Westerdam - so many bad reviews .... really? Please say it’s not so

[Holidaycraze]

We have just booked and leave soon for a one week alaska cruise and bringing friends on first cruise

soany bad reviews - can anyone else give me some insight 

thanks 

[Crew News]

22 minutes ago, Holidaycraze said:

We have just booked and leave soon for a one week alaska cruise and bringing friends on first cruise

soany bad reviews - can anyone else give me some insight 

thanks 

 

Loved the Westerdam in June 2019.  Amazing laundry service, good food, Exective Chef visits the MDR each night, great nightlights in staterooms, $2 Happy Hour drinks, quick Pinnacle Grill Service, and excellent Room Stewards.

 

Here are your dining menus and daily northbound ativities:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/specifc-cruise-lido-and-mdr-menus/hal-7-day-alaska-2019-menus

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/on-locations-specific-cruises/westerdam-alaska-2019-when-where-northbound

 

My photo review of the Westerdam:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/ms-westerdam-2

Edited September 17, 2019 by Crew News

[PSR]

Just got back from a 7 day Westerdam cruise on Sept 8 as part of a land-sea trip. Only complaint about the Westerdam was that the cruise part was too short...!

[paganwoman]

took a cruise on her just a little over a year ago to Hawaii. Loved the ship. No problems

[grest]

This is baffling....Ten of us were on the Westerdam to Alaska in June and we all loved the ship, the crew, the food....

[rucrazy]

6 hours ago, Holidaycraze said:

We have just booked and leave soon for a one week alaska cruise and bringing friends on first cruise

soany bad reviews - can anyone else give me some insight 

thanks 

Reviews are subjective, they are dependent on the observers time, place, circumstance. 

Stop reading start cruising and form your own opinion. Life is what you make it!!

 

Joseph

[cruisemom42]

When reading reviews on any public website, you have to keep things in perspective.

 

Since I'm going to be on the Westerdam next April, I decided to take a look at the recent reviews just to see what OP was concerned about. I looked at the most recent 17 reviews:

 

I tossed one review out of consideration, since the poster clearly stated they were seeking 100% compensation for their cruise and was not getting anywhere with HAL so far -- clearly they had an axe to grind and their review was OTT.

 

Of the 16 remaining, 8 were what I'd call good to excellent reviews, 5 were middling to good, and only 3 were "bad". Of the three bad reviews, one of them was colored greatly by the fact that they were traveling with toddlers and clearly did not research that there is not much geared toward toddlers onboard ship. A second had a poor cabin steward but did not have a lot of complaints otherwise.

 

Things that were mentioned as positives in most of the reviews (with a few outliers):  HAL's organization in terms of getting folks on/off the ship (and of course many of the reviewers also did the land portion in Alaska, which similarly was seen as well organized); the friendly crew was mentioned time and again; most found their accommodations roomy, well laid out and functional, even if a few said the decor was a little boring/dated; with one or two exceptions the food also had pretty good reviews, which I'd say is probably better than average for mass market cruise ship reviews. 

 

I was surprised that, despite all the moans on the HAL board about entertainment, there were not many complaints about that and several very positive "likes" for the BB Kings and for the Billboard "dueling pianos". 

 

Some of the complaints raised:

-- "inconsistent" decor (what does that even mean?)

-- dark decor

-- dated bathrooms in cabins; tub too high to get in/out safely

-- Alaska naturalist not as good as on Princess

 

Interestingly, some loved the MDR but thought the Lido was not great; others expressed the exact opposite opinion. Most liked the Pinnacle though one did not. What can I say: food is very much a matter of individual taste (pun intended).

 

So overall, I'm not really seeing what the OP is concerned about.

 

OP -- was there something in particular that bothered you?

 

 

 

[T8NCruise]

8 hours ago, Holidaycraze said:

We have just booked and leave soon for a one week alaska cruise and bringing friends on first cruise

soany bad reviews - can anyone else give me some insight 

thanks 

 

I haven't noticed many bad reviews, but I can say I've sailed on the Westerdam twice in recent years, and have no complaints apart from the diabolical change to the Crows Nest - but that is mostly fleet-wide.

[SilvertoGold]

Westerdam just received the monthly award for Best Food in the fleet.

 

I can think of nothing bad to say about this ship, except maybe that the flowers on the MDR tables and Lido have disappeared, something I think is fleet-wide.  Our June and August texperiences for 14 days each were great cruises!

[fatcat04]

6 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

Westerdam just received the monthly award for Best Food in the fleet.

 

I can think of nothing bad to say about this ship, except maybe that the flowers on the MDR tables and Lido have disappeared, something I think is fleet-wide.  Our June and August texperiences for 14 days each were great cruises!

