Alaska
For our dream vacation to Alaska we decided to take a seven night cruise on the Holland America Oosterdam. My blog post this week discusses our cruise on the Oosterdam. Read on to learn more about our cruise.
When I booked my vacation in July the year before our trip, I initially booked a large inside stateroom on the 6th deck mid ship. My husband had cruised years before and experienced seasickness. Therefore I tried to book a stateroom that was mid ship and in the middle from the top to bottom. Stateroom 6079 was pretty close to middle front to back and middle top to bottom on the cruise ship.
I kept stateroom 6079 until 2 months before our trip at which time I upgraded to verandah room 5119. The cost for the upgrade was $142 total. Knowing now what I did not know then, I am so glad I upgraded to a verandah room. It was great to have my own balcony I could sit on while cruising, especially at Hubbard Glacier. The verandah room had more square feet than the large inside state room as well.
This being my first cruise, I was shocked how small the state room was. After reading reviews online I learned the Oosterdam actually has some of the bigger verandah rooms available across the cruise industry. Wow, the other cruise lines must have REALLY tiny staterooms! I guess our stateroom seemed so small because my husband, myself, and our 15 year old son were in the room. The bed was two twin beds pushed together to make an over sized queen bed. It was pretty comfortable even though there was a noticeable hump in the middle. My son slept on a pull out twin sized sofa that he said was not comfortable. When the pull out sofa was made into a bed, you could not get to the verandah. Thankfully our stewards, Warman & Otto, made and unmade the bed and sofa bed each day.
The stateroom had quite a bit of storage: under the bed, above the sofa, in the entry way. I liked curtains were placed between the bed and the sleeper sofa although we did not use it. We did use the curtains between the entry way and the door to the cabin for a dressing area. I recommend purchasing magnetic clips to use for hanging things on the walls. The bathroom was tiny as well. If you have ever been in a camper bathroom, it is very similar to it.
The verandah on the fifth deck is smaller than verandahs on the other decks. This is due to the storage of the lifeboats on that level. Personally I thought the verandah was adequate in size. The lifeboats were not a distraction to the beauty of our surroundings. After all, when you are cruising are you really looking straight down at the water?
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| The verandah has a second chair not pictured. |
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| We were in verandah stateroom 5119, above lifeboat 15. |
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| View from our verandah if you look straight down. |
The Holland America Oosterdam was impeccably clean. Every where you went on ship, there was someone cleaning. Cleanliness is one of the reasons I selected the Oosterdam over other cruise lines.
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| 5th deck elevator waiting area |
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| Glass elevators are located mid ship. |
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| Decor is very ornate in common areas. |
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| Atrium |
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| The stateroom hallways are narrow. |
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| We took the stairs as often as we could in an effort to burn off calories. |
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| The bow, located on the 4th deck, is open at certain times during the cruise. |
When I booked the large inside stateroom (6779) my plan was we would only use the stateroom for sleeping. The rest of the time we would spend on ship. Specifically I planned to spend a great deal of time in the Crow's Nest located on the 10th deck. The Crow's Nest is where you can sit inside and watch the beauty of Alaska all around you through the glass windows. Well... as it turns out there is limited seating in the Crow's Nest. I would have been waiting my turn the whole trip for comfortable seating that is pictured below. Long story short, the Crow's Nest is great for seeing the beauty out the windows BUT you will struggle to find a comfortable seat. Once again, I am so thankful I had a verandah stateroom so I could enjoy the beauty of Alaska without having to wait my turn for a good seat.
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| Crow's Nest |
Things to do on the Oosterdam:
Each day you will receive an itinerary delivered to your room of the days events. You can also find the itinerary on your in room television.
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| Daily itinerary delivered to your room. |
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| Your in room TV will show the daily itinerary, dinner menu, where the ship is, etc. |
Main Stage: The main stage offers a variety of entertainment options daily including excursion talks, dance performances, vocalists, magician, & comedian. If you want front row seats, make sure you get there early. Other than a couple of spots behind columns on the second level, there really are no bad seats in the house.
My son enjoyed the comedian and magician so much he stayed after the show to get a picture with them. Both shows were family friendly.
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| Comedian Greg Morton, my son, Magician Jessica Jane |
America's Test Kitchen: Each day you can visit America's Test Kitchen to learn how to prepare a meal based on the theme of the day. Check your daily itinerary to see what is being prepared that day.
