Oosterdam Review 12/10 -12/17

[mina]

We just returned from our first HAL cruise. We have sailed six other times on Princess and Carnival. This review is tough to write - as I want to say everything was perfect - but there were a few minor events that colored our perception of HAL service. Since most of our cruising has been on Princess - we naturally compared the two lines and I will note my observations of the differences. This was also our first time sailing in a full suite corner aft.

 

SHIP: We found the ship to be beautiful. Very classly looking. The public areas appeared to be more intimate than those of the Princess Grand Class - we prefer the more open areas on Princess -- but that is a personal preference. Positives are we never waited in a line anywhere. Princess can be a pain as we always seem to be lining up and the elevators packed. Not so on HAL.

 

SUITE: The room was very nice, the wrap around balcony was really great. Unfortunately, I do not think the room was thoroughly cleaned enough. The desk top (with TV) had crumbs and "stone pebbles??" on it when we arrived. The bathroom floor never appeared to be washed thoroughly. The second day, I pulled out the desk chair to sit down and was greeted by dried bird droppings all down the side of the chair and ink and other stains on the seat area. This grossed me out, especially after watching the TV specials on germs in cruise ship staterooms! I stopped by the concierge that morning for coffee and asked to have the chair removed. The concierge said "you brought the chair out on the deck and got bird droppings on it?" I replied I did not. She responded "then you brought a deck chair in and it has the droppings on it?" I said no, it was the desk chair and it clearly was dried on and left from a previous cruise. She continued to question me on how "we got bird droppings on the chair". I was slightly offended by that - if we had gotten the chair dirty - we would have cleaned it. They sent someone up and removed the chair.

 

BALCONY LOCK OUT: The third nite, we ate dinner on our balcony and were watching the stars - we went in and out of the suite door several times. When we decided to call it a nite - the balcony door would not open. We were locked out on our balcony. Since it was nite - there was no one around. After a while, a couple stood by the railing above us on the lido deck (thank god for the layered aft blaconies!) -- we yelled up and asked them to call security as we were locked out. An officer and our steward showed up to unlock the door. Our steward apologized - (although he had NOT locked us out). The officer said "here - let me show you what you did" he said when we unlocked the door - we did not listen for the click - so the door was only partially unlocked -- and it had locked back up. The officer did not apologize and really behaved as if it was a bother we had created. He "barked" at our steward to always remember to tell guests in this room to "listen for the click" The next morning we went to the neptune lounge and the other concierge said "I read about it this morning on the notes and said to myself -- oh not again!" I said -- not again? -- you mean this has happened before? She said - well yes - the wind can be strong. Although we got off the balcony and did not have to spend the nite, it was disconcerting and did I mention I had to go to the bathroom? :) . On princess, a similar minor thing happened to us and we received a nice note and bottle of wine from the hotel manager. I am not one who wants something for nothing, but it would have gone a long way in good will, if the officer that responded had apologized or a note had been sent. Other than our steward, it did not seem to matter that this occurred. Gosh, if they new it was a problem, I would have expected the lock to have been replaced so it did not happen again. Instead, it was no big deal. It was not the type of reaction I expected from HAL - as everything else had been great.

 

FOOD/DINING: Wow - beats princess hands down for quality of food. On Princess we like the 24 hour lido for the convience. But the food on HAL tasted much better. We had a table for two at the first seating. We did not like the leisure dining as we always arrived at 5:30 and other tables in our area would arrive later - we appeared to be "dragged" out so that all tables could get on the same course. Not a big deal - but they do not have the timing down on how to serve tables that arrive at different times. We love Personal Choice dining on Princess and always get a table for two and never have to wait as we eat early. We like that flexibility better. But again, the food was wonderful!. Another nite, we wanted dinner on the balcony again -- I understood that you had to call within the first two hours of service to arrange dining room dinner delivery. Not sure if that is correct or not. I called 10 minutes before the two hours were up and was told that we could only order from the room service menu as first seating was closed. I said -- sorry - that is not acceptable -- he finally relented and arranged to deliver dinner during second seating after I indicated we had called sufficiently ahead and I knew they had second seating left to go, so the kitchen could not be closed. Since princess no longer serves dining room menu through room service, the nod has to go to HAL even with the little hiccup.

