Mini Review of the Oosterdam Oct 16-26

[CruiseWhere]

First off let me say my DH and I had and incredible cruise, as we usually do!

I'm just going to detail some of the differences that we noticed on this cruise compared to others....

 

A couple of cruises ago we had the pleasure of dining with the Hotel Director and he had mentioned how things were changing by taking away things "a little bit at a time". Here goes...

 

No Mariners Embarkation Lunch, No Officers party, No VIP party.

You are sent a note as to whether or not you would like a corsage or boutonniere for Gala night.

No more ashtrays on Promenade Deck along with NO Smoking signs everywhere.

There are no more "No Running" signs with either on the Promenade Deck.

Floral decorations have all but diminished throughout the ship replaced with silk ones. In our cabin we had a carnation and some greens.

There are now more non-smoking nights in the casino.

 

We ourselves did not enjoy the Dive In.

 

Pinnacle Grill was probably one of the best Pinnacle dinners that we have ever enjoyed.

 

Service was excellent everywhere all the time and I can honestly say all of our meals in the MDR were wonderful. I believe they have changed the selections on the menu a bit. Portions are definitely smaller.

 

Northern lights will be going.

 

There is now a security screener to go through at Hal Moon Cays.

 

All the staff were incredible!

 

I hope this is helpful to some and news to others. This is just my and my DH's opinions. I'm sure others may or may not agree ...but each to their own.

 

Any questions I'd be happy to answer!

[jimmy2x]

Thank you for your review. We will be on her for 3 weeks in February. Understand no Mariners Lunch on 1st day. Was the MDR open at all that afternoon?

[CruiseWhere]

Yes it was! We did not go there so I can't give you the hours but we were told it was open.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Thanks for posting. I'm glad to hear the food is good.

 

No Mariner's Embarkation lunch, but did they have the welcome reception?

 

What's the deal with security screening on Half Moon Cay? Is this after you get off the tender but before you go up the path? Metal detector? Bag check?

[iflyrc5]

Thanks for the review. We are boarding Jan 18 and will be on for 42 days.

 

Was it a one time thing that there was no lunch in the MDR on embark day or is that the new normal?

 

How many Gala nights did you have and when were they?

 

One last question - if you took any of the Techspert classes were they teaching Windows 10 or Windows 8?

 

Thanks again for taking time to let us know - we are looking forward to an outstanding 42 days on a DAM ship:D

[Lizzie68]

Do you know what is replacing the Northern Lights?

[CruiseWhere]

Thanks for posting. I'm glad to hear the food is good.

 

No Mariner's Embarkation lunch, but did they have the welcome reception?

 

What's the deal with security screening on Half Moon Cay? Is this after you get off the tender but before you go up the path? Metal detector? Bag check?

 

The security check is before you are heading back to the tender returning to the ship. Both metal detector and bag check.

 

They had a suite welcome party to get to know your neighbors with the concierge as host.

[CruiseWhere]

Thanks for the review. We are boarding Jan 18 and will be on for 42 days.

 

Was it a one time thing that there was no lunch in the MDR on embark day or is that the new normal?

 

How many Gala nights did you have and when were they?

 

One last question - if you took any of the Techspert classes were they teaching Windows 10 or Windows 8?

 

Thanks again for taking time to let us know - we are looking forward to an outstanding 42 days on a DAM ship:D

 

No Mariners embarkation lunch on the Oosterdam. Don't know about the other ships.

 

We had two Gala Nights one the second evening after Half Moon Cays and the other was the second last evening of the cruise a sea day.

 

Windows 10 was what was being taught.

[CruiseWhere]

Do you know what is replacing the Northern Lights?

 

Blonde moment and can't remember:rolleyes:

If I do I will let you know. They are also changing up the entertainment.

[POA1]

Thanks for your review. Very thorough.

[Lizzie68]

Blonde moment and can't remember:rolleyes:

If I do I will let you know. They are also changing up the entertainment.

 

Thanks. It will be interesting to find out - maybe that's part of the big announcement tomorrow.;)

[CruiseWhere]

Thanks. It will be interesting to find out - maybe that's part of the big announcement tomorrow.;)

 

Where did you hear that there was going to be a big announcement?

[iflyrc5]

If you don't mind - I have one more question - was there a B. B. King group on board doing nightly shows?

[AZNative2000]

Do you know what is replacing the Northern Lights?

During trivia in the Northern Lights on our O-Dam cruise (Sept 20-27) we were told the ship would end up with "dueling piano bars". No other clues given (or known I guess). We'll have to wait until our next cruise (June 2016) to find out.

 

Cheers!

[POA1]

If you don't mind - I have one more question - was there a B. B. King group on board doing nightly shows?

According to the Holland America website, the answer is yes. We absolutely love, love, love the BB King All Stars.

[CruiseWhere]

If you don't mind - I have one more question - was there a B. B. King group on board doing nightly shows?

 

Yes! 3 shows per night. 9, 10 and 11 pm.

[tassietravellers]

Thanks for the great review, we will be on in Oosterdam in June next year, good to hear about we can look forward to :-)

 

thanks Deb

[Cinder Again]

Thanks for your review, it really helps to build excitement for our cruise in January!

[Aquahound]

Thank you for your review. I was on your cruise and I agree with much of what you said. Service was fantastic and we were very happy with the MDR. I just think the emtertainment could have been better and I was disappointed with the lack of a guitarist in the Crows Nest.

 

This was my first visit to HMC, so I thought the security was normal. What I thought was funny, was the bar inside the screening area. :D

 

Thank you for your review. We will be on her for 3 weeks in February. Understand no Mariners Lunch on 1st day. Was the MDR open at all that afternoon?

 

I was told it was open for everyone. I didn't notice either though.

[wntgoislnds]

yes, it DOES build excitement. Love hearing that the BB King review has 3 shows. If anyone gets on here and complains AGAIN about how loud it is, please don't . Let us get excited about it without negative comments over and over. Thank you.

Good to hear about the No Smoking signs. breathing a sigh of relief. :D

[themerle]

Thanks for the review! Your information is very helpful.

[Caribensun]

Cruisewhere, we never heard of the "neighbor party" although we were on back of ship. We booked Neptune Suite Deck 5 last May and loved it. Lawrence and Mei in Neptune Lounge were awesome!

we missed M&G as Our luggage never arrived after muster. Concierges made us wait in our room until after we sailed before they would see if it had even made it onboard. We did board early. We were so relieved when our Luggage finally arrived around 5:30pm, with no explanation as to why so late. Frustrating as we tipped the port porter very well. We did not have anything in our luggage (5) seperate pieces that would held it up. This was the first time in over 30 cruises this ever happened to me.

The steel drums never arrived onboard either we were told. Embarkation/debarkation was a breeze.

Pools were cool. Had a good cruise, great HOT weather!

Sandipalms