Westerdam questions

[MorgannaLeFey]

I am in the very beginning stages of looking into a cruise for our next vacation (which will be next year sometime, we usually go on vacations around or after September). The primary reason we're considering a cruise is because it seems a more economical way to see several places in a short time than we'd be able to manage booking flights and hotels at each location.

 

I've decided to narrow it down to a 7-day eastern Caribbean trip for our first go at it, and doing some reading of the boards here, it seems like HAL has decent or better food (another consideration) than some other lines, so at this point I'm sorta leaning that way. Which makes it Westerdam maybe next Oct or Nov for us.

 

Being a total novice (ok, not a TOTAL novice, I went on a three day cruise to the Bahamas as part of a high school choir trip back in 1982, but I can't even remember what ship it was on, I could probably find my scrap book somewhere...), I just have a few questions.

 

This might seem like a truly silly question, but am I right in assuming that in ocean-view rooms, the window doesn't open at all? My husband really sleeps best when he can get fresh air in the room, so I have concerns about and interior or ocean-view room, but the price of verandah rooms is a little off-putting. I'm waffling around the additional cost ($400 more pp is not an insignificant cost) and trying to weigh it against a lot of other considerations.

 

Also, we're both very fat. We've certainly stayed in small rooms with small bathrooms in the past, and we're not so big that we can't make that work, but I wondered if there were any sorts of hints about the rooms that might make them more comfortable for our size. Though maybe I'm getting way ahead of myself on that one.

 

And then there's booking... do most people book through travel agents? Are there deals to be had there? I have to admit I haven't poked around this site to see if there were any deals here at this point. Or should I book through HAL directly? Is this sorta like with airfares, where companies get discounts on large blocks?

 

Is it better to book far in advance or to wait until later? How much in advance for the best prices? Airlines are best to book in Sept or between christmas and new year because of sales, does that match up in any way with cruise bookings?

 

If this goes well, then I'm hoping we can do other cruises in the future. Thanks for any help or thoughts you are willing to share with me on this.

[sail7seas]

HI and Welcome to CC/HAL.

 

Westerdam is a lovely ship. We sailed her a few years ago and two more cruises booked on her.

 

You are correct that the windows in all cabins are fixed and cannot be opened. If you want fresh air, you need to book a cabin with a verandah. One thing to take note of...... HAL air conditioning systems are such they request we please leave vernadah doors closed as it will interrupt the air conditioning to other cabins on your same mechanical line if you leave your door open for any length of time. Thus, someone in a cabin with no verandah, will get very warm with no way to get relief.

 

As to size....... there are guests of all sizes on all the ships. HAL's bathrooms are as big as those on most cruise lines and bigger than many. Most people of size seem to manage fine.

 

As to when to book. DH and I tend to book our cabins early as that is how we get the cabins we want. We are particular about which cabin we are in and that is how to be sure we are satisfied.

 

TA or on your own...... For a brand new cruiser, I think it's useful to have a TA for a few cruises until you get the 'hang of it'. Once you learn enough about booking etc, you probably will find you can do it yourself if you don't want a lot of 'hand holding' but there's a lot to learn for new cruisers IMO and a good cruise TA can be very helpful. Maybe there are some TA's in your community? You could go in and chat with them to see if you want to work with them.

 

We are not permitted on CC to recommend any TA specifically.

 

Hope we can help with some of your questions as you plan your cruise. :)

 

[MorgannaLeFey]

I can check with our local TA. I don't know what his cruise booking experience/abilities are. Well, I mean, we only have one around here (we live in central Vermont). Oh and there's AAA but we're not members... Maybe there's one up in Burlington (about an hour away) who is.

 

Thanks for your thoughtful reply, it was very encouraging. :)

[RuthC]

This might seem like a truly silly question, but am I right in assuming that in ocean-view rooms, the window doesn't open at all? My husband really sleeps best when he can get fresh air in the room, so I have concerns about and interior or ocean-view room, but the price of verandah rooms is a little off-putting. I'm waffling around the additional cost ($400 more pp is not an insignificant cost) and trying to weigh it against a lot of other considerations.

Paying extra for a veranda cabin won't help your husband sleep with fresh air, unless he sleeps out on the veranda. And that won't be too comfortable.

As Sail said, the veranda doors are supposed to be closed unless you are going in or out. To leave them open shuts down the A/C in every other cabin on the same line. That could even be down several decks.

 

Inside cabins have a large shower, and a larger vanity than outside cabins do, if you are concerned about space in the bathroom.

