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In December, my husband and I embarked on a 22-day Holland America Line cruise on the Oosterdam.
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I was surprised by how empty the lounge chairs were and how great the onboard lectures were.
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I wasn’t expecting to see so many holiday decorations or diverse food options on the lido deck.
I embarked on a discounted 22-day cruise in December.
I took advantage of a Holland America Line booking promo last year, which got me a discounted fare of over 50% off for a 22-day cruise departing December 20, 2022.
With that deal, my husband and I spent only $2,500 per person for a balcony room aboard Holland America Line’s Oosterdam. We departed from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and eventually arrived in Santiago, Chile, with stops along the way.
I was surprised by many things on my trip, but here are a few things that stood out.
Our trip was in December, but I wasn’t expecting to be greeted with so much holiday decor.
On the ship, we were transported back to the Northern Hemisphere’s version of the December holidays. Fake snow, pine trees, and holly decked the halls of the Oosterdam.
The lobby was bedazzled with a large Christmas tree that was lit during a ceremony once the ship was out to sea. I also could not believe how massive the ship’s gingerbread village was.
It was also fun to see passengers’ decorated doors.
I can’t forget the surprise I felt walking through the halls of staterooms and seeing different decorations on doors, some festive for the holidays or with message boards with notes that put a smile on my face.
I thought the ship would be crowded since it holds over 1,900 passengers — but that was rarely the case.
With the potential for such big crowds, I was worried about getting claustrophobia during the many sea days of the 22-day cruise.
Fortunately, I found the ship rarely felt busy. I especially enjoyed spending time walking around the empty promenade deck.
Lounge chairs are usually hard to get on cruises, but not on this ship.
I was also surprised to see many empty deck chairs during my promenade walks.
When I think of cruises I picture people sunbathing, walking around the promenade deck, and sitting on deck chairs sipping tropical drinks.
It was warm when we started our cruise in Buenos Aires and we progressively got into cooler, windier weather. Although it was a little cold at times, blankets were always available.
Although it seems my fellow passengers didn’t agree, I still thought spending time outdoors on a deck was the best part of the cruise.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the onboard lectures.
Cruises always have plenty of indoor entertainment, but they don’t always have lectures.
On this trip, I was impressed by the quality of the lectures given by an Antarctic explorer, a political scientist, and a high-school geology instructor.
The geology instructor’s lecture was my favorite, and I found that the main auditorium was always packed for these lectures.
The indoor lounges got really crowded throughout the trip.
Cruises usually involve lots of time sunbathing on decks and hanging out in outdoor lounges, but the indoor spaces stayed quite crowded during this trip.
After a week or so, the area with the puzzles and games became one of the best indoor places to watch the grand scenery of the Antarctic Peninsula. Many people seemed to camp out in the lounge chairs every day.
Passengers weren’t afraid to bundle up to experience the views.
I was also surprised to find so many people bundled up on the ship’s decks when we passed particularly scenic spots.
At one point, I couldn’t believe the captain opened up the bow (front) of the ship so we could all get closer to the amazing landscape. I spent a lot of time outside observing the Antarctic Peninsula with my binoculars and camera.
I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of hot foods on the lido deck.
The lido deck buffet was filled with foods from a diverse array of places.
The pizza and pasta stations were popular, but I also saw passengers drawn to the station with roast beef, pork, and lamb. There was also a salad station available every day.
On some days, the deck had special stations with locally-inspired foods — I loved the paella we were served while just off of Chile. Overall, my favorite station was the one where I could order congee (a Chinese rice porridge) with a poached egg and miso soup.
The length of the cruise had me worried that the ship’s entertainment wouldn’t be that great, but I was wrong.
This was a long cruise at 22 days, so I anticipated a lot of the entertainers would perform more than once and some of the shows would feel repetitive.
Much to my surprise, the onboard entertainment was diverse and never boring. There were performances in multiple lounges and at least two different main-stage acts a week.
Last but not least, I was a little surprised my husband and I were still madly in love after a 22-day trip.
Three weeks of sharing a small room together didn’t tear us apart.
Our main issue was when we sometimes bumped into each other while searching for our binoculars when we saw a whale or penguins off our stateroom’s veranda.
Since this was a long voyage, we quickly got into a routine and I think that helped. I usually woke up earlier than my husband, so I’d put a jacket over my pajamas, get a cup of coffee, and head out on the deck (weather permitting) to admire the landscape in the morning light.
At night, if there was a fancier gala dinner, we would allow each other to shower and get ready separately. Lastly, I always travel with an eye mask and ear plugs, so when my husband wanted to stay up to watch a movie, I’d cuddle up with one of my newly purchased stuffed penguins and fall right to sleep.
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