Westerdam Review
Great Christmas Cruise - No Cattle Call Feeling on HAL
Rating by category
Additional details
The ship was great, just underwent a refit this past spring. Elevators are extremely fast, service was excellent, easy to get around the ship, food was really good (way better than most lines) and the small details really made a difference. The Casino and bars were great as well! Grandmother, Mother and Father, and 2 teens traveled in 2 Veranda rooms - very comfortable. We dined mainly in the Dining Room for dinner. The selections were top notch - not lobster every night but, some really nice duck breast, halibut, prime rib, rack of lamb, etc. all well prepared, meats were cooked perfectly, sauces were very good, and sides were also good. The Lido restaurant had some great breakfast and lunch offerings - not just leftovers from the dinner before, and dinner there was comparable, on most days, to the dining room just buffet style - and the Dive Inn had delicious, cooked to order burgers and fries daily. One thing we really appreciated was the selections, most of them anyway, were served by kitchen staff instead of "help yourself". It seemed much cleaner, less waste, and fresher.
The casino staff were exceptional on this trip. $6 Black Jack and $5 Craps were available. The dealers were professional, especially the pit bosses, and the servers (Pio in particular) were fantastic. We were never left waiting for a cocktail for more than a few minutes.
Our room attendants were barely seen but, certainly noticed. The rooms were cleaned promptly and quietly.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
Very tidy, lots of storage including under the foot of the bed drawers (great for purchases abroad), Ice buckets were kept full, nice selection of in room movies and television.
Port Reviews
Half Moon Cay
Nice swimming and beach day.
Cozumel
BEWARE OF THE SCAMS - shopkeepers will rush you into stores, push you to buy, try to take pictures of your credit card and driver license. Keep your hand on your watch as they say. There are some decent knock off bags, sunglasses, watches, etc. but, don't buy from the first vendor, threaten to walk if you don't get at least 50% off asking price, etc. The port itself is legit although prices are higher. Great place to stock up on antibiotics and other medicines (they sell androgel (under a different name), muscle relaxers, etc... but, no narcotics. Pass the initial hall type store into the remaining port and you'll find legitimate items at decent prices.
Grand Cayman (Georgetown)
Good restaurants close to port, shopping was OK, but, this is a great place to stock up on liquor - just outside the dock, walk left to a rum shop - good deals on most items.