Westerdam Review
Westerdam 7 day; it's all about the corner aft suite!
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This is a review of my 9th HAL cruise and 31st overall cruise, onboard the Westerdam for the second time. This cruise was more about the ship, the cabin, and the getaway, as I’ve been to all of the ports recently and often – but the cruise was part of the ‘casino free cruise’ offer that originally offered a slate of 10-day cruises which were already sold out, so after some negotiating on other available cruises I happened upon this one. The ship and itinerary were nearly the same as I took in 2013, but the key temptation was the ‘free’ room offer, with the ability to pay a very reasonable price to upgrade from the inside cabin offered to a larger room. I have usually taken HAL’s SS cabins which I find quite ideal in size, but thought this could be a fun opportunity to try out the larger suite…when the HAL representative listed the available SA/SB/SC cabins for this cruise and ‘5091’ came up in that list – I leapt at the offer. I’ve always wanted a corner aft suite on these ships, known to be among the largest balconies on the sea, and fully covered as well. That’s how I came to be on this Westerdam cruise. My cruise photo gallery is at the following link: http://www.pbase.com/zackiedawg/westerdam_nov15&page=all
Breakdown:
Day 1 – boarding. I’m conveniently close to the port, being a S. Florida resident, so a short 20 minute drive down to the port was easy-going around 12:45pm. Arriving at the terminal around 1:05pm, I was routed to the mariner/suite priority line, completed the health questionnaire, and with only 2 people in front of me, was at the gate agent checking in in just a few minutes. By 1:30pm, I was in my cabin to unpack my carry-on.
Cabin Review
Neptune Deluxe Verandah Suite
Though the aft corner suites are a bit smaller inside than the side suites, it was still notably larger than the SS I’m used to. Coming in the door, there’s a fairly long l-shaped hall heading into the room, first passing the small dressing room and make-up table, with 3 closets behind, and then the door into the bathroom, which is the same size and layout as the SS bathrooms I’m used to (shower stall, separate bathtub with shower, two sinks on a long counter with twin mirrored cabinets, toilet). Around the corner past the dressing room, you pass the minibar on the right and more cabinets and end table on the left. The long couch with coffee table and two chairs to the left, row of 5 closet doors to the right along the wall with the twin beds next to those opposite the couch. Past the couch on the left was a long countertop with storage below, bending around the outside wall with desk in front of a large picture window, then the door to the balcony to the right next to the beds. Very spacious and comfortable room – unbelievable storage even compared to the generous SS suites. There were far more closets (6 total spaces) and storage cabinets (5) plus drawers (8) spread all over the cabin that it was close to impossible for two people to fill them all for a 7 day cruise.
The balcony: There are no words or descriptions that can properly convey just how amazing and beautiful this balcony is. Photographs cannot adequately capture the space. It’s just huge! Open the door and to your left there’s room for the two chairs with ottomans and end table between the door and bulkhead. Still to the left, there’s room in front of those chairs for a table and 4 chairs to sit. And past that, at least 4 more feet of empty space to the end of the glass rail. Straight out the door it’s almost 10 feet to the rail at the aft of the ship. To the right, there’s a day-bed and another 8 feet or so to the port rail. I’d guess there’s close to 16 feet, maybe more, from the left bulkhead to the port rail. But wait – there’s more! As you head right towards the port rail, the balcony continues down the side of the ship towards the bow…at the same standard width as the regular balcony cabins, you can walk down almost 18 feet – two more recliners were down that side of the balcony plus some extra space before reaching the divider to the next cabin. And the entirety is covered above, for privacy, weather protection, and usually someplace you can go for shade or sun, your choice.
Port Reviews
St. Thomas
St. Thomas. You guessed it – pouring sheets of rain as we pulled in. The first few hours at port, more sheets of rain kept coming over the hill from town and to Crown Bay where we were docked. I stayed on my balcony which faced the town and watched as wave after wave of heavy rain came over the hills thinking I might just have to skip going to town – but as with all the other days, the showers stopped by around 11:30am, and I was able to catch a taxi to town, walk all around Charlotte Amalie, and just have a nice peaceful day of walking and touring. Around 3pm I got back to the ship as a big sheet of rain was coming over the hill – I got onboard and by the time I was taking the glass elevator back to my floor it was pouring outside! That shower cleared, and the rest of the day was clear again until we sailed away, with the rains returning to the island as we pulled away.
Half Moon Cay
Half Moon Cay. For a change, the day didn’t start with rain…and stayed clear all the way through. I don’t do the ‘beach’ thing much since I live in Florida and have access to beaches anytime I want, so my usual routine is to walk the island – first to the north end rocks past the end of the beach, then past the horse ranch, left out to the big salt bay, then around to the Sting-Ray area and back behind the food pavilions, and eventually back to the tenders. I prefer to skip lunch on the island and just get it back at Lido, since I usually get back when most passengers are still on the island. A good day.
Grand Turk
Grand Turk. The morning started with rain – uh oh! Was it going to be a rain-out? No – only for the first hour or two, then it cleared and from about 9:30am there were no more showers that day. There’s not a whole lot to do on this small island, though a vast majority of passengers spend their entire day at the captive/planned port facilities created by the cruise companies. I’m not a big fan of those types of facilities as I prefer to see the ‘real’ face of the islands or places I visit, so I passed through the port facilities and out to the main road. My last visit here, I walked to Cockburn Town – but it’s quite a hike and I wanted to see a bit more of the island this time, so I found a rental facility just outside the gates that had ATVs and golf carts available, and decided to rent an ATV to get around. I toured through Cockburn Town, then up to the north end to visit the lighthouse, past the salt ponds to see the flamingoes, and just all around the island which is pretty easy to cover. A pleasant day!
San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico. The morning again started with rain, mist, cloud, wind, light fog…sailing in past El Morro was drizzly and grey and looked like it might be a wash-out. It rained all the way to the docks…then stopped. Once again, the rest of the day was fine – a light drizzle at around 5:30pm, and clear again for the rest of the night. I love walking the old town, so I just did a self-guided tour. I took the Paseo de la Princesa down under the walls, past the Raices fountain and through the Gate of San Juan, up the hill to the church, through the old town, working my way up to the walls above La Perla, then into the Castillo of San Cristobal…I enjoyed walking all the levels of the fort, then worked my way back to the town, and down the walls back to the ship. A lovely day of walking.