Oosterdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Everybody else already pointed out all the great things, so let me give a run down on what my negative points are. I find it to be too relaxing (but suitable for this type of cruise); from the overall atmosphere and onboard activities. Some of a activities that I find unnecessary and utterly boring were How to use Windows 10 and How to use Digital Camera Workshop. I get so bored that I couldn't wait to get out in town when we're at port. Bars and venues generally lack of energy and hard to sit there for long. A lot of under-utilized areas on this ship as well, which I could see these dead areas turn into something like a small eatery to help breaking up the crowd at the buffet area. I also had issue with water pressure and how quiet it could be during an evening. While theatre productions were excellent, the comedies and other shows were just okay that I wouldn't feel regret if I couldn't make it. Again, everybody else already pointed out all the good things about this ship. I didn't hate this. It's my first HAL cruise and it's exactly how I thought it would be. Will I cruise with HAL again? Maybe. But for the time being, I'm going back to Celebrity and Norwegian for something more lively.

Great weekend getaway!! More fun that driving to town and back!

This is one of the best cruises I've been on. I loved all the different countries we visited and the excursions were great. 

We had a little trouble with the toilet in our state room but they gave us $100 credit for the inconvenience.

This was our first cruise, and we have to say we were very impressed with Holland America and the customer service they provide.  Even when we had some minor issues they were very responsive.

I would have to say the highlight of the cruise was crossing the Panama Canal, but we enjoyed every stop so really impossible to say what was our favorite stop.  The Food and Service was excellent a vacation to remember and do it again.

We had a great time on the ship last week. However I did notice you don't have as much to choose from on the dinner menu now. Also no lunch served in dining room except on the first day and on the special lunch for returning guest. Casino was tight with its free drinks. I do like Hal and will continue to sail with them. Service was great and staff very friendly. Did not care for Guatemala stop at all. Will not go back there.

At 70+, we enjoyed the Dolphin Encounter and Secret River excursions.  There were several dolphin encounters to choose from, so be sure to get the one at the Marine Institute at Roatan, Anthony's Key, Honduras.  What a beautiful experience!  Waist deep in blue water so clear you can see the bottom, the dolphins come right up to greet us and let us touch them, plus perform tricks and smile for photos.  These dolphins are free to come and go through a shallow barrier enclosing the large lagoon (unlike the poor dolphins swimming in an area as small as a tank, in Mexico).  Secret River was an awesome walk in the river, through underground caverns covered in stalactites and stalagmites.  Well protected by wet suit, life jacket and lighted helmet in the river, my only complaint was the walking speed through Cozumel (to the buses) and down the gravel paths to the river--a bit too fast for us old folks, but we managed.

The service people on the ship were all outstanding, from cabin stewards to waiters.  We enjoyed the creative chef's menu offerings; and the many choices on the buffet.        

The only complaint we had was our room was too cold, and no way to stop the constantly blowing cold air.  The second night I asked for another blanket and was a bit more comfortable; but my husband caught a cold during the cruise, from the draft; and is almost well now, two weeks later.

We enjoyed all the ports, as two of them we took excursions and the other two we enjoyed shopping for locally-made products in Guatemala and Mexico.  Perfect!

The spa on a sea day is my favorite part of cruising, and the fact that all your needs are taken care of.  Room steward to take care of your private environment, a balcony suite, and a bevy of chefs to cook meals.  When you are in need of pampering, this is the way to go.  Your hotel moves with you - no reservations to make, and you can tour as you like, or not. 

This was our second cruise on the oosterdam. Although everything was very good, the food, staff and activities, it didn’t seem to be quiet up to the standards of the earlier cruise. They had done a lot of remodeling and had placed cabinas on the top deck for rent. We preferred it more when this was just an open luounging area. We still had a good cruise and no major complaints.

