Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

oosterdam cruise 1/6--1/13

lougee1043

By lougee1043,
in Holland America Line

Recommended Posts

lougee1043

lougee1043

Posted
Posted

i will not try to be as eloquent as copper and construction dude as far as a trip report is concerned- after having read both of them i concur and have saved myself a lot of typing-

i will just report sundry and assorted observations

we flew from portland to san diego with a stop in oakland (no plane change) on friday--- when we landed in oakland we were advised that the airport was closed because someone jumped the security lines and they were searching for him - anything he might have stashed (bomb) and that the entire airport was being cleared and all pax would have to submit to another screening - we were finally given a gate and pax deplaned and others joined us for the trip to san diego (we are now 1 hour behind schedule) when we arrived in san diego we found out after standing around for about 15 or 20 minutes that the baggage carrousel was down and all the luggage would have to be shifted to another conveyor so we could get our luggage- we are now 1 1/2 hours late- its 4pm and if we were sailing on friday we would have less then 30 minutes to get to the ship before they pull the ganyway at 4:30 -- in san diego its possible to reach the port from the airport in less then 30 minutes-- at another port it might not be doable-- another reason to fly in to your port a day early

we stayed at la pensionne - a small hotel in the heart of little italy --rooms were small but clean and for one nite it served the purpose --- and for less then 90 bucks with all taxes---we had a great dinner

at buon appetito--1609 india---------very popular- because of that service was slow but it was the first nite of our vacation and we were with friends so it didnt matter that much-

in the morning we ate breakfast right across from the hotel at cafe zucchero- a bakery that serves breakfast--- for dessert we shared a cannolli -- that was as good as the last time we ate there

went to the pier at 11:30 and thats when we found out that copper john hijacked the ship so he could stay on for a few extra hours-- ship was late due to strong seas and wind-- we didnt start to board til about one if i remember correctly --- amazing how in spite of being late they were able to do what they had to and still leave on time

went up for the wave with my friend alan-- wives are above waving-- it was a dismal turnout --there were only 4 of us -- im going to say that the late boarding screwed up everyones schedule-- found construction dude and stood next to him ( i did go back to the wave thread on the 6th but there were no pix attached---if anyone has a pic of the dude in orange and some guy standing next to him in red i would appreciate you posting it or sending on to me

luggage was in the cabin after lunch at the lido an uneventful muster drill-- dinner was early traditional at table 44- a table for 8--- not the best location as it was next to a serving station- enjoyable people as dinnermates---service the first nite was very slow but i m happy to say picked up after that and all meals went off without a hitch- the service people for our table were wonderful --franciso the wine steward is the best we have even had--- he was everywhere-- never had to look for him

there was a stain on the carpet and our room steward told us that the pax spilt coffee and once we were out of the room he would have someone come up and clean it --which he did and they did and voila no more stain

some mix ups with room service --- asked for tea --got the hot water and the cups but no tea bags--- another time we each ordered a separate entree for breakfast and they ended up sending 2 of each entreee-- nothing that would even come close to putting a dent in my cruise

needed an alteration on my rented tux and the room steward - ahmed-- took care of it promptly

it was a healthy cruise with only 4 suspected virus cases among the pax and none among the crew ----- however my bw was one of them-- actually i think she had montazumas revenge from the one meal we ate in cabo- we ate at panchos on miguel hildago street -- she was confined to the cabin for 24 hours and she received a room credit for staying in her cabin --she actually stayed in the cabin from tues pm til we left the ship on saturday

we had our meet and greet on sunday 11am in the piano bar where we met mr deering --he arranged for a bar service so we all had drinks on hal

sunday nite we were just leaving the dining room to go to cocktail party that mr. deering invited us to when the lights went out--------we lost electrical power for about 30 minutes-- once it was restored we went to the crows nest to join the others that were invited

we were in cabin 8063 on the nav deck --- directly under the lido pool area --- there was little to no noise coming from above --heard some chairs moving in the am but not enough to wake you -- at least not in my case-----------

why dont we change the time when we get to pv llike we do at other ports-----mr. deering says because its too confusing to change the clock 4 times in 7 days-- confusing for the crew and also for the pax---so they willl continue to do it this way and just tell you of the 1 hour difference

dress code --- thought it was pretty good during meals --- saw a couple of pair of jeans during dinner but the men were also wearing sport jackets --- many pax changed after the dinner meal and then anything went ---- i did see one man turned away from the d/r at lunch because he was wearing a tank top --they made him change-----------------i thought that was a good sign---but in the evening i saw one guy wearing flip flops, shorts, tank top and assorted and sundry tattoos over all exposed skin in the theatre---- mr d says that the dress code lightens up because we are sailing mexican waters-- ive hard pax say that the dress code lightens up because they are sailing alaskan waters--imo its all an excuse - so many of us keep to the code regardless of where we sail-- we just have to keep doing our dress code thing and hope for the best

