jbobst

Wanted to follow up a little to the comments. Regarding the corkage fee...I was very surprised when she said it was no problem to open it (free of charge). And, I totally expected the wine steward to tell me there was a corkage fee, so no big deal there, just a misunderstanding and I had very low expectations of it happening.

Regarding the beef. I was very, very happy with the Filet on the second meal. In my experience, "Prime" graded filet isn't always a huge upgrade from non-prime grade, with reference to the tenderloin cut. However, the 18oz Ribeye was very choice grade quality similar to my local supermarkets. It could have just been that particular steak, and I wouldn't judge every ribeye served in PG based on one steak. I've had Prime ribeye's from many "Prime" steakhouses and they are in a different league than the one particular piece I had at PG. Then again, the PG never claims to be a "Prime" steakhouse. I appreciate all the information about the PG, especially from cbr663. If PG was just tweaked a little bit I think there would be less complaints. If it had been a bonus thing or less money, I would not have had higher expectations. And, I was also comparing to other specialty restaurants on other cruise lines, which is probably not completely fair. We had a few minor service issues that I didn't mention in my review (they were pretty minor), but I think my wife and I just felt it wasn't quite worth the $70 per meal (on top of the cruise fare already paid). Just our humble opinions (even though one of the meals was superb).

I hope that everyone can decipher from my review that we did have a great cruise. I tend to be very critical of cruises, without meaning to sound disappointed or upset...if that makes sense. I like to pride myself on noticing details...both good and bad. Nothing is ever perfect, but I know that I like to read balanced reviews and hope that my review can balance expectations for future cruisers...both positively and negatively.

$57 dollars a day for room, board, entertainment and transportation. I don't blame you for being unhappy. Reminds me of cheap motels I have stayed in that could be described in similar terms (grotty and dated), but that was to be expected for the price. Sorry to learn this happened on a HAL ship. But we too have occasionally gotten a clinker cabin. For the price you quote, that puts it down as a Super 8 motel experience which it looks like you ended up with. Except all they provide is a "free" breakfast: package rolls, Tang and machine coffee packets.

 

However, I did learn on our last cruise 73 -77 degrees is their institutional standard for cabin temperature. "Hot" is a subjective term when it falls within that HAL standard range. Our cabin went up to 81 degrees which they did remedy. However, differing humidity levels also affected temperature perception greatly. As well as outside temperature and timing of full sun exposure striking the cabin.

 

Worse is when neighboring cabins leave balcony doors open which throws off the A/C in all other cabins on the same HVAC circuit. What i also learned is the cabin was at least 10-15 degrees lower than the outside temperature. And it helped a lot to close our curtains when the sun was pouring in on our side.

You are right, the price we paid was a decent price, IF you are only considering the base price. However, after all was said and done, the total cost of this cruise for us came out to almost $2000 ($284 a day to be precise...and that did not include transportation cost to and from the ship or any beverage charges as we didn't drink anything other than the one bottle of wine I brought on board). Now, that price included extra's like the $149 internet package, the $249 spa package, and two nights at Pinnacle Grill. All of those are "optional" charges of course, but that was the true cost for the experience we choose to get. Even $284 is a pretty good deal. If you consider staying at a decent hotel in San Diego for example, you probably pay that each day JUST for the hotel room...no food included. So cruising is still a good deal.

I know I was critical of certain things, but that is part of submitting a review...giving the good and bad. HAL has quite a few awesome things that we really enjoyed that were definitely a step up from other cruise lines. I also said we had a great cruise.

I know when I read certain negative parts on a review, I am smart enough to know and expect that everyone has different experiences and that you need to roll with problems when they arise (if they even do). I knew going into it that the Westerdam was in need up some updating, but still a nice ship. No problem there. However, the way they upcharge and run Pinnacle Grill (in my opinion) was not very good...at least compared to other cruise lines...and I wanted to call them out for that.

Yes, temperatures can be varied and subjective, but the cabin they ended up moving us to had ice cold, hard blowing, air conditioning. NOTHING like the first cabin we had. Plus, the lido buffet, the atrium, Explorers lounge, and other public places had ICE cold AC throughout the cruise. I just wish they would have not made us feel like everything was "normal" and within specification in our first room as if we were making up the problem.

I see online offers for Westerdam 7-day Mexican Riviera starting at $479, or approximately $70 a day for room, board, entertainment and transportation. Oceanview.

Yep. On our cruise, the price went down to $399 for interior (didn't check oceanview prices at the time). Are you just doing a little advertising for the Westerdam or trying to say that it's an inexpensive cruise so don't be critical?

We just disembarked from a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise aboard the Westerdam, round trip from San Diego. This was our 19th or 20th cruise (don’t remember exactly), but only our 2nd cruise on Holland America. Our only other HAL cruise was aboard the Ryndam back in 2008. My wife and I enjoy cruising mostly because of the cruise ship. The ship is typically our main destination. Since we’ve done the Mexican Riviera cruise a number of times before, we didn’t have any plans to get off the ship on this particular cruise. I did end up leaving the ship for about 5 minutes while we were docked in Puerto Vallarta to take a few photos of the ship exterior, but that was it. This review will only be about the ship for the most part. One of the things we love about cruising is the variety of cruise lines and ships.

