oliver1821

Just got off the Oosterdam today:( The gala nights where 2nd night after Turks and second to the last night at sea. We booked the spa right after we boarded and it was $249.00 for a couple for 10 days. Not sure if there was a boarding Mariners lunch, but did receive an invite for a Mariners brunch during the cruise.

Enjoy your cruise!! We sure did!!

Thanks to everyone for all the positive and great feedback! I’m delighted that you enjoyed my report.

Thank you for the wonderful report on your trip and the Eurodam. You have an excellent eye for photography and your post are very descriptive. Keep traveling, perhaps think of making it a career.

Thank you for the great review! Will be on the Oosterdam on 10/16 and your review just made it more anticipated!!

So very sorry for the loss of your DH.

My DH passed away on 12/20 many years ago followed by my Dad on 12/16 two years later. Mom and I (pictured with me in avatar) started cruising and have done many wonderful trips together!

I would definitely recommend starting your own tradition for the holidays and enjoy every moment.

This is the original topic. Please don't pursue topic drift. Thanks.

Been on Holland and Princess. The food is much better on HAL and I prefer the spa on HAL as well. Did not find the people on HAL to be old and boring at all. Lots of multi generation families, couple and singles. Princess has a livelier late night crowd in their disco. I cruise Celebrity the most and love that line, you might want to consider them.

Hah. As a (relatively!) younger female who likes to travel alone, I'll have to keep this in mind and try not to frighten anyone.

 

I could get a t-shirt made:

 

"I ALREADY HAVE ONE AT HOME, I DON'T WANT YOURS"

 

;)

Love it Perditax....My mom & I love to cruise and have encountered the neg vib...but not so bad that you can't turn it around and have a great time with people who are not so paranoid.

Thanks for your review. Will be sailing on her in 30 days!!

Yesterday I received an email offer that was too good to be true. I just got off the phone with HAL and it is true. :D

 

I just booked the 47 day Tales of The South Pacific and all I have to pay is taxes, port fees and HSC. The cabin is free. Yeah, really gratis. It's a casino offer. I couldn't pass this up. Seriously, a 47 day cruise for a total of $757.51!!! I can even take a guest if I choose. And that price includes insurance. I know it is gauche to speak about pricing but hey, this is amazing.

 

It is like a small miracle for me as I never thought I would get the opportunity to take Virgil's ashes to Bora Bora as he wanted but saved some in case. Now I can. :)

 

I am so excited and somewhat intimidated as I've never cruised alone - but hey world here I come!

You go girl!! Happy for you and your incredible offer....And to take your dear husbands ashes to Bora Bora is so wonderful...You will have an awesome time.

Which excursion should I do in half moon cay? I been looking at the one where you get to ride horses? My wife and I might enjoy but need feedback on it and if it's worth the 99 dollars per person?

 

Any other recommendations?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did the horseback riding in April. Lots of fun riding in the water was great. Go for it!!

Alaska trip July 2015

Here is the written version, pictures will follow. Have to work on those.

 

We just returned from our cruise tour to Alaska on the Oosterdam. We began in Fairbanks and ended in Vancouver. It was without a doubt a very memorable and fantastic trip. There were 10 adults in the group.

 

Day 1 Traveled to Fairbanks, even ran into the rest our group at the airport once we arrived. We were taken to the Westmark hotel in Fairbanks. The room was very nice! Check in is so easy! Each time you are off to a new destination you are given a packet on the bus or train that includes important information, itinerary and room keys. It is great, you just walk right in and go to your assigned room!

 

Day 2 Pre-embarkation day--after a good nights sleep were toured the Morris Thompson Cultural Center downtown (walking distance), a good introduction the Alaska and then we went to Pioneer Park. It is a very family oriented park. We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon there. If I went back I would perhaps do the Museum of the North or the hot springs. In the evening we attended a jazz concert in the downtown park given by the local Army base jazz band. Quite entertaining!

 

Day 3 Checked out. Off to the Discovery Riverboat tour and lunch. This tour and family style lunch were so good! A fun time had by all in our group. When you ride on the river boat (note--sit on the left side if possible). You get to see and learn so much from this tour. Then we enjoyed our bus ride to Denali. Our driver was great and shared a lot of information about Alaska.

We had great accommodations. We had enough time to go to the visitor center and then had dinner at the Salmon Bake restaurant. Watch the floor, it is slanted when you sit in certain sections. They were very accommodating and moved us to a level section. Food was very good.

