What a wonderful time we had on the HAL Oosterdam! My family (DH and two daughters, ages 9 & 14) and I flew down to San Diego one day early. (We left Seattle with temperatures in the low 30's and a threat of snow.) We stayed at the Hampton Inn for one night. This hotel is very close to the cruise terminal.....about 3 blocks away. Although we had a room in the back, next to the train tracks, the noise at night didn't bother us too much. If you go to sleep early and wake up late, you might be bothered by the noise, but we went to bed after 10:00 p.m. and got up before 7:00 a.m. This hotel also has a very reliable, complimentary shuttle service to and from the airport and to the cruise terminal. Our stay here also included a complimentary expanded continental breakfast and chocolate chip cookies in the evening. The rooms are very clean and the front office very friendly and helpful.

EMBARKATION: Very easy, if you have all of completed the on-line check-in process. At about 11:30 a.m. we dropped off our luggage at the dock, filled out the health questionnaire, and completed check-in in about 15 minutes. We then waited another 10 minutes before the ship's photographer took our picture and then boarded the ship. Then we were off to the Vista Dining Room for lunch. The Staterooms were promptly ready by 1:30 p.m. Everything was extremely organized and quick.

STATEROOM: We had an inside quad. The room was very spacious, even for 4. Lots of closet space, but wished there was more drawer space. The space where there is usually more drawer space was taken by a small refrigerator with sodas, water and small bottles of liquor. Our cabin steward was Wagiman. He was excellent. He was in and out of our cabin so quickly, doing a wonderful job. We hardly ever ran into him except for the hallways. Our room was always clean and well maintained the entire cruise. Our daughters loved the nightly towel animals! The only problem we had was that, at times, we smelled cigarette smoke coming from the vents. Perhaps this is because our cabin was directly below the casino. Other than that, everything else was great. DINING: We had the early traditional seating for dinner. Our Waiter and Asst. Waiter were Soleh and Parwata. Both very friendly and provided us with great service. We thoroughly enjoyed the food and desserts. There was always something on the menu that appealed to us. Our daughters also selected items from the adult menu. They love trying new foods, especially the chilled soups. The Lido Restaurant also had wonderful service. We met the famous Hunky Dory. We really didn't eat in the Lido very often, but Hunky Dory remembered a couple of our names, which was amazing! We also had wonderful service from Muli……always greeted us by name as we walked through the Lido Restaurant. The Lido also has wonderful ice cream, almost 24 hours a day. Read more