Some recent Oosterdam pictures and observations

[Despegue]

Hopefully this works...

 

http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/tinocodde/library/

 

 

Here are some pictures that I took of the refurbished Oosterdam...

 

More about our recent cruise later as I am writing this from my mobile phone...

Edited June 13, 2016 by Despegue

[taxmantoo]

Very nice. Thank you for posting.

[OceanMonarch]

Thank you for the updated photos. This is our first time on HAL and will be on board July 11th for 12 days.

 

I noticed there was one photograph of the Retreat entrance. Could you offer any advice on reserving the cabanas? Can you do this ahead of time, or just whilst on board

[retiretwo]

Thanks for the updates. She looks much "fresher" than before drydock. I'm looking forward to seeing her new look this winter!

[kevingastreich]

Hopefully this works...

 

http://s1376.photobucket.com/user/tinocodde/library/

 

 

Here are some pictures that I took of the refurbished Oosterdam...

 

More about our recent cruise later as I am writing this from my mobile phone...

 

Awesome! Thank you!

[mightycruisequeen]

Thank you so much for sharing these photos of Oosterdam. Makes me even more excited for next winter. :D

[Despegue]

Some more observations:

 

Cabin:

Our Cabin, a VC on deck 6 seemed refurbished, with new carpets, sofa upholstery and new Interactive flatscreen TV.

They also installed a connecting door between ours and the neigbour's cabin, which resulted in considerable noise seeping through. Beware of that if you choose a connecting stateroom, like ours. ( 6136).

Regarding the Interactive TV, it is such an improvement compared to the prehistoric system and dvd players they had before ( and still have on the majority of ships). There is a very wide range of movies, sitcoms, documentaries etc. Only thing missing really is the option to see your statement, but they do have automated statement machines installed next to Guest services.

 

Ship overall:

Wow.

What a thorough and great refurbishment!

Last year, we sailed Zuiderdam after her Drydock and refurb, but there is no comparison. Oosterdam almost looked like a new vessel. As you can see from my pictures, she is now much more contemporary, without loosing her HAL touch of warmth and cozyness.

The Ocean Bar has unfortunately lost its stage however, but gained a piano player.

 

The Gallery Bar replaces the Northern Lights disco ( as on Eurodam) and seemed fairly succesfull during our sailing. The lounge DOES still offer a couple of Flatscreen TV's with 1 sport channel on, so sport fans could see their favourite game, but it is not a dedicated Sports bar anymore, more like a contemporary Pub I would say.

The venue has signature cocktails by Dale de Groff ( sp.?). We tried one but were slightly disappointed by its taste and presentation.

 

Billboard On Board is a Mayor HIT!

We simply loved the venue , which replaces the Sports Bar and Piano lounge.

There are now 2 pianos, and the talented Meagan and Diego played 3 sets each evening, mostly to a full house.

 

Don't miss their signature cocktails: " All the man you need" is a new favourite of mine! ( yes, it contains Makers Mark, my poison of choice)

 

The Lido Buffet is now called Lido Marketplace ( I believe) and got an extensive makeover.

Gone are the unhygienic and unpractical carpets ner the food stations, they are replaced by wood and high quality vinyl kind of materials. Starions fot a new name but serve basically the same items.

Of note are the nice presentation of small dishes.

The Asian corner, called Distant Lands, have a daily soup once again.

More regarding food in its own chapter...😉

 

Other venues that got an update are the MDR, with new chairs, artwork and carpets

Crows Nest got a redo as well, but the announced " Rijksmuseum at sea" was not created.

 

Nearly all venues got new carpets and seat upholstery ( except the Pinnacle Bar).

 

Also the Outside decks got a good scrubbing and the Teak was in immaculate condition. The old lido deck ceilings with the shell pattern is gone and replaced by modern design.

 

Food:

 

Overall, we were happy with the onboard grub...

We never had a really bad dish actually and I think that presentation is slightly improving.

In the MDR, the Gala menus were, as before, the most boring and disappointing menus of the cruise, which is such a shame.

The Retirement home schrimp cocktail is still available in abundance.

Most beef was tender, especially the prime rib, but the HAL Classic Ny strip steak was a sorry piece of leather unfortunately.

 

The last night of the cruise had the best menu, which included Foie Gras, Filet Mignon and Alaska King Crab legs! I must confess that I ate like a starved pig.

 

The Lido Market concept focusses now more on individual portions.

This is great for presentation, but has some drawbacks...for example: Gone is the opportunity to choose a particular fruit ( like watermelon). You have to choose a preselected fruit combination that is already plated.

 

The Icecream choices have also been dumbed down, with often only Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry flavours offered.

Breadpudding is still available at the Icecream station by the way.

 

 

Service:

 

Overall, the service was exemplary.

Andrie, the As -you-wish Dining Host remembered us from a previous cruise and proves to be an excellent host.

Speaking of As-you-wish, we always requested a table for two, and had to wait a total of 4 times out of 12 nights.

Something that seems new is the much appreciated, and classy offering of a glass of sparkling wine if you have to wait for a table! I don't know if this is just a policy of the HD or now Fleetwide, but it is a very welcome service addition and a real touch of sophistication. ( can someone confirm they also had this on other ships?)

