Oosterdam Review
SWeaster
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s
Rating by category
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Value for Money
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Sail Date: Dec 2016
Cabin: Signature Superior Verandah Suite
We had essentially the same itinerary in March 2015 on the Ryndam prior to her transfer to P&O Australia. We opted for the same trip on the Oosterdam with Mahogany Bay taking the place of Banana Coast Honduras.
As always, the service in the main dining room and the attentiveness of our cabin stewards were exemplary. A special dietary need, which we arranged for at the time of booking, was well accommodated by the cooks.
Unfortunately, like many of the other long time HAL cruisers we spoke with onboard there was an issue with proper attire. On our last few HAL cruises there was no enforcement of a dress code on "Gala Evenings" (formerly known as formal nights). We've had people show up for supper wearing t-shirts and blue jeans when the vast majority of diners were dressed appropriately without a word said by the dining room staff. There were also a couple people that showed up at the Mariner brunch wearing t-shirts, shorts and flip-flops. Rather than setting an example for other cruise lines, Holland America seems to be gradually lowering themselves to the standards of others.
Cabin Review
Signature Superior Verandah Suite
Cabin SS
Having celebrated a milestone wedding anniversary recently we sprung for a Signature Suite. Although we've booked Verandas and outside cabins on other sailings, a little over half of our cruises have been in this cabin category. With a CPAP we make use of an electrical outlet near the bed in an SS rather than running an extension cord across the floor in a Veranda cabin. The larger cabin isn't a necessity but access to an electrical outlet is. For example, our "C" outside cabin on the Ryndam also had a well-placed outlet for the CPAP.
The SS has experienced some upgrades since our last time in one. Our dinner companions had a rear-facing VB cabin and it did not include any of these upgrades.
- The old dark countertops have been replaced by light colored ones.
- There are two additional outlet pairs (120 volt and 220 volt), one above each nightstand.
- The nightlight we usually bring along remained in our suitcase because there are now two LED nightlights in the ceiling of the bathroom.
- The TV on the desktop has been replaced by a huge widescreen LED TV on the cabin wall. This freed up a lot of counter space.
- The old mirrored cupboards are now gone from the bathroom. A drawer between the two sinks somewhat makes up for that lost storage space.
3 Helpful Votes
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