Back from the Oosterdam 1-06-07

[Omnium]

Since I have been in full vacation (lazy) mode, I have neither read nor posted anything this past week. I will write more later. Since I do marketing/branding work, I like to write from that perspective, as well as one of a consumer.

 

I will break it down by category as I write, but so as to not keep the HAL and Oosterdam faithful in suspense, my wife and I had a wonderful time! Marvelous cruise! # 7077, Deluxe Verandah Suite. We got home around 10:30 this morning. We live in Huntington Beach. Our kids gave us about 5 minutes of grace, and then laid into us. Welcome back! Not!

 

It has been 20 years since we last traveled on a HAL ship, the old Rotterdam. We mostly cruise on Celebrity, and I will of course make the inevitable comparisons. This was my 10th cruise.

 

First of all I would like to say to all the CC people that I spent time with; Lou and Jan, Kevin, John and Ardie, Herb, Chris, Sue and John: the pleasure was all mine. My only regret was that our time together was so short. Lou, thanks for getting this started.

 

Sue and John from England: have a great trip through CA. OMG, I will never forget the good times we had!

 

Two of our tablemates, Frank and Linda: I don't know what divine force brought us together, but our lives have been touched for the best by meeting you. What a remarkable and inspirtational couple you are!

 

I got to meet James Deering and since he and I are now on a first name basis, I will refer to him as James from here on! What a rare, charming and gracious host he is.

 

I must admit that I approached this trip with more than a little trepidation. That soon went away when I had people shake my hand upon entering and found salt and pepper shakers on the table! Apart from a 15-20 minute power outage, there were really no problems. (that was a very bizarre event. Suddenly everything went dark. We were in our room when it happened. Eerie. At least the ship was still moving, so that was comforting).

 

More later tonight or tomorrow.

 

Kerry

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Welcome Home Kerry, I am so glad that you had a wonderful time on my favorite ship and I cannot agree with you any more about James he truly is one of a kind:)

[OceanFantasys]

Welcome home.. Looking forward to your review.

 

Rhonda

[Copper10-8]

Good stuff Kerry! Looking forward to hearing more!:)

[hawgwildterry]

Kerry,

Welcome home and it’s nice to read that you and your wife had a wonderful cruise. We look forward to reading a more detailed account of your week on the O. Our cruise is not until April 14th and the anticipation is really starting to heat up.

I hope that we are able to meet Mr. Deering after reading all the kind words about him. With any luck there will be enough interest from our CC fellow cruisers to have a Meet and Greet on our sailing. The last time I checked the April 14th Roll Call there were not very many CC members signed up.

Terry

[hammybee]

I am on pins and needles as X vs. HAL are my personal favorite compares/contrasts.

 

P.S. Love the writing style

[Omnium]

An interesting prelude to my soon to be long missive, involves the Mariner Society. As I mentioned, it has been 20 years since my last HAL cruise. I emailed HAL and told them that, and can I have an MS number? When I got home from work, there was a response. I was told to give them the estimated month and year and they would look it up. If it was not found, could I send them a picture showing us on board?

 

The next morning I emailed the time of the cruise, and said I could send a photo if required. Sure enough, when I returned home from work that very same day, an email was there with the number. I thanked the person in charge the next morning and told them I forgot about my wife! Once again, when I got home, the answer was there.

 

Pretty good service if I say so myself.

 

More Sunday. My two older girls have softball games in Wilmington early in the AM. Close to your neck of the woods, John.

 

Tomorrow: Embarkation, The Lido, 7077, meeting the Captain, James Deering, and Michelle the Cruise Director, Neptune Lounge, Grapefruit Cosmos with our new friends from England, and that totals maybe one quarter of Day one! Whew!

 

Decompressing now from quite a week! I feel on one hand I just left, and on the other hand I feel like I have been gone a looooong time. A sure sign of a good vacation.

 

Kerry

[Copper10-8]

More Sunday. My two older girls have softball games in Wilmington early in the AM. Close to your neck of the woods, John.

 

Cool Kerry, as you know, Wilmington is just about next door to us (and very close to the L.A. Cruise Terminal in Pedro). I'm working tomorrow otherwise I'd come by and say hi to you! Hope your girls' team wins; good luck to them!:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home.

 

Looking forward to reading more.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I would be in deep trouble if I were asked to produce a picture from 20 years ago. We rarely buy any pictures at all from the ships.

