Review: Westerdam April 19 - 22, 2008 Caribbean

[scottsanfilippo]

I tend to like 3 or 4 day cruises the best. They give me just the right amount of time so get away; soak up some sun and relaxation before becoming bored. Plus the quickness of it all leaves me wanting more so my travel agent likes to put me on these short breaks too!

 

 

Having sailed on the upscale lines of Cunard, Regent and Crystal, I decided to give Holland America a try with a 3-dayer out of Ft. Lauderdale with stops in Nassau and Half Moon Cay. I booked the Penthouse Suite (one out of two on the ship) on HAL’s ms Westerdam and the suite was simply amazing, but more on that later.

 

 

Embarkation, as everyone I ever had out of Ft. Lauderdale, was a breeze. This time however, being in the Penthouse Suite did have its advantages. After immediately telling the greeter that I was in 7045, he escorted me over to Andy the terminal manager who rushed us over to the desk to have our picture taken and our card keys issued. No line, no waiting, no fuss. With a matter of 60 seconds, Andy has us checked in, up the gangway and on the ship.

 

 

However, that’s where service stopped. Once onboard, there was nobody to escort us to our cabin, just stewards at each stairwell asking for a cabin number and telling you “right side, left side, or go to the Neptune Lounge and wait.” Since the Neptune Lounge was were concierge was for us, we went there, introduced ourselves to the very pleasant and accommodating staff who told us our suite was ready and called our butler to come down, greet us and take us to our suite.

 

 

Having been whisked away at the port, I was expecting that same type of service once I stepped onto the carpet of the ship, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. This is obviously something that can be improved upon. Other lines I have sailed on always had an escort available upon embarkation to escort the passengers to their staterooms.

 

 

Once inside, our Butler gave us the “tour” of the suite which includes a butler’s pantry, guest bathroom, large living room, dining room, master bedroom, master bath with whirlpool and shower and plenty of closet space. Outside there was an expansive deck complete with whirlpool, two chairs with ottomans, two loungers and a table and bench seat for eating breakfast or dinner on deck. To say the suite was stunning would be an understatement. In addition to all the aforementioned, add in two televisions, all the entertainment gadgets you can think of, surround sound a recliner, china and silver service, full size fridge, commercial microwave, shall I continue? Let’s just say it was 1,300 square feet of pure bliss. Who needs shore excursions when there is all this to be had?

 

 

Once on deck, we went up to the Lido deck for a light lunch. We chose to eat poolside where they were serving a selection of hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos and fajitas. The choices were fresh, kept to temperature and tasty. Staffing was adequate with enough on duty to clear tables and take drink orders.

 

 

At 4:15pm the highlight of everyone’s cruise took place – the lifeboat drill. This was perhaps the most disorganized, cluster of a drill I have ever taken part in or witnessed. Once on the lifeboat deck crew just shouted “women and children up front, men in the back.” Traffic was moving in two directions causing more confusion and the crew did not seem to have a very good handle on things. To check to make sure everyone was accounted for, each muster station had a bullhorn where a crew member would call name and cabin number. This method made things seem so out of control, with the crew more interested in making sure nobody had a drink in their hand and men were along the back wall than anything else.

Dinner the first night was at the Vista Dining Room. My cruise ticket said my dining choice was “Open” however, my card key claimed I was 8:00pm Deck 2. One would think that was the 8:00pm traditional late seating however as I discovered, it was not. Upon entering the dining room, there were two lines, one with no signage and another that said “For Guests With Reservations.” After standing in the non-reservation line for several minutes, a crew member came around looking at everyone’s key cards and upon seeing mine said “you should be in the reservation line, you have an 8pm reservation.” The other people I was traveling with had this same bout of confusions. On the msWesterdam, the open seating option was just added in February, and it seems there is still a lot to be improved upon, especially with communicating how things work with guests.

