Just off Oosterdam

[iowacruiser]

11 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

@iowacruiser apologies if I missed your response - can you confirm the surcharge for ribeye in the PG was on top of the PG charge?

And do you know if you had the new menu? Thanks!!

The "Prime Aged Rib Eye" is an up charge the regular choice cut rib eye is part of regular menu..

[iowacruiser]

9 hours ago, MaxThrusters said:

Interesting review. I've been looking at some Oosterdam European sailings for 2025-26 lately myself although I'd rather if they had a pinnacle class chip for them. Perhaps those ships are too big. Thanks for writing that up!

Statendam does some Med cruises,

[iowacruiser]

9 hours ago, Alphabetguy said:

Thanks for the update.  We’ll be on the Oosterdam in two weeks.  BTW, I lived in Adel for 30 years.

Wow.. small world. we had lived just south of town for 29 years before moving to Florida.

[ghstudio]

I have had the rib eye in PG twice and each time it has been just a terrible piece of meat….not sure it was even choice.  The included steak in the mdr on some nights was actually much better.  The extra charge steak in the mdr wasn’t worth the upcharge.  We’ve actually never had anything close to a great meal in pg but it’s included in hia so we eat there one night per cruise.  We actually found the mdr food quite good…far far better than princess.  Club Orange is almost a must on the oosterdam if you want to eat around 7pm.  We had over a 35 min wait one night.  They just don’t do a good job managing the dining room on that ship…the other ships seem to do much better.  

[Anastas617]

20 hours ago, 0106 said:

@Sir PMP  Kevin Beirnaert was the captain of the Oosterdam on our SA & Antarctica voyage in February.  Although he said he was the youngest captain in the fleet, he was the BEST captain I have ever sailed with on HAL.  

Not being a smart-aleck or anything, but a lot of people on these boards seem obsessed with who the captain or cruise director is on ships. What is it that makes this captain special or the BEST?

 

I'm genuinely interested in what people derive from these things. It's never remotely crossed my mind that my experience would change due to these roles.

[*Miss G*]

9 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

I have had the rib eye in PG twice and each time it has been just a terrible piece of meat

 

Once was enough for me. It was tough and gristly; just a terrible piece of meat. It was such a chore to try to cut through that I finally gave up. My arms were tired. 😂

 

3 minutes ago, Anastas617 said:

Not being a smart-aleck or anything, but a lot of people on these boards seem obsessed with who the captain or cruise director is on ships. What is it that makes this captain special or the BEST?

 

I'm genuinely interested in what people derive from these things. It's never remotely crossed my mind that my experience would change due to these roles.

 

I don’t see anyone obsessed but I do see where it would make a difference in knowing as those in charge directly affect ship climate and attention to detail. I have to agree that Kevin Beirnaert is one of the more personable captains in the fleet. I would rate Captain Darren Bowland equally as high, but I see he is now with the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. (Good for him.)

 

WRT the Cruise and Entertainment Directors and staff… those people can make or break your cruise. I definitely know who’d I’d prefer to be at sea with; especially if it’s on one of the longer voyages.

[Anastas617]

8 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Once was enough for me. It was tough and gristly; just a terrible piece of meat. It was such a chore to try to cut through that I finally gave up. My arms were tired. 😂

 

 

I don’t see anyone obsessed but I do see where it would make a difference in knowing as those in charge directly affect ship climate and attention to detail. I have to agree that Kevin Beirnaert is one of the more personable captains in the fleet. I would rate Captain Darren Bowland equally as high, but I see he is now with the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. (Good for him.)

 

WRT the Cruise and Entertainment Directors and staff… those people can make or break your cruise. I definitely know who’d I’d prefer to be at sea with; especially if it’s on one of the longer voyages.

Thanks. Maybe obsessed was a strong word. Just see it often asked and discussed with people having strong opinions on the different boards I follow.

 

Appreciate the insight.

[0106]

1 hour ago, Anastas617 said:

What is it that makes this captain special or the BEST?

