Help! Westerdam or Zuiderdam?

[Hojo's redbeard]

Well, my online TA auto-cancelled my reservation on the Zuiderdam. Now all that is available is 4 categories higher than what we booked. There is something closer to what we booked on the Westerdam the next day. Has anyone been on both? Pros/cons of one versus the other? The cruise critic professional rating panned the Westerdam pretty hard, but I don't put a whole lot of weight into that. 7BlueSeas rating system has the Westerdam a smidgen better than the Zuiderdam.

 

Any help would be appreciated!

[Hojo's redbeard]

Forgot to mention, I'll be travelling with DD 7yo. Only difference I could see were the member ratings on the kids, her age group on Zuid is 5/5, and 2/5 on Westerdam. How can they be so drastically different?

[hammybee]

Forgot to mention' date=' I'll be travelling with DD 7yo. Only difference I could see were the member ratings on the kids, her age group on Zuid is 5/5, and 2/5 on Westerdam. How can they be so drastically different?[/quote']

 

Ratings are subjective and based upon passenger expectations. About the only thing certain is that the kid's club crew that were in place on those cruises and the actual passengers on those cruises, gone by, will be different on your cruise, regardless of which ship you sail. ( Are you with me?)

 

If your child is reasonably outgoing and enjoys attention and games/crafts, she will be just fine on either ship.

 

BTW, what does it mean when a T/A auto deletes a reservation? I am not familiar with this term?

[Hojo's redbeard]

BTW, what does it mean when a T/A auto deletes a reservation? I am not familiar with this term?

 

Beats me. I booked it online, got a confirmation with booking number, went to hollandamerica.com this morning to fill out the immigration form. When I entered my booking number it said that the booking had been cancelled. Called TA, off today. Called Holland America, she pulled it up and said that it had been auto deleted. Sounds like the TA's website doesn't process payments automatically over the weekend and Holland America cancelled it.

 

Yes, I know the ratings are very subjective, that's why I read the reviews to see why people rated things the way they did.

[hammybee]

Assuming you made a deposit and have a booking number, it sounds like you might have issue with your T/A and/or the T/A with HAL.

 

Maybe you will end up 4 categories higher than originally planned, on your first choice sailing, due to the snafu.

 

Let us know how this turns out.

[Hojo's redbeard]

Assuming you made a deposit and have a booking number, it sounds like you might have issue with your T/A and/or the T/A with HAL.

 

Maybe you will end up 4 categories higher than originally planned, on your first choice sailing, due to the snafu.

 

Let us know how this turns out.

 

I'll keep you posted. I bought it through a TA associated with the rewards for one of my credit cards. I'm sure they are going to want to keep me happy and not complain to the trillion dollar company that is feeding them business. I'm pretty much set that I'm going on that sailing, or worst case get on the Westerdam the next day. (Wish they had a Vista class ship sailing out of Tampa instead of the Veendam)

[jhannah]

Since these two ships are sisters, the only substantive difference will be in the decor. The Westerdam is toned down a bit from the Zuiderdam. Both have great Club HAL facilities. Your daughter should have a great time. Since this is during school time, there likely won't be a whole lot of kids on board, so she'll get much more attention from the staff than if the cruise was during spring break, for instance.

[FLACRUISER99]

Only been on the Westerdam & it was a wonderful ship I can not see how you could go wrong.:D

[Balliett]

As noted by others, Westerdam and Zuiderdam are sister ships. We were on the Westerdam, and another sister, the Oosterdam. Not much difference. I know the Westerdam is newer than the Zuiderdam. These are great ships with reasonably priced balcony cabins. Flat screen TVs, great beds...HAL always did right by our kids, as I recall.

[MercedMike]

I bought it through a TA associated with the rewards for one of my credit cards.

 

HMMM -- sounds as if it is time to vote with your feet. Why not book with a reputable full service local TA who is a CLIA ACC. Then if something goes wrong, you can march in and sit at her desk glaring until she fixes it!!

 

>:-)

[Hojo's redbeard]

HMMM -- sounds as if it is time to vote with your feet. Why not book with a reputable full service local TA who is a CLIA ACC. Then if something goes wrong, you can march in and sit at her desk glaring until she fixes it!!

 

The drama is now over. I called my TA this morning first thing. She called HAL who said the Credit Card was declined. I called the Credit Card company, they said there was never an authorization attempt on the card, and if they had tried it would have been no problem. Called TA back, she read me the card information...all correct (at least I know I didn't have a type-o). She called HAL later to speak to a supervisor (as soon as one came in). HAL is standing by their story that my credit card was declined, my category and the next three above it sold out, they offered me the next category up...for an extra $400. It's pretty sad, after talking to everyone involved, HAL never processed the payment. They goofed and won't fess up to it. You'd think that the "supervisor" would care enough about the company they work for and guest experience to truly look into what happened to ensure it never happens again.:confused:

 

Don't know why, but I'm still giving HAL a chance, booked on the Westerdam going out the next day for a couple hundred less (knowing we'll spend 2-3k on board, might as well feel like I'm saving some money :) ) It was kind of amazing to me that HAL didn't even seem to care through the whole process. Now I can't wait to sail!

[cruisin240]

Go have a great trip and don't think about the problems you had..... Then come home gather your documentation of phone calls to your CC company, Ta and send a letter to HAL stating the facts and how dissatisfied you were on how things were handled. Have a great trip...

[Hojo's redbeard]

Go have a great trip and don't think about the problems you had..... Then come home gather your documentation of phone calls to your CC company, Ta and send a letter to HAL stating the facts and how dissatisfied you were on how things were handled. Have a great trip...

 

I'm resigned to have a great cruise. It is truly the only time that I can get away from work, responsibilities and relax. I still got a great deal compared to what else is still available for that week. Most ships have either inside cabins or penthouses available and not much in between. I never realized how hard it was to book 3 people close to sailing. It's kind of ironic that I'm going on the Westerdam, we saw it last December in Costa Maya and talked about going on it at that time. Funny how things work out!

[jhannah]

I'm sure you're tired of the mess, but I would still suggest you craft a kind letter to Seattle. They need to hear your story. If you could get a written statement from your credit card company that no authorization was requested, that would be a big plus. Good luck.

[Giorgi-one]

Not rubbing it in, but I never book online. I book with a large cruise discounter, but always by phone. Usually costs about $15 per person extra. Always use the same rep who is really great. Also, I would not book online because I always book very specific cabins (usually aft balcony) and someone needs to verify that these are available.

[Hojo's redbeard]

Not rubbing it in, but I never book online. I book with a large cruise discounter, but always by phone. Usually costs about $15 per person extra. Always use the same rep who is really great. Also, I would not book online because I always book very specific cabins (usually aft balcony) and someone needs to verify that these are available.

 

I typically don't have a choice due to the time of day that I book it. When I did book it, no one was open and there was only one room left in the category. If their automated systems don't function properly, they shouldn't be live.

[Sprocket]

Sorry your original plans didn't work out for you. If you're interested, sign in at the Roll Call Board, there's a group planning to meet informally at the aft pool bar between 2 and 3 pm. Hope we'll see you there.

 

Bev