Let me start by saying that it's been 20 years since I've cruised, so I've pretty much forgotten everything from back then. At any rate, here are my comments on my 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise aboard the Westerdam, which I'll divide into categories. Here goes!

PRE-CRUISE: The Southwest flight from Midway to Ft. Lauderdale wasn't bad, except for the part where I overpacked, exceeded the 50 lb. weight limit and ended up having to make a $50 "charitable" donation. I used early-bird check-in and ended up with a boarding position of A22. I stayed at the Renaissance on 17th Street in Ft. Lauderdale. Decent hotel - not the greatest nor the worst. After walking around a bit I picked up some Diet Coke from the Publix in the Harbor Shops. From there I hopped on the Sun Trolley and took a scenic ride down A1A to get a look at the beach area, after which I got off right near my hotel. The front desk staff was very nice and, after asking them for a dinner recommendation, I ended up eating some pretty good eggplant parmigiana at Bravo's, which is located across the parking lot from the hotel. EMBARKATION: This was extremely well-organized. Uniformed HAL staff were everywhere, directing us where to go and what to have ready. We did have about a half-hour wait in the boarding lounge, but the boarding process also went pretty smoothly once we were given the green light.

THE SHIP AND CABIN: Very pretty public areas and some nice Christmas decorations. I did get to experience the torn rattan balcony furniture that had been brought up in previous posts and reviews first-hand. I called guest services to see if I could swap it with some furniture from another balcony that wasn't in use, but was told that the ship was sailing at full capacity and it wasn't possible. Oh well, no big deal. There were many times when it was too windy to use my starboard balcony anyhow -- perhaps because the balconies on the upper promenade deck where my cabin was are slightly bigger and thus more exposed. I think that it probably isn't a necessity for me to have one unless I cruise to Alaska. The cabin was more than adequate. More closet space than what I was expecting (I was only one person but used both closets - go figure!) with the extra bonus of the shelves behind the third door and sufficient under-bed storage space for luggage. The shelf under the bathroom sink was a handy catch-all. I just wish I didn't have to step so high (I'm "vertically challenged") to get into the bathtub. The bed was very comfy and the air conditioning worked just fine - both which made for good sleeping. Read more