Words fo wisdom? Leaving in 4 days on Westerdam

[lippylulu]

Ok, the excitement has hit! We leave Sunday with our 9 year old daughter for a president's week cruise on the Westerdam. It s our first HAL cruise. Our only other cruise was without our daughter 5 years ago on the Golden Princess where we were married. We were terribly spoiled on that trip as we were upgraded from a mini suite to their Penthouse Suite (equivalent to a midship Deluxe Verandah suite on HAL but with a bigger balcony). This time on HAL we have SC6156 which is a handicapped accessible deluxe balcony aft suite. We LOVE an awesome balcony and would have prefered a non-handicapped corner suite, but the price was right and I am sure we will love it!

 

Is the AFT pool really adults only? That would be nice even though it would mean our daughter will always be swimming somewhere else.

 

Where is the Neptune lounge located? We can't find it on the ship maps.

 

Any words of wisdom for things to enjoy on board? We have the 6:15 pm seating and requested a table for 4 so we can dine as a family. We are not drinkers.

 

I intend to make use of the spa for a massage and thermal suite. Do I need to run over threre first thing to make reservations? What abotu reservations for up-doe's and such for formal nights?

 

Thanks for all the advice I have gotten on this board!

[Nasmas]

Sounds great. We'll wave on the way in. We're on the Westerdam the following week. You will love it. The Neptune is on the Rotterdam Deck near the front of the ship. We've sailed with Hal several times and I have heard the aft pool was adults only but I'm not sure if that is enforced nor do I remember seeing a sign posted but I have seen children there. But, for the most part, I haven't seen a lot of children around the Lido pool either. We try not to go during spring break or the holidays. Not that we don't like children, we do but in small amounts. The kids club does a great job with them or so I've heard. You will find lots to do without drinking. Have fun

[Nasmas]

Oh, yes. You should book the spa early, if you want something for formal night. I broke a nail last year and had to go to the formal dinner with it because the nail techs were booked solid. I think the hair stylists are too on those days. I've found the best time for the massages are port days. Other times, they are pretty busy.

[hammybee]

If the timing of spa services is important to you, I would head there first, before your cabin, before the LIDO, for lunch.

 

The Neptune is located mid ship, one deck above your cabin.

 

You are going to have a fabulous time.

[grannynurse]

lippylulu,

We were in an SC5186 on the Westerdam in September. I would suggest that you contact the concierge by phone when you get to your cabin. There is a direct line for suite guests. You could also go to the Neptune Lounge on the Rotterdam deck forward, it has entrances from both port and starboard sides. The concierge can help you with most of your requests if not all.

We were given the choice of the HC cabin too but I wanted the bathtub so badly that we requested another SC.

I hope you enjoy Westerdam as much as we did.

GN

[lysolqn]

Two "words of wisdom:" Relax and enjoy!

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Neptune Lounge is located on the Rotterdam Deck. You can enter it only by the front doors near cabins 7058 and 7057. You must use your ID card to enter. The back doors are always kept locked.

Bon Voyage.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Neptune Lounge is located on the Rotterdam Deck. You can enter it only by the front doors near cabins 7058 and 7057. You must use your ID card to enter. The back doors are always kept locked.

Bon Voyage.

[lippylulu]

lippylulu,

We were in an SC5186 on the Westerdam in September. We were given the choice of the HC cabin too but I wanted the bathtub so badly that we requested another SC.

GN

 

When did you make this request? When we booked they said it was the only SC available and the upgrade to an SA was MUCH more expensive. Our 9 year old likes a tub (and I wouldn't mind some whirlpool jets) but I am guessing we will have to survive. I think the bigger balcony trumps the bathtub but if we are offered an upgrade to an SA I guess we might consider it. We sure would LOVE a corner SC but they said it was not available.

[WholeWheat]

Don't miss Joel Mason's Tribute to Elton John. I've heard he's pretty good....

[sandiego1]

Ok, the excitement has hit! We leave Sunday with our 9 year old daughter for a president's week cruise on the Westerdam. It s our first HAL cruise. Our only other cruise was without our daughter 5 years ago on the Golden Princess where we were married. We were terribly spoiled on that trip as we were upgraded from a mini suite to their Penthouse Suite (equivalent to a midship Deluxe Verandah suite on HAL but with a bigger balcony). This time on HAL we have SC6156 which is a handicapped accessible deluxe balcony aft suite. We LOVE an awesome balcony and would have prefered a non-handicapped corner suite, but the price was right and I am sure we will love it!

