I received an offer for a free Ocean View Room through the casino department at Holland America for a number of cruises. A friend and I decided to book a two week itinerary through the Mediterranean on the Oosterdam, one of Holland America’s older (and smaller) ships.
I was able to upgrade to a Guaranteed Signature Suite for $1600.
I also added Club Orange in order to get my choice of cabins (not directly below the Lido Deck) with an extra large balcony. Club Orange came out to $210 per person ($15 per day).
Additionally there was $177 in taxes and port fees and $266 ($19 per person per day) in gratuities.
The total for the Signature Suite for the two week voyage came out to $1,453 per person. We also each got $100 of onboard credit.
Stateroom 6052
With Club Orange, you get to pick any available stateroom within the category booked. Most Signature Suites are located on Decks 6 & 8, along with two accessible suites at the front of Deck 5.
Deck 8 is directly below the Lido Deck (buffet and pools), so I knew I didn’t want a room on that deck because of noise.
Looking at the deck plan of the ship, I saw that there were three Signature Suites on Deck 6 that had an extra bit of space due to the location on the ship — 6052, 6108, and 6117. Room 6052 was available so I booked it.
According to Holland America, the total size of the room is 384 sq ft including the balcony; roughly 50% larger than a standard balcony room.
As you enter the room, the bathroom is on the left and three closets are on the right.
One closet holds the safe along with bathrobes and an umbrella. The other two adjustable shelves and a hanging bar.
This area has a motion activated floor level night light. This portion of the room can be closed off with a curtain. This is helpful at night if one person is going to the bathroom. It can also be used as a changing area right outside the bathroom. It is one of my favorite features of the room while traveling with someone else.
I requested our room be set up as two single beds. You could also have it set up as a king bed. Upon our arrival, it was set up as requested.
There are two wall lamps with built in reading lights along with two bedside tables with storage. Next to each bed is also a US outlet, European outlet, and USB outlet. Controls for the lights are also next to each bed (or on both sides were it to be made up as a King bed).
There are two sets of overhead lights along with wall mounted lights and a table lamp for various lighting options.
The beds face the wall mounted TV and a couch that can be folded out as an additional bed, along with a glass coffee table and additional chair.
On the right of the TV is a dressing table with storage (including hair dryer) and make up mirror. On the other side is additional storage with table lamp and telephone. Inside are two beach towels and blankets.
Along the window side of the room is a desk with storage and desk and the mini fridge. On the wall are some glasses, ice bucket, and pair of binoculars.
The glass door to the balcony in this room is at an angle with gives an additional triangle of space in the room. This space does not exist in other Signature Suites. We ended up moving the glass table and chair into that section to have a space to play games.
The room stayed very cool with the air conditioning on the coldest setting despite 100+ degree temperatures outside.
The glass door opens up to a balcony that faces out at an angle. There are two deck chairs along with a small table and a larger one.
One note about his particular room is that there was a fair amount of mechanical noise. To me it made no difference and provided background white noise. You are on a ship, there will be noise. But others might not like it.
Bathroom
Along one side of the bathroom is the counter with two sinks. There is some storage (as well as a trash can) under the sinks and in one drawer.
The toilet is on the back wall. Along the wall opposite the sinks is a jacuzzi tub and shower. There is also a separate shower.
Both the shower and tub have curtains rather than glass doors. While the shower in the tub worked great, I found the separate shower to be too small and the curtain would swing in. I never tried the jetted tub.
The lights for the bathroom are controlled by a switch just outside the door. When you turn the lights off, a dim nightlight comes on so you can use the bathroom without blinding yourself in the night.
All of the bath products are Elemis in wall mounted pumps. No bar soap is provided.
Overall
While the Oosterdam, launched in 2003, is over 20 years old, the ship did receive a refurbishment in 2018. It was pulled out of service from 2020 to 2022 due to the pandemic. Despite the refurbishment, the rooms are still dated in comparison to their Pinnacle class ships like the Koningsdam or Nieuw Statendam. The biggest issue for me is the shower curtains; I wish they would have updated the bathrooms with glass doors.
The Signature Suite is similar in size to many hotel rooms and feels much more roomy than a standard cruise ship room. When traveling with another person, especially a non-family member, it is nice to have the extra space. If I were traveling solo, I think a standard Verandah room would have been completely fine.
While the Oosterdam doesn’t have some of the bells and whistles of the newer ships, I loved the size. Even though our sailing was sold out (2,200 people on our cruise), the ship rarely felt crowded. It was easy to get on and off at ports. I never had to wait for a table in the dining room (having Club Orange helped).
Have you sailed on the Oosterdam or one of Holland America’s other smaller ships? What did you think?
