Mexican Riviera On Oosterdam??

[Tinknock50]

In Mazatlan we took a neat HAL excursion up into the Sierra Madres. We visited the small Mexican Colonial town of Concordia and then the small village (900 inhabitants) of Capala--complete with cobblestone streets and small town plaza.

 

Tour took about 7 hours and all on our tour really seemed to enjoy it.

 

 

I completely agree with that! One of the best Mexican excursions I have ever taken. No pesky vendors and just the most beautiful old churches.

[Tinknock50]

Dave,

 

Excellent photos! The whale pictures were awesome.

[Tinknock50]

From what I've read, the weather in Mexico in November is usually between 75 and 85 degrees. So, perfect! :) The water tends to be on the chilly side though. I've been debating about snorkling or scuba diving and I think I may wait until my next Carribean cruise for water activities.

 

 

What's your sail date? I am sailing on November 26th.

[dakrewser]

Dave,

 

Excellent photos! The whale pictures were awesome.

 

Thanks, but credit where credit is due - it's Makrewser who takes the pictures, I just carry the bag!

[cruisenw]

We sailed on the Oosterdam in late February to Mexico. Loved the ship. A little cool on the way down and on the way back but they were having storms in Southern California.

 

Loved the trip to Las Caletas in Puerto Vallarta. Fun and very relaxing. Would do again in a minute. The water was a little cool for snorkeling but once you got in it wasn't bad.

 

I would also highly recommend the Olive Pit (Martini bar on the first floor). Very friendly and fun. Michael and Edwin were great!

[mich2]

Hi Tinknock.....we're on the same cruise with you. There is a roll call going, so you can see some others that are going too!

[lougee1043]

here are exerpts of a trip report written last april by 2 cruisers after sailing on the odam-------

 

 

This could be a first for the cc board- this is a combined report from 2 people who met on the cc board prior to their cruise- met on board and decided to combine reports

 

You will note 2 different type styles – each one representing a different writer.

 

 

 

Boarding ship:

 

 

Lougee1043: We were at the terminal about 11:00 after turning our rental car in – there were about 100 people lined up outside when we got there- met 2 other couples from the cc board before we even got into the building –doors opened at 11:30 and we processed through without incident – it is really helpful if you did your immigration questionnaire on –line ----we had an s class cabin so there was no line in getting our documents for boarding – they now take your pix at that time and it is part of the mag strip on the back of your room key. Were allowed to board almost immediately --- because of the new early boarding procedure there were no escorts to the cabins – I thought that the S class pax would at least be escorted to the Neptune lounge but that didn’t happen either – thanks for the hal web site we did know where is was and we proceeded there – met up with one of the couples we met outside and had some snacks before going up to the lido for lunch- then it was back to the cabin for a little leisure time prior to lifeboat drill and unpacking –

 

 

RandyK47: We left the Westin about 1:30 PM on the HAL provided transportation. Bus arrived at the terminal at about 2:00 PM. Agree with Lougee1043….have all your documents filled out and HAL will get you on the ship quite quickly. Interestingly we got called to Window 21 which was the day of the sailing, it is my birthday, and our wedding anniversary. All good omens! Check in went quickly and we were on the ship by 2:15 PM and escorted to SS6060. We took a few minutes to look around the cabin and within 15 minutes our steward showed up with our luggage. We unpacked, relaxed and waited for the boat drill.

 

 

Our cabin:

 

 

Lougee1043: We were on the Rotterdam deck S7061 and it was an absolutely perfect location –a few feet from the midships elevators and even closer to the Neptune lounge. According to the Brochures the s cabins on the vista ships are smaller then the ones on the S class ships. Actually liked this layout a little better ---the bathroom in our cabin was to the right of the entryway as you come in the door-not through a doorway along side the bed as was on out last cruise- bathroom was more private ---dressing area did not have a sink in it but that didn’t seem important---double sinks and the Jacuzzi/tub/shower—in addition there was another shower stall that I used once but it was claustrophobic in size – similar to a toilet on the airplane

 

 

