The Official LAFFNVEGAS "Live From The MS Westerdam Thread"

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Morning Everyone, Well, this is the "PreThread" like pre show before the Oscars. We are sitting at the "D" gates at McCarran airport in Las Vegas waiting to board our flight to FLL. We are having a little preflight meal of Burger King Breakfest and I am treating myself to a little White Chocolate Mocha Latte. Not quite the gourmet meals of Jim and Ruth when they have there road trip to their cruise.:) Let the vacation begin. So far so good, a customer of mine from the store is a ticket agent for United and had already prechecked us in so we did not wait in line plus she moved our seats to economy plus. Luckily next United fight is first class to Boston in July. We are actually on TED where there is no first class. McCarran airport has free WiFI with a very fast connect speed for those that might to come to Vegas. Not sure I will be able to check in tonight at our hotel because I forgot to check if Amerisuites has WiFi. Otherwise my next post will be from the Beautiful MS Westerdam. In about 24 hours we should be checking in:D

Signing off.... because I don't want to use up all my battery life I do have some movies to watch on the plane. Will report more later.

[Debi_D]

Laffnvegas - Looking forward to hearing from you regarding your cruise on the Westerdam. We just book b2b in November so let us know how it is, so far we are in a SS for both trips but hoping we can line up a suite before we go. Have fun!!!

Deb

[ekerr19]

Lisa -

Thanks for checking in with us! Looking forward to seeing some pics and hearing all about your cruise! :)

[RevNeal]

I'm looking forward to hearing your impressions of the differences between the Oosterdam and the Westerdam!

Have a blast!

[jhannah]

Wish I were going! Oh well ... I'll just enjoy your posts. There's a Mexican restaurant (or at least it used to be) right across from the Amerisuites and by Embassy Suites. Give it a try. You can eat outside on a glider. The entire table swings right along with you.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for thinking of us and posting from the airport.

Travel safely and enjoy your pre-cruise night in FLL. Hope you have a great dinner and a fast, smooth embarkation tomorrow.

Enjoy yourselves.....Hope you have a wonderful time!!

[stanford's girl]

May you have safe travel and smooth sailing.:D Can't wait to hear all about it.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lisa! Talk about addicted! You miss us already:D ! So this is the "official" site ... you should see the other one we have running. Kidding!!! Don't go looking for it.

[Cruising Jake]

Have a great time and look forward to hearing about your trip and living it vicariously through you.

[dakrewser]

Cruise anticipation makes us all feel like kids again, waiting for Santa Claus. Don't believe me? Here's a snap of Lisa and her laptop in the airport which a friend at United just sent me! :)


http://www.bluewillow.org/gallery/albums/album31/DSCF0002.sized.jpg

[localady]

Lisa-
Have a safe trip getting to the Westerdam!!
When on the Westerdam, think of us and have a bottle of champagne!!!:D

P.S. Free WiFi at McCarran is really nice!! Fancy airport offering those gourmet BK meals and WiFi too!!!!;)

Dakrewzer- That is the most precious picture...Lisa looks years younger!:eek:

[Ziggy7]

Lisa,
Great to hear from you, so glad you are starting your vacation off right with the Latte hehehehe, remember to save room for the food on the ship hehehehe. We miss you already, take care and enjoy your cruise!:)

[cruznon]

Bon Voyage , Lisa.

Have a glorious cruise--calm seas and beautiful sunsets. Let the champagne flow!

[seesea]

We have been enjoying your posts for some time.

Please give us your impressions of Amerisuits as we are considering it for pre-cruise before our 12/04/05 sailing on the Westerdam.Of course,we will also be interested in your reviews of the cruise.

Thanks and have a great cruise.

[bepsf]

Lisa--

Thanks for thinking of us & enjoy your vacation on Westerdam!

[viennacruiser]

Lisa , Thanks for giving us a play by play..it makes the excitment for my cruise build even more :D :D

[DonMaryCar]

Lisa and Tom

Have a great trip, I know you guys will. We enjoyed you both so much on the Ryndam. Is this the anniversary cruise or Toms birthday????

Mary:p

[jbhcw]

Thanks for your previous posts and pictures,(Originally from SD) love reading a traveling cruise report! We will be on the Maadam this November and hopefully the Osterdam next year, but am also looking at another HAL cruise from the east coast. Safe and happy cruising.

[rothbury]

Will be on the Westerdam 4/10. I look forward to your posts!

Have a great cruise!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lisa, I sure hope you're happy with this day we made down here just for you! Could you sail away on a prettier day? I don't think there is one to be found on the face of this earth.

I'll be thinking of you down there and sailing away later today. Have a magnificent time and keep in touch!

[liv2cruise4ever]

Lisa,

I hope you two enjoy this cruise as much as your first. Keep us posted.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi Everyone, we are here:D we were on board by 11:20 check in was easy. It is almost 3 pm and still waiting for luggage to get to our suite so I quick decided to sign on to get the internet started. We are not at the normal pier instead we are at Pier 4, I promise to write a report tonight and also let you know what I thought of Amerisuites. We already opened the champagne and had a glass:p
talk to everyone later,

Signing off "LIVE FROM THE WESTERDAM":)

[Himself]

Linda, the "normal" spot was probably occupied by the Zuiderdam which is there every Saturday. I know when I was on the Volendam last fall, we were not at the regular spot because the Zuiderdam had that spot.

Himself

[Himself]

Lisa: I called you "Linda" when I meant "Lisa". So sorry

Himself

[Disnyfan83]

Hope your first day is going great! can't wait to hear all about it! We'll be on the Westerdam in TWO WEEKS!!!! I'm soooo excited. Tell me EVERYTHING! I want to know everything!!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sunday March 13th 2005

Well, we have almost completed out first day on the MS Westerdam. I am a bit frustrated because I just spent the last hour writing a very detailed report only to push the wrong button and loose all 3 pages I wrote so this may be much shortened (UGH!!!!)

First I want to go back and tell about our arrival and the Amerisuite. Our flight was smooth, other than leaving Las Vegas almost 60 minutes late sitting on the tarmac to leave we still arrived in Fort Lauderdale on time. We had a continuing flight that stopped in Chicago. Thanks to having my laptop we watched a delightful movie called “Shall We Dance” that helped the time go by quickly. When we arrived in FLL our luggage was the first off the carousel, we then called the Amerisuite, they arrived with in 5 minutes of our call at the Hotel shuttle pickup area. The Amerisuites would not be our first choice if we were staying more than one night here but for a quick stay prior to boarding a ship for the price it was OK. Bear in mind we paid less than $80.00 total. It was clean and extremely easy. We walked over to Outback Steak House to have dinner, it was late about 9 PM and the place was packed, we did not get to eat till 10 PM

The breakfast in the morning was the typical free breakfast you find at hotels like Amerisuite. Nothing exciting was eatable. Boarding the free shuttle was easy, we did that at 10:30 and was at Pier 4 at 10:45 For the price we paid I would stay at the Amerisuite again.

A friend I work with was just getting off the Westerdam, he called to let me know they were at Pier 4 instead of the regular HAL pier. We met up with him, he had a great week. He left and then we got in line to enter the building, while waiting we met the ship Physician and her gentleman friend who was just boarding. It ended up that he lived in Las Vegas and only lived a few blocks from us. Check in went extremely quick and we were on board the ship at 11:20, we immediately went to the Neptune and met Mitch our concierge, she is very efficient. We were disappointed to find out that they discontinued out favorite Asti Champagne just recently. We usually order this for every dinner. We made our additional reservation for the Pinnacle for Friday (I had already paid for this evening ahead of time) We also registered our credit card with her. We then went out the door only to meet up with Prey who was our cabin steward. We already knew a little bit about him thanks to Krazy Kruizer, he was delighted that we already knew about him and his baby boy. He offered for us to put our carryons in the cabin while we took off for the Lido. We can already tell Prey will be a gem of a cabin steward.

Then it was off to the Lido, In the past we have always enjoyed the first days array of food in the Lido. Today was disappointing, there was no roast beef and the rotisserie chicken was extremely dry. I was surprised to see how empty the Lido seemed it was about 12:30 and there was no problem finding a table. The dessert selection was extremely limited not like previous first days at the Lido. The one thing the struck me odd was the ice tea was served in extremely small juice glasses.

Once we finished eating we decided to walk around and take lots of pictures, of course it really was the same as the Zuirderdam and the Oosterdam. I will say that some of the artwork was very impressive. We then went to sign up for the internet package. If you signed up the first day you received 20 free minutes with the $100 package and 10 free minutes with the $55 package. After doing that we toured the Spa. We then headed back to our cabin to see if the luggage had arrived, it had not so it was about 3 so we decided to head to the Lido Bar where the HAL CC Roll Call Board was meeting. What a great group, Many Thanks to Anne and Carlos aka gorka who made up wonderful name tags.

