Oosterdam review (Long)

Cruise Review
Holland America Oosterdam, Feb 8-15, 2004
Eastern Caribbean, out of Ft. Lauderdale

I am 45 and my traveling companion is 53. Prior to this cruise I had been
on four cruises - two on Celebrity and two on Carnival. My companion had
been on two cruises - one Celebrity and one Carnival. We thought we'd
give HAL a spin, and liked the itinerary since it went to Tortola and
Half Moon Cay (new for both of us).

Pre-Cruise Hotel
We booked a suite at Amerisuites 17th Street for $99 through Valuetrips
(http://valuetrips.com). They offer a free shuttle to/from the airport
and to/from the port. We had a clean, comfortable non-smoking suite which
came equipped with a king-sized bed, a sofa bed, chair, desk/table with 2
chairs, fridge, microwave, coffee pot, plates/bowls/mugs/flatware for 3,
TV/VCR, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, soap and conditioning shampoo,
and two telephones. Local calls were 50 cents, no charge for 800 numbers.
There was a heated outdoor pool and exercise room. Coffee and a nice
variety of teas were available continuously in the lobby. There was a
popcorn machine with fresh popcorn in the afternoon and evening. A
breakfast buffet is also included, although we didn't "partake" because
we had a very late evening and slept late - and weren't really hungry. It
looked decent - there were muffins, toast, french toast, bagels, fruit,
milk, juice, cold cereal, microwave oatmeal packets, and a make-your-own
waffle station. There is an Outback Steakhouse and a Cafe Del Rio right
next door, and a Wendy's nearby. There are quite a few other restaurants
and shops in walking distance, including a Publix grocery store. The
hotel is about 2 miles from the airport, and half a mile from the port.
Although not as nice as an Embassy Suites, it was certainly nicer than
something like a Motel 6. I would certainly stay there again.

Embarkation
We arrived at the port at about 10:45 - a line was already in place.
The doors opened at 11:00 to allow passengers to check in. There were
three lines - one for the suites, one for people who had filled out their
immigration forms online (which we had), and another line for everyone
else. We were through the line by 11:30, and it was only a couple of
minutes to get through security. We then had a short wait in one of the
waiting rooms upstairs before they called our bording number - perhaps 10
minutes or so. We were told that the cabins would not be available until
1:00 or 1:30, so we went to the Lido deck and had lunch, then took a
self-tour around the ship. The weather was cold and windy, so our
original plan of laying out on the deck (we had our bathing suits with
us) was out of the question. We headed towards our cabin around 1:00, and
just as we got near it, an announcement was made that the cabins were
available.

Stateroom
We had a verandah cabin which had a fridge/mini-bar, a bed, sofa
(sleeper), a small table with one chair, a vanity with an ottoman that
could be used as an additional chair. There were two nightstands, each
with two drawers, 3 closets - one with shelves, the others could be full-
length or with shelves (they pulled up from the back). There were 30
hangers, which was more than sufficient for the two of us. The bathroom
had a tub/shower, a medicine cabinet, and was stocked with soap, lotion
(a 4-oz bottle that was refilled for us during the cruise), a shower cap,
and conditioning shampoo. The verandah had two chairs and an ottoman.
Fresh fruit (apples and oranges, plus one pear) was provided and
restocked during the length of the cruise.