 

The Lido Market now has cutlery, napkins and glasses set on the tables. We are not a fan of this new policy.

It increases the workload of the crew, makes it unclear which tables are taken and cleaning-up takes more time.

We did appreciate the crew coming round with juices and coffee though. Again, a service enhancement.

 

Various observations:

 

We had a couple of "theme nights" on lido deck, a HAL tradition. The quality of these were unfortunately not as great as last year on Zuiderdam, which had an unbelieveable fruit buffet with exotic fruits, carvings etc etc.

In fact, there were no fruit carvings, ice carvings to be seen at all onboard.

Also flower bouquets were less frequent.

 

Shane was our CD and he is a sincere, dedicated host and entertainer.

 

Hope this helps,

 

D.

 

Ps. Oh, almost forgot: we did not get the Monkey on Gala Night! 😱 Big tragedy!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review and sharing your pictures.

We noticed on our recent Westerdam cruise that were a lot less fresh flowers.

[trub]

thanks for the photos and update - am on the ship in november and great to see/hear she is in good shape

[Cruiserbillyboo]

We are boarding this Friday for the 12-day Mediterranean Dream. Very excited! Do you recall what they charge for internet packages? And was there an "unlimited" option? And if you used internet, how was the connection strength?

Thanks!

[Despegue]

No unlimited internet option and prices were expensive I believe.

[utahtea]

Some more observations:

 

Cabin:

Our Cabin, a VC on deck 6 seemed refurbished, with new carpets, sofa upholstery and new Interactive flatscreen TV.

They also installed a connecting door between ours and the neigbour's cabin, which resulted in considerable noise seeping through. Beware of that if you choose a connecting stateroom, like ours. ( 6136).

 

Oops...to late for us! Our upcoming cruise of 39 days has a connecting door :eek:

 

Loved your pictures. What camera did you use? We're in the market for a new one.

 

Utahtea

[luvn2cruzzz]

Thank you so much for making your pictures available to us! We first were on the Oosterdam in its inaugural year and the changes have definitely updated the ship. I believe the suites received a full make over unlike the other cabins so it was good to hear there have been some upgrades to them. We sail on her over Thanksgiving so will have to be patient until then!

[Despegue]

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 😀

[utahtea]

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 😀

 

I'm impressed with the pictures from your cellphone!!!!

 

Utahtea

[Tampa Girl]

Despegue - How bad was the "considerable noise" and was there any way to mufflle it? I just realized that we also have a connecting room (7084) on the Osterdam's November 3rd TA.

[Heartgrove]

Some more observations:

 

Cabin:

Our Cabin, a VC on deck 6 seemed refurbished, with new carpets, sofa upholstery and new Interactive flatscreen TV.

They also installed a connecting door between ours and the neigbour's cabin, which resulted in considerable noise seeping through. Beware of that if you choose a connecting stateroom, like ours. ( 6136).

 

Thanks for making the photos available. I haven't sailed on a Vista Class yet, but it appears that that cabin (along with other VC and VD cabins) have always been connecting according to the HAL deck plans. Anyone know for sure?

[utahtea]

Thanks for making the photos available. I haven't sailed on a Vista Class yet, but it appears that that cabin (along with other VC and VD cabins) have always been connecting according to the HAL deck plans. Anyone know for sure?

 

On the sister ship the Zuiderdam back in 2010 we had what was then "VB" category cabin 6132. I have attached the old 2010 deck plan and it was NOT a connecting room back then and it is one now. The picture is hard to read but as you can see there are no + marks showing there were connecting rooms. Must have been one of the improvements they have made over the last couple of years.

 

 

 

or you can try seeing the picture here:

 

Utahtea

Edited June 14, 2016 by utahtea

[shrimp56]

OSDM looks great. I am wondering thought. Are these benches still around?

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info.

[6travelers]

OSDM looks great. I am wondering thought. Are these benches still around?

 

 

YES!!! Just off the Oosterdam 5/24, for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would think these benches are worth keeping!??! The blue ones look like they were painted by a kindergarten class. They are hideous

[cruisin_ppl]

I took this photo on the Westerdam about 5 years ago.

We affectionately named it "the ugly bench". :rolleyes:

 

[cruisin_ppl]

Despegue - Thank you for sharing your photos and a review of the Oosterdam after the recent refurbishment.

It will be our first time on the Oosterdam this August, but we are not new to HAL. We are really looking forward to it.

 

:)

 

_________________________________

 

Upcoming:

HAL Oosterdam - Aug 04 2016 (24 Day)

Royal Princess - Transatlantic - Oct 08 2016

[CarolZaga]

Thank you for sharing your photos. We are sailing on her in November and your photos of the refurbished Oosterdam have elevated our excitement level! By any chance did you get the chance to see or go to the Pinnacle Grille and would you be able to share a photo of it if you have one? Thanks again:)

[sherryf]

I noticed your photos of the "small plates" in the Lido. Were these labelled? It was hard to figure out what some of them were. Just wondering if they are easier to identify in person, or if they are labelled.