After meeting with everyone it was time to get our Life Jackets for the Life Boat Drill, that was the same as always. We then returned to our cabin to find Prey bringing in our luggage. I was a bit surprised to see it arrive so late, usually we have had much earlier when we arrive early. We then unpacked, I must say this is our first S Suite on the Vista Class and I am surprised how much smaller it is over the one we had on the Ryndam. I can honestly now see why everyone raves over the S Class, it is truly a much nicer cabin. Don’t get me wrong this is very nice but not near as nice as the Ryndam. We then unpacked, after that we decided to head up to the deck above the Lido Pool for Sail Away. This was nice but not the typical Sail Away one thinks of leaving for the Caribbean. No music of any kind, just an annoying Bingo game with the numbers being called as we sailed out of Port Everglades. I do enjoy sailing out of this port and seeing all the resident waving at us. Sail Away was right on time and the weather was perfect.

After Sail Away we returned to our cabin to enjoy the view from our balcony and finish our champagne that was in our cabin. We then changed for dinner in the Pinnacle. Before we did, our usual of being the first in the gift shops when they opened. Unfortunately this too was a disappointment, usually we spend several $100 with in the first 15 minutes the shops opens but we found the selection of clothes/shirts to be very bad compared to when we were on the Oosterdam for Alaska and the Ryndam for the Sea of Cortez.

The other disappointment was on the previous Vista Class ships they had Waterford replicas of the center piece in the atrium for the Zuirderdam and the Oosterdam, we have collected these and planned to obtain one for the Westerdam. It seems they did not make one.

I did find a women’s golf shirt that was on sale I purchase and Tom did not find anything to buy.

We then headed to the Main Dining Room to introduce ourselves to our tablemates and let them know we would see them tomorrow night. We find we were at the exact table requested and it seems we have a great group of tablemates.

The Pinnacle was wonderful, steak delicious and service was excellent. We are now feeling like we have been on HAL many times, this is our first time to start running into employees we have seen on other cruises from other ships. This does make it fun.

This time in the Pinnacle we did not over eat so we could enjoy the dessert. I had decided that this night I would have the Volcano cake and dedicate the first bite to Ruth C and the second to sail7seas. I did but I think you both would be disappointed in the volcano cake. There was no cake to it, it was basically a runny fudge pudding, extremely undercooked. I could of made of fuss but the servers were so wonderful I did not think it was worth the fuss. After dinner we went to the Suite cocktail party in the Neptune. It was nice and we met some nice people, we just missed greeting the Captain which is Captain Jack van Coevorden for the first 3 days. He was also our Captain on the Zuirderdam in 2003. We did meet Rene’ Tuinman the hotel manager. The party seemed to be well attended despite the fact we arrived a bit late due to having had dinner.

Well, I think that brings me up to date, I am now exhausted and fingers hurt from typing. I will tell much more tomorrow.

Signing off.. Live from the MS Westerdam

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa and Tom

Have a great trip, I know you guys will. We enjoyed you both so much on the Ryndam. Is this the anniversary cruise or Toms birthday????

Mary:p


Mary, we are actually celebrated both our 28th wedding anniversery and Tom's B-Day on this cruise.


Dave, How did you get that picture of me at the airport, isn't it amazing how much younger we get once we relax and start the cruise vacation.

BTW I am using my WiFi here in our suite, the speed is great and having no problems, so it can be accessed from the cabin with no problems.

Any questions feel free to ask, we are finding the staff to have the usual smiling faces and it is already going way too fast:mad:

We are at HMC tomorrow so I need to place my breakfast order for room service and do my wakeup call for 6:15 so I can be at the gym by 6:30

Looking froward to slleping in those beds:p

Good night

[Ziggy7]

Happy Anniversary Lisa and Tom!
and Happy B-Day Tom !!!! Wow turning 21 on a cruise ship must really be something huh ???
We are glad you are having a good time, forget the little oops, they are not worth it :)
Lisa, I got dibs on the first bite of bread pudding please :)
Enjoy HMC and when your standing next to the little bahamien church, think of my DH and I last Aug. renewing our vows in there for our 28th Anniversary :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Monday March 14th 2005

Good Morning, just a quick note here while waiting before we go ashore here in HMC. It is a absolutely beautiful morning, seas are calm and oh so blue. We just finished having breakfast out on the balcony. It did arrive on time but everything that was suppose to be hot was cold and some of our order was missing, oh well that is to be expected.

I got up at 6:15 and went to the gym by 6:30 to my amazement it was packed, I got the last treadmill and most of all the other equipment was all being used. After doing 30 minutes on the treadmill I found there were 4 people waiting for treadmills and others waiting for the elipticals, I did use the stair mast for a few minutes and then the bike. By the time I left the gym was down right crowded. This to me was truly a first to see it so crowded this early in the morning. I am thinking it is because this does not seem like the normal HAL crowd, in what I have seen so far this group is extremely young with what I am guessing only about 5% to 10% of the passengers being over 65 and most of them are traveling with families.

One more BIG disappointment as many of you know one of my many favorite foods on HAL is the Swiss Mueslix. It has always been pretty close to the same on the Zuirderdam, Oosterdam and Ryndam well, it is not even close or would I call it mueslix it is more like a creamy fruit (mostly apple) salad with no mueslix. I am beginning to wonder who the main chef is here he cannot be from HAL?????

Well better stop for now so I can up load this and some of the pictures from yesterday. I will share with you some of embarkation and Sail Away.

Signing off…. Live from the MS Westerdam.

[WindyCity]

Hi Lisa,

So glad you are enjoying (overall) your cruise in the Westerdam. Please say hi to Prai from the couple in 7055 right before Christmas (We had the garland on the verandah)! He is a wonderful cabin steward!!

Hope your cruise is great!

Kris

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is a picture of my co worker and Tom and I at embarkation.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is Sail Away...

[LAFFNVEGAS]

And last picture for this morning is the HAL Roll Call Board with our first Get Together.

Back row you see Charlie aka Charliewesley, ML (Marylynn) and her friend Andrea, then Carlos. gorka's DH, the sitting is Anne aka gorka and myself. Anne and Carlos have the orange cabana today so we plan to stop by there and tomorrow afternoon we will also all be meeting together.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lisa, you're looking so good!!!:D I thought that was how the volcano cake is supposed to be. Ours was cakey around the outside and warm fudgy (like lava) inside.

I'm looking at my Buddy List and seeing you on it and it feels so strange!!! I'd IM you, but I don't want to take up your time.

How were those beds???!!!! So fun reading as you go. Enjoy the day and think of poor us!!!

[JaniceB]

Lisa,

Thanks for sharing so much information with us. The pictures are great. It sounds like you are having a wonderful time except for a few glitches. I am looking for to reading more of your review.

Janice

[localady]

Lisa-

Glad you are having a nice day at HMC as I type!:) Sorry the Mueslix isn't what it should be.
I suspect the difference in demographics is due to Easter break, we set sail on Saturday on the Zaandam and there seems to be alot of families going. My teens will love it no doubt, and I'll have a full report upon return.

Continued safe seas and blue skies!!!!!:cool:

[jhannah]

We just finished having breakfast out on the balcony. It did arrive on time but everything that was suppose to be hot was cold and some of our order was missing, oh well that is to be expected. Just curious ... why would you say this is to be expected?

Looks like you're having a great time. I can just feel those warm blue waters of HMC!

[QuitMyDayJob]

What a great review! We're booked on the Westerdam and have been wondering how it measures up.

A technical question: In the past we have arranged for our dinners at Pinnacle once onboard, but after reading CC for awhile, I see how pre-arranging/paying is the way to go. Lisa, you mention that you had pre-paid but were having the concierge make the reservation, so now I'm confused, do you just select the night when you pre-pay but not the exact time, or how does that work? (Please feel free to tell me to go find the thread if that's more appropriate!!)

Sounds like you're having a wonderful time!!

[Debi_D]

We have the Orange Cabana on our next cruise, let me know what you think of it.....Looking forward to more of your post....

Debi

[Himself]

Lisa:

Glad you and Tom got ashore at Half Moon Cay. It is a beautiful place.

Enjoy the cruise and keep posting.

[Cruising Jake]

Happy anniversary and happy birthday!


BTW, I am jealous of the sunshine and warmth.

[Rosarymb]

Take good care of the Westerdam, I'll be on her in 4 weeks! Let me know about any "must see" or "must do" things on board ship!

Countin' the days....

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Just curious ... why would you say this is to be expected?

Looks like you're having a great time. I can just feel those warm blue waters of HMC!

Jim all the times we have had room service each time something was always missing and the food was luke warm. This is our 4th HAL cruise and I would say about the 8th time we have had room service. At first I thought it was our luck, I have just decided that is how it is much of the time.

