We took this cruise as an end of year celebration. There were plenty to choose from but the idea of this itinerary captivated us as we had the Panama Canal on our bucket list and this was the opportunity to enjoy an extended voyage on a vista class ship. It is unusual to get 19 nights on one of these ships unless you do a back to back cruise as they tend to do shorter, regular itineraries for a whole season. Embarkation for this cruise in Fort Lauderdale ran fairly smoothly, though the ship was running a little behind due to crew immigration and coast guard drill checks. The Oosterdam had come in from Europe across the Atlantic and had apparently had very rough seas with lots of breakages, and a galley fire in the middle of one night. We had no idea of any prior drama as the welcome aboard was the usual efficient and friendly one with a superb lunch waiting on board on the Lido deck.

Cabin: We chose cabin VA6173 for this cruise. It is a wake view cabin with a nice sized veranda. The room is much the same as all of the other balcony rooms on the Oosterdam except for a little more space. The additional space on the veranda allows for a sun lounger, though the lack of shade makes it very hot in full sun. We liked this size of room and it was more than enough for us. There was plenty of storage and we were able to fit our 3 full size hard shell suitcases underneath the very comfortable "signature of excellence" king sized bed. The sofa is not as large as on other HAL ships, but was comfortable for the small amount of time we used it.

Dining: We decided on open seating in the main dining room. We prefer this option as there is flexibility in seating time and you can move around if you have a preference for particular staff. We made a reservation on the first day for a seat in an area by the windows we have previously enjoyed, though we did move around a bit when we joined other friends for dinner. The food varied between average and excellent. We were happy with the choices and certainly never went hungry. Our waiters and wine server were well trained and always delighted to see us and ask about our day. We learned very quickly to trust their opinions about what were good choices from the menu on the day as they had seen it all and also the reactions of those that dined before us. This proved a good strategy in finding the excellent end of the wide range of meal choices. The absence of the Master chef's dinner was noted, though there was a traditional bomb Alaska parade. We ate a couple of times in the Pinnacle Grill. It is worth the additional and we enjoyed fine service. There were new female servers freshly graduated from the Holland America school in Jakarta who looked after us very well. On one night we ate at the Canaletto and thought it was a great idea. The penne in a vodka cream sauce was outstanding and the Canaletto wines at $22 a bottle were a real bargain. The extended choice gets top points. Read more