Westerdam 11/15/09 - Our Experience

[ekerr19]

Ms. Westerdam: 11/15/09 to 11/21/09 – Caribbean Cruise - 7 Days

Captain: Captain Edward van Zaane

Hotel Manager: Ron Botenbal

CD: Jason Venner

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Ports of Call:

1. Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

2. Oranjestad, Aruba

3. Willemstad, Curacao

 

We checked out of Hyatt Pier 66 at about noon, taxied to Port Everglades – noticed people being turned away who wanted to view the Oasis of the Seas, in fact a huge portable sign said “No Access for Oasis Viewing” but people were trying anyway.

 

We were swiftly directed to Deluxe Verandah Suite check-in, where no one was waiting in line. We had a very nice lady check us in, very chatty and upbeat – which we appreciated. We were fortunate enough to book cabin 7045, the starboard side Penthouse Suite. One of the Penthouse perks is an escort onboard, so off we went. Once our key cards were swiped, we were met by our concierge Gelo, who took us to the Penthouse Suite. I can honestly say, this is the nicest cabin we’ve ever been in! We meet our two cabin stewards, Ihkwan and Belu who showed us our way around and promptly delivered our luggage.

 

The PS consists of a bedroom area with TV, DVD player, huge bath with two sinks, extra large Jacuzzi tub, separate round shower, separate W/C with toilet, bidet and sink, a HUGE walk-in closet, dining table with 4 chairs, desk area, living room area with sofa, recliner, easy chairs and TV, DVD player, small kitchenette with sink, microwave, toaster, refrigerator, dishes, silverware, glassware, coffeemaker, coffee. The verandah included two loungers, dining table, two chairs with ottomans and a Jacuzzi.

 

We had pre-ordered the Signature Suite Package and it included the following amenities:

Initial In-Suite Beverage Setup – 2 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of your favorite liquor(s)

Hydro Pool & Thermal Suite – Our keycards had been activated for access

Explorations Café Coffee Card – good for 10 barista style coffee beverages in Explorations Café

Dinner at Pinnacle Grill – reservation was already made

One Culinary Arts Center Class – for the two of us, a private cooking class

One Premium Wine Tasting – for the two of us

Internet Credit – 100 minutes

Evening Truffles in our Suite

 

I went off to the Neptune Lounge to order beverages, as we had invited guests for the sail away. Our beverages were delivered promptly. I had asked for some appetizers to be sent up, but was told by the concierge that they couldn’t do it – it was too busy on embarkation day. That was the first time I’ve ever been told no, but oh well – decided to make the most of it with the cheese and crackers.

 

Went off to Lifeboat drill and a very nice first for us – NO LIFE JACKETS were required! Yes, that’s right – we were instructed to leave them in our room, which made it much easier. Also, no cabin numbers were called during the drill, so it was pretty much based on the honor system.

 

We had a very nice sail away with friends. We attended the Suites reception in the Crow’s Nest and met the GRM, Marion and her successor, Ramona; as well as Executive Chef Andreas Noemayr and a few others who make the Westerdam operational on a daily basis.

 

We had our CC “meet and greet” the first sea day and had a pretty decent turn out. Edie (from our Roll Call) arranged everything for us and it was nice to meet a few of the folks from the Roll Call – Murat Kaya, the Beverage Manager made sure we had mimosas, champagne, coffee, tea and cookies.

 

We had late dining, requested a large table and were seated at #91, a table for 8. We met our tablemates – two from our home state of Colorado and two from Destin, FL. We had a great evening and I just have to say, we had the best dining room service and food that we have had on a HAL ship in years – it was above our expectations. Our D/R steward and his assistant were fun, and kept the pace in an expert manner. We didn’t have to ask for anything. The food was the proper temperature, appetizing and tasty. We really liked the menu selections and the menu seems to be improved over our last cruise. Our dining room manager was Andrie Hikmat and he stopped by several times during our cruise to make sure all was well.

 

We had dinner the first formal night in the Pinnacle Grill with Sail7Seas and her husband. The meal was delicious, the wine fantastic and overall, a really good experience. The Chef came out and introduced himself to us and he is much younger than I would have expected. He is very outgoing and spoke with us about our experience that evening – and none of us could fault the food, it was very good.

 

Our package included a night in the Pinnacle Grill, and it was scheduled for the following night at 8:30pm, we tried to change it – not wanting to go twice in a row – but had absolutely zero luck in getting that to happen. I asked our concierge Celeste and she said the best she could do was 9:30 pm on Friday night, which was just too late for us. I was very surprised, because the restaurant did not appear to be full on any of the nights. We ended up not being able to use that Pinnacle gift, but we preferred the MDR and our tablemates, so it wasn’t a huge deal – I was again just a bit surprised about being told “Sorry, we can’t do it”.

