Tampa Girl Posted August 29, 2017 #101 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Any updates on this? Are you referring to the condition of the ship? If so, there have been a number of reports on the O's post-renovation condition. We were on her in November, and I thought that she was in excellent condition. Obviously some disagreed, but many others shared my opinion. See #'s 89, 86, 80, 65, 60, 56, 47. Bottom line, if you are this concerned about the ship's condition, perhaps you would be wise to choose another ship or line. There will always be rust, and there will always be singular incidents where an area may not have been cleaned to one's satisfaction. HAL works very hard to maintain their ships in good repair and in a clean condition. Impossible to have 100% perfection, 100% of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted August 29, 2017 #102 Share Posted August 29, 2017 (edited) We will be boarding Oosterdam in a few weeks for 12 nights- will post observations from the ship. We are counting down the days and can't wait to be on board. From what we've heard from several CC friends that have sailed on her recently she is in great shape with a happy crew. I 100% agree with Tampa Girl- no ship can be 100% just as no hotel will be 100% perfect. I bet you could find some rust on Nieuw Statendam and she's not even finished yet :) Edited August 29, 2017 by frankc98376 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idiebabe Posted August 29, 2017 #103 Share Posted August 29, 2017 We will be boarding Oosterdam in a few weeks for 12 nights- will post observations from the ship.We are counting down the days and can't wait to be on board. From what we've heard from several CC friends that have sailed on her recently she is in great shape with a happy crew. I 100% agree with Tampa Girl- no ship can be 100% just as no hotel will be 100% perfect. I bet you could find some rust on Nieuw Statendam and she's not even finished yet :) We'll be boarding Oosterdam again end of October for the Full Transit. We sailed her last Sept/October from Venice to Rome. We also found her to be in great shape! The Crew and Staff were wonderful and we also thought the food was very good! We are really looking forward to cruising her again! :D Have a great Cruise and look forward to your observations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa Girl Posted August 29, 2017 #104 Share Posted August 29, 2017 We'll be boarding Oosterdam again end of October for the Full Transit. We sailed her last Sept/October from Venice to Rome. We also found her to be in great shape! The Crew and Staff were wonderful and we also thought the food was very good! !/quote] I forgot about the food - I thought that it was the best food that we have ever had on a HAL ship; and we are 4*'s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winters in NZ Posted August 30, 2017 #105 Share Posted August 30, 2017 When sales and profits fall it becomes a problem and only then will the problems be addressed. So true !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa Girl Posted August 30, 2017 #106 Share Posted August 30, 2017 So true !! Originally posted by Oviedo32765 When sales and profits fall it becomes a problem and only then will the problems be addressed. The original post may sound catchy, but it is not really fair or true. HAL sends all its ships to drydock every two years. Not even Cunard does that. And repairs and maintenance are ongoing daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie's mom Posted September 1, 2017 #107 Share Posted September 1, 2017 We'll be boarding Oosterdam again end of October for the Full Transit. We sailed her last Sept/October from Venice to Rome. We also found her to be in great shape! The Crew and Staff were wonderful and we also thought the food was very good! We are really looking forward to cruising her again! :D Have a great Cruise and look forward to your observations! We were on last September and she was great, food and service great too. Augie's mom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xofave Posted September 2, 2017 #108 Share Posted September 2, 2017 Thanks for the good reviews, we are excited to be boarding at the end of September in san Diego with two other couples. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corkpopr Posted September 3, 2017 #109 Share Posted September 3, 2017 :cool: we are on for 14 days in Oct. and I will defer to idiebabe that all will be well. that has been the case on all my HAL trips including 3 in the past three years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted September 3, 2017 #110 Share Posted September 3, 2017 Thanks for the good reviews, we are excited to be boarding at the end of September in san Diego with two other couples. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Forums mobile app See you in a few weeks on the "Big O"!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KroozNut Posted September 4, 2017 #111 Share Posted September 4, 2017 See you in a few weeks on the "Big O"!! Yes! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xofave Posted September 4, 2017 #112 Share Posted September 4, 2017 So excited Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A life on the ocean wave Posted September 4, 2017 #113 Share Posted September 4, 2017 What a rude comment. 