My wife and I sailed on the Oosterdam for a two week cruise from Tampa. I selected this cruised based on previous reviews. This was my 7th cruise on 7 different cruise lines. No other cruise line has been this level of disappointment. The cabin, dated but clean and well appointed. The cabin staff were the best part of the entire staff of the ship. All staff above this level were very aloof and borderline rude. I never experienced a time when all the elevators were functional. Food service was plentiful as long as you are willing to pay extra otherwise you have two choices. You can wrestle for your food at the buffet line where one food maybe available but your next choice may be provided 100 feet away and generally a crowd that reminded me of a concert exiting crowd. There is a restaurant that is full service that is small in comparison so if you don't have reservations be prepared to stand for an hour or so. Once seated the alcohol man pounces and if you choose not to have a drink or wine several white shirts swoop over your table to remove glasses that would not be used anyway but you get the message. I once asked for a glass of iced tea and was provided a glass holding maybe three ounces of liquid before ice. I had to be direct to change this situation something I should not have to do on a cruise line with the minimum of class. The ship did have a great burger and fries outlet out by a pool. Many times this was the best food available for a meal but was only opened a few hours. Ports of call was nearly a joke. Going to ports of interest for a couple of hours and spending nearly twelve hours in a port that had shops and tourist venues closed because it was Sunday. But, the big highlight was our last port where it was decided to enter the island on the opposite side of the island. There is one small pier and serviced by two boats that move people from ships to that pier and have priority to that pier. The officers of the Oosterdam close to use the ships tenders to move visitors from the ship. The Keystone Cops have nothing on the operators of these tenders. You have units, with passengers, colliding, a fire, and countless victims desiring a ride to shore only to arrive an hour after departing the ship for a five minute ride sea sick from bouncing around in these small tenders with limited airflow and hearing the operators that appear to argue over the operation of the vessel. This island is known for excellent diving but not available on the back side of the island and those who survive the ride find themselves in a area with very little activity unless a taxi ride to the port that was to be our port of call. My wife and I had the pleasure of meeting other travlers on the Oosterdam. One fact came from the folks that had sailed on the Oosterdam previously. ALL these folks agree that the overall ships operation has seriously deminished. The Oosterdam appeared to be on a course of being used up then discarded. I will never sail on Holland America again.

Shipwas refurbished in April. The entertainment area was improved greatly with a wonderful Billboard Lounge with double piano entertainers. Also, the classical performances at the new Lincoln Center Stage were outstanding. A blues club was a nice addition to round out a variety of music. The casino is totally non smoking-great improvement! Negative quality of entertainment nightly on the Main Stage. Far surpassed by Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, Disney, and Renaissance. That was the only ship disappointment all week.

Phone/tablet plugs in staterooms made charging very easy.

Food and service in all dining areas were amazing. Special Thankisgiving menu was a great addition. Burger and hot dog area needs a more efficient plan.

Easy on and off was also a great feature.

The package value attracted us to the itinerary and a previous three day coastal, no port visits cruise convinced us that eight days was do-able. Holland America and the great staff of the Oosterdam did the rest. We upgraded to a Signature suite - well worth it. On the entire cruise I wore a light raincoat once, only for the morning in Cadiz. The crossing was the best weather, the smoothest the captain had experienced in 23 years! Late dining with great table companions and wonderful entertainment. Even the Casino let us win on our last day. Can't wait until our next cruise. 

We loved this cruise and visited many small villages and nice places. A busy program with less sea days. We recommend this cruise special for starters who want cruising.

A comprehensive review of our 09/28/16 Oosterdam 12nt Mediterranean Dreams cruise experience follows.

Part 1 - Petri Dish Experiment

We gave ample monetary consideration in the form of time off, airfare, transfers, excursions and the cruise itself, only to be subjected to a lack of hygienic common sense or a virus known as stupidity on the part of HAL ship side management.

To be clear, in 34 cruises taken over a 50 year span, I have never been exposed to such unsanitary conditions and unhygienic practices. In 34 cruises, 31 ships, 9 lines, 122 ports, this was the first time I have contracted any type of illness on a cruise. Many were afflicted as witnessed by multiple conversations with passengers and crew who were impacted and aware of the situation.

Aside from the coughing and dry hack going on all over the ship, outbreaks of diarrhea and influenza were brought to my attention by several crew and passengers in the know. Two passengers made the unsolicited comment which I cannot take credit for, "this ship is a floating petri dish". Some of HAL's guests suffered, my wife and I to the tune of 14 days of downtime (including the last 6 days of the cruise), misery and inconvenience from influenza. HAL may have violated CDC health regs, but most importantly, common sense which violated their guests trust.

The cause? In the prior 33 cruises, I have never seen beverages or ice dispensed in such a haphazard fashion. From the beginning of the cruise, the non touch ice beverage dispensers in the Lido buffet were occasionally non functional, i.e. did not dispense ice or water. When they were functional, unprotected pitchers were often positioned on the drip tray blocking their usage, forcing unnecessary manual usage of make shift ice chests and pitchers.

Rather than no touch, the process required a minimum of eight full hand to surface contacts on three different surfaces; chest lid; ice scoop; pitcher. In addition, the ice chest was compromised by the complete insertion of a hand during the scooping process. These conditions were mysteriously allowed to persist for the duration of the 12 night cruise. An email to the Office of the President at HAL, solicited the following response.

"Interestingly enough we had our public health specialist on board this cruise. Non-touch beverage/ice machines were functional during the cruise and not disabled as suggested. There was no outbreak of influenza or diarrhea as suggested. We are not in a position to provide you with a monetary refund."

