Oosterdam Jan 2-8 Cruise Diary-Long & Dry!

[Bill S]

Day 1-Embarkation: We arrived at the old San Diego cruise pier at about 12:20PM via a private shuttle. Traffic was exceedingly heavy and congested due to 3 ships in port that day, with two of them, Celebrity’s Constellation and HAL’s Oosterdam being docked at the same pier, and HAL’s Zaandam at the new Broadway pier.

Only empty taxis and shuttles were being permitted to enter the restricted area of the pier. We had to unload our luggage and then get into an extremely long, motionless line at the east end of the cruise terminal, which stretched half-way to Anthony’s Seafood restaurant. The line did not mover for another 30 minutes. Once the line started moving it took about another 20 minutes to get to the point where porters took our bags. From there we were marshaled into a holding area with benches. Another 10 minutes passed before we were allowed to go through security screening. Once we cleared screening, we filled out the health questionnaires and proceeded to the check-in counter.

We had booked a Category SS guaranteed and had been assigned an SS cabin on Deck 8, but two days before embarkation we received a complimentary upgrade to a Category SB Deluxe Suite, specifically cabin 8140, at the extreme port-side, aft end. Thus we are directed to the Deluxe Suite guest check-in line and were processed rapidly and smoothly. We found our cabin and WOW! It was huge and had an enormous verandah which wrapped around the port side for about 20 feet! Our cabin steward was Davis. Other than the long wait to check our luggage, the embarkation process was flawless.

We had requested and were assigned early seating. We had a table for 8, and only 4 of us showed up, but that was fine. To our pleasant surprise, the other couple was part of our Cruise Critic Roll Call! Even though they were considerably younger than us, we seemed to hit it off just fine. Our table stewards were Paul and Ari.

Our cruise documents from HAL specified that there would be no formal nights on this relatively short (6-day) cruise. However, that evening it was announced that the next night would be a formal night. Enough guests presented their HAL-Headquarters-generated cruise documents to the Front Desk staff to convince the on-board decision-makers that they had not received the same information. I guess this is a perfect example of the left hand not knowing the right hand is doing. Accordingly, they announced that the nights normally designated as Formal nights, would instead, be “Formal Optional”.

After dinner, we attended a reception in the Neptune Lounge for Deluxe Suite and Penthouse guests and met the Captain, Jeroen Baijans, the Hotel Manager, Marcella Himmelreich, and fellow Cruise Critic member whirleybird3 and her roommate. The Concierges were Sherwin and Hazel. The “Welcome Aboard” show commenced at 9:30PM, and featured the Cruise Director, JT, the Oosterdam singers and dancers, and a very funny comedian, Kevin Jordan. We slept very well that night.

Day Two-At Sea: We awoke at 7:45AM to a dreary, foggy and raining morning, but at least the seas were calm. We had ordered room service for just coffee and it was delivered promptly at 8AM. We took advantage of the opportunity to have breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill. Service was great and the breakfast was prepared quickly. It is a nice, pleasantly quiet venue for breakfast. After breakfast we went up to the Crow’s Nest for our Cruise Critic Meet and Greet session. About 15 people attended, and we had a fun-time meeting fellow Cruise Critic members. Also, the Event Manager, Jill, and Marcella, the Hotel Manager came up to meet our group.

Later that day, my dear wife went to the 1PM movie, “Inception”, and I attended a free Digital Workshop session showing some of the many features of Windows 7. After dinner, we spent some time in the Ocean Bar to do some dancing, and later went to the cast show, a Broadway tribute by the Oosterdam vocalists. The singers, two women and two men, are very accomplished and we enjoyed the performance.

Day 3-At Sea: We woke up to another cloudy morning. On the calendar for today was a Mariner Society Reception in the Explorer’s Lounge at 10:30AM, followed by brunch in the Vista Dining Room. At the reception, several guests were awarded their 100-day, Copper Medallions and one couple was recognized for having already receiving their 300-day, Silver Medallions. No other Mariners were recognized; however Captain Baijans and Cruise Director JT Watters expressed their appreciation to all the Mariners in attendance.