 

We didn’t go to any of the shows, but Joel Mason was onboard, as was Kimberly Krohn in the Piano Bar, Darcy John (Singer-guitarist) in the Crow’s Nest, Adult Comedy of Joe Bronzi, David Deeble – Comedy/Juggler, The Neptune’s in the Ocean Bar and The Adagio Strings in the Explorers Lounge. We really liked Darcy John, DH asked him to play some Stevie Ray Vaughn and he played quite a few numbers, it was very nice.

 

We did not attend the Mariner’s Lunch or the Embarkation Brunch. We heard lunch was nice, though crowded and we didn’t feel like getting dressed up for it. We also did not attend the Suites Lunch in the Pinnacle Grill – again, just didn’t feel like dressing during the day.

 

We had our cooking class with Chef Phillip from the Pinnacle Grill and it was really fun – a nice highlight. We both got an Apron, recipes, notepad, etc. and then we all got to eat our creations in the Pinnacle with complimentary wines. I highly recommend taking one of the classes if you enjoy that sort of thing. The party planner onboard – Linda, does a really good job at organizing these events. She and her husband sat at our table during the formal nights. He is an officer on the ship and we enjoyed their company quite a bit.

 

I won a $3,000 jackpot on a slot machine in the casino, making my total take a little over $3,500 for the few times I played, so I considered myself very lucky and vowed not to give it back! They issued me a Form 1099 before I left the ship, but I was so happy and excited to win, I don’t care if I have to pay taxes.

 

Overall, I’d rate this a very solid 4+ stars out of 5 for this cruise. The ship was in great shape, the Lido service was fantastic, and the MDR exceeded our expectations, bar service, cabin stewards – everything, well above expectations. The room service was very good – prompt, accurate and our delivery person always made sure our order was correct before he left the cabin.

A few notes:

 

We really miss the trays in the Lido. We had to “tag team” our lunches so one person was at the table and one got drinks, etc. I did not notice people taking any less food without trays as they did when trays were available.

 

I also miss the Clam Chowder in the Pinnacle Grill and wish they’d bring it back! It was my favorite thing – more so than the steaks.

 

The laundry was not that great. I sent several things to dry clean and several to laundry. I don’t care about DH’s t-shirts and shorts all that much, but the items I sent to dry clean were mine and they appeared to have been laundered instead of dry-cleaned. I’ve never had this happen before, but learned my lesson for future cruises… do not send your nice knits to HAL’s laundry.

 

Regarding the dress code for formal nights – there was a sign posted at the entrance of the MDR indicating a jacket and tie were required, however I must say, overall this is cruise had very casually dressed passengers. We saw shorts and tank tops in the MDR on smart casual night – first formal night, men in jean shorts and t-shirts in the bars and casino – and not just one or two, dozens. Women in Capri’s and flip-flops. I just don’t get it. HAL needs to do something about the dress code, in my opinion. We get dressed up and stay dressed up; but are very much the minority. I’m seriously reconsidering lugging all that formal wear for the next cruise.

 

In conclusion, I noticed that HAL seems to be trying to adopt an attitude of continuity across the board. Whereas we used to be able to just ask and receive, we heard “No, sorry” more often than not. I think I understand what they’re trying to do – make sure no one person receives anything more or less than another in the same cabin/category, but I have to say I miss the days when they (Concierges) went out of their way to help arrange get-togethers, help package up items to travel home safely, get us the Pinnacle reservation that would be suitable, even provide snacks from the Neptune for get-togethers in the cabin.

 

Will I sail HAL again? You bet! Will we sail again on Westerdam? Without hesitation. She has a great crew and we enjoyed this cruise far more than our first Westerdam cruise.

 

Any questions, please ask and I’ll do my best!

[IRL_Joanie]

OH BOY!!! What a delight to read such an awesome view of my FAVORITE HAL SHIP!!!

 

Thank You!!! Thank You!!! Thank You!!!!

 

I cannot wait to get back on her in 68 more days!!!

 

By the way, I've not asked anyone in a while, so I hope you do not get upset with me, but do you have any stateroom photos?? I have for 7046 but not 7045.

 

Joanie

[ekerr19]

I have tons of photos Joanie, tell me how to get them to you and I will be more than happy to do so. :)

[GmaPajama]

What a wonderful review - thank you for posting it. Westerdam was our first HAL cruise, and we've not been back aboard her yet. You make it sound like something we need to consider sooner, rather than later.

 

One thing that surprises me is that you didn't get the old "but, of course, madam" when you asked for things - especially considering your accomodations. We once had a bartender on the Maasdam tell us they were not allowed to say "no" - it was against company policy. Perhaps he was joking around, but we have never heard a crew member on that ship say the word "no".

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review.

