Westerdam reviews post dry dock are really bad.. SHOULD I BE WORRIED

[draftxhorselover]

Hey all

We're not heading out until September 2017 on our Westerdam cruise but several of the recent Med cruise reviews of the recently renovated Westerdam are really awful (specifically Customer Service and Food) They really shake me a bit.. What's up?

 

Newer unreasonable people or could there be something afoot? Understandably, one should never dine in a new restaurant, sail on something which just is launched from dry dock or similiar situation w/o a 'workingout the bug' period but ... any thoughts?

[kazu]

Hey all

We're not heading out until September 2017 on our Westerdam cruise but several of the recent Med cruise reviews of the recently renovated Westerdam are really awful (specifically Customer Service and Food) They really shake me a bit.. What's up?

 

Newer unreasonable people or could there be something afoot? Understandably, one should never dine in a new restaurant, sail on something which just is launched from dry dock or similiar situation w/o a 'workingout the bug' period but ... any thoughts?

 

My experience is that there are always bugs on a post dry dock, pre dry dock or even an inauguration sailing.

 

I tend to take those reviews (and some others) with a grain of salt. Frankly, if I took reviews at face value, I would have never gotten on the Prinsendam. We are heading on her for our 4th cruise and surpassing 100 days on board. That's how much we enjoy the ship and her itineraries. So, don't take every review at face value or you may miss out ;)

 

I've seen lots of people on cruises who, in all honesty, I don't know why they cruise. They are never happy.

 

There are also legitimate complaints. The key is to balance the reviews from those that are legitimate and those that are "never happy".

 

You have lots of time to go ;) And time for them to get things "fixed" if need be.

[RJ2002]

My experience is that there are always bugs on a post dry dock, pre dry dock or even an inauguration sailing.

 

I tend to take those reviews (and some others) with a grain of salt. Frankly, if I took reviews at face value, I would have never gotten on the Prinsendam. We are heading on her for our 4th cruise and surpassing 100 days on board. That's how much we enjoy the ship and her itineraries. So, don't take every review at face value or you may miss out ;)

 

I've seen lots of people on cruises who, in all honesty, I don't know why they cruise. They are never happy.

 

There are also legitimate complaints. The key is to balance the reviews from those that are legitimate and those that are "never happy".

 

You have lots of time to go ;) And time for them to get things "fixed" if need be.

 

Very thoughtful response kazu. :)

 

I tend to watch for trends when reading reviews, whether here, or Tripadvisor, Yelp, etc. When there is a recurring negative theme, that's when I start to wonder if something is amiss.

[OlsSalt]

Very thoughtful response kazu. :)

 

I tend to watch for trends when reading reviews, whether here, or Tripadvisor, Yelp, etc. When there is a recurring negative theme, that's when I start to wonder if something is amiss.

 

I worry more when Yelp reports too many "amazing" and "awesomes". Kazu knows her ships. Stick with her advice.

[DeeniEncinitas]

My experience is that there are always bugs on a post dry dock, pre dry dock or even an inauguration sailing.

 

I tend to take those reviews (and some others) with a grain of salt. Frankly, if I took reviews at face value, I would have never gotten on the Prinsendam. We are heading on her for our 4th cruise and surpassing 100 days on board. That's how much we enjoy the ship and her itineraries. So, don't take every review at face value or you may miss out ;)

 

I've seen lots of people on cruises who, in all honesty, I don't know why they cruise. They are never happy.

 

There are also legitimate complaints. The key is to balance the reviews from those that are legitimate and those that are "never happy".

 

You have lots of time to go ;) And time for them to get things "fixed" if need be.

 

As always Jacqui comes through with flying colors!!! Her advice is spot on,and

She is very knowledgeable!!!

Listen as you we are doing a cruise for a month on The Maasdam in 2018. I have heard good and bad!!! I am going to enjoy no matter what!

I have been on 11 HAL cruises and like Jacqui (Kazu) your going to get comments from people who should not even be cruising.

Enjoy your first wonderful cruise!

Smooth Sailings!

Denise :)

[iancal]

Wait a month. I have no doubt that the W folks will get their act together.

 

We routinely avoid pre and post drydock cruises and will not consider an inaugural cruise or one within a few months of it.