The Ship
The Oosterdam is only about 6 months old, and we found it lovely. It
was mostly decorated in blues and golds, with a lot of mirrors or
mirrored surfaces. The artwork was varied in both media and style. Fresh
flowers were everywhere, mostly orchids in pots - there was one on every
table in the Lido restaurant. For the most part, everything looked fresh,
clean, and new, although many of the railings on the ship were showing a
lot of wear and needed refinishing. The main Vista lounge was attractive,
but because of the large columns, there were many seats with obstructed
views. The main pool has a retracting roof, which was pretty much covered
the first couple of days of the cruise. Getting a lounge chair in that
area was pretty much out of the question unless you were a very early
riser. Most of the music and activities took place at the aft pool. Some
days it was crowded, with no lounge chairs available (many just taken up
by books and shoes, of course), but other days there were chairs
available even in the afternoon. The observation decks generally had
plenty of lounge chairs available in the sun, especially the forward
deck. Since there were showers at the decks that were not near the pool,
it provided an easy way to get wet and cool off without needing to be by
the pool, and those decks were also great if you wanted a quieter spot.
There was no jogging track (not that I would have used it!). The only
deck on the ship where you can walk around the outside of the entire ship
is the Promenade deck, level 3 - three times around for a mile. There
were not many announcements made over the loudspeakers throughout the
day, which was a welcome change from Carnival. Announcements are not
piped into cabins, but you can set your television to a station that
broadcasts them if you wish. The ship's time was changed when we crossed
time zones. This was not the case with either Celebrity or Carnival. This
actually caused a delay for us in leaving St. Maarten - we were docked
behind the Celebrity Century. We were scheduled to depart at 7pm, which
is also when the Century told the port authorities they were leaving.
However, the Century was not on local time, and they meant 7pm ship time,
which was 8pm local time. So we ended up not getting out of port until
8pm. Personally, I'd rather stay on the same time throughout the cruise -
it was confusing to have to change times a couple of times during the
cruise.

The Passengers
There was quite a mix of passengers, and overall they were much younger
than I had anticipated. I would have guessed the average age to be no
more than early 60's, or maybe even late 50's. There certainly were many
passengers who were in their 70's and up, but also quite a few in their
40's and even 30's. We saw relatively few people who looked under 30,
other than the few children on the ship (mostly middle school age). There
were a few teens, and we saw one toddler and a baby. There was certainly
no lack of passengers who were reasonably close to our ages.

Dining Rooms and Food
We had requested late seating, which there is evidently no problem
getting on HAL. We were seated at a table for six, with two other couples
who were in their 40's. Both were delightful, and we spent a lot of the
cruise with one of the couples. We never ate breakfast or lunch in the
dining room, since we were usually just getting up at the end of the
breakfast hours. We did order room service breakfast on the two days that
we had early excursions, and the food arrived on time and was fine.
Breakfasts in the Lido were pretty much standard cruise fare - eggs or
omelettes, breakfast meats, breads and pastries, juices, fruit, cereals,
etc. For lunch, the lido restaurant had several stations - the "Wok" with
Asian food, a pizza and pasta bar, a deli and salad bar, dessert
stations, as well as the main lunch buffet. There was also a taco bar in
the pool area, as well as a grill. A note on the grill - for vegetarians,
they offered a vegetarian burger that was cooked on foil, to avoid
touching meat residue on the grill. The french fries were thick, and
very good. Because we usually had a late breakfast, we generally weren't
hungry for lunch until after the main buffet was closed - so we were
usually having pizza, salads, or ice cream and pastries for lunch. The
grill, salad bar and deli were open until 5:00, and the pizza/pasta bar
was open from 11:30 until 1:00 am, so there was always plenty of food to
choose from. We liked the pizza a lot - the crust was very light. We ate
all of our dinners in the dining room, so I can't comment on the Lido for
that, although I did notice that they offered some of the same entrees in
the Lido that were being served in the dining room. Overall, I found the
appetizers, soups, desserts and breakfast pastries (croissants, etc.) to
be excellent. I only saw (and ate) HAL's famous bread pudding once - and
only in the Lido restaurant. I never saw it offered in the dining room.
Some of the appetizers that I particularly enjoyed were the Gravlax,
escargot (some of the best I've ever had!), shrimp, and a chicken "pot
pie", which was nearly enough to be an entree in itself. The entrees were
quite mixed. In general, the fish dishes were very good to excellent,
although the monkfish was disappointing. Entrees other than fish were
uneven - I would not rate any of them as excellent. The "rack of lamb"
(really lamb chops) was pretty good, but the steaks (sirloin and
tenderloin) were only what I would call average. The lobster (yes - New
England lobster, but tails only) was delicious. Most of the desserts were
really good, but a few made me wonder what the *bleep* they were
thinking. Whatever you do, don't waste your time on the "watermelon pie".
We thought it would be good because it was sherbet, but it was really
quite nasty. On the other hand, the cheesecakes were quite yummy, and the
sorbets were wonderful - we made sure to order them at each meal.