We just finished an absolutely perfect day at HMC 85 degrees extremely calm waters, no wind and the water is warm. We hung out at the Orange Canbana with fellow Roll Call board members. Tonight when I write my full report I will give more details but this was night and day different from our first time at HMC aqnd this was wonderful:D

QuitMyDayJob, we had prepaid and made reservations for Sunday night our first night ahead of time, then when we boarded we made an addidtional reservation for this coming Friday night which we will pay for that night.

I will post later and giving you more pictures.

Signing off..... Live from the MS Westerdam...location Half Moon Cay Bahamas

[DonMaryCar]

Lisa

We are all getting to enjoy your christmas gift of the laptop. Sounds like a wonderful cruise so far. Hope the weather continues to be lovely

Mary:)

[ekerr19]

Lisa -

Hope things are looking up... sounds like you are making the best of the little things, so don't let them get you down!

Looking forward to hear more... :)

[JaniceB]

Sounds like HMC was wonderful. I hope we have a nice day next week on the Zaandam.

[stanford's girl]

Does this mean we have a new "Grumpy and Slinky" for the Caribbean?;)

Enjoying your posts and pics Lisa. Glad you had good weather at HMC.:)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lisa, we're planning (possibly) a group cruise on the Westerdam in the Caribbean in October 2006!!!!! We would have a blast!

Are you in??? We're only in the planning stages right now so just getting an idea.

Great to get your IM today! What a strange feeling .. you out there on the sea and me here on the land ... typing away.

[lori99320]

Lisa,

Your day by day is great...thanks for taking the time to do these posts! I was wondering on the internet packages - you said how many free minutes came with each package, but could you tell us what is included? Total minutes, is it by room or by person? How is the speed?
Looking forward to meeting you on the Oosterdam in October.

Lori

[Renorita]

Lisa, sounds like you and Tom are having a great time! Looking forward to our first time at HMC. Are the Cabana's really worth the price? Is shade at a premium there? Sigh, I wanna go crusing! :)

Rita

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Monday March 14th 2005

Live Report from the MS Westerdam

Good Evening Everyone, and yes it was a great evening and a great day. This was a second time to go to HMC and by far the very best. Our very first time back in April 2003 the weather was windy and cold and waves very high, not so today. It was so beautiful, not windy water warm and oh so perfect. The food for the BBQ was wonderful, one of the best Grilled Mahi Mahi I have ever had, as well as one delicious hamburgers, Tom also liked the ribs and steak. One of the Roll Call members had the Orange Cabana so we were able to enjoy the cabana with CC member gorka. I now agree that HMC is truly PARADISE. We took the Eco Lagoon Tour which was really nice, we saw Island birds, fish, and even stingrays. Today was so relaxing and beautiful. We returned to the ship at about 3, I finished reading a book that I only had a few chapters left to read then took a very nice nap till 5:15. Tonight we enjoyed the company of our tablemates, Tom had steak and I had the Hazelnut crusted perch, it was very tasty. After dinner we looked in the photo gallery, they are offering a special I had not seen offered before. Ten pictures plus the cruise video for $124.95. In the past we usually buy about 4 or 5 of the pictures and have never had the video, not that it is that important but the price seemed really good. We then went looking thru the shops, yes Lisa did find something to buy. I found a nice pair of two tone gold earrings with diamonds. After spending money we decided to go to the Explorer’s Lounge, I had today’s flaming coffee drink while listening to the Champagne Strings, then the husband of CC member gorka came by and sat with us, since his suite is just down the hall we then headed back to our cabins together.

Today really was a great day and extremely relaxing, tomorrow is our first Sea Day and I look forward to those.

Tomorrow will be my first treatment in the Alpha capsule so I will let all of you know what that is like.

Signing off from the MS Westerdam.

[dakrewser]

Lisa,

Your day by day is great...thanks for taking the time to do these posts! I was wondering on the internet packages - you said how many free minutes came with each package, but could you tell us what is included? Total minutes, is it by room or by person? How is the speed?
Looking forward to meeting you on the Oosterdam in October.

Lori

Pricing details are available here (http://www.mtnsat.com/ds_kbyg_hal.htm). All pricing is by account (which can be one or more people).

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Here is some of the CC Roll Call group at gorka's Orange Cabana.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tom and Lisa enjoying HMC:)

[Ziggy7]

Love the pictures Lisa! Thanks for sharing them and your cruise with us! You are the best! :)

[Himself]

Thanks for the nice report. I am glad you found HMC to be so nice this time.
I have seen it both ways. The way you experienced it was much nicer. I hope you enjoy the rest of the cruise as much.
Himself

[LAFFNVEGAS]

One thing I do want to mention, I am doing all my internet things from our cabin. The signal says low but the speed is really fast and works great. I have had no need to go out to one of the lounges.

Signing off... Live from the MS Westerdam.

[lori99320]

Pricing details are available here (http://www.mtnsat.com/ds_kbyg_hal.htm). All pricing is by account (which can be one or more people).
Thanks Dave!
Lori

[dakrewser]

...sent to me by my on-board spy!:)

http://www.weeksdyeworks.com/images/Family%20photos/Sophia%20photos/Sophia-digging.gif

[Ziggy7]

...sent to me by my on-board spy!:)

http://www.weeksdyeworks.com/images/Family%20photos/Sophia%20photos/Sophia-digging.gifhahaha Dave, too cute!

[Cuttle]

Enjoying your posts from the Westerdam. You sound like you had a great day at HMC. Wish we were there! We have been there several times and the weather has been perfect every time.

You mention about the photo studio - quote: "Ten pictures plus the cruise video for $124.95. In the past we usually buy about 4 or 5 of the pictures and have never had the video, not that it is that important but the price seemed really good."

That is new! We paid $10.95 a pic in October on the Statendam and $34.95 for the Cruise Video. But since they increased the size of the pictures to 8 x 6 and increased the price from $6.95 to 10.95, I stopped buying several - just one good one per cruise. This size is just too big. The pics don't fit into a regular photo album "sleeve" and who wants to display every picture in a picture frame? I wonder about their marketing? How many people buy the pictures at that price and that size? I am sure they would sell more photos if they were smaller and more reasonable. They print the photos anyway and if they are not sold they are discarded. Lately we avoid having our pictures taken- just a waste of paper. I always mention this in my end of cruise comments. This is my opinion, am I in a minority?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tuesday March 15th 2005

Live from a Sea Day on the MS Westerdam.

Good Morning Everyone,

First I must report someone got in the kitchen figured out how to make the good Swiss Mueslix it was back to the way I like it both in the Neptune and the Lido. This morning I got up and was in the gym at 6:30 again but it seems only the die hards were there, it was no longer hard to get a treadmill. It was more the way I am use to seeing the gym at that hour in the morning. After an hour of exercise I went back to the cabin woke Tom up, showered, then we went to the Lido for breakfast. At 8:15 the Lido was practically empty, not sure where everyone is but the selection in the Lido was great and everything was extremely tasty. When we returned to our cabin our menus for tonight were waiting for us. I already predicted to our tablemates last night what I thought would be on the menu, I was right except for a new addition I have never seen. The appetizers are the shrimp cocktails and that wonderful Hazelnut Crusted Brie and Lobster Bisque soup but an item we have never had is Chateaubriand of Beef. With seeing the great menu for tonight I am definitely skipping lunch. Of course dessert is Crème Brulee and Tom likes the Hot Fudge Sundae.

Well I better close so I can go to my first session of the Alpha Capsule, I will let you all know what that is like later.

Signing off from somewhere in the Caribbean…..Live from the MS Westerdam.

[sail7seas]

Lisa....I'm loving your posts and think it so great of you to share your cruise 'live and in living color' with us.


You were soooo sweet to think of RuthC and me when you ordered your Volcano. What a disappointment that it wasn't prepared properly.

How lucky for you to be sailing with Captain Jack....though I suspect it is possible he has left the ship now. Is that correct? I think he would have left Sunday or Monday?


Your Room Service should NEVER be delivered so inaccurately and not at proper temperature. Aren't they using the heating plates under the hot food? They have proper heat holding setting to use and if they aren't, request them. We have enjoyed at least 300+ veranda breakfasts and the hugely vast majority are wonderful. Sure, once in a while they forget something, or make an error but for the most part, they are very good. If I were encountering the problems you are, I would call the Room Service extension and ask to speak with the "Room Service Supervisor". It is special for us to order and enjoy room service breakfasts when on the ships and we would be less than accepting of it not being delivered correctly.

HMC.....a slice of Paradise. Sounds like you had a great day!!

The photos you posted are FABULOUS. You and DH look sooo happy. Great pics.

Enjoy yourselves. Thank you again for being so generous to share your time and impressions with us.

