Just off the Oosterdam

[pke-atlanta]

We recently finished an Auckland to Sydney cruise on the Oosterdam. This was my first trip with HAL, and we were in a Deluxe Veranda Suite on the back corner of the ship. I'm wondering if my experience on the Oosterdam is typical of HAL, or if there is anything "unique" about the Oosterdam.

 

My understanding is that the ship recently (within the last 6 months?) went through a refurbishment. While the public areas of the ship did look relatively new (if gaudy), I was surprised at how dated and worn the bathroom in my suite was. I'm confident that whatever refurbishment took place, they did little to nothing in the bathroom of my suite, which looked like it dated from the original build.

 

From a service standpoint, I frequently got the feeling that all the employees (particularly bar, restaurant and room service staff) were either new to their jobs, new to the ship, or both, as it was rare to find anyone that seemed to know anything. There weren't any egregious incidences that caused me to ask for a manager (well, except for one), but there was just an overall feeling that the food and beverage staff was under-trained and ill-prepared to do their jobs.

 

Just for the record, I'm not impossible to please, and I'm not just comparing the HAL experience to smaller luxury lines I've sailed on. I'm also comparing them to Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Cunard, all of which I think HAL would consider to be in a similar service league.

 

Does this sound like other HAL ships? I know there are HAL fans out there, but based on this first sailing with them, I'm not inclined to rebook. I'm wondering if there is something going on with the Oosterdam that might explain things and make me feel better about reconsidering a HAL vacation in the future.

[SwissMyst]

Just for the record, I'm not impossible to please, and I'm not just comparing the HAL experience to smaller luxury lines I've sailed on. .

 

HAL is not a luxury line so that was not a good comparison to be making. Only the Prinsendam ups the ambiance to something closer to the smaller (600 or so passenger) luxury lines.

 

HAL is a very good mainline cruise line, and as you note often put in the same category as Celebrity or Princess. Dated furnishings (fusty old country home) become part of its charm believe it or not, for many repeat passengers. Some of us don't want to pay for trendy, glitz and glamour -- just solid and serviceable. That we get from HAL ships, with a few more extras - generous public rooms, fresh flowers, large windows, superb library and reading spaces, art work -- those are the more quiet charms some of us like about HAL ships.

 

We find the ships "comfortable" in their old fashion way. So you will have a fairly similar experience decor wise on most other HAL ships. Though I also consider the decor and color schemes of the Oosterdam to be their least appealing, but this is not one of HAL's strong suits.. Nor are we fans of these "larger" HAL ships like the Oosterdam Vista class and higher. We like the ones with 1200 or so passengers; not the over 2000 ones.

 

Service wise, this is a disappointing report to hear since we were on the Oosterdam a few months ago and as always love the service we get on all HAL ships.

 

So if HAL did not click for you on the Oosterdam, you might want to try one of their smaller ships. Or if you like the larger size, then any of their two new ones may have a little more modern appeal. From all reports the sister ship the Noordam is the best choice within the Vista class ships.

 

No one in this category of ships offers the unique itineraries for the price that HAL does so that is one of the biggest reasons we keep coming back and accept its fusty decor as part of the deal.

[CowPrincess]

pke-atlanta, I was on the Oosterdam in Oct 2011, right after a drydock, and was unimpressed with the condition of the cabin furniture. I can't remember if it was my cabin, or my friend's cabin, that had the tacky veneer strip around the coffee table coming off, with a big piece sticking out. I do know my couch looked "tired" (okay, "exhausted" is closer to the actual state :) ). Our dining stewards were good. Our cabin stewards were just okay, not good by any means.

 

I'd have no problems cruising on the O-dam again; I guess my expectations are not very high :) I know that many posters here consider the O-dam their favorite HAL ship. It didn't wow me, though. I prefer every other HAL ship I've been on over the O-dam, in truth.

[IRL_Joanie]

We recently finished an Auckland to Sydney cruise on the Oosterdam. This was my first trip with HAL, and we were in a Deluxe Veranda Suite on the back corner of the ship. I'm wondering if my experience on the Oosterdam is typical of HAL, or if there is anything "unique" about the Oosterdam.

 

My understanding is that the ship recently (within the last 6 months?) went through a refurbishment. While the public areas of the ship did look relatively new (if gaudy), I was surprised at how dated and worn the bathroom in my suite was. I'm confident that whatever refurbishment took place, they did little to nothing in the bathroom of my suite, which looked like it dated from the original build.

 

From a service standpoint, I frequently got the feeling that all the employees (particularly bar, restaurant and room service staff) were either new to their jobs, new to the ship, or both, as it was rare to find anyone that seemed to know anything. There weren't any egregious incidences that caused me to ask for a manager (well, except for one), but there was just an overall feeling that the food and beverage staff was under-trained and ill-prepared to do their jobs.

