Wonderful Antiquities Cruise
Oosterdam Cruise Review to Europe - Eastern Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Deck Hand
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 20
Review summary
We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise experience and the excellent choice of ports of call. One disappointment was having two ports of call at Mykonos due to a cancellation of Santorini. It felt like Holland America treated this 14-day cruise as two 7-day cruises. Much of the entertainment was repeated the second week leaving a feeling of very limited entertainment options the second week.Embarkation
Embarkation was moved from Venice to Trieste requiring a 3-hour bus ride. Other than the inconvenience of a bus ride to embark, the embarkation process was excellent.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The cruise ship was recently renovated so the ship was in great ship. Entertainment was not as good as previous cruises and the food was good but not exceptional. Dinner included the option for "paid indulgences" which was a disappointment. Previous cruises included these as part of the main dining experience.
Onboard Activities
It seemed as though onboard activities were scaled back compared to previous cruises we have been on.
Entertainment
Entertainment was limited and was repeated during the second week of the cruise. Even though we booked a 14-day cruise, it was treated as two 7-day cruises back-to-back. As a result, a lot of what was presented the first week was repeated during the second week.
Children's Programs
No children with us.
Service and Staff
The staff was exceptionally friendly and responsive.
Ship Quality
The ship was recently renovated and in excellent condition. Common areas were always clean and well maintained. We were upgraded to a category A stateroom on deck 5 but our view was looking directly over the tenders. It would have been better to stay in our category D stateroom on Deck 6 which would have had a better view.
Cabin / Stateroom
We were in stateroom 5070. Stateroom was nice but somewhat small. The verandah was cramped for two people. We had an issue with the toilet in the first week that required maintenance.
Ship tip
Don't select early seating for dinner. Several of the excursions went so late that we either missed the early seating or were extremely rushed to get there. Two of the gala nights were on excursion days resulting in a less than relaxing evening.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Disembarkation
Well organized and smooth disembarkation.