Westerdam, 3/26-4/2/06, Caribbean, R/T Ft. Lauderdale

[twoatsea]

I’m not accustomed to writing reviews, but have received several requests from some wonderful folks who helped me with advance planning – so here goes. I finished a big part of this before & it did not post – got timed out. :( So I will post this in short bursts!

About Us – DH & I are retired & in our 60’s. We travel a lot, land & sea - we love both :) . We have cruised on HAL, Princess, NCL, Celebrity, & Delta Queen Steamboat Company. Our last 7 cruises (counting this one) have been on HAL, & we have a 7/9/06 Westerdam Alaska cruise scheduled and will soon book the 9/24/06 Westerdam Panama Canal cruise. We are not stuck on the Westerdam; just worked out that way. But hey, I'm not complaining! :)

Getting there – We drove from Indiana, leaving on Monday, 3/20. We planned to leave on Tuesday, but a Monday morning snow storm warning chased us out of town – how nice to be retired! This was a last minute booking, so we did not fly because the non-stops were sold out. Besides, we usually drive to Florida for the winter anyway & didn’t get to go this year :( , so we looked forward to the drive. Besides, we took the little car, Toyota Matrix, & it gets 36 mpg – bless its little heart!! :cool: The snow storm caught us in Kentucky – not blaming Kentucky, mind you! However, we did not stop because we were afraid of getting “snowed in”. By Tennessee, we were out of the snow. AAA routed us thru Alabama because of the extensive construction in Georgia. We stayed overnite in Canton, Alabama. The next morning we hit Hwy 231 and the masses of lilacs along the highway were bursting with color & fragrance! We kept our windows down & filled ourselves with the smell – how absolutely lovely!

[twoatsea]

Disney Area – In Lake Buena Vista, Florida, we stayed at the Country Inn & Suites, king suite, $109 nite. Nice price during a lesser spring break week, room OK, not great, but met my qualifications – safe, clean, & no bugs!! :eek: The comp breakfast was great; had 3 make your own waffle machines. Afterall, we needed that before going on a cruise! :o This is our wintering area, so we had a good time visiting friends and old haunts. Stayed away from the parks because of the crowds.

 

To the Port – YEAH! Per AAA & CC help, we took the Florida Turnpike to I585, which lead us directly to the ship – so easy. Took about 2 ½ hours. The security guard at the port entrance advised us of the ship berth number and where to park, which was the mid-port garage. The road from the security gate went to the garage, which was on the left directly across from the Westerdam. Now, I didn’t have a big hat on like Kate Winslet in Titantic, and in my 60’s I’m not as gorgeous (wasn’t in my 20’s either! :D ), but I can still picture my first glance at the Westerdam – how beautiful she is. Ahhhhh! Anyway, after parking, we were in line at 11:15 a.m., waiting for the door to open. The line was outside, but it was a very nice day. There were about 20 people ahead of us - happy people! There was a table with questionnaires to be completed about one’s health. There was a place to drive up to the curb so porters could take one’s bags. However, we brought our bags from the car, so while in line we handed our bags to a porter & tipped him. We kept an over the shoulder carryon bag with our paperwork, medicine, and other important personal items.

 

The doors opened promptly at 11:30 a.m. Inside each person was asked if they had completed the immigration form & had it in hand. Those who had not completed the form were directed out of the line to an area for doing so, thus losing their place in line.:( We completed our immigration forms online and had copies in hand. We were directed to an area with crowd control lines to await assistance with check-in. There were so many representatives on duty that our wait was only a couple of minutes. The check-in was speedy. We showed our passports, immigration forms, but had not completed the health questionnaire. When she asked about that, DH, who was beaming with delight about getting ready to board, said "Do we look sick?" She laughed, said "No", & ignored the absence of our health questionnaire. She gave us our ship cards, pocket ship deck plan, some general info, and sent us on our way. We went through the security machines without any wait, and went upstairs to the waiting area, which had plenty of seats. In a few minutes the suite passengers embarked. In less than 10 minutes our number was called, we graciously posed for a photo even though we knew we would not buy it, and were greeted as we boarded the ship. We were directed to one of the glass elevators, which took us to the Lido. I love how the elevators all chime, LEEE-DOOOH, LEEE-DOOOH! As we ate our delicious lunch (which we desparately needed, of course, since it had only been a few hours since breakfast!) we sat at our window table and watched the Ft. Lauderdale shoreline, which was full of small boats, gorgeous water & beaches, and lots of sunshine (no snow!). We were in heaven!:D

[twoatsea]

The First Day - By 1 p.m. an announcement advised the cabins were ready for occupancy. We went to our verandah cabin VA8022 on the Navigation Deck. It is located in the bow area of the ship. Our Cabin Steward, Sam, introduced himself & offered to do everything for us, except paying our bill! We did request that he remove all items from the refrigerator, which he agreed to do while we were at dinner. We do not drink alcohol & bring our own sodas - yeah, I know, one of those people! When making our reservation, we had requested a queen bed and Sam had that all ready for us. Such a sweetie! :)

We went to the front desk to see if any suites were available for upgrade. There was a sign that said the ship was full. We asked to be placed on a waiting list in case someone had a last minute cancellation. Rachael was such a friendly, pleasant soul, and agreed to notate our request. She advised us that there were at least two cabins that would be available due to last minute cancellations and that the Front Office Manager would contact us with prices.

We went to the Queen’s Lounge to meet with the Maitre’D regarding our dinner table. He was scheduled to be there from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Upon booking, we requested a table for 2 at the first seating. We got 5:45 p.m., but got a table for 4, table #81. We waited a short while and then met with Robert (I think he was the Assistant Dining Room Manager). So glad we got to meet Robert; what a delight; such a sense of humor; what a hoot! We joked and laughed more than we took care of business. Anyway, no 2 seaters were available. We did not plan to eat in the dining room, so we did not want to leave another couple alone. Therefore, we requested a larger table. Only a 6 seater was available, so we took it; #61 at the aft window at 5:45 p.m.