[ekerr19]

Hi Lisa! Glad to hear you had a fantastic day! When the weather is nice at HMC - it just about makes the whole trip!

The Chateaubriand is not to be missed, imo! DH loves it, it's always a treat when we find it on the menu. :)
Can't wait to hear more - thanks so much for keeping us updated.

[Cruising Jake]

Thanks for taking the time from your busy schedule and relaxation to post. Love the immediacy of the pictures.

[localady]

Sounds like the weather and the food is quite good:cool: ....trying to get organized here to fly out to join you in the Caribbean! Did you forget anything that I should remember?

Continued safe seas and blue skies to you both!:cool:

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tuesday Evening March 15th, 2005

Good Evening, it is 10:15 and coming towards the end of our first Sea Day. I am sure many of you are thinking that these Laffnvegas people are pretty boring. Well first off, when we go on a cruise it is for total relaxation. We are just not the type of people who get involved in all the ship activities. Also if tonight’s report does not make a lot of sense bear in mind I had 3 glasses of champagne at the Captain’s Reception, then Tom and I had our nightly bottle of champagne at dinner, then I had the flaming coffee drink of the day in the Explorer’s Lounge while listening to the Champagne Strings.

When I last left off I was about to go to the Spa and have my first session of the Alpha Capsule. I must say it was extremely relaxing, the aroma therapy totally relaxes you. After doing that I returned to our cabin to sit on the balcony to read. First off I must say the weather could not be better, not cold, not hot, not windy, just perfect. While reading I ended up taking a cat nap, unfortunely I fell asleep and missed our CC Roll Call Board Get Together.

After napping it was time to get ready for our first Formal night. Let me tell you we saw everything imaginable. Walking downstairs we almost feared we did a little Rip Van Winkle and slept thru the first formal night because the first 20 or so people we say were in shorts and tank tops. Finally when we got near the Vista lounge we finally saw some dressed up people. Sadly I would say less than 10% of the men were in tux and even more sad was a lot of the attire of the women. Most looked like they really did not care what they were wearing. A Nice V-NECK women’s T-shirt and slacks with a nice necklace is not my idea of Formal attire. I hate to say it but this was one of the worst bunch of formal dressers I have ever seen. We thought Alaska was bad, I am just glad the when we were on the Ryndam it restored our faith that most cruisers liked to dress up.

Our service has been extremely slow in the Vista Dining Room, but it seems everyone is having the same problem. Not sure if it is the kitchen or the servers are just to stretched out with too many tables. I will say that we have not even had one little chance to get friendly with our server which is the first time. The food tonight was exceptional though. Of course the shrimp cocktail was good but the Hazelnut crusted Brie was fantastic, our tablemates was glad I suggested it. I was especially impressed with the Chateaubriand of Beef. It was so tender and tasty, truly a great addition that we had not had previous. The Crème Brulee with Grand Mariner was also excellent.

We then went walking around, went out side to the Promenade Deck to find it was quite warm outside and not at all windy. Just a beautiful Caribbean night. We then went into the Explorer’s Lounge to have a drink and listen to the Champagne Strings. I enjoyed the flaming coffee of the day and relaxed. What a great end to a great day at Sea Day. The seas have been oh so calm and beautiful blue skies.

Tomorrow we are in Ocho Rios, at this time we do not plan to spend that much time off the ship just in the morning because I plan to spend the afternoon using the Free Day pass at the spa for the Hydropool and Thermal Suite.

Signing off…….Live from the MS Westerdam some where in the Caribbean.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sail, Captain Jack was still here last night at the Captain's Reception.

Here's Captain Jack

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Wednesday March 16th, 2005

Good Morning, Just a quick note. The CC Board went down last night before I could upload yesterday’s report so I hope it is up and running this morning.

What a beautiful day in Jamaica. We were to arrive at 8 AM but we were here at 6 AM. I went to the gym this morning at about 6:40 only to find about 7 others waiting to get in. No one had opened up the gym this morning. By 7 there was now about 14 people waiting, several had made phone calls, finally about 7:10 they came and unlocked the doors.

After my work out, stopped at the Neptune for a little latte to take back to the cabin, showered and then off to the Lido for breakfast. there is an employee in the Lido that was singing and saying “Hunkey Dorey” I said you cannot be the famous Hunkey Dorey, he got all excited he said No but that is my brother on the Zuirderdam. I did not catch this gentlemans name but I will find out tomorrow.

I will now see if I can get this posted.

Signing off from another beautiful day on the MS Westerdam

[Cruising Jake]

You both look fantastic in the picture. Too bad many others did not take the opportunity to look good too. DH and I look on it as an opportunity to look quite good for each other.

[dakrewser]

Why Lisa persists in posting these old pictures of her and her DH, I'm not sure. Maybe she's worried that we'll think that she's becoming far too young "at heart" on this trip. My on-board spy did catch up with her just outside the casino on formal night and snapped this:

http://www.bishopvillerealestate.com/funpages/pics/-%20964.jpg

[HeatherInFlorida]

Dave, you never tire do you?:D

Lisa, so glad you're having such a good time in spite of a couple of glitches. But you're not reading this anyway ... you're too busy having fun!

[JaniceB]

Great picture of you and your DH. Sounds like you had a great day at sea.

[Oceanwench]

What fun it is to read this every day! I feel as if I am with you! [And enjoying the brie!]

As far as the formal attire, I noticed the same thing on my crusies on the Vista class ships. But you both looked wonderful!

[Cuttle]

Great report of your Westerdam cruise and great pictures. I agree about the formal attire. Such a shame people don't feel they have to abide by the code. Others see what people are wearing and so they feel they can do the same. I have just been reading the New Ship Review in the April Cruise Travel. Such a beautiful ship. Quite different from the old Westerdam.

Enjoy the rest of the cruise and keep up the reports. They are so interesting.
Thanks

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Why Lisa persists in posting these old pictures of her and her DH, I'm not sure. Maybe she's worried that we'll think that she's becoming far too young "at heart" on this trip. My on-board spy did catch up with her just outside the casino on formal night and snapped this:

http://www.bishopvillerealestate.com/funpages/pics/-%20964.jpg


Dave, after laughing so hard I was crying, Tom says Wow you are looking pretty good in Dave's picture;) I do feel quite yourng today.


OK a brief review of what we did so far today, we went into Ocho Rios and did a little shopping. There was this Caribbean Topaz ring calling my name, then we bought some shirts at Margaritaville and some Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee for some friends. Then came back for another session in the Alpha Capsule and spent the day in the Thermal Suite and Hydro Pool.:p :p Well, better get ready to go to dinner it is also about time for Sail Away from Ocho Rios.


Signing off.... Live from the MS Westerdam

[Ziggy7]

Sail, Captain Jack was still here last night at the Captain's Reception.

Here's Captain Jack
Oh my Lisa, after seeing this pic, I had to run and get my glasses on, I couldnt believe you were posting a pic like that !!!! wheeeeeeeeew!

You 2 look wonderful and look very happy, thanks for sharing with us!:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Wednesday March 16th 2005

We are past our half way point of this cruise and that is all so sad. He time is going by oh so quickly.

I have pretty much already given you the break down of today’s activities. Like I warned you we are not the most active people when we cruise. Although this afternoon I used my free pass for the Hydro Pool and Thermal Suite plus had my second session in that Alpha Capsule. Today’s session of that was the calorie burner that lasted 45 minutes but got extremely hot, some where around 170 degrees with cool air blowing on your face. Made it thru about 40 minutes before I had to lift the capsule and get a drink of water, not really sure of I got any thinner but who knows maybe Dave got a picture ;-)

Dinner tonight was actually pretty good, it all my HAL cruises I do not remember having eaten chicken as a main entrée for dinner but I had the Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breast. It was so tender and tasty. Tom had the Roast Beef with Horseradish crust and said that was also good. I also had the Crab and Artichoke Dip for an appetizer and the Chilled Avocado and Smoked Salmon Soup. After dinner we went out side and walked around the Promenade Deck a few times. So far the shows have not interested me although tonight is the Filipino Crew Show. One of these times we will stay up to see that but tonight I actually want to go to bed early. We are in Grand Caymans tomorrow and we are doing the Swim with the Stingrays with the private tour group Nativeway. Luckily we have priority tendering so we can get off early for that tour. I know many of you want to hear about that.

I will add tonight a picture of Tom while we were shopping today.

Signing off…….Live from the MS Westerdam.

[cruznon]

Lisa,

This is great! How marvelous of you to share your cruise with us. LOVE the pictures! Your posts make me smile. I love laid-back sea days, music in the lounges, etc.
Enjoy...