RandyK47: Our cabin was on the Upper Verandah deck almost amidships. Elevators were close enough but not right on top of us. Maybe by the luck of the draw or maybe by it’s placement we found the cabin to be very quiet and rarely heard our neighbors on either side or passage traffic. This was our first time in an SS category cabin. Prior cruises were in mini-suites or full suites. My best estimate is that an SS is a third again as large as a mini-suite and very well arranged. The bathroom is nice with double vanities, a Jacuzzi tub, and a shower. By the way, the shower is a bit of a waste…about the size of a phone booth and not all that comfortable to shower in. Drop the soap in there and you’re backing your bare backside half way across the bathroom to pick it up. After one try each we both switched to showering in the tub which worked just fine.

 

 

Lido:

 

 

Lougee1043: Didn’t eat very often in the lido because of jans not feeling well and what was available across the hall in the Neptune

 

 

RandyK43: Carey and I ate breakfast most morning and lunch a couple of times in the Lido. Took a little time to figure out the several stations but once we did it wasn’t all that hard to find what we wanted. Only a couple of times were we faced with long lines so getting what we wanted was not a problem. Seems they’d picked up the service in the Lido from previous cruises based on what I’ve read here but generally we had no problem finding a table. One thing…coffee….hard to get refills from the servers and not very good! Oh well….can’t have everything

 

 

Lifeboat drill:

 

 

Lougee1043: As usual with some people not attending which tends to delay the whole procedure.

 

 

RandyK47: About the same as Lougee1043. We were missing one or two couples but they eventually showed up and we got through it. Just one of those cruise things you’ve got to do.

 

 

Sail a way party:

 

 

Lougee1043: Great weather and all couples that had met on the internet showed up for face to face intros and that was nice because we kept running into each other on the ship or ashore

 

 

RandyK47: Sail away party with Lougee1043 and all the others was great. Fantastic sunset as we cleared the harbor and really started the adventure. Should add that Lougee and I had become pretty good email “friends” over the past month or so and joked about what would happen if we liked one another but the ladies didn’t get along. Would have hated to start the cruise with a divorce! J Actually, the ladies hit it right off and chatted a lot during the cruise.

 

 

Dinner-Vista:

 

 

Lougee1043: No first nite escorts to our tables a steward at the entry kept saying odd numbered table to the left and even numbered tables the right- after blundering around for a few minutes – the big white numbered signs that used to appear on the tables have been replaced with small triangular signs that you cant see unless you are standing right in front of it- we asked a waiter and preceded to lead us off in the wrong direction but a captain came to his rescue and we finally ended up at our table –very nice tablemates – 2 men from boston and a newly wed couple--------service the first nite was extremely slow and we found out that all of our cc couples felt the same way and that included the pinnacle—comment was also made of the lack of warmth from the European staff and after a week with them in the Neptune lounge I had to agree . / mentioned to our captain harry about the service and he assured us that it wouldn’t happen again – he checked on us several times a nite and the service improved after that our waiter was rachman and the wine steward was richardo– we were seated at table 69 – most of the tables at the windows were tables for 8 and most of the 6s were inside that circle – the dress up nites were tues-wed-thur- thought that was a little strange because the last day was a sea day and as I recall that was generally the last formal nite

 

 

RandyK47: Geez…you’d swear Lougee and I were on the same cruise…wait we were! Yep…no escort. Luckily we had table 71 which is a table for eight in the center and we found it quite quickly. Might note that Lougee and Jan were right next door at table 69. We also had great tables mates who turned into real friends over the next week. Two couples from Canada and a couple from Wisconsin. Ah service….I remember service…from a previous cruise, not this one. Drinks were hard to get, never got a chance for a second, and one night we arrived to find our wine already on the table and opened…..good thing we both wanted the beef dish that night or a good red wine would have been wasted. The food was generally good. A couple of the salads over the week had what my wife called “tired lettuce” but all in all not bad. Never did learn the names of our waiter, busboy or wine steward….didn’t see them enough. And for the first time on HAL I only briefly talked to only one of the senior staff in the dining room. At best I’d rate the service as uneven…sometimes acceptable, sometimes slow. Not at all what we expected or had experienced before on HAL.

