My husband and I were aboard the Westerdam for the March 4-11th Southern Caribbean cruise. We flew into Miami the morning of the 4th, rented a car from Thrifty at the airport (a very tedious process), drove to Ft. Lauderdale and returned it to their off-airport location near Port Everglades. Their free shuttle took us to the terminal, arriving a little after 12:30. There were no lines, and we got through security and checked in very quickly. I asked about the Mariner lunch in the MDR, and was handed an invitation but told that it was only being served between noon and 1; by the time we were on board and dropped off our hand luggage in our cabin, it was too late.

We noticed that most of the public spaces seemed small, and there is no grand atrium as on many other ships. However, it is a beautiful, elegant ship, reminiscent of its sister ship, the Noordam, on which we sailed a few years ago. Our Verandah Deck midship stateroom was comfortable, with an excellent bed, plenty of closet space, and a spacious bathroom with shower and tub. There were no drawers, except for those in the bedside tables, and it would have been very helpful to have at least a few. Our suitcases fit easily under the bed, freeing up floor and closet space. The "entry hall" area between the closets and the bathroom was extremely narrow, requiring a little planning in order for two people to move around comfortably.

Our room steward, Gede, and his assistant, Sugi, were outstanding. Everything was kept spotless, with cleaning and bed-making happening as if by magic. There was always a cheery greeting for us, and Gede called us by name from the first day. Read more