[tangerinebunny]

Good for you for starting early. You have months to read the boards and also check cruise prices at the HAL site and some of those famous internet agencies that do airfares, hotels, and cruises.

 

Take your time and ask lots of questions. If you're thinking fall 2013, I suggest you wait and learn a bit before you book (there are a few good cruise guide books you can purchase at Amazon or B&N that cover all cruise lines, cabin/cruise information, and even ports).

 

Often cruise lines offer good prices in the late winter. And if you do book then, you just put down a deposit. Then if prices go lower before your final payment, you can usually get a price reduction if you ask. Just don't rush into anything yet.

 

Planning the trip is part of the fun. And it's the free part.

 

btw, if you do the Caribbean in the fall, understand that hurricane season usually ends some time around the middle of November (someone will correct me since I'm guessing). September can be both hot and rough.

 

Please hang around and ask questions til you have the answers you need.

[sail7seas]

Specifically as to HAL, they have no ships in the Caribbean from about end of April until mid (approx) October. They reposition all their ships to Alaska, Canada/New England and Europe.

 

We used to sail the Caribbean on HAL ships every summer for years and loved it. I keep hoping they will return to doing that again but it is not likely.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

The Westerdam begins her Caribbean season on Oct 10, 2013.

Keep in mind that at that time it is still Hurricane season.

[Orangeguy]

Welcome to CC!

 

Westerdam is a wonderful ship! I took my first cruise on her this past May in Alaska and now I'm hooked. We picked HAL for many of the same reasons that you mentioned -- higher quality service and food. Westerdam is also a nice introductory size, IMO.

 

As has been mentioned, it really isn't possible to get fresh air in your room all the time. As for the size of the cabin, I am a large guy and I found my verandah cabin plenty big for two people. The bathroom was a nice size, I never really felt cramped.

 

As far as booking goes, I personally would recomend using a TA given that this is your first time. They can help to walk you through everything, provide you tips, etc... I didn't have my own TA but contacted one of the online travel websites via phone and really connected with the agent. The prices fluctuate, but we booked our May 2012 cruise just after Christmas 2011 and found that the price dropped, which allowed us to move from an oceanview cabin to a verandah. The one thing is that they will not just give you the lower price automatically, you have to keep an eye on things and then contact your TA to request the price change (assuming you are before final payment).

 

These boards are also a massive wealth of information, so search old threads and feel free to ask any questions you have!

[Jean1946]

If you are a member of Sam's, BJ's, Costco, etc., they generally have a travel section. We use BJ's to book most of our cruises. We sailed on the Westerdam in January and loved it.

[MorgannaLeFey]

Keep in mind that at that time it is still Hurricane season.

 

When does hurricane season run? And thanks. :)

[MorgannaLeFey]

OH, we're members of Costco. That might be a possibility. Honestly, I usually book all of our travel (and I'm not really a novice) but all the different options I'm seeing on ships are really a bit bewildering. I'm sure Costco has at least one agent who does cruises, though.

[George C]

We have done 3 HAL cruises in last 2 years and our favorite ship of the 3 is the Westerdam. Very nice ship not to big not to small

[MorgannaLeFey]

Another question popped into my head. I've read somewhere (I can't remember where, something that was either in these boards or linked to from one of them) that ALL of the staterooms on the Westerdam have a cooler for beverages. But when I was poking around the HAL site, they weren't mentioned. Are there coolers in all the staterooms?

[LADYLAYLA]

Another question popped into my head. I've read somewhere (I can't remember where, something that was either in these boards or linked to from one of them) that ALL of the staterooms on the Westerdam have a cooler for beverages. But when I was poking around the HAL site, they weren't mentioned. Are there coolers in all the staterooms?

 

 

first off -- Welcome to CC and to the wonderful world of cruising!

 

All staterooms on the Westerdam do have small "coolers" that have assorted beverages in them. There is a little space to add to but if you wish, you can ask the steward to remove the items so you can store your drinks. One wonderful thing about HAL is you can bring as much water, non alcoholic beverages and Wine aboard as you want.

[Viesczy]

We have done 3 HAL cruises in last 2 years and our favorite ship of the 3 is the Westerdam. Very nice ship not to big not to small

 

^George C,

some of the HAL faithful will have you Wheeled for which I have highlighted, they seem to think that the Vista class floats are the size of the Epic or RCI's Cyclopean ships! I agree with you, the Vistas are large enough to feel like a modern ship with HAL's signature touches and not so small that if feels like we'd need to man the oars.

