Great Mediterranean Cruise Itinerary but Oosterdam Needs Much Improvement

Oct 2016 Cruise. Fantastic service from Samantha at . A great booking experience.

We did two cruises back to back from Rome to Barcelona (12 days) and from Barcelona to Rome (12 days). The itinerary, in common with many Holland America Line (HAL) Mediterranean cruises was excellent. October is generally a good time for the Mediterranean. Highlight ports included Genoa (a substitute port after a gale warning forced us to miss St Tropez), Marseilles, Monte Carlo (because you can get a public 100 bus to Nice or Menton for 1.5 Euros (takes 30 minutes), Sete, Ceuta (and an excursion into Morocco), Calvi, Ajaccio, Algeria, Palma de Majorca, Barcelona, Cadiz and Gibraltar. 

We had calm seas and fine weather mostly, with just a few overcast days with occasional showers. The ship left and arrived on time and tender ports were well managed.

The Oosterdam however needs much improvement. Our cabin (Verandah, deck 5) was in very poor condition.  The carpet was worn and dirty, the sofa and chair upholstery was dirty and stained, the bathroom basin was badly cracked and the bath was badly chipped. The shower head fell down and could not be adjusted (later fixed), the cabin table adjustment was broken (later fixed), one bathrobe was yellow stained (replaced).

The public spaces are also very tired and worn except for the refurbished bars. the Ocean Bar has been "refurbished" but the band space and the dance floor have been eliminated. Only a piano is there now and this is played only intermittently. There is no Piano Bar as such. Dancing is out both in the Ocean Bar and in the Crows Nest where the dance floor has also been removed. The only dance venue now is in the BB King Blues Club. 

The food quality and service has continued to decline as it has on all HAL ships. the general level of service on this cruise was somewhat indifferent and not as good as our previous HAL cruises. The main Dining Room was chaos - 20 to 40 minutes wait for a shared table on most nights. People were not happy.

We had one great night at the Pinnacle Grill and one disaster night there. Same for Canaletto - one great dinner and one with poor food and very poor service. These inconsistencies/failures should not happen in flagship restaurants that are charged for.

This ship was recently dry-docked and the Suites were refurbished together with some bars. HAL has however failed to deal with the poor condition of other cabins and the public spaces. The Signature of Excellence does not apply to this ship. 

Entertainment was variable in quality. The Lincoln Centre classical ensemble is so overwhelmingly good and popular that the venue is always overflowing. The Billboard Onboard entertainment included watching the garish flashing lights of the slot machines in the Casino opposite, and listening to the pounding of two electronic pianos accompanied by screeching, out of tune singing. Very slow drink service here (20 minutes) also and short pouring of drinks (two occasions).

HAL can do much better than this as we know from many previous cruises and ships. I rate the cruise itinerary and ports as very good but the ship overall as poor. At the moment, the Oosterdam is not worthy of consideration.