Diappointment with the Westerdam

[Halgirl1278]

Maybe next time you see someone in a wheelchair or walker, you could consider them an inspiration. And hope to yourself that if or when you become in need of mobility aids, you still have the enthusiasm for life to continue travelling.

 

VERY well put

*applause*

[sevenseasnomad]

I have such fond memories of the Westerdam, since I cruised with my 92 year-old mother and one of my best friends. As it turned out, it is the last cruise my mom will be able to take.

 

So sorry your cruise fell far short of your expectations. After so much anticipation, not to mention money paid, it's almost disheartening when a cruise disappoints. We experienced that situation once, 30 years ago, and have never sailed with that particular line again.

 

 

As you indicated, you won't sail with HAL again. Many of us here probably feel that it's unfortunate you didn't get to enjoy the many positive things about this line that entices us to become repeat passengers. No matter what cruise line you sail with in the future, I hope you have a better vacation.

[cruiseapril]

Wish your cruise had been as good as ours was on the Westerdam.

 

As is said "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." We found the Westerdam beautiful and fortunately did not have cleanliness issues.

[chrispb]

A worn arm on a chair speaks to me of many happy cruises.

But what does a non-functioning toilet speak of?:cool:

[summersigh]

It is what it is. We spoke with the front desk folks but while they were polite, they were no help.

Ok .. Imentzer ... correct me if I'm wrong ... you spoke to the front desk folks but after a nonsatisfactory response you did not speak to anyone higher up like the Guest Services Manager or the Hotel Manager?:confused:

In my experience, "stuff happens" when they get involved. .... just saying based on experience on RCCL and Carnival.:)

[496and706]

The only times that all the wheelchairs and walkers are noticeable is embarkation and debarkation days when HAL brings all of their loaner chairs out to safely assist some people off the ships. My in-laws don't use a chair for the entire cruise except for those 2 days.

 

Don't ever assume that only the elderly use wheelchairs. I'm in a business where wheelchair users are our main client. The ages range from 2 years old to 98 years old.

 

I tend to really notice wheelchairs and walkers.

[celle]

In 2009, we sailed for 28 days on Celebrity Infinity, on a cruise that went around South America, through the Panama Canal and ended in Fort Lauderdale.

 

The ship was looking its age and we knew it was to go into dry dock in about 3 months' time. We could see some rust, and a few examples of worn carpet and furniture.

 

However, the itinerary was so good and the ports so interesting that these minor issues just did not affect us. We certainly were not put off cruising with Celebrity again.

 

We've also cruised on HAL Volendam, Celebrity Millennium and RCI's Legend of the Seas and Vision of the Seas. None of these ships is shiny, spanking new, but we have still had a great time on them.

 

I guess it's just a matter of "different strokes for different folks". And what a good job we are not all alike!

[janmcn]

OP: I would like to know what other ships you have been on for comparison. Sounds like they must have been quite nice.

We only sail HAL now and find the ships are usually in quite good shape, the staff excellent, the rooms comfortable, and the beds are wonderful.

Sorry you didn't have as good an experience. I wouldn't give up on HAL!

[lmentzer]

janmcn, We cruised three different Carnival ships. They were all in better condition, glitzier (if you will), excellent food, great service, from room stewards and wait staff, and just as good ports of call. We had some of the same complaints on these cruises as this one with HAL. Expensive wine, shops, and spa. We weren't thrilled with the demographic of the other cruisers (opposite demographic as this cruise). I agree that the beds on this cruise were great. We chose this cruise mostly for the Panama Canal transit, and we loved that aspect.

[summersigh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lmentzer

It is what it is. We spoke with the front desk folks but while they were polite, they were no help.

 

Ok .. Imentzer ... correct me if I'm wrong ... you spoke to the front desk folks but after a nonsatisfactory response you did not speak to anyone higher up like the Guest Services Manager or the Hotel Manager?:confused:

In my experience, "stuff happens" when they get involved. .... just saying based on experience on RCCL and Carnival.:)

[Linda&Vern]

janmcn, We cruised three different Carnival ships. They were all in better condition, glitzier (if you will), excellent food, great service, from room stewards and wait staff, and just as good ports of call. We had some of the same complaints on these cruises as this one with HAL. Expensive wine, shops, and spa. We weren't thrilled with the demographic of the other cruisers (opposite demographic as this cruise). I agree that the beds on this cruise were great. We chose this cruise mostly for the Panama Canal transit, and we loved that aspect.

I'm glad you loved the Panama Canal transit of your trip. A Panama Canal cruise is one we would love to do again. I should tell you that we spent 14 days on the Westerdam in March and found the ship to be in great shape and even remarked that we had never seen so much cleaning and polishing going on day and night around a ship. I'm sorry you experience was not as good as ours was. I wish you had known to find the head of Housekeeping or the Hotel Manager if your room was "dirty." I would never settle for a dirty room, at sea or on land.