We also stayed in 7045 when we did our 21 day repositioning cruise this past spring.

I just have to ask -- are there still 3 blenders in the cabinet in the pantry?? We couldn't figure out why anyone would need 3 blenders?

For the last few years we have also had a hard time getting some Pinnacle reservations via the concierges -- they were not able to help us either.

Yes -- things are changing. But I do agree that HAL should do something about the dress code.

[ekerr19]

 

One thing that surprises me is that you didn't get the old "but, of course, madam" when you asked for things - especially considering your accomodations.

 

We were a bit surprised too, but in the end what can you do? It wasn't something that really detracted from our experience, just something we noticed. We're so used to "Of course" and I think HAL is moving away from that a bit.

 

Don't wait too long to get back onboard Westerdam - it was a really nice cruise. :)

[ekerr19]

I just have to ask -- are there still 3 blenders in the cabinet in the pantry?? We couldn't figure out why anyone would need 3 blenders?

 

 

LOL!!! I wondered about the toaster! I saw only one blender though - I wasn't about to spend too much time in the "kitchen" LOL! Maybe someone onboard had read your "Blenders" thread!!!

 

It's a fabulous cabin and we enjoyed it immensely. :)

[bellebaby]

We were a bit surprised too, but in the end what can you do? It wasn't something that really detracted from our experience, just something we noticed. We're so used to "Of course" and I think HAL is moving away from that a bit.

 

:)

 

We were on the Westerdam about 18 months ago and had the same experience. So much so that our CC group called it the "No, Not On This Ship" cruise.

 

Did we have a good time... Yes, we did. But we did notice a significant difference in attitude.

 

B

[ekerr19]

We were on the Westerdam about 18 months ago and had the same experience. So much so that our CC group called it the "No, Not On This Ship" cruise.

 

Did we have a good time... Yes, we did. But we did notice a significant difference in attitude.

 

B

 

That's interesting... I never thought about it as being just the ship - thought it was more or less something we're going to experiencing fleetwide.

[Krazy Kruizers]

In 2008 we did the 19 day repositioning cruise and when we got back home I did a report and got flamed. Every time we turned around and asked about this and that the favorite expression on the Westerdam was "Not on this ship". We also did the next cruise - 7 day Alaskan cruise. Sounds like they have changed their saying.

We actually were going to cancel the 2009 repostioning cruise but glad we didn't as everything was completely different.

[bellebaby]

In 2008 we did the 19 day repositioning cruise and when we got back home I did a report and got flamed. Every time we turned around and asked about this and that the favorite expression on the Westerdam was "Not on this ship". We also did the next cruise - 7 day Alaskan cruise. Sounds like they have changed their saying.

We actually were going to cancel the 2009 repostioning cruise but glad we didn't as everything was completely different.

 

KK and I were on the same cruise in 2008.. at least the Alaskan portion of the sailing... Everytime we asked for things the reply was the same... "No, not on this ship"... even in the Neptune Lounge...

 

However, as KK said in her previous post, she sailed on the Westerdam 2009 repositioning cruise and things had greatly improved.

 

So, maybe the issues ekerr19 encountered are due to fleetwide equalization changes....Or maybe things just happen....:)

 

B

[sail7seas]

Thanks for your great review, ekerr.

DH and I really enjoyed cruising with you both and have some great memories.

 

We thought Westerdam a very beautiful ship and had an excellent cruise. She has some fabulous crew/officers/staff.

 

This was our first time on this ship and we were not disappointed.

I don't want to barge into your thread so will start one of my own soon.

[twinkletoes4445]

Thanks for the review! I will say, that considering the cost involved when staying in the PS, I don't think you should ever be told "No, sorry," unless you're asking that the ship head toward a different continent.

 

I understand that HAL has to cut corners in this economy, but seriously, what they told you "no" on is crazy, IMO.

 

Thanks for the tip on the dry cleaning. We used the free laundry service a lot more last time than the time before, but next time, I will probably be a little more careful what I send out.

 

We're really looking forward to our next cruise on the Noordam. :)

 

Happy cruising! :)

[IRL_Joanie]

I have tons of photos Joanie, tell me how to get them to you and I will be more than happy to do so. :)

 

 

Just email them to me at irl_joanie@yahoo.com and I will get them.

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

I am wondering, having read so many reviews lately, about people not being able to make PG reservations, but yet meandering by and seeing empty tables... If the problem is that so many people are making reservations and then just not showing up.....And not canceling those same reservations...

 

Just wondering.

 

Joanie

[Krazy Kruizers]

This new expression "no, sorry we can't do that" did happen on our recent Zuiderdam cruises -- thankfully only a couple of times.

