Oosterdam Review 10/23 - 10/31 part I

[gliles]

I know I should put this on the review section but I am only posting it for people on here who "know" me because this is long and hopefully answers some questions people have.

Saturday – Ft Lauderdale

We flew in a day early. Since we are airline employees and flying standby, we flew into Miami for availability purposes, we wanted fist class after all ;) . We collected our luggage and took a taxi to the Ft Lauderdale Marina Marriott. That was about $60 plus tip. We got there by about 10am and they were able to get us in a room which was great. My daughter and I bought the water taxi all day pass and rode around while my husband napped. We had a good time until the downpour came and we got soaked but it was fun. We saw some incredible houses, some worth over $20 million. Then we went back to the hotel to wait to hear from my sister and her partner who flew directly into Ft Lauderdale. When they arrived, we walked around a bit, went to a liquor store to get some wine to bring on board. It started raining again right when we got back so we decided to just eat at the restaurant at the hotel which was very expensive but oh well. The hotel was really nice; we booked through Priceline for I believe $65 per room. We had a balcony and a nice view of the pool. My sister and her partner got a view of the pier and we could see the Oosterdam from their balcony. Neither of us asked for any particular view but since my daughter was with us, we asked for double beds for our room and there was no problem. We sure didn’t feel like we were treated any differently for having booked through Priceline, in fact they even took my Marriott Rewards number and in checking, the miles have already been posted to my AAdvantage account. They also offered points for eating at the restaurant…they should! The food was good though.

[gliles]

Sunday - Embarkation

We booked the 11:40am shuttle to the pier and got there in time to stand in line for longer than I have in the last 7 cruises to board. Because we booked an interline rate and another inside for my 18 year old daughter, we had to book the inside with my name, my husband and sister in one room and my sister’s partner and my daughter in another room so we had an employee in each room and an adult booked in the inside. When we checked in, we explained the situation to the woman and she smiled and said “I know nothing” so we thought she would really hook us up but she couldn’t, basically just told us to switch keys which meant I carried my daughter’s key around that not only wouldn’t let me into my room, I couldn’t even get a drink with it. But that was fine, that was what we get for being cheap and sneaky.



We had 2 B’s, 5003 and 5007 and the inside across the hall, 5011. The rooms were all really nice. I thought the B cabins were smaller than the outside we had on the Ryndam, a lot of moving around so we could pass each other. They were quads and I can’t imagine having 3 people in there let alone 4. I didn’t like that there were no dresser drawers to speak of, 2 big ones under the bed one of which was used for bedding then the night stands had 2 small but deep drawers. The closet was all hanging and shelves. All that said, there was enough storage once we scattered stuff all over the room. The “desk” was really small, with the TV and the ice bucket and tray; there wasn’t room for much else. The inside was really small but perfect for my daughter. I was glad to see that they had her bed made into a king, all that bed just for her. Having never been on a cruise before, she thought it was really cool. The balconies had 2 chairs and an ottoman as well as a small table and we got the steward to open the partition.



The rooms weren’t ready so we went to the Lido and ate and shortly afterwards, the rooms were ready which I did find odd since the ship had been there for several days (a week?) since it was just coming back for the Caribbean. There were some overhead bins over the loveseat and my sister’s were filled with black tired looking balloons and we had a mini bottle of gin in ours which just means they didn’t do a good job cleaning but we have found something on every cruise. Once we found someone pictures from formal night, another cruise we found the top to someone’s bikini. We went to check out the rooms and then wandering. Most of the luggage showed up before the drill so we unpacked that then to the drill, then back to the room to drop off the vests and then to the Lido for sail away. HAL doesn’t make as much a party of that as NCL or Carnival does and I know that doesn’t mean much to most but I think the sail away is the best part.. We went by a hotel and the captain blew the horn then all these people on the balconies of the hotel blew air horns then the ship blew again, and they did again. It was funny to hear this huge horn on the ship then all these little toots. That was cool.



