Review of Our Westerdam Cruise ~ 3/7 to 3/14/2010

[HeatherInFlorida]

We have just returned from the Southern Caribbean 3/7 to 3/14 Westerdam cruise. This is an amazing itinerary if you like sea days but you only have a week to enjoy them. And straight out of the gate I want to say we had an absolutely wonderful time, one of our best cruises in over 25 years of cruising.

 

This particular group of itineraries are ideal (and inventive in fact) because you can actually stay on the ship for 3 weeks and experience 3 different itineraries .... Southern, Western and Eastern. Many people on our cruise were on the week before and some were continuing the following week. But the Southern route is, in my opinion, the "lazy" and most relaxing week.

 

I decided to leave the internet back home, but brought my Acer netbook just to keep my thoughts in order as we cruised. Then I realized all the notes would only forge the negative memories best left in the past. After a week of cruising, if they still stand out they’re worth mentioning. Otherwise they just weren't worth recording in the first place. So I reserved my Acer for uploading my pictures and nothing else.

 

We always remember the good things so no notes are needed. In retrospect I'm really glad I decided to write this review based on memories alone. I think it's a fairer way to reflect on an absolutely amazing week.

 

I may do a more formal review for submission to Cruise Critic, but this is for those I've come to know on CC and newer members less familiar with HAL who may consider this ship and this itinerary.

 

Above all I want to be fair. Hopefully we all know that no cruise line is perfect and HAL makes mistakes along the way just like any cruise line, but overall for the money, this cruise is a "keeper" with memories I'll always cherish.

 

The High Points

 

We cruised with two fellow CC'ers we had met on a Prinsendam 10-Day cruise in December 2006. We've talked about cruising together ever since and we finally made it happen. We were in Superior Verandah Stateroom 6106 (SY) with our friends next door in 6104. As many of you know you can open the panel between the verandahs which we did as soon as we boarded.

 

I highly recommend this category stateroom. I know everyone loves the coveted larger suites with the benefit of the Neptune Lounge, but for us this was perfect and affordable. It's very large, very comfortable, with tons of drawer space, twin sinks and twin medicine cabinets, a separate stall shower plus a jacuzzi tub (which is absolutely the best!). The deck, too, is spacious and while I'm sure the larger suites are a cut above, the cost of this one is considerably less. At about $1.20 per nautical mile for two (a sort of different and fun way to measure the cost:)), it’s an amazing value. Just loved it.

 

We chose traditional dining 2nd sitting at 8:00 and this just works for us, always has and if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I like a nice long day and quickly adjust to eating so late. We had hoped for a table for 8 or 10, but were given a table for 6. If another couple was assigned, they never showed up so it was just the 4 of us. We all love a big table with lots of fun conversation, but fortunately none of us are every at a loss for words so it was a great week with our wonderful Dining Steward, Augus. I really missed him our night in the Pinnacle.

 

Food! Food! Food!The best food and menu choices I've ever had on a ship since we began cruising in 1982. For those who know me, this is a kudo I have never given HAL. But it was absolutely fantastic (with the exception of the Pinnacle ... more on that later). The only complaint I would have was the lack of chocolate chip cookies and the disappearance of waffle cones on our last day:(. Other than that .... superb!

 

Entertainers Joel Mason and Barnaby. Both of these entertainers are far and away the best fun with the most laughs and joy I've ever experienced on a cruise ship anywhere, anytime. When they performed I never stopped smiling and they both received standing ovations. When they both performed on the last night, they outdid themselves and were better than the two nights they performed solo if that’s possible.

 

Itinerary. It's difficult to find 7-day cruises with a lot of sea time. Since I cruise for the sea, this itinerary with only HMC, Aruba and Curacao as ports, it was ideal. We had 3 1/2 days at sea. Just glorious.

 

Passengers. An all 'round amazing diversity of people in all age groups (very few children this particular week and the few we did have were terrific). Since we spent a lot of time simply relaxing or with our friends, we didn't get to meet a lot of people. But overall, wherever we went, people were in the best of humor and just wanted to have a good time. Our last cruise on the Veendam in 2007 (and the reason we didn't cruise again until now) was the polar opposite with more gloom and doom than I have ever seen on any cruise ship.

 

Captain Henk Keijer. In my opinion, he is a Captain's Captain and most definitely a woman's man. He strode the ship exuding confidence, control and a presence such as I’ve never experienced before. He is a stunning man with a magnificent voice. If I were casting a film and needed a Captain, I would need look no further than Captain Keijer. He is, quite simply, stunning. Even without the uniform, there would be no doubt that he was the Captain of the Westerdam (no, I did not get a chance to confirm this:D).

