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woooow... thank you to all the crew by
Zuzana from San Francisco, CA Sailing date: Apr 2011Pros: everything Cons: coffee Cruising with Holland America is a MUST. The ship, the crew, the FOOD, omg THE FOOD, everything was excellent. The crew does a great job, they are hardworking and always with a smile on their faces. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodThe food was amazing... once again, thank you for being responsible for my weight. :) Stateroom Quality
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Entertainment & ActivitiesThere were plenty of things to do and to try. The variety was really wide and there was something for everyone. I was a bit disappointed by extra charge for spinning classes... 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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   Recent Cruise - Oosterdam by
Cynthia P. from Los Angeles, CA Sailing date: Mar 2011Pros: Schedule of available activities Cons: The smoker in the adjacent balcony. The ship was well maintained. In fact, maintenance activities on the promenade deck required part of the deck to be cordoned off in the mornings during the key walking/running time. Perhaps the work could be scheduled to start slightly later in the day. Ship Quality
Dining/FoodEnjoyed Open Seating option. Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff QualityPunia and Wayan in the Dining Room were delightful! Entertainment & ActivitiesLovely Computer/Game/Reading Room! 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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A Great Cruise! by
Miles F. from Orange County, California Sailing date: Jun 2009Pros: We liked some of the selected ports of call for this cruise. Cons: We didn't like the amount of time allowed in some of the selected ports of call. We have sailed on the ms Oosterdam in Alsaka twice before this cruise. We were pretty excited to be sailing on the ms Oosterdam once again in the Mediterranean.
The ms Oosterdam was in dry dock prior to our embarkation in Venice. The changes was obvious when we came aboard in Venice - new carpeting in public areas, the new Culinary Arts Center (it wasn't there in 2006), and the re-configured staterooms. Otherwise, the ship looked pretty much the same as it did back in 2006.
One thing that we both noticed is the ship seemed to vibrate a lot more while under way than we remembered. We are not too sure if it was an imbalanced prop or maybe we have become more sensitive to vibrations but there was a definite difference. Ship QualityThe ms Oosterdam was as spotless as we remembered it being three years ago. The art work appeared to remain unchanged. Dining/FoodWe noticed a few changes to the meal service since our last cruise on the ms Oosterdam.
First is the selection of meals in the Lido Dining Room was not as extensive as we remembered. It seemed as though the selection repeated themselves at least three times during the twelve day cruise.
Finally, the use of trays in the Lido Dining Room is visably missing. We think this was multi-fold... to save weight hence less fuel consumption, save labor cost in cleaning the trays, and finally to control how much food is taken by each passenger since each passenger must carry their plates and drinks to the table. Stateroom QualityWe had an outside veranda stateroom with a balcony. We loved the layout and sis not feel confined during our entire cruise duration.
Our only "negative" point would be that our stateroom balcony was just above the top of the lifeboats. This prevented us from seeing the ocean passing below us and was a minor distraction when looking outside. Ship Staff QualityAs always the crew and staff of the ms Oosterdam were top rate.
The head waiters came around every night to check on the service and food quality which is a great improvement over previous cruises.
Our servers never forgot to ask us how our food was or if we needed anything further.
Our room stewards Ali and Alim were just fantastic! 21 out of 24 people found this review helpful.
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GREAT, I had a wonuldful cruise. by
Lisa M from Highland, ILL. Sailing date: Oct 2008Pros: the shows Cons: cant think of anything I loved everthing, I will be back. Very clean. The staff was great.
Lisa Ship Quality
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Mazatlan, Mexicovery dirty town. The shirmp feast wasnt worth the money, but the food was very good
Don't Miss: n/a Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Cabo San Lucas, MexicoThe funest excursion. I got to catch a fish
Don't Miss: Chileno bay sail &snorkel 11 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
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A perfect cruise! by
Michael L. from San Diego, CA Sailing date: Sep 2008Pros: The incredible staff of the ship Cons: Nothing This was a wonderful cruise on a great ship. The staff were amazing and very pleasant to be around. We had incredible weather in Alaska (blue skies) which I hear is unusual for this time of year. There was plenty to do on the ship, never a dull moment and the spa was incredible! Ship Quality
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Juneau, AlaskaDon't Miss: River Rafting was GREAT! Ketchikan, AlaskaDon't Miss: Bear watching at Neets Bay was GREAT!!!! Lots of bears Sitka, AlaskaDon't Miss: Bike & hike was GREAT! Victoria, British ColumbiaI would rather have skipped this port.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Great service, food and shore excursions by
Rosalie from Alpine, UT Sailing date: Sep 2007Pros: The dedicated staff-members who take an interest in each passenger. I would highly recommend the Alaska cruise on Holland America's Oosterdam to anyone who enjoys wonderful food, beautiful scenery, world-class service and clean, well-maintained surroundings on the ship and a healthy dose of pampering!! Dining/Food
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Cruise Hubbard GlacierHubbard Glacier.
