joksten2000
Cruiser For Life
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2005
- Messages
- 1,264
Used our DVC points to book this cruise thru Holland America. Sailed out of Seattle on the Oosterdam. Myself, DW, DD & SIL, DS, DSIL & 2 Grandson's 12 & 17. Had a great cruise dispite the cruise line. We had cabin adjoining with Balconies, I'd compare them to the size of a cat 9 space wise. They did have lots more draws though, under the front of the bed & an extra half closet. This will not be as detailed as my last DCL report as it's really not worth it. The scenery was beyond belief, We hit the migration of the whales from Hawaii and they were all over the place, very awesome. The kids did an ATV in Sitka and got to see some bears, cheap price considering it was $500 to go on a bear excursion. The food was hit and miss, mostly miss. Service was a huge disappointment. Ask 3 times for Ice Tea, but they were there first thing to take a booze order. The iced tea came in 5oz glass, and almost impossible to get a refill, things got a little better when I had a talk to the head server, he came and filled our glass thru out the meals on the remaining days. The Server & Assistant only had 3 tables, just like DCL. We spent four hours at Hubbard Glacier and got very very close. Was a site I will never forget, I've always belived that I could see all this on TV but it is so much more in person. The mountains around the glacier were like a picture post card. The kids took over 1600 photo's and we will post on snapfish sometime next week.
The good news is the manager at the SPA was a wheeler dealer and I was able to get reduced rate massages and facials at below special port day pricing, I always ask for a better price and this time it worked the DW was very happy. Our room Steward was very effecient and hard working, we did lay some cash on him.
They had no side items you could order off the menu, and almost no cheesecake, can you believe that! How bad was it, I lost a pound on the cruise, unheard of! The lobster tail on the surf and turf was very small and not cooked well, boiled instead of grilled. I will say the meat was done med. rare which we all liked. The Deserts left a lot to be desired. They have Lido for breakfast with stations, the line can really get long at the good stations. The one great thing I and all of us dug was the fresh squeezed Orange Juice, had three glasses every morning. I never did have french toast as the line was always too long. Very little seating in the Lido they had 8ft tables set up by the pool, but the kids were noisey and splashed. Speaking of the pool area. No supervision at all, not by staff and not by parents. They took babies in the pool with diapers. Kids were racing around the lip of the pool and splashed water all over the place and there were the parents doing there best to ignore their kids.
The entertainment was horrible, the couple shows were appalling. I could not believe I was on a cruise ship, we assumed because it was an Alaska cruise they didn't need to provide anything. They had a Neil Diamond impersonator and half the people walked out of the show before it got half over. They did have one comedian late on 2 occasions who was good had puppets and was on a DCL cruise.
I had started a handwritten cruise report and gave up after the first day. We still had a grand time with the kids, we played cards and the kids went to the Casino several times but I don't think they'll miss that part.
So looking forward to our B2B on the Magic paid the bill today must be like 76 days. The Magic has spoiled us. Wish this could have been longer, but it wouldn't have been good.
If you go the excursions were well worth the money We did not go on any of the $500 ones The Whalewatch, Glacier & Salmon Bake was $167 and worth every penny. The Salmon was wonderful, nothing like the kind you buy in the store. The ATV and Kayaking excursion were about the same $167. Wonderful, Wonderful memories, truly a trip of a lifetime. If you ever have thought about this cruise, you must go.
The good news is the manager at the SPA was a wheeler dealer and I was able to get reduced rate massages and facials at below special port day pricing, I always ask for a better price and this time it worked the DW was very happy. Our room Steward was very effecient and hard working, we did lay some cash on him.
They had no side items you could order off the menu, and almost no cheesecake, can you believe that! How bad was it, I lost a pound on the cruise, unheard of! The lobster tail on the surf and turf was very small and not cooked well, boiled instead of grilled. I will say the meat was done med. rare which we all liked. The Deserts left a lot to be desired. They have Lido for breakfast with stations, the line can really get long at the good stations. The one great thing I and all of us dug was the fresh squeezed Orange Juice, had three glasses every morning. I never did have french toast as the line was always too long. Very little seating in the Lido they had 8ft tables set up by the pool, but the kids were noisey and splashed. Speaking of the pool area. No supervision at all, not by staff and not by parents. They took babies in the pool with diapers. Kids were racing around the lip of the pool and splashed water all over the place and there were the parents doing there best to ignore their kids.
The entertainment was horrible, the couple shows were appalling. I could not believe I was on a cruise ship, we assumed because it was an Alaska cruise they didn't need to provide anything. They had a Neil Diamond impersonator and half the people walked out of the show before it got half over. They did have one comedian late on 2 occasions who was good had puppets and was on a DCL cruise.
I had started a handwritten cruise report and gave up after the first day. We still had a grand time with the kids, we played cards and the kids went to the Casino several times but I don't think they'll miss that part.
So looking forward to our B2B on the Magic paid the bill today must be like 76 days. The Magic has spoiled us. Wish this could have been longer, but it wouldn't have been good.
If you go the excursions were well worth the money We did not go on any of the $500 ones The Whalewatch, Glacier & Salmon Bake was $167 and worth every penny. The Salmon was wonderful, nothing like the kind you buy in the store. The ATV and Kayaking excursion were about the same $167. Wonderful, Wonderful memories, truly a trip of a lifetime. If you ever have thought about this cruise, you must go.
What is the weather like during the summer?