We decided to return to our cabin and see if our bags had arrived. They had, so we unpacked. We were disappointed to discover that the very handy drawers in the TV cabinet are no longer there.:( There are still the small drawers in the two bed side tables. After placing all of our clothes in the closets, we discovered there are drawers under the end of the bed. However, we felt the closet shelves were more convenient. We placed the suitcases under the bed. In no time, we were ship shape!

Since we had never sailed the Westerdam, we wandered around the ship. My brother and sister-in-law are sailing with us on the 7/9/06 Alaska sailing and they wanted us to check out their verandah cabin. We thought the doors would be open until the passengers arrived, but they were all locked. However, a cabin just down from theirs had the door open. So we “sauntered” by, hoping to see inside without being too obvious. Well, the couple in that cabin were in there and looked at us just as we were looking at them. We apologized and explained why we were being so impolite and they insisted we come in and take a tour! Very nice people. As it turned out, my brother’s cabin was exactly like ours, but at least we got to meet some nice people - that always makes for a good day!

Per our Daily Program which we found in our cabin, a tour of the ship was scheduled for 3:30 p.m., meeting in the Crow’s Nest. Trevor, of the Activities Department, gave the tour and he was a delight. Very personable young man who advised us that he has only been on the job for one month. He did an excellent job and we appreciated his enthusiasm. There were only about 10 of us on the tour. We liked that HAL offered this tour even though obviously not too many folks were interested. We found it a great way to familiarize ourselves with the ship. The tour we took on own was not as organized and did not contain the info that Trevor gave us. So, for those new to a ship, we think the organized tour is worthwhile. The tour lasted about 40 minutes.

Quickly we returned to our cabin for our life vests and reported for the life boat drill. Since we were so hurried, we waited until after the drill to retrace our steps to safety, noting how to find the stairs' door in the dark. Although we always take a flashlight, in the case of heavy smoke, the flashlight may not help. We also made verbal and mental notes of our muster station, B06, realizing in some emergencies we may not be able to return to our cabin for our life vests, which list our station number.

[twoatsea]

Then it was about a half hour until sail-a-way - oh no! The first day slipping away from us! Anyway, enough drama - we always like to watch from the Crow’s Nest, so decided we had better get up there so we could get a good seat – we love those comfy high back chairs! We were surprised to find only one other couple there. We chatted with them – with difficulty – because the music was tooo loud! Very nice couple; we enjoyed their company, and as always, loved the sail-away view from the Crow’s Nest.

And now it was time for dinner. This cruise was a relaxation cruise for us. We did not pack any “dressy” clothes, but did pack a lot of big, baggy, comfy clothes – clean, undamaged, but with lots of room to grow into! ;) So, even though we did not plan to eat in the dining room, we headed to the dining room to advise our table mates not to wait on us tonight or any night; if we didn’t appear on time, begin their meal! Well, best laid plans of mice and men! The couple was so charming, alone because the third couple did not appear, and so sad that we were not joining them, that we decided to stay. Our visit with them was very enjoyable. DH ordered a steak, cooked medium, because he was concerned that the prime rib would be too undercooked for him, as in many restaurants. I order the prime rib, cooked medium. As it turned out, his steak was too cooked, more medium well, and dry and tough. My prime rib was perfect. He left his steak and ate half of my prime rib! That is why we like to eat in the Lido. If something is not right, a replacement can be obtained immediately. In the dining room, if something is not right, that person eats alone, after everyone else has finished that course and while everyone is waiting for him/her to finish. We reluctantly parted company; we were the next to last to leave the dining room! Regarding our seats at the aft window - on this ship, the full circle deck is located right outside the dining room aft window. We did not like eating while others wandered by looking at us. Maybe others would not mind.

It had been a busy day, we met a lot of wonderful people, we were tired (& stuffed!), and decided to return to our cabin and enjoy our balcony. Upon returning, we discovered a phone message from the Front Desk Manager. She advised us of the prices for two available suites – a corner aft Deluxe Verandah Suite for an additional total of $1265, and a Superior Suite for an additional total of $445. I advised her I would discuss it with DH and get back with her tomorrow. I acknowledged that we understood we were risking the loss of the cabins by not giving her an immediate response. DH and I decided to “sleep on it”.

[twoatsea]

OK, the excitement of the first day is over. The rest of the cruise was your standard everyday enjoyment - ho hum!!;) So I will no longer put everyone to sleep with a blow by blow account. I'll try to keep down the verbage & just give some info on the ship, the food, the cruise, etc. that may interest everyone. I will not insert IMO, IMHO, etc. It was my cruise, my review, my perspective, (my money) so obviously this is all my opinion!;)

1. Fitness Room - As usual, it is busy the first couple of days only. We were usually on the treadmills before 7 a.m. & never had to wait. There are a lot of treadmills - maybe about 12 or 15; lots of bicycles; couple of the new type machines, I forget what they are called.

2. Lido Breakfast - We were usually there by 7:30 a.m. and it was never crowded. But by 8 a.m., the crowds picked up. Did not eat at the main station, only the express waffle & express omelet stations. The waffles were delicious with whipped cream, fruit including strawberries, syrup - ask for what you want - served by person behind the counter. And it's not the big, 4 sided waffles, but little individual round ones - I like that - after all I need to leave room for lunch, dinner, ice cream, snacks, cookies,.....

 

DH wanted ham & cheese omelets. The first day, the outsides were too brown/done; not ruined; he ate it; just not as he preferred. He gave it a try the next day - same thing. So after that, he ate scrambled eggs with ham & cheese cooked with the eggs & loved that (made to order, cooked while he waited). He got that dish at the omelet station.

 

The fresh squeezed orange juice was located at the ice cream station with the rest of the juices. A sign said “Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice”, but we did not know if we were to ask for it or it was in the small juice glasses in the case. So we asked the server behind the counter and he said it was in the case. DH said it was good; I don’t know because I don’t drink it; I just needed to know where it was because I sometimes got it for DH.

We brought our own covered-top mugs from Disney. We were very glad that we did because the drink glasses are so very small in the Lido. Also the mugs are nice to carry your coffee & cola around the ship & at the pool. The Lido staff all wanted to look at our mugs and all wanted one. Wish we had thought; could have bought some while we were at Disney and given them to the staff. Good idea for future cruises.