[CPeters40]

Since I have been in full vacation (lazy) mode, I have neither read nor posted anything this past week. I will write more later. Since I do marketing/branding work, I like to write from that perspective, as well as one of a consumer.

 

I will break it down by category as I write, but so as to not keep the HAL and Oosterdam faithful in suspense, my wife and I had a wonderful time! Marvelous cruise! # 7077, Deluxe Verandah Suite. We got home around 10:30 this morning. We live in Huntington Beach. Our kids gave us about 5 minutes of grace, and then laid into us. Welcome back! Not!

 

It has been 20 years since we last traveled on a HAL ship, the old Rotterdam. We mostly cruise on Celebrity, and I will of course make the inevitable comparisons. This was my 10th cruise.

 

First of all I would like to say to all the CC people that I spent time with; Lou and Jan, Kevin, John and Ardie, Herb, Chris, Sue and John: the pleasure was all mine. My only regret was that our time together was so short. Lou, thanks for getting this started.

 

Sue and John from England: have a great trip through CA. OMG, I will never forget the good times we had!

 

Two of our tablemates, Frank and Linda: I don't know what divine force brought us together, but our lives have been touched for the best by meeting you. What a remarkable and inspirtational couple you are!

 

I got to meet James Deering and since he and I are now on a first name basis, I will refer to him as James from here on! What a rare, charming and gracious host he is.

 

I must admit that I approached this trip with more than a little trepidation. That soon went away when I had people shake my hand upon entering and found salt and pepper shakers on the table! Apart from a 15-20 minute power outage, there were really no problems. (that was a very bizarre event. Suddenly everything went dark. We were in our room when it happened. Eerie. At least the ship was still moving, so that was comforting).

 

More later tonight or tomorrow.

 

Kerry

Hi Kerry!

It was great meeting you and your husband! We got back from our cruise, after spending most of the day in the San Diego and Minneapolis airports, at 11:30 p.m. Came home to lots of hard ice and snow on our vehicle. Very cold here in Iowa! I really didn't want to leave the ship, and actually we were the last color code to be called to depart, since we didn't use the Holland America flights. There was hardly any luggage left in the brown spot, and my husband's bag was totally missing. Finally after trying to find a Holland America official, I spotted a few bags in the corner of the terminal, and one of them was my husbands, so life is good. Don't know why these 6 pieces of luggage were off by themselves.

I'll look forward to reading your review of the ship.

We ended up with the "As You Wish" dining, and for us, we didn't have any wait. They assigned us a table immediately. But, we usually went between 7:45 and 8:15 p.m., and there were lots of empty tables at that time frame. I liked the night best, where we were seated with Ardie and John, and their two friends--that was great fun!!

Thank's Lou for organizing the Cruise Critic gathering--it was like getting an instant set of friends to talk to on the cruise! Smiling!! Also loved meeting Mr Deering. I was so impressed with him, and how he took the time to answer our questions!! And Thanks to "Construction Dude", for organizing the list of people this week. I just read your email/cell phone notes--very fun! Thank you!!

Well, guess I need to plan another cruise--I don't want to wait until next January to go!!

Chris (back in cold, snowy Iowa)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sorry to get off topic Kerry :o

Chris, where in Iowa do you live? I am originally from Cedar Rapids and DH is originally from Alta (up near Storm Lake) we met at UNI in Cedar Falls.

[CPeters40]

Sorry to get off topic Kerry :o

 

Chris, where in Iowa do you live? I am originally from Cedar Rapids and DH is originally from Alta (up near Storm Lake) we met at UNI in Cedar Falls.

 

Hi!

Hey, we live in Cedar Falls, IA--within walking distance of the University of Northern Iowa! Love living here, except for the winters now. Trying to figure out a way we can take a week of vacation once a month during the winter. Come back and visit UNI!

Chris (Usually when I say Cedar Falls, no one knows where that is, so I just use Iowa).

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi!

Hey, we live in Cedar Falls, IA--within walking distance of the University of Northern Iowa! Love living here, except for the winters now. Trying to figure out a way we can take a week of vacation once a month during the winter. Come back and visit UNI!

Chris (Usually when I say Cedar Falls, no one knows where that is, so I just use Iowa).

