Comments on Oosterdam 3/3 Cruise from Tampa

[richard1s]

The following are some of our experiences on the Oosterdam 3/10 sailing out of Tampa Florida. The itinerary included the ports of Cozumel, Roatan Honduras, Santo Tomas Guatemala and Costa Maya. We have about 26 cruises under our belt and chose this particular voyage because it included 3 new ports for us and also gave us the opportunity see family and friends living in the area prior to departure.

 

Admittedly, we weren’t too excited about this trip as the sailing date approached. We were very underwhelmed by our last HAL cruise - September 2014 on the Maasdam and totally “wowed” by our last 3 Celebrity cruises in a row.

 

Pre-cruise: we stayed at the Double Tree, Rocky Point. I wouldn’t recommend this property if you don’t have a car, there is nothing within walking distance. And even with a car, it is still a poor value – it is an old property in need of updating. While it might be OK for business travelers, it didn’t seem appealing to vacation travel.

 

Embarkation/disembarkation: We arrived at the port about 1:30 PM – a short line for security and then suite passenger expedited check-in got us on board in less than 5 minutes. Luggage was delivered about 2 hours later – very efficient.

Neptune Suite #7079: this room is in a great location, convenient to both mid-ship elevators and the Neptune Lounge. The room was nicely appointed as always and in very nice condition. The 2 concierges in the Neptune Lounge couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful and professional. We appreciate consistent, good quality service and HAL offers it with a well-trained, committed staff.

 

Food/Dinning: this is always a subjective topic but in our opinion, Oosterdam knocked it out of the park. While Celebrity offers exclusive dining options and venues for suite passengers, HAL does not; but it doesn’t need too. The Oosterdam MDR dining experience is absolutely wonderful. Food nicely presented, delicious and always presented at the right temperature. The menu is creative and offers very nice choices that should appeal to most conventional tastes. The service was prompt and courses were paced very nicely; we never felt rushed at any meal. This is important to us and the sign of a well-trained and observant wait staff. We chose open seating and there was never a wait for a table for two; we had a different team each night and they were all equally good. Sommeliers were equally professional, fun and very attentive.

 

Other dinning venues we tried on this cruise included the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast and lunch (excellent service and great food), room service for breakfast (served hot and on time), Lido for an occasional slice of pizza or piece of fried chicken (always hit the spot) and the Dive-In for a Paddle Dog once in a while (again, very good). Finally, Neptune Lounge offers some nice refreshments and snack choices that they changes out several times a day. If you are a smoked salmon fan, this is the place to score big time! Oosterdam offers lots of choices and in our opinion, the ones we tried were all good to excellent.

 

Service: again and as always, HAL really shines. Service everywhere on the ship was very good to outstanding. Room attendants, although appearing very over-worked and under-staffed, always greeted guests warmly and cheerfully. Our team did an excellent job maintaining our room and responding to our modest requests. Elsewhere on the ship, service staff was usually very polite, seemed efficient and normally engaging.

 

Entertainment: this is where HAL really stood out when compared to our recent Celebrity cruises. Oosterdam offered terrific entertainment venues – absolutely first rate. Although we didn’t see them all, the ones we did experience were great.

 

For starters for those who have seen Danny and Anderson in the Billboard venue, you know what I am talking about. These two singer/piano players are unbelievably good and immensely talented performers. Although they perform 3 times a night, there shows are all different; there is the occasional repeat of a song but for the most part, every set is unique. We attended about 2 shows a night and thoroughly enjoyed them all. We can honestly say that these two talented, engaging guys were the best nightly entertainment we have seen on any cruise. They left the ship at the conclusion of our cruise; hopefully their replacements will be equally as talented. The new piano configuration in our opinion is far superior to the previous small (smokey), cramped venue of the past. There was plenty of room for everyone and these guys usually played to a full house.

 

A few other acts we saw were a talented virtuoso piano player/singer Juan Pablo; we really liked this guy who was somewhat old school but very entertaining and had a great Latin flair. A talented comedian Rich Aronovitch did an amazingly funny and creative show; I thought he was hilarious and he kept in moderately clean which is always appreciated. Although we only stopped for an occasional listen, the performances at Lincoln Center and the BB King Club were always well attended and seemed to hit the mark for fans of each venue.

 

OK, now to the things that really misfired for us.

 

Wine by the glass: we are not wine snobs by any stretch but we do enjoy a decent Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc or nice California Pinot Noir. But the choices by the glass (Simi, Formation and Meridian respectively) were fairly low end and lacking. And at $9.50 a glass,they also seemed overpriced. We wouldn’t mind paying more if we could get something decent. However there were some good choices available in the dining room by the bottle.