Our dining was messed up, we asked for early and got 6:15 which was perfect but they had 4 people at one table for 4 and the 5th person and a table for 5 on the other side of the dining room so we went to talk to the Maitre’d which meant taking a number (felt like I was at the DMV) and waiting forever. They finally called my number and when I explained the situation, they blamed the TA which is possible but then said that they couldn’t do anything until the second day. Then they said “well the names aren’t even the same” but truth be known, the one person (me) seated apart was the one person with the same name. DH and I have the same name, DD, Sister, partner, all different names. He was grabbing at straws I felt because I feel like they knew they messed up because I don’t believe it was a coincidence that that we had 3 guarantee rooms and they ended up all together so I don’t believe they didn’t know we were traveling together. They ended up giving us 8:15 seating the first night at a table for 8, just 5 of us there then they got us a table for 5 at 6:15 for the rest of the cruise so all’s well that ends well but I had also requested a large table in hopes that my daughter could meet some people. The Maitre’d I thought was very rude through the whole thing and he made his rounds in the dining room but never stopped at our table so perhaps the feeling was mutual.



We were exhausted by the time dinner was over so we went back to the room and the rest of the luggage had arrived so we finished unpacking and crashed for the night.

[gliles]

Monday - Nassau

We arrived in Nassau right on schedule and we didn’t book any excursions there since we weren’t there for that long. We all got off to do some wandering and shopping except for DH, he had a tooth ache and ended up going to see the ship’s dentist, that is wonderful that they have one on board. He got some pain killers and antibiotic and it cost less than what he would have paid at home with no insurance. In fact we purchased cruise insurance but may not even bother submitting it since it was so little. I had been to Nassau before and wasn’t really impressed. Wasn’t this time either, some woman was following my daughter around wanting to braid her short hair for $120 and my DD is so sweet, she didn’t want to hurt the woman’s feelings so I finally said “Ma’am, we really don’t have the time, thank you” and called my DD away well then she (DD) got mad at me because she thought I was rude so I am thinking “you think that is rude, you better not get off the ship in St Maarten!”. We found stuff to be pretty expensive there but DD did buy a couple things. Then back to the Lido aft pool which by the way was really cold but the “inside” pool was warm and it was stuffy in there so we dealt with the cold water. Dinner at 6:15, some casino time and off to bed.



Tuesday – At sea

We were hauling it because there was a medical emergency and they wanted to get to St Maarten fast (just to jump ahead for a bit, when we got to SXM the Captain said that they had evacuated the gentleman and he was doing well). DD and I did some gift shop shopping and hanging out by the pool. I spent a little time and money in the casino. All in all a relaxing day, nothing interesting to note.



Wednesday – St Maarten

Boy was it hot and St Maarten is torn up bad. I was very disappointed since I really thought my DD could get a lot of her shopping done here but it was in bad shape. I am sure it was hurricane related but also seemed they were doing routine improvements, the comedian even made jokes about the roads. I got some cologne and a hat from Del Sol for my other daughter’s boy friend. A few trinkets and that’s about it. We went back to the ship to drop out stuff off and tidy up then back to the pier to have a couple beers and wait for the Golden Eagle departure time. I have been on the Golden Eagle a number of times and this was the worst I felt. There wasn’t enough wind I guess so we didn’t sail at all and the crew even though there was one I remember from past trips, wasn’t that great. The snorkeling wasn’t good at all, the reef is dead so that was sad. It was fun but just not like trips in the past on her.



We went right back to the ship afterwards since there wasn’t much time. We decided to do the Lido that night since it was late and we all needed to shower and rest. The Lido was good and apparently we missed Dutch night because we saw the hats all over later. To bed early.

[gliles]

Thursday – Tortola

We had decided to do the baths on our own but later decided to be on the safe side and book through the ship.What I had read was that it would have cost us almost as much on our own. It was a great trip through all the rocks that ended at a beautiful beach with great big waves. We were all in the water when my sister mentioned that something bit her on the butt, well that was it, DD got out of the water and never got back in. She wasn’t feeling that well that day anyway but was a real trooper. We climbed back up to the parking lot and had enough time for a cold drinki before we had to leave. Now I am in no way in good shape but I will say that was a tough excursion, I won’t do it again unless I lose some serious weight but I don’t regret it at all, I think we all found it to be the highlight of the trip. My sister felt a little stupid for hauling her snorkel equipment all the way through the caves since there was no snorkeling there at all, the water was just too rough.



We got back to the ship, changed clothes then went back out for a little shopping. DD was thrilled, she got a lot of stuff cheap, she bought bracelets, a purse, T-shirts, etc. and got a good deal on all of it. My husband came with us, got a beer then back to the ship as it was incredibly hot. We stayed about an hour or so then went back. Alas, the Lido aft pool felt really good, I don’t think the water warmed up much but we were hot and it felt really good.