Ok, now this is a serious problem!!:mad: I MUST have peanut butter on my waffles (must be an Indiana thing!). It was such a trial to get my PB, that I have proven above & beyond how faithful I am to this delight! While at my table I asked one of the servers. He said at the end of the main line. After going to the tray line, discovered it was at the "other" end. Went to the other end & after politely waiting until someone acknowledged me, was advised it was on the other side main line. Went there & waited again to be acknowledged, waited for the person to have time to spoon some out for me (from a regular jar of PB), and went back & ate my cold waffle. Each day, I would pick the wrong side & have to go to the other side (obviously I should not pay the lottery). We put this on our comment card. There must be other people who partake of PB for breakfast or they wouldn't have it there. But I guess they don't want to share too much of it - probably afraid we will all get fat!;) Anyway, it is not really a problem. We leave on 4/27 for the 4/28 of the Maasdam & I have already packed my little plastic jar of Peter Pan creamy peanut butter. I don't get to eat it at home (we are not always pigs), so I guess I will leave the leftovers for Sam! Now I can't wait for those waffles!:D

The coffee in the Lido must be delicious because my DH is VERY picky about his coffee and he drank a ton of it! I don't drink coffee.

[Mjasp]

Two at sea...Enjoying your report. Did you go for the suite? and they probably don't put peanut butter out because of allergies. Some people get very serious reactions just from you having it. My friends daughter is like that. She is allergic to a lot of foods and around Easter just touched the shell of an egg and started itching and wheezing. Not sure, but I would assume that is the reason

[twoatsea]

We ate in the Dining Room the first nite. We had room service for dinner on 2 nites. The rest of the dinners we ate in the Lido. One lunch we ate at the Pool burger place.

 

Lunch in the Lido - There is a main line with entrees, veggies, potatoes (seemed like always had french fries), gravies, soup. There is the pasta station, the Asian food, including sushi station, & the deli station. DH loves spagetti with red sauce. The first day he asked for spagetti & meat sauce. He said it was good but I could tell he was not thrilled. Anyway - I don't think it is a cooked to order pasta station like in a restaurant. You know where you stand there while he/she puts everything you request in a skillet (including tons of garlic), cooks it, puts the pasta in it, heats it up, & hands it to you. Now it was that way on the smaller HAL ships we sailed when they alternated between pasta & Asian. The next day I ordered it for him to try & dress it up. However, I failed to ask if it could be cooked to order. So maybe someone else knows whether it can be. Anyway I discovered that the meat sauce has very little red sauce in it. So I requested meat sauce & red sauce. There were little bowls of self serve Italian seasoning, ground parmesan, & red pepper seeds. So I spiced it up as best as I could & he was happier with it. Another problem was that the meat sauce appeared to be a hamburger type, rather than Italian sausage. Anyway, he ate it several times (liked it much better dressed up) - Mikey will eat anything!:D

 

We ate at the deli once - corned beef with swiss cheese on rye on a panini bread - toasted - yummy.

 

Got some stir fry once; put soy sauce on it. It was so salty, we could not eat it. Don't know if it was the soy sauce, altho we always put soy sauce on our stirfry, or the dish itself was salty & the soy sauce made it too much so. Will know next time to test the dish before adding the sauce!!

 

A couple of our favorite entrees were pepper crusted catfish & short ribs. I'm telling you - those were absolutely the best tasting entrees of the Lido - yummy, yummy! Don't miss those & save room for lots!! Other good entrees were the Barbque ribs on Friday; beef stroganoff another day.

 

DH fell in love with the Lido soups. By the 2nd day, the servers knew to give him 2 bowls (actually cups) of whatever he asked for & some days he ate both kinds. I'm not a soup fan, except for clam chowder!!

 

One of the desserts was a struedel. Each day it was a different fruit - strawberry, apple, cranberry, cherry. All were delicious. Be sure to try them.

 

And of course, there will always be ice cream!! Waffle cones too. But get them early, they run out. Ate a ton. DH said I would have withdrawals after the cruise.

 

Pool Food - The hamburgers are huge & freshly cooked & delicious. So are the french fries. Oh no - Houston we have a problem - there were not any hamburger dill pickle slices & tomato slices on the bar to put on the hamburger. Don't know, but maybe I should have asked the cook to put them on. Only ate there once. Then of course there is the taco bar.

 

My goodness, that one deck has enough food to feed an army - guess that's what we are!

 

Anyway, I must close for tonite. I still have so much to do & must get up early tomorrow to take DH to the eye doc - early appt. wouldn't you know it!! Hopefully, I can finish this tomorrow. Take care everyone & have a good nite.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Goodnight, twoatsea, and thanks for a terrific report! I like all the details; the more the better!:) Thanks for all your hard work. You and your husband sound like very happy couple.:)

[twoatsea]

oops, I didn't quit as I said I would, did I!! I was reviewing to make sure it posted correctly.

 

mjasp - No, we did not go for the suites. Before leaving home, I printed the prices off the HAL site & the prices given by the F.O. Mngr. were higher. We did go to the Front Office the next day & Rachael insisted we tour the cabins, which we did. When we tried to bargain on the price she said that was as low as they would go. They probably had others interested. But my-my, that side aft suite was absolutely outstanding. But we are too practical, I suppose. We rarely used our balcony & just could not justify to ourselves to spend the extra money. We think someone did take it because one day we were on the Lido & looked down & the deck furniture had been moved around.

 

Hi, middle aged mom - thanks for your kind words. Once when we were on a trip, a woman had been watching us & came to us & said, "You two seem so meant for each other. I bet you are high school sweethearts." We said yes, we are. And she said she knew that because we got along so well & seemed to enjoy each other so much. We laughed & I said, "Well, I've read his book thru & thru & he's read my book thru & thru so there isn't anything left to argue about - we already know all the answers!" She thought that was a riot. Of course, she was a lot younger than us, so she will probably discover that herself one day!!:) We do have a lot of fun though.