[OlsSalt]

I read the two post-drydock, reviews: one appeared to be a english as a second language translation so it was a bit disjointed. But the other one, the couple with the infant sounded like a very bad mismatch of expectations. Not sure what they expected though they said they have sailed HAL "in the past".

 

Seems like their primary complaint was not getting personal service on demand instantly from embarkation day forward. That is probably a tall order when a ship has 2000 new passengers all arriving at the same time.

 

It often takes a few days to get the kinks worked out with a new group of passengers and for the crew to respond to all 2000 new demands. Even when it is not right after a dry dock. Plus traveling with a self-admitted "fussy infant" was probably more of a challenge than they might have originally expected.

 

Not sure what to make of the MDR food comments since the dining room and the buffet pretty much serve the same food. Plus calling any HAL dining room food 100% dog food that would not even be served on a low class airline does stretch the credibility of their overall reporting. Shame it worked out so badly for them.

 

But they should try another cruise line and expect to pay more for the level of service they were seeking - nothing unreasonable in what they attempted to get but within the first 48 hours of any cruise, I do think one does have to be a little more forgiving and understand both sides.

 

Delighted to hear the cabin stewards came through 100% for them, and they loved interacting with their infant - no surprises there knowing the HAL crews as we do, and only wish that could have made up for their early bad encounters with food service and the front desk.

 

And I do agree with their frustration when one gets officially told "something is working" when in fact your own experience has been just the opposite (cabin keys in this case). There should be re-training at least to change the wording when front desk responds to passenger complaints. (But this assumes this passenger was making an accurate verbatim report, which does come into question in context of his other complaints.)

[Alex_II]

actually there are quite a bit reviews after dry dock - i was excpected a bit more reviews from CC members on Westerdam .

myself i wonder if post dry dock works on deck 10 are done or still going on :-)

anyway - boarding next week and i`l make sure to post when get back home ( will take some time )

i`l post mostly facts - so everyone can decide what he could possibly like or not

[geertje]

We were on the westerdam right after the drydock. We had a few minor issues: roomkey not working, long rows at the guestservices, but overall we had a wonderfull cruise. Food in the diningroom was very good and the food in the lido was oké too. There always was something i liked. Service was excellent both in the dining room and our cabin. We already booked a future cruise on the Westerdam.

 

Gerda

Edited June 7, 2017 by geertje
my iPad tries To get in dutch words

[brm]

We were also on the first cruise after dry dock. I had posted a review in the HAL thread here and it was very positive. While there are always things to improve on, we had a great time. I thought the food was very good and the service was great. I would not worry.

[Fozwald]

We are heading on Westerdam in August and eagerly looking forward to our adventure. And honestly, I really don't care about the changes on the ship because I would never let anything ruin a well deserved holiday.

 

Cruises are for relaxing and enjoyment!

[ski ww]

I always wonder about people who complain about food on the ship, what do they eat at home? We've been on cruises where there where problems with the plumbing, A/C, these things do happen & if they happen to you then I can understand their frustrations. But you're on a cruise ship people make your bed, clean your room, cook your food serve you drinks, it doesn't get any better. There are items on the menu I don't like but there are lots of other choices. I don't think any one on a cruise ship has ever gone hungry.

Allan

[draftxhorselover]

We were also on the first cruise after dry dock. I had posted a review in the HAL thread here and it was very positive. While there are always things to improve on, we had a great time. I thought the food was very good and the service was great. I would not worry.

 

Thanks for everyone's reassurance. I thought so.. often I read the other reviews posted by a person who has posted a roundly negative review and that reveals a lot about the person's expectations, standards, etc. Didn't find much from this reviewer.

 

So ultimately I have 5 months from date of drydock to my cruise... it SHOULD be good but I know I'll have a blast.:halo:

[trub]

i shall be on the westerdam in 32 days, and will let you know when i get back, suspect all will be very well:D

[sapper1]

We have spent 53 days on the Westerdam since 2015. We couldn't have been more pleased with our cruises, the service, the food, the ship and the crew. Pleased enough that we have a further 24 days booked on her for next year.

[Cruizer Bill]

I would not hesitate to book a cruise on this ship.