Chris, small world isn't it;) Ah Yes, I met DH in Dancer Hall back on Labor Day weekend 1976 and we married in Cedar Rapids March 1977. Actually I did not attend UNI but DH and my very good friend did. I would actually go up there for the weekends to hang out. I do not in the least bit miss the weather in Iowa except maybe just a few days in the summer when we have 115 degree weather but right now we have had Iowa cold. The low last night was 19 degrees and currently at 1:30 in the afternoon it is sunny and 33 degrees. Way too cold for my liking, really wish I was on the Oosterdam heading to Mexico;)

[Omnium]

Sorry to get off topic Kerry :o

 

Chris, where in Iowa do you live? I am originally from Cedar Rapids and DH is originally from Alta (up near Storm Lake) we met at UNI in Cedar Falls.

 

 

No problem getting off topic. That is the fun of this board. I will get way way way off topic!

 

Hi Chris!

 

You have got us mixed up! Jane is my wife! I have one of those names that goes both ways!

 

Kerry

[SanDiego Single]

Loved meeting and spending time with you and your wife on this wonderful cruise and I am looking forward to reading you review of the cruise.

[Omnium]

Warning: this is long! You will not hurt my feellings if you skip around or get bored!

 

We arrived to the ship at 2:30. I had no idea that it pulled in late that morning, or that embarkation began at 1:15. We dropped of our luggage and parked across the street. There was no line outside the terminal. I have been told that at one time the line stretched to the Star of India Restaurant, which is about 200 yards away. I also was told that it took some 2 hours to get on board. Whether this is truth or heresay, someone else can confirm.

 

We walked right up to the x-ray and moved to the first que. It took about 15 minutes. We show our papers and was told sheepishly to just get in line. The line had to be over an hour long. I said that we have a suite and were ushered to the front, (I forget the line #) and in less than 10 minutes we were on board.

 

The entry was less than thrilling. There is no grand entrance, no great hall, no Rosario Strings, no champagne. It was quite deflating. You are here and that is it! My wife remarked that if this was your first cruise, you could be awfully disapointed.

 

We were directed to our room, #7077. As suites go, it was much smaller than a Celebrity Royal Suite. It was bigger than an X Sky Suite. The Royal Suite has a seperate bedroom and a dining room. It has a much more spacious bathroom as well. In 7077 there really is nowhere in your room to dine, without having to bend over a small coffee table. The balcony in our room was very spacious. Of course you can dine on the balcony, but when we had time for that, the weather did not permit it.

 

I found 7077 to be in impeccable condition. It was better maintained than our RS on the Infinity. X really does not give you much in the way of bathroom amenities. There is a shampoo dispenser with some unknown bile in it that no one in their right mind would touch. How embarassing! HAL had excellent soaps and shampoos, which were constantly being replaced when empty.

 

Their was a shower/tub and a shower stall. The shower in the stall was broken. I mentioned this on Monday, and by Wed. it was fixed. Since we had two showers, it was not a problem.

 

Much to my delight, there were 3 bottles of Champagne. One fom our TA, one from AMEX, and one from the ship, signed by James Deering. We also got another from him for attending the CC meeting. 4 bottles! Not bad!

 

At this time, Rony, our wondrous steward came by to introduce himself. I have read of those who never really saw their steward at all. We always saw Rony! It seems that whenever I opened the door he was in the hall asking if I needed any assistance! Our room was always clean. Once I asked if we could have an extra bath towel. (there were only two and I wanted three). He always made sure that there were four!

 

My wife and I went to the Lido for lunch. OK: let me say this right here...I am not a fan of ship buffets. As much as I like Celebrity, I found a lot of their buffet food to be disgusting in appearance. HAL has the best buffet food I have ever tasted. Hands down. Game over. I was stunned. I was blown away. It was great. I just snacked around. I loved the pizza. Excellent iced tea. They serve you the hot stuff and before they hand it to you, a cover is put over it to keep it hot. Classy!

 

Before dinner I worked out in the gym. It was perfectly equipped for what I like to, and made there for the first 5 nights.

 

Now here is what won me over, the "I am yours" moment, the defining aspect of the cruise: we were invited to a party in the Neptune Lounge. We met Captain Jonathan Mercer, James Deering, and Michelle, the cruise director. Also attending were the beverage director and a few other staff members. A WOW event. I have never been invited to anything like that. We have dined with the Captain on X, but this was an event to remember. Drinks and appetizers were flowing. Our hosts were most gracious in chatting with us. We new a great week was ahead of us!