 

The Low Points (these appear longer, but only because of the detail)

 

The Pinnacle

 

I’m reasonably certain this will be our last dinner in the Pinnacle if DH gets a vote. The menu is limited, but I still had trouble choosing because there were several things I was sure I would love. I had the Steak Dianne which we were told was prepared tableside, but what they really meant was they wheel a cart over with the cooked steak, light the cognac, pour over the steak and serve. The same held true with the Caesar Salad. Again, the dressing was pre-made and simply tossed at tableside. In fact there was quite a fuss about whether they could prepare tableside or not; sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t … something about new regulations. All that would be fine, but the entrees were all barely warm and my husband’s veal chop was mostly fat and way overcooked. Since we had already waited far too long for the entrée he made the best of it eating some of my steak and our friend’s veal chop (which was done perfectly). Our coffees arrived at least 20 minutes before our dessert. Two of us had ordered the soufflé and we were told it takes 45 minutes so we absolutely must order it the moment we arrived. The time between courses was way too long. I love a long dinner hour, but we arrived at 7:30 and finished a little over 3 hours later. On the plus side (because I always want the silver lining), my Chocolate Volcano Cake was absolutely delicious as always.

 

Still, for this I gave up Escargot in the dining room ... broke my heart.

 

Cabin Steward & Bar/Lounge Staff

 

I was less than impressed with our Cabin Steward. He was smiling and friendly, but truthfully we saw him so little that I could not recognize him when passing at the other end of the corridor. Some would see this as a good thing, but the fact is he must have been overworked or we were at the end of his list. The first morning we returned to a clean room, but from that time on it was never done before noon and sometimes much later than that. When I went to Towel Folding (to learn how to make the wonderful towel animals) the Steward told us he had 29 rooms. That seems like a lot and someone has to be at the end of the list. The verandah was generally skipped and I cleaned the table myself most days and made sure never to go barefoot out there.

 

Still and all, the cabin itself was kept immaculate and the bright side is I didn’t have to clean the bathroom, make the bed or wash the linens. So it’s still a positive in my book!

 

Though not the fault of the bar and lounge staff, the service there was just awful because they were short staffed and just unable to keep up before dinner in the Pinnacle or Ocean Bar lounges. We would allow 45 minutes or so for a drink, but we simply were not served in time to enjoy any time there at all. Hot appetizers were finally passed just as we needed to go into dinner. This was especially poor in the Pinnacle bar.

 

I believe in both cases the problem is the result of cutbacks, not the individual service which was always friendly, warm and apologetic.

 

On the plus side, one night we did get the 'good nuts':).

 

Key cards and drink cards:

 

The WORST! And drink cards seem to be a new favorite among TA's (I learned this on one of my many visits to the Front Office). I was told these cards are new. They are not the ones available the last time we cruised where they give you a glass and you get free refills. This is an actual monetary amount on the drink card and you get a real drink or a can of Coke, beer, etc.. Our TA gave us each a $50 drink card in addition to the promised shipboard credit. I was thrilled because each time you buy a drink, bottle of wine, Coke, whatever, you get a receipt showing how much is left on the card. I thought $100 worth of drinks was very generous and we were really appreciative (reminder to self: Thank my TA).

 

They would be great if they didn't stop working every 5 seconds. And when the drink card didn't work, neither would the room key and vice versa. The staff couldn't have been more sympathetic or accommodating, but it's still annoying to want to pick up a Coke at the bar and have to wait 20 minutes while the key gets reactivated or replaced. I wanted to use the drink card, and not the minibar, because the drink card can't be used with the minibar. Nor can it be used to buy water when going ashore at which time I was told “hey, it’s only $1.95” …yes, but it’s my $1.95!!!. Hopefully they'll get this all figured out before too long because I had to go to the Front Desk at least 5 times in a week to either reactivate my room key or the drink card or both (in some cases both had to be re-cut and linked which would de-activate DH’s room card …. AWK!!!

 

FYI, the drink cards have no monetary value so use it or lose it. Because of all the problems I encountered, HAL was kind enough to credit us for the unused portion on our card but cautioned me they would not do this again ever. Of course, it's rare anyone would have trouble using up $100 in drink credits, but we don't drink alcohol so it's a challenge!:)

 

They also told me to be very careful not to put the cards together, not to put the cards near my cellphone or my camera (or, evidently, a magnetic clasp on a purse). So it's quite a juggling act keeping them separate when you tend to pop these sorts of things in your pocket or bag.

 

Clearly this was more of an issue for me than I thought if I spend this much time on it, but the truth of the matter is it had to be a pretty terrific cruise for something so tiny to bother me.

