Husband and I had never been on a caribbean cruise and we decided that, with the low cabin prices, it was time to do it. We chose Holland America's Westerdam because it had the 7-day itinerary we wanted, and seem to be geared towards 'older adults' (this turned out to definitely be true). Overall, we had a very good experience, with a few missteps, some of which were due to the fact that we were 'first time' cruisers and probably were unaware of the 'hidden' or 'unspoken rules/tips' on such a trip. The pluses: excellent cabin, with verandah (only slight extra cost), which turned out to be a godsend; fantastic cabin steward/cabin service (including nightly freshen up with chocolates and towels folded into animals -- at first, I had no idea what that was); gorgeous theater and vista dining room with flexible, open seating (but, if we had wanted a table for two, we would have needed to reserve before we got on the boat -- the only reservation times available were 5:15 and 8pm); phenomenal music show -- the BB King Blues Club Band -- doing R&B, motown, soul, -- they were superb -- saw them twice; classical music duo -- nice way to wind down the evening. The big draw, evidently, was the 'Dancing with the Stars' tryouts/finals. They had shows in the afternoons so that was when I hung out at the pool, which was very enjoyable.

Shore excursions were a mixed bag - Half Moon Cay, the first, was an island owned by HA and was a private beach club with seating, beach buffet - wonderful way to begin the cruise. Unfortunately, we didn't plan well for St Thomas, which was very hot and humid - -got tickets for Paradise Point, a cable car ride that takes you to the top of a hill with shops, restaurant, views, breeze, etc. However, the taxi service to get there was chaotic, uncomfortable -- prepare for a 'third world' experience. Paradise Point was a photographer's delight, however, and was worth the trip. San Juan, the next port of call, however, was not. The ship only docked there for a total of 6 hours so if you didn't start your excursion at 8 am (we're late risers on vacation), you had barely 3 hours to sightsee. Old San Juan was crazy congested with traffic since there were several ships in port.We gave up on the public trolley to get us to El Morro, which was the one thing in SJ I wanted to see and ended up cabbing it both ways. El Morro is definitely worth seeing, gorgeous ocean views, great historical interest but we had to leave by 12:30 to make the 'all aboard' time of 1 pm! Fortunately, our cab driver on the trip back was hilarious, very friendly and had us in stitches all the way back to the boat (I speak a poco Espanol, so that helped). Finally, Grand Turk Island was a 'hidden gem' for sure -- it's the closest thing you'll see on the trip to 'unspoiled'. Damaged by recent hurricanes, the Island hasn't really bounced back, but it's worth seeing for historic houses, natural coral inlets, and a whole lot of nothing, which, after SJ, I really enjoyed. Had a great open bus tour, with Rodney, our very knowledgeable, friendly guide, that took you around the island, to the lighthouse, etc. The highlight was the afternoon spent swimming at Governor's Beach, where the boat docked -- this time, we had until 5:30 pm to spend on the beach and in the shopping area, which is very attractive. Gorgeous waterfront.

Finally, the Lido buffet, which served breakfast, lunch and dinner. Despite the fact that the ship carried a maximum of about 1900 passengers, the Lido buffet always seemed very crowded, with a good deal of jostling, people dodging and general confusion at peak times. We figured out that it was best to go late, which is what we did for breakfast and lunch. The food was very good, of course, but by the time you waited on line for the hot food (some of the servers on the line weren't exactly friendly), got rolls, beverages, butter, etc., your food was half cold. Took a lot of juggling to get everything you wanted and I never did figure out the cold drink situation. Sometimes the server at the drink station poured ice into glasses for lemonade, etc., sometimes it was self service. Not sure why the whole buffet situation seemed so disorganized and spread out. Needed at least two trips to get everything for a meal. Read more