Coffee and Coffee Bar
The coffee served in the Lido restaurant is brewed, not made from
concentrate. It was adequate for me, but I'm not really a picky coffee
drinker. The coffee in the Windstar cafe (the coffee bar) was very good,
but you had to pay extra for it. The prices were about half of what you'd
pay at a coffee shop - I think it was $1.65 for a Grande Latte. There was
no charge for the pastries that were available.

Booze
On our first night on the ship, we stopped by the liquor "store" for
their rum tasting (different flavors of Cruzan rum). They were also
offering samples of flavored vodkas. The girl serving the samples told us
that HAL was changing their policy, and would no longer be allowing
passengers to buy bottles on board the ship and take them to their rooms
- they'd be held until the end of the cruise as is standard on other
mass-market ships. Additionally, she told us that they were going to
start scanning peoples luggage, and that booze being brought on board
would be confiscated. She said that the policy was supposed to change
that night, but that they hadn't gotten the official word, so they were
still letting people take their purchases to their rooms. I have no idea
whether any of what she said was true, or if she was just trying to get
people to buy booze, but that's what she said. We did buy a bottle of
flavored rum to take back to our cabin, and enjoyed it straight over ice
during the cruise - it was convenient for when we were sitting out on our
verandah and wanted a cocktail. At the bars, we did try a variety of
different drinks, usually trying out the "drink of the day", which was
offered for $4.25 instead of whatever the usual price was - usually $5.50
to $6.75, depending on the drink. We had some pretty tasty concoctions!
Our favorite "bar" was the Crow's Nest on the top deck of the ship, which
had great panoramic views, and some very comfortable recliners by the
windows.

Service
Our room steward was very good - we rarely saw him, but everything was
always done as it should be. Our dining room waiter was very pleasant and
friendly, but only provided fair service. We were occasionally presented
with the wrong item, or with our salad before our soup, or some other
small mixup. The assistant waiter did his job adequately, but did not
figure out who preferred decaf and who preferred regular coffee until the
last days of the cruise. I found the dining staff on Celebrity to provide
the best service by far, and Carnival was also very good -- HAL comes in
a very distant third in that area. On the other hand, our sommelier was
outstanding, the best I've had on any ship. We had excellent service from
the bar staff. Many of them made the effort to remember our names, and it
appeared that the servers tried to serve the same people on a regular
basis -- in other words, if there were three servers working a room, each
one appeared to try to wait on the same people they "usually" waited on,
rather than having assigned sections. It was a nice touch, and made
tipping them at the end of the cruise much easier, since I only had to
seek out the few servers who had made me a "regular" client. Which brings
me to...

Tipping
The Oosterdam has not yet adopted the new tipping "policy", so they
still advertise "no tipping required" statements, and tips were not added
to our stateroom account or to bar bills. Personally, I like having the
option to have the gratuities added to the stateroom account, because I
don't have to carry a bunch of cash. I have mixed feelings about the
gratuity added to the bar bills - I don't mind it, but on the other hand,
the fact that it isn't automatically added may have been one of the major
reasons we had such excellent bar service. I do think that the "no
tipping required" business is a big disservice to the staff, as so many
people seem to think that it means that tips are included, or they truly
don't have any idea of what amounts are appropriate.