Overall, we had a very nice cruise. My impressions of the Westerdam and Holland America was one of some really good high points and then a few low points that seemed out of place for any cruise line, especially one regarded as a slightly higher end line like HAL.

We had originally booked an interior guarantee cabin. A few weeks before sailing, we received a few upgrade email offers. We passed on the first two as the “deal” was not a deal at all compared to the prices when we originally booked a few months ago. By the third offer, just a few days before sailing, the price had come down enough for a balcony cabin (verandah) that we decided to go ahead and upgrade and we were assigned a verandah cabin on deck 7 forward.

My wife and I like our cabin on the cold side. Immediately when we got to the cabin, we noticed that the thermostat was turned down to the lowest setting, but the room was not cool at all. We gave it a couple hours, but no change. We let our room attendant know, and he said he would call someone to investigate. Rather quickly, a lady from the front desk showed up with a thermostat gauge and took temperature readings in our room. I don’t remember the exact degree reading, but she said it was within their specification. It took us two days and almost three nights in our original cabin, but they FINALLY agreed to move us to another cabin. Our original room never cooled down much and was actually warmer in the evenings making sleep uncomfortable. We were happy to finally get another cabin by the time we left our first port (Cabo), but it really was frustrating because we kept being promised that someone would call us about another cabin but we never received any follow up. I made several trips to the front desk and tried to be very polite. By the end of the first port day, we gave up and figured there wasn’t another room or that they were just going to keep ignoring our requests. I finally went and asked for a fan (figuring we wouldn’t be moving) and they said they would send one up right away. 2 hours later, no fan and no communication. Finally, I met with one of the supervisors and she said she had another cabin for us (someone had apparently disembarked in Cabo permanently). After another hour, we finally got a cabin on deck 5 The AC in this cabin blew VERY strong and cold! It was great! However, the room condition was not as nice as our original room. This replacement cabin had much older and worn carpet, ugly marks on the mirrors where the finish had worn off in several places, and pealing wallpaper seams. The balcony was in fairly rough shape with rust, paint flakes all over and very dirty. The couch and chair were older looking, and the worn curtains were not as nice as the first cabin. Despite this replacement cabin feeling much older and in disrepair, we did not care as we finally had a nice working Air conditioning! Yeah!

As a follow up, they did send my wife some flowers for the cabin trouble. While we can roll with problems fairly well, the frustrating thing about this whole situation was 1) lack of communication 2) making us feel like there was absolutely nothing wrong with the cabin air, when it was like night and day between the two cabins. and 3) it wasn’t until we were actually carrying our luggage down to the new cabin when our room steward finally admitted that there was a known problem and that other cabins in our hallway had similar problems and complaints. If they know about problems like this, they should do a better job communicating to the guests and try and give them warning or alternate options.

Back to the review…

The Ship –

While the Westerdam is due for a dry dock next spring, the main public areas of the ship I thought were very nice and in very good shape. The main atrium area had updated and new carpets and looked very elegant and nice. Other places like the Crow’s Nest/Explorers lounge were also very nice and elegant. The pool area was more elegant than other cruise lines and had nice touches like higher quality loungers and table furniture. On the other hand, the cabins were dreadfully out dated (at least the two we had). Also, the public stairway areas had a mix of carpet that mostly seemed old, dirty, and slightly different shades from other similar pieces. This didn’t distract from the cruise, but the overall feeling of the ship was really nice in some places and really bad and outdated in others.

The locker room areas in the spa/fitness center were also extremely nice, as was the thermal suite area. On the other hand, we thought the hydrotherapy pool area was in need of updating and serious deep cleaning.

We did buy the couples pass for the Thermal suite/hydrotherapy pool ($249 per couple and $149 for single passes). While we enjoyed it, I am not sure it is worth $249. By the end of the first day at sea, the water in the Hydro pool was VERY foamy and not very clean looking. I asked the staff, and they said they cleaned it every night and sanitized with Bromine, but that they only change the water out once a week. I am not one of those people who gets disgusted by public pools or hot tub on a ship, but the amount of foam and the water quality in the hydro pool was not good in my opinion and really detracted from the experience. They should refill the hydro pool more than once a week. The large 2 person “rinse off” shower in the hydro pool area was in desperate need of cleaning, and the blue non-slip mats they have all over the floor were really gross and black in the main walking areas. The “shower” jets they have in the hydro pool seemed clogged up a bit and didn’t spray very evenly. Some of the “tropical” showers in the thermal suite didn’t operate completely and had missing light bulbs and misting features. I am not trying to be nit picky, but to spend $249 on this exclusive area, I expected a little more. I did enjoy the steam rooms and heated loungers. The thermal suite room was very nice and clean with great floor to ceiling windows!

The Casino smoke smell traveled between decks fairly easily and didn't smell very good. The shops were fine, but the sales people were a bit too pushy and way too many raffle tickets attempts were pushed.