 

 

 

Part 2

 

Neptune Lounge:

 

 

Lougee1043: A nice uncrowded hideaway --- always a nice variety of items available depending on the time of day ---gary and Rachel were of great help if you had a question or needed a last minute excursion ---they seemed to always have the answer and were very efficient. Imo the Europeans just seemed more interested in getting done with their shift with the least effort-- rather then make several trips back and forth from the cabin I asked one of them if there was a tray and was told that there wasn’t any ..so I got the basket that the laundry is delivered in and used that -- a while later I suggested to gary that there should be a few trays available and he suggested that I ask the steward for one and I told him that I had and had been informed that there were none-gary disappeared for a second and returned with one – that was the only negative thing that occurred in the Neptune

 

 

RandyK47: Not much to say here since we were in a SS category cabin. There have been other threads asking if this category got any specific considerations similar to the S or PS category rooms. The answer is simple….no, at least not things like access to the Neptune Lounge, priority tender passes, or special embarkation/disembarkation privileges. We had robes and personalized stationary. Nice but no big deal. Having been a full suite passenger on previous cruises I'd say it comes down to economics and an individual desire for a large stateroom. Can't say I felt like I missed much but certainly wouldn't have turned an upgrade down if offered. By the way, there were apparently no upgrades, at least at this level, offered on our cruise. There were signs at the check-in that announced that the cruise was sold out and that there would be no upgrades.

 

 

Room service:

 

 

Lougee1043: Jan had dinner in the room 3 nites in a row in order to be as well rested for the shore days-every meal delivered either had something missing or on one occasion was delivered with 2 different entrees and then another order showed up about 30 minutes later ---anything that was missing was promptly replaced –one nite the order was delivered and the waiter said he didn’t bring the dessert because he didn’t want it to melt-asked when he should deliver it and he showed up on time with a dessert that had not started melting --- thought that was service above and beyond

 

 

RandyK47: We used room service for early breakfast every morning….really my wife's required coffee transfusion each morning. Simply mark on a card what you want the next morning, the time you want it and hang it the outside door. Just make sure you mark exactly what you want and how many of each. One morning I marked a "2" for breakfast rolls, assuming that since the bottom of the form asks how many people in the cabin and I'd marked 2 I'd get a total of 4….wrong….got 2. Anyhow, other than my mistake that one morning everything was delivered as requested at the time requested. Good service

Ship:

 

Lougee1043: My wife, the interior decorator, approved of all of the colors, appointments

etc of the ship and I as a dutiful husband agree.

 

I thought that the ships layout was familiar and a bit confusing at the same

time- more twists and turns in certain areas of the ship- imo the shopping

arcade was like a rats maze- I always buy a ships t shirt in blue or gray

with strips that has the name of the ship and a small hal logo on it ----not

stocked-replaced with what I considered inadequate replacements- oh well

that's just me---------also thought that the variety of items available were

less then was I saw in the past

 

 

RandyK47: The ship was beautiful and in great condition but, of course, it was only 6-7 months “old”. Carey and I have to agree with Lou, while familiar from our previous HAL cruises, it was a bit confusing. The shops were not well designed or laid out. Finding your way at times could be confusing as they added variety by adding the twists and turns Lou mentioned. After almost half of the cruise we kind of figured it out.

 

Lougee1043: Personally didn't like the layout of the casino- on the s ships the slots

are more toward one end of the casino with the other games at the other end-

on this ship the table games are in the center of the ring and are

surrounded with slots - thought the casino was a lot nosier then in the past

and the ventilation system left a lot to be desired as the smell of

cigarette smoke was overwhelming - you could smell it before you actually

entered the casino ----------also our favorite game of open face blackjack

was only available on one evening- so we left less money behind then we

usually do and maybe that was a good thing

 

 

RandyK47: Darn it Lou….you type first and then I feel like a parrot! OK, OK…Lou is right on here. The casino is not the best layout. Really like the “S” class layout better. However, the staff was friendly and it wasn’t a bad place to play table games or throw money at the slot machines. We didn’t play as much as we had on previous trips so we didn’t WIN as much. (Take that Lou!) Actually, the last night of the cruise we stopped in to break some larger bills for tips. Carey went to a quarter machine and I hit one of the dollar slots. In ten minutes time we both hit for more than enough to play all the tips we planned to hand out.