 

 

Once settled in, the dinner choices were very nice. For an appetizer, I chose the onion soup which was very tasty although it was more of a broth than a traditional onion soup with lots of onions. I had a unique salad which was presented in a hulled out tomato with a very small selection of field greens topped off with a light Italian dressing. Dressing was tasty, greens were fresh but scarce. There was more tomato than greens, but the presentation was unique. Being a big guy and having learned early on that cruise food portions are small, I opted for two mains, beef tenderloin with a mushroom demi glace, horseradish mashed potatoes and vegetables and a linguini pasta with chicken and a lemon butter sauce. The two slices of tenderloin were prepared medium well, I prefer mine medium rare, was flavorful and tender and the mushroom sauce made a nice compliment. Potatoes were good and the vegetables were firm and fresh. The pasta was cooked al dente but was accompanied by only three slices of chicken. The desert of choice was the Chef’s Sundae which billed itself as a “mound of ice cream” topped with chopped fruits, whipped cream and toasted macadamia nuts. The “mound of ice cream” turned out to be a small scoop, but was still enjoyable.

 

 

All in all, the first night’s food would get 3 out of 5 stars. Portions could be larger all around, but this is a complaint I have will all cruise lines. We enjoyed wine at dinner at the tune of $6.25 a glass for a white zinfandel and sodas were $1.35 each. Having sailed on lines that offer free soda all the time and free wine at dinner, I find charging people for soda, especially at $1.35 a can, a bit, may I say “over board?”

 

 

All three nights are being billed as “smart casual” nights, however it seems this is not being enforced. I witnessed many coming to dinner in shorts and t-shirts. I actually witnessed a couple being escorted to their table with him wearing flip-flops, camouflage shorts and a Corona t-shirt. This leads me to my next comment.

 

 

HAL is generally described as being for the older, well-healed travelers. You know who I mean, the ones in walkers and scooters. Well, not quite, but the line has a reputation for having a median age of around 55. These short cruises tend to attract a different, more, may I say, diverse crowd – some of whom may feel more comfortable on Carnival or Royal Caribbean, than HAL. If this were a 7+ day cruise, I don’t think the Corona t-shirt wearers would be seen in the Vista Dining Room. But why weren’t they told to go to their cabins and change? There were plenty of diners who were definitely not following “smart casual” and I felt very out of place with a suit coat and pants on!

 

 

Having the 8pm seating, didn’t allow us to take in the show. Show times are 7pm and 9pm and we didn’t get out of dinner until 10pm. A slight adjustment with show time schedules should be considered so that more diners can have the opportunity to take in the show without having to hit the “early bird special: at 5:30pm.

 

 

After dinner I headed over to the casino and walked in and walked out. It was packed with people and filled with cigarette smoke. There wasn’t a slot machine or table to be had and there was hardly any room to negotiate around without bumping into other people. That’s ok though, I never win anyway! I sauntered up to my suite and hung out of the deck gazing at the full moon shining over the silky smooth Caribbean Sea – it was a sight to behold and one that I could not get my camera to capture.

 

 

Day two arrived and we’re at that marvelous tourist trap of the Caribbean, Nassau. Having sailed the eastern carib many times, I learned after my first visit, that Nassau isn’t worth getting off the boat unless you like to be accosted in a straw market by natives hawking their handiwork. It’s not for me, so I ordered breakfast in my suite.

 

 

I got a selection of pastries which were fresh along with some bacon and ham. I was surprised to see that they did not offer pancakes, waffles or French toast for in-suite dining. A little disappointing. It arrived on time and was good. For lunch we hit the Lido Restaurant and did the buffet. Noshed on some pizza which was surprisingly good, however needed to be heated up as it was cold. Other selections included sushi, fried rice, deli sandwiches, pasta, pork tenderloin, lamb and what I found to be tasty but also cold, chicken breast with potatoes and vegetables. Iced tea and water were free, while the dreaded $1.35 sodas were hawked along with wine and beer. All in all, it was your standard buffet and I’ve never heard anyone give rave reviews about a buffet and I won’t do that either.

The rest of the afternoon I spent exploring the ship and wearing down the battery in my camera. The Westerdam is a very classy lady rivaling the Queen Mary 2 in appointments. The artwork, statues, elevator doors, carpeting, everything exudes elegance and a sense of class. In fact, there are areas that are more elegant than the QM2. The shopping arcade is one of the largest I have seen on a ship and there are plenty of bars and lounges where one can steal away and have a drink throughout the day or night.