The orchids in the lido have been removed? And that is fleet wide? Wow. I had not heard this. That makes me sad. A very HAL thing gone. 

[RuthC]

2 minutes ago, fatcat04 said:

The orchids in the lido have been removed? And that is fleet wide? Wow. I had not heard this. That makes me sad. A very HAL thing gone. 

Flowers on the dining tables in the main dining room, and in the public restrooms are also gone. 

[fatcat04]

6 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Flowers on the dining tables in the main dining room, and in the public restrooms are also gone. 

Sigh. The flowers were special, a lovely extra special touch. Dh will not be happy. He always loved the orchids in the lido. We have so many pictures of them. Thanks for letting me know. 

[Roz]

9 hours ago, Holidaycraze said:

We have just booked and leave soon for a one week alaska cruise and bringing friends on first cruise

soany bad reviews - can anyone else give me some insight 

thanks 

 

What specifically has you concerned?

 

Roz

[skigirl]

We just got home from an Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam and loved it. No worries.

[Holidaycraze]

9 hours ago, Crew News said:

 

Loved the Westerdam in June 2019.  Amazing laundry service, good food, Exective Chef visits the MDR each night, great nightlights in staterooms, $2 Happy Hour drinks, quick Pinnacle Grill Service, and excellent Room Stewards.

 

Here are your dining menus and daily northbound ativities:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/specifc-cruise-lido-and-mdr-menus/hal-7-day-alaska-2019-menus

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/specialty-2/on-locations-specific-cruises/westerdam-alaska-2019-when-where-northbound

 

My photo review of the Westerdam:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/photo-reviews/ms-westerdam-2

Thank you for all this information - totally reassured !! People are correct, enjoy and don’t look at reviews. The last person that wrote on cruise critic review said food awful, floating Petri dish (lots of illness), said they would never cruise again after week on Westerdam. I love cruising and coming back to HA after many years of cruising Celebrity. HA has provided great service, food and experience on my past experience. Menus look great - thanks for alll the pictures and review! 

[Holidaycraze]

Thank you everyone 

I’m confident we will have a great cruise. 

The cruise critic review  I recently read - was about food being terrible in the MDR and the ship was called a “floating Petri dish”

But I’m not concerned after reading responses.  We will have a great time and have always enjoyed the service and food and how can you not enjoy the lovely decadent experience of a cruise. There are Always complainers which we are not

To respond  to the complaints of so much illness on ship - i bring my own small hand sanitizer to do a quick squirt before I start to eat. Not just coming into lido as then you touch all serving spoons etc and some people haven’t used entry sanitizer or have coughed or sneezed re-infecting their hands.  Living with so many on a ship - you can’t wash your hands too many times. 

Thanks again for putting me back on the right tract ....count down - we leave Sunday from Vancouver and return to Vancouver 

[Holidaycraze]

44 minutes ago, skigirl said:

We just got home from an Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam and loved it. No worries.

Thanks so much !!! Glad you had great time 

 

1 hour ago, SilvertoGold said:

Westerdam just received the monthly award for Best Food in the fleet.

 

I can think of nothing bad to say about this ship, except maybe that the flowers on the MDR tables and Lido have disappeared, something I think is fleet-wide.  Our June and August texperiences for 14 days each were great cruises!

Great 👍 - best food award - looking forward to some great meals !

[Holidaycraze]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

When reading reviews on any public website, you have to keep things in perspective.

 

Since I'm going to be on the Westerdam next April, I decided to take a look at the recent reviews just to see what OP was concerned about. I looked at the most recent 17 reviews:

 

I tossed one review out of consideration, since the poster clearly stated they were seeking 100% compensation for their cruise and was not getting anywhere with HAL so far -- clearly they had an axe to grind and their review was OTT.

 

Of the 16 remaining, 8 were what I'd call good to excellent reviews, 5 were middling to good, and only 3 were "bad". Of the three bad reviews, one of them was colored greatly by the fact that they were traveling with toddlers and clearly did not research that there is not much geared toward toddlers onboard ship. A second had a poor cabin steward but did not have a lot of complaints otherwise.

 

Things that were mentioned as positives in most of the reviews (with a few outliers):  HAL's organization in terms of getting folks on/off the ship (and of course many of the reviewers also did the land portion in Alaska, which similarly was seen as well organized); the friendly crew was mentioned time and again; most found their accommodations roomy, well laid out and functional, even if a few said the decor was a little boring/dated; with one or two exceptions the food also had pretty good reviews, which I'd say is probably better than average for mass market cruise ship reviews. 