 

Just for the record, I'm not impossible to please, and I'm not just comparing the HAL experience to smaller luxury lines I've sailed on. I'm also comparing them to Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Cunard, all of which I think HAL would consider to be in a similar service league.

 

Does this sound like other HAL ships? I know there are HAL fans out there, but based on this first sailing with them, I'm not inclined to rebook. I'm wondering if there is something going on with the Oosterdam that might explain things and make me feel better about reconsidering a HAL vacation in the future.

 

I am not doubting your experience or "Feelings" about how you felt aboard the Oosterdam. I believe you felt let down a bit and that it looked/felt to you as if things were a bit outdated in some places (like your bathroom!!)

 

I do think that you might be a bit jaded in your outlook of her (NOT AN INSULT!!! (For the record, I use the Caps to emphasize what I am trying to say, because if I do not I am afraid you'd think I was downplaying or even insulting your experience, which I am not. I hope you understand that:)) by your experiences not only on other lines with the smaller more expensive luxury lines, but if you've also cruised on the other lines such as RCL etc., which have more up to date style furnishings....Then I think that would jade your opinion of most of the HAL ships which to me have more of an Elegant Ambiance to them.

 

Do not get me wrong, I am not saying you are wrong!! I am saying you may be 100% right in your feelings and let down of your expectations because I've heard others who've cruised the Luxury ships and they say that it is hard to come back to HAL after their experiences on those same luxury lines...

 

Now, I've been on the Oosterdam twice 2008 and again in 2010 and never saw a thing wrong with her. HOWEVER, that could very well have changed since April 2010, afterall it's now been almost 3 yyears since I was last on her....

 

I know the crews change almost continually and you might have gotten on with more new crew members than I have had, so you may have had an anomaly with the crew.

 

To me though, I call the Oosterdam "The Happiest DAM Ship in The Fleet!!" Specifically because the crew was so wonderful and took care of everything.

 

But, again as I said, my experience and feelings are definitely going to be different from anyone elses, including my own hubby:)

 

Some people call outdated what I call Ambiance and I compare that ambiance to what one might have expected on a cruise ship or liner from the early 1900's to maybe 1950's..

 

BTW, before I forget, I hate the Color and lighting in all the HAL bathrooms!!! It is garishly UGLY!!! I think the lighting and the coloring of the bathrooms are what makes it look so bad:(

 

Joanie

[nana51]

I was on the big "O" last year and found her to be just fine. We never saw our cabin stewards but our rooms were always done up. We didn't get to know our dining stewards as they were so rushed, but we always had great service. I'll be on the Zaandam on Saturday and can hardly wait.

[startwin]

Agreed, HAL is not a luxury line. It's mainstream, as you noted, comparable with Celebrity & RCI. Personally I would prefer to see all the furnishings updated as I don't find shabbiness charming. However, I am sorry to hear your comments about the crew, and perhaps they had taken on a large number of "trainees", and it's a shame it left you with a lasting negative memory. I've never been on the Oosterdam, but I've been on most of the other HAL ships, and service has always been incredible, until the last year, when cutbacks have become apparent - but still very good.

[san diego sue]

Was on the Oosterdam in January 2012 and even though public rooms looked fine to us,our balcony cabin was probably in the worse shape of any cruise ever. We cruise at least four times a year and some long ones.

The sofa was so stained, could hardly know what color it was. The leather stool was stained with wine all over it(not anything that could be washed off). The worse was the hair dryer. It had some grease all over it. Maybe someone's makeup. Had to have a towel over it to use. The worse for me was they still use those itchy blankets wrapped in sheets instead of Duvet covers with comfy comforters(I know the suites get the good ones).I was sick the last two days of the cruise and watched on turn around day before we got off the ship, that they don't change those blankets (mine came undone from the sheets on several occassions).And I was sick, pass those germs.

 

Does this stop me from sailing HAL. NO. The staff on the O was outstanding and our cruise experience was wonderful. We still prefer Princess but would still cruise HAL. We are soon going on a HAL cruise.

I am bringing our own blanket to use. Don't want any of theirs.

If they had the nice Duvet covers wouldn't have to do this.

[496and706]

Decor, like food and blankets and washrooms, is subjective. Some people love the bread pudding. Others hate it. Some like the carpeting, other hate it. Some love the Pinnacle, or the Lido or the MDR...

 

 

 

We have seen right here on CC that 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 people all getting off the same ship from the exact same cruise can all have different views. There was someone that got off of a cruise not to long ago that called his ship a hospital ship and went on to explain what he had seen. Someone else on the same cruise hadn't seen any of that. Some people take microscopes and others take blinders I guess.

[sail7seas]

Decor, like food and blankets and washrooms, is subjective. Some people love the bread pudding. Others hate it. Some like the carpeting, other hate it. Some love the Pinnacle, or the Lido or the MDR...