 

 

Dinner that even had me partaking in the onion soup once again (no changes to report), roast turkey dinner that consisted of three slices, two white and one dark, with a spoonful (literally) of cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes and vegetables. I also asked for the baked macaroni with ham and cheese that was billed as “layers of silken pasta, gruyere cheese and savory ham topped with parmesan cheese sauce and baked until bu bbling and golden and served with garlic bread.” This was very uneventful and one guest at my table even sent it back due to its lack of taste. Ham was non-existent and the garlic bread was invisible. Upon our waiter’s recommendation, I tried the Nasi Goreng which is a traditional Indonesian dish with fried rice, juicy port sate, a spicy chicken drumstick, beet Sumatra, scallions and a julienne of omelet. Not being a fan of Indonesian food, but given the recommendation, I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised with the taste. Definitely a highlight of the menu. For dessert I chose a slice of traditional apple pie which lacked taste but was full of apples and raisins.

 

 

The day in Nassau was extended until 10pm due to extra maintenance that needed to be performed on the ship’s emergency generator. The 10pm departure didn’t happen until 3am but the stop in Half Moon Cay was on time. A crew member mentioned to me that this cruise was originally not scheduled, but the three days were supposed to be a wet dock to perform maintenance on various parts of the ship, but as he put it “the home office said ‘sell it’” and here we are.

 

 

The third day began with room service, then off to Half Moon Cay where I reserved the private Grand Cabana and I can certainly say this was the highlight of the trip. At 9am we were picked up by a butler who would spend the day with us. We boarded the tender without tickets and he whisked us off to the Grand Cabana where we were met by our private bartender and personal chef. To start we were presented with chips and salsa, a selection of baked goods and fresh fruit, not to mention open bar with whatever we wanted.

 

 

The margaritas and mojitos were cool, the sun was hot and the beach was refreshing. The cabana featured a shower and bathroom along with a hot tub, a slide and steps leading into the ocean. One thing to note, many passengers and children disobeyed the “private” sign and ventured up into the Cabana out of curiosity and to use the slide. Our butler quickly shooed those “trespassers” away – in fact this continued much of the day. Better signage needs to be placed around to ensure the privacy of this piece of heaven.

 

 

For lunch our personal chef cooked up a delectable array of bar-b-queued ribs, chicken, steak, shrimp, hot dogs and hamburgers. Everything was wonderful and I could not ask for anything else that could make our experience in the Grand Cabana at Half Moon Cay any better. It gets the highest marks I can give and is a definite must if you can afford its hefty price tag. I left sunburn, full and with a bit of the headache from all the mojitos!

 

 

After a little recuperation in bed, dinner time arrived but I kept it light this evening as I ate plenty on the beach. I started out with a cup of bullion while my companions enjoyed the pepper pot soup which they enjoyed. For an entrée I chose the simply grilled chicken breast which was very good. Others enjoyed prime rib which was said to be very tasty yet the size of a minute steak. Other choices this evening included pasta and a pork chop which all found to be agreeable.

 

 

With luggage outside awaiting pickup and a chocolate on my pillow it was time to settle in to the extremely comfortable bed that, by the way, had a choice of three pillow types and a soft, comfortable duvet. I dreamed about being back on board for another memorable cruise, but alas, room service was here with the morning meal. Having the penthouse suite enabled us to vacate the ship anytime we wanted to up until 10am. We had a light breakfast, met the others we were traveling with and disembarked at around 9:45am with no lines, no waiting, nothing! It was the smoothest retreat from a ship I have ever experienced – a definite plus for HAL!

 

 

Overall, the accommodations, the décor and the ship itself were wonderful. It has to be one of the most beautiful ships afloat in my opinion. Dining room service can be improved greatly as dinners often came out late, plates took up to 20 minutes to be cleared and for some reason my desert arrived 5 minutes after everyone else’s each night! My table was also never introduced to the head waiter or dining room manager, which I found odd. Unfortunately, I was unable to get reservations at the Pinnacle Grill despite begging, pleading and offering my first born. Other services on board were top shelf. The people on board, as I said earlier, were a mix of people not often found on HAL and at times made for interesting stories. If traveling on a beautiful ship and being pampered for a few days at sea is something you’re looking to do, try Holland America, as my first impressions would have me coming back a second time.

