Currently on Oosterdam

[jlnprt]

We are currently aboard Oosterdam. This is our 6th HAL cruise. Boarding went pretty smoothly in Trieste. There was one other ship in port. We've noticed a few things not up to standard (slow water refills in main dining room, our bathroom trash not emptied for 3 days, no room service breakfast menu in our room, etc.), but nothing major. Some notes: tea served only on sea days, no Rudi's in the Pinnacle (Pinnacle manager said he's hopeful it will happen in the next few weeks), so far no cooking demos, no chai tea in the explorers coffee shop in the Crow's Nest. We went to the "Ask the Captain" meeting. The captain is very personable but seemed reluctant to answer some specific questions. When asked directly how many passengers on board currently,  he answered that there are approximately 1800 "souls on board." We're guessing that means maybe 1100 passengers. Ship is definitely uncrowded. We have no major complaints.  Capt also didn’t answer a direct question about why Santorini was dropped. We're having a very nice time and meeting some interesting people. We have, however, heard a number of pretty serious complaints. One person said it took 3 days to get their shower to have warm water,  that it was only hot water at first. Another complained that their toilet didn't flush and that the shower leaked badly. They were finally moved to another cabin on day 4. We've heard several people complain about rude servers in the dining room, but we have not experienced that. We've spoken to a number of people on-board who are taking their first HAL cruise. Most have said they are underwhelmed and not one is planning another HAL cruise. Overall, we are pretty content and enjoying the ports a lot!

[Dunmore2]

Thanks for your report, we look forward to reading the updates. Have a great holiday.

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, jlnprt said:

Capt also didn’t answer a direct question about why Santorini was dropped.

He only does the driving!  Probably need to ask someone in Itinerary Planning dept in Seattle about the change.

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, jlnprt said:

We're guessing that means maybe 1100 passengers.

Thats around the level we had on June 13-25.  Made for a very uncrowded ship.

[Torquer]

@jlnprtThanks for the info.  We are looking forward to further updates on your Oosterdam cruise, to get a heads-up for our cruise later this summer.

 

One question:  Do you know if the Pinnacle Grill is open in the mornings for breakfast for the suite guests (and probably for Club Orange too)?

[Florida_gal_50]

58 minutes ago, Torquer said:

@jlnprtThanks for the info.  We are looking forward to further updates on your Oosterdam cruise, to get a heads-up for our cruise later this summer.

 

One question:  Do you know if the Pinnacle Grill is open in the mornings for breakfast for the suite guests (and probably for Club Orange too)?

Club orange doesn't get the perk of the  pinnacle for breakfast.

[0106]

@jlnprtHope you are enjoying your cruise. Any other impressions now that you have been on the ship for a few days?  Have you noticed any other “maintenance” issues?

[madera1]

We were also on the Oosterdam 6/13-25 in a Neptune Suite. We had no issues in our cabin and experienced wonderful,service. Our laundry was always returned in  one day. Our daughters were in an ocean view cabin and their cabin was very hot upon embarkation, however, they told their room steward and it was cool within a few hours. We did hear someone say they had been moved but all 10 of our friends on board had no issues in their rooms. The only area I was disappointed in was the piano man and woman duo. I was pleased with the wine service, especially Hannah, the cellar master. There definitely were no crowds throughout our cruise which I loved! We experienced very friendly service by everyone we encountered. 

Edited July 3, 2022 by madera1

[terrydtx]

We will be on the Oosterdam August 21 cruise in a Signature Suite, I hope we do not encounter any of these maintenance issues. We already have a bad taste for this cruise after HAL dropped Santorini and the port in Souda Crete, 2 of our main reasons for booking this cruise. No reasons ever given for dropping both ports in our 14 day cruise. In place of Santorini, we get a second stop in Mykonos and another wasted sea day substituted for Crete. We booked this cruise for the port intensive itinerary and now we have 4 sea days which for us, are mostly wasted when in the Mediterranean.   To make things worse, HAL Flight Ease canceled our business class tickets in April and we didn't get them back unitil last Friday after our TA read them the riot act for doing nothing but tell us to wait, we fly to Italy on August 2nd.  No apologies and explanations for their poor customer service is no way to run a company.

Edited July 4, 2022 by terrydtx

[jlnprt]

Overall, we are enjoying the cruise immensely. We have been looking forward to all of the ports as they are all new to us. The weather has been beautiful. Our biggest complaint is that last night, with several hundred people returning from excursions at 9pm and after announcing that the Lido would be open from 9pm to 11pm, they had ONE STATION open! That was crazy, but the staff serving did a great job and maintained a good attitude. The entertainment has not been great but we've been so tired after excursions that this hasn't been an issue.  Agree with the poster who said the piano duo aren't impressive.  The woman is not too bad but the man is mediocre at best. Staff is mostly awesome and very attentive.  We've had minor glitches with room service breakfast (always something missing) but nothing major. There seem to be more families with children on-board than we've seen on past cruises. We've met some very interesting people.

[Torquer]

On 6/30/2022 at 8:22 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

Club orange doesn't get the perk of the  pinnacle for breakfast.

We are staying in a suite.  So I will ask my question again, does anyone one on the Oosterdam or having been on the Oosterdam know if the Pinnacle Restaurant is open for breakfast in morning for suite guests.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Torquer said:

We are staying in a suite.  So I will ask my question again, does anyone one on the Oosterdam or having been on the Oosterdam know if the Pinnacle Restaurant is open for breakfast in morning for suite guests.