[Copper10-8]

TAS; thanks a bunch for a great, funny and very comprehensive report of your Westerdam cruise! :) I am really enjoying it, please keep up the good work!

I too, am a PB fan (sometimes in the morning on toast instead of cereal). HAL used to have the little self-sealing PB containers (a la the pancake syrup ones) but, unfortunately, haven't seen those in a while. Then they started putting out PB in the small white ceramic cups (same ones they use at the Lido Grill for mayo and ketchup) but those too are sporadic! Holy moly, what is a mother to do:eek: Mr. Deering, are you listening? I do like you do and stand at the end of the line where they toast the toast and ask the toaster guy (the one that toasts the toast) if he has any PB. That usually does the trick and out comes a huge, jumbo Peter Pan PB jar. When that happens, life becomes good again;)

Sorry to ramble on, please continue your excellent review!

[debjo]

For twoatsea...

I'm anxiously waiting for my printer to stop printing your review so I can read it before I hit the sack tonight...what a wonderful way to end my day with thoughts of a WESTERDAM cruise filling my head...I just hope I have some blue sky & sun filled dreams of sailing on the seas!

 

Thanks for taking the time to write such a lengthy review...in my humble opinion, the longer the review the better!

 

Debjo

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review - enjoyed reading it.

 

I have also learn that I have to break my reviews down into sections or it just won't take.

 

I love peanut butter - but at lunch time.

[twoatsea]

Copper 10-8 - How can you claim to ramble on after reading my review! I was hurrying & as I typed it just kept growing & growing. Hopefully today I can "do it" on my word doc & cut it down. Anyway, looks like you will be packin' PB too! Enjoy.

 

Debjo - Oh my goodness - Instead of printing my long review, you could have cruised for the price of your printer paper & ink! I hope it put you to sleep quickly & gave you "sailing" dreams!

 

KK - Another PB fan. Maybe we should create a PB Group Cruise - BYOPB!

 

OK - Got some calls & business to take care of & then hopefully I can finish my epic! Later everyone. And thanks for taking the time to read & respond.

[debjo]

For twoatsea...

I just loved my late night reading last evening...and no, your saga DID NOT PUT ME TO SLEEP...it just left me wanting to read more. I can't wait til you add some more details of your Port-Of-Call experiences. I just printed out the excursion list for my October cruise and am getting even more excited...of course that leads to lots of questions.

You have a nack for writing...it keeps us wanting more!

 

Debjo

[twoatsea]

awww, I'm so sorry debjo. We have cruised to the Caribbean so often that we don't do excursions any more. Our fun is staying on the ship while most everyone else gets off :p ! We did get off at Costa Maya, Mexico to walk around & shop. So I will post that now so you won't have to read the rest, which is mostly "food" - our cruise favorite! (need a piggy smiley here:eek: )

 

Itinerary

SUNDAY – happy day

 

MONDAY – sea day

 

TUESDAY – Costa Maya, Mexico, 7am-2pm - Also in port were the Carnival Victory and a Royal Caribbean ship. We checked them out as we stood on the Lido aft & it was very obvious that their balconies are much, much smaller. At this port there is a very long pier, but a shuttle was available for those who needed it or those who wanted it! And there were plenty of seats everytime we saw it. At the end of the pier, there are lots of shops. One first arrives at "hut" type shops. Further on are brick & mortar shops. There are also bars, restaurants, a large pool, and beach. I do not know what it cost to use the pool or the beach. We walked around & shopped; went back to the ship for lunch; walked around some more - and spent some money - not much - we don't do jewelry from places so far from home. What we discovered was that the prices in the hut shops were much higher than the other shops. However, in the hut shops, one can bargain. The trick is to find out what the prices should be by shopping in the other shops first. The other shops do not bargain; we tried. Their products are price marked. The products in the hut shops are not marked. There is a big difference in the prices, for instance, jacket $35 (hut), $15 (shop) & the one in the shop was of a heavier and better material. Another example, blanket/wall hanging $80 hut/$30 shop.:eek: Bargaining time! We noticed lots of tours for sale on shore; also a taxi area for going to town; folks buying bus tickets. Looks like this would be an easy place to do your own thing if you wanted to go into town & have time on a beach. At the end of the day as we walked back to the ship, we were joined by a Carnival passenger, probably in his early 40's, & believe me, he was not feeling any pain & he was just chattering away. :) He had taxied to town with his family, only took about 5 minutes. He said that in town, he paid $20 for all of them to have use of the beach, water to drink, use of beach chairs, & all the booze one would want - obviously he had made good use of that last amenity! ;) We asked if they were stingy with the booze & he said no, one just orders what one wants at the bar, very quick service, & there was lots of booze in each drink. He said the beach was great. Such a small world - he was from Crown Point, IN; we are from IN!

 

WEDNESDAY – Georgetown, Grand Cayman – 5 other ships, 3 Carnival; 1 Celebrity; 1 Royal Caribbean. Tenders were used. We did not partake; we have in the past. The tenders are brutal! They have to wait so long to load & unload & the water gets so choppy with so many boats moving around. We enjoyed the ship.

 

THURSDAY – Montego Bay, Jamaica – We usually get off the ship when it is docked. However, we never get off the ship at Jamaica – too much crime to travelers & we don't want to give them our money until they clean it up or the cruise lines quit stopping there - sorry for the sermon! The last time we were there, we got off to walk around the dock area. Once inside the dock building, we were advised not to go to the adjacent shopping area that is outside the fenced area. That was enough for us. Recently there have been traveler warnings about the taxi drivers taking travelers to secluded areas & with help of buddies, robbing the travelers & dumping them. Years ago we did a land tour there at a very expensive resort - an all inclusive one. They gave us the same warnings. I assume that the folks who sightsee with HAL excusions are fine, since they are not on their own. At least I have never heard of any problems there. However, each time we take a cruise that stops at Jamaica, we put a suggestion on our comment card, "please stop going". The Westerdam was the only ship there.

 

FRIDAY – sea day

 

SATURDAY – HAL's Half Moon Cay - The Volendam was also there. We have been on HMC with another ship before. It does make it crowded, but some folks don't mind. We did not go ashore this time. On this board, so many people can answer any questions you have about HMC.