On all the other ships we have been on we have always been able to go over to the Neptune Lounge and ask for a small bowl of nuts. On all the other ships they have kept them in the back room and the concierges were more than glad to fix small bowls -- for several people who asked for them.

On the Zuiderdam we asked for them and the concierge had to call the Food and Beverage manager and they said "sorry -- we can't do that".

Also we have always been able to exchange the CHEAP champagne that we get in the cabin for something better -- paying the difference. We were told -- sorry, no can do that. It did turn into a bit of hassle -- indications were that the free champagne was totally worthless!! This was soon straightened out. The number of bottles turned into the concierges just one night alone (for something better) was unbelievable!! The counter behind the concierges was filled!!!

[bellebaby]

I went off to the Neptune Lounge to order beverages, as we had invited guests for the sail away. Our beverages were delivered promptly. I had asked for some appetizers to be sent up, but was told by the concierge that they couldn’t do it – it was too busy on embarkation day. That was the first time I’ve ever been told no, but oh well – decided to make the most of it with cheese and crackers.

 

I wasn't in the PH, but in an SA... I, too, asked for appetizers for sail away and was told "We don't do that on this ship".... Never had a problem with the request on the Volendam, Zaandam, or Zuiderdam...... As ekerr19 encountered the same thing many months later, I guess they were telling the truth!

 

B

[hogwildcruzers]

That was a really good review and I have to agree with the dress code not being followed like it states in the HAL guidelines......we were on the Westerdam this past Halloween cruise and saw many people in what I consider bad dress for formal night............we love HAL and the Westerdam and we would cruise her again in a heart beat......your review is right on.

[mrsltg]

Great review! Thanks for sharing :-)

[DebNJoe]

Taking this cruise in January - our first on HAL. Is it necessary to make reservations for the PG ahead of time? DH's 60th birthday is on the first sea day. Originally I thought that we would go to the PG that night however, I understand that is the first formal night, so now I'm not sure that would be a good choice. What is the opinion of experienced HAL cruisers about going to the PG on a formal night?

[Mooguy]

What slot machine did you win the jackpot on? .25 1.00 or other?

[ekerr19]

What slot machine did you win the jackpot on? .25 1.00 or other?

 

It was the $5 Triple Double. I had been playing .25 for most of the hour waiting for DH to finish a conversation about electric circuitry (or whatever it was they were diagramming on the cocktail napkin!) and was up about $400 - I was getting tired, but had only been playing for about an hour.

 

I cashed in to my player bank on my key card and was walking past the $5 machines and for some reason, just decided to play $50-$60 on one. I bet max spin $10 on the first spin and hit bar, double, triple. Initially I didn't think I had won anything and that the machine was broken because it wasn't doing anything.

 

The barstaff guy (who knew us) told me that I won and I was like, "what?"... then he got the attendant and I couldn't believe it was for $3,000. The attendant told me to spin again to clear my card out and I hit another $100. They paid me the $3,000 right there and offered me an escort to my room, but DH was in the Sport's Bar so I wasn't too worried. :D

 

DH was shocked when I came over with my winnings, needless to say!

[ekerr19]

One other thing I wanted to mention in my review and forgot - if you have casino winnings on your room key card, you must collect them before the casino closes the night before disembarkation or you forfeit them.

 

They will not be credited to your shipboard account. I assumed they would, but got two calls from the casino (thankfully) advising me otherwise. I went down and took the cash winnings off my card.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Loved your review, Laura! It really makes me look forward to ours since we'll be on the same cruise in March.

 

I am worried about the Pinnacle reservation problems because we do want to go there at least one night to celebrate our anniversary. Possibly we should reserve in advance? Do you recall which night was the Master Chef's Dinner?

 

BTW, after we spoke I learned from a friend recently on this cruise that the Concierge told them the same thing on embarkation ... that they couldn't provide appetizers that day. So you aren't alone!:)

[ekerr19]

Loved your review, Laura! It really makes me look forward to ours since we'll be on the same cruise in March.

 

I am worried about the Pinnacle reservation problems because we do want to go there at least one night to celebrate our anniversary. Possibly we should reserve in advance? Do you recall which night was the Master Chef's Dinner?

 

BTW, after we spoke I learned from a friend recently on this cruise that the Concierge told them the same thing on embarkation ... that they couldn't provide appetizers that day. So you aren't alone!:)

 

Heather,

 

The Master Chef's dinner was the last night, Saturday. It really wasn't too bad - the food is better and not all the hoopla they had in years past, thankfully.

 

I think you should try and get your reservation ahead of time - I can briefly outline the menus (unless you want to be surprised!) but I think the first formal night is good for Pinnacle - that would be Tuesday.

 

Glad to hear we were not alone with the appetizer's - I guess it's probably a new thing then - we've never had a problem in the past. Or maybe it's just the ship as others have mentioned above...