[Lizzie68]

If it's not too late to add my opinion - I did have a problem (No hot water) on the Westerdam and it took a long time to resolve it - but we had a great cruise and I did not hesitate to book the Westie again for next year. She became my favourite ship.

 

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[colin v]

If it's not too late to add my opinion - I did have a problem (No hot water) on the Westerdam and it took a long time to resolve it - but we had a great cruise and I did not hesitate to book the Westie again for next year. She became my favourite ship.

 

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May I ask, how long is your definition of a long time? Minutes, Hours, Days?

 

We are travelling on the 28th of June so trying to gather as much intelligence as possible.

Thanks in advance.

 

Colin

[DeathValleyClemson]

I read the two post-drydock, reviews: one appeared to be a english as a second language translation so it was a bit disjointed. But the other one, the couple with the infant sounded like a very bad mismatch of expectations. Not sure what they expected though they said they have sailed HAL "in the past".

 

Seems like their primary complaint was not getting personal service on demand instantly from embarkation day forward. That is probably a tall order when a ship has 2000 new passengers all arriving at the same time.

 

It often takes a few days to get the kinks worked out with a new group of passengers and for the crew to respond to all 2000 new demands. Even when it is not right after a dry dock. Plus traveling with a self-admitted "fussy infant" was probably more of a challenge than they might have originally expected.

 

Not sure what to make of the MDR food comments since the dining room and the buffet pretty much serve the same food. Plus calling any HAL dining room food 100% dog food that would not even be served on a low class airline does stretch the credibility of their overall reporting. Shame it worked out so badly for them.

 

But they should try another cruise line and expect to pay more for the level of service they were seeking - nothing unreasonable in what they attempted to get but within the first 48 hours of any cruise, I do think one does have to be a little more forgiving and understand both sides.

 

Delighted to hear the cabin stewards came through 100% for them, and they loved interacting with their infant - no surprises there knowing the HAL crews as we do, and only wish that could have made up for their early bad encounters with food service and the front desk.

 

And I do agree with their frustration when one gets officially told "something is working" when in fact your own experience has been just the opposite (cabin keys in this case). There should be re-training at least to change the wording when front desk responds to passenger complaints. (But this assumes this passenger was making an accurate verbatim report, which does come into question in context of his other complaints.)

I agree, this couple wanted much more service than was reasonably expected, except for the door key problem. I was on the same ship and didn't experience any of the problems they stated, especially the food in the Main Dining Room and the Lido.

[knittinggirl]

I'd check to see how many other reviews they've submitted. If it's only one, then it's hard to gauge, they may be just critical. If they're submitted a lot, see what they say on their other reviews.

 

We cruised on Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the seas two weeks after drydock. And other than a sloppy experience in their specialty dining room, it worked pretty well. They even managed to handle the uptick of 150 more passengers.

 

After reading the review about the infant, and hearing their lack of success sending food from the MDR to their cabin. That's a Neptune Suite level perk, not available in their stateroom. But, I wouldn't have cared to be next to a screaming infant at dinner. Sending food to the lounge is a pretty strange request. I'd think they would have been better grabbing something from the Lido and bringing it to the room.

Edited June 10, 2017 by knittinggirl

[Cindy]

I read the two post-drydock, reviews: one appeared to be a english as a second language translation so it was a bit disjointed. But the other one, the couple with the infant sounded like a very bad mismatch of expectations. Not sure what they expected though they said they have sailed HAL "in the past".

 

Seems like their primary complaint was not getting personal service on demand instantly from embarkation day forward. That is probably a tall order when a ship has 2000 new passengers all arriving at the same time.

 

It often takes a few days to get the kinks worked out with a new group of passengers and for the crew to respond to all 2000 new demands. Even when it is not right after a dry dock. Plus traveling with a self-admitted "fussy infant" was probably more of a challenge than they might have originally expected.

 

Not sure what to make of the MDR food comments since the dining room and the buffet pretty much serve the same food. Plus calling any HAL dining room food 100% dog food that would not even be served on a low class airline does stretch the credibility of their overall reporting. Shame it worked out so badly for them.

 

But they should try another cruise line and expect to pay more for the level of service they were seeking - nothing unreasonable in what they attempted to get but within the first 48 hours of any cruise, I do think one does have to be a little more forgiving and understand both sides.