 

SUNDAY – sad day

 

Now....on Thursday, we leave for the Maasdam cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Montreal. I am sure that God willing & the creek don't rise, we will get off at every port!!!

[twoatsea]

THE WESTERDAM – It is the biggest HAL ship we have sailed; previously only the R & S ships. Since our cabin was in the bow, we soon complained about the long walk to most of the places we wanted to go. Decided we did not want to sail a Vista ship again. Then by about Tuesday, we discovered we had been bewitched – she weaved her magic spell and we fell in love with her. We think she is beautiful. There were some worn places on her stair edges, but those were being replaced during our cruise. Ahhh, and all of those beautiful flowers. However, reminiscent of “Where’s Waldo”, we looked high and low for the dodo who bought (hopefully cheap) those horribly gaudy benches that sit by the elevator. What were they thinking???? :(

THE CREW – Every crew member we came in contact with was smiling and friendly. We especially loved Rachel at the front office. We wanted to take her home & marry her off to our single son – but no such luck. Since we only ate in the dining room on one occasion, we cannot comment on that staff. Ashbell, the cook at the Lido, who cooks the dinner steaks, is a very pleasant man. We enjoyed visiting with him & appreciate the time he took to visit with us. Sam our cabin steward was from the HAL steward cloning factory. He was everything that everyone says about the wonderful HAL cabin stewards. Such a dream. DeeDee, the Lido “pusher” was a delight. He pushed his cart of coffee/water/cola around and talked a lot! He said he is also in the dining room at nite. He has 8 months to go on his contract. His dream is to open a small grocery store at home. I hope he gets his dream. As mentioned before, we enjoyed Robert, the Assistant Dining Room Manager. We gave special mention for these folks on our comment form.

THE CABIN – VA8022, Navigation Deck – There has been some discussion on CC regarding the size of the balconies. Did not have a tape measure, but with my size 9.5 woman’s shoe, I walked heel to toe for 7 steps deep and 11 steps wide. It was large enough to stretch out your legs from your chair to the railing (well, I guess that depends on your height. I am 5’8”.) We had 2 chairs, nice ones with cusions, not the white plastic kind, and an ottoman/table, and lots of free sunshine, sea breezes, and gorgeous scenery! Directly above us was the spa area. We did hear a little noise from above in the early morning. I guess they were setting up for the day; it was not bothersome. One day we had a note left in our cabin that our balcony was scheduled for painting. We called and advised that I am allergic to such toxins. We were advised, no problem; our balcony work was graciously cancelled. The next day we received a note that our carpet was scheduled for cleaning. I called again, apologized for being such a pain in the rear, and was assured it was not a problem and the cleaning was graciously cancelled. The Front Office crew are such a nice group of people!

THE FOOD – Our best part, as I am sure everyone can tell. We are foodies when we cruise. Mostly because we are careful about what we eat when we don’t cruise – maybe that is why we cruise a lot – do you suppose so! (Need a big piggie smiley face here!)

Every nite, sirloin steak was offered in the Lido and the dining room. I believe Salmon was usually offered in the dining room also. On a couple of occasions, we had a sirloin steak in the Lido and it was always cooked perfectly & with a very good taste, good size, & thickness. Ashbell cooked them & he did it well!

ROOM SERVICE – We ordered it twice, each time at 5:45 p.m., which gave us the earliest possible delivery time of 6:30 – 6:45 p.m. Both times the ordering was easy. A couple of times on other HAL ships we experienced “language/accent” problems, but not this time - clear as a bell. Both orders arrived on time, the orders were correct – nothing missing, the food temps were appropriate, and the food was delicious! The room steward does not remove the trays, so room service needs to be called for pickup. The trays are not to be left in the hall because of safety issues - makes sense. Also, advise if a cart needs to be brought for the pickup – when there are several trays - like for us piggies!

DINING ROOM – We only ate one night in the dining room – Sunday, the first night. I discussed that earlier. Here’s a little more. I asked for prime rib without sides (potato, etc.) & substitute some of the shrimp curry, which was on rice. The steward was unhappy with this request. I could tell because he gave me a sigh and an unhappy look and said, “I will have to go to different sides of the kitchen.” I smiled & replied, “OK, that's fine.” and went on ordering. I then requested “creamy” horseradish for my prime rib. He said it was not the creamy kind. I requested that he try to get me the creamy kind. (Note: I was in a very happy mood. I was on my first day of the cruise & was very much enjoying the company of a nice couple. I was smiling and being very polite while ordering - just in case someone thinks that maybe I was tired & in a crabby mood.) Anyway, I got the full meal of both, which was fine because DH’s steak was overcooked so he helped me eat my meal, which we both loved – yummy, very good. However, I did not get creamy horseradish. So when being served, I asked the steward to bring me some mayonnaise; he did; I made my own creamy HR – more than one way to skin a radish!! DH asked for some béarnaise sauce with his steak, even though it was not on the menu. The steward agreed to bring him some & he did - & it was luscious – love that béarnaise sauce!! We did not have an appetizer or salad. We had the chocolate cake for dessert & it was too dry for us. Our dining time was 5:45 p.m.; we left the dining room at 7:35 p.m. There were many empty tables; guess the Lido was busy.

THE LIDO – Except for the first nite in the dining room and the two room service nites, we ate dinner in the Lido. For dinner, only the main food line is open, plus the desserts & ice cream at the ice cream station. Come to think of it, I do not remember if the salad bar was open, but I don’t think it was.??? To being, one takes a tray & goes thru the line, getting appetizers & small salad offerings along the way. One’s order for entrée, side dishes, and soup is taken by a steward standing in front of the main steam table. One is given a number for the order, the order is given to the cooks & servers behind the counter, the order dished, and then brought to one’s table. While waiting for the food to appear, one can eat the salad & appetizers. Nice system. It keeps the line moving and the steaks are made to order & everything is the appropriate temp. Most of the food we ate in the Lido was very good. I don’t think there is a difference in quality between the Lido and the dining room, just a difference in menu & speed of getting your food (faster in the Lido). Some of the dining room menu items are offered at the Lido & some are not. For dinner, the Lido tables have white tablecloths & cloth napkins. The staff is more attentive regarding getting steak sauce, other needed items, etc. However, we must seem too able because we have rarely been served our drinks; we get them ourselves from the self-serve machines (coffee, ice tea, water, & when we remember, the delicious lemonade!). We do not order alcohol or sodas. However, I have noticed some passengers getting special attention from the staff & being served a lot – hope they tipped accordingly! But that’s OK. That is one of the reasons we like the Lido. If we want something, we can go and get it rather than waiting 15 minutes or more for someone to notice we want something and then longer to get it to us – which by then, it’s a little late.

