Oosterdam

Sailing the Mediterranean Sea

June

Pros: delicious food, clean rooms, pleasant staff, interesting excursions

Cons: trouble with ship’s laundering

Recommended: Yes

We really enjoy Holland America’s journeys and the ships we sail on. Every employee makes an effort to make sure the trip is enjoyable.

South america

March

Pros: Itinerary

Cons: Food

Recommended: Yes

Schedule timing needs some organization

Over-The-Top

April

Pros: Fantastic Service, Food,& Ports

Cons: Lots if people coughing.

Recommended: Yes

We were on the Oosterdam 17 day Inca and Panama Canal Discovery. Our room stewards, Ketut and Agung, were outstanding. They were very hospitable, courteous, extremely prompt to our needs and truly outstanding. The food also on this ship was above even the levels we have experienced before on Holland America. The captain was friendly, outgoing and willing to share information. The cruise staff could not have been better. Unfortunately, many passengers were coughing...a lot.

South America

December

Pros: Good service, friendly and attentive staff, clean room and ship. Good entertainment.

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

We enjoyed the cruise very much. Shore excursions were great.

Thanksgiving Cruise to Mexico

November

Pros: Staff and Lincoln Center Stage

Cons: Entertainment in the Main Theater and food

Recommended: Yes

Neither the entertainment nor the food approached the quality of prior cruises on HAL.

Wonderful experience!

October

Pros: Amazing staff and amenities, very safe and fun cruise line.

Cons: Not enough activities that pertain to a younger generation

Recommended: Yes

For as much money as we spent, we felt bored at times while on the ship. It would be nice to have activities designed for all ages, not just the older generation.

Wonderful trip.

June

Pros: Great food. Informative lectures, good shows.

Cons: Can’t think of a single one.

Recommended: Yes

Had a great trip. The staff is wonderfully always smiling and very helpful.

Amazing Experience

May

Pros:

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

We liked the fact that this was a smaller ship, with less passengers. Our cabin stewards were AMAZING! Very helpful and tended to our stateroom with so much pride in their job. A huge bonus, was the fact that each day there is a Catholic Mass on board the ship, such a treat for us. We found that the bartenders were not that friendly, and didn't seem to be interested in their job. The wait staff in the dining room was hit or miss. Some were friendly some, not so much. Overall a beautiful holiday!

Cruise to Alaska

May

Pros: The staff was very nice and helpful.

Cons: Food was just okay

Recommended: No

Recent cruise on the Oosterdam

March

Pros: Smoth embarkation and disembarkation.

Cons: Music too loud in shows. No singers and dancers

Recommended: No

Not up to Holland America Standards

March

Pros: We got a Neptune Suite for our anniversary. It was terrific. The Neptune Staff was dynamic. Our room stewards were the best. I got a villa on Half Moon Cay, well worth it.

Cons: Desserts seemed to lack taste. The soufle and the Chocolate Lava Cake had the same taste. The soufle did not even come up past the top of the holder it was in. The Chocolate Lava cake came cold, with no melting chocolate in the middle. The Chocolate Surprise at night, had a few servers carrying trays of chocolate, but when it was gone, you never saw them again.

Recommended: No

Escape from the cold!

January

Pros: Great staff, outstanding food

Cons: Somewhat lacking in communication

Recommended: Yes

Great trip with outstanding dining experience, great staff and entertainment.

Oosterdam sailing to the Hawaiian Islands round trip from San Diego

January

Pros: All staff were kind and considerate and helpful....a real mark of Holland America's cruises

Cons: Missed having a good ship's library....missed perks of old: ice carving on deck, kitchen tour to watch bakers, vegetable chefs decorate and carve food items; space for very popular activities not adequate: example: Lincoln Center Stage space woefully inadequate....a guest would have to go and hour or more ahead of the concert scheduled time just to get a seat; screening room was also too small for the audience it drew.

