Oosterdam

Going on the Oosterdam - we are Sept 10 - do you have any questions - need some recon? Let me know!!

Dave

Dave:

I was on the Oosterdam in April to Mexico.

I have daily activity sheets and menus in pdf form. E-mail me if you want them.

Im going on the oosterdam to mexico in november, could you email me the activity sheets and menus, thanks.

Hey Dave, I'll be on the Oosterdam sept 10th! I've never been on a Alaska cruise before. How about some tips on packing? (weather) Will I be able to watch Mlb baseball (Angels) ? Thanks in advance, Jeff

They have a small sports bar and play some baseball.

This is actually my first Oosterdam/Alaska trip as well. everybody says pack to dress in layers. I checked with alaska airlines (who we are flying with) - two bags 50 pounds each can be checked, plus one carry on and one personal bag, so should be able to take plenty of clothing. As Frank indicates, there is a small sports bar so I imagine a game or two will be shown but which teams is the question.

Perhaps we will see you on the ship!

Dave

[javacup]

Originally Posted by Frank Black

Dave:

I was on the Oosterdam in April to Mexico.

I have daily activity sheets and menus in pdf form. E-mail me if you want them.

Im going on the oosterdam in a couple of months could you please email me them at rj3to@hotmail.com
thanks.

[MaryLou]

Dave: Let us know how the trip was.

[Ed S.]

Originally Posted by Dave B

Going on the Oosterdam - we are Sept 10 - do you have any questions - need some recon? Let me know!!

Dave

Hi Dave,

Congrat on your Oosterdam Cruise. Is this your first cruise on a Vista Class Ship? We are booked on the Noordam in March 2006, to be the Oosterdam's new sister ship.

I am not sure if you were going to write a review. I am interested in your impressions of the ship itself. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you if you have the time.

Regards,

[DaveB]

We returned 10 days ago from our cruise and say that our group of 14 had a good time; however, there were some hitches. I will share both the positives and what we considered to be negatives from our experience, based on what I observed and my friends stated.

I do have a lot to share so will do this in increments and I welcome your responses.

We booked this trip through a AAA travel agent and regret to say none of our group was impressed by their services. We expereinced several snafus, from flights not being booked to being given incorrect information about our room, which cost us $500 in shipboard credits. I will address other specifics later on)

It seems to me that a private travel agent would have more incentive to fight for you and that is what we plan on using next time we cruise. While addressing our complaints on the ship, the Guest Information person even stated it did not appear our agent did much if anything for us. And yes, I am in the process of informing AAA about our dissatisfaction with them.

The flight itself from LAX to SeaTac was great and processing at Seatac by HAL was awesome. Check out Alaskan Airlines web page and even change your seating (depending on what is available) to something you like better than you were assigned. HAL had everything at SeaTac ready to go and the process was very simple. If you have lots of luggage, pay $2 for the cart rather than drag it along - it was worth it. We were on a shuttle in no time and on our way to the dock.

Once at the dock, we were at the front of the line and pre-embarkation processing was smooth. A bit of advice, fill out your immigration questionaire online and you will be in a shorter quicker line during check in. As they opened the door to depart the processing building and board the ship, one couple jumped in front of us but accidentally turned towards another cruise ship. We let them go and by the time they realized they took a wrong turn, many people were in front of them. Poetic justice.

Anyway, next I will address our boarding the ship and how well that went. (we were the first group on the ship!!)

Dave