BD29
September 23rd, 2010, 11:52 PM
This will review our cruise to Alaska on The Oosterdam, departing 9/12/10. My husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with this cruise and sailed with my sister and brother-in-law. Alot of what we did were from ideas that we got from Cruise Critic.com - so thanks.
We had 2 days in Seattle, pre-cruise. We stayed at the Marriott Waterfront. It was a close walk to waterfront activities, Pike's Place Market and the Monorail. We pre-scheduled pick-up with Already Town Car Service. They were right on time. We pre-planned a tour with Show me Seattle and Savor Seattle. Both excellent.
We were able to take a town car from Marriott Waterfront to Pier 91 instead of a taxi, as the town car was already at the Marriott and ready to go.
On Sunday, 9/12/10, we got to Pier 91 at 11:30 a.m. Dropped the luggage off, went thru the x-ray machine and waited for our group number to board. It was very efficient with minimal waiting. Once on the ship, we got a table on the Lido deck and had lunch. Rooms were available by 1:30 and we unpacked. We were on deck 5, Verandah deck, VF category with a verandah. We were in room 5054. This is a wheelchair room, so no bathtub. The floor in the bathtub is designed to roll in, so the water was to drain through the grates in the floor. Water didn't drain, so we knew to have x-tra towels to throw on the floor. This room had a desk, small table and 2 chairs - no couch. It was fine. We weren't in our room very much. If we were, we were on the balcony.
Apparently we lucked out and had the best weather of the entire cruise season. No fog, no rain. Sunshine everyday in the low to mid 70's. We laid at the pool every day - unheard of in Alaska in September!!!
Great ideas found on cruise critic.com:
1. We bought lanyards at Office Depot for $5.00. Everything you do on ship you need your cruise ID. Plus you could carry $$, ship directions, lipstick, chapstick, etc. in the zippered pocket. They also sell lanyards on board. My husband said he would never wear this. By day 2, he was never without it!!
2. Bunge cords - used 2 everyday to hold the door to the verandah open. Loved the sea breeze!!
3. Power extension cord - another must have!! There just isn't enough outlets in the room.
4. Overthe door shoe holder - like little pockets to hold a variety of items. I didn't have this, but my sister did and very helpful!
5. Holland Amercia allows you to bring on wine, water and soda. We brought our own wine and water. We had the wine out on our verandah and took it to dinner. Many people brought water bottles and big coffee travel mugs that they filled up in the Lido and took to their rooms or to just have on board.
Oosterdam:
This was my first cruise, so I have no comparisons. I wasn't wowed with the art or the decor, but I wasn't disappointed. There were just under 2000 people on board. It never seem crowded. The cruise employees were friendly and very helpful. The captain was friendly and he mingled with the guests on occasion.
There is lots to do during the day. So much so, that I found it wasn't relaxing because I wanted to do it all. They have great classes on how to use your camera or your photos on line. Get there early - classes fill up fast. Health/diet/exercise classes. We took a mixology class - how to make martini's . This did cost $12.50. We did Walk for the Cure. We walked everyday on the Promonde deck. Sit at the pool, or any lounge chair on variety of decks. There is a library and many computers to get on line - this does cost you $$. You can learn to line dance, salsa. Every evening you get a schedule for what is happening the next day. I looked forward to that everyday, for what was happening the next day!!
In the evening lots to do after dinner - there is the main show in the Vista Lounge. It was all great. There are many bars, dancing, Karoke, a screening room. We are early risers, so by 9:00, we were exhausted.
HAL has a photographer on board so many options for photos. I am a scrapbooker, so purchased many of the photos.
Clothing:
We were prepared for all weather types, but fortunately had great weather, so didn't have to wear coats. 2 formal dinners. Our husbands wore suits and ties, women in cocktail dresses. All other evenings, my husband wore a pair of slacks and a "Tony Soprano" type shirt. Other people were dressed similar or more casual.
Food:
Overall the food was great. The Lido, which served breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner and late night food was great. I thought the regular coffee was great! We only ate breakfast and lunch here, never dinner. Dessert extravaganza was a great.
MDR: Food was very good. First night they one of the options was king crab and the portion size was small. The soups were not very good, but everything else was good. Our waiter and wine steward were great. We brought all our own wine on board. Corkage fee is $18/bottle. Each night 4 of us shared 2 bottles. He only charged us $36 the whole week. We did get charged the $18 per bottle when we ate at the Pinnacle Grill and Calanatto's.
Pinnacle Grill: Exceptional food!! I had steak and lobster - fabluous. My husband, sister and brother-in-law all had steaks and they were huge. We also asked for the lobster macaroni as a side and they accomodated this. It was good, but don't have as an entree, it isn't that good.