You mentioned other ships you have sailed have been "glitzier." I don't think I could describe any HAL ship like that. What we love about HAL ships is the "at home" feeling - glitz would not be our style. I noticed on another thread before your HAL cruise that you mentioned you would probably continue to look for other cruise lines as you felt HAL is starting to nickel and dime their customers for most everything. After now cruising HAL, I wondered if you still feel that way? Again, I am sorry your experience on the Westerdam was not up to your standards. Hopefully you will find a cruise line that fits your style for your next cruise.

Edited November 16, 2013 by Linda&Vern

[lmentzer]

Summersigh, you're not wrong, we didn't elevate our issues. Maybe we should have concerning the room stewards, but the rest was, as someone else said here, beyond fixing during the cruise. We thought maybe the stewards were told to be "invisible". The run down furniture and carpeting (throughout the ship), and the bland food wasn't something they could fix just for us. I think the food was intentional, and just not to everybody's liking. Our toilet did work - sort of, push the button and it would gurgle for 20 or 30 seconds and then flush. The plumber said he couldn't fix it, and it was the vacum or something. Passengers pay a lot of money for a cruise, and they are expecting a "luxury" vacation. This ship did not meet our expectations. We went primarily for the canal transist, and that was great. The ship was a let down. As I said, it is what it is.

Linda&Vern, My opinion on HAL nickle and dimeing everything remains the same. An example is the wine. They charge 5 to 10 times the purchase price. This is higher than other cruise lines. I expect to pay double for a bottle of wine in a restaurant, but this was ridiculous. And now they are changing their policy on bringing wine aboard, so they can sell more. We would have liked to go on the tour of the ship, but not for $150 a piece. You can't tell me they couldn't have ran more of this tour at a lower price and not made as much money, and it certainly isn't that much of a disruption to their operations. I kind of regret saying that our other cruise ships were glitzier, because that it an individual preference, but the Westerdam was much less striking and plain. Some will prefer that.

[Cindy]

I kind of regret saying that our other cruise ships were glitzier, because that it an individual preference, but the Westerdam was much less striking and plain. Some will prefer that.

 

We thought the same. We struggled to try to explain how we felt about the ship, and the only thing we can come up with that really fits is there was just nothing memorable about the Westerdam for us. I don't like a lot of glitz, but I do appreciate spaces that appear as if there was some design thought put into them, and I couldn't find those spaces on the Westerdam.

 

We were surprised because we had really enjoyed the Noordam, which is for all intents and purposes, basically the same ship. There were a couple things that were different -- the Noordam was decorated for Christmas, and there were many, many more people using the public spaces, taking away the stark look. On the Westerdam we were often the only people in a lounge, and I really noticed the bareness of the décor.

[Tampa Girl]

We routinely cruise both HA and Celebrity and can relate an amusing tale about a cruise (last year) on the Silhouette. There were an awful lot of scooters on that particular cruise and one evening the waiters borrowed the scooters of all the passengers in the MDR and had a "scooter parade" around the MDR. It was a real "hoot" and much more fun then the waiters singing "Ol Sole Mio" or some other silly song. Come to think of it, we do not recall anyone posting the lyrics from the birthday song we hear on HA ships :)

 

Hank

 

 

It puzzles me why you continue to post on HAL and rarely have anything positive to say about this line. Is there anything that you find agreeable about HAL?

[djhsolara]

janmcn, We cruised three different Carnival ships. They were all in better condition, glitzier (if you will), excellent food, great service, from room stewards and wait staff, and just as good ports of call. We had some of the same complaints on these cruises as this one with HAL. Expensive wine, shops, and spa. We weren't thrilled with the demographic of the other cruisers (opposite demographic as this cruise). I agree that the beds on this cruise were great. We chose this cruise mostly for the Panama Canal transit, and we loved that aspect.

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy aspects of your cruise, but also glad that you took the time to come back and say what you did like.

 

We love HAL (and have sailed on Westerdam three wonderful times), but we often try other lines/ships. With each additional cruise on another line, we're always looking forward to coming back to HAL. To each their own. We've seen the glitzy and all on other lines but love the understated elegance on HAL...reminds me of what I believe cruising would have been in the past. We just love returning to HAL because it feels so familiar...like we've come "home" to our vacation.

 

We just did the partial Panama Canal on Zuiderdam (had issues with the ship, so we'll be back to HAL but not again to Zuiderdam) and we were told by several staff members that Panama Canal is often considered a "bucket list" cruise and there are often more mature folks on these cruises because they are completing their lists (we were also told by the Club HAL staff that my nephew was one of four guests under 18 on this cruise). I guess we just got a head start on our bucket list. :) I know the general HAL demographic is usually more mature, but when we were on Eurodam last March we never saw such a young crowd. I guess sometimes it depends on the time of year and the itinerary.

 

 

Sent from my iPad

Edited November 20, 2013 by djhsolara

[cruiseclues]

Thank you for your straightforward review. We always want to hear exactly what you thought of the cruise. :):):):)

[Krazy Kruizers]

OP

Sorry you were disappointed in the Westerdam.

Glad you did enjoy the Panama Canal experience.

Hope you enjoy whatever ship you sail on next.