Westerdam review: 1/30- 2/6 (better late than never!)

[grenouille]

Westerdam 1/30- 2/6, Western Caribbean

 

Demographics- Husband and myself, ages 32 , 30, no children. One previous cruise, with HAL, on Zuiderdam for our honeymoon

 

 

 

Pre-cruise hotel:

Statyed at the Hampton Inn Plantation (6th S.W.) Wonderful place, great room, close to all amenites (grocery store, restaurants, shopping mall)Breakfast was good, and shuttle was on time, and well organized.

 

Embarkation:

Took hotel shuttle, and arrived at the pier (26) around 11:30am. (there were 6 of us in the shuttle) Porters immediately took over the bags, and we proceeded inside the terminal. We were given a number (not quite sure why) and then proceeded to line up. There were two seperate areas, one for those who had done the immigration paperwork online, and one for those who hadn’t. Luckily, we hadn’t filled ours out. The lineups were much longer for those who had. Waited maybe 5 minutes in line, and then got checked in. There didn’t seem to be any difference in the time it takes to check-in someone with or without the online paperwork done.

We then proceeded to walk right onto the ship (after the obligatory boarding photo) where we were whisked away on the elevator to the Lido deck. We were told rooms would be ready around 1:30pm, and that the Lido was open for lunch. Indeed, at 1:30pm, we were allowed into the cabins.

 

Room/Room Steward:

As before, had a great room (4052) with a great steward, Danial. Our room wasn’t entirely ready when we first arrived, so we could tell he was quite busy. (ex: no fruit basket, no robes, etc..) Everything was in order when we returned later. Luggage arrived in two parts, once bag before the lifeboat drill, the other after. Danial was terrific- not intrusive, but always there if you needed something, and always saying hello with a smile!

 

 

Ship:

Having been on the Zuiderdam, I can say that the colors and decor on the Westerdam have been toned down about 100 fold! I had to chuckle when an elderly gentleman commented that the Westerdam’s decor was too “loud” for him- I kindly suggested that he not try the Zuiderdam! Overall, the ship was very beautiful, impeccably clean, and quite elegant. A few nice touches, like the real orchids at every table in the Lido. Staff constantly cleaning, and polishing. Not too many layout differences from the Zui, at least none that were apparent to me. Overall, a beautiful ship.

 

 

Food:

Food was wonderful. For breakfast, we had room service twice, dinning room twice, and the remainder in the Lido. Everything was delicious, although we had one incident of undercooked eggs, so proceeded to order them over-hard, instead of over-easy for the remainder. Fresh squeezed orange juice is devine!

 

Lunches were had in the Lido. Meant to try the dinning room, but never got around to it! Love the deli sandwiches- especially the pannini grilled ones, and the daily specials. Pizza was yummy, and bread pudding was to die for!! (only one variety the whole week- with raisins, and with vanilla sauce) Loved the juice dispenser, which had varied selections throughout the day, including lemonade, pineapple, apple and orange juice, cranberry cocktail, and iced tea.

 

The dinning room was excellent for dinner, both food and service. Our stewards Indra and Eko were fantastic, friendly, and efficient. We had the early sitting, upper dinning room, table for 4. Loved the surf and turf (melt in your mouth filet mignon) and the venison was also exceptionally tender, and not gamey. Chilled soups were all great, except for the Mango one- not spectacular. Had some of the pasta dishes as appetizers- delicious! My husband loved the smoked salmon, and had it every chance he could!

 

 

Went to the Pinnacle Grill on the first night- incredible if you like red meat. Well worth the $10/pp. The rib steaks were amazing. Had a wonderful salad with a pear and cherry vinaigrette. Creme brulee was so-so, but my husband loved the chocolate volcano cake. Service was only OK.

 

Entertainment:

CD was Vuk Racjevik (sp?) and he was great. Had two shows with the Westerdam crew, one was mediocre, one was good. Also had Joel Mason (Elton John impersonator) who was very entertaining. Saw Leo Ward (illusionist)- loved his sense of humour, and juggler Adam Kario was both talented and funny. All in all, we enjoyed the entertainment. We did not get to enjoy the last show, as it was cancelled because of ship motion. (Force 8- Gale force winds- the ship was a-rockin’!!!) It was supposed to be Paparazzi, by Tommy Tune.

