Oosterdam

I went on the Dec 21 cruise (and just got back after staying 3 days with
in-laws in Florida).

If more detailed review is desired I can provide once I wake up

All in all....The only outright negative thing that I can think of at
this moment is the loudness of the Steel Band on the Lido Deck...dat's
it for negatives (my wife, who gets seasick may have a longer list,
especially since we were in the frontmost cabin on the Rotterdam deck)


Embarkation was flawless...we were at the port at 11 and having coffee
on the Lido deck ny 11:45....at 1:00 pm they announced that our cabins
were ready...

The ship is sheer elegance,,,this is my first HAL ship so I have none
other with which to make a comparison but it looked and felt like a 5
(6?) Star European Hotel...gorgous..

The service (room and dining) was perfect...really...although HAL does
not provide a "10" on its customer survey..we gave one anyway to both
dining and room staff..I worked as a waiter for 6 years in the best
hotels in the Borscht Belt and know good service...

The food: elegant and delicious in the Dining rooms....very good and oh
so abundant on the Lido deck....(i forget how many food stations there are).

the cabin..yes it has a narrow foyer, the storage space is just adequate
and the bathtub is smaller than one you have at home or will get at
Bally's in Las Vegas....but who cares.....the cabin was more than roomy
for both of us and the Verandah was large....all in all, no complaints
here either....

the crowd....mixed tending to the older...plenty of families...kids well
behaved (other than oncebeing splashed once by a kid running around the
pool. I heard of an incident involving some drunk teenagers bothering
some 50-60 old in the theatre but wasnt there so wont describe.

Shows were fine to very very good.

I wrote about Vera Cruz in another post...shhh...keep it secret lest it
become Cozumel

Key West was crowded VERY crowded....we went to the Hemingway House and
I realxed on a bench in the garden


Cozumel was...well it was Cozumel.....I ran back to the ship because I
was so sick of being pestered. my wife doesnt swim so snorkiling was
out...it had a McDonalds at leastwhich for me meant a clean public bathroom.

Disembarkation was smooth and uneventful...

I loved the Oosterdam and unless convinced otherwise have become a HAL
devotee...

Jay wrote in message .cable.rogers.com...
I went on the Dec 21 cruise (and just got back after staying 3 days with
in-laws in Florida).


Key West was crowded VERY crowded....we went to the Hemingway House and
I realxed on a bench in the garden


If there is a "trick" to visiting Key West for only one or two days, I
think it is to stay *off* Duval Street. You miss Sloppy Joe's,
Margueritaville, The Hog's Breath, Crabby Dick's, and all of the
crowd. But you can walk south on Whitehead stopping at Kelly's for a
drink, Blue Heavan for dinner and Hemingway's House and the lighthouse
museum en route. (You can sneak into the Hog's Breath via the back
door, but this is cheating) Then turn at the Southernmost Point on
South Street, across Duval, and go back north on Simonton, all the way
back to the Key West Bite and all of those places to eat and drink.
(Try to find Pepe's) This way you will come to the area around
Caroline Street that is one of the nicest in Key West, quiet and lined
with refurbished houses.

Then, when someone asks you about Key West, send *them* to Duval and
keep the paralleling streets a secret. That's what I do. Oops!!

Pjk

Peter Krynicki wrote:
Jay wrote in message .cable.rogers.com...

I went on the Dec 21 cruise (and just got back after staying 3 days with
in-laws in Florida).


Key West was crowded VERY crowded....we went to the Hemingway House and
I realxed on a bench in the garden



If there is a "trick" to visiting Key West for only one or two days, I
think it is to stay *off* Duval Street. You miss Sloppy Joe's,
Margueritaville, The Hog's Breath, Crabby Dick's, and all of the
crowd. But you can walk south on Whitehead stopping at Kelly's for a
drink, Blue Heavan for dinner and Hemingway's House and the lighthouse
museum en route. (You can sneak into the Hog's Breath via the back
door, but this is cheating) Then turn at the Southernmost Point on
South Street, across Duval, and go back north on Simonton, all the way
back to the Key West Bite and all of those places to eat and drink.
(Try to find Pepe's) This way you will come to the area around
Caroline Street that is one of the nicest in Key West, quiet and lined
with refurbished houses.

Then, when someone asks you about Key West, send *them* to Duval and
keep the paralleling streets a secret. That's what I do. Oops!!

Pjk
on the way back from the Hemingway House we avoided Duval and it was
most pleasant