Oosterdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

A beautiful vessel. There were times I wondered if the ship was even moving.

the crew seemed well trained and good at what they do; balcony floor/windows/furniture needed cleaning; room was spacious and comfortable; service was outstanding, friendly and timely; overall an enjoyable experience.

This was our seventh cruise, but the first on a Holland America, and the first on the Oosterdam. The shows at night were excellent, very entertaining, and quite professional. The meals in the dining room were served by very polite and porfessional staff, and were of the best quality. The buffets in the Lido dining area were outstanding, and the choice of food was wonderful. Everywhere we went on the boat the crew was always polite to greet us with a good day sir. We had many choices of excursions to take, and the front desk was always there to help us. We celebrated my wifes birthday on the ship in one of the special dining rooms and the service was fantastic. We will always book our future cruises on a Holland America ship.

Activities on the ship really made for a great family bonding vacation

I love Holland America's Oosterdam. This is the second time I have been on this specific ship. It is very nice and elegant, might be too old of a crowd for some but there were young kids in their 20's really enjoying it. I know HAL is trying to shed it's "old persons" image. For those of you that want quiet time, there is that along with entertainment. It was a great cruise, we did the Mexican Riviera this time with stops in Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo. I would recommend this ship and this cruise to everyone. Special places for smokers (I am not one of them) although I think HAL might soon have some non smoking ships. We did have some precautionary things happen on the first few days of the ship, it was not a self serve buffet on the Lido deck. We pulled into Mazatlan and another ship there had some gastrointestinal stuff going around so it was done as a precaution but later on the cruise they opened it up for self serve. We never got sick, we haven't on any cruise though. Have fun and enjoy the cruise!

Good crew and good ship. We did not feel crowded, althought this cruise had more people than last time. The crew show was fun and we found the ship easy to get around.

3rd Time aboard the Oosterdam and best trip yet. The food quality was the best ever. The crew was wonderful and the ship was in great shape

This was my first "non-Carnival" cruise. I expected Holland America to be head and shoulders above Carnival, but it was not. When we first arrived in our Veranda Suite, there was no orientation (i.e., 'welcome' letter, 'things to know,' etc.); just a bunch of advertising. We think there was some sort of labor issue or insider quarreling going on during the first three days or so because we just couldn't get anything from our steward. When we DID finally meet him, he was very friendly and did a great job on our cabin. It was as if we had a different guy after those first few days. (There was no introduction to him, no names listed, no explanation of why service was lacking for the first few days.) That's why we think our steward wasn't assigned to our room in the beginning.

Although I was in the company of my wife's family who have previously cruised together, this was my first cruise. It was New Years Eve and we were a group of fifteen in an eight room row of verandas. Ages seven ... to a blind ninety. If you love ships, the Oosterdam is a classic. For my taste, too often cruise ships look like floating boxes. The Oosterdam has a grace and shape in the water that is unmistakably nautical.

Wonderful cruise. Definitely recommend it for all, even children.

The ship, the Oosterdam is a fine ship

The cafeteria was closed a lot! Cabin service was very good and restaurant service was mostly good. The shore time was too short and we had to deal with lines and or waits to leave the ship and sometimes for dinner. Meals were generally good, but we went on the same cruise with Princess 2 years before and it was much better! They just don't seem to have their act together and aren't customer oriented.

Overall a more upscale clientele than Princess, but by no means the level of Crystal. Also, because it was Thanksgiving, lots of large families with children. I am a 4 time Mexican Riviera cruiser on 4 different lines. The Verandah room was very spacious and our stewards were very helpful. We booked too late for a specific seating and had open seating. It was very difficult to get a seat after 6PM unless you wanted an 8pm reservation. One night we waited an hour for a table. Service was spotty. One waiter told us after waiting a long time between courses that there was a "struggle in the kitchen". This was the situation for the first 3-4 days of the trip. The shows were good, but not as large a production as other lines. The wine tastings and demonstrations in the Culinary Arts Center were good. Not as much to do on board as there was on Princess or Crystal. Disembarkation was very organized, and we were off the ship in fifteen minutes. We have left our car in an open parking lot two blocks away twice with no problems.

