ldlewis45

It's for the Summit's Caribbean and Bermuda cruise next April. I've priced them all out, and there's less than $350 difference between getting a regular balcony cabin and getting either an Aqua Class or Concierge Class cabin. The Aqua Class cabin is tempting because of the spa benefits, and the Concierge Class is tempting because of the perks that come with it. I just can't decide between the three different classes, lol.

All the aft-wrap Neptunes are great. The only real differences other than deck level are in 5191 &5190. On the Vista Class ships like the OO'dam, they have verandas with probably 3 times the area under roof. We've been in them several cruises in a row, on deck 5 and 7.

Just got off the Oosterdam last week and was in 5190. Absolutely massive balcony, and it looked much larger than most of the other aft-wraps, from what we could see from the dock. Wonderful cabin!

I just got off the Oosterdam on Sunday (my first HAL cruise) and was very impressed, overall. The ship is a tad small for my taste, but it was very clean and organized. I was particularly impressed with the food and service. The pizza was mediocre, but everything else was surprisingly good for cruise food, even the buffet fare. The Rudi's pop-up restaurant was fantastic, and that's saying something coming from me, since I don't care for fish. I would have been there every night if they had it available, even with the up-charge.

 

We were in a Neptune aft-wrap, and the room was very nice. The bathroom was a tad dated, with a bisque-toned bathtub and shower, but the balcony more than made up for it, even though we could only use it comfortably when the ship was in port (it was Alaska, after all, so it was a bit cold). We had to rebook the cruise from another date and ship just a few months ago, so we got really lucky with the deck 5 aft-wrap balcony. From dock, it appears to be the biggest balcony on the ship. It's completely covered, too, which I prefer, as I like to sit out on deck but still be protected from the sun.

 

I bought a spa pass (a must-have for me, if a ship has a mineral pool and heated loungers), and was pretty impressed with it. The pool was a bit hot for me to use for an extended period, but I loved the tile loungers. The only thing I wish was that there were more of them, and that there was a bit more privacy available in the changing room. For me, it does nothing to have divided-off changing cubicles if the doors are transparent!

Obviously the Elite package gives you more choices especially in the Wine area as you mention and some choices in the high end liquors but if your focus is on Cocktails and well drinks are not an issue for you then in my opinion the Signature Package is best for you. Drinks $9 and less for a max of 15 per day is a lot to drink, cost break even is around 5-7 drinks, enjoy!

 

By the way love the "lewis" name [emoji12]

 

 

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Thanks! Now to decide if I'm likely to hit the break-even point, lol.

I'm debating puchasing a be package for my cruise that starts tomorrow. I know the elite is better for wine drinkers, but I don't know if it's worth the extra cost for me, since I'm primarily a cocktail drinker and am generally okay with well drinks. Is there really that much of a difference in the drinks that each package covers?

Well, I guess I'll go ahead and order a few cheap ones off of Amazon for the family. They really are useful, but I don't want to pay the prices that they've got onboard.

I suspect if they did hand them out, there could be tremendous waste with many guests discarding them or leaving them behind when they l go home. . While, or course, I see some people wearing lanyards, I see far few er not wearing them. I don't think price is the 'deciding factor'.... JMO.

They do not hand them out but have lanyards for sale in on board shop for moderate (IMO) price. I agree about the dollar store having great pricds on them.

When Carnival does it, you generally have to ask for them or wait for one of the casino staff to offer one while you're in the casino. They're super cheap plastic things, but pretty handy to have. They've got a key ring on one end for the card (you can get your card hole-punched when you get the lanyard) and a clip on the other end, connected by an expandable phone-cord-style cord. You can either clip it to your clothing or clip it to itself and turn it into a necklace or bracelet. They come in useful when you aren't wearing clothes with pockets or if you don't want to risk forgetting your card in one of the casino machines.

Does Holland America have free lanyards for the room keys available? I've gotten them on Carnival before (in the casino), and found they were useful, so I was hoping that Holland America would also do the same thing. If they don't, I'll probably order the style I like (stretchy and with a ring or clip instead of a sleeve) on Amazon, but I figured I'd check before spending the money!

On HAL you have to pay for the thermo pool no matter what cabin category you are in.

Nothing is free on HAL in that area.

I understand that, as nothing is free on any ship that I know of, when it comes to spa access, lol. I just wasn't sure whether there is an actual spa pass available for purchase, or what amenities would be included, if there is one available. The HAL cruise planner site (we've already purchased the cruise) doesn't mention a pass, so I was wondering if there's one available for purchase once onboard.

