Westerdam Review

Great potential cruise somewhat spoiled by indulgent parents

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Westerdam
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lvboyer
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Mar 2012
Cabin: Neptune Deluxe Verandah Suite

We joined long time HAL cruisers on back to back Caribbean cruises out of Fort Lauderdale. Being winter, we flew down a day early in case we had delays in transit. We stayed at the Hyatt near the port and were delighted in the facility. They run buses to the port every hour starting at 10 AM. Be warned that they have an $8/PP charge for this service which we were not informed of in advance.

Checking in was VERY well organized. We had selected our deluxe level A stateroom and were happy to be given keys immediately. We went to lunch and, by the time we finished and took a stroll of the ship to get our bearings, our luggage was outside our door. HAL allows wine to be brought aboard but hard liquor will be stored until your debarkation. We were greeted by Augus and Wu, our cabin attendants. I will say that the very best parts of the trip surrounded the service we got from these two intelligent, humorous extremely hard workers from Indonesia. Every morning we went for breakfast and by the time we got back, the room was made up and the ice bucket filled. The evening "turndown" included chocolates, fresh ice and a towel designed as a gorilla, crab, starfish, etc. 14 days produced 14 characters. No request was denied and the response was immediate. We loved these guys.

The first week of the cruise took us to Puerto Rica, Grand Turk, St. Maartan and a stop at HAL's private island, Half Moon Cay. The second week took us to Half Moon Cat, and the ABC islands. We only had 1 1/2 days of rain. The remaining days were delightful. The food was evenly great, regardless of venue. They have an upscale Pinnacle Restaurant which costs an additional $25/PP. We ate their twice. Highly recommended. We did have a problem with seating. We made reservations at the same time as friends who joined us. We called HAL's 800 number. We requested 6:30 seating at a table for 4 in the lower main dining room. When we got e-mailed confirmation, we had been assigned to the 5:30 seating in the upper venue and our friends were at a table for 6 at 7:45. No amount of calling could correct the problem. When we got to the ship, I went directly to the Maitre De and relayed our problem. His 6:30 seating was filled. He promised to arrange a seating that we requested during the second week and managed to guarantee 5:30 seating at a table for 4 during the first week. We ate at a different table each night.

Cabin Review

Neptune Deluxe Verandah Suite

Cabin SA

We requested a deluxe veranda cabin on the 7th level and due aft, cabin # 7149. The cabin was clean and well equipped. It had a flat screen TV, Mini bar, desk, chair, hair dryer (hidden in the desk), permanent small table in front of a small couch, safe, and two very spacious wardrobes. The bath was typically small with one outlet for the shaver (my wife's heat wand for her hair would only fin the outlet at the desk), medicine cabinet, 2 glasses a small counter and a counter beneath the sink. It was served with a tub with a diverter for a shower. The veranda was large enough for a small table, two wicker chairs and one chaise lounge. The room's decor was very dated and the room, along with the rest of the ship needs updating. This in no way affects the comfort of any of the facilities.

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