Captain Kevin got us into the Falkland Islands when a Viking ship turned around.  He gave us detailed briefings about the weather and the seas with graphics and took questions from passengers on the Main Stage.  When the seas got extremely rough during the Drake passage, the waves were 30 feet; the winds 70+ knots, he changed the course  to find shelter behind Deception Island.  Additionally, he was extremely personable and approachable.

[Anastas617]

5 minutes ago, 0106 said:

Captain Kevin got us into the Falkland Islands when a Viking ship turned around.  He gave us detailed briefings about the weather and the seas with graphics and took questions from passengers on the Main Stage.  When the seas got extremely rough during the Drake passage, the waves were 30 feet; the winds 70+ knots, he changed the course  to find shelter behind Deception Island.  Additionally, he was extremely personable and approachable.

Thanks for sharing!

[grannyshell]

@iowacruiser thanks for your observations. We've sailed on Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam and this summer Oosterdam for the first time. We found it to be a beautiful ship, loved the decor. Yes, she's showing her age...there was a little rust on the corners of our balcony and the soft goods in the cabin could stand a re-fresh but she's very clean and well maintained. We loved the Gallery Bar and our family spent lots of time there playing games. There isn't one on the Pinnacle ships. Agree with you on Pinnacle Grill's steaks. We avoid going now.

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 9/21/2024 at 11:53 AM, FlaMariner said:

 

We were on her in March 2023 going thru the canal and the captain made a comment about "we got a few scrapes on the side" going thru and sure enough, they were out painting parts of the hull when we were at the next port of Aruba......She's aging better than I am. 

 

Haha! We all need more paint as we get older.

 

One of the fun things to do on a canal transit is to watch from a lower window, where you're down in the canal and can see the wall as you go by. Lots of paint left behind.

[EtaC]

5 hours ago, ghstudio said:

I have had the rib eye in PG twice and each time it has been just a terrible piece of meat….not sure it was even choice.  The included steak in the mdr on some nights was actually much better.  The extra charge steak in the mdr wasn’t worth the upcharge.  We’ve actually never had anything close to a great meal in pg but it’s included in hia so we eat there one night per cruise.  We actually found the mdr food quite good…far far better than princess.  Club Orange is almost a must on the oosterdam if you want to eat around 7pm.  We had over a 35 min wait one night.  They just don’t do a good job managing the dining room on that ship…the other ships seem to do much better.  

Well I had a steak (Loin steak) in the Pinnacle on my recent Oosterdam cruise. No upcharge, medium rare, and it was perfect, moist, tasty and just to my preferences. Maybe my taste is not as refined as yours. By the way, how did you order it? If it was well done maybe you would have been better off ordering chicken. 

[ghstudio]

 

3 minutes ago, EtaC said:

Well I had a steak (Loin steak) in the Pinnacle on my recent Oosterdam cruise. No upcharge, medium rare, and it was perfect, moist, tasty and just to my preferences. Maybe my taste is not as refined as yours. By the way, how did you order it? If it was well done maybe you would have been better off ordering chicken. 

I commented on the rib eye steak not any other steak and I order medium rare….nBut yes, i woould have been better off ordering the chicken than the rib eye steaks 🙂

[EtaC]

Very well. My point is that experiences vary. I had a wonderful meal. You didn't. Neither of us should pretend that our experience represents a universal trend. 

[*Miss G*]

2 minutes ago, EtaC said:

Very well. My point is that experiences vary. I had a wonderful meal. You didn't. Neither of us should pretend that our experience represents a universal trend. 

 

We were specifically commenting on the ribeye. I have seen other comments the same, all on different sailings; all on different ships. I have had lovely steak in the Pinnacle Grill. Just not the ribeye.

[EtaC]

OK. But many of these comments come across as universal statements. I had a bad ribeye, therefore all food in the Pinnacle is trash. That is my principal objection, and I will speak out when my experience is to the contrary.