[stanford's girl]

Thanks for the updates and the great pics. :) You and Tom look so happy in your formal outfits. Too bad that others didn't follow your example.:(

[jhannah]

Hey, mon. Tom looky like he chillin' in da Caribbean ways! Love the pic! And I feel your pain with regard to the disembarkation countdown. It all seems to slip by so quickly.

[dakrewser]

My spy on board was laughing so hard that he couldn't snap a picture of Tom with da locks:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Afternoon, and Happy St Patrick’s Day March 17th 2005

Well, it is 3:50 and we got back on the ship about 30 minutes ago from a very FULL day in Grand Caymans. There are 7 ships here in port and the Westerdam is close to one of the smallest. The weather is beautiful and very warm and extremely windy and the seas are very choppy so you know what that means. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in a tender. I had booked a Swim with the Stingrays back in June of last your for today. The excursion was for 9 AM, the ship did arrive in Georgetown about 6:30 we were scheduled to be here at 8 am which was good since it did get us a bit closer for tendering. We went down to the tender gangway at 8 AM and waited just a few seconds and Tom was the first one on the first tender, I myself waited and watched everyone get soaked from the waves splashing and was the last person to board the first tender. We got ashore quickly and found a rep. from Nativeway. We waited for about 30 minutes for them to round up all the others from other ships for their tour. We then followed them to a bus. During the short ride to the harbor where they keep their boats we could see so much damage still from Ivan. In driving down Church Street you could easily see which way the hurricane came across and all the uprooted large trees. One thing nice with Nativeway they take out small groups, we had only 25 on our boat. The water temperature was warm but the water was very choppy. I was also amazed at all the mass of boats with hundreds of passengers all to swim with the stingrays. Even though we had a small group we had lots and lots of Stingrays by us. This was great because it gave us all a lot of time to spend with the rays. Several were scared but I thought it was a wonderful experience. Tom does not swim at all nor does he like to get wet so he stayed on board the small boat and took pictures from there. I also had with me an underwater camera. We each got to hold the stings rays several times and had them rub our back and of course kiss them. We were out with the rays about an hour, we then went over to the coral reef area where they take you to snorkel. By that time the waves were extremely high and most of us elected to not snorkel it was almost to the point of being dangerous. All in all it was a wonderful experience and a great day. The part that will be bad is I got one heck of a bad sunburn on my back. Yes, I had on sunblock but some how the salt water just washed it away.

We did walk thru town and did a bit of shopping, I purchase a new piece of Swarovski.

Getting back on the tender was another experience. Of course the line took at least 45 minutes to wait for the tender and we got in line at 2:30. Grand Caymans is a wonderful port but I think next time I will check ahead of time to see how many ships will be in port.

Well, it is getting close to time to get ready for our last Formal night. Tonight at 10:30 is also the Dessert Extravaganza. Those of you might remember the Thread About How Many Lobsters Do You Eat? Well, tonight is Tom’s night, we already warned our tablemates.

I will report more later,

Signing off….

Live from the MS WESTERNDAM positioned just off Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

[Oceanwench]

Great shot!!!

Just the thought of The Dessert Extravaganza has added 5 pounds to my weight ... yum! Hope there is lots of chocolate!

[Pudgesmom]

WHAT A PICTURE!!!!

Wow! Just that one experience would be worth the price of a cruise. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Beth

[Ziggy7]

Good Afternoon, and Happy St Patrick’s Day March 17th 2005

Well, it is 3:50 and we got back on the ship about 30 minutes ago from a very FULL day in Grand Caymans. There are 7 ships here in port and the Westerdam is close to one of the smallest. The weather is beautiful and very warm and extremely windy and the seas are very choppy so you know what that means. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in a tender. I had booked a Swim with the Stingrays back in June of last your for today. The excursion was for 9 AM, the ship did arrive in Georgetown about 6:30 we were scheduled to be here at 8 am which was good since it did get us a bit closer for tendering. We went down to the tender gangway at 8 AM and waited just a few seconds and Tom was the first one on the first tender, I myself waited and watched everyone get soaked from the waves splashing and was the last person to board the first tender. We got ashore quickly and found a rep. from Nativeway. We waited for about 30 minutes for them to round up all the others from other ships for their tour. We then followed them to a bus. During the short ride to the harbor where they keep their boats we could see so much damage still from Ivan. In driving down Church Street you could easily see which way the hurricane came across and all the uprooted large trees. One thing nice with Nativeway they take out small groups, we had only 25 on our boat. The water temperature was warm but the water was very choppy. I was also amazed at all the mass of boats with hundreds of passengers all to swim with the stingrays. Even though we had a small group we had lots and lots of Stingrays by us. This was great because it gave us all a lot of time to spend with the rays. Several were scared but I thought it was a wonderful experience. Tom does not swim at all nor does he like to get wet so he stayed on board the small boat and took pictures from there. I also had with me an underwater camera. We each got to hold the stings rays several times and had them rub our back and of course kiss them. We were out with the rays about an hour, we then went over to the coral reef area where they take you to snorkel. By that time the waves were extremely high and most of us elected to not snorkel it was almost to the point of being dangerous. All in all it was a wonderful experience and a great day. The part that will be bad is I got one heck of a bad sunburn on my back. Yes, I had on sunblock but some how the salt water just washed it away.

We did walk thru town and did a bit of shopping, I purchase a new piece of Swarovski.

Getting back on the tender was another experience. Of course the line took at least 45 minutes to wait for the tender and we got in line at 2:30. Grand Caymans is a wonderful port but I think next time I will check ahead of time to see how many ships will be in port.

Well, it is getting close to time to get ready for our last Formal night. Tonight at 10:30 is also the Dessert Extravaganza. Those of you might remember the Thread About How Many Lobsters Do You Eat? Well, tonight is Tom’s night, we already warned our tablemates.

I will report more later,

Signing off….

Live from the MS WESTERNDAM positioned just off Georgetown, Grand Cayman.

Happy St Patrick’s Day to you too! Arent those the friendliest creatures! Love the pic of you ! Ok where did you find the Swarovski, I sure hope it was a good price, and last question, have you met doone yet ?????

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Live from the MS Westerdam Thursday March 17,2003

Good Evening EVERYONE, Hope you all had a wonderful St Patrick’s Day. About the most green that I had was the aloe vera gel I have been putting on my sun burn. I know I really should know better and I thought I prepared but the back just took a beating. The back is bad but at least it is not the legs, I have had a severe sunburn on the legs when I was on the Zuirderdam 2 years ago.

Well, first I will report that this Formal night was Night and Day opposite from the first formal night. I saw so many more men in tux, tonight I would say about 25% or more. That was a nice change but some of the women still did not look appropriate. I think they might have been turning away people from the Vista Dining Room that were not dress formal. After dinner we were having after dinner drinks in the Explorer’s Lounge and we saw a couple that were wearing extremely casual clothing walk toward the Dining Room and Tom and I both commented they were not dressed for the night, they were walking fast like they were heading for the dining room. After a few more minutes they came walking back from the dining room and walking at a much slower pace. Just my guess they may have been turned away. Well, at least tonight gave me faith that cruisers can dress up. Not sure why we saw so few the first night.

One thing I must comment on that I have not since we boarded I started writing. The service in the Vista Dining Room is by far the worse I have ever encountered. We can barely get the servers attention to be friendly and get to know them let along get any type of service. Now many of you can tell from things I have already commented on like cold breakfast from room service that we are not loud complainers. But… I have basically complaining tonight. Out of 6 total cruises this is by far the worst. Yes, I know they were speeding up our dining time and slowing down the earlier to do the Baked Alaska Parade on time but, basically the service has stunk the whole week. Besides the lobsters being by far the very worst we have ever had (the best was the Ryndam last November) Tom was only able to get 2 Lobsters. He even requested more and they just fell on deaf ears. Actually the meal tonight over all was not good. I had the asparagus soup and it was barely warm and the steak with the lobster was cold. I know many of you may thinking my next comment is bad, but… I think this will be the first time we do not tip above and beyond in the Main Dining Room. Of course we will leave our tips in place but we have always tipped generously at the end, definitely not this time. Now Prey our Room Stewart has been wonderful and we will definitely tip him extra.

I am not sure what the problem is here on the Westerdam but over all friendliness is not here, not like the Ryndam and the Oosterdam. We were so impressed with the Ryndam and the service we had received being in a suite that this cruise is a major let down. Now do not get me wrong, we are still on a cruise and enjoying every minute but over all it is lacking the feel that both the Ryndam and the Oosterdam had.

Tom’s additional comment is even a bad cruise with poor service is better than no cruise at all.

We are very much looking forward to the Maasdam in July, we have a feeling that we too will join the group that agrees that the smaller ships are much better, yet….I still think the staff on the Oosterdam was wonderful.

Tonight is the Dessert Extravaganza and it is now almost 10:15 and the viewing starts at 10:30, I was afraid I would not be able to stay up but it looks like I might. I will report on that tomorrow.



