Oosterdam Review 3/1-3/8

[johnb24]

We arrived at the Oosterdam pier in San Diego at 1:30 for our Mexican Riviera Cruise 3/1-3/8 and with only a minutes wait passed through security to present our express passports to the Holland America agent. No wait, no lines, and we were on the ship in five minutes. We booked a SZ suite guarantee three months ago and were assigned to cabin 6058 at check in . Unlike Celebrity or Princess, Holland America did not notify us before our boarding as to which cabin we would be assigned. The suite was spacious, stylish, and comfortable and included a full bath with jet tub, separate shower and twin sinks, as well as a roomy balcony with table, chairs, two lounge chairs and foot rests. Included was a flat screen TV and a DVD player with access to free DVD’s. Great suite in the forward section of the ship. The overall look of the ship is new and with the extensive art collection - an ipod tour is available- and elaborate display of fresh flowers the Osterdam has a unique and attractive décor and fittings. Yes there are some bizarre bar stools and chairs in some lounges and bars and the color scheme is not understated but overall it works.

Service on Holland America was exceptional. Our room steward was unobtrusive, professional, and followed through on all our requests in a timely order. Wait staff, bar tenders, pool attendants were always efficient and friendly. However, the Spa staff over sell and some times misrepresent prices. In an effort to sell a weekly pass to the therapy pool and spa for 150 dollars we were told no daily passes were available until we asked to speak to the manager and then informed we could purchase daily passes. The pool was worth the daily charge and provided a quiet and relaxed alternative to more active places.

Holland America has started anytime dinning for those who like more freedom from traditional dinning times. This worked well for us and we did not wait to be seated if we were willing to be seated with others. The food in both the restaurant and buffet was well prepared and provide variety. Over the week we enjoyed Duck Breast, Veal Chop, Prime Rib, Lamb Shank, Shrimp, Lobster, Steak. All the usual specialty stations - pizza, burgers, deli, stir fry, ethnic choices are include at lunch and breakfast. We found food comparable to Celebrity in quality and presentation. Holland America has the best Ice cream and it is available all afternoon. The Wine Card for us was the bargain of the cruise. For 41 dollars ten glasses of wine can be chosen in all public bars , lounges, and dining areas. The choice is limited but the wine was enjoyable. Many drinks in fancy glasses were over priced but that is common on all ships. We purchased tours through the ship in each port and enjoyed them. Whale watching in Cabo was spectacular - many whales in the bay this time of year and the boat brought us close to them. In Mazatlan we toured the estuary of Stone Island and rode along one of the most beautiful palm fringed beaches in the world to a great Mexican lunch and in Puerta Vallerta we booked the Overview and enjoyed it. The weather was cooler than expected - no swimming- but great for touring.

Celebrity and Princess have a greater variety and more extensive hours of entertainment than Holland America - but the entertainment was OK. Lots of newly released movies, a serious String Quartet, very good Broadway review, passable house band, specialty party nights. There were too many announcements over the PA for Bingo, Art Auctions, Sales in the Shops, Casino Specials - but these are entertainment for some people . Fellow passengers were for the most part from the West Coast, older or in family groups. As far as I know there were no screaming teenagers running through the halls, drunk college students doing back flips into the hot tubs, or unruly senior citizens running down people in the buffet line. People seemed to enjoy eating , drinking, dancing, conversation with friends, listening to 50’s music in the Piano bar, eating, playing cards, laying out in the sun, eating.

At disembarkation Passengers were encouraged to stay in their cabins until called - a very relaxed end to a good cruise. This particular cruise was deeply discounted over the weeks before sailing and to our minds was excellent value and good fun.

[rochelle_s]

John,

 

Thanks for the wonderful review. Glad to hear you had an enjoyable cruise. I love reading reviews....makes it a little more exciting waiting for my time to set sail again.

Rochelle

[mountain dog]

:confused: Thanks for your review. We are booked 11/15/08 on the Oosterdam to Mexico and look forward to the cruise. What are the seas generally like in November out of San Diego? How was the ocean during your cruise. We sailed last August out of Seattle to Alaska on the Ooterdam and loved it.Booked a SA Suite and our cabin stewart Agaun was great.We really enjoyed the Oosterdam so we booked it again.The excursions you booked are ones that we thought of booking also. There is a birdwatching excursion that looks interesting.We would like to take in a bull-fight in P.V. I dont think this is a toured offered we might have to check it out on our own. Thanks

[grannynurse]

Thanks for your very informative review of the Oosterdam.

I'm curious however, since you say that HAL didn't inform you of your cabin assignment, did you check the website under "for booked guests". I'm assuming that you did since you say you had boarding passes, your cabin assignment is listed on the sign in page with your other information; maybe you missed it. Our TA called us with our cabin number before it showed up on the website, about 28 days prior to sail date.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

GN

[hammybee]

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective with us. I am glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[Bookfinder]

Thank you for the nice review. We are sailing on the Oosterdam on April 12 and are new to HAL so it is nice to hear good things about the cruise.

 

Did you call and make a reservation for dinner or just show up and wait to be seated?

 

Thanks again for a sharing,

Bookfinder

[leoandhugh]

We were on this same cruise and second all the OPs observations about the cruise, the ship and the HAL personnel. The embarkation and disembarkation were very quick and very smooth. We were onboard before the cabins were ready at 130pm, and spent time in a very crowded Lido. This was our second Mexican Riviera cruise on O'dam in the same SY suite, so there were no surprises, but several familiar faces among the crew and staff.

