Have we wasted our hard earned Aussie $s on HAL?

[Leppo1961]

Did one HAL. Not my cup of tea. But if you are over 70, conservative, non foodie it may work for you.

Really??? -we are 50, definitely not conservative and enjoy food from all over the world especially SE Asian street foods. sounds like this will be a disaster based on your review so I look forward to posting a review based on our experiences to see how accurate your precis is. thanks for your opinion.

[sun~]

I have been on several HAL cruises. Two snooze cruises and four fully chartered blues cruises.

 

Unfortunately, I agree with the negative reviews. The food hasn't been good in the MDR and cafeteria. We enjoy the speciality restaurants (pinnacle and tamarind), but I understand tamarind is only on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

The entertainment on the snooze cruises was dismal. And yes, it was dead after 9:30pm. I understand HAL is trying to improve the entertainment.

 

The good news is that Alaska will be gorgeous. If you go with a great attitude and have fun, you will have a wonderful time. Hubby and I went on the Zaandam, it was a terrible ship, awful food, horrendous entertainment. We were decades younger than the average passenger. We had a great time as we were there, a week away without children.

 

You can definitely make your own fun ;)

[CowPrincess]

first time poster & cruiser and nervous now having read the latest lot of reviews for HAL Oosterdam in Alaska.

do only negative ninnies write on the forums as it seems the later in the season the only reviews are really negative :( about all aspects of life on the Oosterdam. this is our first ever 'dream cruise & we have paid good money from Australia for an SY cabin but it seems nearly every aspect of the HAL cruise comes under heavy criticism - average food, long lines for everything, poor em/disembarkation procedures, lazy staff & little to do after 930 at night (we are 50)

not much we can do of course as we are heading off next week - it would have been nice tho if someone wrote soemthing uplifting about life aboard the Oosterdam as we are really looking forward to it.

thanks

D&B - south australia

 

As many others in this thread have mentioned, the dissatisfied tend to write more reviews ;)

 

I've been on the Oosterdam, and enjoyed it. Our dinner companions on our Oosterdam cruise were from Australia. They definitely enjoyed themselves, as did we. You are going to ALASKA :D .... if you "do" Alaska right, you won't be looking for much late-night entertainment IMHO. Out early, busy all day, a good meal and a drink.... repeat repeat :)

 

I hope you have a wonderful time. Alaska is truly a special place.

[kazu]

I have been on several HAL cruises. Two snooze cruises and four fully chartered blues cruises.

 

Unfortunately, I agree with the negative reviews. The food hasn't been good in the MDR and cafeteria. We enjoy the speciality restaurants (pinnacle and tamarind), but I understand tamarind is only on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

The entertainment on the snooze cruises was dismal. And yes, it was dead after 9:30pm. I understand HAL is trying to improve the entertainment.

 

The good news is that Alaska will be gorgeous. If you go with a great attitude and have fun, you will have a wonderful time. Hubby and I went on the Zaandam, it was a terrible ship, awful food, horrendous entertainment. We were decades younger than the average passenger. We had a great time as we were there, a week away without children.

 

You can definitely make your own fun ;)

 

While you were snoozing the rest of us were having a good time

 

You really should try staying up at night and joining in the fun:p

 

Seriously for the OP, we enjoyed the oosterdam when we were on.

[cruiserking]

appreciate your reassuring words cruiserking

 

You're welcome Leppo1961. Some people seem to really enjoy complaining. They moan and groan about inconsequential things, pay no attention. You will love the Oosterdam and Holland America Line, beautiful, traditional ships.

 

Jonathan

[Tjcal]

My wife and I were on the Oosterdam

2 weeks ago. Vancouver to Seward Alaska. First time cruisers. I loved it. I thought the ship was great. Food was good to very good. We didn't eat in the specialty restaurants so I can't comment on that. Lots of things to do. Only line we experienced was US customs and immigration in Vancouver but even that was really minor. In general check- in was extremely well organized and easy for the number of people they are dealing with. Getting on and off the ship in Port was easy. We never had any lines. Shows at nite were quite good and varied from music/ dance type to comedy and a magician as well. Dancing with stars type show one nite as well. Lots of other activities as well. Microsoft gives free computer courses. Art courses. Game show types of activities. Activities sheet lists what is going on for the day. Cabin was good size. Excellent bed.Plenty of closet space. Nice balcony. Beautiful scenery everywhere. Lots of onboard shopping if you are so inclined but if not no hi pressure to buy. And we didn't have the best weather. 55-65 F

Clouds but not much rain. Didn't matter though. Have a great time. It's a nice ship with all kinds of amenities.

TJCal

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[dorisis]

IMO HAL and Princess do Alaska better than other lines. You are in good hands on the Oosterdam. Now relax and think positive. Alaska is bigger than any ship you will be on. And there is plenty to see and do.

 

HAL still does a more traditional cruise. No flow ridwers, rock climbing walls or ice show. just comfortable cabins with bathtubs and the food is very good. We have always enjoyed our HAL cruises.

