4/23 Review of Oosterdam, Mexican Riviera Cruise

[smoosh21]

I hope that this review is not too long. I wanted to write down my impressions while they were still relatively fresh.

 

 

Embarkation:

We arrived in San Diego early Saturday and were at the pier by 11:00. We had an S category booked, and there was some confusion by the staff as to what line we should get in. For some reason, they didn’t realize that 5186 was S category. Once that was straightened out we got in the Suite line and right to an agent. Now, both agents were busy at the time so they sent us next door to the Harrah’s agent (there were a bunch of Harrah’s winners on this sailing).

 

There were three of us booked in the Suite, me, my partner and my sister. She is single, so we share the same family name. There was confusion again here as to who was to be in what room and how we were going to get checked in. They couldn’t figure out what color sign and sail cards to give us. Luckily I had read cruise critic so I knew I was supposed to get the brown card.

 

Unfortunately, this was not the end of embarkation problems, once we boarded the ship, my partners card did not have his picture on it, so we needed to go straight down to the front desk where he needed to have his picture taken again. Then, at around 5:40, not long after the ship had set sail, and having just returned from the Lido party, there was a message on the phone. It was the front desk asking us to call because my partner was listed as still shore side and they thought the ship had sailed without him. They needed him to call to prove he was actually on the ship. Unfortunately, things started out not looking so good. Luckily, they improved.

 

 

Dining room:

We had main upper which was our first choice. The dining room was not at all crowded. We also found out later that there was a huge waiting list of people trying to move to the early seating. We met our table mates and it was a great match. We had a great time throughout the week and shared some great stories. We even met up for some of the entertainment events outside the dinners. I know its just blind luck as to who you get stuck with, but we were very fortunate here. Having great table mates really improves the cruise experience.

 

We also had great servers in Dani and Didi. I am not sure if anyone else has had this team, but they did a great job all week. They even brought the ladies of the table 4 lobster tails each on the second formal night, so nobody had to ask for extra lobster. They did such a great job we made sure that we added extra tips to our accounts for these guys and let the front desk know what a great job they did.

 

I was pleased with the food. It was not 5 star food, but I wasn’t expected that when the kitchen is feeding over 1800 people per night. It was flavorful and came out in very nice portions. Many of the soups were delicious. I especially loved the blueberry soup and the other fruit soups throughout the week.

 

I was a little disappointed that more people didn’t dress up for formal night. We had purchased new tuxes especially for this cruise and it felt really nice to get dressed up, and I normally hate dressing up. It looked very nice to see those who did dress up throughout the ship, although it did seem a bit awkward to be dressed very casually coming back from the gym while the early diners were already dressed up.

 

 

Lido deck:

Good food and a nice variety, the only issue was sometimes trying to find a table. The staff would also clear off the silverware too fast, so if you went up for dessert, you would have to go get a new spoon, even if you hadn’t yet used the initial one that you had.

 

 

 

Cabin:

As I stated above, we were in the aft S cabin with wraparound balcony and it was wonderful. The room was plenty big for 3 people and had loads of closet space. I head people several days into the cruise comment that they didn’t even realize they had drawers under the bed. The bathroom was plenty big and I was able to enjoy the whirlpool tub.

 

In regards to the privacy issue, I don’t think it was a big deal. Looking down on our deck from the aft pool, at least half of our deck was private. You could lay on the chaise and they would only see your feet. The biggest thing was noise, as you could hear conversations taking place on the other aft cabins. You would not want to discuss anything private on deck. But the open deck made it wonderful to lay out and watch the stars at night.

 

 

Fellow passengers:

I can definitely agree that HAL does skew older, but that didn’t make the passengers any less fun. There were quite a few active 60-somethings in the crowd, and we had fun with many of them. I definitely enjoyed these passengers much more than the passengers who were closer to my age on my first cruise which was on Carnival. It was a crowd that seemed much more well traveled. I even met some people with their 100 day pins with HAL. We even got to team up with the Cantor and her mom for TV trivia.

