Oosterdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We encharged our timeshare for this cruise to Alaska. It was a fantastic vacation for my husband and I. We were lucky to have my parent and my 96 year old grandmother with us. We had two rooms, our verandah suite has perfect for us, but a little small for 3 people. Traveling with my grandmother was so easy, they/we wheeled her around the ship with ease, if she didn't want to walk. The captain got us so close to the Hubbard Glacier we could almost place our tongues it, at least it seemed that way. We had the best weather!

Overall the ship was pretty good. The lay out could have been better, more pools, bigger hot tubs, etc. Good size weight room, lido dining room needs to be bigger (becomes very crowded at times). We enjoyed the entertainment..."american idol", magician, pianist, comedy show, bingo, etc. This was our third cruise together (my wife's 4th), have only been on Princess cruises in the past...we got to know the activities staff on this one...had not on the previous cruises. We did two shore excursions...kayak and snorkel in Cabo--the staff was very good and friendly, kayaking was fun, saw sea lions. Snorkeling was lame...very cold waters, nothing to see...approx $50 per person. Canopy zip line tour in Puerto Vallarta-- approx 1 hr ride (one way) in the back of an open but covered unimog (an adventure but tolerable)...if you can tolerate the exhaust then you will be ok. The zip line was very fun, great staff that ran it...approx $100 per person

I was on a 7-day Mexican Riviera Cruise. This ship is relatively new and clean. The hotel manager is the best and most approachable officer I have met. The other officers are also a bunch of friendly Dutchmen. Although the entertainment is amateurish, it is enthusiastic. You can write off the mandatory up-front tipping and do it yourself with cash -- don't be afraid to ask. Food is exceptionally good, just beware of high beverage prices, and don't fall for the soda card unless you plan to drink mucho. Casino slots a little tight.

Having cruised 6 times on other HAL ships, the Oosterdam was a nice change as it is the first Vista class ship we sailed on. Embarkation was a bit slow as we needed a wheelchair and had to wait about an hour as there were only 4 men to do the job and about a dozen people waiting. HAL was made aware we would need a chair but it did not make any difference for embarkation. They have to stay with you until you are onboard so 4 wheelchairs were not enough. We rented a wheelchair that was in our stateroom when we arrived so that part worked out ok. At embarkation we were upgraded to a suite which was a nice surprise. We normally have a suite but none were available when we booked. The nightclub and casino bar were always hopping at night which is unusual to see for us as the carribean seems to have most folks in bed early. Not the February 3rd cruise. It was not unusual to be up until 3:00am or later. There was a great group from the UK on board and they were a lot of fun. Also - check your bill as I found a couple errors that HAL credited when we got home. Match each receipt to the bill. The errors were due to unreadable hand written drinks. Also, if you buy a drink card, check the price of the drinks you will be having as it may not be worth it. They make 15% off the sale of the $56 card and are not going to tell you this. I let the front desk know what is going on. A later cruise review will have to let us know if this has been corrected. Also saw more people than ever in the dining room at dinner wearing shorts, jeans or muscle shirts. You always see some but this cruise had a lot of folks that simply didn't care what they looked like.

THE SHIP WAS REALLY GREAT AND WE BOTH ENJOYED EVERY ASPECT OF THE SHIP. VERY CLEAN AND TIDY. SERVICE WAS EXCELLANT AND THE CREW VERY HELPFUL, MANY GOOD AND EMTERTAING SHOWS AT THE VISTA LOUNGE AND THE ENTERTAINERS WERE MOST ENJOYABLE. THIS WAS A NEW YEARS EVE CRUISE AND IT COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANY BETTER OR ENJOYABLE. I WOULD RECCOMEND THIS CRUISE AND TTHE OOSTERDAM TO EVERYONE. ALSO THANK YOU TO ALASKE AIRLINES CRUISE FOLKS FOR THE WINE AND THE DINNER SPECIAL. MADE FOR THE ICING ON THE CAKE FOR A MOST ENJOYABLE CRUISE. WE WILL GO AGAIN

the crew is sweet. they are hard working and strive to please. one should be allowed to tip as one pleases to reward outstanding service to individuals and not the pool. they seem to be told not to be more then just the help but their stories make the cruise even better. the last day is just to tight leave Victoria by 11 pm luggage out by 1 am and dock by 8 am with no late formal dinner service makes the cruise really short by a day. no last meal with your table or chance to tip your guys if u do not think ahead makes it abruptly end.