Friday – At sea

Another relaxing day by the pool and in the casino. This was lobster night, I ordered surf and surf. Actually most of us did. My husband requested a 3rd lobster tail and didn’t get it, we don’t know why but think he just forgot.



Saturday – Half Moon Cay

Beautiful, 100% better than NCL’s island. Most of the cabana’s seemed to be in operation but we did see one that was just the foundation. That may have been the orange one because I don’t recall seeing that one. The BBQ was good. We ate with the DJ from the club and he told us that the fish love bananas so DD took some into the water and fed the fish, she really enjoyed that.



We purchased the unlimited beverage package for $19.95 on the island. We went to one bar and they said we couldn’t buy it on the island so we looked at the map of the island which said right on there that you could so we went back to the bar and they said that was wrong so we went to the other bar and bought them with no problem. We drank Amstel light all day and then as we were leaving decided to get another for the road and were told that Amstel wasn’t included in the package???? We heard many others on the beach complain that the bar staff had no idea what they were doing. We bought a few T-shirts and junk then got back on the ship at about 2:30pm and back to the Lido aft pool for sail away.



Sunday – Disembarkation :(

My sister and her partner had a 2:38pm flight and since we didn’t know what flight we were going to take, we just put down that we wanted to be off by 9am so we could get to the airport and just wait as airline employees are used to doing. We called when we got to FLL and found that we needed to leave from MIA since the FLL flights were very full. We got number 15 and my sister got 24. We were called at about 10am and got a cab to MIA, got there just in time to check the bags and get to the gate to find we had already been called and boarding passes issued, coach this time, oh well…you can’t win them all. We were home by 2:30pm which was great. My sister and her partner called from the San Antonio airport at 7pm and I felt a little bad for them since I made all the arrangements but she was using miles so limited to availability when I booked it and she really didn’t want to go into or out of Miami and I don’t blame her. :eek:



Halloween decorations were going up when we left. :p

[gliles]

Random thoughts

The ship is beautiful. It is huge but we really didn’t have much trouble finding our way around. I am not sure we really even saw it all though, in fact the 2nd to last night we discovered a bar that was really cool that we hadn’t experienced but we did make a point of going to see Neil from the Ryndam in the atrium bar before dinner.



DH was in first place of the finals for the video poker tournament but when they did the finals, he ended up in 2nd place :( . That was a bummer but he got a T-shirt, key chain and playing cards. He had fun and I enjoyed watching.



I thought the casino was smaller than other’s I have seen but I did manage to win $100 on the quarter slots :D and since I normally lose, I was happy with a small win.



I don’t like the way they locked the mini bar and removed our personal items (OJ, half soda cans that we had purchased from the mini bar, etc) early on HMC day.



I do know from the Captain that they have new mattresses and 300 thread count Egyptian sheets which were wonderful. As far as the duvets, I don’t know as we weren’t in a suite.



We could see onto the balconies below us but no one above us could see ours but I wouldn’t have been bothered because I don’t do anything on the balcony that I wouldn’t want anyone to see and I didn’t look onto the balconies below us other that to see if we could see, I couldn’t care less what other’s are doing on their balcony.



This was the rockiest cruise I have ever been on, the entire time. There were um…barf bags hanging by all the elevators and we encountered many people who were ill. I had told my daughter before the cruise that she wouldn’t even be able to tell we were on a ship, boy was I wrong and I was concerned because she doesn’t fly well, used to get car sick on long trips but she was find except for one day and I don’t think that was the motion. I had plenty of Bonine but didn’t need it at all. I love being rocked to sleep at night.



The food was good, I wouldn’t say great but we got our lobster.



I felt bad that my daughter never met anyone. There were many younger people on the cruise, more so than on the Ryndam but most were with boyfriends and there were 33 honeymoon couples. She ended up hanging out with us most of the time which seemed to be ok with her. They threw anyone 18 or under out of the club at midnight which I wasn’t thrilled with, the same thing happened with the other DD on her cruise but she was under 18 so we didn’t think that would be a problem with this DD since she was already 18 when we went. Had she been 19, it would have been ok. I think if she had been able to stay in there she may have been able to meet some people although she was carrying a card that indicated she was 41! I really hope she had a good time, she says she did and seemed to be and I know Carnival would have been a better choice for her but the money for this one was right. My mistake. :eek:



The service I thought was much much worse than on the Ryndam just 1.5 years ago. Our waiter was good but not exceptional. The bar staff was indifferent. We never really encountered anyone exceptional except for one bartender who was on the Ryndam and remembered us; he made an origami bird for DD. They didn’t seem to make a point to remember anyone’s names, preferences or anything. Our steward was good, not great. We tipped him an extra few bucks each day because we were slobs.