 

Day 4 Tundra Wilderness tour--on a school bus, but comfortable seats. Had a great day. Our tour guide was so good. We got to see Mt McKinley early in the day from a distance. But once we reached the turn around point it had clouded over. We saw horned sheep, caribou, moose, bears, even a grizzly mom and her two cubs playing in the stream-what fun to see in the wild. Some of our party did the white water rafting in Denali, loved it! We ate dinner at Prospector's Pizza, great meal!

 

Day 5 Off to ride the McKinley Express to Anchorage. An all day trip. Great train excursion. You sit upstairs and go down the spiral staircase to eat in the dining cars. We even walked all the way to the end of the train. Food was good! You get an assigned seat that is stated in your paper work. It was a lot fun riding this train! Go and stand on the outside platforms, it is a lot fun. Arrived in Anchorage Westmark unfortunately for just for one night. Hotel was nice, had a great water and city view. It was raining. We met up with a family we know from home that live in Anchorage for dinner at Humpy's Ale house.

 

Day 6 Ate breakfast at the Snow City Café located at 1034 W 4th Ave, Anchorage. You can call ahead for reservations. I did that! This is a very popular restaurant. Great food and service! Then we boarded a bus to the train depot and then for the train excursion to Seward. This train is an older train and not owned by Holland. You are assigned a table. It is a very long day riding this train and gets uncomfortable sitting. Go and stand on the outside platforms, it is fun to do. You see beautiful scenery along the way.

Arrived at the ship! Yay!!! Embarkation went well! We got all registered while we on the train. This is a new method that Holland is doing. Even got our state room keys. Very nice!!!

Loved the Oosterdam!!! Once on board we went straight to dinner. Open seating for everyone. But we all ended up at our assigned table for the week.

Great food and wait staff for the entire week! Enjoy the welcome aboard show that began at 9 p.m. Muster drill was at about 7:30.

 

Day 7 Enjoyed a day of cruising on the ship. Attended some information sessions, enjoyed the food, and saw the comedy show that night (clean comedy for the family).

 

Day 8 Enjoyed cruising through Glacier Bay National Park. Beautiful sights to see! We even got to hear and see the calving of the glaciers. It was quite cool on deck. This is when I drank hot chocolate and used my gloves and hat/hood. The sun did come out later so it did warm up.

 

Day 9 Docked in Haines. Got off the boat very early catch the fast ferry to Skayway. This is a fun ride. Once we got to Skayway we were greeted by our tour guide Michele (Trails of 98 TNT tours). She drove us all the way up the Klondike highway into Canada to Carcross and Emerald Lake. We saw such beautiful and breath taking views. The trip was incredible. We got back to Skagway with no time to tour the town. So back on the ferry we went. Got back to Haines and returned to the ship.

 

Day 10 Docked in Juneau. We were greeted by our tour representative of Harv and Marv. We were off to the dock where we met Captain Jeff and naturalist Sarah. A great crew, I must say. We had an awesome time on a Whale Watch with them, we saw humpback, orcas, harbor seals and sea lions and eagles. It was amazing, loved it!!! We also got a chance to see Mendenhall Glacier! That was great to see so up close. Great walking paths and visitor center. When we got back to Juneau we had lunch at Tracy's Crab Shack. Crowded, had to look for a place to sit. Food was good. Then the rest of the time, enjoyed strolling around the town and shopping.!

 

Day 11 Docked in Ketchikan. Some of the group toured the city and the Saxmen totem pole park. They enjoyed the tour. The others in the group did a sea float plane with Island Wings over the Misty Fjords. Weather was not fully cooperative but we still were able to go up in the plane. We had an spectacular time with our pilot Michelle. She is so such a great pilot, very knowledgeable and knows the area so well. Loved seeing the beautiful sights from up above. After some strolling around the town and shopping, we returned to the ship.

 

Day 12 Day of cruising down the inside passage. Again we experienced such amazing beauty of the magnificent state!!!

 

Day 13 Disembark We did self assist. We got off the boat on our own. Very organized in getting off and coming into Vancouver. Coming through customs was very easy.

Once we were off we walked not far to the Convention Center east to meet up with our tour company Land Sea Tours. We had planned 2 post days in Vancouver. They took us on an all day tour called Sea to Sky tour. We saw water falls, rode a gondola, walked on a suspension bridge and tour a copper mine. Great day for all! Our luggage stayed with us all day and we were dropped right off at our hotel, others went on the airport. Great way to spend one day if that is all you have in Vancouver. We stayed at the Blue Horizon right downtown, a really nice hotel with fantastic city views. We were on the higher floors.