MONDAY nite was formal with Alaskan crab legs (served split in half), Beef Wellington, the big shrimp cocktail, French onion soup w/cheese, choc cake with rasp sauce. Since we did not bring “dressy” clothes & we love crab legs, we had room service. DH ate 4 orders of crab legs. I ate one order. I also ordered Beef Wellington, thinking my husband would eat my crab legs if I liked the B.W. better. I did not. The B.W. was “mushy”, however, the gravy on it was luscious! The crab legs were great, of course. The big shrimp cocktail was heaven – wished I had ordered a second one – it was nice & crunchy. (The texture of my food is as important as the taste – sorry, that’s just me!) DH loves French onion soup, but could not eat it – way too salty. The chocolate cake with raspberry sauce (which is one of my favorites) was wonderful – although eaten later in the evening, as you can imagine. I love raspberry sauce on chocolate cake.

TUESDAY nite was informal – We ate in the Lido. Pot roast, pot pie, lamb, parm chicken, & tuna were offered. I ordered the lamb & it was delicious. DH ordered the yummy sirloin with the broccoli & spinach pot pie. The crust on top of the pot pie was delicious, but the inside was green slime! Sorry, hope you are not eating! DH did not eat the pot pie. The Italian wedding soup was very good. DH ate 4 cups of the Bahamian Conch Chowder, so obviously it was good! Ashbell said the wedding soup was the most popular – that was good; more of the chowder left for DH! We had a chocolate chunk cookie for dessert – yum, yum!

WEDNESDAY nite was casual & party time at the Lido – Bar B Q by the pool nite. We love this nite & so looked forward to it. However, sadly, the food was not the usual. The ribs were tough, did not fall off the bones; steaks the same – tough med. well & dry. Corn on the cob was cold. :( Much after the fact, we decided that timing was our problem. While watching them set-up, we noticed they brought out the pre-cooked food & placed it in the serving bins. Then uncooked meat was brought out & placed on the grills to cook. So, wouldn't you "thunk" we would have figured it out ahead of time - duh!! I'm sure if we had waited on the freshly grilled food, it would have been the usual wonderful stuff! We will know next time. We did not try the salmon, sausage, or chicken. There was a large banquet table full of desserts. We tried the pecan pie & cherry/apple cobbler; both were excellent.

THURSDAY nite was casual – We ate in the Lido. Oops, can’t find my dinner notes. But believe me, we ate! :D

FRIDAY nite was formal – We ordered room service – 2 escargot (both for DH), 2 surf & turf with 2 extra lobsters (1 surf & turf for me), 1 Caribbean seafood bouillabaisse (for DH). Everything was delicious. The lobster was not mushy as it has been on a couple of occasions; very good. The steak was perfectly cooked to medium & once again we requested bearnaise sauce, which we got & which was wonderful! DH loved the soup and as always, the “snails”! We did not order dessert! (humm, can't imagine; wonder why?)

SATURDAY nite was casual – No notes again. Probably was too bummed out because of the dreaded Sunday!

.

ROYAL TEA – 3:15 pm on Tues. - We sat at a 4 seater with a lovely couple from Long Island & had an absolutely wonderful time. In fact, we had such a wonderful time that at 4:30 p.m. we got chased out of the dining room – didn’t realize everyone else was gone! They were probably in their 40’s and it was their first cruise & they loved it. Unbelievably, we talked about politics. They were very into their New York politics, enjoyed talking about them, & we enjoyed hearing their views. They seemed to be interested in our views also, since we are from Indiana, they were curious as to how the Midwest thinks. Of course, we could only speak for ourselves, but Indiana is a RED state! How strange that for all that time, strangers can talk about politics in a civil manner – there is hope! By the way, the dark chocolate covered strawberries were to die for. Tea was great too.

LIDO – Other Lido foods – The chicken, don’t know how to spell it but it sounds like, catch-a-torie! :o was very good; tomato broth with chichen & veggies. The fish & chips for Tuesday lunch was very good.

Most of the ice cream was good – not a premium high butter fat content, but tasty. How could I say otherwise since I was there every day at least once & sad to admit, on a couple days – twice! A couple of times the ice cream was too icy, more like an ice milk, but that seemed to vary by flavor. Luckily, the chocolate ice cream was very creamy & good. Now if we could just convince them to dip the waffle cones in chocolate!! Speaking of waffle cones, if you want one, get there early; they run out & don’t fix more.

The desserts are cut in small servings & on plates or in bowls. I remember when whole cakes & pies were spread on large tables in the Lido. I guess that has changed. Probably for the best; prevents waste & contamination.

Wed. lunch was goulosh soup, chile crusted catfish & short ribs, garlic mashed potatoes & gravy, cranberry & strawberry struedel w/burgundy cherry ice cream. The catfish & short ribs were at the top of my favorites list – absolutely yummy! Of course, I didn't turn up my nose at the struedel w/burgundy cherry ice cream either!

Thurs. lunch – nothing on main line we wanted, so ate from the pool food bar.

Friday lunch – very good bar b q ribs – probably left overs from Wed. nite, which was OK because they were very good. The beef stroganoff was very good also.

The lemonade – I can not believe that we forgot about it & drank ice tea all week. We remembered on Friday. Drank all we could on Friday & Saturday.

Just one more post & I am done. Whew!

