Westerdam - Just Back

[flatraffic]

Finally unpacked, luggage stowed, and the washing machine has a couple of loads of cruise clothes to take care of tonight. We had a nice Westerdam cruise this past week.

[cruiseapril]

Welcome back. Look forward to your review. We enjoyed the Westerdam.

 

How was your dining experience?

[hylasgirl]

Finally unpacked, luggage stowed, and the washing machine has a couple of loads of cruise clothes to take care of tonight. We had a nice Westerdam cruise this past week.

 

 

We are sailing out next Sunday. I would love to hear your review. Do you have any pictures of the ship? How were the seas? The cruise before you had some really rough weather so I was wondering how it was for you? Did you have to skip any ports?

 

Thanks so much! :)

[flatraffic]

Welcome back. Look forward to your review. We enjoyed the Westerdam. How was your dining experience?

 

We expected better, based on our sailing the Zuiderdam in 2003. But, that said, it was typical for a two-star resort restaurant. It's restaurant-grade food, prepared for mass consumption.

 

Because the food has to be prepared so far in advance (relative to when you actually eat), it's often lacking in flavor, or has begun to dry out, and the kitchen uses sauces and the like to give a better appearance, if not taste and texture. Under- and over-cooking were common.

 

Selection in the Vista was interesting. Many of the individual ingredients in some of the creations are not among our favorites, but we did at least give them a sample. Some were quite tasty, others not so.

 

We're organic and low-process consumers, so we were happy there was an abundance of apples, oranges, and bananas available each morning on the Lido, allowing us to stock up for the day. The quality of the fruits, though, reflected "restaurant-grade".

 

For vegetarians we overheard, there seemed to be no difficulty obtaining meals that met their criteria.

 

In the Lido, crowd traffic-control was lacking during periods when the majority of the ship was dining. And in the Vista, there seemed to be a rather long period between being seated, initial order, and beginning to receive food.

 

We have to give the staff in the Vista props for being understanding and flexible. On two nights, we were quite tardy for the 1745hrs seating, yet they accommodated us and sped up the dinner process a bit so we could still have an enjoyable meal, yet be done in time for the late-dining passengers.

 

They were also considerate when we had to leave early on two occasions due to the baby, and we had to "doggie-bag" our meal and dessert to our stateroom.

 

I did find a metal staple in my vegetables once. (The kind used to hold a packing box closed). We brought it to the dining room captain's attention so they could handle it appropriately.

 

While we rated the personnel on the ship with very high marks, and the atmosphere in the Vista quite pleasant for such a large restaurant, we had to give to overall food quality low grading this cruise.

 

It will not keep us from sailing with HAL again, though.

[flatraffic]

We are sailing out next Sunday. I would love to hear your review. Do you have any pictures of the ship? How were the seas? The cruise before you had some really rough weather so I was wondering how it was for you? Did you have to skip any ports? Thanks so much! :)

 

I'll be happy to answer any specific questions. Reviews tend to wander a bit.

 

I have a few photos of the ship, but our good camera was packed away, and the camera on my phone sucks.

 

A cool front was crossing through Florida and going south, so we had a bit of weather to deal with all the way to Grand Turk. On some occasions you would be thrown a bit off balance by unexpected depth to a roll, but it's not like anything spilled or anyone fell over.

 

You definitely know you're on a ship at sea. It was fabulous (if you're into that sort of ride). If you are prone to motion sickness, go easy on what you eat the first few days to help minimize travelers-tummy. Drink lots of water and eat fruits, broth, and breads.

 

We had similar motion on the Star Princess in December 2006 during the Fort Lauderdale-Windward Passage run. It's a significantly larger ship, yet was still a little bumpy.

 

We didn't have to skip any ports. A taxi-driver in Grand Turk said the previous two HAL ships had to skip that port'o'call due to inclement weather, though.

[flatraffic]

Do you have any pictures of the ship?

 

My friend put our photos on his website:

 

http://www.bafsoundworks.com/download/Pix/Westerdam/

 

Mostly they're afterthoughts, and shots from the balcony as we are arriving or departing a port. We often forget we're carrying a camera.

[auntdana]

hi

i have a few questions for you please

 

How was the entertainment ?

 

did all cabins have refrigerators?

 

how was the food?

 

did they hae home made waffles?

 

were the pasteries and desserts good?

 

 

Do they have a deli on the ship?

 

did they have a chocolate buffet or any other type of buffet?

