Oosterdam 12/19/04 review...

[KCat]

Fort Lauderdale: Before boarding the ship, we stayed two nights at The Pillars hotel. THE most lovely & quiet hotel we have ever stayed at. We ate at The Capitol Grille and Blue Moon Fish Company, both were first rate restaurants with excellent food. While at the Blue Moon we watched the Winterfest Boat Parade, a little overrated, but glad we saw it.

Embarkation: A dream! We were in a suite, so we were able to use the suite line. Our friends were not however, & they said that it took about 1 1/2 hours.

Cabin: We were in a Suite, #7048. I don't know if we'll ever be able to do it again...but if we can, we'll book it again in a heartbeat! It was pure luxury. Our cabin steward, Bach, was absolutely wonderful. He took wonderful care of us & our cabin. We had appetizers for us & our friends (4 people with no extra charge) in our cabin everynight - the concierge, Beng, was very helpful in arranging this for us. We had a sewer smell in our room 1 night, but I turned up the plug-in deoderizer for awhile that I brought & that worked. Between the 2 of us we took 3 large suitcases of clothes, and we only used half of the storage space.

Food: We ate in the Pinnacle Grill 2 nights. My husband had the Porterhouse one night, the best steak he has ever had (includes eating at Mortons, The Capitol Grille, & Ruth's Chris). The other nights we ate in the Dining Room. Between the 2 of us we only had 1 bad meal, but our dining steward got us something else. Our dining stewards, Beka & Andi, were special. Very attentive, friendly, & would take the time to talk with us. Overall...excellent food, far better than Norwegian's alternative restaurants that you had to pay extra for.

Half Moon Cay: We had booked the green cabana & were really looking forward to it. However, unfortunately were unable to tender because of rough seas.:( We made the most of it though & had a great sea day.

Tortola: We booked an all-day snorkling trip with Patouche. The snorkling was fantastic & sailing around all of the islands was a pleasure I'll never forget! Our friends took a taxi to Brewer's Bay (20 minute ride, they paid $18). They loved it & said it was beautiful.

St. Maarten: We spent time at Orient Bay (Bikini Beach). A little crowded (there were 5 cruise ships that day), but still nice. We rented 2 chairs & an umbrella for $15. We had lunch at Bikini Beach's restaurant...it was quite expensive. But if you go, you have to order the Mango Margarita...they were VERY good!:p

Spa: I had a message, from Dianne, out on my balcony. I highly recommend that over one in the spa, it was so relaxing listening to the water. She was very good.

Entertainment: Disappointing! Our only complaint. We went everynight, but would usually stay about 5-10 minutes. We gave it a chance. The only one we stayed the whole time, was for the comedian. He was okay, on a scale of 1-10, I'd give him a 5-6. He had some funny stuff. This being said, this would not keep us from going on HAL again!

Debarkation: Again...a dream! This time though, it had nothing to do with us being in a suite. We stayed in our cabin until we left. From the time we walked out our cabin door until the time we were standing on the curb, it literally took us 10 minutes.

:D We loved this cruise! We give it 4 out of 4 stars!:D
If I've left something out, feel free to ask.

[doone]

Welcome back to reality. I enjoyed reading your review, sounds like you had a wonderful time.

[GirlInADaydream]

THANK YOU!!!

its so nice to see a postive crusie exerience for once.
i am sailing her in a few days and your review got me completely excited!!!

[HeatherInFlorida]

KCat, such a pleasure to read your review because despite minor things you weren't nuts about, it didn't take over your basically fantastic time. So happy for you. We were on the Oosterdam in November and though we didn't get to enjoy a beautiful suite like you, we really loved the ship.

Such a shame you didn't get to use that cabana ... that would have capped it off for you!

Question: Did you find a website for The Pillars or did you book it another way. I just did a search and took a quick peek, but couldn't find their own website. It looks amazing! I thought it would be fun for a couple of nights for our anniversary coming up in April (we're only an hour from FLL). Also, which of those 2 restaurants would you recommend. Something about the way you spoke of The Pillars and the restaurants peeked my interest. Thanks!

[KCat]

Hi Heather,

Their website is www.pillarshotel.com (http://www.pillarshotel.com) (includes pictures). We stayed in the Poolside Deluxe-King room on the 2nd floor. Like I said it's VERY quiet and LOVELY, dignified. I think it's perfect for a special occasion. If you search the hotel on www.tripadvisor.com (http://www.tripadvisor.com) you can read what others thought as well.

My husband & I both agree, that we would pick The Capital Grille over Blue Moon. Blue Moon had really good food & it's on the intercoastal. However The Capital Grille is one of our favorite restaurants, we've never had a bad experience there. If you're not a big steak eater (which they have some of the best), they have a wonderful variety of other items. You can check out their menu at www.thecapitalgrille.com (http://www.thecapitalgrille.com). When I made our reservations (which if you don't you might not get a table) I told them we were on a trip celebrating our 10th anniversary. When we got there they had a nice quiet, private table for us in the corner (which was so nice, because parts of the restaurant can be rather noisy) and all of our wait staff new our name before we told them. There was a 'happy anniversary' card on the table signed by everyone, which really didn't mean much since we don't know them;), but it still added to the ambience & setting for us.

I hope that this helps.

[dinobja]

Kcat,

Can I ask you a few questions? I am leaving for the Oosterdam on Jan 2. I was wondering about the following:

-What time did you arrive at the port to embark? - I am curious what time it was when you said your friends waiting 1.5 hours so I can plan on getting there early as we are not in a suite.

