Lazy Waltz to Spain Onboard the Oosterdam April 5-19th

[oakridger]

Thank you!  I have enjoyed reading along.

 

~Nancy

[Ready2go11]

Final thoughts….

 

The Officers of the Oosterdam were very visible around the ship.  The Captain and C&TD Karlijn were entertaining and informative.  I have never seen a captain in the dining room almost every night, in the Lido at breakfast and just so present.  The Food and Beverage Manager Jonathan was present everywhere.  We saw him in the Lido at breakfast saying good morning to all the servers, in the dining room each evening and he was clearly very involved and checking on things. 

 

Food quality was overall good.  As reported, we loved the Morimoto pop up and Cellar master dinner in the Canaletto and the dining room food was also beautifully presented and good.  Portions sized were very generous and we often could not finish our entrée (mostly because we wanted to save room for dessert).  I did find the bread and bakery items under seasoned and often just a tad overbaked.  Helped not eat too much extra bread I did not need anyway!  Service in the dining room was inconsistent mostly due to having too many tables to oversee and we more often than not got the wrong drink or wine, until we started writing down the wine number for the server.

 

On the last evening, they did a server parade and guests were very enthusiastic and appreciative of all the hard work the crew did to make our trip so enjoyable.

 

We liked the activities as a whole as well.  The arts and crafts activities were nice as an option but they did get repetitive with so many sea days and if you have been on recent cruises they will be very similar. The talks were enjoyable, mostly about the history and culture of the Mediterranean.

 

Although the piano player in Billboard usually did not have a crowd she sounded fine (mostly heard over the noise in the casino since the Billboard is opposite that area), and the band in the Rolling Stone always packed people in.  We did enjoy the main stage shows, loving comedienne/singer Michelle and the Step One dancers were very good, as was the Chordial Chamber Trio.

 

On the programming, they often scheduled the most interesting activities very close to one another or at the same time.  You then had to choose an event and miss out on something else and be left with hours with no fresh content.  As other Oosterdam cruisers had on a South America trip earlier this year, I and others requested on the app to show some of this programming on our staterooms for playbook but it never happened.  Other cruise lines we have sailed on show repeats of talks, lectures, port info etc on the ship channel so you can watch later.  Please get on board with this HAL.  It would ramp up guest satisfaction at little cost.

Although we did not attend the ice cream social we heard it was popular.  Extra activities included the bar hop tour which was a riot, and the fun fair event which was very well attended and reminded me of my childhood carnival games.  I do not think we had a cake away event and I missed that but the extra activities HAL has been adding of late are appreciated.  The Mariner welcome reception was divided into 3 groups and that kept it very manageable and it was well attended by Officers.

 

Service was what we have come to expect on a HAL ship.  Our room stewards, bartenders and servers in the MDR and specialty restaurants were friendly and provided great service.  We made records of all those who got to know and included them on our post cruise survey to ensure HAL know what great employees they have. 

 

We used the spa for a facial treatment (my sister) and for the hair blow out package (me).  My sister had received the spa coupon as we usually do, sadly I did not but it would not have helped me anyway, 

 

We received a daily program in our mailbox, and some invitations here and there but they have cut way back on paper ads and other mail and that made us very happy.  In the past when we received so much mail that often ended up in the trash, it was sad.  Invitations were received timely and when we asked for feedback when using the app, it was promptly provided.

We did often use the app to thank certain crew members for their special service and we know they got the feedback because they would thank us the next day.  I highly recommend doing this when someone makes your trip special because they receive some extra time off when they receive a positive message onboard via the app.

 

The décor was dated in some areas although we found the ship was well maintained and very clean.  Unlike other ships, the art gallery has a visible presence on the second floor that you have to walk through in navigating the ship (on the Pinnacle ships it is a little out of sight on the first floor at the bottom of the atrium.

 

I did miss the Grand Dutch Café and wider availability of specialty restaurants as our past four cruises were on Pinnacle Class ships, but the Oosterdam is a ship I would be happy to travel on again.  It was easy to navigate, we liked the wider promenade walking area that we made good use of, and we got to know many crew and other passengers on our two week journey because of the smaller size.  The Oosterdam is a well run machine and that made our trip more enjoyable.  If only HAL could enforce that consistent experience across the fleet.

 

If anyone has any specific questions about our experience, please feel to ask.  Thank you for the reading equivalent of sitting through all my vacation slides while I droned on!

 

[Sea42]

3 hours ago, Ready2go11 said:

Final thoughts….

