Oosterdam 1/6/7....some final thoughts

[constructiondude]

Hey everybody. I hope your all doing well. I can't believe my cruise was only a few weeks ago but it feels like a year. Now that I've really had some time to process everything I've reached a few conclusions I want to share.

1. Shore Excursions: On this itinerary the ship is docked or anchored far away from the beaches. If your not fluent in Spanish and/or don't have time to waste, just book a nice excursion through HAL. I'm sure the people on shore offering excursions aren't all bad, but my harrowing taxi ride throught the streets of Mazatlan in a cab without a meter and no license on display reminded me I was completely at their mercy. If someone wanted to take advantage in some way, I would have been powerless to stop it. I took the swim with the dolphins excursion in PV and was amazed how smoothly everything went. We met in the Queens Lounge, tendered to the pier where a bus awaited us.

2. Verandahs: I liked my stateroom (window only) but by the end of the cruise I was getting claustrophobic. I had a verandah on my last cruise and I missed being able to poke my head out for fresh air. Next time I'm on a Vista class ship I will just pay the higher price.

3. I really didn't have a good time I'm sorry to say. Part of it was due to recovering from an injury, another factor was the Anytime Dining that I hated, no need to go into too many details as your all familiar by now with my issues. I'm going to take a break from cruising because of this. I just can't afford to waste my money if I'm not going to have a good time. Unless someone can tell me of another cruiseline with a reasonable single supp, comparable to HAL, that is not trying to attract the families with 10 kids in tow. Maybe I just need to avoid the Vista class ships. I'm open to suggestions. I think what I took issue with more than anything was the way it was sprung on us and not advertised at the time of booking. That was totally unfair of HAL.

4. Oosterdam: you cannot go wrong with this ship. The service is outstanding! Everywhere I went I was greeted, empty plates were removed almost immediately, drink servers were available to take orders the moment I sat down in any lounge or bar. The Lido in particular had superb service, an area of the ship I had a low opinion of when I sailed the Westerdam where it was treated like the poorer cousin of the Vista dining room. Not on the O...the Lido became more than a place where I HAD to go, I actually made a point of going there and enjoyed myself so much that not once did I eat breakfast in the Vista. When I WAS in the Vista, the service was excellent there too. The last formal night I wasn't feeling well. I had just been served my surf n turf and decided to go back to my stateroom. I offered to take the plate with me so I wouldn't waste such an expensive meal, I hadn't yet touched it. But my server offered to send me a completely new plate of food. My stateroom steward I never saw once and that is the way I prefer it, in my absence he or she kept my cabin immaculate and hopefully never tired of removing all those room service platters. Thanks again to Mr. Deering for his gracious hospitality.

What's new with the dude? Well, I'm completely recovered from my back injury. I've landed a new very long-term construction project where I'm inside sitting at a desk!! There is a strong possibility that it will guarantee me work for the next several years. It pays more and you want to know the best part? I'm only 8 minutes from home as opposed to the 90 minutes I had before. I've watched my swim with the dolphins dvd a couple of times; be grateful I never chose an acting career: I look like a complete dork. Seattle seems to be in the midst of an unusual mid-winter dry spell; it hasn't rained once since I've been back so I guess I brought back the sun with me. Whoever has our rain, please send it back...the air quality is terrible. And last, I saw Bill Cosby on stage last weekend and laughed so hard my eyes watered. If he comes to your city, don't pass him up. He performed for almost 3 hours unlike many who leave the stage after an hour or so.

~The Dude

[cruznon]

Hello Dude,

Congrats on the new job. How great to not have that long commute!
I agree with you about the Oosterdam--it's a wonderful ship. I'm sorry that it wasn't all you'd hoped for. I do understand how your dinner experiences could very seriously affect your overall experience. We once were given dinner at 5:45!!! (Talk about the early bird special...) We missed several dinner in the dining room because the timing was all wrong for us. In your situation, as a single, the anytime dining is not a positive one. Since your didn't expect it, even more of a bummer.
Hope you get your rain. As for a future cruise, perhaps you can sign up to come on a cruise some other CCers are on--built in companions!
Good to hear from you,
Peggy

[Robinsilver]

First, I will say sorry that you did not have a good time. We booked what for us was a last minute booking, less than 2 months before departure for our 2/24 cruise. It will be our first time on HAL. When I first booked, we were told we were wait-listed for late dining, so when we heard about anytime, which I knew we would not like, I was a little worried. Thankfully, I had my TA call and we were confirmed for upper main seating. Seeing as your experience seemed that it would have been good without that problem, I am sure we will enjoy it.

[caviargal]

constructiondude, sorry you did not enjoy your cruise.

As one who has cruised solo on Freestyle ships, I feel your pain...I hated it!

