FlaMariner

Disembarked the Oosterdam Monday...4/10 after fantastic 19 nigh South America cruise. We were in 8077....suite but not sure what category......that was mid ship....three doors (or so) from the mid ship elevator. Super quiet room. Never had any noise issues.

We disembarked from Port Everglades yesterday and took Amtrak from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando.......We easily made the 8:50am northbound Amtrak Silver Meteor. We did early dis-embarkation (7am) and were at the Fort Lauderdale Amtrak station with plenty of spare time. Arrived in Orlando ontime after lunch. Easy peezy but looking forward to Brightline.

Disembarked the Oosterdam yesterday after a 19 night cruise. Dinner was in the MDR every night. Food was great. Had surf and turf on one dressy night. Variety, hot food was hot, soups were good, great fish dishes, good desserts....red velvet cake. Service was attentive. We were first sitting, and dinner was at a elegant leisurely pace of an hour and 15-20 minutes. Sunday sea day brunch in the MDR was a new thing for us.....Chicken and waffles, monte Cristo, much more, great choices and a nice addition. Lido was the usual good choices.......no long lines.....crepes and eggs Benedict and omelets stood out....bread pudding at lunch...super as always.....salad bar is a favorite. Dive in burgers are the best. As are fries with dive in sauce. Any specific questions while it's all recent in the head?

5:30pm was when they opened the MDR doors for first sitting.....just disembarked the Oosterdam yesterday (South America voyage)

Just got off her yesterday and she was spotless and in fine shape. We would sail her again. Our last cruises have been on the Nieuw Statendam, Rotterdam and Koningsdam and though newer, we loved the Oosterdam and she is a classy ship that impressed us. Nothing tired and dated about her, in our opinion.

yes, saw it in our closet yesterday on the Oosterdam. And it is a big standard side one.

Just disembarked the Oosterdam yesterday (19 night South America) and the ship was spotless, the food delicious and the crew on top of it....Numerous activities/entertainment options....We'd sail on her again without a doubt.

I'm the OP and I'm happy to report that this morning, the IT gods have shined upon us and Her Majesty was able to log in successfully. She is no longer in the "unknown error" camp....We feel good that now she will be able to order her cannonball burger from Dive In via the Navigator app. All is well in the first world.

We are on @Taters cruise...... We got the exact same offers that @Taters got....declined the first and took the second......agree with Taters that for us, $1499 is too high..... I will add that yesterday (4 days before sailing) we were offered a Neptune at an additional $499 pp and the offer was gone before the TA could grab it. Moral of the story: If you are fine with the upsell price, you should grab it immediately as it may not come around again and it may not be available later. If you are not fine with the upsell price, let it go. Either way, you get to sail on an awesome 'dam ship!

Yep, but we are t minus 4 days until embarkation and the navigator app is the preferred way to show the boarding pass.....so we were getting all ready today and mine works fine but Her Majesty is the lucky winner of the "unknown error". We live to fight again tomorrow......

Her Majesty is feeling better knowing we are not alone in our IT struggles......The unknown error continues but we will muddle thru somehow.

Her Majesty is unable to log in to Navigator and that's the message that comes back. Any suggestions?

We do not worry with that and all our clothes come out perfect. We just check them on the list, bag 'em and off they come back all clean, ironed and wrapped in tissue in a basket.

Have others experienced sold out for the thermal spa? We always buy on day 1 and never had a problem...but I am curious....has anyone been told the spa is sold out? (I know they do try to create the "sense of urgency" when you take the after embarkation tour but not sure how real that is)

We've experienced the balcony cabin toilet on the Koninsgsdam. I am 5'10" and her majesty is 5'4". We did not have any issues with the toilet.

All is well now when I log in.......3/19 9:13amET

How much is "a decent wage"?

Our experience as well on the Nieuw Statendam this past November. We opted for once a day but they were ready, willing and able to visit 2x a day.

Enjoy it....we think it is heaven on earth.

LOL, my bad. Please disregard my rants about emergencies....LOL. Answer: Use navigator on the ship, purposely get lost from others when in port.

Seems like it starts a month prior to departure but can change..sometimes several times. ....I think it is critical that everyone adhere strictly to their boarding times and please do not arrive early. You must arrive at precisely your assigned boarding times. This is important to keep everyone safe.

I so agree with this!!!! There is absolutely nothing we can do about much of anything....and there is really no need to know.......This emergency ship call at $16 a minute helps affirm that it is only in a dire emergency and the house burning down is not one of them.......Also, if someone goes to the hospital, the doctors take care of that, not me.....What else? The dog broke his leg? Again....the vet will handle..... We are not one of those families that have to check in twice a day and report on our trip to the grocery.........and our adult kids get the emergency contact info and they know not to try to find us and to solve stuff themselves......and they understand the ground rules. And I am confident they will only call us if it is truly a life threatening situation that must have us stop everything and take the first flight home...(although none of us are sure what that event might be and hope we never find out) We enjoy not being tied to a phone/email/computer/tablet/telephone while cruising...and we fine that we "enjoy the journey" better that way.....I realize others are wired differently and I'm glad we have choices w/communications....but don't call us! ....with that said, our plan is to give the emergency contact information to the kids and enjoy the journey.....

We don't mess with our cell phones or email or anything electronic when we sail.....But we do give this to our adult children in case there is a MAJOR emergency. For those that enjoy keeping in touch, perhaps this is good insurance if they have an emergency and cannot reach you any other way. We use this as the contact of last resort.....because it is expensive: Additionally, you can call the ship directly from the shore. We recommend that you use this for the most critical emergencies only: Connecting to a Holland America Line vessel at sea is simple by using Ship Dial Service. A credit card is required for all inbound phone calls to a ship. The rate is $USD16.00 per minute and billing begins at the time specified. Please have the ship's name, your party's name and stateroom number before you call. Instructions: 1. Dial 1-800-993-5483 (US). From outside the U.S. access 1-321-837-6106. 2. Listen to the announcement. 3. Listen to the menu and select the number that corresponds to the ship you are calling. 4. If you receive a busy signal or message, please hang up quickly and try your call again. Please print this page and give it to whomever you wish for dialing instructions.

Not enough of an incentive to get me to cruise on Princess again. I'll pay the $2.95 any day rather than board Princess.....LOL.

If it is free, I'd like two gallons please..........distilled water is not free at the grocery store...Not sure why it should be free on a ship? Now my bread pudding at lunch in lido, that should always be surcharge free...and it is and it is yummy.