Oosterdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

My wife and I have been on 4 cruises, 2 Carnival to the Caribbean, 1 Norwegian to the Mediterranean, and this Holland America to the southern Caribbean. Far and away this was our best cruise yet. The gourmet food was scrumptious, the service excellent, but the thing we liked most was it wasn't crowded like the other cruise lines. Although fully booked the ship only held 1,900 passengers compared to the 5-6,000 on Carnival and Norwegian. Never had a problem finding a table or lounge chair. Never a wait for dinner. The excursions were great and cheaper too. Loved everything about it except the part about me breaking my arm. I was standing in our stateroom with my back to the door to the veranda. The ship rolled and I leaned back against the door which had a faulty latch. The door swung open and I fell backwards onto the veranda breaking and dislocating my elbow. So, I'll have a cast on until Christmas! Lessons learned! Don't trust doors to latch. Anyway, while onboard we did book a June 14 day Alaskan cruise and a 15 day Panama Canal cruise for November next year on Holland America which we're looking forward to.

From organized check in to end of trip we did not have one complaint. The staff was the best we have experienced in years of cruising. The entertainment was good, but more activities were needed during the day, The food wa excellent both in Lido and dining room. Attention to detail was obvious.

Solid, beautifully appointed ship with powerful propulsion system.

Outstanding food service in both food quality and menu selections. The service by the table stewards matched the food quality.

Cabin service was also top rated. 

Entertainment was average.

Ports were fun and widely diverse.

I would sail again on theis ship.

The ship decor is tasteful, warm, plenty of curved lines, warm wood, admin areas that look more like small hotel lobby and welcoming.  For the value this was a great cruise.  However, shipboard activities offered were boring and mostly in sales ode such as services of spa, jewelery offerings.  Although seemingly design for mature crowed, we seniors like continuing learning opportunities and educational lectures were lacking. For a short cruise that's great but for ten days it was boring. Food was good and similar in quality to other cruise lines I've taken.  It seemed the cabin and dining attendants were allocated more than their manageable share of workload. There were not a lot of noticeable happy faces and many seemed tired and sad. 

The ship was gorgeous and service was impeccable. Staff was cheerful and friendly. Stateroom was clean and stewards were nice. The option of meals in rooms was great.

There were little incidental charges that were not clearly stated, such as: We had soda cards, but they were not accepted in the bars, and if you received a can instead of a glass, that was charged to your room instead of the card, even though the card was presented. The only time we received soda in cans was due to the fact that the waiter couldn't remember who had diet and who had regular soda. So we ended up with money left on the soda card and had to pay for soda on the room charge. This could have been made clearer from the beginning.

Enjoyed the cruise.  The dining would have been much better if we could have been assigned a time and seating.  We enjoy having the same seat, time and waiter for our dinner meal.

My husband and I went on this cruise looking for something more exotic after we had both gone on other Caribbean cruises.  The stops were so gorgeous.  We had a perfect trip- we both agree that it is our favorite vacation yet!

I'm not as much of a fan of cruising as my partner but I would rate this one the best of the 4 I have been on.  Staff was extremely friendly and helpful.  Food was just ok.  Both dining room and Lido dining could improve.  Entertainment better than previous cruise on other lines.  Shore excursion on Curacao very good along with snorkeling in Bonaire.  Rooms were cleaner than previous cruises especially the bathroom which was extremely clean. Staff were constantly busy and cleaning all the time.  I actually felt guilty being on vacation.  They are very hard workers.  Was quite annoyed at all the perfume in the dining hall at night but that's not the cruise ship's fault I know. It was an older crowd and the older women love their perfume. UGH!  We actually asked to be moved one night and it wasn't my request.  The men in our party couldn't even stand the odor coming from the next table.  Overall good cruise. Definitely organized for on and off.  Amazing.  High marks here for sure.

Overall, pretty good.  Found the ship extremely cold.  Not enough music in many areas.  If the 4 pc. combo was accompanying the entertainment of the night, the area (bar) they usually played in was empty.  The gym equipment was not maintained very well.  The staff was excellent.  Cabin was noisy (under Lido Deck).

This was the first time we had sailed on a Holland America ship.  Our experience was just a little below or average for this ship.  Boarding the ship was easy and very quick which was great.  When we went to our stateroom, it was so hot that we could have used a fan.  We tried turning the A/C but it was not working.  Needless to say, we suffered through the night and the next day we asked our cabin steward to have it checked.  A couple of days passed and still no action.  I spoke to the cabin supervisor this time and they sent someone to look at it and check it out.  They couldn't find anything wrong with it, but said it was very hot in the room.  Another attempt, I called the front desk and told them my same story.  They had it checked out and still no resolution.On the last evening at 4:30pm, they came to our room to fix the problem.  Needless to say, they did get it fixed, but it was much too late. Another problem we had was our commode  stopped up not once, but twice.  They were slow at coming to fix the problem and we had to use the public restrooms for several hours.....Ugh!

The stops that we made to the islands, were great.  They were beautiful and so clean.  Half Moon Cay was one of the most beautiful. They didn't stay long enough at some of the islands.  Just a few hours.

The workers on the ship were great!  They were very accommodating and always trying to please, very professional and hard working. The majority of them were Chinese and Indonesians.

