This was my third cruise on the Westerdam over a period of 7 years. It will be my last. In between I have been on the larger RCCL Ships, Norwegian and Celebrity. I would go on HAL again, especially if I go back to Alaska but for other locations I would not use them and surely not the Westerdam. They have a brand new ship coming out, I would try that maybe.
The Embarkation itself went fairly smoothly in Ft Lauderdale. The walk to the ship itself is very long and they do attempt to divert you for their pictures, which, to their credit, is not hard to sidestep. Once onboard the the rooms were ready early and you have the freedom to move about as you wish. I went to the Mariner's Lunch which they do not advertise to everyone but if you have been on HAL before you will know about this. It is far better to be eating in the Vista Dining Room than the crowded and poorly organized Lido. I did not see it on Embarkation days but judging by the other days, I can imagine what it was like with all those newly aboard rushing for the food there. The Dining Room is stress-free and far preferable.
After the lunch there is the usual free time to explore the ship and even though I had been on this ship twice before, one tends not to remember the layout of any particular ship. This ship is easy to familiarize yourself with, it is not that big and there are not that many decks containing important public areas.
OK, I wanted a low price cabin but not an inside one. This cabin has a floor to ceiling window, with a lifeboat right outside. You can see plenty of daylight and in a distance you can see the water. Its better than an inside cabin but of course not as good as a clear view. The Cabin shows its age. The sofa had dirt stains on it. The mattress on the bed was really the best thing about the room. I wish I could take it home! Where do they get these mattresses? The bathroom is nice and big and the shower is wonderful but the drains in both the bathtub and the sink were a problem. Also the Air Conditioning in the cabin was not working well the first night and after several calls, they did fix it the next day. There were only two wooden hangers, the rest were wire. Service in the cabin was fair to poor. The first day they never came at night to turn down the bed or bring the next days program. When I called the front desk she said "well they are busy, its embarkation day". One other day the same thing happened. I also called, they said "sorry we will bring you the program." I had asked for ice each day, they filled it once in the AM. by the evening it was all water and they did nothing about it. That is the kind of room service on this particular ship. I saw the cabin steward in person on the first day and I saw him on the last, I think. I had forgotten what he looked like.