 

Entertainment and Shops

 

There was one entertainer who I will not name. He was extremely funny at the end of his act, but I was very disappointed when he used his warm-up time to make a political statement which did not go over well with the audience. His comments brought a strong reaction and it took him quite awhile to make his way back and reel us back in. He was a comedian and had he stuck to that venue, it would have been a lot more fun.

 

The HAL Cats were particularly good. The lead singer was a giant step forward from our Veendam cruise. As for the dancers in the Vista Lounge, they were highly energetic and gave it their all. A couple of the singers had nice voices.

 

I really disliked the shops, there was really nothing that drew me in there so I was able to leave the ship with just 2 t-shirts under my arm (and 2 only because it was one for $25.00/2 for $30). I've always been disappointed in HAL's shops, but this is a subjective opinion. The final day they touted a huge sale of "watch sets" for $29.99 (2 for $49.99). Since I honestly think you can never have too many watches, I raced up there. They were the ugliest watch/earrings/necklace sets I think I've ever seen! And I won’t even try to describe the men selling them … but suffice to say I couldn’t believe there was a HAL logo on their shirts. I’ve seen these same guys selling watches laid out on a blanket on the streets of NY:D.

 

HAL Rewards Visa

 

I’m adding this for those who have the HAL Rewards Visa. You can redeem points with a variety of onboard “gifts”. When you redeem for a $50 drink card, the good news is you get an OBC, not a drink card, so you can use it for anything. I also redeemed $50 in casino chips for DH and we were able to simply cash that in for cash which was good (I’ve been meaning to ask him if he won with my gift because he won over $1000 which was pretty darned exciting!!!). If you redeem for the Pinnacle Grill, you must use it for that and you can’t use it prior to the cruise. So if you prefer to make a reservation prior to boarding (in order to secure the day you want), you’re better off not using your rewards.

 

And Finally

 

Our Cruise Director was Shane Michaels. I can’t comment too much about him because I never saw him except at the shows, but there I found him to be a bit stiff…even uncomfortable in his skin. The HM was Marco van Belleghem. The Front Office was courteous and accommodating (particularly Katherine) on all my visits, but no matter what I asked I got different answers each visit. Katherine was the only person who seemed to follow through and the outcome was just as she said it would be.

 

I know it sounds like I’m really splitting hairs here, but I wonder if it’s possible to add a few new jokes at the Departure Talk or in the CD’s little snippet talks before and after the shows? The CD just keeps telling the same old jokes that I swear I’ve been hearing for 25 years as have all the rest of the passengers who have even taken a cruise. And the same jokes are told on all the different cruise lines and everyone graciously laughs like they’ve never heard them before. At the very least, could they at least not pretend that they “just got an email” or “just saw this comment last night”? There has to be some new material out there, someone has to be writing something really funny we haven’t heard before. I really don’t think I can handle hearing about the naked passengers who forgot to keep clothes out the last night and ended up wrapped in a shower curtain as they exited the ship. This isn’t a big deal …. it’s just something HAL could think about. A lotof funny stuff has to happen behind the scenes ... tell us some of it. We can laugh at ourselves.

 

There was minimal wear and tear on the furnishings, etc., and I could care less. There are far more important things to think about on a cruise. Overall, she ship looked wonderful to me. I loved the decor, the layout, the nooks and crannies. It does not feel like a large ship ... it has a small ship feel to me.

 

I loved leaving the ship before I was quite ready. Leave a party while you’re still having fun, push away from the table before you feel quite full. This was without question the perfect 7-day cruise. I highly recommend it!

[suse]

Heather,

That was a fine, detailed review. We were on the Westerdam in December and loved every moment. Best cruise yet. I do agree about the Pinnacle though. We asked the chef for a recomendation, and I don't know why, and had some huge piece of steak that was overwhelming. I'd have been much more comfortable with a filet.

Anyway, great review. Thank you; had fun reading.:)

[mamaofami]

Nice review, Heather. I enjoyed reading it. On our last cruise, the dining room manager suggested we order the escargot from room service and we ate them on our veranda before we went for dinner. It was a treat. Love that chocolate volcano.:)

[mrsltg]

Great review! I, too, am so tired of hearing, "last cruise there was a passenger..." at each show. Come on, we're not dumb! At least change the material every year or so!

[IRL_Joanie]

Great review Heather!! Little things here and there do make things good, bad or out and out hottible or excellent. With your attitude, it would have taken something really really bad to make the ship and cruise bad! I Love your attitude!!

 

Looks like Ron Bontenbal (HM) joined his wife Vladka for vacation time away from the ship.

