Be prepared if you expect luxury because my comparison of this ship is that it was more like a passenger ferry than a cruise ship.--I just wrote to Holland America to explain my decision to leave the ship on day five of a seven day itinerary,
A little history on me--I have done about thirty five cruises, three previously with Holland America on the Nieuw Amsterdam, Koningsdam and Eurodam--these ships were beautiful. When I booked the Oosterdam, I thought I would have a similar ship to the Eurodam (which I only did four months ago) but was shocked at the state of it: on my of my facebook postings, I stated "I am on a ship a few sailings away from the scrapyard" and it was not an exaggeration.
The crew were exceptional in trying to maintain the cleanliness but there comes a point that the effort to keep up an appearance is all in vain, which was the case here, and I feel so bad for those hard working people.
Mostly captured in main review: things broken, worn out, drab colour carpet and textiles. The only thing this cabin has going for it is that it has a double balcony but even that had so few furnishings on it, it looked like a deserted house. To give my cabin steward big kudos, when I asked if it was possible to have a deck lounger moved there, it appeared within hours to at least fill out some of that vast space.
I rate it this way simply because I have been here many times. For cruisers, there is a Walmart directly across from the ship so easy to get some new things such as toothpast or whatnot. This part of town is not the best for walking and scenery but the local bus is very cheap and takes just minutes to get to the more historic downtown. I would not recommend a taxi because in the port are they will over charge about 400%; but if a taxi is your style, walk down the street a bit, then you will be able to negotiate a more decent price.
The malecon is what made this place so special. It went on for miles, was very developed and a great place to walk and get some well-deserved sun.
Typical port where one is barraged after leaving the tender by those trying to sell excursions. A few restaurants in the area, some hotels, and a beach area to the left. From the ship it is very scenic looking in, but on shore, the most charming part is the marina.
Many things to do; a city where walking is easy; the trolley is a simple 20 min ride to the boarder and outlet mall; lots of museums and a well developed waterfront.