The ship was fine but the service was as poor as I have seen on any cruise I have been on. I took my entire family on this cruise kids, grandkids with thier spouses. My wife and I have been on numerous criuses the others was their first time. My wife and I had a suite and the others had balconey rooms all next to each other. The suite was nice and we ahd a private loung with a full time consier. We got the suite so we had 1 room large enough that we could all gather and watch the grand kids while the kids were out in the evenings, if they want too. The last night of the crews we smelled something like sewr in our suite. I told them about the smell and they came in while we were at dinner and sprayed the room with a strong cleaner of some sort and that was it couldn't sleep snuk so bad. We went to the high end resturant for breakfast and they forgot we were even there, I had to finally ask if our food was coming. Other couples came and left beore we even got our food. Service at the dinning room was marginal at best. Maybe it was because oif the 5 grandkids but they were well behaved. All cruise sips I have been on except this one I kn ew who the cruise directror was, this one it was the last day before I even knew who he was. That also goes with the limited plannned activities, very little imagination on this ship. You had to search to find out what was going on. The so called shows were poor at best. If you want to go on a real cruise go on Royal Caribbean or Princess where they take special care for all the people on board along with great shows and service as well as more options for food. A real + is they have a lot more for kids to do.

I think every one was nice, the entertainment was good, the food was good.

We were on the Oosterdam for 16 days. There was no laundrymat on the ship, the ships laundry prices were outrageous.$ 2.00 for a pair of socks ect. The movie theater had only about 32 seats. You had to get ib at least 30 min. before the start or you were shut out. They had the audacity to charge for a dvd rental. The nightly stage showss were only good about half the time, for example one night had a flute player, another was violinist.The gym was nice ant the pools were warm. Overall the ffood was tasty , the ship beautiful, and the entertainment lacking.

The ship was truly "ship shape" always clean and neat. We were impressed with the service and smiling friendlyness of the crew.

The service was fine. The ship, in my opinion was somewhat rundown and in need of improvement. ie. worn carpet, chipping paint etc.

This was our first cruise & also a prize (won in a raffle). The cabin included was one with a fully obstructed view. We were offered a balcony room upgrade at time of booking, which we declined due to the $500.00 added cost. Holland's booking agent was very cordial & never tried to up-sell us; as she probably felt sorry for us, when told we had 6 teenage children (modern day Brady Bunch). A couple days before sailing we were offered the same upgrade for $99.00p/p, which my husband "jumped on", as he is a smoker. The tuxedo ordered from the cruise line's formal wear company was initially, "missing in action" but was located well in time for the first formal night. Ship staff was delightful; friendly & very accomodating. For some unknown reason our cabin & corridor experienced frequent toilet issues, where we/they could not flush. This was an ongoing issue. Our mini bar broke down, but was promply replaced by a maintenance worker. On board entertainment was average; found the talent of several passenger's to be far better. I did however, enjoy the piano bar, which was pretty much standing room only. We enjoyed the "any time" style dining, as we were able to meet new people every night. Everyone we met appeared equally as pleased with the trip as we were. This was an excellent trip & we cannot wait to go again!

From the minute my husband, daughter and myself stepped on board the Oosterdam we felt special. The staff made you feel welcome immediately. Some of them asked your name and believe it or not they did not forget it. It personalized the cruise experience for us. All you had to do was ask for something once and it was taken care of. Although our stateroom was smaller than expected (a SS suite), it was sufficient enough for the three of us . The balcony was magnificent and we used it quite often, especially when viewing the glacier and arriving or leaving a port. The ship was kept in spotless condition and all of the venues were easy to find. I felt comfortable allowing my special needs daughter to go to the Lido to meet my husband alone. I loved the beautiful art all around the ship. I cannot say enough about the wait staff on the Oosterdam. They were top notch. The Lido waiters would help you find a table, assist you with your tray, pour your drinks and sometimes get food for you. They were very pleasant. The dining room staff was exceptional. Even though we had open seating, we requested the same table every evening. The waiter knew our likes and dislikes immediately and the wine steward would pour our favorite wine as soon as we sat down. The assistant waiter made something for my daughter out of paper and cardboard every night and she was delighted. The food was pretty good in both the Lido and the dining room. Our stateroom bed was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on. Holland America uses high thread count sheets and the most amazing pillows and mattresses. It was better than my bed at home! All you had to do was ask our steward for something once and he made sure you had it for the rest of the cruise. It was amazing to go to dinner and then get back to find your bed turned down and looking so inviting. The staff made us feel like royalty. They say that they are like family and believe me it shows in how they treat the passengers. If you pass a staff member in the hallway they always nodded and said hello. Everyone was willing to help you. They made us feel comfortable immediately and it continued throughout the week. My daughter and I enjoyed the magician, James Cielen. He even had a question and answer session during the week which was very interesting. The DJ ran bingo and believe me you left there laughing even when you didn't win. The show times are the reason we didn't see the shows each night as some times the were in the middle of dinner time.