The brunch immediately followed the reception. We were led into the center section of the lower level, where all the tables there had been reserved. We were at a table for 10, and the ship’s representative at our table was the delightful and interesting International Concierge, Miriam Garcia. Miriam has been with HAL for 7 months and hails from the Canary Islands. She joined the Oosterdam only 3 weeks prior, after serving on the Eurodam for 6 months.

In the afternoon, the skies cleared a bit, and we were cruising relatively close to shore through an area known for being populated this time of year by whales. Indeed, we were able to see multiple spouts and whales. We also saw a whale doing several breaches out of the water followed by huge splashes. I also saw porpoises as well.

Later that evening we attended an after-dinner reception hosted by Captain Baijans and Hotel Manager Marcella. There, we met the Future Cruise Consultant, Cynthia, and had a very nice discussion about some interesting cruises later this year. That evening we took in the show featuring a magician, Joseph Tran. He was very entertaining and performed some amazing illusions.

Day 4-Puerto Vallarta: This morning was bright and clear, and we had requested a light breakfast from room service, using the door-hangar card the night before. About 15 minutes into the time-slot we had requested, we received a phone call from an in-room dining supervisor advising that they were running up to 30 minutes late in delivering room service orders. He asked if we would like to continue to wait or cancel our request. Because we needed to be ashore at a given time this morning, we cancelled the order and decided to utilize the Neptune Lounge. Although our cabin was a long walk from the Lounge, we were glad to have access to it. We had a very light breakfast there. What a convenience!

Our purpose in going ashore for this visit to Puerto Vallarta was to meet with Ine and Ton van Dam, who we first met in Las Vegas at a Cruise Critic get-together during their visit there several years ago. They are such a nice couple who reside in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Since first meeting Ine and Ton, we have cruised with them once and also met Ine in Amsterdam for dinner several years ago prior to going on a river cruise.

Three years ago, Ine and Ton bought a lovely home in Puerto Vallarta which adjoins the home of their daughter, Astrid. They now spend the winter months in Puerto Vallarta. Ine and Ton met us at the cruise pier, and took us first to their home, for a visit, and then downtown to meet Astrid at her business, and then to lunch at one of their favorite beachfront restaurants. It was a lovely day, with a nice breeze off the water, to keep us comfortable under the shade of the open-face restaurant. We then headed to the marina to view all the beautiful and luxurious boats and yachts there.

After they dropped us off back at the cruise pier, Ine and Ton proceeded to the new enclosed shopping mall across from the cruise pier, with camera in hand, to see us off. Our cabin verandah directly faced the outdoor mall balcony, so we were all able make our farewell waves to each other. It was such a delightful visit with Ine and Ton.

Tonight’s show included the entire Oosterdam cast performing a ballroom tribute, featuring stylistic performances of the most popular ballroom steps. It was a high-energy show, and again, we enjoyed their efforts. After show, we retired early to our cabin, and upon arriving, we encountered one of the Yum-Yum men at our door, about to deliver a note of apology from the In-Room Dining Captain, along with a plate of some fine chocolates and a chocolate-dipped strawberry.

Day 5-Cabo San Lucas: We arrived at Cabo around 9AM today under an overcast sky and mild temperatures. We once again used the convenience of the Neptune Lounge for a light breakfast and spent the day onboard just enjoying our wonderful cabin and verandah. We are anchored near the Carnival Spirit, and our cabin verandah faced to the west and north, so we have a splendid and close view of both the Los Arcos formation and of the Spririt.

This evening was the second “Formal Optional” dinner, and because everyone’s cruise documents stated that there were to be no formal nights, tuxedos and evening dresses were the exception, but is was still nice to see some guests who elected to bring and wear their formal wear. Also, this evening at dinner we were joined by a very nice family of three from Medellin, Columbia. They had elected to dine in the Lido on all the previous evenings due to their limited English skills, but one of our regular table-mates, spoke rudimentary Spanish and we were all able to communicate fairly well with them.

After dinner we went to the 8 pm show, where Barnaby-the-Juggler was performing. To say he is unique would be an understatement. I imagine that the few folks who were the targets of his biting, but “on-target” observations found him far less amusing than the rest of the audience.

Day 6-At Sea: This brilliantly sunlit morning we had room service for breakfast and it was promptly delivered as requested. At 10 AM we attended the disembarkation presentation-nothing new there, but we do enjoy seeing the cast and crew sing “Love in Any Language.”