We spent about two hours less than half a mile from Hubbard Glacier on the ship in Glacier Bay. We got to watch the "calving" process with binoculars and hear "White Thunder." It was truly breath-taking and probably the high point of the cruise.
Juneau, AlaskaDon't Miss: Mendenhall Glacier, Salmon Bake. Ketchikan, Alaska
Enjoyed the rainforest walk and the totem pole display. Very educational and interesting to us. The Lumberjack show was a lot of fun.
Sitka, Alaska
We enjoyed the Russian dancing and the raptor center very much.
11 out of 12 people found this review helpful.
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Exceeded expectations. by
Charles from Smyrna, GA Sailing date: Sep 2007Pros: Courtesy of crew. This was my first cruise. It will be a challenge to see if anything will ever be able to top: the destination (Alaska), the ship (M.S.Oosterdam), the Cruise Line nor the memories. Dining/Food
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Cruise Hubbard Glacier
Juneau, AlaskaThe highlight of the trip.
Experiencing the grandeur of glaciers will be a highlighting of my life!
Don't Miss: Glaciers. End of season sales!!! Ketchikan, AlaskaDon't miss the Misty Fjords!
Written words nor photographs can adequately give justice to the grandeur of the Misty Fjords! Loved the large boat with cozy inside viewing area, restrooms, yummy snacks and a great outdoor upper deck for panoramic views.
Don't Miss: Wish the time at port was a little longer. The shopping looked great; we had less than an hour after our excursion. Sitka, AlaskaChill in Sitka.
We started the day in Sitka with a guided 2 mile bike ride and then a hike; considering it was in pouring rain, it was quite an adventure. Our mistake was then to book another excursion back to back and attempted to take a Best of Sitka bus tour...we were starving! After three stops, we found our bus back in town (not difficult to do with the size of the city) with a quick stop by the Russian Church. We saw someone with a hot dog across the street and we told the bus drives "Thanks but a hot dog in Sitka has our names on it and that we knew how to get back to the dock." BEST DECISION! Sitka has charming Art Galleries and specialty shops. Not nearly as many Jewelry Shops (don't get me started about Jewelry!
Don't Miss: Make sure you see what a temperate rainforest is all about. Very interesting! 10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Excellent service. The route taken was e by
Robert from Buffalo, NY Sailing date: Aug 2007
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Ship Staff QualityStaff was outstanding & went out of their way to help & make the trip a pleasant experience.
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2 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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All that I expected. by
John from CA Sailing date: Jul 2007Pros: Food. The trip provided a setting in which I could be with my family (or not) as we pleased and have all our needs met. No cooking or housekeeping chores were required. A vacation for all. Dining/Food
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Cruise Hubbard Glacier
Juneau, AlaskaJuneau.
We visit the glacer and hiked in the national park.
Don't Miss: Nature. Ketchikan, Alaska
Sitka, Alaska
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Pleasantly surprised. by
Janda from Bethel, NC Sailing date: Jul 2007Pros: The staff- they clearly work hard to satisfy your every request. Everything was very well organized, from arrival to embarkation; it was a little bothersome to be photographed and invited to purchase drink tickets in the line, though. Getting on board, the stateroom was more comfortable than I expected, and there were plenty of places to walk and see so as not to feel confined. Definitely recommend getting a verandah suite-- there were blankets so you could sit outside even in the chilly weather. The staff was cordial and accommodating. A great variety of food, well prepared and well-presented. I'd go back in a minute! Dining/Food
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Cruise Hubbard GlacierWow! A glacier close-up!
Our ship approached much closer than the others that were there at the same time-- probably a quarter of a mile from an actively calving glacier-- and then stopped and did a 360 degree rotation so everyone had a front-row seat. An unforgettable sight.
Juneau, AlaskaYes, it's a Rain Forest.
Take the Glacier Gardens and Rain Forest tour if you enjoy seeing interesting and beautiful plant life... and expect rain and fog in the rain forest.
Ketchikan, AlaskaGo fish!
We went fishing in a group of 4 with our guide, who handled everything with ease... even when our lines kept getting tangled he kept his cool. The scenery was outstanding, and then we went to a camp in the woods where they cleaned and cooked the fish we had caught. If you like to fish, take this tour. If you don't like to fish, try it anyway, because this may change your mind.
Don't Miss: Fishing. Sitka, AlaskaExperience nature in comfort.
We took the Captain's Choice nature cruise and beach trek- saw sea otter, bears, eagles; met some new starfish and explored the forest with a naturalist guide.
Don't Miss: Nature hike. 6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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