 

The Officers of the Oosterdam were very visible around the ship.  The Captain and C&TD Karlijn were entertaining and informative.  I have never seen a captain in the dining room almost every night, in the Lido at breakfast and just so present.  The Food and Beverage Manager Jonathan was present everywhere.  We saw him in the Lido at breakfast saying good morning to all the servers, in the dining room each evening and he was clearly very involved and checking on things. 

 

Food quality was overall good.  As reported, we loved the Morimoto pop up and Cellar master dinner in the Canaletto and the dining room food was also beautifully presented and good.  Portions sized were very generous and we often could not finish our entrée (mostly because we wanted to save room for dessert).  I did find the bread and bakery items under seasoned and often just a tad overbaked.  Helped not eat too much extra bread I did not need anyway!  Service in the dining room was inconsistent mostly due to having too many tables to oversee and we more often than not got the wrong drink or wine, until we started writing down the wine number for the server.

 

On the last evening, they did a server parade and guests were very enthusiastic and appreciative of all the hard work the crew did to make our trip so enjoyable.

 

We liked the activities as a whole as well.  The arts and crafts activities were nice as an option but they did get repetitive with so many sea days and if you have been on recent cruises they will be very similar. The talks were enjoyable, mostly about the history and culture of the Mediterranean.

 

Although the piano player in Billboard usually did not have a crowd she sounded fine (mostly heard over the noise in the casino since the Billboard is opposite that area), and the band in the Rolling Stone always packed people in.  We did enjoy the main stage shows, loving comedienne/singer Michelle and the Step One dancers were very good, as was the Chordial Chamber Trio.

 

On the programming, they often scheduled the most interesting activities very close to one another or at the same time.  You then had to choose an event and miss out on something else and be left with hours with no fresh content.  As other Oosterdam cruisers had on a South America trip earlier this year, I and others requested on the app to show some of this programming on our staterooms for playbook but it never happened.  Other cruise lines we have sailed on show repeats of talks, lectures, port info etc on the ship channel so you can watch later.  Please get on board with this HAL.  It would ramp up guest satisfaction at little cost.

Although we did not attend the ice cream social we heard it was popular.  Extra activities included the bar hop tour which was a riot, and the fun fair event which was very well attended and reminded me of my childhood carnival games.  I do not think we had a cake away event and I missed that but the extra activities HAL has been adding of late are appreciated.  The Mariner welcome reception was divided into 3 groups and that kept it very manageable and it was well attended by Officers.

 

Service was what we have come to expect on a HAL ship.  Our room stewards, bartenders and servers in the MDR and specialty restaurants were friendly and provided great service.  We made records of all those who got to know and included them on our post cruise survey to ensure HAL know what great employees they have. 

 

We used the spa for a facial treatment (my sister) and for the hair blow out package (me).  My sister had received the spa coupon as we usually do, sadly I did not but it would not have helped me anyway, 

 

We received a daily program in our mailbox, and some invitations here and there but they have cut way back on paper ads and other mail and that made us very happy.  In the past when we received so much mail that often ended up in the trash, it was sad.  Invitations were received timely and when we asked for feedback when using the app, it was promptly provided.

We did often use the app to thank certain crew members for their special service and we know they got the feedback because they would thank us the next day.  I highly recommend doing this when someone makes your trip special because they receive some extra time off when they receive a positive message onboard via the app.

 

The décor was dated in some areas although we found the ship was well maintained and very clean.  Unlike other ships, the art gallery has a visible presence on the second floor that you have to walk through in navigating the ship (on the Pinnacle ships it is a little out of sight on the first floor at the bottom of the atrium.

 

I did miss the Grand Dutch Café and wider availability of specialty restaurants as our past four cruises were on Pinnacle Class ships, but the Oosterdam is a ship I would be happy to travel on again.  It was easy to navigate, we liked the wider promenade walking area that we made good use of, and we got to know many crew and other passengers on our two week journey because of the smaller size.  The Oosterdam is a well run machine and that made our trip more enjoyable.  If only HAL could enforce that consistent experience across the fleet.

 

If anyone has any specific questions about our experience, please feel to ask.  Thank you for the reading equivalent of sitting through all my vacation slides while I droned on!

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experiences. I appreciate it!

[QuattroRomeo]

Med cruises are so interesting and it sounds like yours was no exception! Thanks for sharing your informative cruise review with us!

[mawvkysc]

Thank you so much!!  This has totally whet my appetite for my upcoming TA. 
 

Could you please explain about the spa coupon?