Oosterdam August 19 Alaska

[rhartm]

Sailing on August 19 on first cruise with HAL, on the Oosterdam. I would appreciate any input anyone may have from their experiences on this ship. Also, what are the best shore excursions, and should I book separately from the cruiseline tours? This is my first trip to Alaska and I'm really looking forward to it. I booked an SZ class verandah suite which looks quite nice. I have asked for the late dinner seating since I figure it would give more time to do the shore excursions.:)

[missygirl]

Sailing on August 19 on first cruise with HAL, on the Oosterdam. I would appreciate any input anyone may have from their experiences on this ship. Also, what are the best shore excursions, and should I book separately from the cruiseline tours? This is my first trip to Alaska and I'm really looking forward to it. I booked an SZ class verandah suite which looks quite nice. I have asked for the late dinner seating since I figure it would give more time to do the shore excursions.:)

 

We were on the Oosterdam to Alaska May 20-27 and we had a great time.

We also had booked a SZ cabin but was upraded to an SS so that was a really good surprize. The room is spacious with plenty of closet room and underbed storage. I pack a lot and we had room to spare.

 

We booked early seating because hubby likes to go to the nighttime buffet. On our cruise I saw quite a bit of long evening dresses, not like promwear but dressy. Most men wore suits rather than tuxs, but saw a few of those. Food was good good in Lido and dining room and we used room service a few times. Just a tip: Breakfast on you own personal balcony was so special for me. The first morning that we (I) done it was on the approach into Juneau. We saw whale spouts and icebergs floating while enjoying our breakfast with coffee and hot chocolate. This had to be my favorite cruise of all.

 

For the excursions we booked the ship's whale-watching in Juneau. We saw humpback and orka. Eagles are everywhere and they took us to see seals or sea lions, I can;t remember which. All in all we did see a lot of wildlife, no bears though.

Take plenty of film for Hubbard you will need it, again getting lunch and returning to our cabin eating on the balcony was a moment for me to remember.

In Ketchikan, it was raining the entire time but we did the duck tour and then by umbrella we walked around and went to Creek Street.

In Sitka, we we on our own touring the town. We toured a couple churches, the national park and salmon hatchery.

Victoria was also raining the whole time and being May I got damp and cold so we did'nt stay long. What we saw was pretty.

 

As far as the ship service was good, everthing was clean and shiny. Like I said before food was good and plenty. Desserts we not to die for but ice cream made up for that.

The ship's entertainment was the best I have seen on a cruise so far so I'm sure you will have a great time.

 

Happy cruise!!!

 

Missygirl:)

[richcrow]

Sailing on August 19 on first cruise with HAL, on the Oosterdam. I would appreciate any input anyone may have from their experiences on this ship. Also, what are the best shore excursions, and should I book separately from the cruiseline tours? This is my first trip to Alaska and I'm really looking forward to it. I booked an SZ class verandah suite which looks quite nice. I have asked for the late dinner seating since I figure it would give more time to do the shore excursions.:)

 

We returned from sailing on the Oosterdam on June 3rd and enjoyed every minute of it. I personally could not find anything negative. We booked two excursions and both were through HAL. In Juneau, we did the "Best of Juneau! Whale Watching Quest, Mendenhall Glacier and Alaska-Style Salmon Bake" and thought it was great. The only downside (and very slight) was Mendenhall Glacier being so crowded, but we still enjoyed our time there. The other excursion that we booked was the "Ale Trail and Pub Tour". We also enjoyed this tour. As for HAL tours that I heard good comments on were any of the Dog Sledding tours and any Flightseeing Tours. Everyone taking any of these tours raved about them. As for tours with negative comments, the only two that I personally heard was the Butchart Gardens (not enough daylight to finish the tour) and the Empress High Tea (not worth the cost). Both of these tours were in Victoria.

 

I think you will enjoy the Oosterdam. She has, as many posters on these boards will tell you, the best Hotel Manager in the business. His name is James Deering, and you need to make sure you meet him.

 

Richard