Signing off Live from the MS Westerdam.

[stanford's girl]

Lisa,

Don't feel bad about not tipping the dining room staff above and beyond the required amount. I work in the restaurant biz and the amount of tip you leave should reflect the level of service you received. Since they did not go above or beyond, then they shouldn't expect you to either.

[Ziggy7]

I know many of you may thinking my next comment is bad, but… I think this will be the first time we do not tip above and beyond in the Main Dining Room. Of course we will leave our tips in place but we have always tipped generously at the end, definitely not this time. Knowing you Lisa, we know you would much rather have the service than keeping your extra tip, after all if we keep tipping bad service, thats all we will get, so I say honor those who really earn it and keep your extra tips :)

[seesea]

Lisa,

Sorry to hear about the bad dining room service on Westerdam. Do you think this is related to the new gratuity policy? We had great service on Holland America cruises before this new policy was implemented.

Just hope the service improves before our 12/04/05 sailing on Westerdam. We are also booked on Maasdam for 09/17/05.

[Vic The Parrot]

BRAVO!!


Hi Lisa!


Thought I'd pop in and say hi. I caught the first 2 pages of your sojourn earlier this week, and now I'm playing catch-up.

Thanks for the photos, nice of you to share them here.
Almost every one brings back fond memories for me.
That shot of the stingray is neat! Those critters are adorable.



Enjoy the rest of the cruise, and looking forward to hearing more. BTW .... tell Tom the rasta hat is 'him'


:)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lisa, I still think the service has a lot to do with who is onboard at the time you cruise. I'm not sure it's the ship itself. You were so happy with the Oosterdam yet when we cruised her in November 2004, we were not at all impressed with the service.

Luckily I need very little service so no cruise can be ruined for me either. Heaven knows the service I get here at home is non-existant!!!

I have to say you are looking better every day!!! So it must agree with you:)

[macable]

Lisa & Tom, Have enjoyed your cruise logs very much! They are like a "virtual cruise!"
I am so puzzled, by the indifferent service in the DR.
We were on the 2-13 sailing, our first on HAL, & I was overwhelmed with the level of excelent service in every area of the ship. We were in upper level 8PM and from day 1 our servers were the most accomodating I have ever had on a ship, remembering every little detail of our likes & dislikes.
This was also true in the Ocean bar where we went for cocktails before dinner, the Servers there knew our preferences after the first night and were always there with canapes & smiles.
I agree that the lobster & steak dinner was under par, but when I asked for them to leave off the steak, our server brought me another tail, without me asking.(they ARE tiny!)
My Sister & Hubby are sailing with you & I bragged so much about everything ...I hope she doesn't think I'm nuts!
So sorry that you are finding service lacking, we are not complainers & you don't seem to be either.
Glad to hear that you're having fun anyway, hope service gets better.

[dakrewser]

I'm becoming more and more convinced that the service level begins at the top and filters down. It's only tangentially related to the new tipping policy in that the best stewards will be doing all they can to transfer to ships and itineraries where better tips can be found. But it's also the job of the hotel mgr to do everything possible to attract the best staff to his ship and see that the managers and supervisors are thoroughly indoctrinated in good service.


As an example, our DR service in January on the Oosterdam was great - even better than on our fall '03 cruise on the Volendam, in the Caribbean. Ship, itinerary (and thus pax mix) and senior staff have much more to do with it than the vagaries of tipping policy, IMNSHO.

[RevNeal]

Lisa,

After being busy I've sat down to take your cruise with you ... sad to read that things haven't been as grand as we both know they can and should be. The service being bad is simply not acceptable, and certainly not the HAL norm that we know and love. I guess I'm going to have to pray that either the staff gets their act together over the next 7.5 months, or the get some additional (new) staff and Hotel Manager to get things whipped into shape.

One note ... the youthfulness of your fellow passengers is most probably due to the fact that this is Spring Break for lots of people. It's always a danger to cruise in March ... and for that very reason.

I pray the remainder of your cruise is a joy and that service improves. "Until we meet again" on or next to another dam ship!

[jhannah]

Sorry things are less than they should be. Perhaps part of it is the timing which impacts the demographics. Maybe not. But there are some HAL senior staff who tend to run a "tighter" ship than others.

[Time2sail]

If the service you receive (such as Lisa and Tom are experiencing), what would you do? It appears they are making the best of it, but I think I would speak to someone in management on the ship.

Lisa, I am enjoying your live coverage of your cruise and your pictures are wonderful. You look beautiful and Tom is very handsome in the formal attire.

[cruisinjudy]

Lisa, we just got back from Ryndam and I just read all of this thread. We had the same experience on Westerdam in the dining room in September. We did not tip over and above on that cruise for the dining room staff, but we did give extra to our room steward. On our Ryndam cruise we just got off, our dining room staff did a great job and we did tip over and above. I am glad your meuslix improved. I had it everyday!
I love all the pix!

[kryos]

… I think this will be the first time we do not tip above and beyond in the Main Dining Room. Of course we will leave our tips in place but we have always tipped generously at the end, definitely not this time. Now Prey our Room Stewart has been wonderful and we will definitely tip him extra.
I don't think that's bad at all. In fact, I think you are very kind (maybe too kind) to leave the auto tips on there for the dining room staff. To my way of thinking, the auto tips are for adequate service, something extra at the end of the cruise is for extraordinary service ... and NOTHING is for poor service. Believe me, I have walked out of restaurants without leaving the server anything ... not very often, thank God. But it has happened. In those cases, I only take that action after having unsuccessfully tried to resolve the problem with my server beforehand. I also make it a point to inform the manager as to why I opted not to leave a tip.

If I were to consistently fail to get the service to which I am entitled, I would not only remove the dining room staff's tips, but I would write a very detailed letter as to the reason why and leave it with the purser's desk when I removed them. I would also forward a copy to Seattle when I arrived home.
You and your DH paid good money for that cruise, and you seem like a reasonable person. There is no justification for your constant disappointment in the dining room.

But ... then ... removing auto-tips ... that's just me. I'm probably not as nice a person as you and your DH are.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[Cruising Jake]

If you remove auto tips doesn't that impact everyone else. Your excellent room steward would suffer. I consider the auto tips part of the basic cost of cruising. After our cruise last November we left the auto tips in place even though we received far less than exemplary service in the dining room. I did send a letter to Seattle and noted it on our comment card. The response from Seattle was pretty much nothing.

[tbroido]

We were on the Westerdam the week before Laff'n'Vegas. We absolutely fell in love with our cabin Steward, Firdaus. What a sweet gentleman.

Our dining room service was fantastic (Kemal, very funny fellow), but I must say the food was only good to very good. We ate twice in the Pinnacle and that was much better but the over salt the beef.

The shows were pretty lame, but my wife is an opera singer so it isn't our kind of stuff. My wife was a big hit in the piano bar, though, where she sang Till There WasYou and O Mio Babbino Caro.

We had a really great time. Did the renewal of vows with Captain Jack for our 25th Anniversary. He is a bit stiff but very well dressed.

Hope you have a great last day, Lisa and Tom.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Morning from beautiful and very warm Cozumel Mexico on the MS Westerdam.

Because we go a almost 2 hour late start leaving Grand Caymans due to tendering being so difficult they had announced we would arrive much later in Cozumel but they actually kicked it up a few knots and we were in Cozumel at 9. We were not suppose to arrive till 10 then the had announced yesterday it would be 11. At any rate we are here early.

I feel some what guilty but with my back being extremely sun burnt I decided to sleep in skip the gym this morning. I do plan to do the Pilates class tomorrow morning at 10 AM, the Mariner’s Reception is at 11:30 and the Suite luncheon is at 12:30. Tomorrow will be a busy day despite being our last Sea Day.

The menu tonight does not look at all exciting, plus it is also the night for the Lido BBQ. Thanks to KrazyKruizer’s suggestion we had made reservations for the Lido tonight. Tonight’s the night I get to have my Crème Brulee’ Trio J We are in Cozumel till 9 PM and a lot of people are eating dinner in town. I would love it but Tom is not a big fan of Mexican Food.

Today in Cozumel we are going on the Atlantis Submarine at 11 AM then plan to do a little bit of shopping. Who knows there might be a piece of jewelry out there calling my name again.

