Westerdam or Statendam for Canal Transit

[kelleherdl]

My mom would like to do a canal transit. We are looking at Spring or Fall 2012. Westerdam only has repositioning cruises in April and Oct, but Statendam has quite a few dates. April or Oct would work for us. The stateroom prices for an SY on the Westerdam and BA on the Statendam are roughly comparable. My wife and I have sailed Noordam and Eurodam and will sail Maasdam next June, my mom only Ryndam. Considering everything (ship condition, food, staff, entertainment) which would you choose? I know this question is loaded with personal preferences, but will the overall experience be enough different to choose one over the other?

 

Dennis

[Roz]

If your mother is "older" (how ever you define that), she may prefer a small ship like Statendam that's earier to get around on.

 

Roz

[SwissMyst]

We chose the Statendam for the Panama trip because it is smaller, more intimate, easier to get around, much prefer the feel of the smaller main dining room, and love the whole layout of public rooms better.

 

Plus the standard verandah cabins are just enough bigger than the Vista class ships to feel more gracious. And it has a better access, open railing on the upper view deck for more direct viewing and photos opportunities.

[Storylady]

I think both ships would be excellent, but I would lean towards going on the Westerdam. They have a larger stage for entertainment---thus larger casts. Word is that all the smaller ships that have gone thru drydock have downsized their shows to just singers and 2 dancers.

 

Also, the crew on the Westerdam was one of the best that we have had on any of our dam cruises. Plus the Westerdam is a newer ship.

[RuthC]

I was recently on the Westerdam, and she is a beautiful ship. However, she is so large, and it can be difficult to get from one place to another because of that. I much prefer a smaller ship like the Statendam. On a smaller ship you have a better opportunity to get to know the staff (and they, you), as well as the other passengers.

[Typhoon1]

I agree with Ruth. That said, Westerdam is one of my favorites in the fleet.

[Storylady]

I was recently on the Westerdam, and she is a beautiful ship. However, she is so large, and it can be difficult to get from one place to another because of that. I much prefer a smaller ship like the Statendam. On a smaller ship you have a better opportunity to get to know the staff (and they, you), as well as the other passengers.

 

Normally, I would agree with you. As I have mostly sailed the R and S class ships. But I feel that the crew we had on the Westerdam when we were in the Mediterrean was one of the best crews my husband and I have ever sailed with. I especially loved the young ladies in the Lido--Bonny and Reni. They were a wonderful addition. One old gentleman told them that they were the reason he ate in the Lido on that side of the ship. They brought a ray of sunshine to the day. And I certainly have to agree. I was really sad to say goodbye to them. We also had the best table stewards and wine steward in the Main dining room. Our dining room stewards even taught us some Indonesian phrases. Also we liked the bar steward in the Main Lounge. Great DJ and DJ Jazzy was a fantastic assistant. The staff on the Westerdam really made the cruise.

 

We have also been on the Statendam twice recently---Dec 2008 and Oct 2009. I enjoyed the staff, but I thought the staff aboard the Ryndam and the Westerdam were better. Although, we did have the best wine steward in all my cruises on the Statedam---William. Angelo was our wine steward on the Westerdam and he was the 2nd best.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done quite a few full Panama Canal cruises.

The best -- JMO -- were the 2 that we did on the Westerdam -- newer ship -- beautiful.

[cruz chic]

That is a no brainer for me....I'd pick the Westerdam. I've spent 40 days on the Statendam since Nov.08 and unless they give me a free cruise I won't be sailing on it again.

[dmcfad2]

That is a no brainer for me....I'd pick the Westerdam. I've spent 40 days on the Statendam since Nov.08 and unless they give me a free cruise I won't be sailing on it again.

I don't suppose you could elaborate on that? I am on the Statendam in Feb. 2011 and I am getting worried about some of the things I've heard. I just might want to cancel and try something else. I do love the itinerary, though. What do you think? Is it really that bad? Thanks.

[cruz chic]

I don't suppose you could elaborate on that? I am on the Statendam in Feb. 2011 and I am getting worried about some of the things I've heard. I just might want to cancel and try something else. I do love the itinerary, though. What do you think? Is it really that bad? Thanks.

It sounds like the reports that are coming out lately are much better so I hope HAL has been getting their "ship" together:D. When I was on it, it looked broken down, elevators got stuck, bathroom lights were burned out for the entire cruise. You might think so what about the no lights in the bathroom. Makes it hard to go to the bathroom when you can't see your hand in front of your face. The last time I was on the ship the air conditioning didn't work in my cabin for 5-6 days. After the front desk did very little I nabbed the air con man in the hallway and it was better after that. Also the engines broke down twice and we were late getting into port. The last late port was where I disembarked and I barely made my 1:30pm flight. I'm still in the workforce so not getting home on a timely basis is an issue for me. These are the things I recall....so for me it was way too much drama. That why I have no interest in returning.....YMMV.