 

what was the age range of the passengers?

 

i have early sitting,i have read that the shows are not

 

scheduled at good times

 

thanks for all your help

 

dana

[RuthC]

did all cabins have refrigerators?

All cabins on the Vista class ships, the E-dam, and the Prinsendam have a fridge in every cabin.

On the S- and R-class ships, every cabin with a balcony has a fridge. The other cabins can rent one.

 

The fridge is more of a cooler than a refrigerator.

[matondo]

I too was on the same cruise. We had a wonderful experience (we were a group of 5, three generations). We thought the food was delicous. There were a few dishes that were misses (the duck was tough, swordfish was undercooked, lobster was tough as well but since we had a double order and ate it we really should not complain). We had breakfast with a couple who have cruised extensively and they loved the food but thought the nightlife was lacking (it was).

 

The shows were at 7PM and 9PM. We were early seating (5:45) so there was a time lag of about an hour and forty five minutes before the show. We had Julie Barr comedian some people loved her we were not in that group, we had an illusionist from England we thought he was hilarious but some of his jokes were not exactly HR (Human Resources) appropriate. Of course we had the Westerdam singers and dancers, I thought they were entertaining.

 

There was a fridge in our room. We kept our water bottles in there.

 

When we cruise we like to relax and chill. There are a lot of places on the ship where you can do exactly that. Except for the Lido deck, I never felt like we were crowded. There were not a lot of activities during the day or even in the evenings. Our 18 year old didn't really find anything she wanted to participate in. She wasn't bored as she too loves to read and she also had school work to do, she skipped a week of high school.

 

What made this cruise so wonderful was the service. We felt pampered the whole time. I enjoyed the ports of call, the times we visited were a bit odd. Not enough time at Grand Turk and way too much time at Tortola (what is there to do after dark and we sailed at 9). St. Marteen were were the next to last ship to arrive and the first to sail away. Half Moon Cay even with another Vista class ship was as wonderful as ever. Just make sure you walk way down the beach to get away from the crowds.

[78232]

Was the ship decorated for Christmas yet?

Marcia

[matondo]

They were decorating as we disembarked. They had just put the tree up and were hanging the garlands. I was sad we missed the decorations they looked quite lovely.

[cruiseapril]

Any updates on the condition of Grand Turk? We were there last year, went to town- wonder how it looks now.

[matondo]

My in-laws took the post-Ike tour. It showed the devastation on the island. It still has a long way to go. The cruiseport looked wonderful and was in great shape. It seemed like there were fewer independant merchants. We went on the ultimate snorkel tour which was wonderful and we did not see any underwater damage. In-laws said the cruiseport beach was really rocky, lots of small stones and steep. We did not have time to visit the beach but I do not remember it being that way pre-Ike.

[hylasgirl]

My friend put our photos on his website:

 

http://www.bafsoundworks.com/download/Pix/Westerdam/

 

Mostly they're afterthoughts, and shots from the balcony as we are arriving or departing a port. We often forget we're carrying a camera.

 

 

Thanks so much flatraffic... I appreciate you posting :)

 

Yeah... I love feeling like I am on a ship also. I can't say I love it real rough (too much info?):D But most of the time not too much bothers me.

[spcl4cs_gal]

Who was your cruise director and hotel manager on your cruise? :)

[auntdana]

how was the cruise director on the ship

[flatraffic]

hi

i have a few questions for you please

How was the entertainment ?

did all cabins have refrigerators?

how was the food?

did they hae home made waffles?

were the pasteries and desserts good?

Do they have a deli on the ship?

did they have a chocolate buffet or any other type of buffet?

what was the age range of the passengers?

i have early sitting,i have read that the shows are not

scheduled at good times

thanks for all your help

dana

 

Let me see if I can get all of them in order:

Entertainment : I don't know. We didn't go to any shows.

Refrigerators: We had a verandah (balcony) cabin. It had a small 'fridge.

Food: Please refer to a posting above. I discussed food.

Waffles: They have the "flip" belgian waffle maker. They were chewy and heavy, not light and crispy.

Pastries & Desserts: Pastries are typical restaurant fare. If you've ever bought pastries from a Sam's Club, or BJ's or Costco ... that's what they taste like.

Deli: No, there is no deli. On the lido, for some lunches and suppers, they have a "deli" section where a staff member will make you a sandwich.