Signing off Live from the MS Westerdam



This “DAM” week is going way too fast L



Second additional report to Friday, it is now 5:40 and we just got back to our cabin from our day in Cozumel. First we went on the Atlantis Submarine it was just OK. It was interesting yet a little hokey with the way they requested permission to go down. It was kind of like going on the submarines at Disneyland. Not near as many fish as I would of liked to see. Truthfully we saw far more at HMC going on the Eco Lagoon Tour thru the glass bottom boat. I would not recommend this tour for the price. We were last in Cozumel in 2001 at that time we were at the International Pier this time we were at the downtown pier. That made it very easy. We had lunch at Senior Frog’s it was very tasty and I felt it was a safe place to eat but extremely lively. Lots and Lots of Spring Breakers. We then did some shopping, I was thinking of getting a new tanzanite stone to replace in a setting I already have. The tanzanite stone I have is a bit light and I wanted one of the darker ones. I thought the prices were way too high and no matter what, we could not get them down. I had purchased a ring in Ocho Rios that I found in several stores here for almost double the price I paid in Ocho Rios. Then when we were on the Ryndam last November I purchased an amethyst ring there. I found that exact ring all over Cozumel for 3 times what I paid for it in Cabo. I did get a pair of silver hoop earrings that started out being $35 that I ended up paying $15 I guess we just were not destined to spend a lot of money in Mexico this trip.

Well, I must sign off again to get ready to eat in the Pinnacle. The internet service was down this morning so hopefully it is back up and I can give you both of these reports.

Note: I have been looking for Dave’s spy, but just checking to see if Dave caught Tom enjoying a cold one.

Signing off…. In Cozumel Live from the MS Westerdam.



Well, might as well make it a third update since I have not been able to connect to the internet all day. It must have had something to do with being in port in Cozumel. We just left port and it seems that I might possibly have a internet connection now.

Pinnacle was excellent, we both had the filet and for desert I had the crème brulee trio, strange but not all of it had the caramelized top. For some reason they did not do it to the middle one which is vanilla. The people sitting across from us over heard us talking about it so she sent hers back to make sure it was all crunchy. Tom had ordered just a dish of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup and they first brought him out the chocolate volcano cake. When they lifted the lid he said it definitely looked a lot more done than the one I had Sunday night. He said I probably should of kept it. Other than that the food and service was excellent.

Tomorrow will be a busy last day. At 10 AM I am doing the Pilates, at 11:45 is the Mariner’s Reception (we received our 25 day pins today) then at 12:30 is the suite lunch up in the Crows Nest.

I guess I will sign off and see if I can get this posted this evening.

Signing off…Live from the MS Westerdam.

[kryos]

If you remove auto tips doesn't that impact everyone else. Your excellent room steward would suffer.
I would hope the room steward would not suffer ... hence, the detailed letter.

I guess I have a different philosophy about tipping. To me, a tip is for service that goes above and beyond. It is not something that should be a matter of course, as has become in today's society. Now, of course, on a ship I realize that these folks make a very minimal wage because Holland America factors their tips into the equation. Therefore, as long as service is adequate ... even if not above and beyond ... I will always leave the auto-tips in place.

But if service was sorely lacking ... and despite repeated attempts to rectify the situation there was no improvement ... yes, I would most definitely remove the dining room stewards' tips. The letter would detail my reasons for so doing and would take pains to explain that the service deficiencies had nothing to do with my cabin steward. In fact, if he was exceptionally good, I would take the time to stress that fact in my letter.

Unfortunately, I just cannot give a tip to someone who consistently gives me poor service ... especially when I paid an arm and a leg for the cruise.

It's just my nature.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[dakrewser]

My spy did snap a shot of Tom grabbing a cold one on Informal night, but since he had doffed his jacket I didn't want him to get a repuation as one of those "i'll dress casual if I want" kind of guys. Still, if you really want to see it...

http://www.scruffyduffys.com/images/beer/boy-tap.jpg

:) -dave

[LAFFNVEGAS]

My spy did snap a shot of Tom grabbing a cold one on Informal night, but since he had doffed his jacket I didn't want him to get a repuation as one of those "i'll dress casual if I want" kind of guys. Still, if you really want to see it...

http://www.scruffyduffys.com/images/beer/boy-tap.jpg

:) -dave

Dave, I thought I saw that guy sneeking around.:D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Saturday March 19th 2005 our lat Sea Day and our last full day L

I played lazy this morning and slept in till 8 and not getting up early to go to the gym but I am about to go up and take that Pilates class at 10 AM. In writing this I see we will again have no internet service. I certainly hope that returns since I still have 57 minutes to use. Last night we received our 25 day Mariner Pins so after my Pilates class we will go to the Mariner’s Reception.


I am not back from Pilates, I guess I am not as good of shape as I thought I was:o Today looks like another great day outside with blue skys and smooth seas. It is about time to go to the Mariner's Reception, it will be interesting to see how many are there. I will report back this afternoon.

Signing off....Live from the MS Westerdam

[jhannah]

Enjoy your last day. It's always the saddest for me! "Breaking up is hard to do" when saying farewell to a cruise ship.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lisa, you're on your way back to a magnificient day! May I be the first to welcome you back to sunny FLA!!! It's been such fun hearing from you throughout your cruise. We'll be glad to have you back home. Travel safe.

[dakrewser]

Sadly, and with regret, Lisa bids a fond farewell to her home at sea.....


http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:Ts-W6HgBJ6gJ:www.stockphotography.co.uk/Upload/Stock/11127.jpg (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.stockphotography.co.uk/Upload/Stock/11127.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.stockphotography.co.uk/Store/App/catalog.asp%3FCT%3D303&h=120&w=96&sz=3&tbnid=Ts-W6HgBJ6gJ:&tbnh=83&tbnw=66&start=21&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgirl%2Btantrum%26start%3D20%26hl%3Den %26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2005-10,GGLD:en%26sa%3DN)

while poor Tom had to find some way to pay off their shipboard account!:rolleyes:

http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/upload/img_200/PW4966.jpg

Welcome back to the land of the dreamcruisers!

-dave

[Ziggy7]

hahaha Dave, you never cease to amaze me and make me laugh :)

[stanford's girl]

Thanks for a great laugh Dave.:D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

That darn internet was down most of the afternoon and morning so here is my final report. And yes Dave you pictured Tom and I perfectly. The bags are pack and about ready to put them out in the hall way.

Live from the MS Westerdam, Good Afternoon this could possibly be my last report. Where did the week go??? I am so thankful that I have 3 more vacations to look forward to this year. May 11th We will be going to Maui, Hawaii (not a cruise) for 5 days, July 9th we will be cruising on the Maasdam to New England/Canada and October 8th we will be back on the Oosterdam doing the Mexican Riviera.

Over all this has been a great week, we could not ask for calmer seas or more beautiful weather. Yes, it is Spring Break and there are the most kids on board that I have ever seen on a HAL ship with the exception of some girls about 10 to 12 riding the elevators and being obnoxious the kids on board have been well behaved.

We attended the Mariner’s Reception and the Suite luncheon this morning and afternoon. The Mariner’s Reception was nice the relief Captain Dirk Van Den Berg took over after Captain Jack left in Ocho Rios. Captain Dirk is quite jovial and friendly I would like to get to know him better. Also for the second half our hotel manager is Nick Burger. The Mariner’s Reception seemed to be well attended but not as many as we saw on the Ryndam but still a good turn out. A large number were in the 25 to 49 days like ourselves. Our tablemates all sat together and we were all in that category. Several medals given plus 1 platinum medal. There were probably about 20 up on stage with medals. They also gave out employee pins for 15 and 25 years of service. There were 4 employees getting those. I did notice on this cruise several employees wearing these pins some with diamond chips in them.

The Suite Luncheon was nice but not that very well attended. For all the Suites they have on the Westerdam I expected to see far more at the Luncheon. I can honestly say there were far more in attendance at the Suite Luncheon on the Ryndam with far less suites than there were here. The food was basically the same with less selection for deserts. The other thing I noticed on the Ryndam the Officers would go from table to table and talk to all the suite passengers. I did not see that done here. I looked around shortly after we were sitting down and all of them were gone. All that were there was the Pinnacle Staff to help with the buffet food. This was also the same on the Suite Reception the first night we were about 15 minutes late due to having the 6:15 dinner but all the officers had left with the exception of the Hotel Manager. I guess Captain Jack was only there a few minutes.

This really has been a good cruise and I dread having to pack, Tom just pulled his suit case out to start.L

If in some areas I did not sound impressed I think it was because our last cruise was on the Ryndam. That was our first suite, plus it had just finished going thru their SOE and the Ryndam being a smaller ship. I can now see why so many like the smaller ships. We are looking forward to going on the Maasdam for a better comparison.

If anything exciting happens tonight I will report, otherwise this will be my final sign off.



We have so far sailed 1760 nautical miles and have 194.1 nautical miles remaining and it is currently a cool 68 degrees, coolest day so far and it is almost sunset.

Signing off form the MS Westerdam.

[Bucky3]

Have so enjoyed your day by day accounts! We'll be on Oosterdam and HA for the first time next week. Looking forward to our first HA cruise. Thanks for writing all about yours. Travel safely home.