 

Casino: the dealers were good –well trained and fun. But the problem was the tightest slots and video poker machines we’ve ever seen, anywhere. Yes I know everyone who plays machines hast he same complaint but these things never paid enough to keep you engaged at all, honestly. And what kind of casino only has 4 quarter slot machines?

 

Ports: this is totally my fault for not doing my homework. Although we normally love Cozumel, the first port, and have been there many times, it is a much different place on Sunday. Most of the things we enjoy and the places we normally go to were closed or scaled back. I am fairly certain that Oosterdam was the only ship in port, so there was also no incentive for many places to be open anyway.

 

The second port, Roatan, was probably nice if you wanted a beach day but there wasn’t much else in the immediate port area to do. The third port, Santo Tomas, was really, really lacking. Unfortunately I realized this only after I booked this cruise; there was almost no information about the place on CC or Trip Advisor. It is a container port with a big shed set up at one end were merchants are packed together all selling the same stuff. There are bus and boat tours available; but reviews I read and people we talked to that went on them were not particularly favorable. But it’s all pretty subjective and some may enjoy what is available.

 

Finally, we had a nice day in Costa Maya. I thought the port was nicely developed with nice shops and a few decent restaurants.We took the shuttle into town but there wasn’t much to see at all.

 

In summary, except for the few topics we were disappointed with, this was a great cruise and in many ways, HAL hit it out of the park.

 

Thank you to the wonderful staff and officers of the Oosterdam for all your hard work, great humor and total commitment to the passengers.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Glad you enjoyed the Oosterdam and you had a great crew and wonderful shows.

Sorry about the ports.

[dogo88]

Richard1s,

We were on the same cruise and pretty much agree with all you posted. We took this same cruise two years ago on the Ryndam. The Oosterdam cruise was way better. The drydock upgrades on the ship are a major improvement. From the wide screen TVs in the rooms and USB power connections to the wine stewards using tablets to swipe your card to order and refill your drinks, rather than having to wait and wait for them to return.

Sunday in Cozumel was a bummer with nothing open other than the shops at the dock. And I agree Roatan doesn't have a lot of tours. But many of the island tours are not as bad as some may have expected. We took the easy highlights one and other than the very narrow bus it was a nice trip.

I agree Guatemala port is not very attractive but what the port lacks the tours don't. On our Ryndam trip two years ago we did Tikal tour. Expensive but worth every penny. This time we opted for Ak-Tenamit People, Cultural Exchange & Eco-Adventure. A very interesting 6 hour boat trip. At Costa Maya we did the Kohunlich ruins trip. Again a long bus ride but very interesting.

I totally agree HAL has made some major improvements and they all are positive. After our past two cruises on the Maasdam and Ryndam I was ready to write HAL off. Not so much now.

Dan

[RocketMan275]

We were on the same cruise (5091) and pretty much share your insights. You were spot on concerning the Neptune Lounge and the concierge were excellent.

I would say more but had shoulder surgery last Wednesday.

[RenaeInCA]

Thanks for the review and other comments on the cruise! We head out on the Oosterdam on a similar itinerary (Key West instead of Cozumel) on 3/31. You are the second recent poster commenting on the quality of the by-the-glass wine selections :-( The OP essentially said the same thing. That's my drink of choice so I am mulling whether it will be worth it to get the beverage package. Our last cruise was on Celebrity (Silhouette) with the elite beverage package. The few times I went over the $ limit for a glass of wine I only had to pay the difference. We are quite excited about the cruise - we were able to do a paid upgrade from NS to PS - even though we are only going ashore in Key West and Costa Maya.

[rkacruiser]

I appreciate your effort in taking the time to write a review of your cruise. Thank you. I have never sailed on the Oosterdam and am pleased to know that she met your expectations.

 

I visited Roatan for the first time on the Nieuw Amsterdam this Winter and did not venture beyond the port area. I did not expect much, but was positively surprised with what had been developed. I agree that this is more of a "beach port call" than anything else.

 

I also am a fan of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, particularly Villa Maria. A bartender on the Statendam gave me a money saving tip (Villa Maria was selling for $12.50/glass). Buy a bottle, the Bartender/Stewards will save the opened bottle for you, and you can order it again from the Lounge or wherever on the ship you may be. The cost per glass, for what I consider to be an excellent wine--it suits me, at least--, is considerably reduced.

[RocketMan275]

Thanks for the review and other comments on the cruise! We head out on the Oosterdam on a similar itinerary (Key West instead of Cozumel) on 3/31. You are the second recent poster commenting on the quality of the by-the-glass wine selections :-( The OP essentially said the same thing. That's my drink of choice so I am mulling whether it will be worth it to get the beverage package. Our last cruise was on Celebrity (Silhouette) with the elite beverage package. The few times I went over the $ limit for a glass of wine I only had to pay the difference. We are quite excited about the cruise - we were able to do a paid upgrade from NS to PS - even though we are only going ashore in Key West and Costa Maya.

