The cabin was very spacious with a comfortable bed, a couch with a table, and a desk. The shower was in a small bathtub and was much more roomy than what we’ve experienced on other ships. There was plenty of storage, oodles of hangers, and nice veranda chairs with footstools.  With a large TV, access to a few tv stations and many movies, it was a comfortable place to hang out on sea days or when tired.

We booked a Flavors of Singapore tour independently and were treated to tastes of Chinatown, Little India, and Kampong Glam near the Bugis metro station. We also walked through markets and learned about the history of Singapore. By the end of the tour we were stuffed.

This tour included four different stops at Buddhist temples, each quite different. It also included a drive that basically circumscribed the island.  At the Big Buddha there was an opportunity for some excellent shopping where the vendors were eager to bargain. It was a good introduction to Buddhism and temples.

The "Bankok's Hidden Treasures with Tuk Tuk Ride" took us to three Buddhist temples, including Wat Po. We also saw the Elizabeth Hall and had a delicious lunch in a Bangkok hotel. The surprising part of the day was how fun the tuk tuk ride to the restaurant was, careening through the streets with the rest of the tour like a crazy tuk tuk gang, jostling for position in the traffic, and laughing the whole time. 

Though Sihanoukville isn't much as a port, the cooking class we took from a local chef was fantastic. We went to her home via tuk tuk through the dirty construction of the town and found ourselves down an alley and up three floors to an open air kitchen where we made and consumed a delicious Cambodian lunch. The port was redeemed by the class.

We took the ship's excursion, Nha Trang cooking class which included a chance to make spring rolls, banana flower salad, and cabbage package soup before consuming a lunch prepared by the chef of the same dishes.  The meal was preceded by a walk through the local market and the resort where we took the class also included a little Cham arts village that was very interesting.

Nha Trang

We visited the Cham museum with a group organized by Cruise Critic. It was fascinating to see the treasures from the site we had visited the previous day.

This tour was mostly about walking through the streets and picking up goodies.  I was disappointed that I didn't find any silk by the meter to buy. The silk was all in shops for tailoring.

We booked a private tour with Andy Tours and after a bit of trouble hooking up with our guide, we had a fabulous day at My Son, Marble Mountain, and the Lady Buddha, all places chosen by me and designed by the tour company.  Our guide was a wealth of knowledge and we enjoyed sharing lunch over a bowl of noodles with him and our driver. It was an exhausting day with many steps to climbs, but well worth it.

This wasn't what I expected and when the rest of the people on the tour didn't want to pay the $6 to ride the sampan, it was nearly a disaster. In the end, we rode the sampan through a fishing village that was only mildly interesting and right in the middle of the city. 

We booked the tour that included an airport transport because we knew it would be our only chance to see the two major Hong Kong islands. The guide was not very good and other than Victoria Peak, we didn't see anything memorable. The worst was that it included a visit to a jewelry "factory" that was really just a jewelry store in an industrial building. Horrible. At least we got the airport transfer and the guide was helpful getting us into the airport during the heightened security.

We actually visited the monastery and Big Buddha on our own by riding the bus from the Citygate station. The Buddha is amazing and the entire grounds are beautiful and peaceful. It was a wonderful day. Not to be missed.

This was part of our airport transfer tour and while I wanted to see Victoria Peak, it was a misty day and the view wasn't that great. We stayed much too long, ostensibly to shop but all the stores were closed for the New Year. So we stood around in the cold waiting for the appointed time to continue.

DaNang, Vietnam

This was a two day stop so the first day I booked a tour from TripAdvisor that included My Son, the Marble Mountain, and the Lady Buddha.But after the first day we enjoyed our in-room breakfast choices, ate in our Orange Club robes, used the Orange Club priority lines at Guest Services and the MDR, and were treated very well.

Westerdam Review

Great itinerary, wonderful service

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Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom

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Nha Trang

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