Oosterdam Transcanal Jan9-22 THE SHIP

[mountainmare]

I had been reluctant to try a Vista class ship with visions of Carnivaldam decor,overcrowded public spaces, small cabins and overworked crew. Instead I still found Holland America--but I'll borrow the term "Holland America Light" (thanks J&J) to describe the O experience.
The decor is neither offensive nor garish but tends to bland instead of classic. I really miss all the art, there are some nice pieces but they are found in strange places. In general the cabins and public spaces are pleasant but lack the WOW factor. Old favorites like the Crow's nest and Explorer's Lounge are still here, and the Lido and pool areas are well designed. Yes as has been mentioned before the Vista Lounge does have some sight line problems.

I understand the effort to make bigger ships "cozy" but I agree with previous posters that one does find oneself walking down alot of narrow corridors in public areas, we spent most of our time on the promenade deck to get from place to place to avoid that closed in feeling. On the plus side I am just kid enough to get a big kick out of the glass elevators that go on the outside of the ship--and speaking of elevators they seen to be everywhere(thank goodness!!) On our cruise they were always working with little or no waiting. It also helped to have the gold carpets to remind you that you are midship because this puppy is BIG.

We had a dining table by the aft windows in the upper diningroom. Normally this would have been a prime location, not crowded, fairly quiet and private. Unfortunately the upper diningroom overlooks the promenade deck so you tend to look out on joggers and walkers, and they look in at you.

We booked a VC guarantee and boy! did I sweat out worrying about getting a cabin with solid steel railings. We were assigned cabin 4167 with our traveling companions next door. To us to get side by side cabins on a guarantee was better than an upgrade, we opened the partition between the balconies so we could visit. It was perfect!
I do not overpack but I do not pack light. We had a large suitcase, 2 small carryon type suitcases and rolling duffle for clothes and two carryons filled with provisions like wine, Mt Dew, Diet Pepsi and Wheat Thins. In a standard veranda cabin we had more than enough room to unpack everything, including the flamingo windsock and flamingo parytlights. There were large cabinets over the sofa that were filled with laprobes, I stuffed them under the beds and used that as extra drawer space then stashed provisions in the hassock under the desk (it opens!) There is alot of room in these cabins--I had been worried by previous posts but this cabin was more than adequate for a 13 day cruise. The verandas are similar in size to the Rotterdam, I felt that the two chairs and footstool made the space seem bigger. The beds are out of this world!!!
Yes, once in a while I did detect some unpleasant smells, in the hall and on our veranda, not enough to ruin the trip or keep us inside , but worth a passing mention. Yep it smelled like sewage.

The bottom line is that this is a nice effciently designed ship--but IMO the physical ship is the smallest part of the cruise experience soooo:

NEXT UP: Service--starring THE CREW
COMING ATTRACTIONS: adventure--starring THE PORTS OF CALL

[John3:30]

Greetings from sunny CA! This is my first time on Cruise Critics; I thank my fabulous table mate whom I met on this cruise for the information of this site.

This was our first trip on a Vista ship. Previously we've cruised on the Ryndam twice, the Maasdam, the Veendam, the Zaandam, and the Amsterdam. There is comfort in the similar lay-outs, although the colors, atrium focal point, art and decor are different on each ship.

What I liked about this ship:
1. The Captain - he sets the tone of ship and led by example. He was always cheerful and willing to converse when we saw him.
2. The Lido layout. Long lines were non-existent and we loved the pasta/pizza bar. I was thrilled to find the Indonesian lunch once at the Wok. I was hoping they'd have a Dutch menu one day, but they didn't.
3. The beds were incredibly comfortable!
4. The staff - our steward Jolindo (who lost a brother in the tsunami), Alexander in the Lido (who pointed us to the rest of our family when we appeared separately), Abdul and Hendra for their excellent service in the Dining room, and the assistant Maitre d (name escapes me) who went out of his to accomodate my vegetarian daughter. The assistant cruise staff - Jennifer, Jamie, Shannon, and Everett - made the games and trivia fun. The attendance at these functions increased throughout the cruise.
5. The guest lecturer was fabulous, educating us about the Panama Canal. We bought the DVD of his lectures; they are of quality worthy to be broadcast on the History Channel.

What I didn't like:
1. The Vista dining room (upper level) is on the Promenade deck. The view was walkers/joggers. The tables were close together and the seats tall and heavy to get into. The room was often noisy so table-length conversation was impossible.
2. The only way to get to the dining room was through the photo studio, a bottle-neck.
3. The shopping arcade looked like a sidewalk sale to negotiate through. The salespeople didn't appear professional, both in dress and manner.
4. The serpentine hallways were confusing. It tooks us the full 13 days to figure out where we were going!
5. The Queen's lounge is versatile, but the two rows of gold chairs in front were taller than the fixed seating behind it, so effectively, there were only 2 rows of decent seats to watch the football games. Thank you, HAL, for broadcasting them.
6. On the port side, the hall to the Northern Lights lounge was a dark alley.
7. Our cabin shrunk! We had 3 people in our room, and the third bed was a hide-a-bed couch. When out, we had exactly 3 inches to walk past. There were no drawers except for the nightstands.

Conclusion:
If I had the choice between the new Vista ship, or the older ones, I'd choose the older ship. The cabins are larger, and the hallways straight and well-lit.