Recommended: No

cruise

December

Pros: loved the cruising

Cons: getting on getting off the ship

Recommended: Yes

the cruising and food and land excursions were great but getting on and off the ship was a pain

December in Hawaii

December

Pros: Food, staff, room

Cons: Entertainment/ education

Recommended: No

Oosterdam Trip

December

Pros: Good service. Much to do on sea days.

Cons: Ship is worn in places and needs refurbishing

Recommended: Yes

Great new innovation in music in Lincoln Center Lounge. Every type of music from B.B. King's all-stars to classical. Stop at Belize was a waste of time.

tale of two cruises, 1st half,2nd half

November

Pros: weather, crew

Cons: boarding line 100yds plus line long

Recommended: Yes

Virus on previous cruise caused disruption in most areas

Great time in the Western Mediterranean

July

Pros: The ports and tours were great. The staff was very friendly.

Cons: Dinners were good, but the selection of entrees could have been better.

Recommended: Yes

The singers and dancers were very talented and entertaining, but they only performed 3 times on a 12 day cruise. The B. B. King band was very good.

Ooesterdam

March

Pros: Amenities

Cons: None with this cruise.

Recommended: Yes

Oosterdam cruise, west indies

February

Pros: Most islands visited were interesting

Cons: St. Thomas has become a zoo. Seven ships in and down town filled with tourist junk. Do not go there.

Recommended: Yes

Holland America keeps cutting back. Little at a time. However, I believe it is still the best choice for an affordable cruise. May become a problem in future as cuts could reduce quality so not much different from other cruise companies.

Eastern and Southern Caribbean on Oosterdam

February

Pros: Same friendly staff, nice itinerary, Pinnacle Grill great, afternoon tea always nice. Several good movies, entertainment fine

Cons: Food in Lido OK but just not as creative or tasty as before. Whole ship is looking a little shabby..

Recommended: Yes

Ship had norovirus on previous trip so staff very tied up with sanitation and monitoring people the first few days - did a great job considering. We miss having lectures about our destinations that involve more than just shopping.

Southern Caribbean

January

Pros: Excellant dining and staff

Cons: Needs refurbishing

Recommended: Yes

Refurbishing has been scheduled

Nice, but wait until after its refit

January

Pros: Smaller ship (only 1980 passengers)

Cons: Older ship, but going in for refitting Spring 2016

Recommended: Yes

For a first ocean cruise experience, the Oosterdam was fine. I prefer the size of the ship to the 4000+ mega-ships we saw en route: easier to get around and get off (although it was usually a bit of a scrum when disembarking). The food was good, and even though we had open seating in the main restaurant, we rarely had to wait, especially if we were willing to share a table. We enjoyed meals in the Canaletto (but they need to learn not to serve the pasta and the main courses at the same time), and the Pinnacle - both worth the extra money. Our stateroom with verandah was very nice, and a perfectly adequate size. Overall I would recommend the ship, especially after its refit which should take care of some of the normal wear and tear and signs of age it was showing.

Oosterdam

November

Pros: size, not too large, excellent staff

Cons: most of entertainment after 9 p.m. food in dining room not as good as it used to be. Also our server had too many tables no time to even have a few words with him

Recommended: Yes

Enjoyed the cruise. The people that work on the ship are amazing and work so hard, they are a real pleasure. Just have noticed things are not quite as good as they used to be ex., the dinner meals. Also wondering why wifi is not provided without a cost. We have traveled all over and wifi is readily available everywhere.

Oosterdam review

October

Pros: good size, good service, friendly staff

Cons: dull variety of dinner selections

Recommended: Yes

Overall good

Alaska Southbound

September

Pros: Great Excursion, Culinary Classroom, Great Food specialty restaurant

Cons: Sports Bar was awful, Casino didn't have much selection

Recommended: Yes

Our stewards were a little on the lacked side. We only saw them once. Never experienced that before.

Alaska Land & Cruise

August

Pros: Cruise pretty much top notch

Cons: Land portion hotels were in need of renovation

Recommended: Yes

Westmark in Fairbanks, the bathrooms were outdated & tile in tub area & floor were rusty & dirty. Mt McKinley outside of Denali was dark & outdated & the carpet was dirty. The bathroom had very little space to set your toiletries in trying to get ready.

