November 3 Cruise On Ms Oosterdam/outstanding

[aliaschief]

We just returned from the Nov.3 cruise of the MS Oosterdam to the Mexican Riviera. Let me say up front if LaffNVegas can be the second Godmother of the ship than I'm announcing that I'm running for Godfather! What a beautiful ship and perfect crew. Here are a couple of notes to hold you over.

1. The air conditioning worked just fine. In fact a sweater the first day out may be in order.

2. The outside and inside of the ship appeared in pristine condition.

3. The food was good.

4. Joel Mason and the entire entertainment crew were exceptional.

5. The Wave was fun, the M&G was even better. Mr. Simon De Boer (Hotel Manager) was such a gracious host. He spent over 3 hours with our M&G group. He gave us a personal tour of the ship all the way down to B deck, invited all of us to the Captains and his special party in the Explorers Lounge and even scheduled a followup question and answer period on the last day. He is so dedicated in seeing that all the passengers on board are enjoying their cruise.

6.Seas were relatively calm with just a little sleep rock at times.

7. We had late upper dining. It was a little slow in service the first night because the first seating's were late in leaving. During the week our service was perfect and there was quite a few empty tables at late seating. We were told that many people were using in room dining this cruise.

8. There was no Chef's dinner night. Yeah!

9. After it's 2009 scheduled dry dock in appears the MS Oosterdam will be doing some Europe than will be sailing the Carribean.

So it time to go pay bills and unpack as we just returned home last night. If you have a future cruise booked on the MS Oosterdam you are in for a treat.

[hammybee]

I have a cruise booked on the Oosterdam and appreciate hearing your perspective.

Thank you for taking the time, Oh Godfather.:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home.

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

[ekerr19]

Thanks for sharing with us! Glad to hear Simon is still taking good care of the CC groups! He is a great asset to HAL, in my opinion. The fact that he is so engaging and willing to spend such time with the CC groups answering questions, entertaining etc. speaks volumes to me. :)

[grsnovi]

Thanks for the update!

Looking forward to April...

[ldog]

Thanks for the report. The Oosterdam was our first HAL cruise to the Baltic. that sold us on HAL. Glad you had a wonderful time.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Welcome Home:)

I am so glad that it was a great week. As the 2nd GodMother I just have to say "I told you so":p :D
Seriously though the Oosterdam is just one of the good feeling ships now about the Oosterdam doing the Carribean after her return...sadly I suspected that and knew that in 2009 there were going to be someships totally changing the home ports. While I hate to see her leave maybe I will get really lucky and they will replace her in San Diego with the Noordam;)

[Spot]

We too have a cruise on the Oosterdam coming up and was happy to read your thoughts on her. Thank you for taking the time to report back to us.

[aliaschief]

Welcome Home:)

I am so glad that it was a great week. As the 2nd GodMother I just have to say "I told you so":p :D
Seriously though the Oosterdam is just one of the good feeling ships now about the Oosterdam doing the Carribean after her return...sadly I suspected that and knew that in 2009 there were going to be someships totally changing the home ports. While I hate to see her leave maybe I will get really lucky and they will replace her in San Diego with the Noordam;)

It actually may work out better for us down the road. For if she is going to be doing the Carribean we will be closer for future sailings. Our favorite thing to do was attending the Mixology Class at the Olive Pit. Zenny and Raoul make the best drinks on the ship. We received our diplomas and for graduation we all had to wear our cap and gowns. In this case it was our white bathrobes and shower caps. :p It was a hoot and we all garnered a lot of stares from those passing by. For $20.00 you get three drinks, plus a Holland Bar Tool Set and certificate. Some days you get an extra drink if your one of the chosen to make your own behind the bar!! Designated walkers were provided for returning to our respective cabins:rolleyes: LOL!

I asked Simon if he read the blogs on CC. He said, "No I just don't have any other time because of taking care of the people on board" No wonder the guy is thin; he is everywhere and must walk twenty five miles a day or more on ship. Seldom do you see, anymore, people that are so dedicated to their work. He is an admitted workaholic and his efforts are reflected by the rest of the crew following suit.

Thanks again for the Wave help and the timing was perfect with the ship's horn giving you a toot!

[ekerr19]

Zenny and Raoul make the best drinks on the ship.


Raoul is a great guy, isn't he? We've been on several ships with him. I don't remember Zenny, but we're going to look into taking the "class" on our next cruise, we've heard great things about it! :)

[off2ctheworld]

Thanks for the review! Can't wait for our cruise. I believe we have the mixology class on our cruise too, and now may need to check that out, thanks to your review.

[Grampy]

That was a very nice review Bruce.:) We would also like to thank you for the perks that you worked on for us.:D Our only regret is we didn't run into you and Susan much. Maybe next time.

That had to be the fastest week ever. We had so much energy on the ship, but when we got home we were beat.

Thanks again to Lisa for the wave, and Gene for getting the group started. Thank you Simon, I know you check in.:p

On to the next cruise.:D

Mike

[aliaschief]

That was a very nice review Bruce.:) We would also like to thank you for the perks that you worked on for us.:D Our only regret is we didn't run into you and Susan much. Maybe next time.

That had to be the fastest week ever. We had so much energy on the ship, but when we got home we were beat.

Thanks again to Lisa for the wave, and Gene for getting the group started. Thank you Simon, I know you check in.:p

On to the next cruise.:D

Mike Thanks Mike, Yes it was too fast and we wished we could have spent more time with you both also. Understand the weariness. Still on California time and when I got up this morning for volunteer day it was really still 4 AM not 6 AM.:eek:

It was a great cruise and we enjoyed meeting all of our M&G crew. Got some time before the next cruise as we going to our time share in Kauai next spring for three weeks. Not sure we can go without cruising until 2009 but that is when we plan on using our deposit for now. We are thinking we would like to do the repositioning cruise on the Maasdam or Eurodam when they go back to their Canadian cruises to Montreal or Quebec City.

Have a great day. Bruce & Sue