Entertainment
Fairly typical cruise stuff. I really don't care for the song and dance
"Broadway-style" or "Vegas-style" shows performed by cruise entertainment
staff, so I generally avoid them. The one that I did see on this cruise I
would probably rate as better than those on Celebrity, but not as good as
on Carnival. I liked the illusionist (Leo Ward) a lot - that was the best
of the shows I attended. The comedian (Hal Spears) and juggler (Jody
Reynolds) were reasonably good. I missed the acapella group "The Mikes"
which I would have liked to have seen, but circumstances dictated
otherwise that evening. Other than at the disco, the music onboard the
ship was pretty much geared towards an older crowd, although the B-4s in
the Crow's nest played more contemporary music after dinner. The disco
was pretty lively in the evenings other than the first night at sea.
There were different themes each evening until midnight - after that it
was a mix or by request. I was rarely down there past 12:30, but
according to some people I talked to who were there or at the Casino,
there was apparently a good crowd until at least past 1 a.m.

The Weather
The first few days were cool and cloudy, with some rain. A storm system
had passed through the area, and the first few days of the cruise were
ROCKY. I have never had such a rough cruise, and many people were ill for
the first two or three days. The dance portion of the show on the first
night was cancelled because it would have been too dangerous with the way
the boat was rocking. All of the decks were very windy, even after it
warmed up enough to want to be outside. Fortunately, after the first
couple of days, we got into smooth sailing and beautiful weather. The
last few days of the cruise there was barely any wind on the aft pool
deck at all, and there was plenty of sun.

Disembarkation
Disembarkation was scheduled to start at around 8:30 a.m., breakfast
was being served from 6am to 8am. Passengers were allowed to remain in
their cabins until their number was called, which was a nice change from
previous cruises. Our flight was scheduled for 11:50am (originally
12:05pm, but it was changed after we booked the flight), and we did not
purchase transfers since it would be cheaper and easier to grab a taxi.
We were assigned number 7, but many higher numbers were called prior to
ours (passengers were told that the numbers might be called out of order
depending on the transportation available). Once our number was called,
we left the ship, and quickly found our luggage and were out the door. It
was raining, and the area to get taxis is now located out in the open
past where the buses are loaded - a change from my previous experiences
at Port Everglades (pre-9/11). We stood in the rain as taxis were
arriving and loading passengers. A taxi driver motioned us over and ended
up putting us in a cab along with another couple - but then, of course,
expected the full taxi fare ($10) from each couple upon arrival at the
airport. I suppose we could have argued that, but it wasn't worth it, and
we would have paid the same amount anyway if we'd had a cab to ourselves.
We arrived at the airport at around 9:40 a.m. After standing in the sky
cap line for over 30 minutes (some of the passengers in front of us had
various problems that took a long time to resolve), our luggage was
weighed and one bag was over the 50-lb limit. We couldn't move the
"overage" to the other bag, because it was too close to the limit also.
We figured it wasn't a problem, we'd just pay the extra fee -- but they
said we couldn't pay for it at the curb, and we'd have to go inside and
check in at the counter. That would certainly have been nice to know
BEFORE we wasted all that time outside. So in we went, and waited another
half hour in line, paid the $25 fee, and had our boarding passes at
10:50. That's when we saw the line to go through security... I've never
seen anything like it before. Evidently there were 8 ships that had
gotten into port that morning. We figured it was going to take close to 2
hours to get through the line, which went out of the security area and
down the hall, wrapping around the "people mover" and back. Fortunately,
at around 11:30, a woman came out and had passengers on the 11:50 flight
get out of line and into the express line. We got to the gate and
immediately boarded the plane, which taxied off right on time.

The Ports

Nassau
Since I don't really care for Nassau and have already been there a few
times, I was originally going to just stay on the ship, but I did end up
going ashore and walking around the shops a bit. I did find it to be more
pleasant than on previous trips - I wasn't constantly inundated by people
trying to braid my hair.

