New to HAL

[MSBYRDY]

After 18 cruises on Celebrity it was time for a change, so we've booked a cruise on HAL's Oosterdam. Looking forward to any and all information I can get on here.

Thanks

Marilyn

[jhannah]

Welcome to cruising HAL style! Glad you've checked in. If you do a search from the main index, you'll find lots about the Oosterdam. She's one of HAL's largest ships (Vista class) and is excellent, IMO. We enjoyed sailing her very much. The Explorations Cafe is a great place to read a book, work daily puzzles, check your e-mail, and enjoy your favorite music on one of the excellent listening stations.

 

Don't miss the Crow's Nest up above the bridge. Fantastic place to relax and enjoy the passing scenery.

 

I'm sure others will be along with more suggestions for you.

[caviargal]

The Oosterdam is my favorite HAL ship so far. We loved the crew, food and service. Even though we did not care for the Mexican Riviera, we loved the ship enough to go again.

 

Bigger cabins than X, wonderful bedding, great bathrooms, spa quality amenities provided, fresh flowers, indoor therapy pool, wonderful room service (same no matter what your cabin, unlike X), more interesting wine list and we prefer the Asian inlfuenced cuisine on HAL.

 

And the disco was hopping, pretty rare on HAL.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Harry1954]

After 18 cruises on Celebrity it was time for a change, so we've booked a cruise on HAL's Oosterdam. Looking forward to any and all information I can get on here.

Thanks

Marilyn

I suggest reading about the ships in general so you can fit this one in the fleet and see what other ships are about as well first. It helped us limit confusion about differences in ships.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=350993

 

harry

[agabbymama]

I sailed Celebrity Constellation to New England/Canada in '06 and HAL Zuiderdam in Aug '07. The ships are comparable in size.

 

We had one of the coveted Concierge Class cabins on Deck 6 (6143) tucked in amongst all the Suites on Constellation. The cabin is about 2 feet larger than regular balcony cabins, but the balcony itself was at least 3 times larger than a normal balcony. We loved all the Concierge amenities, but at a cost of $400 more pp. We had waffle bathrobes, matching towels & bathroom rug in a different color everyday, fresh flowers in our room & bathroom everyday and little bottles of shampoo and lotion. Fresh fruit. Use of binoculars and umbrellas, a keycard case, and we received a really nice Celebrity tote bag with a zipper (the largest tote I've ever seen).

 

Oosterdam will be the same as my Zuiderdam. Be prepared for lots of wood and brass, a teak promenade deck all the way around the ship, with teak wood deck loungers, fresh orchids on any table you see (whether by the pool, in the dining room, in the bar, everywhere). The beds are pillow top and the bedding so plush, the robes are terry, our regular balcony cabin was as large (maybe a bit larger) than the CC on Constellation, but the balcony was nowhere near as large. Chimes are rung to announce the dinner hour. On Zuiderdam there was a Waterford Crystal Seahorse in the atrium, I'm not sure what the decor in the Atrium of the Oosterdam is but I'm sure it will be just as gorgeous. I tried to take a photo, but the flash just glared on the crystal, so I bought a postcard.

 

I'm not a food connoisseur, but I never went hungry on either ship. The main dining room is our preference, as my friend doesn't do buffets. But we did have hamburgers one day, and the ice cream too. We had lovely breakfasts from room service on both lines thus avoiding having to get up too early. I'd say the food on both is very comparable to each other.

 

We attended a number of shows on both lines and find them to be pretty comparable too. Bingo on Celebrity was quite a bit more expensive but HAL payoffs were larger, I don't quite understand that one, but that's the way it was. We paid $30 to play on Constellation and the payouts were like $400 & $500, yet on HAL it was only $20 to play but the payouts were $1200 and $1500. And no there were not tons more people playing on HAL. Actually Constellation had the larger crowd in the main showroom.

 

And lastly, a lot of folks say HAL is for the "older" crowd. Well, I saw a lot more electric wheelchairs and scooters on Celebrity than I did on HAL. I'm 61 and felt right at home on both lines.

 

All in all, I think if you liked Celebrity, you will like HAL too.

[sail7seas]

Welcome MsByrdy...... Happy you have joined us.

 

DH and I are on the right coast and have not yet sailed Oosterdam as she has been on the left coast. We've sailed and had fabulous cruises on Oosterdam's sister, Zuiderdam, and positively LOVE Noordam. They're great ships!

 

Pull up a deck chair and hang around. We're happy to 'have you'.

 

[dakrewser]

After 18 cruises on Celebrity it was time for a change, so we've booked a cruise on HAL's Oosterdam. Looking forward to any and all information I can get on here.

Thanks

Marilyn

 

I did a fairly long comparison of the Infinity to the Oosterdam a couple of years ago. Check the thread here.

[MSBYRDY]

Grateful for the information, it's about what I had researched and expect. Your comparison was excellent and again, about what I expect. It will indeed be interesting to see for ourselves.

 

I do research things to death and think Hal and Celebrity are probably quite comparable. At least HAL seems to be the closest to what we're used to.

 

It will also be interesting to compare since we've also done the same trip on Celebrity.

 

Again thanks for the welcome and the information, it's appreciated.

Marilyn