[madelinerose]

Dude...Congratulations on your new job! Having a shorter commute is a major plus in my book.

I completely understand how you feel. We're on the Noordam in December, our third cruise. If this HAL cruise doesn't "do it" for us, (previous were Carnival and RCI) our cruising days may be over.

Since I'll be travelling with DH, the dining window should not be an issue with us. I can imagine that it would be if I was going solo.

I wish you the best with whatever your future travel plans may be. Hey, I have lots of friends who have tried cruising and it's wasn't their thing. Sounds like 2007 is going to be a great year for you! Good luck.

Karen

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for posting you final thoughts. I can understand your problems with HAL's new dining policies on some of their ships.

[ekerr19]

From what I have learned, the new dining concept has been cancelled as of 1/31/07. It was an overwhelming flop and they have gone back to the set times on both levels - but do have the dining "window" allowing you to arrive anytime within a 30-minute time frame.

We got our docs for the 3/3/07 Oosterdam cruise last week which contained the letter explaining the "anytime" concept for the lower level, but my TA called HAL and confirmed it is over. For now. Thankfully.

Sorry to hear you had a somewhat dismal experience - 7-day cruises on Vista class do tend to attract many families and first time cruisers. I hope you will reconsider and try one of the other ships. :)

[Tinknock50]

Congrats on he new job! Sounds great!

Also sorry to hear you didn't have good time.

I wish I had discussed Cabo with you more before you left.
There is a beach on your right as you tender in.
You can actually walk to it by just following the inlet past the small boat harbour.
I did that a few years ago and then we were able to take a water taxi for a couple of bucks back to the tender dock....they came right up on to the sand on the beach. You could probably even have caught one from near the tender dock to go there too, but I didn't try that so not sure.

Anyway, I hope you will try something similar again some time and I agree with Peggy....sign up with one that has many CC people on it.
I hope you take one that I am on sometime and that way you can have someone to "hang" with.:)

Thanks for the final report.....some of us were worried about you because we hadn't heard from you in a while. Again very happy to hear about your great new job!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Steve, first off Congratulations on that new job, that is so cool:cool: I had a feeling that you were not totally enjoying your cruise like you hoped. I am sure the recovering from you injury had a lot to do with it. I agree that the Dine As You Wish just does nto work at all for solo cruising and that was wrong of HAL to place you in that Dining. Hopefully you can return to the Oosterdam but insist on the Traditional Dining since you already do like so many things about the Oosterdam.

Thanks for your final thoughts, and hey Dude son't be a stranger, stop in here and say "Hi" now and then;)

[hammybee]

Well "The Dude", thank you for bringing this to a conclusion and I am sorry that you did not have a good time. I agree with others that you need to be on a cruise with a large # of CC members onboard and to do so on a cruise while school is in session to avoid an abundance of children. Being included can make a world of difference, when sailing as a solo

To do so on a budget, consider sailing an "S" class ship and book an inside on the Lower Promenade Deck which means, the entire deck and teak chairs are almost outside your door. I really miss this configuration on the VISTA class ships.

In the meantime, congrats on your new job.

[Roz]

Construction Dude,

I'm a solo HAL cruiser also. Have been following your commentary. I've been doing 10-day cruises or 7-day cruises between Thanksgiving and December, and encounter very few children.

This dining thing concerns me. We didn't have it on the Volendam in November, thank God.

I convinced my sister to try solo cruising, and she unfortunately chose an NCL ship. She's said never again. If she wanted to sit at a table by herself every night, she could just stay at home!

Dining with others for singles seems to be a priority. I enjoy the fixed seating concept, and look forward to seeing familiar faces every night. I'm not interested in spending all day trying to find people to dine with each evening.

I hope HAL listens to us.

Congrats on your new job.

Roz

[lougee1043]

dude---if construction doesnt work out for you i would suggest you become a news reporter or a writer------------i was on the same cruise as you and you described it 1000 times better then i ever could-- sorry our paths didnt cross that much on the ship------------take care and be well and good luck on your new job

[Tinknock50]

Well "The Dude", thank you for bringing this to a conclusion and I am sorry that you did not have a good time. I agree with others that you need to be on a cruise with a large # of CC members onboard and to do so on a cruise while school is in session to avoid an abundance of children. Being included can make a world of difference, when sailing as a solo

To do so on a budget, consider sailing an "S" class ship and book an inside on the Lower Promenade Deck which means, the entire deck and teak chairs are almost outside your door. I really miss this configuration on the VISTA class ships.

In the meantime, congrats on your new job.

