Anyone been on WESTERDAM since its refurbishment

[Xtchr]

Just wondering how the WESTERDAM looks now that it has had a complete refurbishment .. new furniture, carpets, etc. Is it a big improvement?

Friends who went on the Westerdam last winter were very disappointed as they said it looked "old." We are going on it in Jan. 2011 and are hoping it will be much better. How good is the entertainment these days?

Any info will be appreciated.

 

We have booked an AFT cabin ..the end one on Deck 5, VA 5189. Never have had an AFT cabin before. Hope we can't hear the engines from deck 5.

[Knysna]

Westerdam is in Cape Town waters during the world cup. We are booked on her return journey to Rotterdam on the 12th July. Our travel agent mailed us last week to say she had toured the Westerdam when she arrived in Cape Town and she was looking stunning since her refurnishment.

[fann1sh]

A comment on engine noise: I've had a Vista ship Verandah deck (deck 5) wake view cabin. Didn't normally *hear* the engines, but could *feel* them more than in other cabins. Can add "feel, in a good way" for me as the gentle thrum was soothing for sleep.

 

Could hear the engines for tight turns and engine reverses - but, that's true of most places in the ship for those manoeuvres.

 

Normal ship sounds are "white noise" to me. If that's true for you as well, you'll love your your wake view!

[IRL_Joanie]

Just wondering how the WESTERDAM looks now that it has had a complete refurbishment .. new furniture, carpets, etc. Is it a big improvement?

Friends who went on the Westerdam last winter were very disappointed as they said it looked "old." We are going on it in Jan. 2011 and are hoping it will be much better. How good is the entertainment these days?

Any info will be appreciated.

 

We have booked an AFT cabin ..the end one on Deck 5, VA 5189. Never have had an AFT cabin before. Hope we can't hear the engines from deck 5.

 

I was on the Westerdam twice in the past year, May 2009 and February 2010. Neither time did the Westerdam 'Look Old"!

 

In February they were already replacing carpeting and furniture in various ports and while at sea.

 

I do not have any photos yet of her after her recent refurbishment, but can definitely state that while peoples opinions are very different at times, My opinion was that She looked gorgeaus in February and definitely NOT OLD or tired!

 

Joanie

[Krazy Kruizers]

We also cruised on the Westerdam in 2008 and 2009 -- and neither time did she look old or worn out.

[taxmantoo]

We also cruised on the Westerdam in 2008 and 2009 -- and neither time did she look old or worn out.

 

I do not have any photos yet of her after her recent refurbishment, but can definitely state that while peoples opinions are very different at times, My opinion was that She looked gorgeaus in February and definitely NOT OLD or tired!

 

Joanie

 

We were on her in January and wholeheartedly agree with Krazy Kruizers and Joanie. The ship was in fine shape.

 

According to the crew, they were going in for minor touch-ups and not a complete refurbishment.

[sail7seas]

We sailed Westerdam in November and she looked great IMO

We really enjoyed our time on her.

 

Haven't there been some changes to the World Cup scheduling with Westerdam. Noordam, of course, did not go to So. Africa and I think I heard Westerdam's plans re: World Cup also were modified. Anyone know?

[FunForUs]

We were on the Westerdam for the first time in April 2010 after drydock. She was in great shape and we had a fabulous cruise. We thought that the entertainment was excellent to just OK: very good jazz band in Ocean Bar, HALCats were excellent, disappointed in the string group, one funny comedian and one not so funny. One evening they had Tony Tillman and he was excellent. We really enjoyed the Culinary Arts program. Explorations Speaker Series featuring guest lecturer Warren Salinger was very interesting, and Tom the Travel Guide was very informative on the ports. They had free Digital Workshops that were good also.

[greenumbrella]

We were on the same cruise as FunForUs. 20 days Transatlantic & Med right after drydock. The ship was beautiful, clean, and sparkling! At our first port after 7 days at sea, all the balconies got washed down while we were ashore. We have only praise for the maintenance and comfort of the ship. We just wish they had added a self-service laundry while she was in drydock. We were also pleased with the food and entertainment. We took advantage of room service breakfast on all shore excursion days - it arrived promptly during the half hour window and always warm. You should enjoy the Westerdam!