[SwissMyst]

It sounds like the reports that are coming out lately are much better so I hope HAL has been getting their "ship" together:D. When I was on it, it looked broken down, elevators got stuck, bathroom lights were burned out for the entire cruise. You might think so what about the no lights in the bathroom. Makes it hard to go to the bathroom when you can't see your hand in front of your face. The last time I was on the ship the air conditioning didn't work in my cabin for 5-6 days. After the front desk did very little I nabbed the air con man in the hallway and it was better after that. Also the engines broke down twice and we were late getting into port. The last late port was where I disembarked and I barely made my 1:30pm flight. I'm still in the workforce so not getting home on a timely basis is an issue for me. These are the things I recall....so for me it was way too much drama. That why I have no interest in returning.....YMMV.

 

Can you please put a date on this Statendam cruise report? Thanks.

[cruz chic]

Can you please put a date on this Statendam cruise report? Thanks.

I sailed with them for 26 days in Nov.08 and 14 days in Oct.09.

[SwissMyst]

I sailed with them for 26 days in Nov.08 and 14 days in Oct.09.

 

Thanks. Do you know (or anyone else) if there been a Statendam dry dock since October 09? Or will have a dry dock coming up?

 

...Found the answer to my own question: Statendam dry dock in April 2010 and recent reports from the Statendam sound good so far.

[dmcfad2]

It sounds like the reports that are coming out lately are much better so I hope HAL has been getting their "ship" together:D. When I was on it, it looked broken down, elevators got stuck, bathroom lights were burned out for the entire cruise. You might think so what about the no lights in the bathroom. Makes it hard to go to the bathroom when you can't see your hand in front of your face. The last time I was on the ship the air conditioning didn't work in my cabin for 5-6 days. After the front desk did very little I nabbed the air con man in the hallway and it was better after that. Also the engines broke down twice and we were late getting into port. The last late port was where I disembarked and I barely made my 1:30pm flight. I'm still in the workforce so not getting home on a timely basis is an issue for me. These are the things I recall....so for me it was way too much drama. That why I have no interest in returning.....YMMV.

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I will keep my fingers crossed that things will be better by my cruise next year.

[cruz chic]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I will keep my fingers crossed that things will be better by my cruise next year.

The reports are getting more favorable (IMO) so lets hope. I'm gun shy about that ship. I hope you enjoy your cruise.

[SwissMyst]

The reports are getting more favorable (IMO) so lets hope. I'm gun shy about that ship. I hope you enjoy your cruise.

 

I remember hearing perfectly awful things about the Maasdam before we sailed in Jan 2009, the worst being that as soon as you entered you were overwhelmed by the smell of sewage as her main signature. Then horror stories about failed heat and A/C and just general overall malaise.

 

We had no problems at all and now learn the Maasdam is one of the more beloved ships, including ours. However, that does not take anything away from those who have gotten some badly malfunctioning individual cabins with soaked floors and ventilation issues where it has also appeared that staff did everything they could to remedy these obvious problems.

 

As to sewage smells, there has not been a ship I have been on from Crystal Sympony to a river boat on a Russian waterway that has not had some sort of occasional waft of funky smells - I have assumed this was part and parcel of handling these systems on the high seas. The wafts of funks smell have been occasional, but they do seem endemic on all ships.

[cruz chic]

I remember hearing perfectly awful things about the Maasdam before we sailed in Jan 2009, the worst being that as soon as you entered you were overwhelmed by the smell of sewage as her main signature. Then horror stories about failed heat and A/C and just general overall malaise.

 

We had no problems at all and now learn the Maasdam is one of the more beloved ships, including ours. However, that does not take anything away from those who have gotten some badly malfunctioning individual cabins with soaked floors and ventilation issues where it has also appeared that staff did everything they could to remedy these obvious problems.

 

As to sewage smells, there has not been a ship I have been on from Crystal Sympony to a river boat on a Russian waterway that has not had some sort of occasional waft of funky smells - I have assumed this was part and parcel of handling these systems on the high seas. The wafts of funks smell have been occasional, but they do seem endemic on all ships.

I can't recall hearing as many bad thing about the Maasdam as the Statendam. I too have sailed on the Maasdam and it is also one that I really enjoyed. Maybe I think the reports of the Statendam are worse because I had that experience.

[SwissMyst]

I can't recall hearing as many bad thing about the Maasdam as the Statendam. I too have sailed on the Maasdam and it is also one that I really enjoyed. Maybe I think the reports of the Statendam are worse because I had that experience.

 

It will be helpful to put a date on your Statendam experiences which were pretty bad. Since there has been an intervening Statendam dry dock since your trip, it does help put context on your experience for future readers.

 

Since our first trip was on the Maasdam, we read everything we could ahead of time and it was a pretty poor time for reports on her. We faced this trip with trepidation.

 

And looking back, we started with Code Red, the garish carpet mismatches were laughable, the show lounge was a riot of competing aborted design attempts, near riot one night when a underdressed guest was asked to leave the MDR, and we got robbed in Antigua, but we fell in love anyway --- the staff, the itinerary, shore excursions, programs, dining, the public room and deck layout, cabin comforts, and overall welcoming and supportive feeling from top staff on down made the Maasdam and HAL come out on top for us.

[cruz chic]

It will be helpful to put a date on your Statendam experiences which were pretty bad. Since there has been an intervening Statendam dry dock since your trip, it does help put context on your experience for future readers.

.

I did put a date on it earlier on this thread as you requested. These expereinces happened in Nov.08 and Oct.09:confused:.