Westerdam Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,112 reviews

Westerdam - Eastern Caribbean

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Westerdam

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Sail Date: Nov 2007
Traveled with children

The Holland America Westerdam is a relatively new ship built in the old style. If you like glitter and glitz, multi-story atriums and lots of glamour, this is not the ship for you. Westerdam is an elegant vessel with Art Deco touches, hearkening back to older sailing days ... low ceilings, understated coloration, and an ambience of graciousness not found in today's modern ships. The art work on board is magnificent. This was my second cruise on Holland America. We embarked in Fort Lauderdale around 2:30pm with no wait and we were on the ship within minutes. I was traveling with my son and two granddaughters on the Thanksgiving cruise. Our balcony cabins on the Upper Promenade deck were waiting. The beds were in the correct configuration, each with a large beige mat across the foot of the bed for luggage unpacking. The cabin was a good size, with a small loveseat and adjustable table that could serve as both a coffee table and dining table. The bathrooms were a typical size, but each had a bathtub instead of just a shower stall. Plenty of thick towels and toiletries from Elemis. The beds were the new signature beds with pillow top mattress and soft sheets. The bed was so comfortable and exactly as advertised, best I've ever had on a cruise. The balconies each had two wicker style chairs with cushions and a small table, perfect for relaxing or enjoying an in-cabin breakfast. The itinerary took us to Turks and Caicos, Tortola, and St. Maarten, Holland's private island at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas, and 2 days at sea. We booked several shore excursions, none of which were memorable. Our helmet dive in Grand Turk was an interesting experience, but was very short with most of the time spent underwater waiting for others to descend the ladder in their helmets. There was very little to see underwater and the excursion was more about the experience of the helmet than in seeing marine life. A couple of fish and that was about it. Not really worth the money. The excursion in Tortola to Virgin Gorda and the Baths was just transportation on the local ferry and in local taxis. It was not advertised clearly as just transportation, so it did not meet our expectations. Finally in St Maarten we took the "Natural Wonders" excursion to the local zoo for endangered species and a very extensive narrated bus tour of both the Dutch and French sides of the islands. Of all the excursions, this was most accurately described and we were fortunate to have a very good bus driver/tour guide who kept us entertained for the afternoon. Holland America's current traditional dining room experience with the same tablemates turned out to be a bonus for us. We had requested a table for 4 and were seated at a table for 10. We were initially disappointed, but very quickly saw that our companions were great company. We enjoyed the company, the food, and the service; all were excellent. We ate many breakfasts and lunches in the Lido restaurant, which had a good variety every day, and, of course, we enjoyed the famous ice cream bar which everyone seemed to indulge in during the cruise. One night we ate in the Pinnacle Grill, the ship's specialty restaurant. The $30 surcharge per person was absolutely worth it. What we spent for 4 people would have cost us the same for 1 person on shore. Book it, you won't be disappointed. Everything was first-class and rivaled many shoreside steak houses. Entertainment on the ship was some of the best that I have seen in my 2 decades of cruising. The main show room has an elaborate stage with moving floors, great sets and costumes by Bob Mackie. The production singers and dancers were very good with a stand-out female lead singer who certainly could hold her own in any venue. An illusionist/comedian named Leo Ward, a comedian named Janine ?, and a contemporary jazz pianist Anthony Salchi rounded out the program during the week. We saw and enjoyed every show very much. The Cruise Director, Shane, has done a good job with the main entertainment and the rest of the typical cruise events. The lounge music and deck music also were very enjoyable. A highlight on this cruise was the events in the Culinary Arts Center, which is a million dollar on-board show kitchen where the ship's chefs demonstrate cooking. We were fortunate to watch the Head Chef prepare 2 dishes. He was entertaining and informative, and we were able to taste the Apple Strudel from his home country of Austria that he prepared in front of us. The facility is complete with overhead cameras and video screens for easy viewing and doubles as a small show room at other times. During the cruise there was a passenger cook-off which was also fun to watch. All in all it was a great way to spend Thanksgiving. Now I'm looking forward to a May, 2008 cruise to the Mediterranean on the Noordam, a sister ship to the Westerdam.

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