 

 

Entertainment:

I thought that the Entertainment was just the right level on the O. On our last two days at sea, we were very busy all day. Jimmy, Melissa, Shannon, Drew, Jazzy and the rest were all great. For those of you on the 4/23 sailing my partner was Elvis during both the Oosterdam Superstar and the Great Pretenders show. My sister did her Bust-a-move dance too. There really was something for everyone on this ship. The Northern lights disco was busy late into the evening many nights, so people who wanted to stay out past midnight, could find fun.

 

 

 

Laundry service:

Besides our embarkation, this was another problem area for HAL. We took advantage of the laundry service that came with the suite, but it wasn’t worth it. It took more than a day to have clothes returned, even when turned in by 9 AM. We had to call several times because when clothes were returned, they were not all returned at once. We also had some clothes disappear never to return, including a tux shirt before the second formal night. They need improvement in this area.

 

 

 

Ship overall:

Well designed and well laid out. I like the fact that decks 2 and 3 were devoted entirely to public areas. I also liked that the galley was off to the side, so the ship was not broken up. The Promenade was very nice and a good way to exercise. The waits for the elevators were not bad and it was always easy enough to take the stairs. The overall décor was very tasteful.

 

Once big difference between this cruise and my last was that this ship definitely moved more. I think that was mostly because the Pacific is not as calm as the Caribbean. We also had some very strong headwinds the last two days at sea that were leading to 45+ MPH winds across the deck. I know some people felt sick, but I didn’t hear anyone complain, after all, you are on a ship.

 

 

 

Ports:

 

Cabo San Lucas:

 

We arrived in Cabo at Sunrise. We had a great view of the sun coming over the hills as we were on the port side of the ship. The port side was facing Los Arcos all day until we sailed away, so it had the best views. During the afternoon I even got to see the Diamond Princess sail by

 

We did the kayak and snorkel excursion. It was fun, but somewhat tiring. The weather was very rough, so we could not go to lover’s beach. The snorkeling was still nice. The water was cool, but it warmed up once you got used to it. Swimming near the rocks I was able to find plenty of fish to view. The age of participants went from teen boys to some 60-something women, and I think everyone enjoyed it

 

After the excursion we walked around town and ate at a great little restaurant that was nearly empty, probably because it wasn’t Cabo Wabo. The staff was very friendly and the food tasty. I think it was Hacienda del Cue, but I am not positive. We then took a bus ride out to Costco to pick up some souvenirs. It only cost 6 peso per person and was easy to find with some help from the locals. There were some good deals on items like tequila filled chocolates and other Mexican treats there. Plus they had a great churro at the food court for only 9 pesos.

 

 

 

Mazatlan:

 

We started the day with a brisk walk up to the top of El Faro, which my partner soon labeled el Faro Faraway. It was a very nice view from the top and we even got to see the lighthouse keeper’s new puppies.

 

After the walk up we headed for old town and the Cathedral for some photo ops before heading to Zona Dorado. The trip in cost only 40 pesos, but I gave the driver 50, which was still less than $5 overall. We did some nice shopping around town and walked along the waterfront. I found Mazatlan to be the most authentic stop. It didn’t feel as if the town was only there trying to cater to tourists.

 

 

Puerto Vallarta:

 

We did the canopy excursion here and it was a lot of fun. We are in our mid 30s and we actually the youngest in our group. The operators are great and it was a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend this tour.

 

Afterward we headed for downtown. It was definitely more touristy here, the drivers immediately quoted prices in dollars, not pesos. I wanted to eat at El Arrayan but it turns out it is only open for dinner. So we walked around a bit and found a great little place that most Americans would probably not go to. It was called Tacqueria la Laurales, and it was great food. I think it was on Juarez, but I am not positive. The food was delicious and only cost 60 pesos for 3 people for lunch. The proprietor spoke English and was able to communicate. We also found some great Mexican art for dias del los muertos.