The Oosterdam was a wonderful ship and the staff is very friendly, professional and so helpful. We never once wished we had choosen another cruise company or ship. We were pleasantly surpised of our upgrade from having a window to going to a balcony just before boarding the ship. Our room was large, plenty of storage, nice size bathroom and very clean. Your room is cleaned with fresh towels twice a day and the chocolate on the bed is a nice added touch. Can't say enough about the wonderful staff. Our cabin steward was very helpful, not intrusive and made sure our week stay was perfect. The entertainment staff gave it their all to be sure you had plenty of variety and fun. Food, well can't say enough of the quality, variety and the staff goes out of their way to be sure everything is perfect and to your liking. Enjoyed choice of restaurants, all equally wonderful. Ports of call were exciting, loved the Hubbard glacier. The ships captain made sure everyone had a great view and the time to take pictures and having the National Park expert on board was an nice added touch. All in all, we would return or take another Holland America cruise and would not hesitate to recommend Holland America to anyone interested or is little hesitant to get out on the seas.

First cruise. Got married on the ship! The crew was great.

The ship was good and the ports interesting. Staff was responsive. The actual sailing was terrific. Smooth seas.

First cruise ever. I wish I could experience it again knowing what I know now. All the delicious food and great venues. Will be sailing Holland America again

depressing, boaring and dark

The ship was very clean and tidy. It was easy to move around and the staff very helpful. However, the evening experiences were not the best. The Workd Theate showed two 45-minute shows nightly, but most every place closed at 10 pm. If you didn't want to be on the dance floor in the Rolling Stone area, there was nowhere else open with inviting ambient music or atmosphere to just hang.

Neptune suite recognition just ok. Did acknowledge bday which was very nice.

We booked this cruise to historic ports. Saw the great sites in Rome and Athens and many in between. We came to Rome early, stayed in Athens after and enjoyed HAL for 7 days. It was a trip of a lifetime and I can highly recommend it and HAL.

And now for the meaty stuff. I had prepaid Crew Appreciation but this didn't stop me being charged $34 a day for Cruise Appreciation. I complained and the transactions were removed. Rather than a corresponding credit it simply disappeared. Then the Sea View bar charged me for drinks under $11, A credit was applied to my statement by Guest Relations. As you can see my trips from Deck 7 to Deck1 increased for Guest Relations. A hold was taken for 7 days as per contract at $60 x 7 days. Before I had reached that amount another hold for $80 was applied. Back to Guest Relations and asked why and was told it was a calculation, I asked what the calculation was and was told it was a calculation. I began to get concerned about how many holds were going to be applied inappropriately as to many would max out my CC with hods reducing my available credit making it difficult to pay. I asked if I could prepay 300 on my Visa to avoid more dodgy holds, this was point blank refused. I was told to settle my account in cash on the last day, what cash, I didn't have any, this a cashless cruise. I am now completely stressed out by the whole experience. It is a personal tiny mini Horizon/Post Office Systems IT experience. This is the Holland America contract. "The day you board, Holland America Line places an initial hold on your credit card for $30 per person per cruise day. Once you've spent the initial hold amount, we will authorize your card for the total of your onboard purchases to date plus an additional $30 per person per day for the remainder of your cruise. I believe they violated it and refused to explain why. The reason for my lack of credit on my Visa is that the 5* hotel I stayed in Athens for 3 days prior duplicated the billing transaction and it took time to credit the error I travelled on this ship 15 years, it is now a shadow of its former self.

