Oosterdam Review day-by-day 01-09-2010 Mexico

[Cruisers1975]

We'll post pictures, and a link thereto, when we get back on shore. Meanwhile, it's costing 40c per minute while we're at sea...

[Kelownabccan]

Love the tongue and cheek report....actually fun to read....we are on the ship this Sat for the 11 day...."fun in the sun".....and...I even have picked up some tips I did not know....such as the free coffee drinks in the Neptune Bar???...the club sand room service...always loved the free capp's with dinner in the dining room...prob will never to to the High Dutch Tea....as tooooo lazy to drag myself from the pool....hope the food is better than you suggest as we were actually delighted with it on the Maasdam about a month ago in the Caribbean....maybe see you dragging Rog off the ship....lol.....Thanks

[Regal Eagle]

Did you scenic cruise Bahia Magdalena on your second sea day?

[3basenjis]

Did you scenic cruise Bahia Magdalena on your second sea day?

 

Yes did the ship actually do the senic cruise. we had to motor on past due to ill passengers on our cruise New Years cruise and i think the Christmas cruise did as well for the same reasons.

[lucky1ns]

How about liquor or beer?

 

Is that frowned upon?

 

Even with what we have taken aboard in the past our bar bill is always 4 digits.

[Zappa Fan]

How about liquor or beer?

 

Is that frowned upon?

 

Even with what we have taken aboard in the past our bar bill is always 4 digits.

 

Liquor and beer is not allowed to be brought on with HAL. But, like you, I spend PLENTY in the lounges, and don't think twice about placing that stuff in CHECKED baggage.

 

(I'd happily compare my onboard charges with those who find this "tacky".... tacky to me is dressing "to code" while looking like beached whales.... or looking down at others for what THEY perceive to be an infraction of Holland America's "rules".) :rolleyes:

[SwissMyst]

Yes did the ship actually do the senic cruise. we had to motor on past due to ill passengers on our cruise New Years cruise and i think the Christmas cruise did as well for the same reasons.

 

We had a nice time in the bay on the Oosterdam Christmas cruise, but unfortunately no whale sighting but a nice slow meander with some excellent commentary. The medical evacuation had been completed in the early morning so it did not slow down the rest of the cruise.

 

Reports were the patient was later fine but they did have to turn the entire ship around for a few hours to head back into the flight range of the evacuation planes.

 

This is a very nicely paced 7 day itinerary.

[SwissMyst]

[quote=Zappa Fan;2268766

 

(I'd happily compare my onboard charges with those who find this "tacky".... tacky to me is dressing "to code" while looking like beached whales.... or looking down at others for what THEY perceive to be an infraction of Holland America's "rules".) :rolleyes:

 

Everyone who dressed up looked quite wonderful on our cruise. It added to the holiday festivities. I didn't see anyone looking like they hated it. Just the opposite. Good time was had by all who honored the special evenings. It was a time for special dressing.

 

More that people looked up to those that wanted to participate making it fun for everyone else than "looking down" on those who chose not to. They were ignored more than anything. You might be reading more into what people are thinking than is actually going on. It was too much fun seeing how nice everyone else was looking on those night. It was a very pretty scene. Keep it up, HAL.

[jackiedanny]

"So, while Rog is off to the gym working off the hamburger I ate"

 

hey can i borrow him!!!! lol

 

love the review and the snark and some of the comments from people who left their sense of humour on their last ship

jackiedanny:D

[AirGorilla]

This is GREAT!! I love your sense of humor, and the review is extremely well-written!! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this review!!

 

Please know that the great majority of posters on this thread are thoroughly enjoying it!!

 

AG

[SwissMyst]

To help balance the unwitting who stumble on this thread and leave thinking they made a bad decision to cruise on the Oosterdam. Nope, you might have made just a bad decision to read this thread and take it seriously:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1121430

[callmedeb]

To help balance the unwitting who stumble on this thread and leave thinking they made a bad decision to cruise on the Oosterdam. Nope, you might have made just a bad decision to read this thread and take it seriously:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1121430

 

Seriously? Just... Ugggh.:(

[Cruisers1975]

Day Six – Cabo San Lucas

 

 

 

Before we continue, there is a Big Tip that I forgot to mention. Remember that $39 bus trip we took in Mazatlan, just so I could see the Pantalones Flyers? Well, imagine my surprise when walking around yesterday on the beach in Puerto Vallarto when we came upon exactly the same demonstration, for free. Different performers, but they had the same costumes, the same pole, and the same ancient post-show sacred ritual: heads bobbing, arms outstretched, caps upturned, and dollar bills raining. So, save your $39 and share more of it with the Flyers of Puerto Vallarta.

 

The street sculptures, and especially the sand castles, are another free attrition in PV, as is the famous crown-topped cathedral.

 

But today, we are in Cabo.

 

Rough ride last night. Woke us both up around 5:00AM. This might bother some people, but if you enjoy trains (and we both love trains), then this is nothing worse, and just as soothing, most of the time. Certainly nothing like flight turbulence, and we all survive that.

 

Breakfast arrived on time, as ordered. It’s going to be a beautiful day!