Canalotto's: Also very good! But if you have a place that you can get good italian food in your home town it probably won't be any different. You want to check the menu in the MDR to ensure that you don't miss the stead and lobster night there. We almost did that.
Excursions/Ports:
Glacier Bay:
At Glacier Bay all day. It is beautiful. We spent time on deck and then on our verandah with wine and ordered room service. We had great weather, so we could be outside everywhere.
Juneau: We did the whalewatching and Mendenhall Glacier. It was great. We saw humpbacks and killer whales. We had great weather, so we were taking off layers of clothing.
I heard the dog sledding excursion was also great.
After the excursion, we went to the Red Dog Saloon for lunch. This is majorly overrated!!! Food for the price is disappointing and enterainment is a guy at the piano singing little quips and insulting everyone. It was $30 for me alone that I could have spent elsewhere. Little shops in port.
Sitka:
We did the Semi-sub tour lasting about 90 minutes. They tour around Sitak and show you sea life that you expect only in warmer enviroments. It was a little boring. I would never do this again. Once back at Port, we toured the town. Went back to the ship for lunch on the Lido deck.
Ketichan:
We did the Duck Tour that takes you around the town and on the water. Lots of jokes with the duck whistle. It was OK, but wouldn't do this again either. Shopped at the port once completed. Definitely go to Greek Street. Shops are similar to what you would find on Fisherman's wharf.
Victoria BC:
It rained while in this port. We scheduled no excursions. The early sitting started at 5 pm. We had dinner in the MDR, then could a cab ride ($8.50) to town. Walked around the Empress hotel and the Parliment building, then went back to the ship.
Disembarcation:
About day 2 you get a form to choose the type of disembarcation you want. We had a noon flight so chose the early-self disembarcation. This means you have to be able to carry all your luggage by yourself. We were the first to disembark at 7:30 a.m. We went to deck 2 to disembark and there was a line, as people must have started lining up at 7 a.m. It was still relatively quick. We got out, our town car picked us up and we were at the airport in no time.
We had a fabulous time and I can't wait for my next cruise. We went during a time when kids were in school, so very few kids, which was our plan. There were quite a few people with walkers, wheelchairs and Larks, but it was never a problem in the big group areas or on the elevators.
This is a great way to travel and to see sites with minimal fuss or planning. This would be a great way to see Europe - you get all the fun, but leave the planning and transportation issues to the professionals.
Thanks to everyone for all their great ideas. Hope this helps!
We had 2 days in Seattle, pre-cruise. We stayed at the Marriott Waterfront. It was a close walk to waterfront activities, Pike's Place Market and the Monorail. We pre-scheduled pick-up with Already Town Car Service. They were right on time. We pre-planned a tour with Show me Seattle and Savor Seattle. Both excellent.
We were able to take a town car from Marriott Waterfront to Pier 91 instead of a taxi, as the town car was already at the Marriott and ready to go.
On Sunday, 9/12/10, we got to Pier 91 at 11:30 a.m. Dropped the luggage off, went thru the x-ray machine and waited for our group number to board. It was very efficient with minimal waiting. Once on the ship, we got a table on the Lido deck and had lunch. Rooms were available by 1:30 and we unpacked. We were on deck 5, Verandah deck, VF category with a verandah. We were in room 5054. This is a wheelchair room, so no bathtub. The floor in the bathtub is designed to roll in, so the water was to drain through the grates in the floor. Water didn't drain, so we knew to have x-tra towels to throw on the floor. This room had a desk, small table and 2 chairs - no couch. It was fine. We weren't in our room very much. If we were, we were on the balcony.
Apparently we lucked out and had the best weather of the entire cruise season. No fog, no rain. Sunshine everyday in the low to mid 70's. We laid at the pool every day - unheard of in Alaska in September!!!
Great ideas found on cruise critic.com:
1. We bought lanyards at Office Depot for $5.00. Everything you do on ship you need your cruise ID. Plus you could carry $$, ship directions, lipstick, chapstick, etc. in the zippered pocket. They also sell lanyards on board. My husband said he would never wear this. By day 2, he was never without it!!
2. Bunge cords - used 2 everyday to hold the door to the verandah open. Loved the sea breeze!!
3. Power extension cord - another must have!! There just isn't enough outlets in the room.
4. Overthe door shoe holder - like little pockets to hold a variety of items. I didn't have this, but my sister did and very helpful!
5. Holland Amercia allows you to bring on wine, water and soda. We brought our own wine and water. We had the wine out on our verandah and took it to dinner. Many people brought water bottles and big coffee travel mugs that they filled up in the Lido and took to their rooms or to just have on board.