Unlike our last cruise on Royal Caribbean, the Westerdam elevators were quick, efficient, and never busy. We could never get an elevator on our Royal Caribbean cruise. (we do try to take stairs often though)

Some other nice touches on the Westerdam were things like a full outdoor promenade deck with nice loungers, rinse off showers out on every sun desk…even on decks far from the pool areas. There were plenty of public restrooms and a great library lounge (Explorers lounge) with free snacks and specialty coffee drinks (extra charge).

Food –

This is a very subjective subject of course, but here are my thoughts. We were thoroughly impressed with the quality and selection in the buffet area. It was probably my favorite buffet in all my 20 cruises. Their fresh, made to order pasta station was top notch. The salad bar was great. The Asian food station was very good as well. Deserts were not always up to the variety or quality that we would have liked, but the rest of the food sure made up for it. One of the highlights was the Dive In burger bar. The food here was also top notch for a burger bar. From the delicious fries, to the brioche buns and crispy onion stings on the burgers, to the Nathan’s hot dogs…it was really delicious (for a pool side grill area). The taco bar also had so many options and was a great alternative option. From the custom made omelets to the great assortment of juices, to the made to order crepes, breakfast was also very good quality compared to the other cruise lines. I highly rate the buffet food and buffet service on this cruise!

On the flip side, the buffet area felt a little outdated, but really no big deal. The real problem with the buffet is the limited hours and the lack of seating at prime time during sea days. It was great that the pizza and pasta area were open all afternoon and evening, but by 1:30pm, pretty much everything else was either closed down or out of food. The Dive In was always packed at prime time and often required a decent wait to get your food. But we could live with that because it seemed fresher, made to order, and was delicious. The buffet area could also use another ice machine. At prime times, it was usually out of ice and couldn’t keep up with the demand. A drink/Ice station out by the pool would be ideal.

My wife’s birthday was during the cruise, so we made reservations for Pinnacle Grill on Thursday evening. We also decided to splurge and give it a try the very first night of the cruise. Pinnacle Grill was again one of those things that was either extremely good or very disappointing. One really disappointing thing about the Pinnacle Grill was that they charge a $35 surcharge. This is on the high side in my opinion for an extra charge steakhouse. But to make matters worse, the beef isn’t even “Prime” grade. And, if you want a lobster tail, you need to pay an additional $10 upcharge on top of that! I was shocked to see in the steak section of the menu, that if you wanted to larger Ribeye cut, it was an outrageous $69 upcharge!?!?! (at least I think it was $69…I remember it was close to $70 extra). I realize it is a very large steak, but for a non-prime cut of beef, that is absurd. They also will not allow you to order multiple items. On my wife’s birthday, she wanted a petite filet and the mushroom ravioli. They said there would be an extra $15 upcharge if she wanted to include the ravioli. We have tried multiple specialty restaurants on other cruise lines. Princess, for example, never has any additional surcharges for bigger cuts of beef or lobster. And they often encourage you to try multiple entrees (with no extra charge).

The first night in Pinnacle Grill, I ordered the “normal” Ribeye steak and tomato salad. The salad was very bland, and the ribeye was extremely disappointing. The steak was thin and extremely average (think regular grocery store quality). I would have immediately cancelled the second reservation later on in the cruise if it hadn’t of been for my wife’s birthday dinner. However, on the second visit to Pinnacle Grill on her birthday, we both ordered the Filet Mignon. That was a fantastic cut of beef and very flavorful. Other than my wife being denied a second entrée, the second attempt at the Pinnacle Grill was a complete success and probably my favorite meal of the cruise.

One last thing to note about the Pinnacle Grill… On the first visit, I had asked the hostess if there was a corkage fee for a bottle of wine I had brought onboard if we wanted to open it at the table during our meal. She said there was no charge and to just bring it with us that evening. After we were seated at the table and the wine steward came by, he informed us there was going to be an $18 corkage fee. This is normal for a cruise line to do, but the misinformation was kind of frustrating. I ended up leaving the bottle corked for dinner. Why pay $18 to open a bottle of $6 wine? I know, first world problems :)

We only ate in the main dining room once, so I can’t really comment on that too much. I thought the waiter was great, but the food I had was not so good (Carne Asada main entrée). But it wasn’t the best choice out of the options that evening, so I am sure there were better quality options, I was just in the mood for something beef like. It seemed on par with every other cruise line, but only being there one night didn’t give me enough information to draw any other conclusions.

We didn’t try the upcharge Italian restaurant. I was already thoroughly enjoying the included pasta bar and the rest of the buffet, that I didn’t see a need to try it.

Random thoughts –

The crew members we interacted with were all very pleasant and seemed dedicated to providing the guests with a great experience. We would have liked better communication from the front desk staff or room steward with regards to the AC problem, but they were still pleasant.

As mentioned above, I really liked some of the extra touches Holland offers (like real glassware in the buffet, or being sensitive to when it was appropriate to open and close the retractable roof over the pool for the ideal mix of temperature/shade/sun). On the other hand, the décor of the ship feels like it’s stuck in the 80’s…even though it wasn’t even built until 2004! :) We had two cabins on this cruise, and while one was better than the other, they both were seriously dated and in need of update/repair.