St. Maarten
We booked the Golden Eagle Catamaran tour to Tintamar. It was
originally scheduled as an afternoon excursion at 1:30, but because our
ship was supposed to arrive in port early, and other ships were arriving
later than planned, HAL agreed to take the morning excursions instead.
This affected several different excursions. It actually worked out for
the best (at least for us), since we had beautiful weather on the beach,
but the rain started up as we were heading back to the ship, and
continued throughout the afternoon. This was a fun excursion -- they
provided as much water, soft drinks, rum punch or beer as you wished to
drink, and lively music. At Tintamar, the beach was very nice. Snorkeling
equipment was provided for those who wanted it, as well as those long
foam tubes that you can use as a floatation device. Tintamar is a
"clothing optional" beach. There were a few topless bathers at the beach,
but none that were totally nude (or at least, none that I saw).

Tortola
The most recommended tour at Tortola was a trip to a beach called "The
Baths" at Virgin Gorda, which you can either do from a ship excursion, or
do on your own via ferry boats and taxis. We decided on the ship's tour,
so that we didn't have to worry about time schedules, or hassle with
arrangements. Although it cost more through the ship, we thought it was
well worthwhile because we were picked up and dropped off by the ferry
boat right at the ship, and probably had more time at the beach than we
would have otherwise. If cost is a concern, though, it's apparently not
all that difficult to arrange on your own.
The ferry boat picked us up at the ship, and it was a 30-minute ride
to Virgin Gorda. We were loaded into open air buses that took us to the
beach. The parking area has a restaurant and some gift shops. You take a
sandy and somewhat rocky path down to the main beach, where there is a
bar, a restroom, and a couple of tables where you can buy T-shirts and a
few trinkets, or have your hair braided.
The beach was absolutely gorgeous - this is apparently the only island
in the Caribbean that has these huge boulders on the beach. You can also
take a hike to a nearby beach called "Devil's Bay", but it does require
you to go under, over, and between many large boulders - some of which
surround the path to make "caves". There are a few places where there are
some ladders to help you go over boulders. You don't really have to be in
"excellent" condition to make the trek, but you do need to be able to
crouch down low (or be able to crawl) to get under some low "ceilings",
and you'll definitely want to have your hands free to help climb in a few
spots. But the trek is fun and well worth it! Devil's Beach was gorgeous,
but there are NO amenities there - just the beach. If you want food,
drink, and restrooms, stay at the first beach. There is another trail to
Devil's Bay from the parking area - a sign marks the way, but it is quite
a bit longer (and I'm sure not as fun) as the trail between the beaches.
People were snorkeling at both beaches, but the water was rather rough,
with a lot of surge. The people who snorkeled seemed to enjoy it. A few
people walked around on the trails from the beach to the other side of
the island. It looked like a great place to wander and explore.
Fortunately, there was not a huge crowd of people at either beach while
we were there. One of the tour guides told us that sometimes there are
very large groups of people there at one time. Since parts of the trail
between the two beaches are only big enough for one person to go through
at a time, it can be a real pain if there are large groups coming from
each side.
Tortola itself didn't really seem to have a lot going for it, at least
in town. We had plenty of time to get off the ship after returning from
our excursion, but all we saw was the straw market (with pretty much the
same things in each booth), and a couple of stores in town.
One neat thing... as we were leaving Tortola, we saw a pair of
humpback whales. The captain said that it was very unusual to see them
there at this time of year.

