ldlewis45

9 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

Thank you!  I’ll have the premium package. I’ve heard prior that the Oosterdam internet was awful; so this report is very encouraging!

It has far improved since the last time I sailed on her.  In 2017 and 2019, I could rarely even pick up internet in the room.  I upgraded to the premium wifi on this cruise, and I've been able to stream without issues (granted, I haven't used Zoom, just streamed videos on FB and websites).

6 hours ago, erewhon said:

Thanks for your report. sorry about the water and the bed.

You mentioned some Elemis products no longer supplied in the Neptune Suite, what Elemis products are still provided?  

The regular shampoo, conditioner, and bodywash dispensers in the shower and bathtub, liquid hand soap and lotion dispensers at the sinks, mini bar of soap, and a shower cap.  

5 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

Based on last year’s TA where internet was practically impossible on the transatlantic portion (don’t know why - it has been before) and that the OP is posting in the middle of the ocean, it certainly sounds like the Oosterdam may have it?  

For me, the internet has been fine.  I have heard several people complain about the internet, but I've never had an issue.  And I did on previous cruises, so it has definitely improved.

1 hour ago, Shalandara said:

Also on this cruise and I have had no issues with water temperature.  I’m sorry you are.

 

I am more than amused by the complaints on the Facebook pages … even more so by the complainers being contradicted by others on this cruise (sone even shutting off comments since they are not getting the reactions they want.)

I figure that every cruise can be a different experience for each cruiser, depending on their expectations, their stateroom location, stewards, etc.  I've had cruises that I thought were fantastic and I've later listened to people say it was the worst cruise they've been on.  I'm sure that other cruisers probably would have been screaming down the house at guest services with the water issues, but while it is frustrating to not  know from day to day whether I'll have sufficiently hot water, it isn't like screeching at the Neptune Suite concierge or guest services is likely going to change anything.  Bad pipes or water systems in that section of the ship isn't necessarily something they're going to make perfect without going into drydock.  What matters is that they have been responsive and have been trying to fix it, even going to the extent of shutting off the water entirely one morning nd basically destroying a hallway to try to get it fixed.

4 minutes ago, Sir PMP said:

Clipping toenails in the spa, that's awful:

Especially since she didn't even clean them up!  She couldn't have figured out in the changing room that she needed clipping and done it there?  

1 minute ago, FLCruiser97 said:

Nice balcony.

I'm sailing on Her in April Trans-Atlantic. Hopefully by then some of the cabin issues will be fixed.

It's weird, because it seems like water issues are a problem in multiple areas.  One of the people in my rollcall said that they've got the opposite problem, that their hot water can get so hot sporadically that it probably isn't safe.

1 minute ago, puppycanducruise said:

Thanks for sharing your comments.

Too bad about the tepid water and the rude person (I can't call her a lady) in the spa.

She literally just lifted her leg and let another one rip right before she sat up to clip her toenails.  Not even an, "Oh, excuse me," or anything.  I thought it was unintentional until then, then I realized that was definitely not the issue at hand.

So a bit of back-story first.  This is my 3rd HAL cruise, and coincidentally, also my third on thr Oosterdam and in Neptune Suite 5190.  My other cruises were 7-day round-trip Alaska cruises from Seattle, so this was my longest cruise on the ship.  To be honest, I was worrying that I would run out of things to do on a longer cruise, since the Oosterdam is not a massive ship. 

I was pleasantly surprised, although there were a few changes in the 4 years since I'd last boarded her that I wasn't thrilled with.  For one, I miss B.B. King's.  It was replaced with the Rolling Stone lounge earlier this year, and while I'll admit that the variation in musical styles is nice, the lounge isn't acoustically suited for rock music (the reverberation is a little too much sometimes), in my opinion.  Another change is that they aren't doing the Rudi's pop-up dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, and that was one of the dining highlights of the Alaska cruises I took on the Oosterdam.   HAL has apparently also cut out the additional Elemis toiletries in the suites now (used to have pillow spray, lip balm, eye gel, etc. provided at night). And apparently chocolates are no longer provided every night.  I was given a couple of pieces on the cruise so far, but not since the first week (and I think only on two occasions that week).  

My biggest complaint has been that I have been unable to get truly hot water in my suite at any point on this cruise.  To the point where there was literally only cold water on two mornings.  I've made a couple of complaints, but it's only been a temporary fix and still has never resulted in actually hot water.  I've kept the knob turned as hot as it'll go, and it's still usually a bit tepid at best.  To make the point, the mineral pool in the spa has always been hotter than the hottest water I've gotten in my suite.  I'm guessing the root cause is a lack of maintenance, as this was never an issue during my previous cruises in the same suite.  While she's still a nice ship, the Oosterdam is badly in need of updating in the staterooms. 

