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Holland America Line

MS Oosterdam

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Ann Dowden
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: August 28, 2004
Itinerary: Alaska

Overall, I felt some of the aspects of this trip were very nice. The ports were beautiful and the inside passage was a very nice scenic route. The service was hot and cold, and caused some negativity in my overall experience.

The pool was very small, and with the exception of 7 am, it was filled with children. They also put netting up over the pool and hot tubs very early, usually by 8:30 or 9 pm each night. The casino was small, but friendly, only trouble here was that they kicked us out each night between 12am and 1am due to lack of participation. Other public areas were quite clean and comfortable I thought. Though I wished there had been more to do on board.

For the most part the food was good. The vegetables were too salty I thought. Also, the service in the vista dining room was lacking. One meal, the waiter mixed up my side dish with another member of my table, and when I brought it to his attention, he picked up their plate, and "scraped" the potatoes from her plate onto mine!!! This was just plain RUDE!!!!

The ledo deck staff was also pushy, while herding us along the cafeteria style line ups saying "what do you want" and gesturing for us to hurry us!

I also didn't like the design of the boat in the respect that you have to pass through the inside pool area to get to the cafeteria. As well you have to pass through the cafeteria to get to the outside pool deck. This was very inconvenient when I wanted to go for a swim and not eat. I don't think it is right that I have to walk "dress for swimming" through the food areas!

During our scenic time at Hubbard's pass, there were stewards on deck serving hot chocolate with alcohol in it. The cost was high for this, and when asked if I could purchase one without alcohol, I was refused and told the hot chocolate was ONLY for the alcohol! This was very rude and not at all intended to be a service to the passengers! I felt that this was another money grab! What about the passengers that don't drink or the ones that were not old enough. Why wasn't there an alternative offered for them???

We shared an inside cabin. I felt that it was a suitable size for 2. The closet space was adequate. The shower did have a drainage issue though. After each shower the 3 inch lip on the shower was being over flowed with water. (we took turns showering)

The entertainment staff was very good!!! In fact this was the highlight of the cruise. They had very talented people performing for them on this cruise. A special delight was the Canadian acapella group "the mikes" they were FABULOUS!!

The on board activities left something to be desired I felt. They didn't really have to much to choose from. I found that I was quite bored much of the time.

Also, they had a bingo game, I was excited since I like to play bingo at home, but this game turned out to be a HUGE rip off. They charged $20 per person, and there were probably 500 people playing, and they payed out prizes for the four games $100, $125,$150 and $250 . So this turned out to be more of a money grab than a fair game for us.

I also felt that the ships shopping ambassador "Amelia" was extremely rude and phony! She told us to find her in port and she would be happy to help us make a great deal with the local shops, we found her, and she ignored us on 3 occasions while she shopped for herself. We also sought her assistance to locate the transfer back to the boat at the end of the time, and she rudely flung her bag over her shoulder and started walking away, then she looked behind towards us and instructed us to follow her. She is supposed to represent the passengers and help us if needed while shopping, and she failed to do this almost entirely!

The other passengers were friendly enough. My sister and I are both in our early 30's, so we were in most cases 1/2 the age of the other guests, so we generally kept to ourselves.