Once back in the cabin, I commenced the less-than-pleasurable task of packing up for our departure from the Oosterdam. Virginia, however, went out on the verandah to soak up some sunshine and fresh sea air while reading her latest book.

We have received an invitation to a Question and Answer Session with the Hotel Manager this afternoon at 4PM. The session was held in the Stuyvesant Room, with the Captain, Hotel Manager, Excursions Manager and Asst. Beverage Manager as a “panel”. There were 10 of us passengers there. Marcella explained that they wanted feedback from the group, who were all Mariners with a lot of days on HAL. One-by-one, we took our turns asking questions and stating what we liked and disliked about this cruise or with HAL in general. While each of us gave pretty positive feedback, there were a few issues that bothered most of us. The panel took notes on our comments and feedback. This was our third time at such a session, and we are flattered to be invited.

Being the last night of the cruise, it was time for the Master Chef Dinner, which means amongst other things, the menu is much more limited than other nights and the dining room staff “performs” to music while bringing in each course. It is kind of “hokey”, in my opinion, but a lot of guests like it. After dinner we all said our farewells between table-mates and table stewards. It is always a bit sad to return to the cabin on the last night, knowing that the morning means returning to our normal existence, after being ridiculously spoiled the prior six-days.

We awoke at 6:15am, before sunrise as the Oosterdam was in the last stages of maneuvering towards the San Diego cruise pier. We had breakfast later in the Pinnacle Grill. The breakfast in the PG was such a nice way to finish the cruise: the atmosphere is quiet and calming. Our two excellent, personable servers, Melinda and Dita, were charming and we engaged both of them in interesting conversations about their homes, families and experiences.

We wished that we could have lingered longer, but alas, disembarkation on HAL must be done. Well, on this morning, disembarkation was delayed until after 9am due to the failure of about a dozen non-US citizen-guests from reporting to US immigration officials at the requested time. Several of them had to paged 3 times and one, a fourth time. Once the process commenced with the call for guests who had requested expedited disembarkation, it progressed swiftly and we were in the next group to be called. At that point we were off the Oosterdam in a matter of minutes, and found our luggage without any difficulty.

Although we hated to leave the Oosterdam, we left her knowing that we would be returning to another HAL ship later this year for a new adventure.

Summary

Dining: We were very satisfied with the quality, variety and taste of all meals, especially in the Pinnacle Grill. With the sole exception of the coffee served in the Pinnacle Grill, we still find that HAL’s coffee is too strong for our taste, so we temper the coffee by bringing those little “tubs” of International Flavors French Vanilla non-dairy creamers during the day. However, the Harney teas provided in the Pinnacle Grill and the Neptune Lounge are very pleasing to our palates, and we enjoy them in the evenings.

Entertainment: We think that HAL has made some improvements in the quality of both the cast singers and guest entertainers over the last year. Having seen a range of difference in the quality of guest performers over the years, we typically enter the theatre with the attitude that if we do not enjoy the performer, we will leave. Happily, we stayed for every performance on this cruise. We especially enjoyed comedian, Kevin Jordan, magician, Joseph Tran, and Barnaby-The Juggler, who gave thoroughly entertaining and fun-filled shows.

Itinerary: The Mexican Riviera is not a new itinerary for us, having done it 4 times now. We chose this cruise primarily due to its timing with our being in Southern California for the Rose Parade and ease of driving to San Diego from Pasadena and only a 5-hour drive back home to Las Vegas. It is not our favorite itinerary, but the cruise provided a convenient post-holiday break and we certainly enjoyed our day in Puerto Vallarta visiting with Ine and Ton.

Crew/Staff: Every crew/staff member who we encountered was pleasant, courteous and welcoming. Each and every request was met with a either a positive response or a professional explanation if it could not be fulfilled. Our table and cabin stewards were attentive as expected.

The Ship: The Oosterdam appears to be kept in good repair, even though we noticed isolated wear spots in the carpeting (primarily on the stairs) and a few rust spots on our verandah. We had no plumbing issues and the cabin air conditioning worked as it should. We frequently saw crew cleaning the interior areas and polishing banisters, etc. Hand-sanitizer dispensers are almost ubiquitous throughout the ship. The Code Orange procedures were in effect the first two days of the cruise and we were not aware of any outbreak of norovirus during the cruise.

