This was my 27th cruise, but my 1st on HAL. We stayed at The Sleep Inn in FLL the evening before. We took a cab to the pier and arrived there around 11:30. There was already a line waiting outside the closed doors of the pier. We gave our 2 suitcases to a porter and tipped him $5.00. We waited in line about 15 min, and then everyone stormed inside to register and get onboard. It went fast and we got onboard about 12:30.

They were shunting everyone up to the Lido cafe for lunch. The lunch was good and then we walked around a bit. They made an announcement and we were able to go to our cabins at 1:30.

We had a balcony cabin on Deck 5, which was nice. It was close to the elevators and I would not do this location again. I have had lots of cabins over the years close by the elevators (on different cruise lines) and have NEVER been bothered by noise before. This time, the constant "dinging" of the elevator bells just about drove me insane. I asked to be moved to a different cabin, but they said the ship was full. The cabin and balcony were a nice size and had plenty of storage. I have to say that the cabins on the Westerdam must be soundproofed very well, as we were never bothered by sounds in the adjoining cabins. But being on the balcony next to 2 chain smokers is a different story! Read more