 

Spoke too soon.

 

Our DVS-Better People status gave us priority tender service, but we were absorbed into the stampede for the first tender anyway, and arrived on shore quickly and ready for our second day of hotel site inspections.

 

Took a cab to One & Only Palmilla, for a quick tour there of a magnificent property, with over 50 years in that location which gives it a lush and cool landscaping that simply cannot be purchased by newer properties. We cabbed from there to what is regarded by many as the premier resort in all of Mexico, Las Ventanas, for a completely different feel, emphasizing the desert, a kind of Greek Island look in the Sonora Desert.

 

I don’t know my history well enough to know if Montezuma ever inhabited Baja, but I suggest his descendents may have, as they touched Rog this morning shortly before our planned lunch at Las Ventanas, cutting short that visit, aborting the next one, and even (“you know I must be feeling ill or I wouldn’t be…”) skipping the planned stop at a Cabo jewellery store for one last longing look at watches.

 

Curtains drawn against the afternoon sun, Rog has spent the rest of the day in bed, moaning every once in a while to let me know he’s still alive. I made a quick visit to the ship’s Medical Centre, where a nurse saw me immediately, congratulated me on coming to see her, and sent me back to my cabin with a pre-assembled bag of Relief and Instructions, including Gatoraid mix (free) to be added to the bottle of water in our bar fridge (not free), a bottle of Purell, a strip of Imodium tablets, two clever little disposable thermometers, some Aspirin, a medical questionnaire and a peel-and-stick “Beware! Plague!” sign for our stateroom door.

 

Okay, so I was kidding about the sign. But he is quarantined for 24 hours since his last “symptom,” as it is euphemistically referred to.

 

I called the Neptune Lounge concierge to ask her to cancel our Pinnacle Grill res tonight again, and I’ve been receiving regular calls from her to ask after Rog’s condition, and remind us that should we need anything at all, like magazines or room service, just dial 90.

 

It would seem ungracious of me to mention that when a similar misfortune befell a member of our group on Azamara last fall, that he was given free Internet and in-room movies for the duration of the cruise, so I won’t.

 

I slipped away from my patient for the best food so far enjoyed on this ship: the pizza. And don’t give me that line about the club sandwiches and onion soup. The toast is cold by the time it is delivered and the onion soup, as already mentioned, is ladled, not baked, into the bowl. Puleeze! Have you ever had the real stuff?

 

Today’s Sail-away announcement by DJ Mack ends with “And to the lady who reported the loss of a roll of $100 bills secured with a rubber band, your rubber band has been returned.” Sick humor. Entirely appropriate.

 

The Captain came on next, to tell us that when the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean coming out of this port, there is going to be some pretty wild pitchin’ and heavin’, so hang on.

 

It all fits.

 

Ordered consommé for dinner. It arrived eventually, but not until a second call, and a visit by a team of room attendants in hazmat suits. Okay, I tend to exaggerate, but they were wearing masks a la SARS days. I waved them away with assurance that we were fine without attentions tonight. Our regular attendant, Sadmono, is no longer allowed access to our DVS-4180, and that means we’ll miss our nightly towel origami. He invited me into another cabin, however, to see tonight’s masterpiece: a monkey swinging from a hanger. Amazing!

 

I went to the Lido Trough for more pizza and a side of Oso Bucco a la Milanese and shrimp cocktail. I think a cookie slipped in there somewhere, too. I found a table for one near the Ice Cream Station and watched the whales.

[SwissMyst]

Day Six – Cabo San Lucas

 

And don’t give me that line about the club sandwiches and onion soup. The toast is cold by the time it is delivered and the onion soup, as already mentioned, is ladled, not baked, into the bowl. Puleeze! Have you ever had the real stuff?

 

Right on both counts. But they are very tasty and really hit the spot when one is down and out in their room. Don't be misled folks by the hyper-tude. These remain very good room service choices. HAL does them just fine. So you do get this line it again.

 

Sorry about your friend being down today. Maybe it was the Haut Cuisine at .......... El Shrimp Bucket in Mazatlan. Puhleeze. I tried to steer you in the right direction in Mazatlan, but you are sooooooo stubborn you wouldn't listen.

 

Tell you what, tip the front desk the difference between your Azamara Cruise and your Oosterdam cruise, and I just betcha they will spring graciously for some "free" internet time.

[SwissMyst]

Day Six – Cabo San Lucas

 

It would seem ungracious of me to mention that when a similar misfortune befell a member of our group on Azamara last fall, that he was given free Internet and in-room movies for the duration of the cruise, so I won’t.

.

 

Here, let me do the math for you. Azamara Mexican cruises are $430 a day for a suite. Oosterdam is $142 a day for a suite, according to 90 day Ticker. I guess $288 a day is a fair price to get the sick-bay free internet on Azamara.

 

Though you might be able to get some from HAL for a heck of a lot less, as long as you are willing to ask graciously.