 

We've decided to forgo the beverage packages and carry on six bottles of wine.

[albingirl]

Thank you for your review. Roatan is one of the premier scuba diving capitals of the world. That being said, we found it to be exceptionally beautiful. Years ago. Thanks for letting us know your views.

[Tinknock50]

Happy to hear the entertainment venues and food were so good, We will be on the Oosterdam in June so hopefully will share your good experience. :)

[jhsocal]

Thank you for that comprehensive review and encouraged by the quality of food and service. will be on her in the Fall.Sean, hope you give us an update in June.

[Tinknock50]

Thank you for that comprehensive review and encouraged by the quality of food and service. will be on her in the Fall.Sean, hope you give us an update in June.

Ok....remind me when I get back.

[erewhon]

Thank you for taking time to review your Oosterdam cruise.

 

Were you not able to buy Villa Maria SB by the glass?

[richard1s]

Thank you for taking time to review your Oosterdam cruise.

 

Were you not able to buy Villa Maria SB by the glass?

Villa Maria was our choice of SB. It is about $50 per bottle. I am pretty sure it is also available by the glass for $12.50, but only in the MDR. All of the other bars only offered the 2 brands I mentioned.

[easyboy]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[POA1]

Thanks for your review!

[bluesplayer]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!! Thank you for posting. I have the same feelings about wine by the glass. The wine dept. needs to go to dry dock to be refurbished. Hope HA will take a look. If some of the 9.50 wines were on the SBP that would go a long way to cruise happiness and ease. Not having to lug bottles on board or hunt down your open bottle left at another location.

[RocketMan275]

Villa Maria was our choice of SB. It is about $50 per bottle. I am pretty sure it is also available by the glass for $12.50, but only in the MDR. All of the other bars only offered the 2 brands I mentioned.

 

Total Wine sells Villa Maria SB for $11.50 per bottle. Corkage would be $18 for $30 total. Five glasses per bottle would cost you about $65 for a bottle. Save yourself $35.

[richard1s]

Total Wine sells Villa Maria SB for $11.50 per bottle. Corkage would be $18 for $30 total. Five glasses per bottle would cost you about $65 for a bottle. Save yourself $35.

We did do this but were never requested to pay a corkage fee.

[RocketMan275]

We did do this but were never requested to pay a corkage fee.

It varies.

[rkacruiser]

Villa Maria is available by the glass in the Lounges and not just the MDR.

 

I am unwilling to carry aboard a case (or whatever) of wine. Yes, paying a corkage fee after visiting whatever wine outlet to buy the wine might be a cost saver. But, there is a practical and convenience side to do this as well.

[erewhon]

Villa Maria was our choice of SB. It is about $50 per bottle. I am pretty sure it is also available by the glass for $12.50, but only in the MDR. All of the other bars only offered the 2 brands I mentioned.

 

Thanks for your reply, HAL are making a huge profit selling it by the glass! .

[richard1s]

Villa Maria is available by the glass in the Lounges and not just the MDR.

No, you are wrong, it was not available. We asked bar attendants if the 2 brands I mentioned in my OP were all there was and we were told "yes". I didn't see the need to question this or elevate it to another level.

[jhsocal]

Was music ever played in the Ocean Bar? The answer seems to vary from cruise to cruise or depending on the ship. Have enjoyed a 3 or 4 piece combo on previous cruises. Thank you!

[richard1s]

Was music ever played in the Ocean Bar? The answer seems to vary from cruise to cruise or depending on the ship. Have enjoyed a 3 or 4 piece combo on previous cruises. Thank you!

No music in the Ocean Bar all week. However there is a piano right outside the bar on the other side of the common area, so they are set up to offer it.

[Sea Belle]

The only music in the Ocean Bar was piano from a predetermined play list with no requests. The loss of dance music there is the only thing I dislike on the HAL ship updates. No matter how many times I say it I maintain omitting the dance music there is a huge mistake. B.B. King groups are ok for a few occasional sets, but they don't qualify for "ball room" music for dancing.

Thank you for the review. We were with you on that cruise and agree with your account. It was one of our favorite experiences with HAL after 18 cruises. As to the wine selection, it is limited. We purchase the package and also take 2 bottles aboard for cabin consumption.

The port that was mainly industrial was a total disappointment, but having done research prior to boarding we were not surprised. We were in an aft cabin so I spent most of the day watching the loading of container ships from our balcony while enjoying teh various functions of my Kindle. That water was disgusting! Talk about pollution.....Wow! I would like to see HAL rethink this port.

Food was delicious, wine service and other crew interactions were outstanding as usual. We are off to Alaska in May on the Amsterdam for 14 days and a new experience. It's been on our bucket list for a long time.