To add to Hammys ideas on the S class....you can also get an outside with a full size window on Lower Promenade Deck that is obstructed but if choose a cabin carefully you actually will have a pretty good view at an angle. I suffer from claustraphobia but I didn't feel closed in at all in my cabin on that deck. They really aren't much more than an inside in price.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

Awwww, sorry dude. I think traveling solo could be kinda depressing. Even with my hubby, the downtime on the ship can be kinda quiet ... would be worse alone. I concur that you should find a companion or a group to cruise with again. Maybe try one of the roundtrip Seattle cruises to Alaska? The scenery is GORGEOUS, you can really hang out in public areas, talk with people or just read, and watch Alaska go by. AND you don't have to FLY. Always a good perk. :D And everyone speaks English in the ports too.

[constructiondude]

I was at the Seattle travel show a couple of weeks ago and stopped at the HAL booth. When I told the marketing group my reasons for considering other cruiselines they were horrified. They could not believe the Anytime Dining was forced on people, especially a single traveler. It underscored once again what many of us have thought all along: each ship often does their own thing unbeknownst to many departments in Seattle. They recommended not to book without a confirmed dining time and to never waitlist. At this point HAL is going to have to offer me a pretty fancy deal to get me to reconsider.

However I like the idea of booking a cc cruise and when the right itinerary comes up I will strongly consider it; my vacation allowance is up in the air right now because of this new job. The only vacations I can do are short weekend trips with Palm Springs on the horizon for Memorial Day weekend and Hawaii over Thanksgiving.

Like Roz pointed out about her sister, I was often sitting there alone at a table for 8 praying someone else would be placed there, anyone! I had a better time the nights I ate in my room watching Law & Order than I ever did in the dining room and like Roz' sister stated, I could do that at home for free. I was grateful for the companionship provided by the Asian family with children on the last night out while simultaneously crying inside; what the hell was I doing here I asked myself? I was completely out of my element.

To sum up the entire trip...I was lonely...plain and simple. And a cruiseship was the last place I expected to feel that way. Someone thought this was the problem in my "live" thread and she hit the nail on the head. I had more companionship from my email exchanges with Sean and Lisa than I did with the people on the ship. If it hadn't been for them I would have gone out of my mind.

I need some closure to this and I might write to HAL and tell them how I feel. I don't know what they can do to rectify the matter this late in the game, but I want them to know that they failed to provide me with the vacation that their advertising promised me. Its a shame that all the wonderful things the Oosterdam was able to deliver were trumped by this one issue. And they need to think a little more carefully the next time they want to use their repeat passengers to experiment on.

[constructiondude]

I know we're not supposed to bump up a post and I've never done it before. But that gosh darned WSOD (white screen of death) occured and now its unfairly buried. Please forgive me.

[Tinknock50]

I was at the Seattle travel show a couple of weeks ago and stopped at the HAL booth. When I told the marketing group my reasons for considering other cruiselines they were horrified. They could not believe the Anytime Dining was forced on people, especially a single traveler. It underscored once again what many of us have thought all along: each ship often does their own thing unbeknownst to many departments in Seattle. They recommended not to book without a confirmed dining time and to never waitlist. At this point HAL is going to have to offer me a pretty fancy deal to get me to reconsider.

However I like the idea of booking a cc cruise and when the right itinerary comes up I will strongly consider it; my vacation allowance is up in the air right now because of this new job. The only vacations I can do are short weekend trips with Palm Springs on the horizon for Memorial Day weekend and Hawaii over Thanksgiving.

Like Roz pointed out about her sister, I was often sitting there alone at a table for 8 praying someone else would be placed there, anyone! I had a better time the nights I ate in my room watching Law & Order than I ever did in the dining room and like Roz' sister stated, I could do that at home for free. I was grateful for the companionship provided by the Asian family with children on the last night out while simultaneously crying inside; what the hell was I doing here I asked myself? I was completely out of my element.

To sum up the entire trip...I was lonely...plain and simple. And a cruiseship was the last place I expected to feel that way. Someone thought this was the problem in my "live" thread and she hit the nail on the head. I had more companionship from my email exchanges with Sean and Lisa than I did with the people on the ship. If it hadn't been for them I would have gone out of my mind.

I need some closure to this and I might write to HAL and tell them how I feel. I don't know what they can do to rectify the matter this late in the game, but I want them to know that they failed to provide me with the vacation that their advertising promised me. Its a shame that all the wonderful things the Oosterdam was able to deliver were trumped by this one issue. And they need to think a little more carefully the next time they want to use their repeat passengers to experiment on.

I sensed the loneliness too, but I didn't want to mention it in case I was off base....when someone else mentioned it confirmed the feeling I had.

