North to Alaska!

Item: Oosterdam
Rating: 4.4
Author: SanDiegoSpartan

Oosterdam Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

SanDiegoSpartan

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 61

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaskan Explorer (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 19, 2019

Ship: Oosterdam

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 4113

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Excellent first cruise to Alaska (though we have almost 30 cruises other places). HAL is a bit old school and more quiet, but the crew are fantastic and we enjoyed ourselves. Will be back.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Excellent - had someone in our party who required assistance due to mobility issues and HAL was right on top of it.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Food - some hit and some misses. Disappointed in the Pinnacle Grill - while the service was good, the food was not. The Alaskan King Crab legs were dry and tasteless. The wine choices within the SBP were super limited! Room service was good. Would like more daily soup options in the Lido Market.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Pool - was always full of babies in diapers! Ugh. Fitness center though small was nice. Trivia - fun, but would like prizes and also daily Music Trivia.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

BB King's Blues Club is excellent! The best of the entertainment. Billboard - singers were just so-so. Main Stage - would like more shows, but the Step we saw was good.

Children's Programs

no kids.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Waiter in MDR - Yoga was fantastic! Table 132. Wish he had found him earlier in the cruise. Mimi bar wait staff was excellent. Room steward Nadi was good and quick. All staff was excellent, with a few exceptions. Guest services was frustrating with a continual problem that was not resolved until the end of the cruise, requiring us to return to the guest services desk daily. Frustrating!

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The ship is older, but we liked it's more traditional look. It does lack a grand atrium and some of the more bells and whistles.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Cabin size is as expected - smallish. Bathroom could use a redesign with a walk in show and no tub. Cabin was clean. View is obstructed (we knew this) it looks right into a life boat. You can see through the life boat if you look.