Plenty of hot tubs available! Fresh water main pool! (both pluses) We’ve been on a couple other ships that have serious shortages of hot tubs compared to the number of guests on board. This was not the case on the Westerdam.

Beds were not very comfy, but this is subjective.

As we were fully aware, HAL caters to an older crowd. We are in our early/mid 40’s, but really enjoy the older crowd compared to the multitudes of young children on other lines or the younger party crowd. HAL is definitely more our speed. This cruise had about 700-800 people who had booked with a Southern Gospel tour that had multiple private special events each day. Because of this, there were times when the ship felt like a ghost town. On the other hand, prime time at the buffet on sea days was crazy busy. Every cruise ship has this problem though I suppose.

Other than listening to the classical violinist and pianist duo for one set, we didn’t partake in any of the onboard entertainment this cruise. I heard good things though.

Without trying to start a smoking debate, it does seem HAL has a little more relaxed view of smoking than other cruise lines. I know the balcony smoking rules will change next year, but there were frequent balcony smokers up wind from our cabin. It wasn’t so bad after we moved rooms, but the first room we had seemed to always have the guy next door smoking on his balcony. There seemed to be two large public deck areas that allowed smoking and the casino of course was no stranger to stale cigarette smoke smell. Maybe it’s the older generation they are trying to cater more too…not sure. But, it will be nicer in the future to have smoking banned on the balcony (sorry to offend all you smokers).

We would like to do another HAL cruise again, but maybe on a more updated ship. It was nice to try a “new to us” ship. I missed a larger central Atrium “hub” that other cruise lines offer on their ships, and the Westerdam felt a little less “open” than other cruise lines, but it was nice to mix it up a bit.

Embarkation and Disembarkation went well for the most part. However, can I just ask the rhetorical question about the people who don’t show up to customs screening on the morning of Debarkation? What is wrong with you??? We were delayed from departing the ship for about 45 minutes due to the non-US citizens who didn’t show up to clear customs. The cruise director made a polite, but stern announcement to them letting them know they were holding up the rest of us :)

Just got off the Westerdam today. Not sure if this past week cruise is the same one the OP was on, but I saw a few dogs on this cruise...one was a short stubby dog (I don't know breeds well enough to know if it was the same dog OP is talking about), but the dog was being pulled along by the owner around the buffet. There were a total of 3 dogs that I saw on this past cruise. In the past few years, there are always multiple dogs it seems on the cruises we go on. Really strange thing (I know, I know...don't judge...I don't know the details)

On the Oosterdam this year (September/October) our room started to get very warm after a few days cruising. I went to the front desk and nothing happened, so I went back and this time made my case to a lovely Dutch staff member at the desk.

 

She accompanied me to the room (DW was already there :D haha) and as soon as she went into the room she said 'OMG this is warm! She took the temperature in the room and also at the A/C vent and said 'I am sorry but I can get nothing done now (it was 11pm) but tomorrow morning it will be fixed'

 

It was! Indeed the volume of air from the A/C vent substantially increased.

That's good to hear that there is something they can do to increase flow. We just had a lady from the front desk come by and take another temperature reading. She says it's 72 degrees Fahrenheit on the bed. Which is in spec. I can tell you though, 72 in our home compared to this 72 is quite different. It's not horrible in here at the moment (last night it was uncomfortable), but it's just frustrating. On our previous 19 cruises, I can only remember one other room that had AC problems but that only lasted a day if I remember. We've always been able to get the rooms nice and chilly.

Thank you all for the advice. I suspect that due to the outside weather being so nice, and the fact that we are on the port side of the ship (only morning sun while heading south) that there may be multiple people with their balcony doors propped open. When we do go out on the balcony we try to open the door as little as possible, squeeze through and close it behind us immediately. There was one time yesterday when we left the cabin I was surprised at the vacuum/sucking feeling I had when trying to open our main cabin door.

We'll go down and ask for a fan as well. We brought a little 6 inch fan, but it's barely doing anything with regards to air circulation.

Today we'll anchor in Cabo, so maybe they'll call us with available rooms if nobody joins the ship. However, even then, the next room may have the same issue.

While the room temp is not ideal, the cruise is going very well. Really like some of the differences HAL has to offer. Thanks again for the replies!

When I asked the front desk if we could move cabins, the lady was looking for other Verandah cabins that might be available (they didn't have anything). My wife and I were thinking that maybe we go ask for an inside cabin as they might have more availability. It would stink to pay for a verandah cabin and move to an inside, but my question would be, do the inside cabins have better air conditioning or does it not matter?

We are currently onboard the Westerdam and finishing up our first full day at sea. Since we boarded in San Diego yesterday, our cabin (deck 7 verandah) will not cool down to an acceptable level. There is cool air coming out of the small vent, and we've had an engineer come test the air. The engineer said it was acceptable and gave us temperature readings that don't seem accurate at all. I've been to the front desk 3 times asking them if we could switch cabins and they tell us that we have to wait until our first Port in case there are other passengers who missed the ship who join the ship there. They didn't seem very optimistic about it.

Tonight the room is even warmer than last night, and since we are heading south and the outside air is getting warmer and warmer, I don't expect our room to get any better, and possibly even worse (as it has already done).