 

 

 

Scott Sanfilippo

[savannahgirl1]

Just a heads up, if you sail HAL agian you can write in anything on your room service menu and it will be brought to you. My husband requested chocolate crosssiants and they delivered. The only catch is your requested delivery time must coinside with the dinig room being open for breakfast for "special requests", like waffles or pancakes. :) Also, I was surprised at the prime rib size, when I ordered it on the Volendam a couple weeks back, it was the size of the plate. Oh, it was so good. Now I'm getting hungry. :p

[Solo Cruiser]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise and I hope you will be sailing HAL many times in the future (no I don't own stock :D ). One morning aboard the Westerdam last year, I ordered the first room service time slot and got just tea and yogurt - just the ticket for a queasy tummy. I had originally planned to go to the dining room for breakfast but got involved in a book and didn't hope in the shower on time for that. So I ordered a second room service breakfast and wrote in my choices. Everything was delivered just as I specified. Be sure to write in condiments etc as they deliver ONLY what is ordered. Thanks for your review.

[twinkletoes4445]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I certainly enjoyed reading your review. :)

[twinkletoes4445]

The only catch is your requested delivery time must coinside with the dinig room being open for breakfast for "special requests", like waffles or pancakes. :)

 

Ahhhh...this explains why hubby's Eggs Benedict was MIA one morning. We usually ordered breakfast to be delivered around 8 or 8:30 and always the EB was there...but on one morning we had breakfast delivered around 7:00 and the EB wasn't there. The person delivering our breakfast said it was "too early." I wondered what he meant by this, and now I know. Thanks! :)

 

I also did not know that you could order pancakes or waffles. I appreciate this info. :)

[Sailorgirlseattle]

Is the penthouse suite seriously 1,300 square feet? That's bigger than my whole HOUSE! :eek:

[grannynurse]

Suite guests have the advantage of eating breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill at no charge. No reservations are required for breakfast, it's a suite perk.

 

We have never been told that there was something we could not order from room service breaKfast, but then again we don't usually order before 7:30 am, and we usually call in our order and do not use the room service card that you hang on the door.

 

I'm glad that you enjoyed your penthouse experience.

GN

[marle7]

I didn't think HAL had butlers in the suites. We are booked in 7045 for a B2B next March April. Do you have any pictures of the suite? Also, how did you book the Grand Cabana, online, onboard or through your TA? Sounds like you had a great time!

[Jade13]

Thanks for the great review! We love the Westerdam and I am curious to see the PH. Do you have pictures you can post?

 

Did you have that Grand Cabana to yourself or share with a group (or I guess your friends your were traveling with)?

 

Regarding room service, you can order anything you like. In the PH you can eat each morning in the Pinnacle Grille. They should have found a way to get you a dinner (did you try lunch) reservation and you could also have made one prior to boarding.

 

Wwe have never seen jeans or shorts in the dining room on HAL but then we have never traveled with them in the Carribean.

[riz]

Just wanted to add ....

 

I was also on this cruise. Agreed....a very different crowd than what we are used to. I actually watched a really obnoxious drunk woman in the Neptune lounge the first day...always a first for everything. She wasn't the only one we came across during the weekend. We were actually joking that maybe someone would "fall" overboard for our cruise. It was quite unnerving to watch a girl on Deck 3 trying to talk to the Pilot as he was leaving to head back to port....he couldn't hear her so he gave her the bon voyage wave - she got angry that he wouldn't talk to him and decided to start shouting names at him ...like "douchebag". Real classy. On the Promenade deck. Nice.

 

We were booked in an aft suite - our usual - only to find out we were upgraded to an SA when we got there. It was right next to the elevator so lots of noise and no privacy from the glass elevator. We have always had a "no upgrade" put on our reservation - I guess that is irrelevant on such a short cruise.

 

We also had a tough time with dining - did get a Pinnacle reservation but the last one. Dining room was hard to get in - no reservation meant a 30-45 minute wait and if you wanted a reservation they were all booked - you had no choice but to wait. Neptune concierges had no pull to get anything for you.

 

Apart from these things - our little vacation was not ruined and as usual we enjoyed ourselves and made the most of it. We have cruised NCL and HAL equally and have been spoiled by suite privileges on the NCL side. Apart from the priority on and off -and a lovely lounge to use - having a suite does not guarantee anything for you on HAL - sounds like it's the same with a PH as well.

 

I do look forward to sailing HAL again at the end of the year and look forward to the "usual crowd" on my 10 day. :)

[marle7]

Just wanted to add ....