 

 

 

We have seen right here on CC that 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 people all getting off the same ship from the exact same cruise can all have different views. There was someone that got off of a cruise not to long ago that called his ship a hospital ship and went on to explain what he had seen. Someone else on the same cruise hadn't seen any of that. Some people take microscopes and others take blinders I guess.

 

 

So True.

Time and again, we will read about people on the same ship on the same cruise and their experience is very different. I don't doubt what they relate is exactly the way they experienced their cruise but there are times it couldn't be more different than other people.

 

If their dining steward is excellent, their cabin furniture in good condition, the food was to their taste, the weather was hot or cold enough to suit them etc, they had a great cruise.

 

If someone else had a dining steward that disappointed them, their couch was soiled, the tiles in the bathroom were cracked and it was too hot out for their preference, they had a less happy experience.

 

Some is subjective. Some is objective and all our tastes are so different.

 

[eddiffin]

I was on the Oosterdam in Feb. It was my first time on HAL. I have previously cruised with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Seabourn.

My impression of the ship sounds similar to yours: It felt very dated. Personally, I thought the decor was very tacky (the weird mix of Asian and Greco/Roman and the overall color schedme), but even beyond that, I just thought things needed to be spruced up. Our room just seemed a bit "tired." I didn't have any issues with the staff. I thought the main dining room was quite good, as was Pinnacle, but I didn't love the Lido buffet or room service.

 

I had a great trip, mostly because of the ports (Australia and New Zealand are great), and the people I was with. However, based on this cruise, HAL is definitely towards the bottom of my list of cruise lines for cruising in the future. It's better than Carnival, but I don't think it is as good as Celebrity, or even Royal, and I thought it's place in the market was supposed to be a step up from Royal.

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.

[SwissMyst]

While HAL ships are often dated in both style and colors, they are quality products - real leather and nice paneling so I can see they are "stuck" with these investments. But I have never seen dated as being dirty, though there are some stains from time to time which for me is part of the heavy use and nature of the floating beast, until it can get to another soft good refurbishment.

 

That being said, I still think the decorators could work better with the dated basic colors - lots of harvest gold ...and make it work better than it does. But there have been vast decor improvements, since our first Maasdam cruise in 2008 where every segment of public room carpet looked like it came from a different end-lots store.

 

There must be a special place in heaven for hotel carpet designers - they see things so differently. One thing Crystal does is keep most of its decor on a human scale, something you would find in your own home. Whereas HAL goes off track when they try to go the LasVegas flash route. Over-stuffed English country home would suit them much better.

 

Yet, we loved that first Maasdam cruise and HAL and have never looked back. HAL just fits comfortably for things far more important than decor ...but then I was also a bride in the harvest gold, avocado era. :p

[Wastegirl]

My DH and I debarked the Oosterdam this last Saturday so we are literally just off the ship. What with catching up with work etc I haven't had time yet to do my review. However I agree the ship has a country house feel but that is what I liked, I don't like the glitzy glam resort style, but that is personal.

 

Our room was clean, comfortable and tidy, a mid ships verandah on deck 5. But most of all the crew were wonderful, yes sometimes there was a bit of a language mix up but with a bit of pointing, arm waving and laughter it was soon sorted out. We were always seeing our room stewards who anticipated our every need (thank you Ibrahim and Yadi), in fact saw them every day whether it was in the hallway or checking something in our rooms. As for the girls at the front desk, I do not know how they keep their cool and still smile, some guests are just plain difficult and rude (don't take this as a comment about the OP, this is just a general observation about my trip).

 

Of course you may get some negatives about the cruise we were on, we were running ahead of a cyclone (hurricane) and had to miss Noumea and after already missing a port due to rough weather, visitors from afar were not happy (mutiny was discussed :) ) . Mind you I had done my homework and knew it was at the tail end of cyclone season and that this might happen, I would never travel half way around the world to travel in an area during their off season without expecting some sort of weather related issue.

[aliaschief]

Thanks for your thoughts. So how was the cruise, ports of call etc. We would like to do this cruise some day.

[Wastegirl]

Aliaschief - it was a fantastic trip and I will do a full review within a few days but one of the problems is that not all ports were available because of the cyclone so I can't give a complete review on the ports of call. What we did see was Isle de Pins (gorgeous), Port Vila (lovely people), Suva (necessary call to gain access to Fiji but could have missed it as at the end of the day it is a working Port not a tropical island) and Dravuni (a bit of paradise).

