grenouille
February 15th, 2005, 09:02 AM
Westerdam 1/30- 2/6, Western Caribbean
Demographics- Husband and myself, ages 32 , 30, no children. One previous cruise, with HAL, on Zuiderdam for our honeymoon
Pre-cruise hotel:
Statyed at the Hampton Inn Plantation (6th S.W.) Wonderful place, great room, close to all amenites (grocery store, restaurants, shopping mall)Breakfast was good, and shuttle was on time, and well organized.
Embarkation:
Took hotel shuttle, and arrived at the pier (26) around 11:30am. (there were 6 of us in the shuttle) Porters immediately took over the bags, and we proceeded inside the terminal. We were given a number (not quite sure why) and then proceeded to line up. There were two seperate areas, one for those who had done the immigration paperwork online, and one for those who hadn’t. Luckily, we hadn’t filled ours out. The lineups were much longer for those who had. Waited maybe 5 minutes in line, and then got checked in. There didn’t seem to be any difference in the time it takes to check-in someone with or without the online paperwork done.
We then proceeded to walk right onto the ship (after the obligatory boarding photo) where we were whisked away on the elevator to the Lido deck. We were told rooms would be ready around 1:30pm, and that the Lido was open for lunch. Indeed, at 1:30pm, we were allowed into the cabins.
Room/Room Steward:
As before, had a great room (4052) with a great steward, Danial. Our room wasn’t entirely ready when we first arrived, so we could tell he was quite busy. (ex: no fruit basket, no robes, etc..) Everything was in order when we returned later. Luggage arrived in two parts, once bag before the lifeboat drill, the other after. Danial was terrific- not intrusive, but always there if you needed something, and always saying hello with a smile!
Ship:
Having been on the Zuiderdam, I can say that the colors and decor on the Westerdam have been toned down about 100 fold! I had to chuckle when an elderly gentleman commented that the Westerdam’s decor was too “loud” for him- I kindly suggested that he not try the Zuiderdam! Overall, the ship was very beautiful, impeccably clean, and quite elegant. A few nice touches, like the real orchids at every table in the Lido. Staff constantly cleaning, and polishing. Not too many layout differences from the Zui, at least none that were apparent to me. Overall, a beautiful ship.
Food:
Food was wonderful. For breakfast, we had room service twice, dinning room twice, and the remainder in the Lido. Everything was delicious, although we had one incident of undercooked eggs, so proceeded to order them over-hard, instead of over-easy for the remainder. Fresh squeezed orange juice is devine!
Lunches were had in the Lido. Meant to try the dinning room, but never got around to it! Love the deli sandwiches- especially the pannini grilled ones, and the daily specials. Pizza was yummy, and bread pudding was to die for!! (only one variety the whole week- with raisins, and with vanilla sauce) Loved the juice dispenser, which had varied selections throughout the day, including lemonade, pineapple, apple and orange juice, cranberry cocktail, and iced tea.
The dinning room was excellent for dinner, both food and service. Our stewards Indra and Eko were fantastic, friendly, and efficient. We had the early sitting, upper dinning room, table for 4. Loved the surf and turf (melt in your mouth filet mignon) and the venison was also exceptionally tender, and not gamey. Chilled soups were all great, except for the Mango one- not spectacular. Had some of the pasta dishes as appetizers- delicious! My husband loved the smoked salmon, and had it every chance he could!
Went to the Pinnacle Grill on the first night- incredible if you like red meat. Well worth the $10/pp. The rib steaks were amazing. Had a wonderful salad with a pear and cherry vinaigrette. Creme brulee was so-so, but my husband loved the chocolate volcano cake. Service was only OK.
Entertainment:
CD was Vuk Racjevik (sp?) and he was great. Had two shows with the Westerdam crew, one was mediocre, one was good. Also had Joel Mason (Elton John impersonator) who was very entertaining. Saw Leo Ward (illusionist)- loved his sense of humour, and juggler Adam Kario was both talented and funny. All in all, we enjoyed the entertainment. We did not get to enjoy the last show, as it was cancelled because of ship motion. (Force 8- Gale force winds- the ship was a-rockin’!!!) It was supposed to be Paparazzi, by Tommy Tune.