Half Moon Cay
Wow... what can I say. This was just about a perfect day. The beach
was beautiful, and there were plenty of lounge chairs to be had. If you
preferred a more secluded area, you could continue on down to the farther
end of the beach. The sand was unbelieveably soft, and the water was
incredibly calm. I took my snorkeling gear, and was quite pleasantly
surprised that the snorkeling was much better than I had anticipated.
It's a great area for beginners because the water is very shallow except
for the mouth of the inlet where the boats come into the pier area, the
water was calm, and there is plenty to look at, even if it's not as
spectacular as a good reef. Most areas weren't more than two or three
feet deep. Although the main swimming and snorkeling area is sandy, the
water was surprisingly clear (I guess because the water was so calm). The
snorkeling area is at one end of the beach, running along coral/rocks
that are perpendicular to the beach and form one side of the dock area.
This area had the most "reeflike" look, with tube worms, plants, corals,
a few anemones, etc. I saw a critter that looked somewhat like a 6" fat
green millipede, which was quite interesting. There were a few fish,
including a flounder, in this area. Continuing along the shore, as you
reach the far end of the snorkeling area, there is a long row of rocks
that have been placed parallel to the beach, forming the entrance to the
pier area. There is not a lot of coral life on the rocks, but plenty of
fish - schools of tiny fish, and quite a few large ones, especially as
you travel along the rocks away from the shore and towards the ocean end,
where a rope has been set up to separate the snorkeling and swimming
areas from the ocean and boats. Even in the open sandy areas of water,
you could still occasinally run across an interesting variety of fish. A
barbecue lunch was served on the island, with a nice variety of items -
steak, chicken, ribs, fish, veggie burgers, etc. I tried several items,
and they were all very good. There was no charge for the food, since it
was provided by the ship. You did have to purchase soft drinks and
alcoholic drinks, but water and iced tea were available.

Conclusion
There have been some good and bad points about every cruise, and they
have all been quite different, but I've enjoyed all of them, and I would
cruise with any of the lines again. My decision would be based more on
the size of ship, itinerary, dates, and price. I don't care much for the
gaudy design and noise of the Carnival ships compared to Celebrity and
HAL, but the food and service I received on the Carnival ships were
overall pretty comparable to what I experienced on HAL. Some things were
better on one, some on the other. I found Celebrity to be slightly better
overall in most areas, but my cruises with them were several years ago
(once before and once shortly after their sale to RCI), so things may
have changed since then. I did like that the Oosterdam rarely felt
crowded - there is lots of public space per passenger. I HATED the
crowded feel of the Carnival Victory - I won't sail that class of ship
again... well, not unless I get an incredible bargain I can't refuse! :-)
I would certainly recommend the Oosterdam (to people of all ages), and
also this itinerary. People who really want to party hard and loud would
probably be better off elsewhere, but there were plenty of people in
their 30s and 40s having a great time on the cruise, so it certainly
wasn't just for the geriatric crowd.

A. Brown
remove the junk to email

"A. Brown" wrote in message . ..
Cruise Review
Holland America Oosterdam, Feb 8-15, 2004
Eastern Caribbean, out of Ft. Lauderdale

Great review. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

I'd rather stay on the same time throughout the cruise -
it was confusing to have to change times a couple of times during the
cruise.

I'm the opposite. Since I tend to schedule my own tours and such while
in port, I'm much happier being on local time. I remember getting to
Cozumel once. I knew the time change was different, but I was confused
about whether it was an hour later or earlier than Carnival "ship
time". No one, I mean no one on board would tell me what the local
time was. When I asked, they repeatedly said, "just keep your watch on
"cruise time" and you'll be okay". Meanwhile, I had scheduled my own
tour on Cozumel, and I didn't know if we were an hour early or late
for it...drove me nuts.

We did order room service breakfast on the two days that
we had early excursions, and the food arrived on time and was fine.

Is a full breakfast available with room service, or is it just a
continental breakfast?

I found the dining staff on Celebrity to provide
the best service by far, and Carnival was also very good -- HAL comes in
a very distant third in that area.

On our one HAL cruise, we found the dining room staff to be pretty
average as well. They never learned our preferences, and were pretty
stand offish, compared to the staff on other cruises. Our Celebrity
waitstaff was fine, on Carnival I found the waiter to be a little to
aggressive (asking some pretty personal questions). Our best two so
far was our team on Rhapsody of the Seas and our team on Sea Princess.

On the other hand, our sommelier was
outstanding, the best I've had on any ship.

Similar to my HAL experience.