DD ordered room service I think 2-3 times a day, that was her favorite part and she said she always got it quickly. The only room service we did was coffee and juice in the morning and occasionally real breakfast food. It was always delivered right on time.



Kids…I have no idea how many there were but there was one boy about 11 or 12 in the aft pool almost every day. His mother sat out there facing out to sea and not even watching him :mad: . He was yelling, splashing and just over all annoying and she didn’t really care. I shot him a couple of looks but that didn’t faze him at all. As cold as the water was, many just sat on the edge of the pool with their feet in the water so didn’t really want to be splashed. I think one of the bar staff could have said something to him but I don’t fault them, I fault the mother. Having a son myself all I could think of is what I would have done if he were annoying people like that.



Pool games…one afternoon when we were laying out by the aft pool they had silly pool games which I thought odd for HAL. I don’t mind them except for the fact that one cannot be in the pool during the games and I think that my daughter would have loved to have been asked to participate but since there was drinking involved, wasn’t asked. She doesn’t even really look 18 let alone 21 so I can appreciate the fact that they didn’t ask but they could have easily done without the drinking part and she could have played, it is all about me and my family, right? ;)



We would cruise on HAL again, I still think the food and service is great but I really noticed a difference on this one. Part of that could be that were were so very impressed with the Ryndam having never been on HAL before that we expected to be overwhelmed again. I had talked my sister and her partner into the cruise, they had been on one before, which was my first on Carnival about 12 years ago and they prefer all inclusive resorts. They said they had a really good time and I believe they did but I also believe they wouldn’t tell me if they didn’t. You know how it is when you talk something up and it doesn’t really turn out to be all that you said it would be. Before this cruise I think we would have not considered anything but HAL but now I think if the money is right, we would consider another line. And please don’t flame me this because we did get a really good deal but I don’t think we would pay a premium for HAL because I didn’t find it better than the last cruise which was Carnival. Our history is Carnival Holiday early 90’s (me) then we both took a Commodore which we had a great time because it was DH’s first and we went with friends so it was all about the company. Then we did the NCL Sea again with friends and had a great time. Then we did a balcony on the Norway and that was our first balcony so well, you know what that means! Then we did the Owner’s Suite on the Norway twice and that was really nice, of course in the Owner’s suite they gave you 3 bottles of liquor and set ups and all kinds of special things but you can’t do an Owner’s suite or any suite on any ship now for the deal we got on that. Then we did the Ryndam and loved it then the Carnival Spirit which I found to be so much better than the Carnival one over 10 years ago.



I will take some blame though, HAL wasn’t the best choice for an 18 year old and I knew that going in but my sister and her partner are a lot of fun so DD enjoyed hanging out with us all.

[Debi_D]

Glides - so far so good. I know what you mean by the interlines it can become confusing but I have always been able to work it out at the Purser's Office... But then again I do not use the interline any more actually I have left the airlines about 2 weeks ago.

Great review.... We are going to be on St Maarten on our Princess cruise so thanks for the tip on the Island. We have been there before and enjoyed the shopping but maybe we will just stay on board this time.

I was wondering about any dancing at night, did you ever or your DD make it to the disco and was it okay. Also how is the Crows Nest?

Deb

[gliles]

Glides - so far so good. I know what you mean by the interlines it can become confusing but I have always been able to work it out at the Purser's Office... But then again I do not use the interline any more actually I have left the airlines about 2 weeks ago.

Looking forward to the rest of your review....

Deb
That was the whole review, what more do you want??? :D
Actually I should have titled the thread something different but I posted all 5 parts.

That's interesting what you said about the pursers office, I should have checked that. Oh well.

[Debi_D]

Glides - my computer is acting up and I have edited my post after I finished reading the rest. Sorry about that;)

[gliles]

Glides - my computer is acting up and I have edited my post after I finished reading the rest. Sorry about that;)
No problem. Hey my Mom went on the Caribbean Princess 10/3 and we saw it in FLL, it left on Saturday afternoon, we left 24 hours later but caught up to it in St Maarten! or was it Nassau? I can't remember now. It is huge and cool looking, the Oosterdam seemed dwarfed by it!