 

We met Sue and John at this party. They are from England, and I knew of Sue from the Roll Call. John, like my wife Jane, has no idea that their spouses use the board at all! We agreed to meet after dinner at the Ocean Bar. A wonderful friendship started on the first evening!

 

Dinner was at a table for 6. It is here that we met the most wonderful Frank and Linda. I love the hyperbole as you know, but I want all to know how thankful I am to have had the fortune to know this wonderful duo. Dr. Frank is an eye doctor, and Dr. Linda is an english professor. Also at our table was the amazing Dr. Barbara, a women's studies prof. and her cousin Peggy. Blessings abounded at table 43.

 

The amazing Tuguh was our waiter, assisted by Yuli. I have heard so many negative things about the waitstaff on this ship. The only negative I have to say about Tuguh (pronounced Tagoo) was that he encouraged us to try more than one appetizer or entre, and if we said no, he would bring it anyway!

 

I don't overeat, but I an often "overserved". Our waiter really overserved us! On the first night he learned our names and asked what we would like to be called. The odds of me winning the lotto are less than me ever getting a table like that again.

 

Dinner on the other hand, was dismal. It was a tastless, bland, ill prepared repast. OK, no more beating around the bush. It was awful.

 

But, dear HAL apologists: let me give you my thoughts on vacation dining. If I were to go to Hawaii or Paris or New England, or anywhere for 7 nights, I want fine dining. If I find it 5 nights out of 7, I did great. So, if I get two great nights out of 7 on a cruise, that is only three less than I should get if I went on a shore based trip. Two is what I am looking for. 0-1 so far. I will keep a running tally for you. Hint: Sunday will even up the score!

 

I warned you that this would be long. Much more to come. Let us end with the bed. The HAL beds are without a doubt the most comfortable I have ever slept in. Really. Hotels, B&B's, my house, anywhere. I want to buy one. We were given 9 pillows, with a card labelling them as soft, medium and firm. (X has a silly "pillow concierge", but only for the concierge level, not for the more expensive suites). My wife was in heaven. No kids, no shopping, no cooking or cleaning. 4 bottles of champagne, 8 bottles of wine that we brought on board, and now the most amazing bed ever! Heaven!

 

Tomorrow: Day two. Can it get better? My comments on Signatures of Excellence, Anytime Dining (we has 2nd seating, traditional) and so much more. Be warned! Long again!

 

Kerry

[SanDiego Single]

So far your comments about this cruise are in line with what I have to say. BTW if you want to borrow Rony I stuffed him into my suit case and brought him home with me so if you want to borrow him let me know. But it will cost ya. :)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Mr. Omnium Gatherum, (or is it the Duke of Omnium?):

 

I'm enjoying your recollections very much; in your case, the longer the better. Boy, can you write! I am not bored.....

 

Cheers,

 

Karin

[Omnium]

Mr. Omnium Gatherum, (or is it the Duke of Omnium?):

 

I'm enjoying your recollections very much; in your case, the longer the better. Boy, can you write! I am not bored.....

 

Cheers,

 

Karin

 

Very good Karin! You are correct, it is short for Omnium Gatherum. Glad to see you are up on your latin! Sometime I will explain why I use that name.

 

Kerry

[Omnium]

So far your comments about this cruise are in line with what I have to say. BTW if you want to borrow Rony I stuffed him into my suit case and brought him home with me so if you want to borrow him let me know. But it will cost ya. :)

 

Hey!

 

So that is why I could not find him to say goodbye! Don't forgot to come see me when you are in greater Costa Mesa!

 

Kerry

[fsalzer]

I have been told that at one time the line stretched to the Star of India Restaurant, which is about 200 yards away. I also was told that it took some 2 hours to get on board. Whether this is truth or heresay, someone else can confirm

...snip...

My wife and I went to the Lido for lunch. OK: let me say this right here...I am not a fan of ship buffets. As much as I like Celebrity, I found a lot of their buffet food to be disgusting in appearance. HAL has the best buffet food I have ever tasted.

Our processing time for boarding was 2:05. We got in line at Star of India at 12:30. Busing was slow on the Lido with dirty dishes all around and very few staff in sight.

 

I inquired and was told that many staff that prepare the rooms also work the Lido and that due to Oosterdam's late arrival staff was rescheduled.

 

We understood the reason for the issues and we were content.

 

We were on the 2/26/05 Oosterdam cruise and found service generally slower and less attentive on this cruise. Cloth handtowels in the restrooms have been replaced with paper towels. There were a number of items that were torn or worn, but then the ship is two years older.