Granted, my wife and I like it cold when we sleep (and other times of the day), so I can understand this is a subjective thing. However, the Lido Buffet and the Atrium and surrounding public areas are ice cold! The minute you leave the elevator/stairway area and head down our hallway, you can instantly feel the warmer humid air compared to the other public areas of the ship.

Since it appears there is nothing the staff onboard can do for us, I wanted to ask some of you veteran cruisers if you might have any other ideas that we can try to get the room cooler? It's a long shot, but maybe some of you have some ideas.

Other than the lack of air conditioning in our room, and upwind smoker on the balcony next door, the cruise is really nice so far.

Hadn't heard of these cabanas before. We are going on the Westerdam in two weeks. Are they available on the Westerdam???

On the deck plans of the Westerdam, it appears that the verandah cabins near the back of the ship have a 'shower only' designation. On the deck plans, it appears that all the verandah cabins are the same size. Do the 'shower only' cabins have larger bathrooms since there is no tub? Interesting to me that HAL has different layouts like this. I don't think I've seen this in other cruise lines. Most all have showers only until you get to suite level cabins (some, like Princess Mini-suites are the exception). Are balcony sizes the same throughout the ship in non-suite balcony rooms? Any other differences between the verandah cabins?

Thanks!

Well finally received the official e mail regarding the changes to the 23rd December 2017 sailing. How nice of them to assume !

Anyone else had this same e mail yet for their sailing?

 

Please be advised that Due to operational and technical reasons the itinerary has been modified.

We will assume your acceptance of this change of itinerary unless we hear from you (or your agent) via email within 7 working days from receipt of this communication.

What is everyone talking about? What "change" are they assuming??? I am missing something since nobody is posting the email details. Seems like you all know something I don't?

I must be out of the loop... What does the email say exactly? I don't see anything where you posted the details. Port changes I assume based on the comments. We are sailing in Feb 2018 and haven't received anything.

We are on the Westerdam in a little over 2 weeks.

There is quite a lot of availability left.

I think we are on the same sailing as you. I just checked inventory on the inside cabins for our sailing. There were only 3 rooms to choose from on the whole ship (at least, there were only three they were showing). We got an upsell offer last week but nothing worth upgrading too. They basically had the same prices they did when we bought cruise a couple months ago.

I didn't check any other cabin type for inventory, but 3 insides left isn't much.

EDIT: I just checked all available cabins and there are quite a few left in other categories. There were 15 Neptune Suites available, 78 Verandah cabins, and 18 oceanview cabin left. More than I thought!

We booked a guarantee interior cabin for a upcoming Westerdam cruise. We really don't care where they put us or what we end up with, but when I look at the HAL webpage, the pictures of their interior cabins show this unique looking inside stateroom with what looks to be a sectional type of sofa. The room looks more square than it does rectangular. And, it looks like a good size room! Yet, when I go to youtube and search for interior cabin videos on the Westerdam/Oosterdam class ships, the few videos that come up all look like standard inside cabins that other cruise lines have...and the cabins looks really small, with barely enough room for a little table and chair, let alone a small sectional like it shows on the HAL website. Are those larger square insides cabins they picture on the website few and far between? Like most companies, they probably tend to show their best options on advertisements, when in reality the actual room is probably the tiny standard type of cabin, right?

We just booked the Westerdam for this coming November. It's a Mexican Riviera out of San Diego.

We've done quite a few cruises over the past 12 years, but only one Holland America cruise, back in 2008 on the Ryndam. I had a few questions about HAL and the Westerdam. Would appreciate any information.

First question - in the spa area, are there any "free" things? I assume the thermal suite costs extra $, but what about that large Hydro pool with the showers and lounge area with the bars? Are there steam rooms or saunas available?

Second question - The main dining room and lido buffet are free/included options for eating. What other options are there? I think there is a steakhouse (Pinnacle Grill) and Italian restaurant. What are the upcharge costs for these? Are there any other snack areas similar to the International Cafe on Princess? Is there food/drink options in the Explorers Cafe/Lounge?

Third question - does Muster drill happen out on deck (like Carnival and RCL) or do people stay indoors in various lounges (like Princess)?

Fourth question - Looking at the deck plans of the Westerdam, there are not many public decks, and they seem fairly small. Does the ship feel crowded in the public areas? Our last cruise back in May was on the gigantic Liberty of the Seas. Obviously the Westerdam is a much smaller ship, but I would like to get an idea of how crowded the public areas are. After the Liberty, we are looking forward to a smaller ship with less people. Hopefully it is not overly crowded.

Fifth question - Are there any unique things to HAL that differentiate itself from other cruise lines that we should take advantage of? I remember on the Ryndam, there was fresh squeezed OJ at breakfast, and I love that. It looks like there might be a shortage of OJ and that they may only do that in the main dining room these days. Any other things you can tell us?

Sixth question - we choose the anytime dining option. I assume that prime dinner times are fairly busy (like we've experienced on other cruise lines). Are there any recommendations on the best way to navigate through the anytime dinning system? We do like to eat early typically. Do they have many 2 person tables?