I hope you really will give it a try again.....you might even check out the roll calls first and see if there are lots of people going on a cruise that strikes your interest.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Steve, I agree that you need to go with a big group. Too bad you could not have come with our upcoming March 17th cruise. We have 3 single ladies cruising in our group but something tells me they would be a bit old for you since two are 53 and one is 74 and let me tell you that 74 year old is the wildest. She is going to be a blast;) She was a cocktail server in her younger days on the Las Vegas Strip and oh the stories she has:D

[middle-aged mom]

Hi Lisa:

We should invite Steve the "dude" along with us on the Noordam to Alaska from Seattle on June 17th:D I don't know if any cabins are still available for that one, Steve, or if you can get the time off, but you're welcome to come along:). I'm going to be sailing "sort of solo" on that one myself, and it would be great to see another CC member "in the flesh"!:) In any case, thanks for a wonderful review of your Oosterdam experience. Good luck on your new job; it sounds great!

Karin

[constructiondude]

Not sure I can make that particular cruise but let me know if you all plan anything precruise....I'm only 3 or 4 miles from downtown, I'd be happy to wish you all bon voyage in person.

Lisa-I'd probably have a blast around that 74 year old. I can talk to anyone.

[middle-aged mom]

Not sure I can make that particular cruise but let me know if you all plan anything precruise....I'm only 3 or 4 miles from downtown, I'd be happy to wish you all bon voyage in person.....

.......

Steve:

We'll see what we can put together......:)

Karin

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Steve, Tom and I will be coming into Seattle on Saturday June 16th and staying at the Olympic Fairmont then we board the Noordam on Sunday the 17th. I can understand with the change of jobs and not having vacation time. But like Karin said it would be fun to have you join us. Maybe we can all get together on Saturday.

[middle-aged mom]

Okay, Lisa, Tom, Steve, et alia,


Saturday, June 16th, stay tuned......... please check in here occasionally, Steve......

Lisa, the Fairmont Olympic is just the best hotel in Seattle:)

Karin

[constructiondude]

I love the Olympic. I've stayed there once and have attended a couple of lavish parties in the Spanish Ballroom. It's always maintained a fresh appearance as opposed to looking "faded" like many old hotels.

[Love Cruises]

Constructiondude ... we have really enjoyed reading all your messages. We would have been upset with the dining problem as well. Hopefully, it will not discourage you from going back on HAL. Would love to read future threads from you. You are very articulate!

Congratulations on your new job! My dh has a bad back so we can understand how sitting at a desk job is a lot better than standing all day working very strenuously. We hope this postion works out to being several years in your future.

[septemberman]

I don't post much, but I really wanted to thank you for taking your time with your reviews. You really are a fun writer to read. I looked forward in coming home from work and finding your review on this board. Congratulations on your new job!!! Hopefully it is working out well for you.
And I agree with the others on this board, you need to find a cruise where alot of us could get together. I for one would enjoy meeting you, as I suspect many of the other members of this board would. I have travelled often in my life, and I understand the pain of of induring dinners alone, where other tables are having a fantastic time. Anyway, thanks again, and have a fantastic time in Palm Springs and in Hawaii. If you can squeeze in a cruise let us know, and lets see how may cc members can come out and play. And please, don't stop blogging.

[Me2]

I was often sitting there alone at a table for 8 praying someone else would be placed there, anyone! I had a better time the nights I ate in my room watching Law & Order than I ever did in the dining room.

Hi, Steve. Not sure if this is an option for you, but I've sailed on two organized singles group cruises (the 2nd one on the Oosterdam a few weeks after your cruise - Jan 20). One of the blessings of the groups, is you have an abundance of people to eat with, to chat with, and to make plans to go ashore with, and even to plan future travel with. I've met some great new friends that way. Just like any group, you will have people with different reasons for sailing. (Most you'll like, and some you'll run from, LOL !) But it's a nice way to have group contact whenever you want, or alone time when you choose. Of course, you can't beat the people on the cruise critic boards, and like many have suggested, making plans to travel with them would be ideal as well.

We aren't allowed to post TA information. The 2 singles cruises I attended were by same group. They typically plan about 15 a year, varying the cruise lines and the itineraries. I'd totally recommend them if I could. There is much repeat business as they do a great job of involving everyone and making everyone feel "welcome".

I know, I know - I've read some of the comments about groups. My experience from the inside looking out, is that most of the folks in our group were considerate and friendly to all passengers. Our hosts did reserve some of the rooms (Queen's lounge one day 5:30-6:30, Crow's nest a few days from 1:30-2:30). The one that may have bothered other guests was reserving one side of the pool area after the sail-away activities from San Diego. Because this was a large group, you'd find some noise at dinner a few nights, as new friends called greetings to those at other tables. And a few did get carried away, and I truly hope did not bother or offend the other guests. But the majority were truly nice people.

Congrats on your new job. Hey, did you ever find out if you were hit with roaming charges on your emails from ship by phone?

Sue