The view from 5190 and its balcony can't be beat (it's a massive, completely covered aft corner wrap balcony with a dining table, four dining chairs, 2 arm chairs, and 2 lounge chairs with a side table) but the room and especially the bathroom are in need of updates.  While admittedly subjective, the bed is probably the least comfortable bed I've had on a cruise, and that's counting the two previous Oosterdam cruises, where I was sleeping on the couch bed.  The two sides have definitely had uneven wear.  It's not a deal-breaker or the end of the world, but again shows a need for refurbishment.

In terms of food, service and quality has been decent to very good.  I've dined in the Pinnacle Grill twice and Canaletto once.  The Canaletto meal was okay, but the appetizers (burrata with tomatoes and some really tasty meatballs) were better than the ossobuco, which had decent flavor but seemed like it had been improperly pressure cooked (kind of tender, but somehow still dry).  The highlight of the premium meals was the chocolate souffle that I had both times I ate at the Pinnacle Grill.   It was perfectly cooked and just the right level of richness and sweetness.  Again, I miss the pop-up Rudi's, as they have replaced it with a seafood boil in the lido.  I'm not a fan, as I don't eat that much seafood and when I do, it's almost always going to be either fresh fish or king crab legs.  As usual, the lido has been surprisingly good, to the point that I have yet to go the dining room.  I'm still a big fan of the custom omelets and crepes.

We have today, tomorrow, and Tuesday remaining, and arrive in Ft. Lauderdale on Wednesday.  This has been overall a good cruise, but I'll admit I am hoping I can actually get a truly hot shower in my stateroom before I get off the ship, especially with how much this vacation cost.

Although, I am finding today a bit questionable since I'm currently laying on a hot tile lounger in the spa listening to a lady casually pass gas multiple times on lounger two down from me and literally just started clipping her toenails.  😬😬😬

Yeah, JD is available on this one, too, but it's not to my taste.  Now, if they had Widow Jane or Russell's Reserve, I'd be all over it, even though I'd hate to see how much they'd charge!

16 minutes ago, Roz said:

Jim Beam, the preferred bourbon of UK frat boys. 😁

YES.  It's so gross.  I really wish that HAL would put a great bourbon/whisky bar on board, with really good bourbon that's harder to find.  I'd be willing to pay for really good quality stuff.  But I'm not paying almost $90 for a bottle of crummy Jim Beam and 3 cans of Coke, lol.

I'd love to get a decent bottle of bourbon to have in my stateroom for when I'm chilling on the balcony (it's an AMAZING balcony, lol).  Problem is, the only bourbon that they offer on the website to buy in advance is Jim Beam, which isn't gonna cut it, lol.  Can you purchase a full bottle at one of the bars and just keep it in your stateroom?  I really don't feel like having to run out to one of the bars when I'm enjoying the balcony.  I know they won't have my preferred brands on board (they're from small-batch distilleries), but I'd be satisfied with Maker's Mark or Woodford Reserve.

Well, part of it, anyway.  I turn 40 in 2023, so I booked the Oosterdam 14-day Spanish Farewell Transatlantic in Nov 2023 in an aft suite.  My current idea is to fly to Europe early and hopefully see Paris (mostly for the Louvre), Italy, and Spain.  It's a massive splurge for me, but I figure I'll only turn 40 once!

Good for Key West.  I'll admit, I never saw the point of spending over $1000 for a cruise that stops in Florida, of all places.  When I lived in Florida, I always told people, "I live in Florida, why in God's name would I spend money to take a cruise that stops here?  The whole point of taking a cruise is to get away!"  But, that's also why I've never taken a New England cruise or a California coast cruise.  I've never really seen the point, since I take cruises to visit locations to which I can't drive (Alaska, Europe, Caribbean, etc.). 

On 5/2/2019 at 4:47 PM, Crew News said:

I would not trade my Deck 5 aft balconies in Alaska for even a Neptune Suite.  The 12-foot deep balcony is great for entertaining friends and the full overhead coverage allows me to stand on the balcony in a driving rain in Glacier Bay and take photos/videos in a dry environment.  With no wind while the ship is moving, I can eat dinner and enjoy the scenery while most passengers cannot.  I can stay on my aft balcony and see both sides of the ship and not have to compete for space at the railings.

 

Others who are not photographers may prefer a bigger stateroom, and not being able to use their balconies in the rain, over the photo and scenery-watching opportunities available on a Deck 5 aft stateroom on Vista-class ship (except Noordam).

