Oosterdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The usual great service and food you expect from Holland America, one of the few negatives was that they closed the Lido deck at 8:00PM and that they didn't extend breadfast times on "sea days" they might try a brunch instead of both breakfast and lunce separately.

great cruise. Ship is in need of some refurbishment but is going to dry dock 4/1 for that. Handicapped room was very good. Seating fo those in wheelchairs at theater was very poor. Hard to see 

We have cruised many times and the staff on this ship was exceptional.  Our room steward was extraordinary.  The ship is due for updated but that aside we could not have asked for more.  The food was prepared with great care.  It also helps that our weather was almost perfect!

Our recent trip on the 21 Night Southern Caribbean Wayfarer/Seafarer was great.  We enjoyed it immensely.  Warm weather, good food and a wonderful staff on the Oosterdam.  Would recommend this for everyone.

We only have one negative remark to make and that is about . We listened to your travel professional, Hollace G. and booked a guarantee room -- which we had never done on our previous 7 cruises -- what a mistake that was.  We wanted a deluxe balcony --  Hollace said that it was better to do the guarantee in that category.  I did say to her that we wanted a higher deck and she replied that she would put that request in for us.  Well much to our surprise, we did receive a deluxe balcony on the Upper Promenade deck (Deck 4)!!! and it had an obstructed view!!!!!  What good is a balcony if you can't see!!!!!  This trip was booked in June 2015 and it wasn't a matter of dollars and cents.  Needless to say we didn't get what we requested - and the obstructed view was never mentioned when we booked.   Lesson learned -- never listen to the "travel professional" - book what you want or get "leftovers" from cruise line.  

We did go to front desk to ask about  room change but ship was entirely booked.  We won't make that mistake twice.  We booked a Transatlantic voyage with on the Royal Princess for October 2016 and selected our own mini suite.  

Employees went out of their way to be helpful and friendly.  This was some of the best customer service we've ever experienced.

Shore excursions were O.K., but did not always stay on schedule.  One example was scheduled for 4 hours, but took 5 1/2 to complete. 

Our veranda stateroom was clean, but needed refurbishment.  Worst example was the sofa which had significant stains from a lot of prior use.  The cabin attendants responded and within 2 days made the needed corrections.

The embarkation went well, but having a bad generator gave me no confidence.

Disembarkation felt rude. We were in the last group and had to leave our room an hour before getting off the ship.

Best part of this cruise was the children were few and far between.  Many of the cruisers were mature adults.  The Oosterdam is just the right size of boat for being able to get around while on board, with 1900 passengers it never felt crowded.

  Great itinerary- Visited 6 ports with many excursion options

  Very helpful and friendly staff

  Outstanding dining selections

  Plenty of activities on board

  Comfortable stateroom

  Entertainment in the Evening could be up a notch

  Generous shipboard credits for frequent Holland America vacationers.

We enjoyed our fourth cruise with Holland America Line ("HAL") and this was the best so far.  Nothing better than beautiful Caribbean islands in the winter and a festive New Year's Eve celebration.  We enjoyed exceptional service and delicious food at Pinnacle Grill.  American Airlines lost our luggage for the first 3 days, so the cruise started out a little rocky.  Holland American Line stepped up and loaned us formal attire and helped track our lost luggage.  Now that is what customer service is all about.  We are looking forward to our next adventure with HAL.  

We enjoyed the cruise very much and found everything to be to our expectations.

The entertainment was very enjoyable and all the staff were extremely pleasant and helpful.  Liked having the option to dine whenever and wherever we chose.  All the food was great.

The ship is beautiful, styled like a mega-yacht inside. We were impressed by the luxurious interior. It's not a big ship in relation to some other ones out there, but we came to appreciate it, because it was not too crowded and we got enough attention from the staff. The service was excellent. The food was great, especially at the Pinnacle Grill (though you pay extra $30/person). The one things we did not like is the quality of cocktails and the price for alcohol in general. Over $7 for a bottle of Corona, as an example, and like $13 for a shot of Patron. After getting 2 crappy Mojitos, I literally made the barman follow the recipe step-by-step. He was annoyed, of course, but at least I got 1 good Mojito. After that I quit, though, it just seemed too much trouble. So we started drinking only straight drinks, with no mix or skill required. We also thought that the spa was overpriced and lacked a Turkish sauna, which is our favorite.

The shows were good, especially stand-up comedy (which is rare, I think). I can't say that there were many exciting activities on board. That could be because the cruise is geared towards an older crowd. We are in our early 30-s, be we are fine with elderly people around. Much better than loud families with children. This is a polite generation of dignified people, we respect and enjoy talking to.