'Maybe in Western Europe there is an other "unterstanding" about "cleaning" and "condition of a ship".' Western Europe is no cleaner or dirtier than the US, and don't forget HAL is an American company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaeger1121 Posted September 5, 2017 #114 Share Posted September 5, 2017 We just finished a cruise on the Oosterdam last Sunday and didn't find any of the issues the OP listed. She's had a bunch of people pass through and she shows signs of it here and there. The cleanliness, crew, food and overall service, however, were wonderful. On-board events were enjoyable with 2 minor issues. First, I'm not an Oprah fan and don't really care enough about her to attend her events. They were easy enough to get away from and alternatives were available. Second, they elected to hold an art auction in the Crow's Nest as opposed to the previous location. Half the area was blocked off by art work and the very polite and enthusiastic rep was just a little annoying to me personally. In fairness, I was up there to enjoy the view with minimal (manageable) background noise as opposed to receiving an art seminar so I may have been bothered more by that than was really warranted. We ended up leaving the area until the auction was done. After spending almost 8 years living in "Western Europe", I feel I can reasonably say the Oosterdam was certainly up to standard whether said standard is "WE" or "US". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idiebabe Posted September 5, 2017 #115 Share Posted September 5, 2017 We just finished a cruise on the Oosterdam last Sunday and didn't find any of the issues the OP listed. She's had a bunch of people pass through and she shows signs of it here and there. The cleanliness, crew, food and overall service, however, were wonderful. On-board events were enjoyable with 2 minor issues. First, I'm not an Oprah fan and don't really care enough about her to attend her events. They were easy enough to get away from and alternatives were available. Second, they elected to hold an art auction in the Crow's Nest as opposed to the previous location. Half the area was blocked off by art work and the very polite and enthusiastic rep was just a little annoying to me personally. In fairness, I was up there to enjoy the view with minimal (manageable) background noise as opposed to receiving an art seminar so I may have been bothered more by that than was really warranted. We ended up leaving the area until the auction was done. After spending almost 8 years living in "Western Europe", I feel I can reasonably say the Oosterdam was certainly up to standard whether said standard is "WE" or "US". Thanks for posting and giving an update and glad you enjoyed your Cruise! We sailed her last October and didn't find any of the issues that the OP complained about! Question: Is Happy Hour at 4 pm still in Crow's Nest and Ocean Bar? Or did they change the 4 pm HH to Billboard! Last Fall it was still in Ocean Bar but it was in Billboard on Koningsdam! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaeger1121 Posted September 5, 2017 #116 Share Posted September 5, 2017 4:00 Happy Hour Crow's Nest and Ocean Bar 6:00 Martini Sampling Gallery Bar 10:00 Happy Hour Gallery Bar They also did a couple of Scotch tastings, wine tastings and a Pub Crawl but I don't recall places and times for those. Also, the Tatoosh Rye is really pretty good if you're a rye fan. It's a small distillery though so, while it's sold in the Crow's Nest, it's not available for purchase in the shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xofave Posted September 5, 2017 #117 Share Posted September 5, 2017 4:00 Happy Hour Crow's Nest and Ocean Bar6:00 Martini Sampling Gallery Bar 10:00 Happy Hour Gallery Bar They also did a couple of Scotch tastings, wine tastings and a Pub Crawl but I don't recall places and times for those. Also, the Tatoosh Rye is really pretty good if you're a rye fan. It's a small distillery though so, while it's sold in the Crow's Nest, it's not available for purchase in the shop. Can't wait thanks for the schedule my husband would love the martini sampling Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 5, 2017 #118 Share Posted September 5, 2017 Delete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idiebabe Posted September 5, 2017 #119 Share Posted September 5, 2017 4:00 Happy Hour Crow's Nest and Ocean Bar6:00 Martini Sampling Gallery Bar 10:00 Happy Hour Gallery Bar They also did a couple of Scotch tastings, wine tastings and a Pub Crawl but I don't recall places and times for those. Also, the Tatoosh Rye is really pretty good if you're a rye fan. It's a small distillery though so, while it's sold in the Crow's Nest, it's not available for purchase in the shop. Awesome! Thanks so much for the info! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olya1972 Posted September 6, 2017 #120 Share Posted September 6, 2017 We were on Oosterdam in May (3 months ago) and find ship in excellent shape. We were in Neptune Suite and it was spotless. The only picture I recognize is that from back elevators. This was our first time on HAL, but we were very impressed with the ship and company and are looking forward to more cruises on HAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankc98376 Posted September 6, 2017 #121 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Were you in the Pinnacle Grill? If so how was dinner? Good staff? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xofave Posted September 6, 2017 #122 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Yeah thanks Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldlewis45 Posted September 6, 2017 #123 Share Posted September 6, 2017 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KroozNut Posted September 6, 2017 #124 Share Posted September 6, 2017 ldlewis45, Thanks for your recent update on Oosterdam, especially about the food quality.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandyfromCA Posted September 17, 2017 #125 Share Posted September 17, 2017 :cool: We may be on the same sailing as you out of San Diego; 30 Sep to Mexico? If so, please feel free to join our rather quiet roll call! ;) I will be sailing on the Oosterdam on that same date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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