Thanks for any advice! We can't wait for the cruise and are very excited to try HAL once again.

By the way, I am not trying to be negative, but how come on the HAL forum there are so very many threads about ship positions and future cruise listing posts? It makes it very difficult to search for specific keywords since the results are filled with those posts. I've not seen those types of posts on other cruise forums, so just curious. Thanks!

Yeah, the VIP option is a little curious. I think I had read a review of someone who did get it, but it was kind of confusing once they were on the island as to where and what they should receive with the package. I am not sure what the VIP "area" is though. If anything, I would just book the snorkel tour, but the horseback riding seemed really worthless (from what we saw at least). The whole thing just seemed a little unorganized to me, and after reading more reviews about people paying for the snorkel tour and then not knowing when it left or where to go to get it, I can see why.

It was an ok place to visit, and I would think with only one ship in port, it would be much better (I would hope). But, I personally would not do it again. I am glad I went at least once though.

Just got back from our cruise on Sunday, and I wanted to share my experience with everyone (I was so thankful to all the pre-cruise information on this forum and wanted to contribute).

I took 6 family members to Little French Key (LFK) last week. We were on the Liberty of the Seas, which docked in Coxen Hole. Unfortunately, there was another ship docked in Mahogany Bay. It was a large Carnival ship...The Carnival Breeze I think? I want to keep my review in perspective...two very big cruise ships on the same day probably caused most of my negative comments.

We left the cruise terminal and found the guys from LFK pretty quickly after passing all the other vendors. There was a big line of people waiting to board a large bus. They all boarded the bus but there wasn't enough room for our group of 6. A small mini van type of vehicle had pulled up in front of the bus, and they directed us to board the van. We waited for a few more people to show up and they packed our mini van full.

The drive was fine and didn't take too long, although we were really pack in that little van. When we arrive at Frenchy's 44 (the place where you pay and catch the ferry ride over to LFK), there was a long line of people spilling into the parking lot. It wasn't quite apparent what this line was for and there were no staff communicating anything. When I say apparent, I mean was the line to pay or was it the line to get on the ferry (turns out it was both)? It was very hot and humid and the line was incredibly slow. I think it took us close to 40 minutes get up to the front where we paid the entry fee. The line behind us kept growing! Maybe this is not a common occurrence, but one of my pet peeve's is when a business does the same thing every day and they aren't efficient with their process. I think the problem with the long entry line (other than 2 ships in port and a large influx of people) is that LFK offers multiple packages, and most people didn't seem prepared and didn't know what package they wanted to buy. Anyway, it was a hot and miserable line to stand in and it was frustrating they didn't have the staffing or facilities to expedite the process.

We opted for the $88 package, which included lunch, two drinks and use of all non motorized equipment (like paddle boards and kayaks). It also included a "tour" of the zoo area, but not sure what that was really (and it seemed unnecessary as the zoo area was self explanatory).

We paid the fee, got wristbands and got on the ferry to LFK. We got to the island and someone was there to meet us and offered to take the group on a tour of the island. We declined the tour, but if this was the included zoo tour, it was offered to everyone, not just those who paid for it (there was no other tour offered any other time that day that we saw, so I assume this was the zoo tour). We looked around a bit and decided on some chairs at the eastern most edge of the island near one of the little beach coves, somewhat far away from main buildings and bars. One of the staff came by a little later and introduced himself and said he would be taking care of us that day for lunch and drinks.

The island got busy really fast. The bar areas were packed with teenage looking kids drinking heavily. Maybe they were older than they looked but it was a pretty crazy sight. Quite a few drunk people around. Later in the day, I saw quite a few younger people passed out and they looked really sick from drinking so heavily. Two of us from our group had tried to get a soft drink and a beer at the bar since our waiter was tough to find. But it took a long time to get the attention of the bar staff as they were pouring shots and making drinks for the younger people perched at the bar.

Many of the kayak's and paddle boards seemed in really poor shape (the kayaks for example had the back rest supports broken and you could not kayak for more than a few minutes without your back hurting). However, even finding a kayak or paddle board that was available was very difficult as kids were hording them or people were just sitting on them and using them as flotation devices (they were just sitting on them and not using them as intended it seemed). Oars were also missing on various "available" kayaks. We did find a couple available ones later on in the day, but it was a bit of a disappointment.

The snorkeling here was really bad, but also really good at the same time. What I mean by that is, the snorkeling that was accessible from the beaches was very poor. But two of us who are strong swimmers decided to access the ocean via the rocky area just past the little wall on the south side of the island. It was very difficult to get past the shallow rocky areas, but when we finally did, the water was full of coral and fish and extremely clear. I am not sure if we were "allowed" to access the reef this way, but I would strongly advise against it for most people, unless you have proper footwear for the sharp rocks, are a strong swimmer, and can keep yourself off the coral while you are rolling with the waves.