First time in Alaska!

August

Pros: Great service, lovely ship and well-organized

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

Our family had a wonderful time onboard the Oosterdam. Loved being on a smaller (but not too small) ship and enjoyed seeing the beautiful ports in Alaska. Staff onboard went out of their way to make sure everything was wonderful. Our cabin steward, dining room staff and everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful.

Very nice family vacation

August

Pros: Very organized, curteous staff, clean rooms, great ports of call

Cons: Only

Recommended: Yes

We had a great time on the Oosterdam. Just the right sized ship, beautiful stateroom suites, loved the Neptune Lounge feature -- so convenient and helpful staff. Very well organized regarding getting off at the ports of call and making it a seamless process.

Alaska

August

Pros: Weather......Denali Park.....Trains....

Cons: Dining Room not consistant with taking orders or offering more coffee etc.

Recommended: Yes

Seemed to be an unusual number of staff who were "trainees" in different areas around the ship. Front desk not sure of correct answers and conferred frequently with other staff members. Transfer Cancelled but no good explanation to explain why. Room Steward failed to leave forms or instructions to resupply fruit or water purchase. Needed more communication. Good system in the dining room for open seating. Very good response to people who needed assistance both on and off the ship.

Fantastic Voyage!

June

Pros: Service is top notch, size of ship and number of passengers were perfect - never felt crowded or rushed. Logistics were programmed perfectly. Top professionalism and friendliness throughout.

Cons: I honestly cannot come up with any cons -- they even arranged perfect weather! :)

Recommended: Yes

I've travelled with other lines - Holland America is tops in my book.

Alaska land/cruise trip

June

Pros: Nice clean ship, lots of stops.

Cons: Clientele a little to old. Ship much smaller than previous cruises.

Recommended: Yes

Overall trip very nice, saw a large chunk of Alaska. Some of the excursions very expensive for a person could have done on their own.

Fantastic Cruise

May

Pros: Entire experience

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

Fantastic experience, no glitches or bad experience on any part of the cruise

Ship Review

August

Pros: Great Staff. This ship is for the older generation.

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

The captain made sure we saw the glacier up close by stopping and turning the ship from side to side. He also pointed out whales and other wildlife his spotters saw along the way. He seemed to enjoy the voyage as much as his guests.

The staff was the best!

August

Pros: Everyone member of the staff, from steward to wait staff, to cruise director was hepful and considerate.

Cons: The food was ordinary and the Lido buffet was verylarge and sprawling, making it difficult to organize a meal. The quality of the excursions was mixed.

Recommended: Yes

It was our first cruise and we had a lot of fun. We'd certainly consider going again.

Our First Cruise To Alaska 2014

August

Pros: Holland America has got it down to every detail. Excellent service and good food abound.

Cons: Internet and phone service while on board was very expensive and extremely confusing.

Recommended: Yes

The Oosterdam was a well maintained ship filled with a gracious and very accommodating crew. The stateroom was kept clean and orderly with small personal touches every night from the pursers. Being a foodie I have to admit that the food was much better than I had imagined, in fact it was very good with a large, ever changing selection. The land excursions provided by HAC were fantastic and well executed by the excursion teams, definitely worth the extra money.

Alaska- Glacier Discovery

July

Pros: Good service, good docking location, plenty of activities.

Cons: Cabins showing some wear

Recommended: No

The friendly Filipino staff was a big hit with the passengers. I was impressed with the health precautions taken by Holland America. There was NO self service at buffet or beverage stations for the first two days of sailing. Frequent hand washing and use of the well placed hand sanitizers was strongly encouraged. The Captain was extremely personable during the cruise. He came on the PA to announce whale sightings and areas of interest. This made it especially interesting for first time Alaska cruisers.

HAL Oosterdam August/4/2013

August

Pros: Roundtrip Seattle means no passport needed

Cons:

Recommended: No