 

I completely agree with you and your hubby about te Pinnacle. I was very disappointed with it and have eaten in Pinnacle 3 times and will never eat there again.

 

Again, thank you for the review and the complete honesty!!

 

Joanie

[Two@Sea]

Thanks for the review. Your opinions and impressions exactly duplicate our last experience on the Westerdam Southern Caribbean cruise, from the food to the passengers... and right on down to the cabin steward never cleaning our deluxe suite verandah! ;)

[mim100]

Hi Heather....great review....and I know what you mean about the Pinnacle....I thought about telling you before your cruise but decided to just leave it ....who knows, maybe I got them on a bad night !! and the Captain sounds divine...did you get a picture ?

[geologygeek]

I was very disappointed when he used his warm-up time to make a political statement which did not go over well with the audience. His comments brought a strong reaction

 

Oh dear did he mock Republican voters? That's just not funny, mocking the afflicted doesn't make for good comedy ....

[Aussie Gal]

As usual a great review. I too agree about the shops. When we were on the Prinsendam in November, there was not one thing that I wanted to buy. So disappointing as usually there is either makeup or perfumes that are so much cheaper than at home but unfortunately the stock wasn't up to par.

 

I must say that we had an enjoyable meal when we went to the Pinnacle but food is so subjective to taste and what one likes is another's poison.

 

We too are sick of the patter that the C.D. uses at the Disembarkation talks. You know what is going to come next with the jokes.

 

I am thrilled that you had such a great cruise. You deserved it.

 

Jennie

[HeatherInFlorida]

Nice review, Heather. I enjoyed reading it. On our last cruise, the dining room manager suggested we order the escargot from room service and we ate them on our veranda before we went for dinner. It was a treat. Love that chocolate volcano.:)

 

You can do that???? I didn't even think to look at the room service menu!!! Boo hoo! I want a re-do!!!:D

 

Hi Heather....great review....and I know what you mean about the Pinnacle....I thought about telling you before your cruise but decided to just leave it ....who knows, maybe I got them on a bad night !! and the Captain sounds divine...did you get a picture ?

 

Sadly, no. It just would have been too obvious. He came through the Pinnacle the night we were there stopping to talk with 2 gorgeous women seated near us and I suppose I could have snapped a pic, but just didn't think of it at the time.

 

Oh dear did he mock Republican voters? That's just not funny, mocking the afflicted doesn't make for good comedy ....

 

No, geek, he did not. He didn't mock Democrats either. It was not a mistake that I didn't mention the nature of the comments, but when I said political I didn't mean to suggest it was a comment about party affiliation. I'll leave it at that as he should have.:)

[innlady1]

Loved your review of your cruise, Heather!

 

Having done a 20 day Collectors' Cruise on the Noordam recently, ITA.

 

I think the Pinnacle is "hit or miss". We didn't enoy the Pinnacle on our 20 day cruse last February, but LOVED it this Valentine's Day on our 20 day cruise.

 

Hard to figure.

[RuthC]

So glad you had such a good time, Heather! I remember it hasn't always been so. Thanks for posting the positive report; I'll be on the Westerdam myself in a few short weeks.

Did you happen to hear how long Barnaby and Joel Mason will be on board? This is as close as I've ever come to being able to see them. Wondering if they'll still be around.

And, do you have anything to say about the person in the Piano Bar? You know I'm always interested in that.

Thanks for any info you can add.

[CruzinTamela]

Fantastic, thorough review, Heather! I am SO glad you had a wonderful time! Thanks so much for sharing!

[Cruising-along]

Great review Heather! And thanks too for the details on how the HAL Visa Rewards work. We have $350 OBC built up for our next cruise, it's nice to know how it will work. SO glad you had a wonderful cruise! :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Ruth, I'm so sorry I heard nothing about how long Joel and Barnaby will be onboard. I so hope they'll still be there because you would love them. I had read so much about Joel Mason so was thrilled when he was still onboard. When he began I confess I wondered a little what the fuss was about, but that was very short lived!!! His personality is magnetic and infectious ... I would pay to see him.

 

And there's something extra special about Barnaby that cannot be described. But everyone absolutely loved him ... I could feel it.

 

We never made it into the Piano Bar ... sorry! I envy you have your cruise to look forward to ... have an amazing time!

[jbhcw]

Heather..thanks for your review...very good and lots of good points made:) We did this itinerary last Feb and now I really want to do the 10 day Noordam that includes Bonaire..it's on my list:D

 

Joel Mason is amazing and what a show he puts on..would love to see him again!