Everyone in our group had a pretty good time for the most part. My son enjoyed jumping off the 2nd deck areas and the island was very scenic and pretty. My daughter enjoyed looking at all the animals. However, the party atmosphere and the crowd was not ideal. Also, if I were to do it again, I would not pay for the "extra" package. Nobody ever checked wristbands for the kayak and paddle board use, and that was really the only reason I even got the "extra" cost package. The included food and drinks were just ok and it was very difficult to get drinks either on our own or with our waiter. I would have rather just bought a pizza for lunch and bought a few soft drinks. The snorkeling was great, but only two of us in our group could enjoy it, and there were challenges getting out to the reef.

Last year, we visited Roatan for the first time and spent $25 a person at Infinity Bay resort. Food and drinks were not included in that price but we simply bought a few drinks and had a pizza for minimal additional cost at the resort. The snorkeling was just as good and actually better since there was no difficulty in getting out to the reef. Infinity Bay resort had a lovely fresh water pool and very few people compared to LFK (they limit the number of day passes). While Little French Key was pretty and a decent experience, it was not worth the cost (we paid $528 for our group of 6!). However, most of this could be due to there being two ships in port that day. If and when I go back to Roatan, I think we'll head back to the resort day passes instead of LFK.

On the ferry ride back, one young girl had to literally be carried by her boyfriend/brother because she was so drunk. I've got nothing against having a good time and a few drinks but LFK seemed like a big drunken party. Kind of like cruising on a Carnival ship :) (that seems to suit many people, so maybe it's just a personal preference thing)

We did have a nice day in general, and once we got to the reef, it was fantastic snorkeling, but just not something I think I'll do again.

Let me know if you have any questions that I can answer. If you are planning to go to LFK, check the cruise port calendar for Roatan, and just expect heavier crowds if there are more ships in port.

Thanks for posting! I think I might have squealed a little when I read about Tidal Wave. We board on June 12th, I did not expect that it would be functioning still. Now I am trying to figure out if I have enough courage to try it! :D And it looks like we will not lack exercise from taking the stairs this trip! Do you remember what/where they showed movies?

I think movies were all done out on the big screen by the pool. I didn't catch any of them though, so maybe they showed some inside at some point.

I remember they showed the new Star Wars (the first night and the last night I think). They also had Creed, Finest Hours, Kunfu Panda, Grease (during the day). I don't remember the rest of them.

In Costa Maya we booked a day pass at a tiny little beach resort 30 miles south of town. It was very secluded and nothing like the party atmosphere of Little French Key. We had a great day there, although I had higher hopes for the snorkeling conditions and visibility underwater. Still, we had a great day away from the drunken crowds on the main beaches and the regular crowds on the cruise ship.

 

You say Costa Maya....did the itinerary change from Belize?

I think they vary it up a little. Costa Maya was nice because we were the only ship in port (and no tendering of course).

Just returned from a week on the Liberty of Seas and wanted to do a quick review (note – the captain said in his chat session yesterday that the tidal wave water slide should be operational by May 30th – they were using a large crane to work on it when we departed this morning)

This was our 4th Royal Caribbean cruise, but our 18th cruise overall. Our last RC cruise was on the Mariner of the Seas, so going on Liberty (Freedom class) was going to be the “biggest” ship we’ve ever been on.

We arrived at the terminal in Galveston around 9:45am and the street to enter the terminal was backed up with traffic (and a rain storm). Once we finally got to the curb, everything moved quickly and smoothly with security check and check-in. We were then put into a large “tent” to wait for the next hour and a half or so to board. The problem was, once boarding time was approaching, they had an elderly lady trying to make announcements on this small little amplifier system and nobody could hear what she was saying. It was chaos and very frustrating. We were told various things about when we could board and then yelled at by one of the other staff members when we got up to board with the gold group of people. But since nobody could hear what the announcements were, nobody knew where to go or what to do. This is just a large irritation to me, but it certainly didn’t affect the cruise at all. But while I am on my soap box, why is it that people/companies who do the same thing every week or every day (think doctor’s offices) can’t figure out a better way to run their organizations? Cruise ships have been departing Galveston for years…and nobody has figured out how to stage embarkation better or provide a smoother way to communicate boarding and group status?!?! Ok, rant over… On to the cruise!

The ship was simply beautiful. The amenities Royal Caribbean (and in this case Liberty of the Seas) has available is quite impressive. There are so many places to eat, to hang out, or activities to participate in. All cruise lines have this to a degree, but Liberty was amazing. However, the ships impressiveness soon wore off when we realized how many people were on board this ship! In my previous 17 cruises, I’ve never experienced the crowding that we had on Liberty this past week. Of course sea days were the worst. People packed shoulder to shoulder in the pools and hot tubs. Buffet crowding and Promenade crowding were quite extreme. This was our first cruise this close to summer time (other than an Alaska cruise a couple years ago). After speaking to one of the crew members on the sports deck, the summer time cruises are the most crowded (obviously). He said the cruise after ours was going to be even worse with hundreds of more children on board.

While we had a great time with our family and a great cruise, the crowding of the Liberty really turned me off to the point where I don’t think I’ll cruise on a freedom class ship again. The crowding didn’t just affect the pool deck and buffet, but the elevators were practically unusable. I personally take stairs 90% of the time, but other family members were extremely frustrated and the lack of elevator availability. When one finally did reach your floor, it was packed FULL of people.