I agree!  I've sailed in the same deck 5 corner aft Neptune Suite (5190) twice to Alaska on the Oosterdam.  The deep, covered balcony is fantastic!  I just booked a transatlantic from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale for next year in a deck 5 aft balcony (5189) on the Westerdam.  I had been waivering on booking the cruise, but when I saw that one of the deck 5 aft balcony staterooms was available, I had to jump on it.  It's perfect for cold or potentially cool weather. 

If you like seafood, definitely go to Rudi's Sel de Mer!  It's one night only, but it was incredible and definitely worth the price!  Also, there is lunch offered at the Pinnacle Grill, which is a nice change from the buffet. 

18 hours ago, madera1 said:

We have been on several cruises in aft facing rooms and only one time did we experience lots of motion but we were in a terrible storm. We have 5190 booked on the Oosterdam for our July Alaska trip.

You will LOVE 5190!  We had that one booked for our 2017 Alaska cruise, and managed to get it again for our Sept 1 Alaska cruise this year.  The balcony is flat-out AMAZING and almost ridiculously massive.  Just be careful not to lock yourself out on the balcony!  We accidentally did that during our Hubbard Glacier day and had to yell to one of the other balconies, so that they could get the attention of our steward, lol.

15 minutes ago, GOLDENBONNY said:

I was always sure that cruise ship better option than a caribbean resort ,if something happens health wise. It would be really interesting to know what they can really do or not on cruise ships. What we can expect and demand if anything happens. 

From "behind the scenes" tours I've taken, and from having to board ships for work, the medical centers onboard aren't meant for much beyond basic first aid.  I mean, CPR, attempts at resuscitation if someone stops breathing, attempting to keep someone alive long enough for transport to shore, sure.  But extended care or diagnostics, nope.  It's like a triage center.  Can something be fixed by a bandage or some anti-emetics, or is it something that needs to be taken to shore?

4 minutes ago, jes1941 said:

idlewis45, I don't think you can compare MSC to Carnival in any way, shape or form.  Everyone knows Carnival as a party ship, i.e. hairy chest contest, best legs, stuffing ping pong balls in a female's bikini top, etc.  Too many kids most of the time but if we take kids, that's ok.  We are still in shock at how inexpensive the price of this cruise was! Disembark..off the Seaside 5/18 and back to our hotel room in one hour..Carnival, 3 long hours, and embarkation was not much different with the long lines. Disembarking at 5:00 pm was fine with us, and you knew that when booking.  The evening tour was good and not so hot and the sunset, amazing! Forts?  If you've seen one, you've seen them all. Of course, this is just my opinion.  Good luck in your future sailings.

You misunderstood my post.  I never compared the quality of a Carnival cruise to the quality of an MSC cruise.  I was basically saying that, just as I have to do with Carnival, I was going to have to strongly weigh what I was likely to experience on MSC versus the cost of the cruise to determine if it was worth the price.  I had a very good time on my MSC cruises, and I'm likely to take one again.  I'm just not likely to take it if I have to pay a premium to do so, and that's looking more likely as their prices rise for the US market, and not if I'm looking for more time in certain ports.  There's multiple reasons I feel that way.  One, the fact that both cruises I took had issues that were harder to rectify than they should have been.  Two, the fact that the fellow cruisers sometimes had different standards for what constituted polite behavior.  (Although, I've found that to be true on US cruise lines departing from different regions in the US, too, so I place less emphasis on that than some other people.  I'm very good at ignoring other people's behavior and basically doing a mental "well, bless their heart!"  If you're from the US south, you know what that means, lol.)  Three, the port times aren't always ideal if I plan on doing something particular in a port.  Granted, that's something that has to be considered on every cruise, no matter the line. If I'm looking for a relaxation cruise, where all I'm going to be doing is the spa, sitting on my balcony, finding a good spot to read in a bar, and not planning on doing much in the ports, sure, I'll sail with MSC again if they're the right price.  But I'm also willing to go with Carnival, NCL, Holland America, etc.  

Yes, I did know the port times when booking, obviously.  I just didn't realize at the time that it would impact it as much as it did, as when I initially booked, I was going to be traveling by myself and had been to the forts in San Juan previously.  Then my parents decided to join me.  I was disappointed in the times for my dad, especially, as he is a history fan and had never been to the forts at San Juan before (or any others that I know of).  I don't usually do cruise line tours, as I've found that more often than not, they're a cattle call and not ideal for people that have difficulty getting around or issues with hearing (my parents).  So basically, we got off the ship, went to a restaurant nearby that I'd been to before and knew was good, had dinner, went to a couple of nearby shops, and got back on the ship.  I just don't know why they timed the port stop like they did, when it cuts out a huge portion of available on-shore attractions, especially since the previous MSC Seaside cruise I took had a much earlier arrival in San Juan.  So yeah, I won't pay a premium in the future for a cruise that basically wastes what would have been a great port.  

