Oosterdam Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,087 reviews

Wonderful Oosterdam Vacation to Alaska

Review for Alaska Cruise on Oosterdam
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sparkopotamus
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: May 2010
Cabin: Signature Superior Verandah Suite

My husband and I sailed on HAL's Oosterdam 23 May - 31 May 2010. A little about us: we are in our early 40s, no children, both work for the Department of the Army. At the time of our trip we were living (stationed) in Hawai'i. My cruise background includes two sailings on RCCL and one on NCL, all during my 20s, (in other words, many moons ago...!). My husband's only cruise was with the now-defunct Windjammer line ~15 years ago. We decided on HAL due to my family's experience with it in 2008 when they did an Alaskan cruise. My family (aside from me) has sailed RCCL, NCL, Costa, and Princess. Their experience with HAL was exceptionally positive so my husband and I put faith in their recommendation as we went forward with planning our Alaskan cruise vacation.

We booked our trip through American Express travel and were pleased with the service. Booking through them enabled us to get double points on our card and other perks such as shipboard credit, a free dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, and 2 bottles of bubbly awaiting us in the cabin (Yippee!!). We did a quick cost benefit analysis on room price/sq foot and decided to book cabin category SY. More details on this cabin to follow but needless to say we were delighted with it!

Our flight was a red-eye out of Honolulu (HNL) direct to Seattle (SEA). Fortunately we have friends in Seattle who didn't mind picking us up at such an early hour. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast together at an *amazing* mom-&-pop/local place called "Señor Moose" then went to the port. Though our friends are well-acquainted with the port's location I will say it would have been easy to find had we had to do so ourselves. There were two ships in the port (our own and a Princess ship) preparing to sail, which made for a large sea of humanity milling about but it didn't make for frustration or confusion; we attributed this to the excellent signage and overall well-organized pier operations. The building where baggage is checked and boarding passes are issues is clean and laid out efficiently. We can't emphasize the importance of online check-in (printing and bringing your check-in documents) if your cruise line offers it. Check-in was a breeze for those who did so, and further it helped the "herd" move more quickly and smoothly through the queue. From what we witnessed there were people boarding as early as 1130.

Cabin Review

Signature Superior Verandah Suite

Cabin SS

Spacious, excellent location mid-ship both in terms of the ship's length and deck arrangement. No hallway noise.

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