Edited yesterday at 02:42 AM by EtaC
fix spellling

[*Miss G*]

Okay, but you’d have had to have had the ribeye for a proper comparison. 😉

[EtaC]

And you should try the loin steak (medium rare).😎

[Lido deck main]

5 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Once was enough for me. It was tough and gristly; just a terrible piece of meat. It was such a chore to try to cut through that I finally gave up. My arms were tired. 😂

 

 

I don’t see anyone obsessed but I do see where it would make a difference in knowing as those in charge directly affect ship climate and attention to detail. I have to agree that Kevin Beirnaert is one of the more personable captains in the fleet. I would rate Captain Darren Bowland equally as high, but I see he is now with the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. (Good for him.)

 

WRT the Cruise and Entertainment Directors and staff… those people can make or break your cruise. I definitely know who’d I’d prefer to be at sea with; especially if it’s on one of the longer voyages.

+1 on Captain Bowland

[3rdGenCunarder]

I avoid the steak argument by having the lamb chops, which have always been excellent. I order medium rare and ask them to hold the bean puree, as I don't see that as a good accompaniment to the chops. I order a potato as an alternate starch.

 

Two years ago on Eurodam, service in the Pinnacle was so-so and staff seemed rushed. Last year on Volendam, it was top-notch. 

[iowacruiser]

18 hours ago, EtaC said:

Well I had a steak (Loin steak) in the Pinnacle on my recent Oosterdam cruise. No upcharge, medium rare, and it was perfect, moist, tasty and just to my preferences. Maybe my taste is not as refined as yours. By the way, how did you order it? If it was well done maybe you would have been better off ordering chicken. 

How did I order it?? "Id like the Prime Ribeye medium rare" How do you get to chicken from that? The Strip is not prime- I assume you know the difference, so there is no upcharge. Glad you had a good steak-mine wasn't..

[cccole]

If you are in the Pinnacle and your order is not to your liking can't you send it back?  Not sure why someone would fight with a piece of meat in order to take a bite.

I find sometimes that medium rare and medium well are heard differently by some servers.  If I was in the Pinnacle and my meal was inedible I would politely ask for something else.  You would not be the first or last person to do this.  For goodness sakes, in the MDR they are unhappy if you are not happy with your order and ask to bring anything you want.  So, if you struggle thru a horrible meal on HAL I am surprised no one was able to help you.  Our favorite restaurant on the Oosterdam was Canaletto.  JMO. Cherie

[*Miss G*]

15 minutes ago, cccole said:

If you are in the Pinnacle and your order is not to your liking can't you send it back? 

Absolutely you can. 

[EtaC]

3 hours ago, iowacruiser said:

How did I order it?? "Id like the Prime Ribeye medium rare" How do you get to chicken from that? The Strip is not prime- I assume you know the difference, so there is no upcharge. Glad you had a good steak-mine wasn't..

Old joke at a steakhouse I used to go to in DC. They defined all of the various ways to order (Rare: cool pink center, Medium Rare: warm pink center, etc.) When they got to well done the description was "Order Chicken." Or one could describe the experience at the old Pinnacle Peak steakhouse here in Phoenix where I live now. If you ordered your steak well done they brought you out a piece of shoe leather first. Not everyone was amused. 

 

. As I said in other posts, my main objection is the assumption that if one or two people have a bad experience it somehow translates that everyone had a bad experience. 

[iowacruiser]

8 hours ago, EtaC said:

Old joke at a steakhouse I used to go to in DC. They defined all of the various ways to order (Rare: cool pink center, Medium Rare: warm pink center, etc.) When they got to well done the description was "Order Chicken." Or one could describe the experience at the old Pinnacle Peak steakhouse here in Phoenix where I live now. If you ordered your steak well done they brought you out a piece of shoe leather first. Not everyone was amused. 

 

. As I said in other posts, my main objection is the assumption that if one or two people have a bad experience it somehow translates that everyone had a bad experience. 

That's the problem with assuming..