 

SPA: We did the hyrotherapy pool and thermal suite pass. WOW - this was my favorite part of the cruise. It was wonderful. For this alone, I would sail HAL again. Princess has a similar thermal suite on its grand class -- but it does not look out over the ocean. We went every day at least once. It was only crowded on the first sea day - after that - never more than three to four people using the facilities.

 

CASINO: We are members of the Ocean Players Club and serious recreational gamblers. We do no other entertainment on a ship -- we cruise to gamble and relax. The tables and dealers were great. I was appalled at the number of other guests that did not tip. I watched one man triple his winnings in less than 40 minutes and left the table without even a $5 dollar chip to the dealer. The dealers make NO salary to speak of - they are paid through the nightly tips. We tipped well and had great service from all of them. For slot players, wow - they are TIGHT -- much tighter than I experienced on princess. Also, they have a poor selection of video poker machines and the payout tables are lower than on princess. Also, Carnival (which runs all the casinos) is running a "promotion" on its megacash machines one nite a week -- Megacash is a dollar machine. Well, you give the casino host a $20 and she gives you 15 coins to play with! The machines are NOT put into tournament mode - so they do not pay higher during this promotion! something wrong with this picture?? You automatically LOSE five coins - before you start! I think that is just greedy on Carnival's part and takes advantage of people who are not "casino savy". Shame on Carnival!!

 

FELLOW PASSENGERS: We are not very social folk, so the demographics and ambience of passengers does not matter much to us. Everyone seemed nice. We did notice the occassional guest who would comment about others -- for example -- one older gentleman made a scene in the lido - he was sitting near an "arabic looking" family and suddenly got up and yelled -- I am tired of you not respecting our country -- and yelled to his wife to get up - as they were going to sit somewhere else. That was an abberation and NOT related to sailing on HAL. Could happen anywhere. I just felt sorry for the family.

 

GENERAL THOUGHTS: I would not pay for a suite again. The neptune lounge and concierge were not worth the cost for us, nor was the free dry cleaning (we could not get our cleaning picked up consistently before 9 am (for return the same day) nor was a new order form left after delivery- so it was hard to use the service as by the time we got a slip - 9 am had passed). The lack of lines, high quality food and wonderful SPA make it worth sailing again.

 

Sorry that I am not able to give a totally outstanding review -- and I am sure I will be flamed:(, but the balcony incident, ordering of room service dinner and bird droppings were not what I had expected from the service and responsiveness I had read about here. But, things happen and they would not keep me from sailing again. She was a beautiful ship!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for writing your review. Enjoyed reading it very much.

[FlorenceItaly]

 

Sorry that I am not able to give a totally outstanding review -- and I am sure I will be flamed:(, but the balcony incident, ordering of room service dinner and bird droppings were not what I had expected from the service and responsiveness I had read about here. But, things happen and they would not keep me from sailing again. She was a beautiful ship!

 

No flaming here. I would have felt JUST AS YOU DID in the above situations.

I enjoy HAL very much and just got off the Zuiderdam on the 10th, and I agree some of the service and responsiveness is not as good as it should be/could be in certain situations. I had my own situation, that I feel a small gesture on HAL's part would have gone a LONG way in handling a somewhat difficult situation. But like you, I enjoy the lack of lines, good food, and overall good service. Also, the relaxing atmosphere HAL provides.

 

Thanks so much for posting your review. I was especially excited to read it as my sister and I just booked the Oosterdam for March! And, we can not wait to have a FULL week in the pool/thermal suite area. I just purchased a 2 day pass on the Zuiderdam(due to cost), however now realize a week pass IS worth the cost, imo. The use of the facility really enhanced my cruise.

 

Marie

[FrogCruiser]

Can you enlighten my on the hydotherapy/spa pass? What is the cost and what does it include. My mother and sister are scheduled on the Oosterdam in Feb and this would make a nice gift for their cruise...thanks for any information.

[FrogCruiser]

Can you enlighten me as to the spa pass...what does it include and at what cost....Sister and Mother scheduled on Oosterdam in Feb and this might make a nice cruise gift for them. Thanks.