We did not make any donations to the casino! (although the blackjack tournament did seem tempting!)
Demographics- Husband and myself, ages 32 , 30, no children. One previous cruise, with HAL, on Zuiderdam for our honeymoon
Pre-cruise hotel:
Statyed at the Hampton Inn Plantation (6th S.W.) Wonderful place, great room, close to all amenites (grocery store, restaurants, shopping mall)Breakfast was good, and shuttle was on time, and well organized.
Embarkation:
Took hotel shuttle, and arrived at the pier (26) around 11:30am. (there were 6 of us in the shuttle) Porters immediately took over the bags, and we proceeded inside the terminal. We were given a number (not quite sure why) and then proceeded to line up. There were two seperate areas, one for those who had done the immigration paperwork online, and one for those who hadn’t. Luckily, we hadn’t filled ours out. The lineups were much longer for those who had. Waited maybe 5 minutes in line, and then got checked in. There didn’t seem to be any difference in the time it takes to check-in someone with or without the online paperwork done.
We then proceeded to walk right onto the ship (after the obligatory boarding photo) where we were whisked away on the elevator to the Lido deck. We were told rooms would be ready around 1:30pm, and that the Lido was open for lunch. Indeed, at 1:30pm, we were allowed into the cabins.
Room/Room Steward:
As before, had a great room (4052) with a great steward, Danial. Our room wasn’t entirely ready when we first arrived, so we could tell he was quite busy. (ex: no fruit basket, no robes, etc..) Everything was in order when we returned later. Luggage arrived in two parts, once bag before the lifeboat drill, the other after. Danial was terrific- not intrusive, but always there if you needed something, and always saying hello with a smile!
Ship:
Having been on the Zuiderdam, I can say that the colors and decor on the Westerdam have been toned down about 100 fold! I had to chuckle when an elderly gentleman commented that the Westerdam’s decor was too “loud” for him- I kindly suggested that he not try the Zuiderdam! Overall, the ship was very beautiful, impeccably clean, and quite elegant. A few nice touches, like the real orchids at every table in the Lido. Staff constantly cleaning, and polishing. Not too many layout differences from the Zui, at least none that were apparent to me. Overall, a beautiful ship.
Food:
Food was wonderful. For breakfast, we had room service twice, dinning room twice, and the remainder in the Lido. Everything was delicious, although we had one incident of undercooked eggs, so proceeded to order them over-hard, instead of over-easy for the remainder. Fresh squeezed orange juice is devine!
Lunches were had in the Lido. Meant to try the dinning room, but never got around to it! Love the deli sandwiches- especially the pannini grilled ones, and the daily specials. Pizza was yummy, and bread pudding was to die for!! (only one variety the whole week- with raisins, and with vanilla sauce) Loved the juice dispenser, which had varied selections throughout the day, including lemonade, pineapple, apple and orange juice, cranberry cocktail, and iced tea.
The dinning room was excellent for dinner, both food and service. Our stewards Indra and Eko were fantastic, friendly, and efficient. We had the early sitting, upper dinning room, table for 4. Loved the surf and turf (melt in your mouth filet mignon) and the venison was also exceptionally tender, and not gamey. Chilled soups were all great, except for the Mango one- not spectacular. Had some of the pasta dishes as appetizers- delicious! My husband loved the smoked salmon, and had it every chance he could!
Went to the Pinnacle Grill on the first night- incredible if you like red meat. Well worth the $10/pp. The rib steaks were amazing. Had a wonderful salad with a pear and cherry vinaigrette. Creme brulee was so-so, but my husband loved the chocolate volcano cake. Service was only OK.
Entertainment:
CD was Vuk Racjevik (sp?) and he was great. Had two shows with the Westerdam crew, one was mediocre, one was good. Also had Joel Mason (Elton John impersonator) who was very entertaining. Saw Leo Ward (illusionist)- loved his sense of humour, and juggler Adam Kario was both talented and funny. All in all, we enjoyed the entertainment. We did not get to enjoy the last show, as it was cancelled because of ship motion. (Force 8- Gale force winds- the ship was a-rockin’!!!) It was supposed to be Paparazzi, by Tommy Tune.
We did not make any donations to the casino! (although the blackjack tournament did seem tempting!)