 

My one and only experience with the Pinnacle I ended up very very sick..bad lobster we think..so even thinking of eating there just turns me off...still have not decided if we'll do it on our upcoming Hawaii cruise. I also thought the service in the Pinnacle was just not as good as the MDR..that was on the Oosterdam.

[RuthC]

Ruth, I'm so sorry I heard nothing about how long Joel and Barnaby will be onboard.

 

We never made it into the Piano Bar ... sorry! I envy you have your cruise to look forward to ... have an amazing time!

Thank you for letting me know you don't know. And thanks very much for the good wishes!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks Heather for taking the time to write your review.

Glad you had a wonderful cruise and the food was good in the dining room. I remember when you reported about the bad food on the Prinsendam.

We did not have a good experience in the Pinnacle on our Westerdam cruise either in 2009 -- we ended up canceling the remaining couple of dinners we had there.

[Rocknsoul]

Fantastic review, Heather! I'm so glad you had a great time!

[VermeulT]

Great review. Thanks for sharing your relaxing trip.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Yonnie, I hope I never said the food was "bad" on any HAL cruise we've been on. It's just always been disappointing. Approaching this cruise I worried because of experience, but at the same time I kept hearing from reliable sources that it was fantastic. So I went into the cruise very hopeful and was not disappointed.

 

Just a word of explanation about the bars and lounges. As many of you know, both DH and I are recovering alcoholics (32 and 23 years respectively) so while we do enjoy going to the Ocean Bar or Pinnacle Bar for a before dinner 'drink', we don't hang out in the bars as we would if we drank. That's why our experience has to be viewed with that in mind. Still, it was evident in those two lounges that the service was truly poor. With only one Steward in each, there's no way they could keep up. One night in the Ocean Bar suddenly 2 additional Stewards arrived so I'm sure it improved, but for us it was time for dinner.

 

I am so happy you've all enjoyed the review! It's fun to write it all down and re-experience it. Somewhere I lost what I wrote about our tour on Curacao. I'm wondering if I posted it on another thread somewhere. Oh well ... gone forever I guess!

 

One of these days if I ever get our taxes done (which I should since we're getting a refund:)) I'll upload our pictures from this cruise. Since we did nothing in Aruba, they are mostly on board and of our "tour" on Curacao.

[Sea Fan]

Great Review, I enjoyed reading it.

 

So how was your tour in Curacao? What did you do?:)

 

Dianne

[ugagrad98322]

Thanks for the wonderful and honest review! We board the Westerdam on March 28--same itenerary. Looking forward to 3 wonderful days at sea and visiting two new (for us) islands!! We saw Joel Mason on the Veendam several years ago--he was great! I hope he is still on board for us!

[HeatherInFlorida]

Ugagrad, I am so envious! You are going to absolutely love it and hopefully you'll have a better day on HMC than we did. It was okay, but a bit chilly and the water quite cold. I saw few in the water, but it didn't stop anyone from catching some rays on the beach!

 

Dianne, we did a HAL tour on Curacao called the Curacao Beach Express. It was hysterical!!! It was pretty much as described ... an open air, hand painted bus. Open air is an understatement! With the windows open I enjoyed the blast of wind but couldn't hear a word the tour guide spoke. I do know she talked nonstop from the moment we left.

 

I asked others if they could hear her and they said not a single word:D. I'm sorry I missed that part. The landscape of Curacao (at least this time of year) is beyond ugly. We rode 1/2 hour to the beach. So essentially we paid $50/pp for a ride to the beach.

 

Still, when we got there it felt worth every penny. It's a beautiful beach and the water was heavenly. We had 2 hours there which was a generous amount of time. Generally these tours allow you very limited time on the beach. We loved it and it wasn't crowded. The tour included beach lounges which were in pretty bad repair, but did the job. There were lots of shaded areas, either trees or thatched umbrella thingies. There were rest rooms, showers, a bar ... everything you could possibly want.

 

Anyone considering this tour should be mindful of the caution to bring water shoes. The shore is very rocky so getting in and out of the water was difficult. One poor woman had a heck of a time. Brought up near the shore, I know the trick of letting the wave take me forward, but it could be a problem for some.

[Oceanwench]

Great review - for a great ship!

 

We had the best-ever cruise on the Westerdam [2008] with the same itinerary and Joel Mason was aboard! I was worried he would never live up to all the hype - but he did, and exceeded it! We had all the J's ... Joel, Julie Barr [comedian], Jimmy Maddox [Piano Barr] and Jason [CD].

 

Very happy you found the food so good too - the Westerdam has never disappointed us in that area, and we've sailed her three times.

 

Thanks for including the good and the bad -- we know no cruise is going to be perfect! ;)