[CruisinNana]

Wow! Great review!!!! I can't wait to get on that dam ship this Sunday.

I really appreciated all the details you put in your report. I have rented the orange cabana for Nov 13 and since you didn't see it, I emailed my TA to see what she could find out or if she could get us another one. I will love HMC no matter what!!!!!

Glad to hear the new bedding is in place. It is truly wonderful.

Thanks again for such a detailed report. I'll try to do the same when I return.
Dee

[dakrewser]

A good review, Gretchen. Nothing to flame you about that I can see. Sometimes our expectations build up so that the reality can never come close, but what you report seems to follow the general pattern of lesser levels of service, lower quality of food, from years past.

I recognize that maitre d'. He was in every restaurant on the Renaissance ships we sailed. Very officious and stiff, you get the impression he'd really prefer that no one came into the restaurant and missed up the tables! :)

THe unknowing bar staff, though, is something HAL needs to fix and quickly. Hope you filled out your comment cards!

-dave

[RuthC]

Thank you for posting such a thorough report. And so quickly, too! I enjoyed reading every word of it.

Glad you're back?

[gliles]

A good review, Gretchen. Nothing to flame you about that I can see. Sometimes our expectations build up so that the reality can never come close, but what you report seems to follow the general pattern of lesser levels of service, lower quality of food, from years past.

I recognize that maitre d'. He was in every restaurant on the Renaissance ships we sailed. Very officious and stiff, you get the impression he'd really prefer that no one came into the restaurant and missed up the tables! :)

THe unknowing bar staff, though, is something HAL needs to fix and quickly. Hope you filled out your comment cards!

-dave
We did all fill them out. The not knowing our names didn't really hit me until we saw Neil from 1.5 years ago on the Ryndam and he said "Sir Carl, Gretchen so nice to see you" that's when we realized that the others didn't bother to know us so I guess you could say it is Neil's fault ;) They did seem overworked, in fact when we met Neil on the Ryndam, he had a counter part Raffy and they were great together, they were a real pair. Well Neil was by himself at the same sized bar in the atrium on the Oosterdam. Raffy is still on the Ryndam according to Neil and we loved him just as much. I blame HAL and not the individuals, they are doing the best they can I believe considering they seem to be working twice as hard and I guess at that, I blame the economy considering what I paid for the cruise so maybe it isn't even HAL's fault..people want more for less.

[gliles]

Thank you for posting such a thorough report. And so quickly, too! I enjoyed reading every word of it.

Glad you're back?
Actually Ruth, I hate to say this but yes, 7 days was enough. There were some other issues that contributed to that but this is the first time I have been ready for the end of the cruise. My DD was ready too but I think that is because she couldn't wait to see her friends and give them the crap she bought for them :cool: . Also they seemed to be "over us" early on. For instance they gave us the disembarkation form on day 2, I wasn't ready to think about that then!

[dakrewser]

I blame HAL and not the individuals, they are doing the best they can I believe considering they seem to be working twice as hard and I guess at that, I blame the economy considering what I paid for the cruise so maybe it isn't even HAL's fault..people want more for less.
You've hit the nail on the head there. Our next cruise (in Jan. on the Oosterdam), I'm paying the same amount for an S cabin as I did for an outside 6 years ago.

-dave

[gliles]

You've hit the nail on the head there. Our next cruise (in Jan. on the Oosterdam), I'm paying the same amount for an S cabin as I did for an outside 6 years ago.

-dave
I wouldn't swear to it but I think I paid the same for a balcony on HAL than I paid for an outside on CCL over 10 years ago.

[gliles]

By the way Dave, the laundry is all done and put away no thanks to you or the DH! Now it's time to have a nice dinner finishing up the steaks on the grill, corn on the cob, okra and tomatoes and settle into the soup and stew for the winter :eek:

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you so much, Gretchen, for taking the time to write this wonderful review. It took me 2 hours to read it because I was constantly interrupted with dog walking, phone ringing, etc.

I'm sad that the cruise didn't live up to your hopes and I'm anxious to see how we feel about it next week. I'm disappointed about the decline in service, but not being a person who needs a great deal of service, I'll live with it.