HAL's Office of the President shot a clear message across my bow regarding the complaint. Their response was nothing more than a complete denial of circumstance and refutation of my on board experience. The response left my family feeling cheated, deceived and lacking future trust in the HAL brand.

If you think that's the end of this story, sadly it only gets worse. I thought paying to unsuspectingly participate in a covert infectious disease or immunization program, was hitting rock bottom for HAL. Not even close, after reading below, plunging to new depths with U-boat Captain Lehmann-Willenbrock (Das Boot) will seem like a step up from HAL.

Part 2 - Terrorized Guests

We also had the extreme displeasure of witnessing a family of six with toddler, having their twelve night vacation completely ruined by HAL's front office and immigration administration. Some one in HAL's shipboard administrative office spotted a clerical error on a Visa, measured in mere hours and decided to flex their authoritative muscle in threatening to throw the mother of the toddler off the ship.

Shortly into the cruise, HAL staff informed the family that the mother must debark the ship, a night prior to the cruises termination in Rome. HAL claimed that the mothers Schengen zone visa would terminate during the family's privately arranged post cruise transit to the Rome airport. The following day, HAL claimed the administrative error or visa oversight had been resolved.

The next day, HAL staff reversed course again and like Schettino's Costa Concordia ran aground, insisting that the mother would have to debark in Naples. The husband made continued attempts to appeal to common sense. After a long weekend, the husband finally put his foot down and informed HAL staff that they would have to "physically remove" the whole family from the ship, along with their possessions. Magically, HAL staff finally "resolved" the administrative "problem" with "port authorities" and said all was well.

The emotionally wrought disruption of this families vacation by HAL was unconscionable. Worse yet, for nine out of twelve nights, we watched this poor family being held hostage and terrorized by HAL's administrative Yo-Yo's (not ok, ok, not ok, ok) as they whimsically waved the sword of Damocle's over this poor families heads. Sailing with distemperate Captain Queeg (The Caine Mutiny) would be a step up from HAL.

Bottom line, HAL administrative staff exhibited a complete lack of common sense and misguided application of policy and authority. Paying to be a guest, then being held emotional hostage, replete with psychological torture, redefines hospitality and service as well as taking it to new depths.

This is how HAL treat their paying guests? Perhaps HAL should change their name to SSC or Stockholm Syndrome Cruises? Being Christian Fletcher and suffering the harsh punishment, criticism and abuse of Captain Bligh (Mutiny on the Bounty) would be a better fate.

HAL is in the hospitality service business, at least that is the rumor which their hygienic practices, shipboard administration and post cruise customer service rapidly dispels. In hospitality and service, misrepresentation should not be rife and "caveat emptor" should not be the maxim of the day, but HAL sure seems to have taken it to heart.

HAL's upper management attitude and level of customer satisfaction for problem resolution, during and post cruise, has left this formerly satisfied customer feeling like, sailing with Capt. Jack Sparrow on the Black Pearl (Pirates of the Caribbean), would be an upgrade from HAL.

In an effort to deny reality and just recompense, I shudder to imagine what HAL's professional deflection tactics and denial system aka "wall of non stick voodoo teflon" at the Office of The President, will cook up and attempt to serve these poor victims. And of late, that is exactly what the HAL experience leaves you feeling like.

Cabin 1067 - Positive, tons of room and storage, nice 40 inch LED TV and free on demand movies.

Negative, you can't hear the BB King band, but you can hear the late night deejay with his techno beat coming from above.

NA = Not Applicable

Cabin: Excellent - attached review  

Dining: Lido Buffet - Very Good; Main Dining - NA  

Embarkation: Poor - slow, long queues.

Disembarkation: Poor - swift and merciless. Fastest we have ever been given the bums rush. Hundreds were awaiting shuttles and cabs, many with reservations for a hour later.

Enrichment Activities: NA  

Entertainment: Average - The BAND is GONE. BBKing and Ventriloquist Magician were excellent; Piano Bar dueling pianos, meh. Sing around single piano was better; Shows, not good.  

Family and Children: NA  

Fitness and Recreation: Average; Free men's locker shower, gym and dry sauna 

Onboard Experience: Terrible - attached review  

Public Rooms: Average  

Rates: Terrible - Overpriced  

Service: Excellent - Cabin stewards, Bar and Lido staff.

Shore Excursions: NA

Ports: Average - attached review

Value for Money: Terrible - attached review

Ports

Venice: Romantic, but expensive. Buy a vaporetto pass and validate it before riding. Visit Venice, stay and eat on the Lido.

Sarande (Albania): Quaint beachfront esplanade. The best and least expensive "greek" food (15E for two) on this cruise.