Is there a spa access pass available on the Oosterdam? I've bought spa passes on ships from other lines (NCL Breakaway and Epic, Carnival Dream) that include access to their thermal suite and thalassotherapy pool, and I'm hoping that something similar is available on the Oosterdam.

Not for us. We did it on the NA in April, and did not enjoy it at all, though the menu had tempted us. Bring back Le Cirque, which it replaced.

What did you dislike about it?

We did not do the Sel de Mer but others we met on our Oosterdam cruise raved about it and recommended it highly.

Awesome, my dad should love it, then!

I'm thinking about booking a dinner at Sel de Mer for our Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam in August. Is it worth the extra charge? I'm not a huge seafood fan, but my dad is, so I'm considering booking it as a treat for him. I'd probably wind up with the rack of lamb or the cheese souffle, lol.

Do you remember which day of the cruise the tour was on?

I've done the behind-the-scenes tour on a Carnival ship before, but I've never sailed on a HAL ship before. Since it's my dad's first cruise ever, I think he would be interested in a behind-the-scenes tour on the Oosterdam in August. Does HAL do these tours? If they do, what is the usual per-person cost?

Thanks for posting! We're doing this cruise in late August, and we can't wait!

Thanks, all! Some great information! Now to decide whether to use an independent operator or to book through the ship.

We'll be on the August 27th RT Alaska cruise on the HAL Oosterdam, visiting Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, and Victoria. Which port would be best for whale watching? I've found some excursions in each port that sound interesting, but I'd like to get the best bang for our buck, and maybe do something different in the other ports.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! We're really looking forward to the cruise!

In part, this might depend on the age of your parents. My experience has been that the small boats often have only a "marine head" as a bathroom facility, whereas the larger Allen Marine boats that do the ship's whale watches have a real bathroom, that is easily accessible. I like the small-boat experience, but my flexibility is declining, so likely I will have to choose larger boats soon....

 

You could email the private vendors that are of interest, to find out what the bathroom facilities are, if it is a concern.

I didn't even think of that! Thanks! My folks are both in their mid 70s, so that might make a difference.

The one and only "embarrassing" moment I saw a Neptune Suite passengers commit was showing up in the Neptune Lounge for breakfast in his bathrobe, night clothes and slippers. He was from an un-named country where this may very well be standard hotel behavior, I don't know.

 

But other than that I can't think of anything else - just people enjoying themselves and the perks that come with the level of cabin you chose. The hospitality industry is interested primarily in making people happy and willing to come back to enjoy their services again and again. You are the one in charge, you are the customer.

 

The social expectations are primarily Northern American and Northern European for the baseline. However, HAL ships go out of their way to welcome passengers from around the world. And no one made a scene about the guy in his pajamas in the Neptune Lounge. But we never saw him again dressed like that ..... out in public. Perhaps a discrete request was made by the Neptune concierge or he looked around and realized he was the odd man out. It was a travel lesson for all of us, which is what makes travel broadening.

 

One other thing that could cause embarrassment is knowing your priority tender embarkation that comes with the suite does not provide priority re-embarkation when it comes time to take the tender back to the ship in those tender ports. You just get in line just like anyone else. Don't get to flash that gold Neptune boarding card to go to the head of the line, which can be hot and long.

What perks were your favorite?

We want to do whale watching while in Juneau, but I'm not sure whether to book our excursion through the ship or book separately through a service in the port. It's a significant price difference. Then again, by booking through the ship, there's a lot more peace of mind.

My parents and I will be sharing a corner wrap Neptune Suite on the Oosterdam for our cruise in August. It's our first suite and our first cruise on HAL (and my dad's first cruise, period). Tell me everything that we should know to get the best out of the experience, or to avoid embarrassing ourselves, lol!

Well, we went ahead and switched! We did lose a few perks, but we gained some, too. We had originally booked when they were offering "free" included drink packages, paid gratuities, dinner in one of the specialty restaurants, etc. We lost the drink packages (not an issue, since none of us are big drinkers) and the dinner, but we still got paid gratuities, $300 onboard credit and $100 internet credit. So, we're happy, especially since we will be saving $700 on the cruise itself. That will almost pay for my parents' flight to Seattle in itself. None of us have ever been to Alaska before, so I think we'll be happy with the Hubbard Glacier instead of Glacier Bay. Neither one was my preferred route, but the dates fit with what everyone could do. I figure, I can always go back later and do the north-bound Vancouver to Anchorage route. I'm probably spoiling myself with getting a suite, though!

The Oosterdam leaves Seattle a day later, but is basically the same cruise. We'd even be able to keep a Neptune suite. We'd save about $700, plus I'd have to use one less vacation day. Is there any big reason I shouldn't move the dates? I booked the original cruise in September of last year, so I don't know if I'd be losing any extra benefits.