The food on the ship was not outstanding, but very good.  They had the best breakfasts on the ship that I had ever had on any other one.  Their lunch buffets were pretty good also, but the night buffets were for slim pickings.  Their servings were too small and when you ask for seconds, they would give you just a little more.  I was always taught that a single serving was a 1/2 cup, not 1/4c. 

We went to the dining room 3 times, but they were always too slow.  It would take us 1.75 hr. to have our dinner. We did go to the Pinnacle Grill, and that was terrific. 

The service and food was excellent. I would highly recommend it.

The ship was always spotless, but it really needed to be dry docked and overhauled.  The beds were broken down and the couches were also.  That is probably why things didn't work very good.

Over all, It was a nice cruise, being that it was very quiet and clean, great places to visit for the itinerary   I'm not so sure that I would go back on it anytime soon though!

the caption did a great job letting us know where we were. the food was good for the most part. the crew did a great job. the cruise was geared to us older folks and that made it a wonderful cruise. I would tell my friends and family to try Holland America, you will have a great time

This ship is designed for senior people, the on aboard activities and shore excursion are all for that purpose. The crew members are friendly and trained for taking care of old people. The dinning are excellent. The show is average. If you are looking for some fun on abroad activities and shore excursion, this is not appropriate for you.

Overall, exemplary service and attention. Ports of call are picturesque. The water is very clear - especially if one is a snorkeler/diver. The Dutch Islands and residents are very hospitable. The Oosterdam is a very elegant ship. It does not seem overcrowded. Boarding and departing is quick and simple. Food is average, but tasty. I would recommend eating in the specialty restaurants. However, I note that Lobster, King Crab and Shish Kabob have been taken off the menu. There is smoking in the Casino, but several days were allocated as "no smoking" (portends, hopefully, a true no smoking environment within the ship someday?). Entertainment is geared toward a mature crowd. Formal nights have been replaced by 'Gala' nights, so there is less formal dress. Sadly, the panache of yester years is being replaced by more relaxed apparel. This particular cruise was attended by mostly elderly passengers - perhaps due to the length and the fact that school is still in session. The seas were very calm. The weather was hot and humid.

The ship staff were very nice and always there to help.  Being a mid-sized ship, there was not as much to do as the mega-size ship, but that is to be expected.  The ship is kept up very well, but the interior could use a bit of a remodel.  Our cruise was in October 2015, and my understanding is that it is going in early 2016 for some retro fit work - I imagine that would be a help.

Excellent cruise for beautiful scenery and relaxing times. We were treated to sunny weather for most of the days, which of course is not a "given" but can make the cruise extra special. We cruise to relax, which means we had our breakfasts delivered to our cabin each day, dealt with the very helpful Neptune Lounge staff for special requests, spend time reading in our cabin (Neptune Suite), watched the scenery from our balcony wrapped in warm blankets, had drinks in the Crows Nest or listening to classical music performed by the excellent Adagio duo, and then had dinner in the Pinnacle Grill or Canaletto, the two specialty restaurants on board of the Oosterdam. We did not make use of the dining rooms. We really like the specialty restaurants on all the HAL ships. We cruise with HAL because of the consistently top-notch service and the well organized land tours, of which we took only two this time. The Oosterdam is a middle-size ship, very well maintained (clean), but decoration-wise not our favorite of the HAL fleet. Altogether, an excellent cruising experience. The scenery, especially in Glacier Bay, is unique and our captain took special time to show us the best views from all angles. Having a Park Ranger on board to explain what we were seeing was very much appreciated. 

The Alaskan experience was wonderful. First time to 49th State and I highly recommend the investment of time and money. It is the last frontier. It was great to be in the wilderness enjoying nature. So many things to see and do. 

Was told the package we paid for would include certain things, but when we called to inquire about it, we were told no they couldn't accommodate. The cruise was nice, but it took us 2 days to get shampoo in our room, 3 days to get water & fresh glasses. On the last day of the cruise, the cleaning crew came in while we were still packing up and started to tear the bedding off the bed and cleaning which i thought was so rude. Fairbanks and Haines were big disappointments..wish we would have spent more time in Anchorage and Juneau instead. The excursions were wonderful except the Lumberjack Show...really cheesy and not worth the money. The walking tour in Haines is definitely not worth the money. The service & food in the Vista dining room was below average, however, the Lido food was excellent. We ended up eating there for most meals. The entertainment they had on board was great, wish there would have been something each night.

This cruise is not for  the people who has young and older children  and there were not much activities in the cruise for kids . and all activities will be closed at 11:00 . This cruise is mainly for people over 50 years .

We really enjoyed this trip and the ports of call. Of all the cruise agendas I reviewed, I thought this one had the most to see in just 11 days.  Food was good in all the Main Dining room and Lido deck, but sometimes a little slow at the buffet.

This was my favorite cruise, for I have always wanted to visit New Zealand and Australia ever since I was nineteen years old. The people were so friendly and kind and ready to answer all my questions. Both Australia and New Zealand were beautiful and green and some what different than what I had expected. This is the first time we have cruised with a veranda room, and we loved it. We had breakfast in bed about every morning. The entertainment, I think, was greater than our last two cruises. We did not miss one night. However, we did have a couple rough days at sea, and a couple of port changes, but this was to be expected.