Oosterdam to Alaska newbie

[golfer1903]

New to holland.  Was looking into an alaksa cruise but do not know anything about holland. Past cruises have been carnival ( which is a little rowdy with booze for us) NcL which was ok but kinda boring.

We like carnival cuz the shows and comedy shows and day activities like bingo.

Was worried holland may be a little to boring or slow for a lack of a better word.

We are 50 and kids with us in 20s.

Not real drinkers or outgoing but love shows and bingo not really bars.

Does this ship offer daily bingo and little daytime shows and such and at night a Broadway show or magic or comedy .  Somthing other then music in a bar.

And dress. Can I wear khaki pants and a polo shirt to dinner except on gala note of course.

Kids have to wear slacks at dinner or can they wear the new fad yogi pants and a top?

Do they sell bottle water to purchase before hand so we can have water in room like a case ?

Is there empty fridges on board in rooms or are they stocked

 

Ships seem small is there alot of movement on them ? Since so small?

Any I site or things you can share I would be grateful

 

 

 

[Quizicat]

I've enjoyed Holland cruises. The crowd does seem to be a bit older and less rowdy. The food is better than many others. I don't know about that ship but the ones I've been on had BB King Blues clubs on them with good entertainment. Entertainment in general was better than some. As for dining attire. You can usually wear almost anything that you might wear if you were going to a decent restaurant. Except for formal nights (which I hate). But really gym clothes and pajamas aren't really public attire in my mind. All in all I think Holland is a step above either Carnival or NL.

[Crew News]

34 minutes ago, golfer1903 said:

New to holland.  Was looking into an alaksa cruise but do not know anything about holland. Past cruises have been carnival ( which is a little rowdy with booze for us) NcL which was ok but kinda boring.

We like carnival cuz the shows and comedy shows and day activities like bingo.

Was worried holland may be a little to boring or slow for a lack of a better word.

We are 50 and kids with us in 20s.

Not real drinkers or outgoing but love shows and bingo not really bars.

Does this ship offer daily bingo and little daytime shows and such and at night a Broadway show or magic or comedy .  Somthing other then music in a bar.

And dress. Can I wear khaki pants and a polo shirt to dinner except on gala note of course.

Kids have to wear slacks at dinner or can they wear the new fad yogi pants and a top?

Do they sell bottle water to purchase before hand so we can have water in room like a case ?

Is there empty fridges on board in rooms or are they stocked

 

Ships seem small is there alot of movement on them ? Since so small?

Any I site or things you can share I would be grateful

 

Here is a link to my When & Where (daily activities) for Alaska this year to give you an idea of what is available.  Not that the ship will be nearly empty as passengers spend most of their time ashore looking for eagles, whales, and bears.

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/on-locations-specific-cruises/alaska-ms-zaandam-14-day-when-where-daily-activities-2018

 

Dress for Gala Nights for males is collared shirt and slacks as a minimum.  Of course you may go for very formal attire if you wish.  My last Alaska cruise had 24 tuxedos in the dining room (at least what I observed in my first seating). 

 

Ships have stabilizers to keep down the movements.

 

Bottled water is available for purchase or you can bring as much as you wish when you board.

 

The contents of your minibar can be removed so that you can fill it with your own items.

 

Enjoy your cruise planning.

[catl331]

47 minutes ago, golfer1903 said:

Can I wear khaki pants and a polo shirt to dinner except on gala note of course.

 

33 minutes ago, Quizicat said:

Except for formal nights (which I hate).

Even on Gala nights you will find many men in just a collared shirt and slacks at the Early/Open dining, and even some at the Late/Fixed sittings.