Oosterdam:
This was my first cruise, so I have no comparisons. I wasn't wowed with the art or the decor, but I wasn't disappointed. There were just under 2000 people on board. It never seem crowded. The cruise employees were friendly and very helpful. The captain was friendly and he mingled with the guests on occasion.
There is lots to do during the day. So much so, that I found it wasn't relaxing because I wanted to do it all. They have great classes on how to use your camera or your photos on line. Get there early - classes fill up fast. Health/diet/exercise classes. We took a mixology class - how to make martini's . This did cost $12.50. We did Walk for the Cure. We walked everyday on the Promonde deck. Sit at the pool, or any lounge chair on variety of decks. There is a library and many computers to get on line - this does cost you $$. You can learn to line dance, salsa. Every evening you get a schedule for what is happening the next day. I looked forward to that everyday, for what was happening the next day!!
In the evening lots to do after dinner - there is the main show in the Vista Lounge. It was all great. There are many bars, dancing, Karoke, a screening room. We are early risers, so by 9:00, we were exhausted.
HAL has a photographer on board so many options for photos. I am a scrapbooker, so purchased many of the photos.
Clothing:
We were prepared for all weather types, but fortunately had great weather, so didn't have to wear coats. 2 formal dinners. Our husbands wore suits and ties, women in cocktail dresses. All other evenings, my husband wore a pair of slacks and a "Tony Soprano" type shirt. Other people were dressed similar or more casual.
Food:
Overall the food was great. The Lido, which served breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner and late night food was great. I thought the regular coffee was great! We only ate breakfast and lunch here, never dinner. Dessert extravaganza was a great.
MDR: Food was very good. First night they one of the options was king crab and the portion size was small. The soups were not very good, but everything else was good. Our waiter and wine steward were great. We brought all our own wine on board. Corkage fee is $18/bottle. Each night 4 of us shared 2 bottles. He only charged us $36 the whole week. We did get charged the $18 per bottle when we ate at the Pinnacle Grill and Calanatto's.
Pinnacle Grill: Exceptional food!! I had steak and lobster - fabluous. My husband, sister and brother-in-law all had steaks and they were huge. We also asked for the lobster macaroni as a side and they accomodated this. It was good, but don't have as an entree, it isn't that good.
Canalotto's: Also very good! But if you have a place that you can get good italian food in your home town it probably won't be any different. You want to check the menu in the MDR to ensure that you don't miss the stead and lobster night there. We almost did that.
Excursions/Ports:
Glacier Bay:
At Glacier Bay all day. It is beautiful. We spent time on deck and then on our verandah with wine and ordered room service. We had great weather, so we could be outside everywhere.
Juneau: We did the whalewatching and Mendenhall Glacier. It was great. We saw humpbacks and killer whales. We had great weather, so we were taking off layers of clothing.
I heard the dog sledding excursion was also great.
After the excursion, we went to the Red Dog Saloon for lunch. This is majorly overrated!!! Food for the price is disappointing and enterainment is a guy at the piano singing little quips and insulting everyone. It was $30 for me alone that I could have spent elsewhere. Little shops in port.
Sitka:
We did the Semi-sub tour lasting about 90 minutes. They tour around Sitak and show you sea life that you expect only in warmer enviroments. It was a little boring. I would never do this again. Once back at Port, we toured the town. Went back to the ship for lunch on the Lido deck.
Ketichan:
We did the Duck Tour that takes you around the town and on the water. Lots of jokes with the duck whistle. It was OK, but wouldn't do this again either. Shopped at the port once completed. Definitely go to Greek Street. Shops are similar to what you would find on Fisherman's wharf.
Victoria BC:
It rained while in this port. We scheduled no excursions. The early sitting started at 5 pm. We had dinner in the MDR, then could a cab ride ($8.50) to town. Walked around the Empress hotel and the Parliment building, then went back to the ship.
Disembarcation:
About day 2 you get a form to choose the type of disembarcation you want. We had a noon flight so chose the early-self disembarcation. This means you have to be able to carry all your luggage by yourself. We were the first to disembark at 7:30 a.m. We went to deck 2 to disembark and there was a line, as people must have started lining up at 7 a.m. It was still relatively quick. We got out, our town car picked us up and we were at the airport in no time.
We had a fabulous time and I can't wait for my next cruise. We went during a time when kids were in school, so very few kids, which was our plan. There were quite a few people with walkers, wheelchairs and Larks, but it was never a problem in the big group areas or on the elevators.
This is a great way to travel and to see sites with minimal fuss or planning. This would be a great way to see Europe - you get all the fun, but leave the planning and transportation issues to the professionals.
Thanks to everyone for all their great ideas. Hope this helps!