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Westerdam Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,113 reviews

Holland America Westerdam Southern Caribbean - suggestions

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Westerdam
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thisismyusername
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Oct 2009
Cabin: Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

Suggestions that might help other travelers: 1) Half Moon Cay - gorgeous beach, all sand, very user friendly, wish all the beaches had been like this one! 2) Aruba: Palm Island excursion: even the "sandy" swimming areas had lots of rocks and coral - definitely wear some sort of swimming booties, not really worth the $79 it cost...3) last nite of the trip: Saturday nite dinner hours were changed - pay attention to the "fine print" in that days announcements newsletter -- there were only two seatings even for "open dining" category that nite, and there were so many people for the 7:45p seating I went up to Lido deck instead but didn't realize they quit serving at 8pm - so that didn't work out so well for my last supper onboard! 4) if you want fruit delivered to your cabin each day, there's supposed to be an "order slip" in the bottom of a silver basket on your in-room table --- Mine didn't have an order slip so I ended up calling a couple of days into the trip to find out how I can have fresh fruit delivered to my room each day -- unfortunately my request was not honored until the day before the end of the trip I complained and finally got some action! 5) in the mini-fridges/mini-bars in the room, you need to make a special request if you want it stocked with soft drinks (or any type of drinks) other than the selection they put in there (again, I was disappointed that my request made the first day wasn't honored, and my 2nd request was met with resistance, then I finally got the attention of someone in guest relations who apologized profusely and by the day before the end of the trip I finally got my request honored) 6) the "hot stones massage" is outstanding! 7)the casino: the service in the casino needs a LOT of improvement - it as very hard to find someone to take a beverage order, and very difficult to find an ashtray... 8) the "Adagio String Quartet" is awesome and I highly recommend it - they played in one of the public areas every night - and take requests 9) the library is now up on deck 10 -- and that wasn't posted anywhere -- on the ship's map and signage it said another deck - and I finally found someone who could tell me where it was -- an EXCELLENT selection of books and DVD's -- BUT***the last sailing day,Saturday afternoon all reading materials were supposed to be turned back in by 4pm - and unfortunately I had not seen that signage anywhere until 7pm when I went up my last afternoon onboard to turn my book in! (They should have put a big reminder in that day's newsletter!)...10)the meat selections in the Lido buffets were tough as leather - guest relations explained to me it is because they are required to cook the meat "well done" since it is a buffet; the meat selections in the evening in dining room were terrific!...11)room service in-room dining menu has a better selection than I've seen on other cruiselines...12) overall I was disappointed with the service and the food on the ship - having had everyone prior to my trip tell me how awesome Holland America is in those areas. Maybe next time?

Cabin Review

Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

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