We had excellent service from
the bar staff. Many of them made the effort to remember our names, and it
appeared that the servers tried to serve the same people on a regular
basis -- in other words, if there were three servers working a room, each
one appeared to try to wait on the same people they "usually" waited on,
rather than having assigned sections. It was a nice touch, and made
tipping them at the end of the cruise much easier, since I only had to
seek out the few servers who had made me a "regular" client.

Exactly! I'm not sure how he managed it, but whenever we were looking
for a drink on HAL, it seemed that "our" bar waiter was always there
for us, whether we were on deck, in a lounge...wherever. He asked our
names on Day 1, and greeted us by name for the duration of the cruise.
And, as you said, we looked for him on the last day to give him a
generous tip. Really made it so much easier than having to carry small
bills with me all week (HAL didn't add the 15% to bar bills). As a
parting gift, he hand decorated one of those Dutch white muslin caps
for me - beautifully patterned all over, and my name in caligraphy.
Nice.

I don't mind it, but on the other hand,
the fact that it isn't automatically added may have been one of the major
reasons we had such excellent bar service.

Exactly.

Thanks again.

Lee

(Lee) wrote in
om:

We did order room service breakfast on the two days that
we had early excursions, and the food arrived on time and was fine.

Is a full breakfast available with room service, or is it just a
continental breakfast?


We used the "express breakfast" cards that you fill out and put
on your door at night. They offered plain or cheese omelettes, plus
breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, etc.) as well as the standard
breads, juices, etc. Both times we ordered cheese omelettes, melon,
juice, croissants and coffee. In the "book" in our cabin, there was
a larger room service menu with more options - I didn't look at it
to see what was on it, because the breakfast cards had everything
we would have ordered anyway.

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 03:45:21 GMT, "A. Brown"
wrote:

.. The prices were about half of what you'd
pay at a coffee shop - I think it was $1.65 for a Grande Latte. There was
no charge for the pastries that were available.

Booze
On our first night on the ship, we stopped by the liquor "store" for
their rum tasting (different flavors of Cruzan rum). They were also
offering samples of flavored vodkas. The girl serving the samples told us
that HAL was changing their policy, and would no longer be allowing
passengers to buy bottles on board the ship and take them to their rooms
- they'd be held until the end of the cruise as is standard on other
mass-market ships. Additionally, she told us that they were going to
start scanning peoples luggage, and that booze being brought on board
would be confiscated.

Well, HAL is going to lose a lot of loyal patrons if they start this
kind of b.s.


Service
Our room steward was very good - we rarely saw him, but everything was
always done as it should be. Our dining room waiter was very pleasant and
friendly, but only provided fair service. We were occasionally presented
with the wrong item, or with our salad before our soup, or some other
small mixup. The assistant waiter did his job adequately, but did not
figure out who preferred decaf and who preferred regular coffee until the
last days of the cruise. I found the dining staff on Celebrity to provide
the best service by far, and Carnival was also very good -- HAL comes in
a very distant third in that area.

You just got unlucky IMO. I think HAL has the best dining room
service of all the mass market lines.


Mason Barge

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-- Abraham Lincoln

HOME less than a week from OOSTERDAM eastern route- balcony cabin -
beautiful ship ,love the staff , our waiters were VERY pleasant and
remembered that I wish for coffee /decaf as soon as possible ,lido food
choices amazing. staff very helpful, /. carried liquor aboard,
purchased gin to take to cabin,--We have over 400 days on HAL and many
on other lines.

Mason Barge wrote in
:

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 03:45:21 GMT, "A. Brown"
wrote:

Service
Our room steward was very good - we rarely saw him, but everything
was
always done as it should be. Our dining room waiter was very pleasant
and friendly, but only provided fair service. We were occasionally
presented with the wrong item, or with our salad before our soup, or
some other small mixup. The assistant waiter did his job adequately,
but did not figure out who preferred decaf and who preferred regular
coffee until the last days of the cruise. I found the dining staff on
Celebrity to provide the best service by far, and Carnival was also
very good -- HAL comes in a very distant third in that area.