[twoatsea]

Others not mentioned elsewhere - I don't think -

 

Tuesday, 2 p.m., we attended the culinary arts demo – free of charge. We enjoyed it. The Chef fixed crab cakes & chocolate covered strawberries. Best yet, everyone got a sample. Just what we all needed, another chance to eat. (need another piggie smiley) There was another free demo offered, which we did not attend. At that one, the Chef was scheduled to fix the infamous Chocolate Volcano Cake.

 

Another small world - Got to talking to a man in the Lido & lo & behold, he is from our town! How surprising since we are from a very small town. He & his wife were on a trivia team & they were stuck on a questons & wondered if we knew the answer. "What was the name of the Alfred Hitchcock movie with Jimmy Stewart & Doris Day." We are really into movies & couldn't for the life of us, think of the name of the movie. It bothered us all afternoon & then I remembered. We saw him at the pool later & told him. I guess I will let you have the fun of figuring it out for yourself! :D

 

I read 2 books – nothing deep; cheap mysteries (old ones on sale at Walmart; $5 paperbacks). Gave them to Sam when we left; he was pleased to get them.

 

One day, Rev. Neal's ears must have burned because I thought of him. I was sitting on a bench seat with 2 chairs across the table; my husband across from me in one of the chairs. It was a window seat in the Lido. While I was gone getting something, a girl of about 5 years old (old enough to know better) jumped up on my bench seat and walked across my bench seat (with shoes on), banged on the window, and yelled yee haw, yee haw, repeatedly; guess she was excited about Jamaica! Her father (I guess) finally appeared, stood there, did nothing to remove her, did not acknowledge DH who was not smiling. Finally the man said, “Come on, (insert her name here). Guess the Marines don’t want to play this morning” DH has a Marine tatoo on his arm from a drunken leave in (sounds like) Tea-a-wanna, Mexico (sorry, don't know the spellling!) Now, my sweet DH is never thrilled with other people's children. He does not think they are cute, funny, entertaining, or anything else. He only likes them when they are very quiet & very still. That's OK. He did his duty; we have 3 grown children. Sorry, just had to tell that.

 

A soda card was $18.75 for 20 drinks & one is given a mug that one must present in order to get a soda (interpretation - carry it with you). We did not buy one, but I was talking with a woman who did.

 

We love the chocolates & mixed nuts in the Explorer Lounge after dinner. Thanks, HAL.

 

We missed the Mariners Party because it was at lunch time & DH was hungry? Got our 2 tiles – love those (we use them as coasters). Got 1 HAL bag.

 

Yes, we saw some chair hogs in the Lido midship pool. We did not take any action! Yes, we saw some HAL robes at the pool also - with people in them.

 

The absolute most horrible time on the ship was when:

1. We were at a Lido window table for lunch (love those window seats). I was facing a woman at the next window table. The Lido steward was waiting on her for some reason - she was not handicapped & she was with a man, possibly her husband; probably so because he was very quiet. The waiter brought her a plate of dessert – all kinds of yummy things. She looked at it , snurled her lips, looked up at the waiter (who had stayed around probably because he was proud of himself for being so kind and wanted to hear her thank yous) & she grumbled in a shrill voice, “I wanted ice cream!” not thank you, not kiss my ….. foot. It was all I could do to keep from jumping up & slapping her. Luckily I am a non-violent person. The steward didn't say a word. He went & got her some ice cream. I hope it was the wrong flavor! :mad: Now I know why the man with her was so quiet - I would be too if I was with her - but then I wouldn't be with her!!

 

2. In the Lido for breakfast; table across the aisle from us, a woman was being waited on (a man was with her also). A Lido waiter kindly brought her a plate of waffles. She must have been raised in the same jungle with the other woman, because she growled, “I don’t need two waffles!” in a tone that indicated the waiter was an idiot! Wish I could have swiftly raised the place (with the gooey syrup) to her face! The steward did not say a word (neither did the guy at the table with her!). Those poor servers. How can people be that way??? And why do we seem to end up around them!!!

 

I have all of the Daily Programs, if anyone wants to know anything from them.

 

I have the info from the kitchen tour if anyone wants to know how much food we ate! Don't worry, we left some for future cruises! :)

 

We bought the CSA Travel Insurance for a total of $194 for the both of us. We need pre-existing conditions covered because DH has health problems. We do not know if they "pay off" because we have never had to use them. We compared them with other policies on insuremytrip.com.

 

Our end of the cruise bill was $140 – all tips only. We gave our cabin steward a cash tip & left the auto tips on.

 

We did not attend any stage shows. There were not any movies in the theater during the day because the room is used for other activities. I miss the daytime movies. There were good movies on the tv however, if one wants to watch; they were recent movies. The movies changed each day; played several times a day. The movie schedule is listed in the info book in the cabin.

 

We booked our cruise with a HAL sales rep; not the front line folks; the ones transferred to. For the last 3 cruises she has given us the best rate. However, not for the upcoming Sept. '06 Panama Canal. As with this cruise, we usually book close to the cruise date (nice being retired!) and have found some great bargains that way. However, we are not picky about our cabin & that does make a difference. Although luckily, we have never gotten a "bad" cabin.

 

One of the reasons the ship was full, except for the 2 last minute cancellations, was because about 20 cabins were booked at the last minute by the Princess fire ship folks. They weren't on during the fire, but scheduled for subsequent sailings. We met a nice couple from DC who were scheduled for that ship. They seemed to like HAL; had never sailed HAL before.

 

Watch out for waterfalls - A couple next to us on the Promenade Deck was snoozing away in their nice HAL teak chairs, when water poured down on them from above the life boat. They woke up very quickly! Someone up above was cleaning, I suppose. However, the area was not roped off. As we watched, the water moved closer to us & then closer. We got out of the way before it got us.

 

DISEMBARKATION - A breeze, just like embarkation. We had blue 2. I like the way the tickets are on the disembarkation luggage tags - just tear off the bottom. We waited in the culinary arts/movie theater area. Lots of antsy people tried to get in line too soon and/or crowd around the hallway, & were chased away. It was so efficient that we were on the Florida Turnpike by 10am! Not that we were in any hurry to end our life on the Westerdam, but we had a long way to drive. We stayed overnite in Alabama again. We decided the drive back was not as much fun & next time we will fly, which we are this Thursday.