[FlorenceItaly]

Check out this link for more information, you may need to cut and paste:

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/onboard/spa.do?service=water

 

This pass includes the pool and thermal suite (where heated ceramic loungers are available and saunas). My routine was to spend time in the pool first, then the sauna, then the ceramic loungers. On one visit I went in and out of the pool, laying on the padded lounger beds in the pool area, before proceeding to the thermal suite area. Also, in the pool area there are showers with body wash and shampoo. I am not sure whether this was the correct process or not. I did not get much information from the spa staff, but from other passengers. Mina, what was your experience on the Oosterdam?

 

The cost of the Zuiderdam was $150 for the week, or 2 one week passes for $250.

The daily rate was $19 for the pool and $19 for the thermal suite. My two day pass cost $76.

 

Also, there are a limited number of passes they sell, so it is something you want to do right away upon boarding, imo. I am not sure how you would work it in setting up a gift for your mom and sister. You may want to call Ship Services and ask them.

 

I hope this is somewhat helpful. There are many more here on the board that have used this area alot so I hope they will post and share with you.

 

Marie

[FrogCruiser]

Maria: Thanks

[FlorenceItaly]

You are very welcome. Please let us know how your sis and mom like their cruise on the Oosterdam.

 

Marie

[Cath66]

I too just arrived home from the same cruise. I have to say that I found nothing to complain about. I checked these message boards out a LOT before going and have come (once again) to the conclusion that an alarming number of people out there are not happy unless they have something to complain about. With one departmental exception, the staff on the Oosterdam was outstanding. From the housekeeping staff to the wait staff etc..they are amazing. How they remember anybody's names, let alone what you drink etc. is beyond me. (The only complaint I have is with the front desk staff. I'm Canadian, and I realize that 'please and thank you' was perhaps stressed in my upbringing more than in some others', but come on ladies....a smile and basic courtesy is NOT that difficult. It was glaring particularly when compared to the rest of the crew/staff's outstanding attitudes). Full marks go to the staff in the Lido Restaurant. I'm always amazed at the ignorance/rudeness/impatience of the general public, but what these people put up with on an almost constant basis goes above and beyond. As an example, the menu items included pork as the main meat dish. A woman repeatedly asked the man behind the counter....'so, you have veal?' to which he repeatedly replied, very politely, 'we have pork...' (and whatever the other choices were). She must've asked him the same thing 5 times! She didn't seem to be hard of hearing, he was very clear in his answers, AND it was in writing right in front of her!! I saw another woman who was having her tray carried for her. She asked the staff member to get her coffee, so he headed for the drink station. (she had already pointed out where she would be sitting, which he had acknowledged) She loudly and rudely said 'do you see where I'm sitting?' He responded politely in the affirmative...she became progressively louder in pointing out where she would be sitting...over and over. Those poor guys! I hope to god they have punching bags etc in their staff areas. They have to be able to vent somehow!

sorry for the rant, rudeness etc is a major pet peeve of mine :-)

 

I've also seen message board posts complaining about things like worn spots on the carpet. Um...apparently some people have WAAAAY too much time on their hands. Does one actually expect them to REPLACE the carpeting after 2-3 cruises?! That would certainly drive $'s up in a big way.

 

We had a verandah as well, never became locked out on it though. Our door had a key in it which you had to turn 3 full turns to lock or unlock. I assumed it was set up in such a way to prevent one's locking oneself out. Glad you had neighbours above!

 

We had a wonderful time!

 

Cath

[FlorenceItaly]

Cath - Thanks so much for sharing. I am so excited to sail the Oosterdam. About the front desk staff. We had a wonderful front desk staff on the Zuiderdam, just wonderful, and I made sure I told them that too :). Of all my cruises, HAL, and otherwise, they were the nicest. I hear ya on the Lido Staff and the way some people can be. I always make sure I give extra kindness to them, as I know they deal with such difficult people. I don't understand the mentality, I just don't.

 

Would love to hear more about your trip :).