 

 

 

Disembarkation:

This went well, overall. There was a little confusion as they seemed to call too many groups at once, so there was some traffic jams as people tried to get off the ship. Our luggage was found pretty quickly and we were off to the airport in no time.

 

 

 

Overall Impressions:

It was a wonderful vacation. I am glad that I sailed with HAL. This was only my second cruise, my first being on Carnival. I was not impressed at all with Carnival and really didn’t see myself being a cruiser. I wanted to give it a second shot so went with a more upscale line. After this trip I will definitely cruise again, and I would recommend HAL.

 

 

:)

[dakrewser]

Sorry about the little glitches, you encountered but they don't seem to have made your trip any less of a great cruise.

 

 

And, no, your notes weren't too long at all! Thanks :)

[Ziggy7]

Thanks for sharing your cruise and review with us! Glad you had a good time and didnt let the glitches ruin it for you :)

Welcome Home!!! :)

[stanford's girl]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you had a good time after the bumps in the road at the beginning. :D

[cruisebunny40]

thanks for giving me some good info on hal out of san diego. we are in phoenix and just took the zuiderdam out of ft lauderdale. we have only sailed carnival before and after the zuiderdam we will never go back to carnival. it's good to hear some info out of san diego, we can drive to the port. we had to get up at 3am for a 5:30 flight to ft lauderdale. although we have done all the ports before we have met great poeple on the roll calls on cc and each cruise it different no matter what the ports of call.

 

glad you had a good time, try the zuiderdam next you'll love it!!!

 

cruisebunny

[smoosh21]

Something else to note that I forgot in the review.

I have seen a lot of discussion on here about the soda cards and if HAL still offers them. I can tell you that on the 4/23 cruise they were upselling left and right. The entire first day, all over the ship, I was asked if I wanted to purchase the unlimited soda card. To say I was offered the opportunity to purchase the sticker at least a dozen times would not be an exaggeration.

I am not sure if they were trying to get rid of excess soda syrup they had stored in San Diego or not, but the bar employees were really pushing the cards hard that first day.

 

Oh, and on the 4th day, they ran out of limes. I don't know how you can run out of limes in Mexico, but they did. They were having to give out lemons to put in the cerveza, I don't drink beer, so it didn't bother me.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

What a great review, Thanks. We will be in the opposite corner 5187 Ocotober 8th. We were on the Oosterdam last May to Alaska and loved her. Last time we were in a B catagory so looking forward to the suite things for this cruise. It may be our last suite for a while with the prices that seemed to go up a lot. Plus I still am on a waitlist for a Suite on the Maasdam for July.

 

I am glad you liked HAL over Carnival, we have never tried Carnival but think we will stick with HAL.

 

The free laundry seems to work well for others but your little problem is the one reason I have never tried it last two cruises that we were in a Suite.

 

You mentioned more movement, I know the Pacific can have more movement but do you feel you felt more being in an AFT cabin? We were mid-ship on the Ryndam last November and really did not feel a lot of movement till the last night getting in to San Diego.

[smoosh21]

I felt the movement all over the ship, even midship near the Neptune Lounge It was worst the last night of the cruise. I know some people felt ill from being in the Vista Lounge during the goodbye show.

 

We must have been hitting some decent sized waves at that time, looking toward the bow from the side balcony you could see a lot of white spray shooting up. Now the movement didn't bother me and I never felt sick and never took any motion sickness pills. There was just a very obvious motion that I did not notice in the Caribbean.

[Lovadona]

I was also on the Oosterdam April 23rd. It was my first cruise and I had a great time. Also did the Conopy tour. It was a blast! Enjoyed the spa, except for the hard sells. Out of curiosity, had anyone purchased the $600 detox program? I can only count minor annoyances, such as people who would push themselves ahead of you to board the tender, and then amble along sloooooooooowly....or NOT have their ship ID ready and have to dig and fumble but that stuff happens everywhere...whatcha gonna do? No complaints here!