 

OK, now a taboo subject – dress code. I know - those dreaded words. I can feel the CC board trembling now. Well, I must report this incident. We had just finished our dinner in the Lido & were walking out. When much to our shock, striding towards us was a couple in formal clothing. Now, I agree with many others on this board. The rules are clearly outlined - online & in the HAL bible we receive with our tickets. These folks simply were ignoring the rules - Lido is casual. However, we were very proud of ourselves. Arm in arm, neither one of us broke stride. We walked straight towards them; looking them in the eye. We each smiled, nodded, and said in a pleasant voice, "Good Evening." I don't know if they appreciated our generosity or not, but I think they probably did. I'm sure they were worried that we would "look down" on them; possibly even have our evening/dinner ruined because they did not comply. Surely, our kindness earned us some special points in that GreatLand in the Sky (no, not Mars; the other one!);)

 

Hopefully, our enjoyment of the cruise & the joy of sailing with HAL has come across. HAL has a great product; we are blessed to be able to partake of it. I hope, and I'm sure it will, continue to be as good as it is now and possibly improve in some very small areas. Happy sailings to everyone.

 

p.s. The movie was "The Man Who Knew Too Much". Had you worried didn't I! :D

[debjo]

For twoatsea...

OK...you've got my taste buds a-churnin' with tonight's bed-time story. I can't wait for my husband to read all that I've printed out from your postings. I guess it is OK that you didn't go on any shore excursions because my October cruise is to the EASTERN Caribbean and Half Moon Cay is the only thing our two cruise itineraries have in common. I just found out that we'll be sharing that paradise of an island with another HAL ship on my cruise...I wish we had it all to ourselves...oh well!

 

I feel about your remaining "posting" like you felt about your final day on the ship...I hate to have all this reading entertainment & information come to an end.

 

I have one question (for now) for you...apart from the dining venues :-) ...what was your favorite spot on the ship?

 

Debjo

[mim100]

TwoAtSea....wow ....thanks for all the detail...great reading !! and all that food !! I got out my brochure to look for your cabin # ( we're booked on the Navigation deck next year )..found your cabin # and then noticed a large section of the bow was just white blocks on the plan...I was going to ask you what it was when it finally sank in to my brain DUH gee you'd think NAVIGATION deck would have been my first clue ???? :rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Ziggy7]

WoW Twoatsea, Great review! Thanks for sharing so much with us!!!! :):):):)

[Mjasp]

OMG 2atC...Thanks, I skimmed through it this morning and will read it again when I get home from work.

 

Just Love it

 

Thanks

Mjasp

[Copper10-8]

Thanks a lot and very nice job, TAS. I enjoyed reading it! Keep up the good work! :)

[Williebill]

I certainly enjoyed your review. My DW and I will be boarding the Westerdam in less than two weeks in Seattle to sail the inside passage; you answered several questions for us, thank you. We will be staying in a Veranda cabin, number 5130, and I sure hope we get as much enjoyment from our cruise as you and your DH seemed too.

[twoatsea]

Thanks everyone for your kind & encouraging words. I must say, as I wrote, I longed for being there again! And debjo, like you, my taste buds were working overtime! :)

 

Now we can all envy Williebill & his DW! They board in 2 weeks & they are in a verandah cabin. Williebill & DW, I'm sure you will have a great time. When you return (sorry to mention the end of your cruise :eek: ), you need to come back & let us know if you agree with mine & DH assessments. You can probably give us a more thorough review, since you will probably tour more & see some stage shows. We were just vegetating this time & didn't do too much, except enjoy ourselves, of course .... & eat!

 

Debjo, I'm sure you will enjoy HMC. It's such a paradise, how could you not! Besides, there was another ship there with us & we did not hear anyone complain about crowding problems. All that sun, sand, & sea - you'll be in heaven! Re: our fav spot on the ship - now that is a hard one (OK, I hear some of you laughing as you say "the food places"!). But seriously, our balcony was special because the weather was so great & when we wanted privacy, we didn't have to stay inside. But we love the view from the Crow's Nest, the elegance of the Exployer's Lounge, a fav spot for us on all of the HAL ships that the other lines do not have - the teak chairs on the prom deck, sleeping, reading, watching folks stroll by, chatting with others, especially when we wanted to be out of the sun. If you close your eyes while sitting in those chairs, you can imagine yourself in a Victorian gown with a deck blanket on your legs as if you are on a grand ship of the past. However, we were on a grand ship, weren't we!

 

Mim100 - I bet you'll love the Nav Deck. It was so convenient for the pools, the fitness room, & obviously the food!

 

Copper 10-8, Mjasp, & Ziggy7 - thanks for your kind words.

[lindleyjulie]

two at sea, I have just been on my cruise all over again!!!!! How did we miss you? we were two cabins away on the same cruise and would love to have met you, you sound like such fun people. Sam was a little darlin wasn't he? I to frequented the ice creme bar in fact DH has incriminating evidence of me with three scoops on a waffle cone:eek: what a great idea, room service on formal nights but where did you get the menu for the dining room from? It was our first time away on our own in twenty one years and sometimes we did not feel like getting dressed up. we did have breakfast in the room a couple of times, one thing I learned you have to order everything dont presume they will send it, eg I asked for fruit loops and did not order milk, none delivered one night I forgot to order butter for the toast, none delivered. We also came across our fair share of rude people, I believe there is no excuse for it and treat them with the contemp they deserve. We also roared laughing at all those white robes walking around that is until I fancied hot chocolate late one night and the two of us made a mad dash up to the lido for some, I dont think anyone spotted us.:o Did you notice the couple who missed the ship in Costa Maya? anyone know would they have had to pay for the speed boat that brought them to the ship? Lastly the recliner chairs in the Crows Nest heaven, previous to disembarkation this is where we spent our time we were last off with purple three and we just snoozed on these chairs as long as we possibley could :) Thanks twoatsea for a great review I did one myself but it was no where near as imformative or as funny as yours, have a great cruise on The Massadam you lucky thing you.