We have enjoyed several Holland America cruises, and were our friends who had moved to San Diego invited us to join them. We looked forward to 11 sea days of relaxation and the possibility of playing bridge with other interested players, plus 5 days in 4 Hawaiian islands. (Because of an unexpected tropical storm, we missed Kawaii, but appreciated the captain's keeping us safe. HA adjusted the schedule to add a day in Oahu, provided free telephone calls for those of us who had booked shore excursions with independent agencies, and automatically credited passengers who had booked cancelled excursions through HA -- all very professional).

Embarkation and disembarkation went smoothly, with reasonable waits to board and disembark. Disembarkation was unusually fast in the San Diego port,

As noted in the "professional review," the Westerdam is unique in its providing a high ratio of space, relative to a moderate number of passengers. This gives us plenty of room to walk the Promenade deck (3) and upper deck (10) without crowding, or even having to walk up/down stairs while completing a circle (unlike some larger ships). Read more