 

Marie

[travellady]

Mina - Thanks for your posting regarding the Oosterdam. HAL is my husband's favorite, for me it's a tie between HAL and Princess, with RCCL close as behind. We choose lines/ships based on who's sailing with us and itinerary.

 

The entire family is headed out on the Caribbean Princess next week and eagerly looking forward to that as well, but my husband and I are sailing the Oosterdam 4-day Pacific Coastal late April. I'm really looking forward to that and since it's a repositioning, most time will be spent at sea so the ship itself is a very important factor. All we look for when we sail without family is good food, relaxation, a great space to read, and peace and quiet. Sounds like this ship will fit that bill but am hoping our cabin is top notch clean - I know not having a clean place to sleep and chill can put a damper on one's vacation.

[gizmo]

GENERAL THOUGHTS: I would not pay for a suite again. The neptune lounge and concierge were not worth the cost for us, nor was the free dry cleaning (we could not get our cleaning picked up consistently before 9 am (for return the same day) nor was a new order form left after delivery- so it was hard to use the service as by the time we got a slip - 9 am had passed). The lack of lines, high quality food and wonderful SPA make it worth sailing again.

 

 

Mina, thanks for the review. I enjoyed reading it. :)

 

I got confused on the dry cleaning.

 

I have a question. Why would you be needing the dry cleaning back the same day?

 

The order forms are usually in the closet. You can always ask the conceirge for more and the same goes for getting laundry/dry cleaning picked up before 9:00.

 

I never had a problem with laundry/dry cleaning or pressing.

[RevNeal]

mina,

 

Thanks for your review! I really appreciate your attention to detail. I would have been quite upset had I found bird poop on a chair like that, and would have been quite adamant about (1) it not being because I had put it outside, and (2) that it reflected a general sloppiness in the housekeeping. ONCE before (about 4 years ago) I went into my cabin and quickly discovered that it had not been completely cleaned. No bird poop, but other things (including a pair of soiled underwear in a drawer and the bed had not been stripped, just maid up, and one of the sheets had stains on it. I called the front desk and informed them that my cabin had, somehow, missed being cleaned at the turnaround. It took, maybe, a minute to get my situation clearly explained, but once it was the Hotel Manager himself showed up with 3 stewards. I vacated the cabin and went for a walk. Went back 30 minutes later and the place was SPOTLESS. My luggage had arrived too. AND, there was a note from the HM apologizing for the error -- no offer of wine, or anything, and none was expected.

 

In short, such errors DO happen ... and they should be quickly addressed. Thank you for pointing out both the good aspects as well as where you had problems. The perspective is instructive.

[FlorenceItaly]

RevNeal - What do you think about the attitude the concierge had when Mina was speaking with her? I think that would have upset me more than the actual dirty chair. Yes, I would not have been happy about the dirty chair, but I find the attitude of the concierge more upsetting.

 

Marie

[mina]

Gizmo - regarding the laundry -- we only packed one carry on per person as we thought we had express 24 hour laundry service - we HATE carrying lots of luggage. So, getting it back within a day was important - as we only packed one pair of jeans, shorts, etc. We did not get order forms left in the closet until the last day. We did have to ask for them - which is okay - except we missed the timeframe to get the 'express" service by the time they arrived. If we have to carry more luggage - not a problem -- but the free cleaning was not that much of a perk as it will not keep us from having to pack more clothes in the future - hence - it was not a benefit to us or worth the extra cost for the suite. We also ordered the hot appetizers and asked to have them delivered each nite at 7 pm - they only arrived once. It was not a big deal, but again - not a benefit - and did not justify the added suite cost. We did love the selection of DVDs in the neptune lounge and watched several movies in our cabin! That was nice.

 

Travellady - I would love to hear how you like the Carribean Princess. I have read mixed reviews. But - I think princess will always be my first love -- as we started with this line -- so our first joys of being at sea are hard to top!

 

Cath; I am hoping your comments regarding complainers was not directed at my review. I was simply trying to be honest about the good and the not so good. I do know what you mean about some of the general public - I also saw multiple people not be polite to the servers - and as I noted - the one guest's comments to the arabic family was way over the top! Regarding the balcony door -- the key was in it -- and we did turn the key to lock and unlock -- I still do not know how it could have locked given we went in and out at least three times before it did so. Perhaps it shut too fast and that turned the key? The officer that came had no explanation other than "we did not wait to hear the click". I just think the lock on that door is faulty.