Lincoln Center Stage, BB King's Blues Club, Billboard On Board: Each day you have the opportunity to experience a wide range of musical offerings. From classically trained violinists to the blues sound of bands, to dueling pianos there is no shortage of music on board the Oosterdam.
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| Indoor shuffle board can be found in the game room. There is a variety of board games to choose to play here too. |
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| Ping pong tournament on the lido deck! |
Other Activities: The Oosterdam has a pool and hot tubs inside with a retractable roof on the lido deck. There is also a pool and hot tubs on the outside on the lido deck. We did not swim because it was cold outside... at least to we Texans it was too cold to swim! You can shop for clothing and jewelry on board duty free! Having trouble with your Windows device? Each day a digital workshop is held to train you how to better use your Windows device. Reading from Oprah's reading club while cruising is available as well. BBC Nature Talks occur daily on board. During the BBC Nature Talks you can learn about Alaska. Check out Holland America's website for the most up to date activities available.
Meals on the Oosterdam: When you cruise the Oosterdam you have the options Lido Market (buffet) & Dive In, the Vista Dining Room, or room service included in your cruise fare. As a note, the only non-alcoholic drinks included with your meals on the Oosterdam was lemonade, tea, milk, juices, and water. If you want soda or alcohol, you will have to purchase for an additional charge. You are permitted to bring sodas on board in your luggage. We did this and used our in room refrigerator to keep them cold.
If you want to eat in the on board restaurants (Canneleto & Pinnacle Grill) you will have to pay extra and have reservations. I cannot review the on board restaurants as we did not choose to eat there.
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| Grilled chicken salad I had for lunch at Lido Market. |
At the beginning of the cruise we ate breakfast and lunch at Lido Market. I must confess I am not a fan of buffets in general. However, I like how Holland America serves most of the food cafeteria style as opposed to leaving it out for anyone to dig through. I wish I had a picture of the setup but there was always too many people for me to get a good picture of the serving centers. There was always a variety of food options from which to choose and it was all you care to eat. My son ate his weight in sushi the first few days we were on the ship! At first Lido Market was appealing because of the variety, but after 3 days the lines at the food stations became quite aggravating. One day there was a man yelling at another person because he thought they were cutting in line. After that we limited our meals at Lido Market as much as time would allow. The taste of the food on Lido Market was good, not great. If Lido Market was a restaurant in my home town, I would frequent it a few times per year, but would not go out of my way to eat there.
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| Beef stroganoff served for dinner at Vista Dining Room |
At the beginning of the cruise we ate at the Vista Dining Room only for dinner. The first day of our cruise I scheduled dinner reservations with guest services for the remainder of the cruise. I liked we were served our food at a table, without having to wait in line at a buffet like Lido Market. I liked we sat at tables with other people from the cruise. We learned a lot about fellow cruisers at dinner each night. The Vista Dining Room food was presented beautifully! Each night when my meal was served it looked like something from a magazine. However, the food was not exceptionally good. It looked better than it tasted. Once again it was good food, not great food. If Vista Dining Room were a restaurant in my hometown, I would eat there maybe once per month. I have not been on any other cruises to compare the food, but some of the fellow cruisers said Oosterdam food was superior to the food they had experienced on other cruise lines. You could ask for seconds in the main dining room but we never felt as though we needed more food. We definitely preferred the Vista Dining Room to Lido Market. In fact the last 4 days of the cruise we ate breakfast and dinner in the Vista Dining Room. The Oosterdam also offers afternoon tea and cookies in the Vista Dining Room. This was a fun afternoon snack!
We ate lunch at the Dive In on Lido Deck. My husband and son enjoyed the tacos and chicken wraps from the buffet at the Dive In. I ordered a burger, by the way the wait time was 20 minutes when I ordered the burger at noon. Get there early if you don't want to wait for your freshly prepared burger. By the way, the food at the Dive In on Lido Deck was... good, not great.
A final word about the Holland America Oosterdam...
We enjoyed cruising Alaska and would recommend the Holland America Oosterdam for those who enjoy cruising. While the room was small and the food was good not great, it was an enjoyable vacation. We enjoyed the on-board entertainment and the shore excursions. However, this being our first cruise we realized cruising is not our favorite way to travel. I could have stayed in Sitka, Alaska 7 days but I was limited to 7 hours. I bet Juneau has a lot to offer, but I was limited to only 5 hours there.
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| What a GORGEOUS view! Hubbard Glacier from Holland America Oosterdam |
I hope my blog post helps you plan your Alaskan adventure. May you and your family have blessed travels on your journey.
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