Negatives: These are few and far between and none are egregious enough to ruin our cruise. We used to play bingo; however HAL has raised the price of bingo cards to $25 for triple play cards, so we have ceased to participate in bingo. We learned at Q&A session that HAL elected to raise the prices to provide larger payouts. They also did away with Snowball Bingo, to eliminate dissatisfaction of regular players resulting from so many “one-time” players winning the big jackpot. Also, we miss the former manner in which HAL did Mariner Recognition, specifically by recognizing the Mariners in their respective levels, and presenting medallions in the presence of all Mariners in the main lounge. Also, on a couple of occasions, we were deterred from being out on our verandah due to the aroma of cigarette and cigar smoke—particularly cigar smoke. HAL has been giving out smoking surveys for several years, and we hope that someday HAL will restrict smoking to an area of the ship that will minimize the risk of irritating non-smokers or will prohibit smoking in the cabins and verandahs. The Screening Room has too few chairs. Twice, Virginia had to sit on the floor of the all-too-tiny Screening Room to watch the 1PM movie, even though she arrived 30 minutes prior to the movie start time. However, the second time she saw people bring in folding chairs from one of the meeting rooms across the hall, which we later learned was not condoned due to concerns about preventing a safe exit from the room in event of fire. This issue came up in our Q&A session and Marcella was painfully aware of that common complaint about the Screening Room, but they have to live with space which was made available for that facility.

Positives: There are many, so I will mention just the high points. We were pleased to be able to watch the Fox News Network in addition to CNN while onboard. We also liked the classic movie channel. I attended one of the free Digital Workshops, specifically, the Introduction to Windows 7, and found it to be very informative and well done by Anthony, the on-board Techspert. Last but not least-our wonderful cabin. We really enjoyed our spacious and extremely comfortable cabin probably more than any other cabin we have had on any ship. I was worried that ship security would have to evict us from the cabin on disembarkation day!

So, thanks to HAL for the magnificent upgrade and another great cruise. :)

[kalliekae]

Thank you for your review. Nice to see some positive reviews about the Oosterdam. We have not had the pleasure of sailing on her, but she is on our "to do" list.

[Ichiban Nekko]

Your cruise sounds wonderful and your descriptions are wonderful. The upgrade to a Deluxe Suite sounds positively divine! :D:D It couldn't have happened to a nicer couple! A great start to 2011.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your wonderful review. Congratulations on the upgrade.

 

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

[Mary Ellen]

Bill - Thank you for sharing your experience with us and please give our greetings to the lovely Virginia.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[dchip]

Thanks for the review, Bill. We will be boarding the Oosterdam on 1/22/11. We can't wait. Like you, it is not a new itinerary for us. We are looking forward to relaxing on our stern balcony watching the waves, and hopefully whales, pass by.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post your thoughts.

 

Cheers, Denise

[kazu]

wow!! I don't think anyone can complain about a free upgrade to a deluxe verandah suite (some of us fools pay for it). congrats!

 

Sounds like the cruise was great overall and that's the main thing.

 

thanks for the great review and no, it wasn't dry or boring.

 

thank you again and welcome back.:)

[Marytutor]

Has anyone stayed in this cabin? I know that it is a connecting cabin. What about the veranda?

 

Thanks,

 

Mary

[erewhon]

Bill S,

 

Enjoyed reading your review, thank you.

What a great upgrade.:)

[dchip]

Has anyone stayed in this cabin? I know that it is a connecting cabin. What about the veranda?

 

Thanks,

 

Mary

 

Hi Mary,

 

We were in 4138 on the Westerdam, same cabin, different ship, port rather than starboard. The veranda is a bit bigger the those above it but not by much. The location was perfect for getting around the ship. We didn't have any noise at all from the elevators. I have some photos of the cabin here: http://www.pbase.com/dchip/week_one_westerdam

 

Cheers, Denise

[Marytutor]

Denise,

 

Thankk you so much for the pictures. They are great. This is our first HCL cruise. We leave Saturday.

 

Bill S

 

Loved your review.

 

Mary