Did you see the turquoise cabana? We have that rented and really need it if we want to spend the day and stay out of the sun. I'm worried about St. Maarten because we rented a car there and from what you say the roads will be a challenge:eek: .

I just hope our friends aren't disappointed. Like you, I talked them into it sooooo..... Thrilled about the sheets and new mattresses! Maybe they did that the week that she was "parked" in FLL.

[gliles]

Thank you so much, Gretchen, for taking the time to write this wonderful review. It took me 2 hours to read it because I was constantly interrupted with dog walking, phone ringing, etc.

I'm sad that the cruise didn't live up to your hopes and I'm anxious to see how we feel about it next week. I'm disappointed about the decline in service, but not being a person who needs a great deal of service, I'll live with it.

Me too, it didn't really bother me that much but thought it was worth mentioning. We had a good time and I am sure you will too, looking forward to your thoughts.

Did you see the turquoise cabana? We have that rented and really need it if we want to spend the day and stay out of the sun. I'm worried about St. Maarten because we rented a car there and from what you say the roads will be a challenge:eek: .
Yes we saw the turquoise cabana and were sad because we tried too late to reserve it.
I don't know about renting a car in SXM, it was pretty bad but maybe that was just in the main shopping area where we were but if you do, please be careful.

I just hope our friends aren't disappointed. Like you, I talked them into it sooooo..... Thrilled about the sheets and new mattresses! Maybe they did that the week that she was "parked" in FLL.That's what I thought. I slept so well, the sheets were like sleeping on butter! Big puffy pillows and sheets so soft. It is added stress when you talk someone into something, if you are like me then you feel responsible for every little thing that happens on the ship.

I am also a chronic worrier. I was worried that the BC and drivers license wouldn't be good enough for DD then I was worried that she would need a passport to get to Virgin Gorda, I was worried that we wouldn't make the flights, I was worried that my bag would be overweight, I was worried that DD would lose her drivers license the day before we left (she can be a little dingy), I was worried that the Priceline booking would be screwed up, let's see, what else? I was worried about everything!

[HeatherInFlorida]

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I am also a chronic worrier. I was worried that the BC and drivers license wouldn't be good enough for DD then I was worried that she would need a passport to get to Virgin Gorda, I was worried that we wouldn't make the flights, I was worried that my bag would be overweight, I was worried that DD would lose her drivers license the day before we left (she can be a little dingy), I was worried that the Priceline booking would be screwed up, let's see, what else? I was worried about everything!

:D ROTFL!!! I, too, feel responsible for the earth's spinning and maybe even for it making it around the sun each day;) ! The BC and license were good enough? You may recall my friend's SO only has that.

We already rented the car so it's a done deal. Should be okay. We'll head straight out of town. It's a Jeep Wrangler so it should be okay ... an adventure you might say!!!:D

So happy about those pillows!! I was going to bring an extra down pillow (I always do) ... will I not need it?

[OCruisers]

gliles .... Excellent Review! You told us what you liked/didn't like and WHY. What more could we ask!

This has always bothered us too: Also they seemed to be "over us" early on. For instance they gave us the disembarkation form on day 2, I wasn't ready to think about that then!

Even on a 14-Day, at the beginning of the second week they are giving us disembarkation forms. :( Wonder why they do this? :confused:

Thanks again so much for your review!

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[gliles]

:D ROTFL!!! I, too, feel responsible for the earth's spinning and maybe even for it making it around the sun each day;) ! The BC and license were good enough? You may recall my friend's SO only has that.
Yes. I did notice that almost everyone had a passport so of course as I was obsessing on everyone in the line trying to see what was in their hands I noticed very few people without passports but we were fine, I remembered years ago going on a trip with friends to SXM and taking a catamaran over to Yost Van Dyke (wonderful!) and needing a passport but then again I was with friends from work who all work for AA so we all had them but hey, it was something else to worry about and I am all about that! They did tell us that we needed the ship's card and picture ID in Tortola but no one ever asked for anything but the ship's card and that was when we got back on the ship.



We already rented the car so it's a done deal. Should be okay. We'll head straight out of town. It's a Jeep Wrangler so it should be okay ... an adventure you might say!!!:D
That does sound fun, I wish we had done that because we were sweating all over town and of course I was worrying about something I'm sure :D I really thought that what was torn up was intentional routine maintenance so once you get off the beaten path, you should be fine but feel free to worry about it as I would :rolleyes: .