Chocolate Buffet: No chocolate buffet. For entree's, the Lido is more of a cafeteria-style than a buffet, but it has selection, and of course, all you can eat.

Pax Ages: Cradle to grave. We know of infants under one year old, to folks well into their 70's and 80's. (May we all live so long and be so active.)

Early seating/Showtimes: I can;'t help you with this one. Perhaps someone else could. We didn't go to any of the shows.

[flatraffic]

Who was your cruise director and hotel manager on your cruise? :)

 

The CD's first name was Kerry. I don't know what the HM's name was. Never needed to find out.

[flatraffic]

how was the cruise director on the ship

 

We had no dealings with the CD, so I can't offer an opinion. Sorry.

[esther e]

I have to pop in and agree with flatraffic about the service. We were in an SY suite and had to ask for extra soap, laundry bags, laundry forms and ice. Chocolate pieces were not given on a couple of nights; never fruit and one flower bud. The suite was clean and finished while we were at breakfast. But we have certainly had better stewards, and believe me, we're not fussy people.

 

We only saw the last production show because we couldn't leave the lounge where the classic strings were. They were fantastic and we truly enjoyed them.

 

I was surprised at the number of children on this cruise. For some reason, I thought they'd be in school. And babies! I look back on child-rearing and can't imagine traveling on a ship with an infant. But that's me.....

 

Agree with the post about the duck being tough. However, the last night on the ship the lobster tail and fillet were tender and perfectly done. I thought the Baked Alaska parade was a thing of the past. I was wrong.

 

Great cruise otherwise; we're going back in February. (I hope we have a different steward, or I'll just have to make my requests the first day....we send out a lot of laundry!)

[suse]

We were on the same cruise. We ate in the Pinnacle 4 nights out of seven, one night in the Lido, and 2 in the Main. The food and service in the Pinnacle were outstanding. I liked the Lido for the service and food, but the Main was disappointing. We sat with negative people one night and it kind of ruined dinner for us. We asked the maitre'd for a table for two and he said, "no" very simply. There were some available, and this was the first time on any cruise that we were flatly denied with no apologies. We asked twice and were turned down twice.

Our cabin steward was absolutely wonderful. I loved the ports. We have friends in Tortola so we went sailing with them. The private island was way too crowded with two ships in. We gave up on trying to find a chair so it was a waste of our time to go there. I had really looked forward to that stop, too.

I found the people on board to be very old, mostly. But, of course my goal is to get very old someday.

We had a nice time but wouldn't be adverse to other cruise lines at this point. It was our tenth cruise overall and first on Holland.

[hylasgirl]

Did anyone continually have room service for breakfast? I love balcony dining for breakfast but have always gotten hit and miss service. Anyone have anything to add on this??

 

suse... That is too bad about your negative table mates. I love meeting people in the dining room, but I can say, that on Holland, we have never been luck with dinner companions. Very sad. This time we arranged ahead with a few people from our Roll Call... (something we have done the past 3 cruises) and it will be wonderful! It is really easy to arrange also.

 

I was HOPING that the Baked Alaska was a thing of the past. I am sure the crew are really sick of this tradition every week also. Can you imagine!? I can't!

 

Thanks again!

[matondo]

We had room service for breakfast for three mornings and one evening snack. The breakfasts were ordered the night before. It was always delivered on time and the food was hot and delicious. The milk was never cold but the juice was.

[hylasgirl]

Oh awesome. Good to know. Our last cruise, on Celebrity, the room service was HORRIBLE!!! (I still love Celebrity) there were missing things every single day... It was on time... but it got to the point where I was really irritated with things that were missing. I mean, like, toast with the eggs (a must for me) the toast was missing... well, at that point it is stupid to call because then the eggs were cold...

 

Oh... then I ordered a cheese PLATTER with only white cheeses and extra crackers... and the guy shows up with NO crackers and a BOWL of cottage cheese. Is that the funniest or what?? It was really bad across the board.

[esther e]

If you have breakfast in the dining room, ask for fresh squeezed OJ and you'll get it. Not sure about room service, though.

 

We commented on how much we enjoyed each of our table mates at dinner. We had open seating and of course, saw different people very night. A really nice mix of people.

 

The silent disembarkation was a delight. We were off the ship by 8:20 and on the road by 8:30. Finding a porter was easy. There were plenty and he brought luggage to our car in the parking garage.

 

We never ate in the Pinnacle because other than the duck, the food was fabulous in the dining room.