 

Is the AFT pool really adults only? That would be nice even though it would mean our daughter will always be swimming somewhere else.

 

Thanks for all the advice I have gotten on this board!

 

We got off the W-dam on Sun. We had 6158, the corner aft cabin. The balcony was HUGE, but the cabin was very disappointing. It was much smaller than I expected (much smaller than our S suite on the Veendam last yr). We went into the HC 6156 next door w/ our neighbors. The deck is smaller than our corner, but still larger than the other deluxe verandah suites. The cabin was a little bit larger than our's, but smaller than an SA that was on deck 7 near the Neptune. Our cabin should really have been an SY or SZ. It was that small. The SA has a large wrap around sofa and 2 chairs. Our sofa barely fit 3 people. There was only 1 chair and it was tucked under the unusable desk. The desk was mostly occupied by the overly large TV. You had to push the chair all the way under the desk or you couldn't open the refrigerator. The only drawers we had were in the nightstand and the 2 large ones under the bed. We also had 4 closets, instead of 6 in the SA. We did had a party for 8 in our suite - 3 sat on the sofa, 1 on the chair, 1 on the ottoman from the dressing area, 2 on the bed and 1 standing. It was cramped but we still had fun. I don't want to sound like I'm a big complainer but it was less than what we expected and I think we over paid for the cabin compared to the price of a comparable "non-Neptune" suite. We still had a wonderful time.

 

We were also quite far from the Neptune. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing:confused: We didn't have as many snacks from the lounge since it was a decent walk to get there. When we did, we didn't want to schlep them all the way back to the cabin. Nothing like walking to the aft carrying a hot cup of tea and a plate of goodies! We definitely used it more last yr when we were on the Veendam and it was just down the hall. So maybe I didn't gain as much weight on this cruise because of that:)

 

We also didn't use the concierge services too much this time since we were hardly in the lounge.

 

In the HC -6156 cabin, there was only 1 sink in the bathroom w/ very limited counter space around it. There was a handicap shower w/ roll-in wheelchair access. It had a seat, shower curtain and drain in the floor. I think the entire floor would get wet if you used it since there was no lip around the permiter of the shower area (in order for a wheelchair to access it). I seem to remember a bathtub w/ very high sides and I thought it would be very difficult for someone w/ a disability to get into it. But I'm not 100% certain about the tub.

 

What I am absolutely certain about is the fact that the aft pool is for ADULTS only. The only sign I saw was at the hot tubs (didn't look for any other signs since there were so few children on our ship and I preferred to use the Lido pool since it had more shade). The sign stated that no one under 14 was allowed to use the hot tub. However, in the published Daily Papers, there was a note each day under "Services" listing the operating times for the "Midship Family Pool" and "Aft Adult Pool". Check out Schplinky's post of all the W-dam daily documents here (go to pic #41 for 1 example of the time for the Adult Aft Pool):

http://schplinky.smugmug.com/gallery/2418958#127077843

 

Enjoy your trip!

[grannynurse]

Lippylulu,

We had booked an Sz guarantee and about 12 days out we were assigned the handicap cabin aft on deck 5, I told our TA that we did not want it and he got us 5186 aft port corner. The SC's on deck 5 are bigger than the SC's on deck 6. Our table mates had one aft on deck 6 and said they didn't have the 8 closets we had. The veranda is huge but compared to the SA's on the S and R class ships the overall room is smaller and the sofa bed only sleeps one. It was quite a walk to get anywhere but we really enjoyed the room and the ship. Westerdam seemed to be very well organized and the food was very good. The view is outstanding from the aft cabins, we had glaciers calving in "our back yard". Our pictures are on this board under Westerdam in Alaska and there are room and veranda pix on page 4.

Have an absolutely wonderful cruise and please write a review when you get back.

GN

[lippylulu]

Lippylulu,

We had booked an Sz guarantee and about 12 days out we were assigned the handicap cabin aft on deck 5, I told our TA that we did not want it and he got us 5186 aft port corner. The SC's on deck 5 are bigger than the SC's on deck 6. Our table mates had one aft on deck 6 and said they didn't have the 8 closets we had. The veranda is huge but compared to the SA's on the S and R class ships the overall room is smaller and the sofa bed only sleeps one. It was quite a walk to get anywhere but we really enjoyed the room and the ship. Westerdam seemed to be very well organized and the food was very good. The view is outstanding from the aft cabins, we had glaciers calving in "our back yard". Our pictures are on this board under Westerdam in Alaska and there are room and veranda pix on page 4.