 

Day 14 Some of the group used Land Sea tours to travel to Victoria for the day. This is a very long day trip, but they loved it!!! They picked them up right at the hotel and delivered them back there. Others booked a 4 hour city tour of Vancouver with Land Sea Tours. This was a great way to see this lovely city!!! We even got to go up the Vancouver lookout. After the tour and a short rest we walked along the water front area. Such a family oriented and clean city. Loved Stanley park and Granville Island. A great city to visit!!!

 

Day 15 Traveled home. So sad to leave this beautiful and amazing state!!! I hope to return someday! The trip is certainly one that will go down in the memory book forever!!!

 

Special notes:

Weather was good, some rain.

I did wear my capris, actually I wished I had taken another pair. I wore 3/4 length sleeve tops and t shirts. Never wore long sleeves.

I used my rain jacket, fleece/hoodie, winter coat (1 day) Glacier Bay.

I wore my sneakers most of the time, when on excursions I wore a hiking type sneaker style shoe.

I did dress up for the 2 gala nights (dress or nice pants with a dress up top some wore). Men wore nice pants, dress shirt, coat and tie.

On the smart casual nights-nice pants, nice top. Men wore khaki pants with a button shirt or polo.

Shows were very entertaining--musical, comedy, dance, illusionist, dancing with the stars and newlywed game (so very funny).

We met in the sports bar each night before dinner. After the shows we enjoyed the piano bar (Jimmy, he was so good!), the Queens lounge offered different activities during the week, and the Crows nest at well. Overall, entertainment was good and enjoyable.

 

The food was very good--ate on the lido deck during the day, main dining room each night, and the Pinnacle grill (included in our package). Actually like the main dining room better. Loved our wait staff and stewards. The entire staff are so wonderful, go out of their way for everyone. Walk around on the Deck 3 (Promenade Deck) great thing to do on cruising days.

Pools/hot tubs were open-water temperature was 84.

Take advantage of the different things they have to offer some were quite fun.

Example we toured the ship kitchen, cooking classes, port informational sessions and movies.

There were a lot of children on our ship, seemed to very happy and well entertained by the clubs that they have for the different age groups.

Cabin--all of us were on deck 5 mid ship. I was in cabin 5082 mid ship. We had the lifeboats right below us but twe had a beautiful and full view straight out from our balcony. I would recommend a balcony. It was nice to sit out there, seeing the ports as we arrived and left. The cabin was very comfortable with lots of storage space. Note: you can put your suitcases under the bed for storage. Take along a power strip for extra plug sockets. I also took my own hairdryer, bath soap, shampoo and conditioner, they did provide all of these though.

I would definitely cruise on this ship again. Loved the Oosterdam!!!

Thank you for your review!! Sounds like a great trip. Will be on the Oosterdam for the first time next month...can't wait!!

Reading reviews from cruise critic members. A lot of people complaining about vibrations throughout the ship. Very concerned about booking now. It says on the h.a. Website that Rotterdam deck may have vibrations. If it is through the ship then no different which deck we book? any info would be appreciated.

I was on the Eurodam in April of this year and never noticed any unusual vibrations...maybe some people are more sensitive to this. Book and have a great time, wonderful ship!

What beautiful post!! Always try to tip everyone who does the unsung jobs on every cruise. Play it forward folks!

What beautiful post!! Always try to tip everyone who does the unsung jobs on every cruise. Play if forward folks!

In my humble opinion...we all get on the Ship and have an excellent time!!

Rent a cabana on half moon, it's only $19.95 with two chairs and you will be out of the sun!

Sorry not the cabana...expensive. The clamshell is $19.95

I love the beach and can't wait to lounge around and go in the water. However, I'm traveling with a 3 year old and a pasty white DH that sweats buckets in 70 degree weather and burns as if he took a nap right on the surface of the Sun itself.

 

Any thoughts about how to nab shade? Do we need to be the first off the boat? How early do people start lining up to get off the ship? Is it possible to buy or rent an umbrella, or bring one from home?

Rent a cabana on half moon, it's only $19.95 with two chairs and you will be out of the sun!

Wow, I just noticed that today marks 10 years since I've joined Cruise Critic.:D

 

I have made such wonderful friends, gotten such fabulous advice and had some great belly laughs from y'all. :)

 

You've been here for me when I needed cruising assistance. Saw me through the births of my grand children and the illness and death of my beloved partner in crime.

