Back from 3/4-11 Westerdam

[bluegrass grannie]

A thoroughly enjoyable cruise with great weather and pretty smooth sailing. One health alert issued. Details below.

 

Originally scheduled to fly, DH decided to drive to Ft. Lauderdale instead. Luckily I was almost packed, so we left KY Friday afternoon. One night on the road then to originally scheduled hotel in FLL for Saturday. Marriott Renaissance (used rewards points) right at the pier. We could see the ships in port from our window. Very easy drive to parking garage Sunday.

 

We arrived at the ship around noon. Porter was right there to take the bags. No waiting.

 

Embarkation smooth and easy. No delays. Folks in red jackets (HAL contract employees) were courteous and helpful.

 

We were in SA right next to PH and went directly to Neptune Lounge for light lunch. Suite was ready around 1:15. Bags had not arrived, so we walked around the ship enjoying the beautiful decorations, colors, flowers, Rosario Strings playing in Explorers Lounge and mojitos in Ocean Bar. :D

 

Bags did not get delivered to the suite until after 4:00, later than usual. Our concern was for the couple whose bags had apparently been lost by American Airlines and had not arrived in FLL, let alone on the ship. We never did find out what happened with that situation and just hope their bags finally did make it to the ship.

 

Dining: early seating, upper, table for 2 along the rail was very pleasant. Wait staff was terrific and food was good, though not excellent. Pinnacle Grille (Odyssey on Westerdam) was a fine alternative although we enjoyed it most for breakfast when we didn't have room service. A nice perk for SA is breakfast in the Pinnacle/Odyssey.

 

I can't comment on Lido food as we never go there, preferring light lunch in Neptune or in port.

 

Service: outstanding at every level. Captain Peter Harris is friendly, approachable and runs a tight ship. He is a delight.

 

Ship: will benefit from the upcoming dry dock when all Signature of Excellence features will be implemented and aft changes are made. There was a problem with a bearing that slowed us down toward the end and made us late arriving in Half Moon Cay.

 

Health concern: apparently a passenger became ill after our port stop in Tortola (Wednesday). On Thursday, the captain made an announcement asking everyone to take precautions with extra hand washing and let us know illness had been reported. We received a written notice from him during the night. By Friday afternoon, apparently a few others were ill, so the captain announced the closing of hot tubs etc. no more books etc. from library and all salt/pepper shakers etc. were removed and we were handed everything from then on, even in Neptune. He said he felt the illness was contained but wanted to take no chances. All precautions were taken and we heard later that only about 20 people had been ill in total.

 

Ports:

 

Grand Turk is beautiful. We took a cab to Governor's Beach and had a delightful afternoon. We did have to wait quite awhile for a return cab as they don't come often. There is a bar and snorkeling equipment/lessons available.

 

Tortola: we rented a car which is an adventure. That would be a whole other story but suffice to say DH and I were still speaking at the end and we only had to avoid one cow on the very steep road back to town! There are many beautiful vistas if you dare look over the side. Driving on the left wasn't a problem for DH. We spent a lovely afternoon at Cane Garden Bay and enjoyed the sunset while eating a delicious dinner at a beach front restaurant (can't recall the name but it had a blue roof and was a few buildings down from Myett's).

 

St. Martin: Also rented a car and drove around the entire island--very beautiful vistas, gorgeous beaches and of course, great shopping. We treated ourselves to wonderful massages at the spa at Divi Little Bay Beach Resort after swimming in that lovely bay. (Cheaper than on board). It is gated, but you can enjoy that beach and all of the facilities there for the day as the beach is public.

 

Half Moon Cay: Gorgeous beach. We rented a clamshell and floating mat. Suggest you reserve ahead as they do run out of those. We didn't do the buffet there, so can't comment on that.

 

Misc. There were two formal nights, no informal, the rest casual. We didn't see as many tuxedos as we would have liked. The trend is definitely dressing down and I think that is too bad, but that is just my opinion.

 

While there were "moderate" seas that apparently affected some people with some motion illness, my regimen of ginger capsules started several days ahead and a dramamine each night, prevented me from having any problem at all. This is the first cruise I have not had a day or two of discomfort.

