Having only cruised once before some 15 years ago, I was really looking forward to taking the family on a cruise to Mexico just before Christmas. Unfortunately the trip just wasn't that memorable and a lot of the reason was HAL's Oosterdam. The trip started out fine. No problem getting on the ship in San Diego. We were lucky that we had family members in southern California who dropped us off right in front of the terminal. We didn't experience any lines getting on board at around 2pm for the 5pm sailing. I knew this wasn't the smooth Caribbean when we started rocking at sea shortly after leaving San Diego. The seas did get smoother as we traveled south but were heavy again the final two days coming back to port. As others have written, this was a sick cruise and I came down with the GI virus on day two. It felt like a very bad case of the stomach flu and I couldn't get out of bed, other than to throw-up, all day. Luckily my family left the ship early without me and had a great time on a snorkel trip out of Cabo. They even ran into some whales performing some high jumps on the way back from the Sea of Cortez. When they returned they,as well as I, were quarantined on the room for the rest of the night. I missed the one side trip I was really looking forward to and didn't feel like eating or drinking for a couple of days...not a plus on any cruise. Once the captain announced the GI virus outbreak the cruise went backwards..the spas closed, the buffet slowed down with the crew handing out the food and drinks...sports equipment was put away and many passengers looked like they were actors from "The Dawn of the Dead." The crew did their best but they seemed tired and disinterested. The food was just OK...the entertainment was good but I missed the Elton John imitator due to quarantine. More people got sea sick on the way back to San Diego due to rough seas. By the end of the week the kids were bored and refused to go to ship activities. Most parents on board said they wished they had gone on a Fun Ship or Disney cruise. The ship was just lacking in features and attitude hard to explain. We won't be back on HAL.