xeena
December 22nd, 2004, 12:25 PM
We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise ! Last year we were on the Veendam and really liked the smaller size of the ship...but the Westerdam was great. A few startling colors...like the benches in the halls by the elevators...what were they anyway? the elevator doors were very interesting and we enjoyed the glass elevators as well.
the bedding was supberb ! usually i am ready to go home to my own bed, but not this time ! our cabin steward was wonderful....great service. we "slept with the suid" as another poster referred to the Main deck....had a window though ! we were under the casino and i was fearful of the nosie that might engender, but we heard nothing but an occasional grinding that couldnt have been casino noise ! we never could figure it out as it was so random. it did not disturb us though. it was nice to have everything almost brandy-new !
the food was good....we had the latest seating for dinner, and although that was not our choice (TA messed it up and it never got resolved) we got used to a long cocktail hr ! our travel companions ate at the Pinnacle the first night and raved about the meal the whole week ! our service in the diningroom was very good as well....a great pair of waiters...smiles that lit up the room ! we found the Lido great as well, breakfast and lunch was easy....staff kept the tables clean, carried trays, found seats....and they did have waffle cones ! my hubby had several !! he said the ice cream was better than on the Veendam....i did not have ONE dessert...no, take that back, i did have a no sugar raspberry mousse at the dessert extravaganza. that and high tea were also very good....
we thought the shows ranged from really good to frantic to weird ! but everyone has a personal opinion in that area ! there was never a problem getting seats for the shows, maybe the early show was different though. the stage productions had so many costume changes we got dizzy !! how they did it amazes me. the comdedian and the illusionist were great ! the jugglers and the singer....well, not my cup of tea. but others seemed to like them....as i said, all a personal preference. the cruise director was cute and did a good job.
it was our first time to HMC and we loved it ! snorkeled with our own gear there and found it just fine.....that surpised us as we were disappointed with the snorkling in Tortola. we had bareboated in the BVI's several times and i guess i remember fantastic snorkling from those trips. maybe the Baths were good though....weather a bit churny with heavy showers early in the am....certainly might have affected it.
St M was soooooooooooooo crowded ! hardly worth the effort to get off the ship. I think there were 7 ships in the harbor that day ! too many for that little island.
neat little find for me was interent access.....went to the library in Nassau (near the center of town) and an internet cafe just off the ship in Tortola...rates were quite good and i got my email fix in ! i sure do miss my computer when away...and i wasnt about to pay the ship rates. did that once and found the connection soooo slow it was painful. maybe it has improved, but i did not test it out !
that's all i can conjure up for now, any questions about our experience are welcome , we had a great time !
the bedding was supberb ! usually i am ready to go home to my own bed, but not this time ! our cabin steward was wonderful....great service. we "slept with the suid" as another poster referred to the Main deck....had a window though ! we were under the casino and i was fearful of the nosie that might engender, but we heard nothing but an occasional grinding that couldnt have been casino noise ! we never could figure it out as it was so random. it did not disturb us though. it was nice to have everything almost brandy-new !
the food was good....we had the latest seating for dinner, and although that was not our choice (TA messed it up and it never got resolved) we got used to a long cocktail hr ! our travel companions ate at the Pinnacle the first night and raved about the meal the whole week ! our service in the diningroom was very good as well....a great pair of waiters...smiles that lit up the room ! we found the Lido great as well, breakfast and lunch was easy....staff kept the tables clean, carried trays, found seats....and they did have waffle cones ! my hubby had several !! he said the ice cream was better than on the Veendam....i did not have ONE dessert...no, take that back, i did have a no sugar raspberry mousse at the dessert extravaganza. that and high tea were also very good....
we thought the shows ranged from really good to frantic to weird ! but everyone has a personal opinion in that area ! there was never a problem getting seats for the shows, maybe the early show was different though. the stage productions had so many costume changes we got dizzy !! how they did it amazes me. the comdedian and the illusionist were great ! the jugglers and the singer....well, not my cup of tea. but others seemed to like them....as i said, all a personal preference. the cruise director was cute and did a good job.
it was our first time to HMC and we loved it ! snorkeled with our own gear there and found it just fine.....that surpised us as we were disappointed with the snorkling in Tortola. we had bareboated in the BVI's several times and i guess i remember fantastic snorkling from those trips. maybe the Baths were good though....weather a bit churny with heavy showers early in the am....certainly might have affected it.
St M was soooooooooooooo crowded ! hardly worth the effort to get off the ship. I think there were 7 ships in the harbor that day ! too many for that little island.
neat little find for me was interent access.....went to the library in Nassau (near the center of town) and an internet cafe just off the ship in Tortola...rates were quite good and i got my email fix in ! i sure do miss my computer when away...and i wasnt about to pay the ship rates. did that once and found the connection soooo slow it was painful. maybe it has improved, but i did not test it out !
that's all i can conjure up for now, any questions about our experience are welcome , we had a great time !