lisajo311 Cruise Review on Oosterdam on Aug 16, 2018

Oosterdam Cruise Review

lisajo311

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 2

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Sail date: August 16, 2018

Ship: Oosterdam

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We Loved most of our Experiences. Just know this ship is not a party ship, most of the activities are for older crowds of 65+. Positives are the employees. They are clearly amazing, and attentive. The pool area was clean, and enjoyable. The massage, and spa area amazing, and the 10th floor was a cool place to hang out. My daughter said the Casino was fun, but if you win money get your winning right away. It does not go onto your card. The shows were fun... especially the comedian animals 😉. The food looks amazing, but is just “okay-good” tasting. You have have to pay for extra for better food. Negative is you have to pay $13.50 per person in gratuities. My bill was over $1,600, and $500 was just in Hotel fees, because I shared my room with my daughter, and grandson. I was told that the Hotel Service charge acts as compensation to the employees. I tipped my people during the cruise directly, because I miss understood that the money was not included in the over all price of my cruise prior to going. When I asked if this compensation is added to their minimum wage, or part of the minimum wage no one appeared to have an answer... yet! 😊. Meaning that the extra tip added is actually just an indirect way of obtaining extra cash toward the ships payroll, instead of extra on top of their paycheck. If any one knows the answer please share. Another negative is they have a cabana area that used to be an open area, but is now extra if you want to pay for it. This was especially embarrassing when I went onto the platform to take some pictures and a customer actually peaked his head out of a cabana and said I couldn’t be there. Even on the open platform, unless a I paid an extra $150? This of course provoked me to ask guest services, who said it was fine, since I was just looking around, taking a few pictures. This type of thing should not even be an issue while on a very expensive cruise. So being the inquisitive person I am, especially regarding money toward the underrepresented, alarmed me, into how each ships money is accounted for. So I have added a picture in my photos of a basic breakdown of each persons cruise ticket price and where it all goes. Check it out. Over all, I would travel Holland America again with my knew understanding of how they work. The negatives are trifle at the end of the day, although I do want to know more about how they pay their employees, and I don’t think I would go with younger people, but over all I truly enjoyed my trip on the Oosterdam.

3 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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Mark346 6 years ago

You do not have to pay the 13.50. You can go to guest services and opt out if it. But only if you are a cheapskate. I gladly pay it as I always have great service. 1600 that is cheap. I enjoy my time on the ship and spend a bit more than that and never complain.

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IkeDeb 6 years ago

Great

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