And as for the disembarkation in Miami, well, that's more on CBP than MSC, lol.  I work for CBP.  The reason it was so fast is that CBP in the port of Miami has fairly recently implemented facial recognition equipment, which speeds everything up considerably.  Now that most people are just getting cleared by the camera and aren't having to stand in a line and speak with an officer, you get off the ship a heck of a lot faster (as long as the system doesn't crash, which it did for a short period on the 18th).  It's ideal for the passenger, not so much for Customs, lol.  But it has absolutely nothing to do with MSC's abilities.  

13 hours ago, newenglandbob said:

Thanks. More WiFi then

Hope the wifi works in your stateroom.  Mine didn't.  I bought the 6 GB internet package in advance, since I do a lot of online reading, but wound up only being able to use it when I wasn't in my room.  My stateroom was just off the forward elevators, too, not in some far-aft or far-forward location, so it was fairly ridiculous.

For me, I have to say that I would have to weigh the cost of the cruise against what I've experienced on MSC, to decide whether to cruise with them again.  I consider them to be similar to Carnival, to be honest, not in terms of the cruise itself, but the irritation of dealing with them.  I LIKE Carnival, but I don't think Carnival is worth a premium price, so I'm only willing to spend up to a certain amount on a cruise with them.  I like MSC.  The food was rather good, especially in the buffet (although, I thought their steakhouse wasn't worth the expense).  Some of the drinks are good, if I stick to one or two bars, but I have to find a particular bartender and stick with them.  I like that you can get through the boarding process fairly simply.  That said, since I've had nagging issues that were difficult to get resolved on both of the MSC cruises I've taken, I have to heavily weigh the likelihood that something is probably going to not be "right" and will likely be unreasonably difficult and time-consuming to have corrected.  I'll have to ask myself, "Is this cruise priced to where I'm willing to probably have to spend hours of my cruise to get something corrected, that would take only minutes on another line?"  Especially considering that the port times in my favorite Caribbean ports are not ideal.  I mean, 5 pm for a docking time in San Juan?  One of the major draws of San Juan are the forts, which close at 6 pm.  The St. Martin dock times are not much better. 

I just got off my second cruise on the Seaside this past Saturday, also having cruised with multiple other lines.  I can definitely see where the OP is coming from, as both of my Seaside cruises had issues, too.  If anything is an issue, expect multiple trips to guest services to get it corrected.  On my 1st Seaside cruise last year, they charged my account for something I hadn't bought, and it took 2 trips to guest services to get it removed (and having to argue to both people I spoke with that, no, I didn't make the purchase and yes, I'm absolutely sure I didn't make the purchase, and that NO, I DIDNT BUY ANYTHING FROM THAT SHOP AT ANY POINT ON THIS CRUISE). 

This time, I got talked into buying the premium drink package on board, even after telling the guy that sold it that I was mostly interested in the chocolate martinis in the chocolate shop and being assured that as long as they were under $12, they would be included, and also reading the description of the package that specified that it wound be valid for drinks under that amount at all bars on board, and seeing that it didn't state any exceptions.  Cue me going to buy a chocolate martini at Venchi and being told that it wasn't included in any package sold, even though I was staring right at an advertising placard for the drink packages on the counter at Venchi.  I was tempted to ask why they were advertising for a product that can't actually be used there, but drank my chocolate martini and went to guest services to spend half an hour in line to get it removed.  That guy said it would be done, but I still had to go and repeat the process the next day, since it still hadn't been corrected.  Didn't get the full price of the package back, but decided it wasn't worth the effort of another trip to GS. 

Does anyone have any current drink prices and/or menus for the Seaside?  I'm trying to decide whether it will be worth buying a drink package for my Seaside cruise on May 11th.  When I cruised on it last year, my booking had the Drinks on Us package included, and I upgraded for a reasonable price to the Deluxe package, which was nice because it included pretty much everything I was wanting to try.  My upcoming cruise unfortunately doesn't include any drinks, so now I'm wondering whether to buy a package or not, as the Premium package is $434 and the Premium Plus package is $553, and I'm not sure I'll spend enough on booze, bottled water, etc. to cover it.  

My parents and I will be flying back to our respective cities from FLL after 4 pm the day our Seaside cruise ends.  Are there any Miami/Everglades tour excursions that are available to purchase through MSC that end at FLL?

Sitka also has some great art shops/galleries, if you want to pick up some hand-made souvenirs, whether it's jewelry or pieces of art.  There were some gorgeous paintings there when we were there in 2017, and it was the one time I've ever been truly tempted to pay for an original painting.  They've also got some great local sea salt that you can buy, and it's really worth the price.  

Probably, unless there are delays for some reason. And that has happened in the past, so there's no guarantee.