Westerdam Review
Rating by category
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Going through the Panama Canal is a bucket list item. I've looked at many cruises going through but most where you go all the way through the canal have such minimal port you visit between and many sea days. We still have a fair number of sea days 7 in total, but a smaller percentage than others. This cruise was different that we spent over a week in the Caribbean before going through the canal, 6 ports in mexico and 3 central america countries. I go on cruises to visit the places and have new experiences not to sit on a ship. Which this cruise completely met.
Boarding was pretty simple, we arrived early to find many others had also arrived early and were filling up the waiting area. It didn't take too long once they started boarding to get on-board. HAL has done away with the mariners lunch which is sad, but we did have a reception in the afternoon.
Gala nights were wonderful, we were joined by 2 of the crew members each time. Once with the guest relations and the second time with the head of excursions. So interesting to talk to crew and ask them about what they do and life on board ship. Plus they each provided us with free wine :) Something else about the dinning room is they have gone to a new system (I think) all the wait staff were carrying around ipad/tablets. The tablet has each table and who is sitting there along with your picture, so they can greet you by name. They were also able to show you pictures of each of the meals and answer detailed question about what is in the food.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
Easy access to the forward elevators. I did hear the elevators dinging, but my mother did not. Room stewards were great, quick to clean our room and keep it as clean as possible, even with our clutter.
Port Reviews
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
Took the water taxi, was able to see much of the city by the water way.
Half Moon Cay
Relaxing day for the beach. We just hung out at the beach and read. The lunch was so so.
Puerto Quetzal (Antigua)
This ended up being one of the highlights of the cruise. We were here on good friday which is a huge celebration, one of the largest in the world and very unique. Families crease sawdust and flower carpets on the cobble stone roads and there is a huge procession with huge floats being carried by hundreds of men and women through the streets. It was like something out of national geographic. We did a walking tour, which ended up being close to 5 miles long. Made for a very long day, but I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
Huatulco
This is one of the ports I would love to go back to and spend some real time at. Amazing beaches and so clean.
Cabo San Lucas
Our whale watching tour was cancelled due to high winds so we just ended up walking around the port. Did some shopping in the market, dislike that the merchants do not have prices on anything. Make sure you go to one of the standard stores first and see what standard prices are before you visit.