Worried about bad reviews Oosterdam

[stray]

My daughter and I will be going on the Oosterdam in March. This ship has been getting a lot of mediocre to bad reviews. Is it really as bad as described, which includes less than satisfactory food, service and upkeep? Would appreciate any and all comments. I want to be prepared for what we will find.

[lucky1ns]

I think some people expect way too much from a cruise ship.

 

Be flexible and remember it is an adventure.

[SwissMyst]

My daughter and I will be going on the Oosterdam in March. This ship has been getting a lot of mediocre to bad reviews. Is it really as bad as described, which includes less than satisfactory food, service and upkeep? Would appreciate any and all comments. I want to be prepared for what we will find.

 

Sorry there has been a recent attempt to trash the Oosterdam here. We were on it for Christmas on the Mexican Riviera and it was fine. We noticed nothing to validate some of the complaints recently made here.

 

Depends at lot on your attitude I think. If you expect everything to be 100% perfect, then any ship will disappoint. If you expect to get good value for the price, roll with the occasional glitches and enjoy the whole cruise it will be fine. Really.

 

Some people here think it is "cute" to be petty about things many of us just ignore or take in stride. This is a large ship. There are over 2000 passengers. HAL does a great job taking care of this many people on this ship and this cruise.

 

Happy travels and hope you report back what you find. We would easily take this trip again. And on this ship.

[iamaqt2]

I wouldn't worry about the Oosterdam. It's a fairly newer ship, and HAL service is usually pretty wonderful. Don't worry about all these other negative things you are seeing on the boards right now.... they are directed towards ships just coming out of drydock, which are having some major issues.

[garydm]

We were on the Oosterdam for 12 days in October. It was great. This was our second good cruise on this ship.

 

Gary

[Scrapchick]

I wrote a review of the Oosterdam and certainly didn't try to trash it, but I did highlight what I felt was both good and bad about the particular cruise I was on at that time.

 

I have been on the ship twice and would go on it again. There were issues specific to our cruise, which you can read about in the review, that may not have applied to cruises that followed. No cruise is all good or all bad. HAL does a great job overall, the Oosterdam is a beautiful ship and I'm sure you'll have a lovely time on her.

 

Take some time to read the reviews carefully and discern for yourself what is a fair criticsm and what is not, and I think you'll be able to get a balanced picture.

 

There are some who have nothing good to say at all and there are some who cannot bear any criticism at all of their favorite cruise line and speak glowingly of everything. Somewhere in the middle lies the balance, and you'll determine that by reading a variety of reviews and drawing your own conclusions.

[duck tune]

DH and I are going on the Oosterdam in March to celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary. We are not worried at all about going back to the Oosterdam and look forward to a week of rest and relaxation. No cruise ship is 100% perfect and sometimes things happen that are out the control of individuals. We have yet to be on a cruise without some small surprise or inconvenience but we have never, ever had a bad cruise on HAL. As indicated in an earlier post sometimes people have unrealistic expectations and tend to share them here instead of talking about the positive things. Like everthing else in this world there is a lot more discussion about the negative things that happen than the good things. I'd love to see a news show with all "good news" items for a change! Having a positive attitude and being patient on a cruise will serve you well. I have yet to have a perfect day on land in my everyday life so I never expect it when we travel. Some people are never going to be happy no matter what but that doesn't mean that you won't be happy! Cruising is still a wonderful experience. I wish I had more time and money and that's what I would be doing right now. Don't let the negative comments here worry you. I am going to enjoy my cruise and I hope that you and your daughter do as well!

[SwissMyst]

One things that comes up among long time HAL cruisers is noting the differences that exist between ships and staff adequacies. The pattern seems to be after a major crew turnover, the first few cruises tend to have a few more things not as good as what one might find when the staff had been working together longer. This may also be part of the pricing schedules too - they tend to be lesser priced, the bargain rates maybe?

 

I think when you are on the Oosterdam, the crew will have been working together for a while so more things will be right than wrong. Nothing major, but little glitches like missed orders on room service or when the beds get made or turned down. Nothing that is a deal killer, but noticeable if one's prior experiences had been with more smoothly working crews on different or even the ships.

 

I think one of the earlier Oosterdam reviews that had more than the usual glitches was right after a major crew change, but by the time we got on a month later everything was working just fine. But we also noticed on a Rotterdam cruise after a crew change, things were not up to the same level of care that we had experienced on our prior Maasdam which was just about perfect, perfect, perfect. In fact it was perfect. So there you have it.