So happy about those pillows!! I was going to bring an extra down pillow (I always do) ... will I not need it? I don't even know if the pillows were down but they were big and fluffy, that's for sure. I have never slept so well on a ship, hotel bed, anywhere...probably even better than home. We always request extra pillows anywhere we go because DH and I really like our heads elevated. In fact at the Marriott before the cruise, we asked for an extra but we were fine with 2 each on the ship.

I really hope you have a great time and I hope Turquoise is ready for you. We had 2 clamshells and enjoyed ourselves immensely. HMC is such a beautiful island.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Gretchen, you really gotta book something. That "Nothing Booked" after your name looks sad. My problem is my next booked cruise is on Celebrity and I really like the HAL boards. What am I to do????:confused:

[gliles]

Gretchen, you really gotta book something. That "Nothing Booked" after your name looks sad. My problem is my next booked cruise is on Celebrity and I really like the HAL boards. What am I to do????:confused:
I can't feel too bad for you Heather since we have nothing booked! But I want to plan one for Feburary since that is DH's BD. I'd love to do a Panama canal but we aren't made of money :(

[HeatherInFlorida]

I can't feel too bad for you Heather since we have nothing booked! But I want to plan one for Feburary since that is DH's BD. I'd love to do a Panama canal but we aren't made of money :(
The one we're doing in October 2005 is LA thru the Panama Canal and ending in Ft. Lauderdale (14 days). That's our 20th anniversary cruise. But if you'd like to do the Canal, you can always do the one that goes into Gatun Lake and comes back. That's a wonderful cruise. We loved it.

[Sierrachik]

No problem. Hey my Mom went on the Caribbean Princess 10/3 and we saw it in FLL, it left on Saturday afternoon, we left 24 hours later but caught up to it in St Maarten! or was it Nassau? I can't remember now. It is huge and cool looking, the Oosterdam seemed dwarfed by it!
We sailed on the Zuiderdam and were docked next to the Caribbean Princess in Nassau, I defintely agree about it looking like it dwarfs the Vista class ships. It holds about 1500 more passengers and crew than the Vista ships. On this page http://rosemontfloral.com/cruisepics.htm you will find a pic of the Caribbean Princess next to the Zuiderdam, it's amazing how large it is in comparison!

[Bilyeu5]

Thanks for your insights. We're booked on the Oosterdam in May. I'll hope that comment cards like yours help iron out some of the wrinkles before then. Where is the "nice little bar" you discovered late in your cruise?

[ellieanne]

gliles

do you know who is captain of the Oosterdam?

I'm boarding her on 11/07 and was just wondering if anyone had that info.

thanks.

[Debi_D]

gliles - OH NO you said the Orange Cabana is not there:eek: :eek: We have reserved the Orange Cabana for this trip.....Oh well what is a person to do without a Cabana Boy:p

Deb

[x lindsay x]

I felt bad that my daughter never met anyone.

I just got back from the Zuiderdam and I am 22. Luckily my brother (25) was there with me because we spent a ton of time together since there weren't a ton of people our age around, and if there were they were all couples. But since age isn't a big deal for us we made friends with anyone who was interesting even if they were closer to our parents age than to ours.




Pool games…one afternoon when we were laying out by the aft pool they had silly pool games which I thought odd for HAL. I don’t mind them except for the fact that one cannot be in the pool during the games and I think that my daughter would have loved to have been asked to participate but since there was drinking involved, wasn’t asked. She doesn’t even really look 18 let alone 21 so I can appreciate the fact that they didn’t ask but they could have easily done without the drinking part and she could have played, it is all about me and my family, right? ;)
Drinking was involved IN the pool game? That's very weird. I participated in the "pool olympics" last week on the Z and they offered everyone who participated a free rum punch at the end just for playing. I gave mine to my brother since I haven't had a drink in over 5 years.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Sierrachik, many thanks for that link! Great pix ... wish I had your cabin, but not so fortunate. Personally the Caribbean Princess is waaaaaay too big for me. 2000 is my peak:eek:

Ellieanne, we'll see you on the 7th! Have you checked into the Roll Call? We're getting together at the Sports Bar at 4:00 on Monday so we hope to see you there:)

[gliles]

gliles

do you know who is captain of the Oosterdam?

I'm boarding her on 11/07 and was just wondering if anyone had that info.

thanks.
Capt John Mercer. Seemed like a nice enough guy!