 

I was also on this cruise. Agreed....a very different crowd than what we are used to. I actually watched a really obnoxious drunk woman in the Neptune lounge the first day...always a first for everything. She wasn't the only one we came across during the weekend. We were actually joking that maybe someone would "fall" overboard for our cruise. It was quite unnerving to watch a girl on Deck 3 trying to talk to the Pilot as he was leaving to head back to port....he couldn't hear her so he gave her the bon voyage wave - she got angry that he wouldn't talk to him and decided to start shouting names at him ...like "douchebag". Real classy. On the Promenade deck. Nice.

 

We were booked in an aft suite - our usual - only to find out we were upgraded to an SA when we got there. It was right next to the elevator so lots of noise and no privacy from the glass elevator. We have always had a "no upgrade" put on our reservation - I guess that is irrelevant on such a short cruise.

 

We also had a tough time with dining - did get a Pinnacle reservation but the last one. Dining room was hard to get in - no reservation meant a 30-45 minute wait and if you wanted a reservation they were all booked - you had no choice but to wait. Neptune concierges had no pull to get anything for you.

 

Apart from these things - our little vacation was not ruined and as usual we enjoyed ourselves and made the most of it. We have cruised NCL and HAL equally and have been spoiled by suite privileges on the NCL side. Apart from the priority on and off -and a lovely lounge to use - having a suite does not guarantee anything for you on HAL - sounds like it's the same with a PH as well.

 

I do look forward to sailing HAL again at the end of the year and look forward to the "usual crowd" on my 10 day. :)

 

I'm going to be really upset if they "upgrade me" from my corner aft on the Eurodam! What did they say, assuming you expressed your displeasure!

[riz]

I'm going to be really upset if they "upgrade me" from my corner aft on the Eurodam! What did they say, assuming you expressed your displeasure!

 

 

 

marle7 - not sure what to tell you. I was very disappointed and frankly had this been a longer cruise would have freaked. We always make a point to make sure they do not change our reservation and not consider us for an upgrade. Since this was a short cruise - I think they took the liberty of moving people around as they needed regardless of whether they want an upgrade or not.

 

The agent mentioned to us that many MANY people were upgraded to accomodate those on the repositioning cruise that were offered a 3 day extension to their cruise. I am sure those in aft cabins perhaps chose to do the short cruise as well and we wound up getting moved. Also - there were 2 large groups on board - Domino's pizza and SYSCO Atlanta. Met a few of them and they all had inside cabins. A lot of these were booked only a few months back so they may have done a lot of "bumping" to make the inside cabins available.

 

Hope that helps.....I didn't make a fuss as they cruise was only 3 days and had no sea days. Otherwise - I would have done any and everything to get my cabin back.

 

P.S. - LOTS of jeans in the dining room - again - not your normal HAL crowd.

[marle7]

I would make a fuss for a longer cruise as well. We also have an inside cabin booked just across more or less from the aft, so moving us wouldn't work very well. Just in case, I have asked my TA to make sure HAL knows we don't want any "upgrades" to an SA and will make a very large fuss if they try.:)

[jerseygirl3]

We were onboard Westerdam April 6-13. This was our second time in the past 14 months onboard Westerdam, and we truly love that ship. I agree with the OP that the ship's decor is just lovely. Having said that, there was an appreciable difference in the clientele from Feb. 2007 to April 2008. It was spring break week for a lot of kids and according to HAL staff, we had an unusually large group of kids onboard. Most were well behaved, but some were completely out of control. Not the sort of thing I had been used to on HAL, and not something the staff seemed prepared to deal with. Also, we witnessed shorts and jeans in the formal dining room on a couple of occasions. One day we were standing in line to purchase photos and they rang the dinner bells for early seating dinner. There were two women standing behind me and one of them said "oh, gee, I didn't realize it was dinner time. I'm not even dressed for dinner (she was wearing faded blue jean shorts, a t-shirt, and and sneakers with socks." Her friend said, "don't worry, you'll be fine with what you're wearing, it's a casual night." I can't say for sure if the woman actually did go to dinner dressed like that, but I was surprised by some of the behavior and dress of some of my fellow passengers. Don't get me wrong...we love HAL and Westerdam in particular. But it was ashame to see people dressing down and acting, as my husband so eloquently put it, "Carnivalized" (his words, not mine, please don't flame me).