I sailed on the Oosterdam on October 2, 2003 for a 12 night Western Med cruise. I had only been on one cruise before, which was Carnival, and Holland America had come highly recommended to me by friends, who were with us on the cruise.
Embarkation The cruise did not get off to a good start as we were held on the transfer from the airport for over an hour in warm temperatures waiting our turn to be let into the terminal for check-in. We found the terminal to be very crowded with not even enough seating to accommodate everyone. They took the wrong picture on my sign and sail card which was not discovered until the first port of call.
Once on-board the ship, Holland America's excellence in service started to show. Immediately upon boarding the ship, we were greeted by a uniformed crew member who warmly greeted us with a smile, took our documents, and escorted us to our suite. At the suite, he took time to show us around and how things worked and what to do if we needed assistance. We found beautiful robes in the suite and a stocked refrigerator (added to account)plus the "Heavenly Beds"...which were heavenly!