Alaska Southern Cities
Oosterdam Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 6
Helpful Votes: 118
Review summary
Our second Alaska cruise in 10 years. Not much has changed. Weather was better last time, but this is an amazing part of our country. We used to live in Anchorage so I can tell you there is a whole lot more to see than what you see on this cruise.Embarkation
It was very easy to roll our suitcases up to the scanner and proceed to check in which was fairly fast for first time cruisers with HAL.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The Pinnacle Grill food was outstanding. We ate there once. It was almost too much to eat. There were additional charges if you want lobster added to your meal. We ate in most dinners in the main dining room. The food quality was good but the menu selections were rather limited from my point of view. Also, we had the drink package. There were very few wine selections which could be accessed by the package. I basically had only one Chard and one red wine available by the glass.
Onboard Activities
They had an indoor and outdoor pool which were used mostly by children. I used the open air walking track which gets a bit crowded sometimes. I also went to the America Test Kitchen once and it was pretty well attended.
Entertainment
Not much variety. The comedian was good.
Service and Staff
Every staff member we encountered was friendly and helpful. Our cabin stewards did a great job. The dining room waiters also did a fine job.
Ship Quality
The ship was a little smaller than we usually go on, it seemed a bit dated. We had a virus outbreak on the fifth day of the cruise so we were in a situation where there was no salt and pepper at the table and no silverware. It was all distributed with your food from behind the service areas. That included coffee and tea. I would say I have never been on a ship in the past few years (6 cruises) where so few people bypassed the sanitation machines. The ship did a good job of controlling the problem. We never had an issue, but we were religious about using the sanitizer everywhere.
Cabin / Stateroom
It was comfortable and had enough storage for our needs. The weather was a bit chilly and rainy in places so we didn't get much use of our good sized balcony. We did have a jetted tub which I used the first day. We also had double sinks which was nice.
Ship tip
Make sure you understand how the drink package works or you might be stuck with charges you did not expect.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Disembarkation
Quick and easy.
Traveler Photos