-What time did you receive your luggage at your stateroom? In the past we have always carried it right on the ship with us but we usually get right in our cabin at noon or earlier on other ships so I am wondering if we should let them take it. I do not want to have to lug it around the ship if the cabins are not ready until 1:30pm. I am afraid we will not get it until late that night though.

Thank you.

-Lastly what time did you disembark?

[iowacruiser]

Dinobja,
We will also be aboard this coming Sunday..
We leave Friday morning from Des Moines so we can ring in the New Years in south Florida.
Have reservations at the 15th St Seafood Market.
My only concern is Comair..but they say they will be up and running with a full schedule by Wednesday.
By the way Kcat..thanks for the great review!!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, KCat!!! I can't tell you how much I appreciate all that info. Both the hotel and the restaurant are exactly what I'm looking for. I'm really excited because it's our 20th anniversary and while we're taking a cruise in October to celebrate, I'd really like to do something special that weekend.:)

[dinobja]

iowacruiser,

You must be getting very excited. We are flying from Rhode Island on Sat. morning. I am concerned because we have booked UsAir and they have been having major problems as well. I am going to have my free Southwest voucher in hand as a back up. Well hopefully we both have a safe and stressless trip and cruise. Happy New Year!!

[KCat]

Dino...

We got out of our cab around 11:05am. I thought we were too early because there were alot of people milling around outside. But we gave our luggage to the porter (we tipped them-not necessary but they could decide whether I get my clothes or not) & decided to try and go on in. We walked right in & there was already a line formed to go through security. That took about 10 minutes & then there were the embarkation lines. All said, we were on the ship at 11:25am. Our friends arrived at the port around 1:00pm. If I were you, I would definitely be there by 11:00am.

They announced our rooms were ready around 1:30pm. We finished our beers on the Lido Deck & then went to check out our cabin. We were there probably about 15 minutes when the first bag came, then the other 2 came within 10 minutes. Your room steward delivers them, so it's a great chance to meet him.

When you go through port security, it's just like going through airport security. So, if you have to check your luggage when you fly - you'll unfortunately need to give it to the porters at the dock.

The ship started to disembark a little after 8am. We waited until 8:55am and were standing on the curb at 9:05am - it was great!

I know you and Iowacruiser will have a GREAT time!:cool:

Heather...I know you will LOVE it. That will make a great weekend getaway! I know it's early...but HAPPY 20th ANNIVERSARY! ;)It's never too early to celebrate;)

[iowacruiser]

Dinobja,

Start looking for an alternative..
I'm sure U.S.Air will be back flying in good shape by then but it is another holiday and you know their flight attendents (some of them anyway)
We have reserved 4 seats on American for Friday morning just in case..
We have until midnight tommorow to buy them so we should have a good idea of Comairs condition.
I can tell you Comair has used up most available flights on other carriers to accomodate the passengers they stranded so it might be worth having a back up plan.. I would check the Southwest website and make sure there are seats on th planes you would use those vouchers on..
Have a save trip

[Oceanwench]

I love Blue Moon Fish Co.[had abirthday party there a few years ago].
It's worth going there - to sit on the ICW and watch the boats go by ...

[watchdiva]

Whenever we have guests visiting, we always take them to the Blue Moon! The ambiance, service and food are superb. Their Sunday Brunch cannot be beat and in fact we're eating there this Sunday. I've never eaten at the Capital Grille so I would not presume to know which restaurant is better, just letting you know my thoughts on the Blue Moon........

[Oceanwench]

Thanks for the link to the Capital Grille, KCat.

It must be fairly new - I lived in Broward County 1999-2002 and shopped at The Galleria & never saw it!

Now that I'm in Palm Beach County, I don't get to the Fort Lauderdale area unless I am on my way to the port!

Watchdiva: You are right, the Sunday brunch at Blue Moon is outstanding! Incredible food, and you can get a taste of everything! And the mimosas ...
Afterward, take a ride to the beach, visit Mack's Grove for tropical goodies and have a drink at Mulligan's.
They have some pretty cool bartenders there!

Great places to get into a mood for cruising!

[p&oposh]

I've booked the same suite Oosterda 1048 for an Alaskan cruise in May. A couple of things in your review were disturbing? The loud speakers on the penthouse balcony. You at least had opera but what if it had been rap! Also, the sewage smell. I was on the Ryndam over Xmas. The previous cruise the penthouse had sewage/toilet problems for two days. Some tv star occupied it and HAL wanted to give them back $500! They couldn't use the toilet for two or three days. Also, the ver suite SS I occupied had a problem with the toilet for a full day and then wouldn't work the day we arrived back in San Diego. This was not my cabin alone but the entire corridor. The guest relations manager keeps a deck plan in his office to illustrate where the problems are. The Ryndam did have a refurbishment and this was quite good. But some crew members said it was rushed and there were some plumbing problems. At the end of the corridor there was a smell. I use to travel a good deal with my parents aboard ships (60s) and never had these problems. There was no ecology concerns and no vacum toilets. Just good old fashioned flush kind. Wondered if there are sewage smells and problems all the time on today's ships? :eek: :mad::confused:

[seabourndt]

are you doing in a penthouse? bet that will be nice. iam on short one to seattle may 3rd in s grade at the back of lower prom. any views. 1st timr on these class of ships. any pics of these cabins.
dave

[Bill S]

p&oposh: what date in May will you be starting your cruise? We are embarking on the Oosterdam on May 7----how about you?