I was just speaking about club orange because you questioned that.  I can’t imagine why the pinnacle grill wouldn’t be opened for suite people.  That would be unusual if it wasn’t.  That said I’m not on the ship. 

[oakridger]

The Signature Suites aren't eligible for Pinnacle or Club Orange dining room breakfast on any ship unfortunately.  I sure wish they were!

[Shelerich]

Quick Q about checking in - is that done at the passenger terminal in Marghera or at the Venice terminal?  (and then they shuttle you over) Our cruise leaves Sept 4th and I believe it docking at Marghera, not Trieste.  I am just trying to get info as we are 5 people all coming from different directions on the 4th to check in.  3 of us will be in Venice and 2 are arriving in Mestre and VCE from UK and Germany. 

Edited July 5, 2022 by Shelerich

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, Shelerich said:

Quick Q about checking in - is that done at the passenger terminal in Marghera or at the Venice terminal?  (and then they shuttle you over) Our cruise leaves Sept 4th and I believe it docking at Marghera, not Trieste.  I am just trying to get info as we are 5 people all coming from different directions on the 4th to check in.  3 of us will be in Venice and 2 are arriving in Mestre and VCE from UK and Germany. 

Your boarding pass will give you that information - where to check in, when to check in etc.  May be mid August at the soonest before you know exactly.

IF Marghera is the confirmed departure port, then I would expect the check in/baggage drop will be at the Venice Cruise terminal and then bussed to Marghera as it is an industrial port with few passenger 'comforts'.

[terrydtx]

10 hours ago, oakridger said:

The Signature Suites aren't eligible for Pinnacle or Club Orange dining room breakfast on any ship unfortunately.  I sure wish they were!

I agree, and that's why calling a Signature Suite a "suite" is a real joke, we book the SS on HAL for the bigger cabins and balcony, but that is all we get for the extra cost. We are in a SS on the Oosterdam next month and we do not even get priority embarkation. 

[terrydtx]

4 hours ago, Shelerich said:

Quick Q about checking in - is that done at the passenger terminal in Marghera or at the Venice terminal?  (and then they shuttle you over) Our cruise leaves Sept 4th and I believe it docking at Marghera, not Trieste.  I am just trying to get info as we are 5 people all coming from different directions on the 4th to check in.  3 of us will be in Venice and 2 are arriving in Mestre and VCE from UK and Germany. 

We are on the Oosterdam before yours, we got our cruise docs yesterday. We depart from Trieste but return to Marghera on the 4th and our documents show us disembarking through the Venice cruise terminal and that we get buses there from Marghera. So, I would guess you will board the same place and way.

 

Here is what our docs show:

Disembark Port/Pier: Venice, Italy / VENEZIA TERMINAL PASSEGGERI Disembark Date/Time: Sunday Sep 04 / 8:30 AM

[pschweig]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:21 AM, Torquer said:

We are staying in a suite.  So I will ask my question again, does anyone one on the Oosterdam or having been on the Oosterdam know if the Pinnacle Restaurant is open for breakfast in morning for suite guests.

Currently on the Oosterdam. Yes - it IS open for breakfast for Neptune/Pinnacle suite guests. We have been onboard since July 2. No maintenance issues observed. Crew has been fabulous. A wonderful experience. 

[Dunmore2]

Is the MDR open for lunch on sea days?

Thanks again for your updates.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Dunmore2 said:

Is the MDR open for lunch on sea days?

Thanks again for your updates.

From other CC threads I have seen that the MDR is open for lunch on sea days, just not on port days.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

I enjoy lunch in the dining room.  Just for information that menu doesn’t change.  I know it says lunch 2021 but this is the current lunch menu.

 

https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/MDR-Lunch-2021.pdf

[Dunmore2]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I enjoy lunch in the dining room.  Just for information that menu doesn’t change.  I know it says lunch 2021 but this is the current lunch menu.

 

https://rogerjett-photography.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/MDR-Lunch-2021.pdf

Even the catch of the day, nice!

[kiefaber455]

Just got off the Oosterdam yesterday. 

Ship looks old, and really shows its age. Chairs and foot rests on our balcony and many chairs in the dining room and the Lido Grill have seen better days. They'd be hard pressed to sell any of those at a Goodwill store in the condition they are in.

Crew and staff were great. Visited the Gallery Bar for $5 martinis several days and were served by Dindo and Mark...two of the best bartenders I've ever come across.

Depending on your taste, you may not be blown away by their entertainment options. I'm not a big fan of what the Lincoln Center Stage offers, but their musicians were extremely talented. The Dueling Pianos at the Billboard Onboard were painful for me to listen to. The dancers and The Rolling Stone Lounge band, were excellent, however.

To me, food was average at best. Lido Grill and the main dining room served many of the same items each night which I found interesting. 

We booked the cruise because of the intinerary, not because of the ship. We are sailing on the Rotterdam in January...again, booked it because of the intinerary, not because of the ship. Expectations for that cruise are very high beause the Rotterdam is newer. Certainly would not hesitate to switch back to Celebrity again if I need be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[crystalspin]

On 7/5/2022 at 5:18 AM, terrydtx said:

I agree, and that's why calling a Signature Suite a "suite" is a real joke, we book the SS on HAL for the bigger cabins and balcony, but that is all we get for the extra cost. 

Double Mariner points? Maybe you are maxed out...