The islands were very similar so I can't say that the destinations were exciting. We took one big excursion around St.Lucia and then just went to the beaches. The best beach is Half Moon Key. The island beaches are crowded and the service is not the best. The prices can be quite shocking too: like $20 for a lousy cocktail at a shaggy bar. This is not by any means the cruise line's fault.

Overall, though, we were impressed with how well everything was organized and with the quality of the ship, the food and the service. We will definitely consider Holland America in the future and will gladly recommend it to other people.

I met some really nice people on board. The service was very good. The food was fine. My major complaint was that they cater to people who eat early. Most of the nightly entertainment happens between 7 - 10. They do have one show at 10.  I ate at the 8:00 seating and felt that I missed a lot of the evening activities. They also don't have a lot of activities during the day on sea days.

Overall it was good, but food on the Lido deck was uninspired, wait staff and behind the counter staff was great as was our room steward.  We had a bad experience in the eat as you like dining room as the food was a long time coming and another person had the same problem, 2 hours.  We ate in the reserved dining room several times and the service was excellent, knowing that we ordered tea, they would bring the next few times.  Don't like hard rolls, like soft rolls, food was pretty good there and was told in the Italian and other restaurants, it was excellent.  The ships appointments were beautiful.  The entertainment was mostly blah, why don't they get a variety of great acts, from America's got talent, one great pianist but the other one was ok.  While their in house dancers and singers are good, I see them or the equivalent on every ship, even other lines.  Slots were tight, at least compared to other ships I have been on, one of my favorite is video poker and it was not included and the games that were or the ones I saw did not offer great odds.  I played several penny slots and spend $20 on each one and lost all my money in about 10 minutes. Our room aft on the 6th deck was the quietest we have ever had but we rocked and rolled several days after getting off ship.

We had a fantastic cruise on the Oosterdam.  This ship very nice and well maintained. In the eleven cruises with Holland America Lines we have never been disappointed. Our favorite ports were seeing the monkeys on St. Kitts, Zip lining on St. Lucia, and the Tram Ride & Helmet Dive on St. Thomas.  We also enjoyed hanging out at beach bar at Emerald Beach Resort in St. Thomas. Half Moon Cay was really relaxing also. We plan on doing this again in the future!

Wonderful cruise.  Staff were exceptional; food was superlative; the ship itself was great - even though an older ship all was in working order, clean, and well appointed. Would have appreciated more musical entertainment on public areas be extended both day and evening.  Entertainers brought in were wonderful but the ships on board band, dancers and singers needs to be enlarged to offer more range. Ports visited were good and offered a variety of activities if chosen.  Staying on board was comfortable too.

The room was great. Very comfortable. Our room cleaners and the rest of the workers on the ship really made an effort to make sure everything was the best for their customers.  The only complaint  we had was with the food. It seems that Holland America was trying too hard to be unusual in their choice of dinner menus. I am not a fan of "pork cracklins" or "sweet breads".  I am old enough to know and understand what those things really are. The cheapest, lowest form of leftovers from killing the pig that there is. I guess that way the shipping company can save a lot of money on real meat and fish. I am waiting for them to tell me that "mountain oysters" is a real treat.For your info, its pig testicals.. Thank goodness for the salad bar. If this is what Holland is doing with the food, I will look for another cruise line.

Bad cabin, uncooperative office staff, hard time getting right food. Not a pleasant experence. Overpriced. They say I have to use 150 characters. Can't think of much to say. I think my views aer evident. Some folks had a super time, I guess. We just weren't some of them. Overall 1-10  a 5.

First, the weather was fantastic. All the ports provided opportunities to enjoy whatever they had to offer and the excursions we booked were fun and greatly enjoyable. Our stateroom stewards were excellent.. I was disappointed that our veranda was obstructed. We were not on the Veranda Deck where one can see the ocean from anywhere in the stateroom. In one of the specialty restaurants the service was very slow. The food on the Lido deck was satisfactory but not outstanding.  The Maître'd in the Vistia Dining Room was wonderful and the service was excellent. The evening shows were fun and very good. They have wonderful shipboard talent in addition to bringing in others during port stops to perform that evening. . I understand I the ship will be going into dry dock soon for much needed updating. All in all this was a very enjoyable experience. 

The cruise was wonderful. The ship was amazing as were all the crew. The food was plentiful and very tasty especially the breakfast. the cabin was very roomy and bright even though we had a partially blocked view. the itinerary was very interesting and fun. The price of the cruise was also a good value. holland america is a great cruise line. we can hardly wait to go on another trip.

The food was good but not many selections.  Very few salads and also the

buffet didn't open until 5:30 pm for dinner.

Bought our picture from the photo gallery and didn't notice till we got home that it was our ship on the picture but it was not our itinerary.  Can't display it as I am tired of telling everyone we didn't go there when they ask about an island.