Have an absolutely wonderful cruise and please write a review when you get back.

GN

So if offered the chance to upgrade to an SA, would you take it? When we made our reservatin it was quite a bit more money, and we liked the idea of a huge aft balcony.

[jtl513]

Is the AFT pool really adults only? That would be nice even though it would mean our daughter will always be swimming somewhere else.

After a prior thread on this subject, I made it a point to check this out on the Veendam in December. The posted rules were the same for both pools: no unsupervised children under 14, no babies in diapers, no diving, no jumping, etc.

 

The first daily program of the week said "GROWN UPS ONLY PLEASE! Our Navigation Deck "Seaview" pool, Deck 10, aft, is designated as our adults only quiet relaxation, swim, and layout area. We ask that "family time" be around the Lido Pool on deck 11." Every program after that, in the section giving the pool hours, stated "Adults Only Please!" (Their italics and caps in both quotes.) I did not see any children in the aft pool all week, though there may have been at times. I doubt that an adults-only request could be enforced, and I would not expect to see much objection if you took your daughter there with you, and she behaved as an adult.

[Schplinky]

After a prior thread on this subject, I made it a point to check this out on the Veendam in December. The posted rules were the same for both pools: no unsupervised children under 14, no babies in diapers, no diving, no jumping, etc.

 

The first daily program of the week said "GROWN UPS ONLY PLEASE! Our Navigation Deck "Seaview" pool, Deck 10, aft, is designated as our adults only quiet relaxation, swim, and layout area. We ask that "family time" be around the Lido Pool on deck 11." Every program after that, in the section giving the pool hours, stated "Adults Only Please!" (Their italics and caps in both quotes.) I did not see any children in the aft pool all week, though there may have been at times. I doubt that an adults-only request could be enforced, and I would not expect to see much objection if you took your daughter there with you, and she behaved as an adult.

 

On Westerdam, the first daily program on our cruise did not feature this mention

 

http://schplinky.smugmug.com/gallery/2418958#127077831

 

nor did we find any mention of the pool being an adult haven outside of it being referred ot as the adult pool in the program. there were no signs by the pool and there were no armed guards to keep children out. There were so few children onboard that you would have had to be a total grump to mind the few that were there a time by the pool. The main pool does not have that many chairs around it (due to theoutdoor dining tables) so I don't think anyone would mind your using the rear pool with your kids.

[grannynurse]

Hi lippylulu,

Because you mentioned the HC cabin I didn't tell you the whole story.

The year before our 9/06 Alaska cruise we booked an SA because our adult son and his wife were going with us. In May 2006 we found out they couldn't go so we were going to cancel. My TA told us about the Mariner promo for SZ guarantees for $1699 pp. We had already deposited on the SA when we booked and got a free room at the Fairmont Olympic for booking a suite. We were able to keep the free room and transfers even with our downgrading to the SZ guarantee so we went for it as it was about a 30% difference in fare between the SA and the SZ. We knew we would have at least an SZ but since there are only 2 on the ship we felt we'd be upgraded to at least an SY. Well, we got a full suite and our TA was able to get us the aft corner. The other 2 couples at our table were also upgraded to full suites, and one couple got the SA we originally booked.

This does not always happen. It was the last Alaska cruise of the season, it was out of Seattle, and not full until HAL gave the promo reductions in fare. We really lucked out. I would have taken the HC if it was the only room left as it is a full suite, but I wanted to try for the bathtub.

I love the SAs but price does matter, and on our longer cruises (35 days), we usually book a VA on an S or R class ship. We get the suites on our 10 day or shorter cruises.

Hope this helps.

GN

[bluegrass grannie]

lippylulu--we will be on Westerdam in two weeks, leaving 3/4. We have SA down the hall from Neptune. I love the location and the spaciousness of those suites but have no experience in other types of rooms or locations so can't compare. Hope you enjoy wherever you are.

 

Have you made plans for tours? Wondering what you decided for Tortola and/or other ports? I noticed on another thread that you were trying to figure that out. Did you request info on Mclean in Tortola and sunset tour? Does anyone know about this tour?

 

I will be eager to hear your comments when you return and your recommendations for the ports as I have not visited these particular ones before.

 

Have a wonderful time and happy cruising!;)