We are just back from a President's week seven night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the HAL Westerdam. Since Schplinky just posted what will arguably remain the ultimate Westerdam review, I will be a little more brief and write from a family's perspective. Just for some background info, I am a 44 year old high school English teacher. My husband is 46; he is an IT project manager. We traveled with our 12 year old son and my parents who are both 70 as well as a group of 8 friends of our family who are all older than we are

Air: We flew in and out of New York (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale on Jetblue. In spite of the many crises Jetblue was experiencing this week with the ice and snow, both our flights were on time with no problems.

Hotel: We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale. We stayed there last year and found that they went out of their way for our large group, chauffeuring us to dinner and providing complimentary transfers to the port. This time was no different, although the hotel was under renovation and some members of our party had rooms that were not up to standard. To the Embassy's credit, when they complained, their bills were reduced by $200. Read more