Traveling with my daughter for a once in a life time trip

Item: Oosterdam
Rating: 4
Author: hopebullock

Oosterdam Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

hopebullock

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 17

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

36 Night Best Of The Mediterranean (Barcelona To Rome)

Sail date: September 04, 2016

Ship: Oosterdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6024

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This was exactly a trip to celebrate my daughter's accomplishments from Graduate school. She will be starting her full time career shortly. We both love to travel and the itinerary was perfect for us. The average age of the passengers was 62 and above. My 24 year old daughter did not mind though. She liked the gentleness of the atmosphere. The Oosterdam did not disappoint. Our cabin was 6024, VERY quiet and in a wonderful location on the ship. We were on the Port side or the ship, we did not have very good views once in port, Starboard had the terrific views while in port. I waved hello to the captain each morning, we could see one side of the bridge. The captain was professional and had a wonderful voice to listen to for announcements. We often had room service on the balcony for breakfast. The Oosterdam is showing it's age, but still a comfortable ship. Anything plastic was aging. The hallways are dull and old. The cabin was roomy for two. The sheets on the beds were fantastic. The staff was efficient and courteous, memorizing our names and room numbers. The rooms were clean. The package laundry service was the highlight, really great since the Oosterdam does not have a coin laundry on board like other ships. Since this was a 24 day cruise laundry was a big deal. We found that clothing did not dry rapidly on the ship. We mostly ate at the dinning room. Lido was our last resort. The views from Lido were really good, but the tables by the windows were usually occupied. Sailing into Venice was a highlight. This was the perfect Mediterranean sampler cruise the destinations were fascinating, 9 countries. It was a dream vacation come true...we loved it. I would have rated it 5 stars, but the boat is aging and not all travelers could stand being on a ship for so long. Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise book help immensely with the cruise ports.