[grsnovi]

We've done Alaska 3x with HAL and will be doing it again summer of 2019. We've been on the O'dam 2x. It isn't clear if you have already booked or if you're soliciting opinions before you decide. HAL has a show lounge and it will have something going on there every night - typically with an early show and a repeat later in the evening. These are usually timed to allow those with the early and late fixed seating to make the show. As far as daily activity, we typically do shore excursions but there are shipboard activities on sea days. Yes, you can wear khaki's and a polo shirt. The Oosterdam isn't small - maybe compared to NCL Bliss but you're not going to feel crowded. HAL is generally viewed as having an older clientele but in the summer in Alaska you'll see families. We sailed on a Carnival western Caribbean cruise several years ago and I was expecting a "booze cruise" but it wasn't however the dining room dress did seem slightly more relaxed than HAL. You can bring water on for the room. One thing that we've found helpful: we bring one of those closet shoe organizers that hang on the closet door. We use it to keep toiletries/sundries in an easy to find location. It has been a great tip that we're be grateful to have found out (right here on CC). Whoever you sail with - enjoy Alaska!

 

[terrydtx]

We are taking our 10 year old grandson on the Noordam next July to Alaska. The Noordam is a sister ship to the Oosterdam. This will be our third cruise on HAL. We like the smaller ships and they are IMHO better for cruising Alaska than the Mega CCL and NCL ships since they get into places the bigger ships can't. As far as food all tastes and opinions are subjective. My opinion the HAL food is better than CCL and NCL both of which we have sailed. HAL entertainment is pretty much like all others in the main theater. You will have a mix of song and dance, magicians and comedians over 7 nights. My TA told me that for Alaska sea and land tours HAL and Princess are the two best rated since they own their own resorts and hotels  in Anchorage, Denali and Fairbanks. We are doing a 5 day land tour and that was our major reason for choosing HAL. The other even bigger reason was  adding our Grandson as a third person in our Signature Suite cabin only cost $449 extra. CCL, NCL and even Princess couldn't touch this price for a comparable cabin class. The other three cruise lines wanted at least $1499 or more for adding our grandson to the cabin with us. If you are cruising with kids HAL is a great choice.

 

BTW I didn't know this until I read a cruising to Alaska book, but HAL was the first mainstream cruise line to do Alaska Cruises back in the late 1960's so they have the most experience in Alaska. They bought a small Alaska cruise company that ran from Vancouver to Anchorage.

Edited December 12, 2018 by terrydtx

[Quizicat]

The first cruise I ever did was to Alaska on Princess. It was great. I also am not a fan of the huge boats.  We did the land package too. The train in to Denali was really cool. But the most astounding thing was a plane ride, once we got to Denali. We landed up above the clouds in a snow field high up on the mountain, in the middle of July. It was expensive but worth it. Do it if you can. Bucket list material.

That cruise made me a big fan of cruises.

Have fun!

[OlsSalt]

It may depend on the cabin category whether you have a cooler in it or not (they cool beverages but do not refrigerate other items) Or you can rent one but that means giving up some of the cabin space mainly under the desk area.  Good ship, good itinerary and as always Alaska is the star attraction - everything else becomes secondary.

 

I think you will find the slower, quieter change of pace Hollland America offers to your liking, if the Carnival crowd has become a little too rowdy and borning - younger people are attracted to HAL's shorter, summer cruises so the ships reputations for for "old people" (like us!) typically comes into play more for the much longer cruises, when most younger people are still in school.  

 

We do love HAL because it is more traditional, smaller and goes to incredible places all over the world. For budget value prices.  Princess does a fine job in Alaska too.

 

However I always say the problem going with Holland America with their lovely navy blue sleek hulls is you have ugly Princess ships in the background of some of your scenic cruising photos. If you go on Princess, you can get our HAL beauties in the back ground frames.

Edited December 13, 2018 by OlsSalt

[terrydtx]

10 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

I think you will find the slower, quieter change of pace Hollland America offers to your liking, if the Carnival crowd has become a little too rowdy and borning - younger people are attracted to HAL's shorter, summer cruises so the ships reputations for for "old people" (like us!) typically comes into play more for the much longer cruises, when most younger people are still in school.

Since HAL has the best deals for adding 3rd and 4th people (kids) in a cabin this is really true for Summer Alaska cruises, much more families and younger crowd. We checked every mainstream cruise line before we booked the Noordam for next year and adding our grandson to our Signature Suite was $449 no other cruise lines had the same for under $1200.

[RuthC]

14 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

It may depend on the cabin category whether you have a cooler in it or not

That is not correct. The OP is asking about the Oosterdam, which has a cooler in every cabin.