 

I was surprised that, despite all the moans on the HAL board about entertainment, there were not many complaints about that and several very positive "likes" for the BB Kings and for the Billboard "dueling pianos". 

 

Some of the complaints raised:

-- "inconsistent" decor (what does that even mean?)

-- dark decor

-- dated bathrooms in cabins; tub too high to get in/out safely

-- Alaska naturalist not as good as on Princess

 

Interestingly, some loved the MDR but thought the Lido was not great; others expressed the exact opposite opinion. Most liked the Pinnacle though one did not. What can I say: food is very much a matter of individual taste (pun intended).

 

So overall, I'm not really seeing what the OP is concerned about.

 

OP -- was there something in particular that bothered you?

 

 

 

Thanks - it was the last few reviews on Cruisecritic reviews - “floating Petri dish”, dirty ship, food terrible in mdr. Now reading responses from fellow board followers - I’ve been set straight ! I know it will be all that I’ve experienced in the past and what makes cruising great for us. I think having friends coming who have not cruised adds some pressure .... I want them to love cruising too so we can do more together. Have a great cruise in April and thank you for your research!

[mcrcruiser]

We have never been on a bad cruise   ,even going back into the early nineties on Carnival vessels ,at that time  . Since then we have done 84 cruises & of all the cruise lines we prefer Holland America ships for  the staffs friendliness ,their dedicated service  & in general very good food 😀

[CM1984]

 

I just gotta say, if you want to find something wrong, you will.

 

If you want to go in excited, ready to have fun and relax, you will find it! 

 

We have cruised on 6 different HA ships, we are thankful every time and had a blast!.  Our last trip on a HAL ship was our least favorite, simply because we were in the Caribbean, and HAL could NOT get the air-conditioning repaired in a group of cabins on our side.  BUT they gave us a fan, and OBC and a free Pinnacle Grill dinner.  They did their best, everything is not perfect every time.

 

I hope you have a lovely time, don't forget Happy Hour, and in your leisure, if Downton Abbey is On Demand in your cabin - go for it.  We had heard it was good, decided to watch 1st episode, got hooked, then bought the DVD's when we got home, since we didn't get to see all the episodes.  (now here's a paragraph someone can complain about, absolutely off topic!  😂🤔)

 

 

[operakatz]

57 minutes ago, Holidaycraze said:

Not just coming into lido as then you touch all serving spoons etc and some people haven’t used entry sanitizer or have coughed or sneezed re-infecting their hands.  Living with so many on a ship - you can’t wash your hands too many times. 

 

 

One of the things about HAL that makes me hesitant to go elsewhere is that the Lido is mostly NOT self-serve, which cuts down on the gross people issues.

[rkacruiser]

My experiences during my July Northbound cruise aboard the Westerdam met my expectations for a Holland America Line cruise.  The pop-up Sel de Mer in the PG exceeded by a very wide margin any PG dinner that I have ever had on any ship.  

 

In comparison to my b2b cruises on the Nieuw Statendam in January, the Westerdam provided an excellent cruise experience on many levels that the Nieuw Statendam lacked.

[Holidaycraze]

Thanks everyone for the input.  We are off today - once I pack.

Pouring rain in Vancouver -  warm and cozy clothes

I'm so excited - there is no bad cruise.

Looking forward to relaxation, friends and meeting new ones

I will write a review on our return

I have a bad history of not writing a review - but this time I will make the effort.

[FlorenceItaly]

11 minutes ago, Holidaycraze said:

Thanks everyone for the input.  We are off today - once I pack.

Pouring rain in Vancouver -  warm and cozy clothes

I'm so excited - there is no bad cruise.

Looking forward to relaxation, friends and meeting new ones

I will write a review on our return

I have a bad history of not writing a review - but this time I will make the effort.

Bon Voyage!  Yes, please, come back and let us know how you enjoyed the cruise.  No pressure for a formal review.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

On 9/17/2019 at 10:28 AM, operakatz said:

 

One of the things about HAL that makes me hesitant to go elsewhere is that the Lido is mostly NOT self-serve, which cuts down on the gross people issues.

 

You would have loved our Carnival Pride Journey cruise 2.5 years ago.  Not only was it self-serve, but they were often out of stock, and tucked away out of sight.  I would be surprised if any more than 20% even used them.  Then there was the blatant sneezing and coughing on each other, people walking around with a tissue up their nose.  My wife saw a woman sneeze into her hands, then grab jello barehanded, while an employee watched and laughed.  The few who weren't sick by day 14, came down within 48 hours.

 

We're on the Westerdam for 16 nights this April, hoping the quality is similar to what we had last summer.