[Dawn1004]

You'll love Alaska, and you'll be off the ship more than on the ship...if u really don't like the foods then eat something ashore... Some lovely pubs at the ports you'll visit.

 

We (on NCL) were so busy at the ports, that we were fairly knackered by the evening, still some entertainment, good times, but we found ourselves a lot more sleepier than usual (think it was the fun and lovely outdoors fresh air).

 

 

The only downside is you will probably be missing Alaska as soon as u hop on the plane home and you'll have to start to plan your next Alaskan cruise!

 

Nb we did Alaska in 2012 and we're returning next year - loved it so much..our once in a lifetime Alaska trip has now turned into our twice in a lifetime Alaska trip!

 

Please post a review and post some lovely Alaskan photos;)

[donaldsc]

I would agree that HAL is not as good as it used to be. But then, all the other cruise lines have the same problem. They either have to increase prices which they do not want to do or drop some amenities.

 

That said, we have done several cruises on HAL and have one scheduled in October so to us at least, they must be doing something right.

 

There are people who cruise looking for problems - they are called pessimists. There are people who cruise with the attitude that they are going to have fun - they are called optimists.

 

We have met lots of people from Australia in our travels. I don't think I have ever met one who is in the pessimist category.

 

DON

[Calgon1]

1) You will have the time of your life. Alaska is absolutely beautiful and the Oosterdam is a well run, ship with a very friendly crew. I believe you will find that, rafther than being treated as a passenger, you will find that you are treaded more like an honored guest in their home.

2) You have recieved some very good advice here. As said, take everything with a grain of salt. Nothing is perfect. Concentrate on the positives. Remember the glass is not half empty, it's actually full at all times (by what is in it and what is not).

3) On your return, PLEASE write an objective review and set the record straight.

[Leppo1961]

thanks again everyone - I know we will have a ball on our upcoming trip. ill keep an ear out for the naysayers and encourage people to post on this forum their trip reviews. Im sure Alaska will be a fantastic start to our rtw trip. after the luxury of cruising its on to NYC for 10 days then a week in mumbai followed by 2 weeks photography trip in Myanmar - then home to Oz in time for the start of warmer weather :)

looking forward to our maiden voyage.

thanks folks

[dadroy]

Allow me to toss in a few comments.

 

Think of yourself, if you get what you expect at a particular hotel (cruise) do you post about it online? Or would you only post if you were unhappy for whatever reason? My guess is only those that are not happy will post.

 

Been on HAL many times, a few with daughter who was 26 and another with son in law 30. At 9:30 the lounge (bar) they were in shut down, closing time. They could have just gone back to the room, but they checked out the rest of the lounges and found the ones that were open and jumping with activity. Son in law did not not get back to the room until 4:30 am. So not everything shuts down, you have to look for the gathering of the fun people. Me,,,,,I'm in bed by 10 pm.

 

I have never experienced "long line" and can only think they would be referring to the buffet or getting on or off the ship. If you go to the buffet for breakfast at 8am and the ship docks at 9am, there will be a liine. Go at 7 am and no line. Think of lunch time at a restaurant, you will wait. Go at 2pm and less of a line. NO cruise line can get people off at a port without some kind of a line when the ship first docks. Get off an hour after docking and no line. Same on getting back on. 30 minutes before all aboard time and you will have to stand in line.

 

Enjoy Alaska, great place to visit, but too cold to live there:D

[LadyDivot]

Leppo,

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic and enjoy your first cruise! We haven't done HAL but have been to Alaska twice. LOVED it. It's absolutely gorgeous. As for the nay-sayers, you find them everywhere and as others have said, the trip is what you make of it. One memory that sticks out is sitting at the airport and talking with someone who had just gotten off our ship. I swear we were not on the same ship. We had the time of our life and they couldn't think of *one* nice thing to say. It was weird and I felt bad for the lady.

 

Go. Enjoy! Write a great review. Please let us know how it goes.

 

Pam

[zephyrella14]

step 1......stop reading reviews.

Step 2.......enjoy your cruise.

Step 3......see step 2.

 

These are dave's tips for enjoying a cruise. (or any vacation for that matter.) :d

 

 

like :)

Edited September 5, 2014 by zephyrella14

[Lerin]

first time poster & cruiser and nervous now having read the latest lot of reviews for HAL Oosterdam in Alaska.

do only negative ninnies write on the forums as it seems the later in the season the only reviews are really negative :(

D&B - south australia

 

Often times, yes.

Just like services on land.

When you go to a restaurant and have a lovely time, how often do you write the manager to let them know?

But when you go to a restaurant and get food poisoning, you not only write the manger, but often the CEO, the newspaper, post on Facebook, a scathing Yelp review and mention it to every random person you run into at the grocery store...

 

I've written a few reviews of good cruises, however never wrote one of my favorite cruise ever.

 

You're going to have a lovely cruise, enjoy!

[Rogueperson]

That's been my experience with the Lars 7 or 8 cruises. I book and as the date gets closer, I see scathing reviews on how horrible the cruise was. Then I get scared that I made a huge mistake, I go on the cruise and had a great time. Repeat.

It's normal. You will have a great cruise.



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