mr d says they really cant do much other then promote the code the way that they do and hope for the best ----- if they turn pax away from the d/r he says first they will complain- then they will go to the lido for the meal and all those extra pax could overwhelm the lido staff so they will go to their cabin and overwhelm room service and all of this will result in lower satisfaction marks which is what everyone strives for in order to get a promotion/ raise

the new dining program is now in its 2nd week of testing --its a scheduled to be a 4 week test and mr d isnt sure what will happen after that--- it will be implemented on the nordham in the near future-

he said that hal is trying to appeal to the different demographics that are now cruising --- there will always be tradional dining aboard every hal ship

in this new test you can book a reservation for the same time every nite and you will be seated at that time ---you will most llikely not be at the same table nor have the same wait staff every nite--

or you can just show up and you will be seated asap-----------you cannot change between tradional and anytime during the cruise---mr d says the advantage to this seating is that if you want early traditional and its not available you can still arrange to eat at the early time in the lower d/r rather then having to eat at a later time then you want--- he did say that it went well for the first week but his concerns are that the d/r staff will be losing tips because they are not serving the same pax every nite and that they will have to get used to serving different table different parts of the meal at the same time--he is also concerned that the marks for the d/r will go down only because the pax will have to spell out their needs every nite to a new waiter ---dressing on the side---iced tea --etc etc and because they have to do this it will be construed that the d.r service just isnt up to par

didnt receive tiles this cruise and i forgot to ask the steward about them

cant think of anything else right now -- will be happy to answer any questions that you might have

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lougee1043

lougee1043

Posted
  • Author
Posted
lou...there is a picture of you and CD in the wave thread.

 

as far as i can tell all the photos on my puter were xed out ---- which thread are you talking about the first or the 2nd---can you send me the link-----------------thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tinknock50

Tinknock50

Posted
Posted
as far as i can tell all the photos on my puter were xed out ---- which thread are you talking about the first or the 2nd---can you send me the link-----------------thanks

 

you are right ,lougee. They have become X's. I didn't know they disappeared like that........ I would have saved a pic to a file.:(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lougee1043

lougee1043

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Good story, Lou! Thanks for posting! Sory about the visit from Montezuma:( When is your next cruise?

 

you're sorry -lol -- jan is so upset that she ruined my cruise - did manage to get into pv for a few hours at her insistance -------------nice cruise port -- nicest one i have visited in mexico

 

no clue when we will sail again--- wont consider even bringing i up cruising again til jan can walk past a mexican restaurant without tightening her butt cheeks

Link to comment
Share on other sites
penny49

penny49

Posted
Posted

great to hear your review, Lou, is it true that they did not have "semi-formal" nights...just 2 formal and 5 casual..we are packing for this Saturdays cruise and my husband was planning on his navy blazer and dresses for me on those 2 semi nights...now I don't know what to pack....dressing for dinner was always part of the fun for us...5 days to flight to SD...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
penny49

penny49

Posted
Posted

great to hear your review, Lou, is it true that they did not have "semi-formal" nights...just 2 formal and 5 casual..we are packing for this Saturdays cruise and my husband was planning on his navy blazer and dresses for me on those 2 semi nights...now I don't know what to pack....dressing for dinner was always part of the fun for us...5 days to flight to SD...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lougee1043

lougee1043

Posted
  • Author
Posted
is it true that they did not have "semi-formal" nights...just 2 formal and 5 casual..we are packing for this Saturdays cruise and my husband was planning on his navy blazer and dresses for me on those 2 semi nights...now I don't know what to pack....quote]

 

correct -- no semi formal nite---- 2 and 5---------i had heard this rumor and what i did was take a white shirt and tie without a jacket-- and if there was a semi formal i would go in shirt and tie avec pants --

 

changing the subject-- i just didnt praise the virtues of mr deering enough --- a true gentleman of the sea----------- a wealth of knowledge -- a generous person even if it was hals booze ---

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TMJplus1

TMJplus1

Posted
Posted
great to hear your review, Lou, is it true that they did not have "semi-formal" nights...just 2 formal and 5 casual..we are packing for this Saturdays cruise and my husband was planning on his navy blazer and dresses for me on those 2 semi nights...now I don't know what to pack....dressing for dinner was always part of the fun for us...5 days to flight to SD...

 

Penny - When we were on O'dam in December they also had the 2 formal nights and 5 casual; but (like you) hubby and I enjoy dressing up so we just dressed nicely every night (and even nicer on the formal nights). You will not stand out like a sore thumb for dressing nicely on *any* night...so just do what you love to do and bring along those fancy clothes! Have fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Copper10-8 "Live from...." Rare

Copper10-8

Posted
Posted
great to hear your review, Lou, is it true that they did not have "semi-formal" nights...just 2 formal and 5 casual..we are packing for this Saturdays cruise and my husband was planning on his navy blazer and dresses for me on those 2 semi nights...now I don't know what to pack....dressing for dinner was always part of the fun for us...5 days to flight to SD...

 

Penny, just a heads up! We were on Oosterdam right before Lou and we did have one informal night - It was on Monday - We were on the New Years cruise though, so that might have been the difference

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...