 

It might be helpful to realize you might experience a 85% great cruise on one ship and have a 97% great cruise on another. But I don't think it will ever drop below a good solid 85% good value cruise, except for some of the really unfortunate reports coming out post-drydock which are in a class all by themselves. Then far more material problems are reported, but it does seem like HAL is trying to accommodate these major issues because they do care about passenger good will. it doesn't pay not to. That is just one more value-added part of cruising with HAL.

 

One issue with the Oosterdam is that it has very dark blue carpets and things show up which can make it look badly kept with just a little bit of debris, that would not show up so obviously on a lighter color, different patterned carpet. When we were on, they were always vacuuming and cleaning things up all the time. They probably regret this carpet choice for more than just its design, but these things happen.

 

This is where one learns to be forgiving and take it in stride IMHO. Context is everything. People eating in the Lido leave things behind on a dark carpet. And it is hard to get in and clean everything up in an instant once they leave, so sometimes the floor looked a little messy. If this would be a deal killer for some, then there is little one can say but I think it was more a factor of the carpet color choice than anything else. People are messy when they eat, particularly at buffets it seems. More stuff to juggle than in the main dining room where one gets served.

 

A 100% expectation would find this disappointing. But HAL for me is a good solid 85% great cruise line at about 50% of the price, and that makes it an excellent cruising choice for us. I don't know how they do it for the price. And who knows, maybe at their next dry dock they will rethink that dark blue carpet. A smoother pile would work better too to make it easier for staff to clean up around food service. Wow, I wonder how they make these major decorating decisions because everything has to be committed on such a grand scale. And they do try to give each ship its own decor and color signature. And this dark blue is the one for the Oosterdam.

 

Reminds me of the Tokyo airport which is carpeted in a totally one-tone pearl gray and there was not a single spot anywhere I saw. Amazing how they did this with all the traffic there is in an airport where food was served as well.

[PathfinderEss]

We were on the Oostedam a year ago this month and she was great. I can't not fathom she has fallen apart in a year, sorry. The Oosterdam has a great crew and wonderful food, I would not be worried about her, Stray.

[Tahoe Boater]

We were on the Oosterdam last week and had a wonderful cruise. We are flexible travelers and have high , but realistic expectations. One can always find issues whereever you go, if you are really trying. We thought that the staff and the food were very good and for the first time in all of my travels I took the time to recognize crewmembers on my comment card. I was that impressed with those individuals. (Oliver at the omlette/deli sandwich station and Michael at the pasta/waffle station) Tell Oliver that Bob misses him and his cooking!

 

We had such a good time on the Oosterdam last week that we booked a trip on her for December.

[MightyQuinn]

Take some time to read the reviews carefully and discern for yourself what is a fair criticsm and what is not, and I think you'll be able to get a balanced picture. There are some who have nothing good to say at all and there are some who cannot bear any criticism at all of their favorite cruise line and speak glowingly of everything. Somewhere in the middle lies the balance, and you'll determine that by reading a variety of reviews and drawing your own conclusions.

This is excellent advice.

 

OP Stray, here are the Oosterdam reviews published by CC members. Rankings from 1* to 5*. If you read critically, you'll get a pretty good handle on the state of the nation. In the end, only you can decide what matters to you!

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=283

[emileg]

In life, there are always things that go wrong, are changed, or aren't perfect. What one person takes as a calamity, another person takes in stride. As we were disembarking the Eurodam two weeks ago, there were people on the elevator who were really upset that they got "the run around" from the purser's desk. What happened? They had to disembark from Deck 2 instead of Deck 3 as originally told. We initially got off on Deck 3 too and found it was changed. What's the big deal?

[Rutland Gate]

We were on the Oosterdam for an Eastern Med, Western Med and TransAtlantic during 2009 and it was fine over the 26 days we were on her.

[RedmondCruiser]

My daughter and I will be going on the Oosterdam in March. This ship has been getting a lot of mediocre to bad reviews. Is it really as bad as described, which includes less than satisfactory food, service and upkeep? Would appreciate any and all comments. I want to be prepared for what we will find.

 

We did a 19 day Panama Canal cruise in November. I can assure you that the ship is in fine condition. We never had a bad meal and the staff was first rate. The pools were well monitored, as far as temperature and the activities were well run. My only complaint was that the casino gods were not in my favor on this sailing.

You will enjoy the Oosterdam -- have a great cruise.

[edu-sense]

Well I sailed on the Oosterdam back in October on a 16 night transatlantic, It had not compared to HAL's other ships too well, but at the end of the day different things are important to different people, I dont want to go into my gripes because I am currently negotiating compensation with HAL for a number of things, but I think we were unfortunate, we seemed to have more issues than other people, not because we are picky, like I say we was unfortunate. Many people on the cruise never had an issue. I would say read the reviews and remember people are more likely to want to write about negative experiences than positive ones, even on a forum like this and sometimes people like to stretch the truth.