Kerkira (Corfu): Scenic historic city center and park walks await.

Katakolon (Greece): Waterfront, two streets, four blocks of shops. Olympia ruins and Giorgio's Bike Bar ride await.

Nafplion: Trendy beach front, downtown and exhausting bay fortress walk await.

Athens: Best Duty Free, Parthenon and Acropolis ruins await. It's a big city.

Mykonos: Quaint is now over commercialized, Big money bought out the independent's.

Iraklion (Crete): Historic city center now glorified brand name outlet mall. Knossos Palace ruins await, big AM queues, empty after 1PM.

Santorini: Take the funicular, beware of queues, avoid donkeys. Overrun with small shops.

Naples: Capri, Sorrento, train to Pompeii, Herculaneum ruins await. You must be cautious, a young couple was victimized. Do not get on a bus or train without a validated ticket and announce the fact. You will be legitimately fined or caught in the typical Napoletano "we are the police" scam.  Pick pockets, purse, phone, camera and jewelry snatchers galore. If you value it don't bring it ashore. As for your bank card and getting cash, do not use the ATM's. Theft of cash, identity, card eating ATM's and non dispensation of cash, while debiting your account are common here.

Rome: Nice beach at port of Civitavecchia. Take train to Termini station, see the Colosseum first. Like Naples, it's the big city, beware.

Bed Mattress where lumpy and should be replaced in this cabin. We were on the Oosterdam 2 yrs ago in the same cabin. and bed was much softer.

Food in Vista was excellent but not impressed with Lido food

Newly weds or nearly dead.

This is an old slogan that should be advertised.  The ship completely shuts down at 11:30 pm.  This is except for the casino because it is making money for the cruise line.  And, that's only for another hour.   

The entertainment from the crew that was hired for that purpose was very good, when they were playing.  The individual entertainment, one night stands, were average.  

The food:  that's another story.  The menu was unexciting, the entries were very unimaginative, the food was nothing to write home about.  Naturally, the wine selections were not cheap.   The best meal was in the Pinnacle grill.  It cost an additional $50 each.  

The hotel services were very good at $12.50 a day per person.  

The excursions were not advertised well enough.  If you didn't attend the seminar at the crack of dawn, you didn't know what was going on.  The excursions were, again, not cheap.   The worst was the Monte Carlo shuttle service back and forth to the ship.    Because of the Auto Racing, we were not allowed to dock close to shore.  This was reserved for the yachts who pay more for docking than a ship that docks almost every week.  The water was full of white caps.  The shuttles should have been cancelled.  One of the shuttles broke down in the water.  A repair man had to be transferred via another shuttle to get it close to the ship.  Four crew members had to practically lift the passengers onto the ship.  

The ports were expected and were quite interesting having never been here before.  It seems that the ship added two new ports (?).  No one seemed too excited about them.  

The daily events calendar was just that.  Nothing about the world, excursions (yesterday's, today's or tomorrow's), food, etc..  No ship wide interest (distance, experiences, etc.).  Unless you ate, drank, went on an excursion, etc., there was no intra-communication between passengers.

One rather important fact is that the ports of most of these stops are quite a distance from towns, shopping, sight seeing, etc..  In most cases you have to take a shuttle which the cruise ship company CHARGES you for.   

I will discuss this and the flight with my agent personally.  

We have been on a number of TA's, and this was about 2 days longer crossing than any we remember. We have no idea why they stretched it out like they did, but they did.

The few ports that we did stop at were very short on time, except when they had a long distance tour from the ship is when we stayed later. The only benefit would be if you wanted to go with HAL on that tour. We had already seen the site so we had no reason to go on the tour.

For an example of short stay in a port...We arrived in Cartagena Spain around 7 am, a normal time. But the city really didn't open up till around 10:30 - 11:00. In a number of cases places didn't open until noon. We had to be back at the ship no later than 2:30 pm. Since this was followed by a day at Sea, what would have been wrong to stay until 5 pm or so?

Crew was great as usual, but the cruise was disappointing the way Management and Corporate did it.

Much of the trip was repeat ports for us.  Martinique was new, and we really enjoyed seeing it.  We could not believe the amount of rain we encountered for this time of year.

Holland American was staffed with the friendliest people.  Cruise only who helped me plan my cruise was very helpful.  Thank you Cindy Stewart.  Alaska was beautiful.  We loved the whale watching the most.

My family and I went on the cruise of a lifetime! Son and Daughter, their spouses and my wife and I were on board for a week. It was the best time we have had on a cruise. the rooms were large, bathrooms larger and balcony, huge!

Ate in the dining room all meals, fantastic!

We loved nearly every minute of this land/sea adventure and were so very impressed with HAL, their delivery of services and the overall experience they provided