 

DH and two others on their team won the ship building competition and their ship was amazing. Not only did it hold the case of sodas, but also a full case of Corona beer when tested in the jacuzzi! Too bad no other boats showed up for the competition, but we are sure the "Soda Dam" would have beat them all.:D

 

Disembarkation started after 9:00 a.m. but went very smoothly and we were back on the road by 10:15.

 

It was a wonderful week and I can't wait for the next cruise. Since I am spoiled by the SA category, we may not cruise as often as many do, but at least when we do, we know we will cruise well, especially on HAL.

 

Bluegrass grannie aka Lindsey

[nurseblissful]

it sounds like you had a lovely trip. i would love to be able to do a suite but we are just doing an sy suite (not a real suite). we had a little balcony last time and it made the trip! i hope you took lots of good pictures. thanks for the happy report! lauri

[gizmo]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review. I enjoyed reading it. It was nice to hear you had a good time. :)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

.............

 

 

DH and two others on their team won the ship building competition and their ship was amazing. Not only did it hold the case of sodas, but also a full case of Corona beer when tested in the jacuzzi! Too bad no other boats showed up for the competition, but we are sure the "Soda Dam" would have beat them all.:D

 

 

Bluegrass grannie aka Lindsey

 

Lindsey; thank you very much for all the detail in your report. Glad you enjoyed your cruise:) . My husband and oldest daughter won the ship building contest on our Zaandam cruise last summer, also because theirs was the only entry. I hope more cruisers will consider participating in this competition, because it's a lot of fun and requires some imagination and ingenuity!:D :) Their ship was only required to carry a six-pack of coke, so I'm very impressed to hear about your additional Corona cargo!

 

Karin

[DFD1]

Thanks, Lindsey. Great report. Fun to read. Sounds like you had a fine week!

[bluegrass grannie]

Indeed it was a fine week. This was only my third cruise so I hesitated to step out there and write a review, but decided to risk it. I appreciate your kind comments.:)

[Herrbeir]

Thank you for your review. We are sailing on the W-dam Sunday! We are curious about the evening entertainment. Did you see any shows? Were they any good?

 

Thanks

[sanibelsandals]

Bluegrass Grannie - We were with you on this cruise & probably crossed paths in the Neptune, we were in an SC AFT. GREAT REVIEW, I agree it was a good cruise. We enjoyed the benefits of the Suite bigtime! Our first time.

 

We went to every show & thought the entertainment was pretty good this cruise. Did you catch any shows? Our little granddaughters (ages 3 & 1) loved the Westerdam Cast productions in particular- high energy, just like them!! THey enjoyed Joel Mason too.

 

Did you catch the Chef's culinary presentations?

 

We did the lido for quite a few breakfasts - perfect for the girls - and had no complaints. Room service was also very good & on time - which we appreciated.

 

Jasmin & Theresa in the Neptune were great! They really get to know the suite passengers and took care of us!

 

Capt Harris presided over our Renewal of the Vows and the whole experience was quite memorable! We thought he was one of the most visable captains we have ever sailed with on HAL. This was our 8th (??) HAL cruise - we sailed with Capt Harris on the Veedam in '99 too. The cruise director wasn't

as visible as past cruises, although we saw quite a bit of the assts.

 

Kudos to Club Hal for entertaining Abby, the 3 year old. She just turned 3, and they kept her busy & she really had fun in 'school'.

 

I only went to one bingo this cruise - the one where they give away the free cruise - and was shocked at how under-attended it was - past cruises the Vista lounge was packed - this time maybe 100-150 people tops. Wo

[bluegrass grannie]

We only attended Joel Mason's Elton John show and the last broadway cast production. Certainly the cast is high energy and many costume changes made it visually exciting too. We enjoyed it although where we were sitting, it was so very loud that I actually had to hold my ears to tone it down some. DH lasted for about 5 minutes and declared it way too loud for him.:mad:

 

Sanibel--sorry we didn't connect in Neptune. I didn't see any little ones in there so missed your granddaughter. Glad she was entertained. That can be a challenging age! I will be anxious to hear how my 5 and 7year old "grands" do on their first cruise next month on the RCL Mariner of the Seas (ship that was in port with us in St. Martin).