[stray]

Thank you all. I think 1975's review was unpleasant and scared me. I alrerady feel much better, and will look forward to our Oosterdam experience. I have 100 days on HA, and have always enjoyed the cruises.

[hoopman]

Thank you all. I think 1975's review was unpleasant and scared me. I alrerady feel much better, and will look forward to our Oosterdam experience. I have 100 days on HA, and have always enjoyed the cruises.

We were on for a Mediterranean cruise in August for our 30th anniversary. It was great. We enjoyed the ship, the food, the crew and even the casino. I am normally not easy to please and I couldn't find anything wrong.

[CDiamond]

In 1975's review he even took the time to write that the chair covers in the dining room on formal night were "wrinkled". He's doing his best to complain about everything in a "humorous" way. After awhile complaining just gets boring.

[MRRG]

We are seasoned cruisers and the Oosterdam was for us only an OK experience. It was by far the worst ship we have ever been on in terms of dining room and Lido service. The food was good, but the service was not what we expect from Holland America. We have 56 days on HAL and are Diamond on Royal Caribbean. We sailed on December 5, 2009 and I am totally agreeing with 1975's account of his experiences on the ship.

[CroneWynd]

DH and I are going on the Oosterdam in March to celebrate our 15th Wedding Anniversary.

Have you posted in our Roll Call?

 

See you there! :p

[jlinger]

Who do you think you are kidding, SwissMistThePoint?

 

Are you an HAL employee? Come clean. Admit your bias here and now.

 

There is nothing wrong with HAL. It just isn't what it advertises itself to be, so I have to agree with c-whatever-1975. it is two steps down. I love HAL but that's because of the PRICE not the SERVICE. The service is, well, worth what we paid for.

 

If you think otherwise, then you have obviously never had premium service in your life, and for this, I am very sorry.

 

I will continue to cruise HAL, but that's because I can't afford better. Let's stop pretending that the club sandwiches on HAL are edible, because - frankly - they ain't.

[SwissMyst]

Who do you think you are kidding, SwissMistThePoint?

 

Are you an HAL employee? Come clean. Admit your bias here and now.

 

There is nothing wrong with HAL. It just isn't what it advertises itself to be, so I have to agree with c-whatever-1975. it is two steps down. I love HAL but that's because of the PRICE not the SERVICE. The service is, well, worth what we paid for.

 

If you think otherwise, then you have obviously never had premium service in your life, and for this, I am very sorry.

 

I will continue to cruise HAL, but that's because I can't afford better. Let's stop pretending that the club sandwiches on HAL are edible, because - frankly - they ain't.

 

Wow, I wonder what I ate on all three of my last HAL cruises. HAL is value. It is not a 5 star line so it should not be compared to 5 star lines, and even 5 star lines have their marketing hype deficiencies too. And all the more painfully felt since they cost way more than HAL, and have almost exact same club sandwiches. One of my bench mark foodie items to try around the world, when I want some comfort food from time to time.

 

Some of us are in agreement here on the value issue. I think you and I are on the same page. HAL represents good value for the money. Excellent value for the money. May they long reign. My eyes are open about HAL. I know what I am getting with HAL and what I am not getting. I just don't act shocked about it.:eek:

[stray]

Now, I am confused again. What are these service issues that seem to be an issue? Do they have to do with poor service in the dining room, or unclean cabins. My first cruise was on Carnival, and since then have been on HA, RCCL, and even Regent and Crystal. Just got off a wonderful Princess cruise through the Panama Canal. On all my cruises I have never had what I considered bad service. What exactly is poor service on Holland?

[CroneWynd]

Well, when we were on the Statendam, the dining room service was rushed, many mistakes were made, not just on our meals, but on the meals of several tables around us, nearly every night.

 

I found cabin service to be quite excellent. Bartender service not so much.

 

If you expect perfect, you will be disappointed. If you expect to be as happy as you decide to be, you will probably have a great cruise.

[gotsand]

I have been on the Oosterdam and the Westerdam, both are nice, but my favorite was the Oosterdam! I loved the sculptures and the artwork. Service was incredible on both ships. Food, thought was better on the Oosterdam, do not get my wrong, the food was good on both ships. Do not worry or hesitate to go on a HAL cruise. You will love it. I am not loyal to any brand, not ships, not purses, not ice cream, not cookies, not sweepers......Oh, by the way, I am 45 and there was a great mix of ages on both HAL cruises I have taken.

 

I think sometimes on these boards, people cheerlead too much and complain way too much. (People, by nature, always think they are right);)