 

Marie: Our experience on the Oosterdam spa was the same as yours -- except we also had the "aroma therapy" showers with different types of shower heads == located in the thermal suite -- you stand under them -- then push the cold water button and you get a refreshing mist with different aromas -- lemon, rose, etc. We discovered that little feature by accident -- wow were those nice showers. When we got our pass, they did not really tell us about the features - we discovered them on our own - similar to your experience. I do not think most people realize they are aroma therapy showers. Be sure to try the one on the far right - it has a "water fall" like head and the water pressure is great on your shoulders.

 

Frog cruiser: The cost was the same $250 for two people. I think you can buy them a spa gift certificate and they can use it for that -- but as suggested - I would call and ask to give them the passes as a gift - I am sure they would do it!

 

Marie & Rev Neal: I did say to the concierge, you know I am not comfortable with your questions - had we done this we would have cleaned it up ourselves. She apologized and said -- I am trying to find out what happened -- your cabin should have not been left like that. So, I agree she did not use the best approach -- she was trying to find out what the cause was. I guess they must deal with all kinds of people and she was trying to find out if we were just over the top and complaining about something we did -- or if it was sloppy housekeeping. They removed the chair -- that is what counts. It still gives me the shivers -- I am a bit of a germaphob and had forgot my spray lysol! (Never leave home without it).

 

Again, it was a great relaxing cruise -- Marie -- I am sure you will love the Oosterdam!

[liv2cruise4ever]

We too, were on the Zuiderdam with Marie:D What a great cruise. As to the Thermal suite and Therapy pool, well worth the 250 for the week. We used it once a day and Deedee just loved it. I surprised her with this when we first boarded. Now I know, she won't go without it......lol. They say they sell 40 passes per week for both. It never seemed crowded, although a couple of times a certain sauna or even the pool did not work one day. They are more that happy to adjust your bill. Marie, I'm so jealous your going again......on HAL too. I'm still looking.:D

[Cath66]

mina, no no, I wasn't referring to your post when I mentioned complainers! Sorry, I should have been more clear. I was referring to the many posts I read before taking my cruise where people picked apart every little thing.

[RevNeal]

RevNeal - What do you think about the attitude the concierge had when Mina was speaking with her? I think that would have upset me more than the actual dirty chair. Yes, I would not have been happy about the dirty chair, but I find the attitude of the concierge more upsetting.

 

Given the amplification provided by Mina following your question, I would have to say that it was o.k., although I would have still been somewhat miffed by the questioning (particularly if I thought I was being accused of taking the chair outside for the bird to dump on). However, I CAN understand why the concierge would need to ask some questions ... after all, the cabin should have been cleaned before Mina occupied it and, therefore, the chair shouldn't have had bird poop on it. As I wrote above, upon discovery of anything that would give me a hint that cleaning had not been properly done I would have phoned the front desk (as I have done before) and let them know that the cabin had not been properly cleaned. A proper cleaning should have discovered the poop. If it didn't, yet another call would have been placed and it would depend upon how I worded it as to how the Concierge could be expected to respond. :) Sounds like Mina handled her end fine, and -- eventually -- so the concierge.

[gizmo]

Mina,

 

Thanks for the explanation.

 

I am sorry to hear about the hot appetizers not being delivered.

[kryos]

Sorry that I am not able to give a totally outstanding review -- and I am sure I will be flamed:(, but the balcony incident, ordering of room service dinner and bird droppings were not what I had expected from the service and responsiveness I had read about here. But, things happen and they would not keep me from sailing again. She was a beautiful ship!

Why would any decent person on this board flame you? You wrote a very balanced review, which SHOULD include the negatives.

 

I thank you for it and for what it's worth, I would have felt the same as you did regarding the incidents you highlighted in your review. Hopefully, you mentioned them on your comment card as well, so that HAL corporate can be made aware of these sorts of problems and can do something about them.

 

Blue skies and thanks again!

 

--rita