You just got unlucky IMO. I think HAL has the best dining room
service of all the mass market lines.

Since this was the first HAL experience for either of us, it could
certainly have just been "bad luck", but we both found the service
to be far below what we experienced on other lines. I would find myself
without a fork for the entree, there were several mixups at the table
with people getting the wrong item - including a vegetarian (which
the waiter was quite aware of) being presented with a large steak.
There was some sort of mixup almost every evening. Some things that
were ordered didn't arrive, and the diner's preferences were not noted
until the last day or two of the cruise. The Maitre d' actually
delivered some items and cleared a few plates himself.

But it wasn't a big issue, and certainly didn't upset us or affect
the enjoyment of our cruise. We still gave the wait staff a larger tip
than "standard" (though not as much as we might have otherwise). And of
course, we gave the Maitre d' more than we usually would. He was far more
pleasant and accomodating than any other we've encountered.

It may be unusual for HAL, but it was still our experience, and I
felt it was worth noting in the review.

One thing I neglected to mention in my previous review...

We are not smokers, and I actually noticed very little smoking
on this cruise. However, what I did see was that there were
some very nice areas that were designated as "smoking areas".
Cushioned, inviting chairs in the main pool area, etc. I don't
know how smokers would feel about this arrangement rather
than having a smoking "side" of the ship, but I did think
it was nice (for smokers) that the designated areas appeared
to be very pleasant spots, as opposed to wretched little out
of the way places. (Just because I don't smoke and don't like
to be around it doesn't mean that I think smokers should be
treated like outcasts - often the smoking areas in public
places are not anywhere I'd want to be, even if I did smoke.)

As a side note on the smoking issue, on the two Celebrity
cruises I was on, there were frequently SHIP OFFICERS smoking
on the non-smoking side of the Lido restaurant).

A. Brown wrote:

Mason Barge wrote in
:


On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 03:45:21 GMT, "A. Brown"
wrote:


Service
Our room steward was very good - we rarely saw him, but everything
was
always done as it should be. Our dining room waiter was very pleasant
and friendly, but only provided fair service. We were occasionally
presented with the wrong item, or with our salad before our soup, or
some other small mixup. The assistant waiter did his job adequately,
but did not figure out who preferred decaf and who preferred regular
coffee until the last days of the cruise. I found the dining staff on
Celebrity to provide the best service by far, and Carnival was also
very good -- HAL comes in a very distant third in that area.

You just got unlucky IMO. I think HAL has the best dining room
service of all the mass market lines.


Since this was the first HAL experience for either of us, it could
certainly have just been "bad luck", but we both found the service
to be far below what we experienced on other lines. I would find myself
without a fork for the entree, there were several mixups at the table
with people getting the wrong item - including a vegetarian (which
the waiter was quite aware of) being presented with a large steak.
There was some sort of mixup almost every evening. Some things that
were ordered didn't arrive, and the diner's preferences were not noted
until the last day or two of the cruise. The Maitre d' actually
delivered some items and cleared a few plates himself.


That's exactly what happened to our table on our Constellation cruise in
Dec. 2002. I think that can happen on all of the mass market lines. I
really don't think there's a best, there may be a style that some like
best. If there's a best, it has to be based on passenger to crew, crew
training, consistency of crew, and other objective criteria and not the
biases of chance on particular sailings at particular tables of
particular lines.


But it wasn't a big issue, and certainly didn't upset us or affect
the enjoyment of our cruise. We still gave the wait staff a larger tip
than "standard" (though not as much as we might have otherwise). And of
course, we gave the Maitre d' more than we usually would. He was far more
pleasant and accomodating than any other we've encountered.

It may be unusual for HAL, but it was still our experience, and I
felt it was worth noting in the review.



It's noting that HAL can have not the greatest service at times. I think
what is really telling is the percentage of times your type of
experience comes up vs. other lines.

BEn S.