Just off Westerdam - a few observations

[DSLibrarian]

First - we had a very enjoyable cruise. Ship was in good shape and crew was great. We would not hesitate to sail her again.

 

These are not complaints - just sharing a few things of note:

 

We had an SB Neptune suite. There was no bottle of sparkling wine in the cabin as we have always had before. Instead, there were gifts of two (very nice) Holland America cookbooks and a bottle of San Pellegrino sparking water. (Also no welcoming glass of champagne in the Neptune lounge - just thought that was odd.)

 

I had pre-purchased a Thermal Suite pass through ship services for the week for $250/couple. It was listed as a spa gift for $250 on a printout of our preliminary statement. (I checked it, as usual, about midway through the cruise.) I was feeling very fortunate since the "sale price" for the Thermal Suite on embarkation day was $299. However, the charge on the billing statement was also $299!! Luckily, I had taken a copy of the email ship services sent to me and showed it to the concierge. I'm happy to report that the spa charge of $299 was reversed then, and the correct charge of $250 was entered. (ALWAYS remember to bring along copies of receipts for pre-purchased items!!) And it might always not be in your best interest to wait until embarkation day to purchase a spa pass.

 

We love Luggage Direct and used it again this time ($19.99pp) In the past we've felt we had to eat breakfast in the Lido or have room service deliver due to the 7:30 - 7:45 disembarkation required. We were happy to learn that the Pinnacle Grill was open at 6:30 that morning so we were able to have a quiet, relaxing breakfast there and wait until our color & number were called. Then we just had to walk around the corner and step off the ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome Home

2 cook books?? I already have HAL's cook books and certainly wouldn't want duplicates.

 

Hope you had a great cruise.

Edited March 10, 2014 by Krazy Kruizers

[DSLibrarian]

Welcome Home

 

2 cook books?? I already have HAL's cook books and certainly wouldn't want duplicates.

 

Hope you had a great cruise.

 

Thanks KK - we had a great cruise. And, yes.. 2 cookbooks - A Taste of Elegance & Appetizers.

 

Photo attached:

 

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your comments. I always enjoy reading updates.

 

We, also, have Rudi Sodamin's cookbooks and I like them but don't need to use suitcase weight to get duplicate books home. :)

 

[lindaler]

Thanks KK - we had a great cruise. And, yes.. 2 cookbooks - A Taste of Elegance & Appetizers.

 

We have two of the cookbooks, A Taste of Elegance and a Taste of Excellence. How many are there?

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for some observation about your cruise and the Westerdam. Like others, I have the cookbooks, so don't need to repeat them, sorry to hear that is what you received instead of the bottle of champagne. Glad to hear you had a good time though.:)

[Himself]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[boze9999]

According to the Neptune Concierge, you may return both cookbooks to the Concierge and receive a bottle of champagne or wine as a replacement gift. I would guess HAL will re-think their "gift" - most Suite guests already do have the book and you're right - who wants to carry heavy books in your suitcase when you're charged by the pound by the airlines!

[Buckett]

I will be sailing the Westerdam for the first time, to Alaska in June, and would love to hear any other observations about the ship you might have. Thanks!

 

p.s. how did you like the thermal suite? I love the one on the Oosterdam and always buy the 1 week pass.

[K&RCurt]

We will be in an SB suite on the Wetserdam on 3/22. Since DW does not drink I hope we get the cook books and sparkling water!

 

I always print out our email confirmations to bring along. I have no idea why, but there is a disconnect between ship and shore more often than there should be.

[DSLibrarian]

I will be sailing the Westerdam for the first time, to Alaska in June, and would love to hear any other observations about the ship you might have. Thanks!

 

p.s. how did you like the thermal suite? I love the one on the Oosterdam and always buy the 1 week pass.

 

You'll find the Westerdam in great shape and the crew is great. We ate dinner 6 nights in the Pinnacle Grill and very much enjoyed our excellent servers - Andus & Ria. (sp?) We ate 1 night in the Canaletto but were not impressed. We didn't care for the new menu at all.

 

We did not attend any shows in the Vista Lounge but instead we listened to Adagio (classical duo) every night in the Explorer Lounge after dinner. These two young women (pianist & violinist) were excellent. Highly recommended.

 

We also really enjoy the thermal suite. Most of the time we were the only ones in the hydrotherapy pool and usually had no trouble getting a tile lounger.. just once all of them were occupied so we left. Note that we saved $50 by purchasing directly from ship services a couple of weeks before we sailed, so you might want to do that too. (And if you do purchase early and find out the embarkation special is less, you can get a refund of the overpayment if you request it.)