[gliles]

gliles - OH NO you said the Orange Cabana is not there:eek: :eek: We have reserved the Orange Cabana for this trip.....Oh well what is a person to do without a Cabana Boy:p

Deb
I wouldn't swear to it but I don't remember seeing it. I hope it is there.

[gliles]

Drinking was involved IN the pool game? That's very weird. I participated in the "pool olympics" last week on the Z and they offered everyone who participated a free rum punch at the end just for playing. I gave mine to my brother since I haven't had a drink in over 5 years. Right but they still wouldn't allow her since she isn't of drinking age so I don't know why it mattered.

[ellieanne]

Capt John Mercer. Seemed like a nice enough guy!

Thank you. :D

I had heard that the Oosterdam was Captain Mercer's ship. And my mother scheduled this cruise especially to sail with Captain Mercer. All her Holland America cruises have been with him and she will be very happy to hear this.

Again, thanks a bunch.

[KCat]

Hi Gliles (thanks for the review),

Where was the cool bar that you found on the 2nd to last night?

Also, I know this ? has probably been asked to death but I'm new to cruisecritic...did you have any problems getting your wine on board, did they check every bottle closely?

44 days 'til I cruise on the O :D
KCat

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hi Gliles (thanks for the review),

Where was the cool bar that you found on the 2nd to last night?

Also, I know this ? has probably been asked to death but I'm new to cruisecritic...did you have any problems getting your wine on board, did they check every bottle closely?

44 days 'til I cruise on the O :D
KCatKCat, know your question wasn't to me, but there's no problem bringing wine onboard. It's the hard stuff they ask you not to bring.

[KCat]

Thanks Heather for the reply. That is such a nice change from NCL to be able to bring at least wine on board.

[gliles]

Hi Gliles (thanks for the review),

Where was the cool bar that you found on the 2nd to last night?

Also, I know this ? has probably been asked to death but I'm new to cruisecritic...did you have any problems getting your wine on board, did they check every bottle closely?

44 days 'til I cruise on the O :D
KCat
Sorry, I missed you post somehow. The bar was the the Explorers I think, I really can't remember.

They don't care at all what wine you bring, you can bring all the wine you want, just no beer or liquor.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hey Gretchen!!! Have you been recuperating???;) I wanted to let you know I went to a luncheon today and was talking about you. There were 2 women next to me talking about their marriages and how they'd finally gotten it right. So I told them your quote about the pancakes and they cracked up. But one of them said, "Well, I threw the first 2 out!!!". LOL.:D

[TT]

I can't feel too bad for you Heather since we have nothing booked! But I want to plan one for Feburary since that is DH's BD. I'd love to do a Panama canal but we aren't made of money :(
You are to rich!! Your a great person with good friends and a family that loves you. Heck what else do you want. Glad to see your back but please email me so we can chat(I need your phone number again). We have the b2b in Dec. and wonder now if I should have done that. Oh well. Great review ! But, I need to check the other posting you did to see if you answered me about our room.

Heatherinflorida......I booked Celebrity also and in Oct. 2005 but in Rome. Heck I thought we might have booked on the same cruise.

Gretchen, email when you can.

TT

[HeatherInFlorida]

..........
Heatherinflorida......I booked Celebrity also and in Oct. 2005 but in Rome. Heck I thought we might have booked on the same cruise.

Gretchen, email when you can.

TT
Oh well, TT, I guess it's "hands across the sea"!!!:D

[gliles]

Gliles,

We are doing the exact same thing as you. I'll be 2 weeks from 21 when we go on the Oosterdam in December. My father is recorded as being in my room, but he won't really be. You said that they kicked anyone under 18 out of the bar. I had been told that they kick anyone under 21 out. So should I be able to stay, not that it seems like it will matter?

Please let me know a bit more about ur daughters experience. Thanks.

Karina
They kicked out 18 and younger and she is 18 so it sounds like 19 and up is fine. The room key thing was a pain because I didn't have a key to let me in the room since I didn't want to follow her around the whole time and I couldn't get a drink with my key but was usually with my husband so if I was nice, he would get me one and let me in the room :D

My Daughter had a really good time, she hung out with us most of the time and I wish she had been able to meet some people her age but it seemed like all the young adults were in groups or on honeymoons. Oh well, she says she enjoyed it and listening to her talk to friends about it, I guess she did.