This was our second transatlantic and our first Holland America cruise. A couple of Holland loyalists told us not to judge Holland by this cruise as they felt there were a lot of new crew and not as many crew as they had experienced in the past, so told us to keep our expectations low. It was a nice cruise. Many on board were in our age group (late 60's) which was nice for finding good conversation. Food was generally good, but not great. There were nights when the menu's were lack luster. We can highly recommend the Signature Suites; very comfortable and pleasant for a cruise with lots of sea days where you spend a little more time than usual in your cabin. The ship was big enough to be stable on the sea and have enough room for everyone but small enough to not feel overwhelmed finding one's way around. Overall, we enjoyed the cruise very much.

We really enjoyed our time on this trip. Got to visit some places we've never been before, met some great people along the way and, once again, got to marvel at the engineering of the Panama Canal. Wonderful trip.

We are presently on this cruise on the Holland America Oosterdam from Buenos Aires to Fort Lauderdale around the southern tip of South America. For some crazy reason, Holland America head office has decreed that Port Talks can not be broadcast to cabin TVs. No reasonable reason is given. The talks are given by the cruise director and are the best I have seen on any cruise. Nobody wants to miss them. They are only given once and the Mainstage auditorium where they are presented is super over-packed with passengers (and HAL's are generally older people) who have to stand or sit on the stairs. Worse than this, people who are sick (and the boat is loaded with them) have two choices - miss the Port Talk or go to the Mainstage and share their bugs. They should, could and would watch in their cabins if it was available on their TVs. (My wife is sick and I ended up puking my guts out one night and not eating for two days. Thanks HAL!) I sent an email to the president of Holland America and his assistant wrote back to say that, due to copyright restrictions, they can not broadcast the Port Talks to cabin TVs. I don't understand how copyright restrictions could get in the way of televising a talk by one of their own employees. These talks have always been available on cabin TVs in the past. The focus at Holland America doesn't seem to be on the health and comfort of their passengers any more. We'll be looking for another cruise line.

31 days well spent at sea plus three days pre -cruise in Buenos Aires. Canal transit a must for all cruisers.

We had great hopes for this cruise, but for us, it was 50-50. We loved certain aspects, but are very critical of others. There are certainly many things Holland can do to make this more enjoyable for travelers, especially those new to Holland and as such don't have any kind of special benefits. (1) Streamline the embarcation process. The majority of the guests are seniors who have traveled a long way and are tired. You can add more personnel to manage this process, provide some refreshments due to long waiting periods. We need, and not merely deserve, food and drink (2) Provide umbrellas for rainy days. We can even buy them if necessary. We were surprised there weren't any. At one port, we saw several other tourists using Viking umbrellas. We were so jealous! (3) Since you don't have any shore excursions included free with the cruise, and we had to pay for everything, please offer your guests FREE bottled/canned water. By charging us $4/can, you're literally nickel and diming us. Not appreciated, and not a good look. (4) Improve your internet service. Terrible, terrible connection, and in some areas, none at all! (5) For what we pay for the cruise, the excursions, etc. include house wine and sodas with the dinners. Charge only for premium drinks and cocktails. Again, don't nickel and dime your guests! (6) Offer complimentary umbrellas and ponchos for those unexpected rainy days, Plastic ponchos won't take up too much room. Include that with a welcome package (which you don't even offer) in every room. (7) Include at least a bottle of water per person FREE everyday for each room. Some of us take medication and will need water. It was a shock that we had to pay for it. An even bigger to see how much it was! (8) Don't use old, stained and frayed napkins at the Lido. Made us feel like second-hand travelers every time we ate there. (9) Believe it or not, some of the breads at the Lido were stale and hard! Improve your quality control methods. (10) Have a show at the theater every night. Not everyone drinks, gambles, or goes off shore. Remember who most of your clients are: Seniors! Most of us even have mobility issues. Account for them. (11) We can't hear the announcements in our room, and we had to open our cabin doors to hear them in the hall. Make sure each room's speaker works.