 

 

Lougee1043: Attended less of the shows then usual-- the show "escape" was in my opinion the one of the best revue shows if not the best that I have

seen -----------the back portion of the main show floor seats have limited

visibility because of the sloping seating area -the support columns and the

overhanging from the balcony seating

 

RandyK47: We couldn’t attend less than we normally do because we don’t go to the shows and stayed with that tradition this time. In other words, no comment.

 

Suites:

 

Lougee1043: Imo its like first class air travel over priced but nice if you want to

spring for the bucks- we have and will continue to do it in the future

because jan likes the extra space-

 

On the last nite all luggage have to be in the hallway by one am -as a suite

pax we don't have to put our luggage out til 5am--- since I didn't plan to

stay up that late just to take advantage of this benefit I put our stuff out

the same time as everyone else

 

 

RandyK47: We opted for an SS category cabin as the brochure and web made it look pretty nice. It was a great cabin and we were very comfortable. I could easily see taking a longer cruise in this “suite” without the slightest problem. The verandah was a nice size with two cushioned chairs and ottomans and a table with a couple of chairs. We could both be out on the verandah at the same time and not have to do any gymnastics to get around or pass one another.

 

Miscellaneous Observations:

 

 

Lougee1043: Overall it was an excellent cruise and I appreciated the experience of the

vista ship - I think that in the future where I have a choice of ships I

will choose an s class over a vista but I would not even consider canceling

a cruise because a vista was the only ship available

 

RandyK43: There you go again Lou! Yes, it was an excellent cruise. Certainly the Vista class ships are very nice. However, like that other person, Carey and I prefer the smaller “S” class ships. Would we cruise on a “V” class again? Absolutely.

 

Debarking:

 

Lougee1043: We hung out in the Neptune lounge after breakfast because they wanted the rooms cleard by 8 am-only time we saw the Neptune lounge standing room only-

everyone had to be off the ship by 10am- we took a cab to the fll airport

and sat around til our 2pm departure which left late - had about 30 min to

make a plane change in Chicago and then the plane took off 90 min late

because of a rain storm--- all planes were fully loaded and food is now

being sold on them----arrived in Portland about 45 min late and completely

shot

 

RandyK47: We actually were allowed, in fact, encouraged to stay in our cabin. After breakfast we went back to our room and just relaxed for an hour talking about what a great time we’d had. It was nice to have the quiet time together to soak in the last few minutes of a great time. Because HAL had us on a fairly early flight we didn’t really wait that long. Getting off the ship, finding our baggage, and getting transported to the airport went very well. The airline was well organized with a separate setup for cruise customers. All of our tickets and luggage tags were preprinted and waiting for us. Couldn’t have taken 5 minutes to check in! From there on out the flights were on time and we arrived back in San Antonio at 4:30 PM.

 

NEGATIVE COMMENT

 

Lougee1043: I found out today that my broker sent me an email on wed 3/23 that was NEVER delivered to my cabin - have written to hal and am waiting for a response

 

RandyK47: Gosh Lou….I didn’t get an email from my broker either….of course I don’t have one so maybe that’s the problem. Doubt HAL would help me out there. OK…my biggest complaint is the slippage in service on HAL. Having not been on a cruise for several years we really noticed it. In talking to our room steward we got some idea why it had slipped. He said he’d gone from having to take care of 9 rooms to 12 in the SS category. When he worked the mini-suites they gave him 17 instead of the previous 12. A little math and that sounds like a 30% cut in staff. It shows!!! Our room steward apologized and said he liked to spend a lot more time with his guests but just couldn’t.

 

 

 

[willowoodf]

Lou:

 

What a great review you and Randy did! Thank you for putting it on this thread. I really appreciated it since we will be in an S suite also.

 

Sounds like overall it was great, except for the (lack of) service. I can only hope that it has improved....

 

Mary