We chose the cruise since it was the first, non-luxury cruise to leave for Europe. We had plans that were fixed on us arriving before a scheduled event.

My husband had arrived in the U.S. on the Holland America Rijndam in 1956, from Europe when he and his mother left Austria to meet up with his dad who had gone ahead to get a job, place to live, etc. So, it was a nostalgic trip and the cruise company was informed of this before we left, so at one of the Captain's Club receptions, my husband was called up to be recognized for his 60th year anniversary of crossing the Atlantic on a Holland America ship!

We were very pleased with the Oosterdam, a good size for us, and love that it did not have too many "bells and whistles" (no climbing walls, wave pools, or too much organized activities) while it did have good music- Jazz, blues, swing, big dance band & this really appealed to us. The lecutres about the ports left a lot to be desired, since it was purely tuned to those going on scheduled tours. We always want to explore on our own, so we had to do our own research when we got off the ship at each port. They can do a better job of that. The excursion desk was less than helpful and less frirendly about it than they should have been! Read more