[absolutboy20]

Hi PKE,

 

Sorry I didn't get to meet you on the cruise, at least I don't think I met you. We eventually were able to a get an SA category cabin, right next to the glass elevators. Our interior cabin furniture although not new seemed to be in a good condition. I had heard reports of the wicker balcony furniture being in poor condition from previous reviews, but I found that at least in our cabin, they looked brand new so I assumed they were replaced during the last drydock. I think the problem that many cruisers coming from RCL and especially Celebrity have is that HAL ships tend to have a dated/sometimes irregular color scheme. The pinkish tubs/beige counter tops in the bathroom on the Oosterdam, and light wood paneling stateroom just add to that IMHO. I also think that HAL ships tend to not have a large open midship atrium like other cruise lines. I do think HAL has gone much cleaner in their color schemes at least in the staterooms on their newer fleets with white tiled bathrooms and darker woods in the stateroom. But, I found the general color scheme and decor in the bars, showrooms to be odd.

 

The big bonus for HAL suite staterooms is their size that most competitors cannot match in the price points. I think there are more modern staterooms out there from Celebrity/RCL, but being able to have a separate shower and jacuzzi tub, double sinks, is a big bonus where in other cruise lines, you don't see those categories until you get to penthouse levels.

[aliaschief]

Aliaschief - it was a fantastic trip and I will do a full review within a few days but one of the problems is that not all ports were available because of the cyclone so I can't give a complete review on the ports of call. What we did see was Isle de Pins (gorgeous), Port Vila (lovely people), Suva (necessary call to gain access to Fiji but could have missed it as at the end of the day it is a working Port not a tropical island) and Dravuni (a bit of paradise).

 

Looking forward to your review after you catch up from all the post cruise task.

[kazu]

Sorry to hear about your disappointment with service on the O. This is not typical of HAL, but I did experience it once on the N.A. when a lot of new staff came on board. It wasn't bad service per se - just not the typical service we expect of HAL's marvelous crews.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with us.

[Duck Creek]

I was also on the same cruise as Wastegirl. First time on HAL. (Have previously done a number of Princess and 1 Carnival Spirit out of Sydney). Have not been on what may be considered a luxury line so cannot compare.

 

While the orange carpet and some other fittings were interesting, i liked the feel of the ship and thought it was less gaudy than the Carnival Spirit (which I have found out is not my style for a number of reasons.)

 

Had a partially obstructed view cabin which was very generous in size and looked fine to me. Also love that it has a proper promenade deck!

For me the service was fine. If i asked for something it was provided. All staff were lovely especially in the Pinnacle Grill where I had 2 great meals.

Missing ports was not an issue as I had been to them all before.

All in all I had a lovely cruise and would consider HAL again.:)

[brainyblonde]

For someone recently off the Oosterdam: Did the MDR charge for morning or evening cappuccino?

 

Thanks.

[Valley Girl of VA]

I was on the Oosterdam in February and I too have felt that it was "off" and I have never been on a luxury cruise. This was my fourth cruise on HAL (previously on NA, Zuiderdam, and Noordam). There was just something that was off on this cruise and for many of the people I spoke with, they felt it too.

 

Many of us sent "Let us know" cards to the front desk. No one went out of their way for us. I will say that we did have a very good waiter and assistant in the MDR as well as the wine sommelier.

 

The crew was not wonderful and did not take care of everything. It almost seemed like they didn't do very much. It seemed to be a passable "C" grade. Again, all this is subjective and I have used other HAL cruises as a comparison.

 

It does have me rethinking our next cruise but there are many things I like about HAL which traditionally I have on their other ships. So, I may try them again and think of my experience as the exception and not the rule.

 

I agree that the decor is outdated but I do not judge a cruise line on its tacky furnishings. What was the worst to me though were the tacky benches near the elevators where some of the them are painted white with the royal blue for hair and accents on the children on the benches.

 

Jane

[Boytjie]

What was the worst to me though were the tacky benches near the elevators where some of the them are painted white with the royal blue for hair and accents on the children on the benches.

 

I am trying to unpack that sentence...? :confused: :)

[absolutboy20]

PKE, you have access to the Atlantis Alumni board and I'm assuming you sailed on the newer fleets on RCL and Celebrity, but if you looked at the comments from the Celebrity Summit Caribbean 2012 March sailing which is more comparable in size/age to the Oosterdam, you'll see similar comments about even after a recent drydock refurbishment, the bathroom was old and dated on that ship.

 

I'm assuming just like in a home renovation, bathroom remodels on older fleets are just too cost/time prohibitive to keep a ship offline, thus even though they can throw on a new coat of paint, carpet, and furniture, the bathroom remains original.

 

I didn't think the service itself was bad, but also agree it wasn't standout jumping to go back. I will say that our cabin stewards were great in that our room was cleaned well, didn't see any evidence of mildew in the bathrooms, and they came in/out as soon as we went to breakfast.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[SwissMyst]

For someone recently off the Oosterdam: Did the MDR charge for morning or evening cappuccino?

 

Thanks.

 

Nov/Dec 2012 - Oosterdam: DH got a complimentary double espresso every evening in the main dining room, but we never asked for cappuccinos.