ms Oosterdam July 12 - 19 - Just Back

Here is my quick take on our July 12 - July 19 cruise with the family (Wife and I are in our mid 40’s, Daughter, 8 and Son, 14) on the ms Oosterdam. This was our 6th cruise and first to Alaska. The itinerary was Seattle, day at sea, Juneau, Hubbard Glacier Cruising, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria Canada, and back to Seattle.

Best parts

Holland America is an excellent cruise line. I would give HAL a solid A. We will definitely sail with HAL again. We all enjoyed the cruise. Embarkation/Disembarkation was the best we have ever had – no contest here. HAL has this well thought out.

Ms Oosterdam overall is a very subdued, quiet, elegant ship. Clean; logical; big but not too big. We did not miss the bright lights and glitzy feel. The number of cruises are showing some wear. This is to be expected and she is still an awesome ship.

The crew overall were always saying “Hi” and willing to serve. Crew was great with the kids.

The itinerary. You really get more seas days than you think on this route. Loved Sitka (non-touristy), Ketchikan (fun but far too short of a stay), Hubbard Glacier (simply awesome), Mendenhall Glacier (amazing), Victoria was very nice (need more time in this port too).

Alaska – saw a few Whales, Bald Eagles, a Seal, Salmon jumping in Juneau, Dolphins, the incredible scenery, and overwhelming mountains.

The weather – pretty good the entire trip. We had a priceless sunny day at Hubbard Glacier. We did have some rough seas on day 1 at sea.

The Dining room food/staff – so much of it!! All of very good quality and with great service.

Buying the Wine Card – Best deal on the ship.

Morning room service with coffee

Club HAL – Daughter loved it daily. Lots to do and we had to drag her away at times.

Favorite Deck – Deck 3. Nice place to be for Glacier viewing, or a walk, pea soup, and smaller crowds on viewing days.

Our Cabin – Cat DD – is in a good location for both the ride and access to key areas.

Sanitation – the constant awareness for clean hands.

Taking your own wine onboard and to dinner!!!

Other thoughts

The Loft – HAL really needs to make this a brighter and more inviting “teen” room on this ship. We called it the mushroom hole. Still, my Son did have fun with the activities.

Cabin Steward – he tried – but he was in training or on his way out and not always cleaning what needed to be cleaned.

Balcony vs. Outside Cabin - We had a balcony before and loved it. This cruise we had an outside cabin. Did we miss the balcony? Not really. On key viewing times, you spend more time on deck.

Open Seating vs. Fixed Seating – we had open seating and it worked out fine. Would maybe do fixed seating next time to get that “get to know your table partners” feeling.

Mini –Bar – requested 3 times to clear out – never happened.

The Lido food – food was OK but it just didn’t do much for me. Kids liked it but we all still preferred the dining room.

Juneau – I was amazed at how much “the shopping” was promoted for Juneau as if you will get a great deal. Juneau has a lot to offer once you get yourself out of the diamond & watch traffic. Feels like a Caribbean port close to the ship. Guess it pays the bills. This was not the case in Sitka (had an Alaska feel) and only to some degree in Ketchikan.

Kids and HAL – There were a few “calculated and meant to be heard” conversations at times by a few who felt that it was inappropriate to bring children on the cruise. Nonetheless, this didn’t detour to my overall enjoyment or impression of the cruise. Each to his own, I guess. All the kids (200) onboard seemed well mannered and having loads of fun. The staff was great with all the kids and HAL was doing everything to promote a kid welcome environment. Good for HAL!

The worst part..

Last Day – It was hard packing on the last day and to get off the ms. Oosterdam.

We would love to sail with HAL and on the ms. Oosterdam again. We are already planning our next trip!!

What a great well balanced reivew.

I think you nailed Juneau town in terms of it being like a Carribben port. Oh how I hope you did not spend your entire day in this wasteland.

So what's next? Mexico?

Thank you for your review of your cruise on the Oosterdam. It would be appreciated if you could answer a couple of questions as I have not sailed with HAL.

Firstly, what percentage of passengers chose the open seating dining and what did they think of it? Secondly, am I correct in assuming that you are able to take wine on board to consume in your cabin?

Your cruise sounded like a great experience and I think we may try HAL.

Welcome home.

Glad you had a wonderful cruise!

Hi,

hammybee - we spent little time in Juneau near the port and got out to the Glacier. Based on fuel costs, airfare prices, and the fact we live in Washington, I think we will go for another Alaska trip next year. So much more we want to see.

sunnies - You can take all the wine you want as well as soft drinks on board to consume in your cabin, on deck, or in the dinning room. There is a very reasonable $15 dollar corkage fee in the dining room. In terms of open seating vs. fixed, I would say there was 60/40 split. Open seating is much more flexible depending on your schedule. I didn't ask any others on their view of open seating.

Thanks

The part about the kids and cruising is disturbing. We will be leaving for the Ooosterdam in a couple of weeks with our kids. This will be their third cruise, first on HAL for all of us. Nice review and can't wait to go.

Thanks for the review.

We will be sailing on the Big "O" in November.

Perhaps a Central Washington Cruise get together might be in order?

Jim

The part about the kids and cruising is disturbing. We will be leaving for the Ooosterdam in a couple of weeks with our kids. This will be their third cruise, first on HAL for all of us. Nice review and can't wait to go.

You should be just fine, we were on the Oosterdam last August and had quite a few kids on board and we never once saw an unruly child anywhere on the ship, i was extremly pleased with the behavior of the kids. Have a Great Cruise, your going to love it and the Oosterdam:) John

sshipo - not to worry, you will have a blast and a fantastic cruise with the kids. She is a great ship and the kids will want to go back the next day!

jimgev - do you need any luggage help or a tour guide in November? Glad to hear from another in Central Washington!!!

:)

Great concise review, and how I envy you being close enough to go again next year. I hope DH will want to go back again but, our airfare was 945.00 plus having to leave the car at the airport for 9 days, so almost 1000.00 but, I am sure every penny will be worth it. Like you, we are wanting to see Alaska's beauty, and shopping isn't on our agenda at all, Mendenhall here we come.

How was the weather while you were there? Weather.com has been showing rain everyday for the last month. Thanks. :confused:

Weather was actually not too bad. Before we left, they showed rain each day with a 70% chance. Not a drop of rain fell. Most days were cloudy with a temp in the upper 50's. A few days we had sun and mid 60's. Dressing in layers is the key.

Thank you. It makes me feel better. No guarantee, but at least it hopefully won't be as bad as it has appeared. Thanks again.

Hey 22vines.........I was on the same cruise....great review!!! I enjoyed what you wrote and I was there!!!!

Was it not the most perfect week to be on a boat in Alaska???? No one believes me back here in Florida that it didn't rain once. How amazing is THAT?

Hmmm.....wonder if we ran into each other on the boat and don't know it.......

Amy

Hi Amy - great to hear you were on same cruise!!! I am sure we crossed paths during the cruise. It was a great week without a doubt.

Thank you so much for this post. I am going on this exact cruise in September. I loved the report.