[stanford's girl]

Lisa,

Did you get to talk to Nick Burger? We met him and his wife at a cruise show in Portland, Oregon about a month ago. They were very nice and easy to talk to. He was kind enough to answer my endless questions about HAL,which was nice because the HAL rep there was giving me the wrong info. :eek: Thanks for the play by play of your cruise. Glad to know that you have another already lined up so you won't suffer "cruise withdrawal".:)

[bepsf]

Lisa--


Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your wonderful week on Westerdam!

You and look very glamourous in your formal night pix! All that time in the gym certainly is well spent!

We had Capt Van Den Berg on Oosterdam, and he does seem like a very social fellow - but then again, he did meet his wife on board, didn't he?
;)

You don't mention much of the Neptune Lounge - did you not use it that much?

Also - were you reimbursed at all for your unused internet minutes?

Thanks again, and Welcome Home!

[Ziggy7]

Thanks for sharing with us Lisa! Your the best!
Travel safely home! :)

[spirithaven]

Want to thank you for all the wonderful reviews from the Westerdam. I was on her in January and hope that the bad food and service were just a fluke as that is what I love about Holland. Had dinner in the cabin which was perfect as well all the room service and breakfasts on the verandah. Next cruise will be Maasdam in May and can already hear the Neptune coffee calling. Have a safe trip home.

[born2cruz]

Thanks for the info. We'll be on the Westerdam Easter Sunday. Really enjoyed youy daily reports.

[dakrewser]

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to post your diary, Lisa, it was thoroughly enjoyed!

[AZGal]

Lisa, Thanks very much for putting in so much time and effort to compile your daily diary. It was nearly as good as being there! We sail on the Westerdam the first week of April and appreciate all of the information your write-ups provided. Welcome home.

Mary

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi Everyone, I was amazed to find out that the FLL airport also has free WiFi so I thought I would post and answer a few questions.

First Disembarkation went so easy, almost to easy. Only one or two poeple were asked to go to the front desk. Itprobably took us at the most 10 minutes to get off the ship. We came in at pier 26 and getting a taxi to the airport was also quick and painless. Check in for United was also quick the only bad part is there were no more economy plus seats and my connection in Las Vegas must have forgot to help us or there just was not any left.

One thing I must mention was about the Lido, it was never busy.I found that amazing. Even this morning we went there about 7:50 for breakfast and there were plenty of window tables to pick from. I sang a chorus of "You are My Sunshine" the the guy whos says he is Hunky Dorey's brother and he remembered y name this morning. We ate in the Lido every morning for breakfast except the first mrning when we had Room Service. The food was always great in the Lido.

Brian, you asked about the Neptune. Oh yes, we used the Neptune at least 3 to 4 times a day. After I was in the gym early in the morning I would stop by afterwards to get my latte before showering and Tom would already stopped in there for a early morning snack. On port days we eaithere did not have a lunch or had a small lunch in town so in the afternoon would just grab a small snack from the Neptune. Also in the afternoon I would enjoy aq white chunk macadamia cookie and a pecan cookie with either a latte or a ice tea with cranberry juice in it. We actually used the Neptune a lot we just did not stay in the Neptune we usually took our goodies back to our room to set out on the balcony. Brian I wished I was reimbursed for my internet charge. I did used up every minute last night to the last second. Not sure if any one from HAL knew who we were or knew about the thread, nothing was ever said.
I have to admit that it was worth every penny to be able to do this. It was so much fun and from this end we had lots of good laughs from Dave's pictures. It was really easy to upload my daily pictures and do the daily report. This to me was much better than attempting to write a report once we get home. I will try to get all my pictures uploaded to Web Shots this week with comments under each picture. That is the part that takes a lot of time. I did get some really good pictures this week.

Would you believe we did not go to any shows this week, basically there were just not any that interested us. We found it more relaxing just going to the Explorer's Lounge to have a drink after dinner and listen to the Champagne Strings. I guess we are just not the big party animals but that is why cruising is fun for so many people because of all the different things that are offered.

Also you know how I complained about the service in the Main Dining Room,you would of thought that service would of been a bit better in hopes of getting a little bit extra for a tip well, it was not. Last night was the worst. We had a table for 6 and everyone was enjoying desert when we had not even been served our main entree. I was just amazed. They had already sung their farewell songs and still no Prime Rib finally it arrived by that time of just sitting there I was not hungry. By the time the handed us desert menus most of the dining room was empty. That is definitely an area that needs big improvement.

Overall it really was a great week, it is so sad to leave the ship. I just do not know where that week goes.

I want to Thank Everyone here that read and commented you are all so wonderful. This really has been a lot of fun. My next edtion will be "Live from the MS Maasdam July 9th."

We won't get home till about 10:30 EST tonight so it will be a long day, we have to go thru Washington DC to get to Las Vegas so.....
Signing off Live from the Fort Lauderdale Airport.

[Cuttle]

Great reports. Thank You. Aaahh - the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies - divine! Oh to have one (well maybe two?) right now!

[jhannah]

Really sad about the dining room service. That's such an integral part of the cruise. We'll look forward to your pictures.

[SueOverend]

Thanks so much for you live review. It has been the highlight of my day, reading your activities. We're on the Westerdam in December and I hope HAL can sort out the problems in the dining room before then. This will be our first HAL cruise, having sailed Celebrity 3 times previously, so I'm a little concerned about this aspect.

Hope you had a safe and not too uncomfortable journey home. Economy is pretty rough after a great holiday of pampering!

Sue

[liv2cruise4ever]

Lisa, thanks so much for your "As you go review." I too couldn't wait everyday to check this thread to see how and what you were doing. Can't wait to see the pictures. We too have to go thru Washington on the return to the bay area in Dec. Hope your flights are smooth and you arrive in Vegas safely...:)

[rothbury]

Thanks Lisa, Leaving on the Westerdam in 3 weeks. Really dissappointing to here about the dining room. I doubt they'll have everything "fixed" in 3 weeks! DW and I are talking about going resort casual and skipping the formal affairs. With your report on the Vista Dining Room it is making our decision a whole lot easier. Overall did you feel the cruise staff and service was up to par with HAL?\

Have a safe trip home and wave when you fly over Williamsburg, VA! The historic triangle of America! We're flying a "puddle jumper" commuter for 2.5 hours to Miami and shuttling back to FLL. Not looking forward to it!

P.S. Hope the sunburn is better!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks to everyone. We are now home safe from a very long day of travels, we went and grabbed a quick bite to eat then came home and have packed. As much as I like the HAL beds there is still "No Place Like Home" It will be so good to lay down in my own bed.

Well, have to be up early tomorrow and not too work out in the ship's gym:( but will do a little exercise at home and back to work. Tom does not return to work till Thursday.

Thanks again to everyone who posted, this has been fun.:)

[Ziggy7]

Glad your home safely Lisa, Welcome Home! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Glad your home safely Lisa, Welcome Home! Thanks for sharing your cruise with us :)

Thanks Ziggy, as much as we love cruising it is good to be home.

Thanks,

[midgecruiser]

Thanks for the log. Felt like we took the cruise with you. Sounds like a great cruise. Welcome home. Wendy

[cruznon]

"There's no place like home..." Glad you're back safely. Thanks for sharing your cruise with all of us.

[dakrewser]

Welcome home Tom & Lisa...

http://www.sandsfinancialgroup.com/img/home.jpg

[Renorita]

Thanks Ziggy, as much as we love cruising it is good to be home.

Thanks,

Lisa

We will see how long that feeling lasts and the next one (I am ready to go Cruising again) starts. You ought to time it! For me it was about two weeks! :D

Great Cruise report! :)

[Himself]

Tom and Lisa:

Is it true that there is no place like home or is it true that there is no place like being at Sea? Are you ready for another cruise??

Himself

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Tom and Lisa:

Is it true that there is no place like home or is it true that there is no place like being at Sea? Are you ready for another cruise??

Himself

Well, first I have to get thru this week at work:eek: Let me tell you it will feel like that town in Grand Caymans:D

But... that countdown clock says I have just 110 days till we sail on the Maasdam. That won't be too long to wait.:)

Thanks again everyone, doing this thread helped to make it a fun week. I did feel like everyone was cruising with me.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Lisa, welcome home!!! So glad you got home safe and sound. It was such fun following you on your cruise. Now you can print it all out as a momento!!!:D

[jhannah]

Welcome back to the work-a-day world in the desert! Just keep your eye on that countdown clock so you won't suffer PCB (post-cruise blues.)

[Bill S]

Hi Lisa: glad you and Tom had a fun time and are safely home! Looking forward to seeing ALL the pictures soon! Give my regards to Tom!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Lisa

I finally got some time to read through you review of the Westerdam. It was great.

Now I am going to go look at all your pictures.