Westerdam - your opinion?

[PhillyTom]

My wife and are a celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary in the Fall and are thinking of taking our first cruise on a Holland America Cruise Line. The ship is Westerdam. Can anyone out there give me some feedback on this ship; ex. food, accommodations, staff, perks, public area, etc.
We're thinking of traveling to Eastern Carr. itinerary. Any thoughts?
Any info you could share would be greatly appreciated. Have cruised on RCI in the past and loved it. Want to compare.

[ayalond]

hello, we were on the westerdam last year, eastern. and we fell in love with her, so now we are taking her again in oct, western part.
if you like give me you email and ill send u some photos i might post them soon on a free site too.
its a great ship with great staff.
feel free to ask me anything, plus i have an amzing online ta , that just saved us $400 on our next cruise, so i can give you his number as well!
aya:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did both the eastern and western itineraries in January 2005 on the Weterdam and loved the ship. What a nice way to celebrate your 25th anniversary.

[GmaPajama]

We did the Eastern Caribbean on the Westerdam last April, and absolutely loved it. We are "beginning" cruisers, but have already decided HAL is the one for us. I can't think of a single thing that didn't meet or exceed our expectations. It's a perfect choice to celebrate this special anniversary. They'll make a big fuss in the dining room if you let them know the date, and you'll feel special indeed. And, of course, Happy Anniversary from us too!

Donna

[ayalond]

here are some photos:
http://community.webshots.com/user/ayalond

[PhillyTom]

Thanks to all. Pictures were helpful.
My mind is made up.
Holland America here we come

[earl_m]

I will be going on the Westerdam , nov. 12 eastern side.I have been on
the sister ships zuiderdam and the Oosterdam. If it anything like those
cruises. I will be in for a great cruise!!:D

[amybeth601]

ayalond--I checked out your photos of the Wdam (I esp. enjoyed the photos from the Virgin Gorda/the Baths!) Our 10th anniversary will be in December (we'll be traveling in January), and after seeing your anniversary cake in your photos, I was wondering how you go about requesting a cake or something similar for such an occasion. I've thought that a renewal of vows package would be a nice touch to our fun week, but then again, maybe we should wait for our 20th or 25th anniversary....at any rate, it would be nice to have a little something special for our anniversary! Thanks in advance!

Amy

[SueOverend]

ayalond--I checked out your photos of the Wdam (I esp. enjoyed the photos from the Virgin Gorda/the Baths!) Our 10th anniversary will be in December (we'll be traveling in January), and after seeing your anniversary cake in your photos, I was wondering how you go about requesting a cake or something similar for such an occasion. I've thought that a renewal of vows package would be a nice touch to our fun week, but then again, maybe we should wait for our 20th or 25th anniversary....at any rate, it would be nice to have a little something special for our anniversary! Thanks in advance!

Amy
We sailed the Eastern Caribbean route last December on her and loved it. Try and spring for a Suite as it's such a special occasion. The perks are fantastic and the cabins amazing. We renewed our wedding vows and it was a very special cruise. Loved the ports, the people, the crew and everything about her.

[ayalond]

amybeth601ayalond--I checked out your photos of the Wdam (I esp. enjoyed the photos from the Virgin Gorda/the Baths!) Our 10th anniversary will be in December (we'll be traveling in January), and after seeing your anniversary cake in your photos, I was wondering how you go about requesting a cake or something similar for such an occasion. I've thought that a renewal of vows package would be a nice touch to our fun week, but then again, maybe we should wait for our 20th or 25th anniversary....at any rate, it would be nice to have a little something special for our anniversary! Thanks in advance!

Amy

THANKS.
JUST LET YOUR TA OR WHO EVER YOU BOOKED YOUR CRUISE WITH WHICH NIGHT IS YOU ANNV. AND THEY WILL BRING IT TO YOU AT DINNER, ITS GOING TO BE OUT 10TH ANNV, THIS TIME AS WELL BUT WE OPT TO WAIT FOR THE VOWS RENEWAL AS WELL.
WE ARE GOING THIS YEAR IN OCT SINCE MY DH CANT GET OF IN NOV, BUT IT WORKS OUT THAT THE CRUISE WAS ACTULLY CHEAPIER THAT TIME.
HAVE FUN, AND ILL POST MORE PHOTOS WHEN WE GET BACK IN OCT!
AYA

[many cruises]

ayalond: Thanks for posting the beautiful pictures of your Westerdam cruise. Enjoyed seeing them...we will be on the Westerdam in November for our first HAL cruise!

[debshomespun]

ayalond: Your pictures of the Westerdam are great. We will be on her for the eastern sailing 10/29/06, and this will be our first Holland American ship. We have ready many great things about Holland America, and are so looking forward to sailing with them. Also, we have booked the baths at Virgin Gorda, and looking forward to them also. Do you recommend some type of water shoes to wear? Also, can you take your digital camera and it won't get wet, or would you advise to just bring a disposable water camera for the day there? Do they have any types of lockers to rent while there?

[ayalond]

dear debshomespun:
thanks .
what i did is put everything in a ziplock bags and nothing got wet, we also had a water camara but the pics didnt come out so great.
there are lockers before you go in the caves.
we got some cheap water shoes in target and they worked great.
have fun aya

[GmaPajama]

I thought I'd give a link to part of our Westerdam Photo Album from this past April to add to the good information here. 'Twas a wonderful trip on a beautiful ship - but I'll spare you the hundreds of personal pics for now. Just under 30 "Ship Pics" are at this link.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/donna.beitel/my_photos

[watchdiva]

I agree with SueOverend - if you can, pop for an S suite. The perks are great and the whole experience is well worth the $$. We loved the Westerdam (had an SA almost directly across from the Neptune) and it was fantastic.