 

Delighted to hear the cabin stewards came through 100% for them, and they loved interacting with their infant - no surprises there knowing the HAL crews as we do, and only wish that could have made up for their early bad encounters with food service and the front desk.

 

And I do agree with their frustration when one gets officially told "something is working" when in fact your own experience has been just the opposite (cabin keys in this case). There should be re-training at least to change the wording when front desk responds to passenger complaints. (But this assumes this passenger was making an accurate verbatim report, which does come into question in context of his other complaints.)

 

 

I was on the first cruise post dry-dock. We heard of a few problems with cabin plumbing or room keys not working, but my understanding is those were fixed fairly quickly. Other than Deck 10 being off limits the only construction/drydock problems I noticed were a sink and a toilet in a public restroom out of order the entire cruise. My husband and I had no problems at all with our beautifully redecorated suite.

 

I haven't read the bad reviews, but I thought the food was very good and the service was warm, professional, and attentive. We had "anytime" dining and never had a wait for a table. I thought the staff in all areas went out of their way to make sure the passengers were happy and inconvenienced as little as possible by any lingering drydock issues. We felt the compensation for the Crow's Nest closure was more than generous, especially since we only had one sea day and it wasn't a "relax and lounge on the ship" cruise.

 

I was very concerned about taking the first cruise after drydock, but based on this experience I would do it again. The cruise had the itinerary we wanted at the time we wanted to travel, so it worked well for us. Having the cruise be so port intensive helped mitigate the annoyance of the Crow's Nest closure, and the majority of passengers were off the ship a good part of each day. I do think it would have been a lot more difficult if we had a lot of sea days.

[knittinggirl]

I've heard not to book a cruise w/in two weeks of dry-dock, and six months w/ a new ship.

 

We booked a cruise the second week after dry dock on Royal Caribbean. They did surprisingly well. Especially with working in 150 additional passengers.

 

We usually book 18 months out, and I'm not sure we'd know the dry dock schedule that early.

[Cindy]

 

 

 

I haven't read the bad reviews...

 

 

 

I read the reviews last night after I posted. While I realize everyone's experience is different based on their expectations, their cabin location, cabin category, etc. I feel the review written by the people with the baby was over the top. They seemed to be expecting the kind of attention one would receive on a significantly smaller and more expensive ship that caters to individual requests. I don't think the service they were requesting was even reasonable on the first night of a cruise with 2000 passengers on a ship newly out of drydock.

 

I think a much more accurate picture of the Westerdam can be found in the reviews that mentioned the problems but also the positives. I would anticipate any lingering drydock issues will be long gone by the time the OP's cruise rolls around. As for dog food? It's simply not true. It's banquet food and as such there will be a misstep here and there, but I think the author of that scathing review let their frustrating experiences color their opinion of everything.

 

 

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[Lizzie68]

May I ask, how long is your definition of a long time? Minutes, Hours, Days?

 

We are travelling on the 28th of June so trying to gather as much intelligence as possible.

Thanks in advance.

 

Colin

Unfortunately it took about 10 days! It was frustrating as other cruise friends had water that was scalding hot - on a different deck.

 

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[draftxhorselover]

I read the reviews last night after I posted. While I realize everyone's experience is different based on their expectations, their cabin location, cabin category, etc. I feel the review written by the people with the baby was over the top. They seemed to be expecting the kind of attention one would receive on a significantly smaller and more expensive ship that caters to individual requests. I don't think the service they were requesting was even reasonable on the first night of a cruise with 2000 passengers on a ship newly out of drydock.

 

I think a much more accurate picture of the Westerdam can be found in the reviews that mentioned the problems but also the positives. I would anticipate any lingering drydock issues will be long gone by the time the OP's cruise rolls around. As for dog food? It's simply not true. It's banquet food and as such there will be a misstep here and there, but I think the author of that scathing review let their frustrating experiences color their opinion of everything.

 

 

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Thanks Cindy. I do take reviews with a grain of salt. I am a regular contributor to Trip Advisor/Yelp and some people are really unrealistic and or from mars I feel. Helpful remarks for sure :-)