 

To the OP,

See what Costco can help you with, our membership fees need to be returned somehow!

 

Also your claim of "being very fat" read so harsh! The world is FILLED with folks who will line up 400 deep on either side of you to put you down, belittle you and tell you how terrible you are, please don't assist them! I fully grasp BDD, as I suffer from both versions and my training to satiate both version is a chore that if uncheck runs me ragged, but remember that EVERYONE can improve upon themselves. Me. You. Michael Phelps. Everyone.

 

Enjoy your cruise, the Vista class are fine ships - combining HAL's touch with a modern feel.

 

Derek

[bcirish]

How exciting for you to join cruising and these boards are an excellent choice. We have over 100 days on HAL and many are on the Westerdam- in fact we will board her for Alaska on the 24th.we love her the size the staff - she is a favorite. The food IMO is better, the late night is limited, the veranda I would suggest if your guy likes fresh air- even if you cannot leave it open you can get to the air- going from outside to veranda made a huge difference for us. IMO the best prices for Caribbean is December early- usually the first 2 weeks- most of the nasty weather is gone by then. The age group on the ship is older but OTOH there also tend to be less unattended children. I find the folks to be great and well mannered.

We have cruised Celebrity Princess and Royal Caribbean and we always come back to HAL

 

I remember the transition from land travel to cruising - I do all our travel arrangements but now have 4 different TAs that I utilize for cruising. You get perks from TAs and they can help you through your questions.

 

BTW if you would like to send me an email with your questions specially to the Westerdam and anything else you'd like help with- I would be glad to help you. Think of your Westerdam questions and I wil check it out while I am on the ship next week!

[HamburgAvonLady]

RE: Online cruise agencies ----- PLEASE, PLEASE check these sites out before making any financial agreements. I am sure most are reputable and honest but I really (and KweenKaren --- a very seasoned cruiser on the HAL boards) got burned --- BIG time --- several years ago by an online agency giving me many sleepless nites and major aggravation !!!

 

Ask around --- you may have family/friends who can make recommendations. Be sure to check with the BBB, too.

 

Cruisecritic is an EXCELLANT tool for 99 % of your questions. No ?? is "dumb/stupid" -- we have all been there/done that, ourselves.

 

We are taking our first HAL cruise on the Westie this Oct. Look for our comments in Nov.

on the Westerdam boards.

[MorgannaLeFey]

Also your claim of "being very fat" read so harsh! The world is FILLED with folks who will line up 400 deep on either side of you to put you down, belittle you and tell you how terrible you are, please don't assist them!

 

Just want to say here that we're are trying to reclaim the word "fat" from the baggage it has for lots of folks. It's not a negative thing, it's just true that we're fat. We have excess adipose flesh, that's all it means. :) We're also intelligent, well-read, witty, generous, and caring... we work hard and we don't smell (all things the opposites of which lots of folks consider to be part of the word fat ;D )

 

My husband's hip measurement is 70 inches around, mine is 55. You couldn't call us anything but fat. :) When I say "big" most people just don't picture it right and think we're just being modest or something or imagine that we're big by TV or Hollywood standards. That's one reason I use "fat" instead. :)

 

I am grateful for your kind words, and please be assured that I'm not using it in a denigrating way at all. I wouldn't even bring it up (because I don't really care all that much that I'm this big) except that there are issues where it might matter in regards to the travel experience. :)

[sail7seas]

When does hurricane season run? And thanks. :)

 

 

June through end of November.

 

While it varies year to year, August and September/early October are often the height of hurricane season but that is very variable.

[Texmike]

How is the food on this ship?

We had been sailing on RC ships and the food has been terrible the past few times

[MorgannaLeFey]

How is the food on this ship?

We had been sailing on RC ships and the food has been terrible the past few times

 

Can you pin point some things about the RC ship that made the food terrible? Was it poor quality ingredients? Bad prep? Hairs in the food? :)

[BearInStPete]

As an ex-extra large cruiser I'll comment on HAL bathrooms - HAL verandah cabins generally have a bathroom with a tub/shower combo with a cloth shower curtain that is likely more comfortable for larger size cruisers. There are no compartments within the bathrooms.

 

In my trimmer form 42" waist (formerly 58"), I was quite amazed at the doorways within the bathrooms on the NCL star into the toilet or shower compartments, they were tight for me, would have been a body-manipulating wedge at my former size - so good to ask questions in advance.

 

In the dinning rooms most chairs have arms, and may be too tight for large-size people, just ask for an armless chair. All other venues on the Westy should be comfortable to large size cruisers.