I also want to point out one more aggravating thing that happened on the ship. I don’t recall this happening during our previous Mariner of the seas cruise, but every day they would fill up the promenade walkway with large sales kiosks selling jewelry and such things. This really hampered the flow of people trying to walk through the promenade. I know the cruise lines love to sell things and rake in the money, but they had so many on-board shops already with merchandise. Why do they need to crowd the promenade walkway with even more of the same stuff? The shops never seemed too crowded, so I just don’t understand why they couldn’t keep things in the shops and why they had to spill out into the congested walkway. Ok, rant over…

Despite the crowds, the rest of the cruise was very good to great! We had dinner in the main dining room each night (early seating). Our wait staff was top notch!!! I thought the food was good to very good (depending on what was ordered). Even the efficiency of the staff was superior to recent cruises on other cruise lines. I can’t say enough good things about the staff…not just the dining rooms, but all over the ship. Even the buffet was excellent.

I loved Sorrento’s and the options that provided, but I do agree their pizza could use a little re-doing. My dad did not enjoy their pizza at all (but there were so many other great options). Note – the bruschetta at Sorrento’s was my favorite snack!

I also thought the entertainment was very good on the ship, with a few hits and few misses (nothing bad by any means). There were a couple things I didn’t care for quite as much (like Saturday Night Fever show) but others in my family loved the show. Very subjective stuff, but overall I would give the entertainment on the ship a solid grade A.

Spa and gym facilities seemed really good, and we loved trying the flow rider and doing some rock climbing. We tried the two new tube water slides and they were just OK. It was a nice option to have, but nothing very spectacular. The new kids water park looked amazing and I wanted to be a kid again and try it out. However, I thought that the Liberty needed an additional pool, due to the sheer number of passengers on board. The pools were simply packed all the time unless you got there between 7-8am (which I did a few days). I loved the new mini golf, but I thought that whole area was a little underutilized. If they would have put a small splash pool and small hot tub up near the mini golf, I think that would have eased the pressure a little on the other pools. But I am not an engineer and have no idea if that would even be possible. One other negative thing about the mini golf was that they had about 5 adult sized putters and about 20 plus tiny kids putters. If they are going to have the mini golf venue, then they should stock it with an appropriate amount of adult sized putters.

We had three cabins all over the ship for my family of 6. Two of the cabins had softer newer feeling beds. But my cabin had beds that were flat and hard. I still slept fine, but everyone in my family who sat on our bed commented about how hard it was compared to their beds. I guess our cabin (deck 9 balcony) hasn’t received an updated mattress?

We stopped in Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel. In Roatan, we went to little French Key. I was really excited about this place after reading all the reviews, but I didn’t really care for it. It was poorly run (we stood outside on the mainland for 30+ minutes in the heat, just waiting to pay and check in for example). The paddle boards and kayaks were in disarray and always occupied by some lady just sitting on it in the sand or kids hording them. There were a ton of people on the little island, and it seemed like a big drunken party. Service (for food and drinks) was slow and unorganized. We saw tons of underage looking kids drinking like crazy and passing out. It just didn’t seem like what I expected. If you want to get drunk and hang out with other drunks, Little French Key might be for you (there were a ton of people from the Carnival ship there). I’ll do a more in-depth review of Little French Key on the Ports forum later this week.

In Costa Maya we booked a day pass at a tiny little beach resort 30 miles south of town. It was very secluded and nothing like the party atmosphere of Little French Key. We had a great day there, although I had higher hopes for the snorkeling conditions and visibility underwater. Still, we had a great day away from the drunken crowds on the main beaches and the regular crowds on the cruise ship.

In Cozumel, half the family stayed on the ship to try and get a little bit of quiet time without all the people. The rest of us rented a jeep and drove around the island. We then went back to Corona beach for a little snorkeling and lunch (expensive lunch and just mediocre snorkeling).

We did the early walk off this morning with our own luggage and were off the ship and driving away in our car by 8:30am. It was hot and humid getting off the ship, but pretty easy over all.

Despite the crowds, we did have a great cruise. The Liberty is beautiful and amazing, as well as the crew that runs the ship. We had great weather and saw some beautiful ports. All in all, a great time, but think I want a smaller ship next time. I guess you have to decide do you want smaller crowds and less amenities or larger crowds and more options?

Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll try and answer them (I didn’t get any copies of the daily cruise compass or the menu’s – sorry!)

Our cruise is still over two weeks away on the Liberty of the Seas (May 22nd), but I just got a text from Royal Caribbean about "important information regarding your sailing..." They said "Please note that boarding for your cruise will now take place from 11:00am to 3:00pm. Liberty of the Seas will now depart Port of Galveston at 4:00PM".

I guess I don't see any different information here than what was already published. Is this just an informational thing or is there actually a change in time? I think the departure time has always been 4pm and same with the boarding time.

I don't bring extra stuff... But I've also learned not to ruin any of my socks anymore. I learned that lesson the hard way back on my very first cruise. :)

What happened to your socks???

Is there an "every night"/always available steak on the menu still or is it only the extra charge high end steak that is available each night?

Flowrider costs money? $65 even!

Then it costs money on all the other ships then I assume?