Shirley

[TexasRCH]

We did the 21 day TA cruise right after dry dock. We wee late leaving Ft Lauderdale because of all the "stores" that had to be loaded. The ship looked great. They did not change or refinish our veranda fernature in either of our two cabins. Thr table finishes were peeling.

There was a problem with house flies in the dining rooms. The staff said thae doors were all left open with no AC during dry dock, it took about three days to capture all the little boogers.

[RuthC]

I was on the Westerdam for a 12-day cruise in May (post dry-dock). I can't say if she was improved, as I'd never sailed this ship before, but I will say she was beautiful. I loved the comfortable couches and chairs in the show lounge.

I found not a thing wrong in the physical plant---unless you count that I couldn't get my cabin cold enough. But that's the usual and customary.

I never got to a show, as they were all before dinner. :mad: For the first time ever I loved the singer with the HAL Cats. Charlie has a good voice, great delivery, and a nice repertoire. As usual, the HAL Cat musicians were excellent.

I went to the Ocean Bar to listen to the musicians one night, but they hardly played at all. There was no crowd, so there was no action. :rolleyes:

The musician in the Piano Bar was good. Not great, but decent enough that I went several times. He did always seem to have a large crowd.

There was a guitar player in the Crow's Nest. I thought he was awful. There was never any crowd there, either. What a waste of a beautiful venue.

I never made it to the Explorers Lounge to listen to the group that plays there.

[Storylady]

We also were on the Westerdam for in April and May just after their drydock. The show lounge was great. Loved the tiered seating. I also agree with FunForUs (John and Shirley) that the entertainment was mixed---especially the comedians.

 

The Explorations Cafe in the crows nest was nicely laid out. But it wasn't always a good place to read when other entertainment was going on in the rest of the Crows Nest. But it definitely is an improvement over the previous library. It is too bad that they had to put it in the Crows Nest as now the Crows Nest couldn't be used by the HAL Cats in the evening and the Queens Lounge was definitely too small for the Black and White Ball.

 

We also dined in the Canelito Restaurant several times and thoroughly enjoyed the meals and the wines. It was definitely a new addition to the Westerdam and many people weren't aware that it was there.

 

I also liked the new layout of the shops.

 

Basically, it was the Show Lounge, Explorations Cafe, Canelito and the new shops that were done during the recent drydock.

 

Ship definitely didn't look old. I did see some tiny areas that could have used paint, but that is an on going battle to constantly paint the ship. And they were certainly doing that while we were on board. They just had not gotten to the places that I saw.

 

Had one of the best cruises ever on the Westerdam. Loved the staff---dining room, Lido, Bar and Room Stewards.

[Knysna]

We sailed Westerdam in November and she looked great IMO

We really enjoyed our time on her.

 

Haven't there been some changes to the World Cup scheduling with Westerdam. Noordam, of course, did not go to So. Africa and I think I heard Westerdam's plans re: World Cup also were modified. Anyone know?

 

Westerdam Is off the coast of Namibia for the next few weeks for some crew r&r. Her world cup part was cancelled. She sails again from Cape Town on the 12th July to Rotterdam.

You can track her movements and any other ship with the following site:

 

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shi...html?call=PINX

[djhsolara]

Has the show lounge been completely redone on Westerdam? I saw someone's photos of the Westerdam drydock and there are two photos of the theatre...in one the theatre looks pretty much like we remember it, but in the other it looks completely different. I'm not sure if it has been completely redone or if the person who posted the photos had an incorrectly labeled photo from another ship.

[IRL_Joanie]

Has the show lounge been completely redone on Westerdam? I saw someone's photos of the Westerdam drydock and there are two photos of the theatre...in one the theatre looks pretty much like we remember it, but in the other it looks completely different. I'm not sure if it has been completely redone or if the person who posted the photos had an incorrectly labeled photo from another ship.

 

The HAL Stock photos from August 2010 http://abqreunion2008.com/Westerdam/Westerdam_vista_Show-lounge-2.jpg I just went to HAL's site to double check and what I have are the same http://abqreunion2008.com/Westerdam/index-2.html

 

 

Joanie