This being my first review, I'll start with our backgrounds. We are three women from early 40's to 50 years old, married with children (but left husbands and kids home - true vacation!), I have cruised about 14 times, and the other two have cruised about 3 - 4 times each. We have cruised several other cruise lines, but this was our 1st HAL cruise.

We stayed one night prior to our cruise at the Hampton Inn Ft. Lauderdale Airport North. They provided shuttle service to/from airport and cruise port. They also provided shuttle service to the Cheesecake Factory that evening where we had a wonderful meal. The cleanliness of the hotel, the outstanding service provided by the entire staff, and the hot breakfast included are reasons that we would stay at this particular hotel again and would recommend it to our friends.

Now on to the review of the Westerdam. We have decided that this was by far our best cruising experience ever. The ship was perfect. Our waitstaff (Lower dining  late seating) was outstanding. They were very attentive, we never had to ask twice for anything and our food was cooked perfectly every night. Every crew member greeted us with a smile and had something nice to say. Some crew members would go out of their way to make sure that we had everything we needed. The food on the Lido was very good. We ate at the buffet several times for lunch. We also tried the hamburgers and pizza both of which were excellent. The french fries were actually hot and very good. We ate at the Pinnacle Grill one night. The waitstaff was very attentive and food very good. However, I would say that with all that the dining room has to offer I don't know that I would do the Pinnacle Grill again. Read more