gave us another $200.....my account is really loaded now.....we are starting to plan our day for Sat night now and Sunday in SAN....will go over to Coronado and see the lights and in the harbour is the parade of lights...so lots to do but the weather looks off....showers so am starting to rethink what I am packing to bring....more cold weather stuff.....oh well....go with the flow....Ken in snowy Canada

[Kelownabccan]

candian bear....what is your take on this ....how is the ship working as you are on it.....Ken

[rj42]

I'll be on the 7 December sailing. Actually there are some positives, since Friday and Saturday night will have the festival of lights until 11 pm in Balboa Park, with lights, entertainment, carnival rides, and shopping (a 2 mile Uber ride from the pier). 

 

Also, there's a Christmas ship parade on Sunday December 8, starting at 5 pm and scheduled to get to the ship pier around 6 (new scheduled departure time), so that should be fun to watch around sailaway time (hopefully the ship officers know there will be a big ship parade passing by when they're scheduled to back up).

 

While SD is having rain now, the forecast shows mostly cloudy with a 30% chance of showers Sunday morning, and 65 or so the high all days, which I'll be happy to take over 45 and rain in WA. 

[lovejact]

For those of you who will be in San Diego on the 7th because of the issue with the ship, this is the weekend of our big Christmas celebration in Balboa Park called December nights.  Here is a link to the celebration website - https://www.sandiego.gov/december-nights  I highly recommend it.