Westerdam Review

Wonderful March 2013 Panama Canal cruise on Westerdam

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Westerdam
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tropical traveller
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2013
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

My first ever cruise. Had a brilliant time, didn't want to get off and would sail with Holland America again at the drop of a hat.

Pre-departure: stayed at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 the night before having flown into Miami and taken a shuttle to Fort Lauderdale. The Hyatt Regency Pier 66 has that 'tropical worn' look, a nice tropical garden feel and is convenient to the cruise boat terminals. As a newbie, I had no idea how to get from the hotel to the Westerdam. I understood there were 8 cruise boats in and out on the day and there would be a lot of passengers and bags going in both directions. The concierge was clear and helpful on how to get to the Westerdam; "Talk to the lady over there directing the shuttles". I did, she was also clear and helpful and the transfer worked as advertised. The shuttle transfer itself was an experience; we touched all the terminals and I have never seen so many vehicles, people and bags; organised chaos. At the Westerdam terminal I was a little disappointed to have the Porter asking for a tip before our bags were out of the shuttle.

As a newbie, the ship check in procedure was not entirely clear to us. We were handed our boarding number prior to / without being directed to check in which confused us for a while. However, that was a minor muddle, and everything went smoothly once we knew what to do. Boarding was smooth and we found our cabin quickly. Departure was delayed a little by the loading of food and supplies. From our portside vantage point I was amazed at the long stream of trailers bringing in everything from milk and fresh produce to new mattresses.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

Great linen including bathrobes, fridge, wi-fi, nice veranda with two chairs, table and footstool. Bathroom was fine. Cabin was serviced twice a day with a turn down and the stewards were awesome. Nothing was too much trouble and any of our questions and queries were answered promptly, clearly and accurately. Absolutely no complaints. TV programmes included tracking map and reruns of shore excursion briefings. Fresh fruit was constantly topped up. We took the 'by the bag' laundry service and that worked fine. Complimentary shoe cleaning worked fine too.

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