AYW dining worked just fine for us; because of using a scooter for accessibility reasons, we were assigned the same table each night because it was easy to access without disturbing other passengers. Dinner meals were fine and we enjoyed the same range of food as the OP. One night we ate in the Pinnacle, and, as always, too much food.

Our one disappointment were the shows - music and dancing. Why they feel they have to overmike everybody is so sad; we heard the same singers in a more intimate show, which though miked, was not ear assaulting.

[gentlemancruiser]

The embarkation and disembarkation were very quick and very smooth. We were onboard before the cabins were ready at 130pm, and spent time in a very crowded Lido.

Our one disappointment were the shows - music and dancing. Why they feel they have to overmike everybody is so sad; we heard the same singers in a more intimate show, which though miked, was not ear assaulting.

 

Was the dining room open when you boarded? We arrived at the Alamo Car Rental at 11:31 and by 12:25 we were seated in the dining room have a wonderful quiet lunch. We didn't want to struggle with the Lido. I'd reccomend it to anyone who arrives before the cabins are ready.

I agree the embarkation and disembarkation were the smoothest we've even encountered, I really like being able to stay in your cabin for disembarkation it makes everything that much smoother.

 

We enjoyed the production shows but felt singers and dancers were a little disappointing. They were old, and yes the sound was loud, but I caught the lead female singer lipsyncing which is probabaly why they'd had the music soo loud.

[hammybee]

 

Was the dining room open when you boarded? We arrived at the Alamo Car Rental at 11:31 and by 12:25 we were seated in the dining room have a wonderful quiet lunch.

 

Some of the true luxury cruise lines do not allow passengers to board until 3:00 P.M., unless they pay for the privilege of early boarding ( about $100 p/p) which includes lunch.

[johnb24]

Some answers to questions asked above

 

In Puerta Vallarta on the Wednesday we docked the Bull Fights we held from 5:00-7:00 PM at the Arena within walking distance or a short cab ride from the dock

,

The Estuary trip is the bird watching trip and includes the pristine beach of Stone Island and a good Mexican lunch.

 

The Ocean was calm to moderate seas on our trip, weather in the 70’s , sun in Mexico and rain in San Diego

 

Dinner reservation can be made by phone or you can show up when you like and request a table

[leoandhugh]

Showing up when you like can, and does, result in waiting for that table if there is a line at popular times - 730 to 830. If you request a table of certain size, or indicate that you do not wish to share a table, your wait might be longer. Even though it worked well for us, the name of the game is flexibility - mainly on the part of the passenger. They do their absolute best to accomodate passenger's wishes - who could ask for more?:)

[johnb24]

Answers to some questions

 

Holland America did not post our guarantee cabin number on line. Repeated calls to Holland America and Cruises Only, our TA, did not result in disclosure . Holland America reserves the right to assign guarantee cabins at check in as stated in the literature.

 

Dinner reservations were not needed on our trip if you were a party of two willing to dine with others at a large table. We noticed larger parties, or couples who wished to dine alone and who did not have reservations sometimes issued a beeper and asked to wait. People who had made reservations in any size party were not required to wait. Calling in the AM and being flexible with dining time will secure a reservation.

[Teresa19]

We returned last night from our 7 day Mexico cruise on HAL Oosterdam. It was spring break for us so we brought our teenage boys and also traveled with another couple. We had cruised on HAL over 15 years ago and I have to say that this cruise was absolutely fantastic. HAL is a fantastic company that goes all the way for their customers. The cruise was wonderful. There was the perfect mix of all ages. We sailed RC a few years ago and while our kids loved it - we didn't so we decided to try cruising once again and chose this cruise because we wanted to see the west coast of Mexico and wanted something "a cut above" RC. We were not disappointed! We purchased our travel through HAL and got stuck on Saturday 3/8 because not only did it snow in Memphis - which is rare - but had to go through Chicago. Anyway we missed the boat. HAL was nothing short of wonderful. A representative met us personally late on Saturday when we finally arrived in San Diego, took us to the Sheraton there and already had all our travel documents ready in order to get us to Cabo where we met the ship on Monday. We arrived in Cabo on Sunday morning and again were met at the airport and driven to our hotel which was in downtown Cabo. The driver gave us lunch and dinner tips and we were picked up right on time Monday morning and driven to the pier and then tendered to the ship. At first when all this happened we thought that perhaps our vacation was ruined - but it actually turned out better than ever. HAL had cancelled our planned whale watching in Cabo so that we had time to unwind and unpack. All I did was look out our balcony and could see countless humpbacks spouting and swimming. A bottle of champagne and room credit was delivered compliments of HAL as a way of saying sorry that this happened. We didn't even have trip insurance but had purchased our travel through them. The service, the food, the fellow travelers and the staff was wonderful and everyone in our party went home yesterday feeling like this was one of our best vacations ever! :)

[Roz]

John,

 

I was on the cruise after yours (March 8-15) that Teresa and her family took. I agree with your comments about the service personnel and entertainment (or lack thereof sometimes). Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

It was a nice change of pace for me from the Caribbean. Sailing was smooth and weather delightful. There was a very broad range of ages and backgrounds on this cruise which I enjoyed. Sometimes the Florida presence (over 50%) can be overwhelming on a Caribbean itinerary.

 

Next time I'd like to do the 10-day Sea of Cortez itineary.

 

Roz