ABOUT US: Last week we had the pleasure of taking a family trip to the Mexican Riviera on Holland America's Oosterdam. My husband and I are in our mid-thirties, and our son is 12 years old. We became "hooked" on cruising four years ago, and try to sail once a year, usually in the spring. In the past we have cruised on both NCL and Princess. We initially chose this itinerary because we wanted to avoid the extra cost of air travel, and wanted a port close to home. Thus, the Mexican Riviera was an obvious choice for a weeks vacation. We chose a sailing on HAL's Oosterdam primarily because the price was better than some of the other lines, and also based upon our travel agent's recommendation. Having perused these boards for about six months before our sail date, I was slightly worried that HAL would not be the line for us, and would stay true to its reputation as a ship for "old folks". This was definitely NOT the case, and I would recommend this ship and itinerary for any young family!

TRAVEL TO THE PORT: We live about 10 minutes away from the Amtrak station in Fullerton, California, so we felt that would be the easiest way to travel to the port. However there was one problem with our plan; they were doing construction on a portion of the rail near San Diego, so all trains had to stop in Irvine where we were transferred to a bus which took us directly to the port. We opted to still travel this way, as it seemed easier than leaving our car at the port for a week, and honestly it wasn't a problem at all. The trip took about 2 hours, and the train station is only a few blocks over from the port. We easily made the walk with our luggage and were in the port within 15 minutes. EMBARKATION: Embarkation was a breeze. It took no more than 10 minutes before we were "purelling" our hands and walking through the gangway having our picture snapped.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: The Oosterdam is one of the Vista Class ships. It is beautiful and immaculately kept. My family really enjoyed all of the fine artwork you find everywhere on the ship, and my son was particularly excited to see an Andy Warhol as that is his favorite artist. I liked the color scheme in the staterooms, as it wasn't as loud as some of the other cruise lines. The layout in the deluxe suite was much nicer than a mini-suite on Princess (which to me seems comparable in price and size). The bathroom was also the BEST one I have ever had at sea. The jetted tub was awesome! Service was hands down the BEST at sea. What I liked was how everybody remembered your name! Very personal touch!! Our room steward Wiri was awesome. My husband met the infamous Hunky Dory. Read more