 

Enjoy.

[bcirish]

Can you pin point some things about the RC ship that made the food terrible? Was it poor quality ingredients? Bad prep? Hairs in the food? :)

 

IMO the food in the windjammer- casual dining ( lido on HAL) the place where most go for breakfast and lunch and serve themselves. We were on e liberty for 14 days and the food was pretty much so the same every day and a bit like Golden Corral - not bad but not that exciting. OTOH Hal seems to change up their menu daily and has lots of options that are freshly prepared waffles egg in morning and Italian panninis and other sandwiches - these are prepared while you wait. Their bread pudding is to die for but sometimes you have to ask for it - they keep it with the cookies and ice cream. Mouth is watering just thinking about it and I do not usually like bread pudding.

 

if you have special needs I have found Hal very helpful-in the main dining room - allergies or things you do not like or a way you like your food. We had ine lady who wanted fresh steamed veggies every night and got them. That is when it is nice to have a waiter who watches out for you.

 

I honestly did not find the food terrible on RCCL I found it repetitive and boring . My other issue with them is that they have quite a few restaurants that you pay extra for- Westerdam - 1 - Pinnacle which is awesome- we usually get dinner as a perk. Hope this helps

[MorgannaLeFey]

As an ex-extra large cruiser I'll comment on HAL bathrooms - HAL verandah cabins generally have a bathroom with a tub/shower combo with a cloth shower curtain that is likely more comfortable for larger size cruisers. There are no compartments within the bathrooms.

 

Looking at the prices it might be unlikely that we'll be in an actual verandah room (I'll have to talk budget with my husband soon). I suspect we'll probably end up on an inside cabin to keep costs down, since you can't keep the verandah door open, but we'll discuss that.

 

Honestly, I'm still not sure if we're going to do this. Our primary reason for trying this is to be able to visit several different places on a single trip. But when I look at the destinations on the Eastern Caribbean cruise (for example) I'm not convinced that they are places we'd actually WANT to visit under any other circumstances.

 

I'm going to try and express this clearly but I might fail.

 

We are not "night life" people at all. We aren't interested in bars or casinos or even vegas style shows. We do enjoy good meals and I, at least, am fond of fine dining. We tend to prefer natural beauty and seeing environments/ecosystems that we've never seen before (or haven't seen enough of). We like museums/zoos/aquariums (usually science or history, but we visited York, UK a couple years ago and I have sorta "historied out" my husband ;) ). When we went to Switzerland last year, we visited CERN, a chocolate factory, and an old salt mine (among other things). We might enjoy snorkling but neither of us has ever done that, so I can't know for sure. It seems like something we'd like.

 

So I'm looking at the ports for the Eastern Caribbean cruise with all that in mind, to see what we'd actually, you know, DO there.

 

There's a very promising looking zoo in St. Maarten and there's a square rigged ship that does short cruises. We'd have to choose one (which is to be expected), but both seem interesting.

 

San Juan also looks promising, with history, natural beauty, and a botanical garden.

 

Half Moon Cay looks like a lovely place to while away the day on the beach or something like that. Maybe swim in some great water. Doesn't look like there's much else to do there, but there doesn't HAVE to be.

 

I'm looking at Grand Turk. The reviews I read for the snorkling excursion there weren't very encouraging (but would I even know from bad snorkling?). The lighthouse and space history (as tenuous a connection as it is) seems like "well we could DO that..." more than "Oh that sounds cool!" (also, we've visited the Smithsonian air and space museum, both of them, in the last five years, so the tenuous space connection might not be all that interesting but I dunno).

 

I'm mildly concerned that 25% (one of the ports out of 4) of the reason we're considering a cruise might not have anything we'll really want to do, which reduces the overall value of the cruise (don't know what it reduces it enough to be not worth going anyway, that remains to be seen). I haven't bounced any of this off my husband yet, but I will do, he's busy killing orcs right now. :)

 

On the hand, I have really wanted to visit warm tropical climates and see the blue water and maybe even swim at a lovely beach. So maybe that's all I really need from two of the ports.

 

Just wanted to toss all that out there and see what you all thought of it. I'll certainly be talking with my husband, as well. Thank you all for being so helpful and reading this far. ;)

[MorgannaLeFey]

Oh yes, that was VERY helpful! I'm feeling a lot better about my leaning towards HAL as a food thing. Another thing I like is that they sometimes have culinary demos with famous chefs (or somewhat famous ones). That looks cool. :) I love cooking and demos like that.