 

So just a moment of reflection. If only we could all be as good to each other in real life as we are on this site this world would be a much better place.

 

Thanks to all my CC friends and to CC itself for helping to make my world a better place. :D

What a nice post Trisha! I agree lots of wonderful people and advice on the Holland post.

Last April on the Eurodam there was a sweet couple in wheelchairs. They had a service dog equally as sweet that did not disturb anyone. Not sure what service this little Yorkie did but what was the harm?

Did not go on HAL until 2011 and was so happy with this line, I'm taking my 3rd cruise in October on the Oosterdam. Most of my cruises have been with Celebrity and RCCL.

I have done two 7 day Caribbean cruises on Eurodam, and one 12 day Med. cruise on Reflection. The following are just my opinions, and you might have completely different cruising tastes and expectations.

 

I would take Eurodam hands down. In fact, I have turned down a couple of opportunities to go on cruises with friends recently because they were sailing the Reflection again and I have had enough of it. Here's MY take on it:

 

Reflection is a big ship. There are several EXCELLENT restaurants on Reflection and I went to all of them at least once and enjoyed them all. That said, the restaurants cost 40 dollars per guest for dinner, so for a couple that's $80 plus tip more per night added to the cost of your cruise. Of course you can eat in any of the several MDRs or the buffet at no extra cost, the same as on Eurodam, but if you are on the Reflection, I think you are going to want to try the (as I said, excellent) other dining venues. In addition to the restaurants for dinner, there is a great coffee shop, a crepe and soup (forgot the name) restaurant that has delicious lunches, and a gelato shop. The buffet is just so-so. The Lido restaurant on any HAL ship beats it hands down.

 

Okay enough about food.

 

There are other good things about the Reflection of course - but none of them are "good enough" FOR ME to be the deciding factor. The shops are more upscale and plentiful (I don't usually shop on board anyway). The staterooms are just okay. I sailed with a large group of friends and we were in an array of categories so I saw many of them. The suites are nice but without the Neptune Lounge I didn't think they were worth the premium. I was in a regular balcony cabin. The bathroom was quite a bit better than the bathroom on an equivalent Eurodam cabin, but the rest of the cabin was cramped and didn't have as much storage space.

 

My BIGGEST "gripe" with Reflection was the lack of "outdoors". Okay, call me crazy, but I found it hard to "get outside"! Yes, yes, there are ways to get on deck up on the higher decks, but there is NO wrap-around deck such as you have on deck three of the Eurodam, and which in my mind, makes or breaks a cruise!!! I love Eurodam for the "vibe", the relaxed feeling of being "away from it all". I love the Eurodam's amazing crew! As mentioned, the Lido food (and the Dive-In, not to mention the MDR and Pinnacle Grill and Tamarind!!) offer great food at much lower price than the alternative venues on Reflection. Eurodam is a quieter ship, and seems to attract a less "partying" crowd, but keep in mind I've only been on Reflection once and might be putting Eurodam in the basket with all the other HAL ships I have been on....

 

Bottom line for me - if you like to be on deck outside watching the waves or whales, and you like a quieter, more sedate cruise, I would go with Eurodam.

Whatever you choose - have a great time! I know you will!

I so agree with you!

I stand correction, Celebrity no longer offers 123. I've not had the Explorer drink package as the wine list on HAL is not to my liking. Always bring my own wine on board HAL and pay corkage, yes I'm a wino.....

Both are wonderful. Pros on HAL - wrap around promenade decks to walk on, dive in grill and the wonderful staff. Pros on Celebrity - Blu and aqua class their 123 packages much better than HAL. I would go with the ports you most want to do and enjoy your cruise!

One of my favorite things about HAL is the promenade deck, to be out in the fresh air walking the deck is so relaxing and so much nicer than being in the GYM walking on the treatmills...do that enough at home!

Did the 10 day in Aqua on Equinox and loved it. If you like the spa and blu dining this is a great choice as they are included in the price of Aqua cabin. The cabins are same size as the veranda. If blu dining did not appeal to you, I would book a regular veranda and pay for the spa pass, which would probably be cheaper.

Sailed on all the ships and agree with most of the posters. Hal and Celebrity as a lot alike...Did the Med on Celebrity and it is very port intensive, only time I had an inside stateroom and it was fine as we really were never in the cabin except to sleep!

Last 2 cruises have been on Hal and I think the food is a step above Celebrity. Did not care for Princess and stopped sailing RCCL when Celebrity arrived.