 

That said, we had a very enjoyable cruise with good value. We especially liked As You Wish Dining and enjoyed our open-seating "wish".

 

Fred

[CPeters40]

Hi Kerry,

Sorry I confused you for your wife! I do have a hard time remembering names! Anyway, I am thoroughly enjoying reading your amazing writing of our cruise! And since I am in the VE category (5th floor), I am enjoying reading the differences. We had no pillow choice in our stateroom--just 4 pillows, but very fluffy. And only 2 complimentary bottles of champagne (TA and Mr. Deering (love him!). And I agree about the Lido--very good, and better than X from two years ago. But X gives you a choice of having shrimp cocktail and steak as an alternative every night at dinner--HAL does not offer this. Looking forward to reading the rest of your commentary!!

Chris (in snowy Iowa--have to shovel in the a.m.!)

[Omnium]

Chris (in snowy Iowa--have to shovel in the a.m.!)

 

 

Just wanted to let you know that at 7:00 AM, it was 31 degrees in Hunt. Beach. Our fountain in the backyard froze. I have lived here since 1978, and it have never been this cold.

 

Kerry

[Omnium]

My thoughts on the HAL attempt at anytime dining. This gets technical, so feel free to skip to tomorrow's review which will be much more light hearted and witty! I am on a roll here and enjoy this opportunity to write down my thoughts.

 

As mentioned, I love to explore from a marketing/branding point of view. It is what I do. I would have lots to say to HAL's marketing department.

 

HAL has got a bit of dilemna with this. James Deering told us about anytime dining was being done at our CC meeting. It was a very frank and to be sure, fascinating talk.

 

James mentioned that they did this to respond to trends. Changes in demographics, tastes, more parents traveling with kids, etc. He also discussed the overwhelming logistics in doing this. Were they ready? No. This was the first week of a four week experiment.

 

Is it correct to respond to trends? Absolutely. You must do this, because the next one that comes about may be the big one that changes the industry, and you don't want to be left behind. You can try to block the move of a competitor, fight them head on, or come up with something to differentiate yourself altogether.

 

Rule #1 in marketing is to be first. NCL is certainly not first in cruising. When you are not #1, what do you do? Create a new category and position yourself as the leader and first in your category. NCL did not invent open seating dining, but that does not matter who invented it. What is important is who is first in marketing it and in claiming leadership. (by positioning I mean, where are you positioned in your customer's mind, in particular who is first. ie when you ask people what comes to mind when you say cola, they will say Coke, Pepsi, etc.).

 

HAL is responding to the trend, but way too late. Years late to be exact. But, let's look at an even bigger picture here. All cruiselines, with the exception of maybe Crystal and Regent market themselves as having something for everybody. That is a trap that oh so many businesses fall into. You cannot be all things for all people. By doing that you will someday have nothing for nobody. (nice use of a double negative, Kerry!). Look at Chevrolet? What is it? It is a big, small, fast, slow, family, sexy, expensive, cheap car. By trying to become all things to all people, a once great car company has lost its identity.

 

In the cruise industry they are all in jeopardy of losing their identity. You cannot be all things to all people. Nor do you want to be. You have to stand for something. You have to have a covenant with your customers. What is HAL's promise? If I asked every employee what their brand promise is, would I get the same message? Doubtful.

 

Where does that leave HAL? Aren't the ships full, and new ones are on the way? Of course. But, are they making all the money they can, and are they controlling the market? Of course not.

 

What can they do? As I said, create a new category of cruising. Or, repostion the leader. Show the errors of anytime and open seating dining, and that HAL is the leader in tradtional dining. Market themselves as first in cruising as it is meant to be. I'll bet there is a huge audience for this. There are a number of ways to do this. The worst one is to fight head on with a category leader.

 

I do applaud them at trying something, even when it is not 100% ready. You can't wait. You have to move and fix it on the fly. I firmly agree with that.

 

What I don't agree with, is the "me too" attitude that they and all cruise lines take. You cannot operate on the philosophy that "hey, we have that too!".

 

What differentiates you from the rest? That is what you start with. The anytime dining is only a trick. It will by no means increase HAL's market share. HAL has a lot that seperates it from the pack. It is time they use that in their marketing.

 

I mention this because I had such a great cruise, and would hate to see them water down the HAL experience.

 

Kerry