 

Gheesh. :rolleyes:

[MightyQuinn]

SwissMyst, I'm enjoying the light-hearted writing style of the OP & have enough discernment to figure out what is a tad OTT in this review. So I gotta say that I find the frequency & intensity of your posts to "set the record straight" quite remarkable. At this point, you have more posts on this thread than the OP. I'm starting to think that you & the OP must have had a difficult relationship in a former life. Maybe aboard a Crystal ship? :eek::eek:

[SwissMyst]

SwissMyst, I'm enjoying the light-hearted writing style of the OP & have enough discernment to figure out what is a tad OTT in this review. So I gotta say that I find the frequency & intensity of your posts to "set the record straight" quite remarkable. At this point, you have more posts on this thread than the OP. I'm starting to think that you & the OP must have had a difficult relationship in a former life. Maybe aboard a Crystal ship? :eek::eek:

 

 

Ahhh, but my posts are blissfully shorter. Unfortunately we had a poor poster on another thread that did not know the difference between saucy exaggeration and OTT posting styles and was quite distressed about her upcoming Oosterdam trip. I dedicate my follow-up posts here to her.

 

Nope, never met these two, but I think I already know them. The Crystal connection is only that I can see right through them and their exaggerated, hyper-senstive "posting" style. But it appears others cannot.

 

Can hardly wait until these two get off the ship tomorrow and move on with their lives. Though I am sure now that they will have free internet time a home there will be another sordid chapter about life on the Oosterdam. May I be the worst part of their experience, but don't count on it.

[shootr]

Jeez, you're a snob - god OP, I'm glad you aren't going to be on mine. I can just picture you wandering the decks "hurumph-hurumphing" at the lack of a personal valet tossing rose pedals to walk upon as you survey your domain.

 

Day one was funny, two was eh, but now you're a joke of this board. Yawn, move a long people, nothing here to see...

[MightyQuinn]

Unfortunately we had a poor poster on another thread that did not know the difference between saucy exaggeration and OTT posting styles and was quite distressed about her upcoming Oosterdam trip. I dedicate my follow-up posts here to her.

I've only been around these parts for a couple of years but during that time I've noticed that the HAL forum is cyclical. Sometimes most comments are positive, other times less so. It seems to feed on itself. I'm confident that most readers have the ability to figure out what's what & to make decisions that are right for themselves.

 

Yes, I knew that in posting your rebuttals you were hoping to get a good HAL message out to future cruisers. But alas your work will never be done! There will always be another less than flattering review around the corner. You'll have to police them all & take corrective action. For starters, there's already a few others on here now that need your attention! ;);)

[jlinger]

Loving the posts. Shorter is not necesary. Some of us (SwissMist included obviously) have nothing better to do with our lives than live them vicariously through others. Keep up the detail. And, SwissMisst, try the plank. Jeeze. You are a pain.

[SwissMyst]

I've only been around these parts for a couple of years but during that time I've noticed that the HAL forum is cyclical. Sometimes most comments are positive, other times less so. It seems to feed on itself. I'm confident that most readers have the ability to figure out what's what & to make decisions that are right for themselves.

 

Yes, I knew that in posting your rebuttals you were hoping to get a good HAL message out to future cruisers. But alas your work will never be done! There will always be another less than flattering review around the corner. You'll have to police them all & take corrective action. For starters, there's already a few others on here now that need your attention! ;);)

 

Having just recently sailed on the Oosterdam and reading that poor poster who was worried after reading this thread, well, my work on this particular matter is done.

 

While some found this OP funny, I found him a bit cruel. It did get my back up. There, you have it. It was more than just defending HAL. It was way more than that. Gotta wonder who gets the final say around here? The moderator, of course.

 

But not any one poster who cheers or boos what ever gets written on any side of the issues. No sense getting booed off this thread, if it is doing harm to others who want facts to balance the opinions, or even other competing opinions. That seems fair.

 

I will be happy to see this pair go on to another cruise line. HAL was not a fit for them. And they did not have a particularly kind attitude about many of the prime HAL demographics, so you have to wonder what kind of advice they were giving their clients in the first place prior to their own orientation on what they admitted up front was a "cheap" cruise.

 

I think HAL offers good value for the price. I hate to see posters like this scare away future HAL passengers. It is one thing to make legitimate complaints. But to mock and sneer without sensible rebuttal does a disservice to us all who want to keep enjoying HAL and wish the best for this rare throwback normal cruise line.

[SwissMyst]

Loving the posts. Shorter is not necesary. Some of us (SwissMist included obviously) have nothing better to do with our lives than live them vicariously through others. Keep up the detail. And, SwissMisst, try the plank. Jeeze. You are a pain.

 

Gosh. :p to you too. Nope, the OP was the pain. You have things backwards.

[jlinger]

"wish the best for this rare throwback normal cruise line. "

 

What does that mean? Regressive, or what?

[SwissMyst]

"wish the best for this rare throwback normal cruise line. "

 

What does that mean? Regressive, or what?

 

The Urban Dictionary can help you out.

[shootr]

 

Guess that picture!

 

Wave when you stumble down the gangway...

 

Glad you paid for the "full fare", means the bitterness you seem to have had for the week is all the more intense...

 

Karma? - an email just showed up that my express docs are ready to print...

 

Yeah Me!!!