15TH Cruise, 1ST on HAL. Impressed.

[olya1972]

We have traveled to Alaska, round trip from Seattle, on May 14th to 21st. This was our first experience with HAL. Previous sailings include NCL (x6), RCCL (x5), Princes (x2), Celebrity. We were impressed by service, entertainment, enrichment activities and ship itself. Oosterdam is a beautiful ship, well kept, clean, modernly updated, with wonderful lounges, bars, library and entertainment venues. It has a vibe of a luxurious maritime vessel. You can feel seafaring spirit throughout its corridors, nooks and crannies. We didn't miss resort style liners and atmosphere of NCL and RCCL on this sailing ( and we love RCCL's Allure and NCL's Breakaway).Two weeks before departure we have accepted an up-sell offer from VB Veranda to SA Neptune Suite, right across from the Neptune Lounge. Since we traveled as family of four in one cabin (kids 17 and 12 years old) , we could not be happier with the up-sell decision. For us it was money well worth spending ($890 total for the up-sell). Neptune suite is very spacious, recently updated with modern amenities, provides ample room for four people.

We found entertainment options multiple, variable and of good quality, including two main stage productions which we saw, not to mention Lincoln Center Stage and Blues band.

Food quality, variety and presentation was good in all venues, including main dining room, buffet, Dive-in pool-side burger and hot dogs joint and specialty restaurant, Pinnacle Grill. The atmosphere in the buffet is very upscale, beautiful contemporary decor with live orchids on each table and very good service (yes, in the buffet, waiter service for drinks, etc. ) The only issue is tremendous difficulty in getting the table in the buffet during popular hours (for us it was every time we went there for lunch). We did not find buffet hours severely limited compared to other lines. They do wrap up dinner early ( 9 pm or so), but then reopen from 10:30 pm to 11:30 pm for late night snacks (really full meal, just limited selection). The room service selection, quality of food and presentation are excellent on this ship.

We found service on the ship overall to be very good, attentive and detail oriented. I would rate it a notch higher then other cruise lines we have experienced.

We would definitely sail HAL again and recommend it to our friends and family. (By the way, our children liked it too.)

And the last point, both embarkation and disembarkation were extremely quick, well organized, excellent.( We didn't use Suite privileges for either one.) This aspect of the trip may have to do with our arrival time on sail away day (12:30 pm) and the port of Seattle in general. Oh, yes. The Master Drill. We were impressed how seriously senior officers are taking this procedure. On all other sailings we had it was nothing but a joke. Here we felt that it is a professional, well organized exercise for staff.

[GrooveInWhichWeMove]

I'm glad you had a good time on Holland America! I think many of us would agree that those positives you identified are what makes us love the brand.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Thanks for your review, and glad you had a good cruise on HAL. I think the Lincoln Center Stage quintet concept is wonderful; really world-class musicians ( at least the group we had on the Eurodam were).

[kazu]

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

 

Great review and delighted you enjoyed your cruise.

 

and, welcome home.

[OlsSalt]

Thank you for your nicely detailed review. After almost 400 days now on HAL ships, what you found on your first trip is pretty much what we keep finding on ours. Over and over again.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and the ship.

[Sequim88]

Thanks for the Oosterdam review. After three (very nice) RCCL cruises since our last HAL cruise we are looking forward to noting the differences in a bit over a week. After some fairly harsh reviews of HAL it is nice to see it's not all as doom & gloom as they would make out out to be. Was starting to get worried. Then I have to remember that disgruntled people are always more motivated to do reviews than happy people. Thanks for the favorable one.

[dvcmember]

So nice to hear something positive about HAL. I have been on 5 HAL cruises and have 2 more coming this year.

 

I will be on the Oosterdam to Hawaii - 18 days of bliss. Sure, is everything perfect? No but, for the value and the service that HAL provides to its passengers, it is just something that you cannot find on land.

 

We are addicted to Pinnacle Grill and when we sail and have found the Lido to be quite enjoyable. A new experience for us as we usually dined in the MDR for breakfast. Lunch we try to do Pinnacle Grill if open. The Chocolate Brownie with Salted Carmel Ice Cream and Carnel Corn is to die for. I could eat that everyday and I am not a chocolaholic.

 

Did you enjoy the public spaces and quite nooks and crannies to just relax. That's what we love. Those that want something can get involved, yet you still can relax without being in your stateroom.

 

I do wish they would offer more entertainment options on some vessels but the Oosterdam has all the new bells and whistles that will make us happy campers for 18 days.

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments.

Glad you had a good cruise.

[madera1]

Nice to hear of your positive experience and hope you enjoy many more cruises. Thank you for taking the time to write a review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[SmoothFlying]

Thanks for the Oosterdam review. After three (very nice) RCCL cruises since our last HAL cruise we are looking forward to noting the differences in a bit over a week. After some fairly harsh reviews of HAL it is nice to see it's not all as doom & gloom as they would make out out to be. Was starting to get worried. Then I have to remember that disgruntled people are always more motivated to do reviews than happy people. Thanks for the favorable one.

 

It's like I have always said, 'IF you go, expecting to be disappointed chances are, you will be'. I don't care if HAL had gold fixtures, marble floors and ivory and exotic leather furnishings, SOME people, whiners all, would find SOMETHING, anything to complain about how 'IT' (the ship) didn't meet THEIR standards. :( Some people, you just cannot please.

 

Mac

[GradUT]

Oh, yes. The Master Drill. We were impressed how seriously senior officers are taking this procedure. On all other sailings we had it was nothing but a joke. Here we felt that it is a professional, well organized exercise for staff.

 

An excellent (and true) observation. We just returned from our 3rd HAL cruise (the Noordam in Alaska) and I am always impressed by how seriously HAL takes the Muster Drill--unlike other cruise lines I have sailed with.

[erewhon]

Thank you for a positive review of your cruise.

[kftw]

Thank you for sharing your HAL experience.

[jhsocal]

Thank you for that informative review, good to hear that you were pleased. Have read about changes on Vista class ships, did you notice any change in Crow's Nest? Was there any music played in Ocean Bar? We will be on "O" this fall.

[tuolumne couple]

I am so glad you enjoyed your first cruise with Holland America Line. Welcome to the Club! We will be on our 10th HAL cruise this fall, and we agree with all of your positive comments. It always feels like the first time for us, and we also are still impressed. Thanks for taking the time to post this.

[knittinggirl]

Sorry, I posted this on the wrong thread. System kept freezing up.

Edited June 4, 2017 by knittinggirl

[tutumomickey]

Thanks soo much for your post. We set sail on the Oosterdam June 18th for our first HAL cruise.We have only ever sailed Disney before.It will be our 35th anniverary so,we really want it to be special.Several reviews had me feeling uneasy but, I was determined to be positive.All of the important points for us (service, staff,food-traditional vs modern/glitzy) seem to be there. More excited than ever. Maybe this is the motivation I nned to pack. How was the weather?