We did not make any donations to the casino! (although the blackjack tournament did seem tempting!)

[grenouille]

Ports of call:

 

Cozumel, Mexico- Docked at Punta Langosta Pier. Nice shopping area at the pier. Took a taxi to Eagle Ray Divers and did a 2 reef snorkeling trip. Excellent snorkeling! Very kind and friendly people, and not crowded (maybe 8 –10 people on the boat). Didn’t have time to do much shopping as the time in port was very short- 7am – 2:30pm local time. The ship did adjust its time to match local time (ie: previous night, everyone turned clocks back 1 hour, following night, after departure, clocks were turned ahead 1 hour)

 

 

 

Grand Cayman- No problem going to the Queen’s lounge to obtain a tender ticket, and be on the first tender ashore. (maybe because there weren’t too many early ship tours??) We anchored a bit late (8:15 instead of 8) but we had no problems getting ashore for 9am to meet our tour. We did the Rays, Reef, Rum Point tour with Nativeway watersports. (see my review in the GC section) Wonderful time!! Eventhough there were 6 ships in port, tender operations seemed to be running very smoothly. No problems or lineups to get back onto the ship either. And two thumbs up for Tortuga Rum cakes and all the sampling in the store!

 

Montego Bay, Jamaica- Docked. Grabbed a taxi and headed to Sunset Beach resort. Had a great time, just relaxing, and having some food and drink! Very nice beach, although getting in and out of the water can be tricky, with the sea urchins and seaweed. Headed to the straw market afterwards, and then back to the ship. Snatched up some Blue Mountain coffee near the pier. (yummy!)

 

 

 

Half Moon Cay- Again, tender operations seemed to be running smoothly, although we had cooler temps and high winds. Some excursions were cancelled. We had the purple cabana (which is no longer canvas, but wood, like the others) and we enjoyed every minute of it! Totally worth the indulgence! We were driven out to our cabana. Our “cabana boy” was Archibald, and he waited on us hand and foot. Got us drinks, lunch, etc.... One has to wonder why someone would want to upgrade to the butler package. We had many people ask us about the cabana, how much it cost, how to rent one, etc... Had fruit, nachos, salsa, guacamole, veggies, and dip. Also had a bucket of ice, water bottles, and softdrinks. The only thing that was missing was a private washroom!!! :-)

 

We sat around, ate, swam and just relaxed! Not a bad way to spend the day! The beach and sand were just as beautiful as we remembered. A true island paradise.

 

Overall, the beach wasn’t very busy, eventhough the Rotterdam was also anchored. I think the weather had a big influence, as it was threatening to rain with dark clouds quite a few times during the day.

 

Disembarkation:

Once again, a very smooth process. Had breakfast in the dinning room, but did see many people having room service on the last morning. After breakfast, we walked around (having left our bags in our room) and saw many, many people waiting in the lounges and stairways. We waited in our cabin. We had independant travel plans, (flight at 3:40pm) and our number (Green 3) was called around 9:20 am. Found our luggage, and headed to the airport.

 

Overall, we had a wonderful trip. The weather couldn’t have been better (well, maybe at HMC) My tan is slowly fadding, and we’re now back in our canadian snow, but our week was truly magnificent. Can’t wait to do it again!!!!

Last, but not least, I have posted pics of our trip!

 

http://photos.yahoo.ca/debandrob@rogers.com

[TedC]

Thanks for the review and the wonderful photos. It sure takes the chill from a February day.

 

What kind of camera did you use for the underwater shots? And where was the best snorkeling?

 

Thanks

[JaniceB]

Very nice review. Your pictures are great. Glad to hear you had a very nice cruise.

[shipcafe]

http://photos.yahoo.ca/debandrob@rogers.com

 

Thank you for posting the photos ... it is always great to put names to faces and to "see" a bit of your experience!

[grenouille]

TedC,

 

Our photos were taken using our Canon S45 digital camera, and using an ewa-marine underwater bag. It worked out really well, although there were a few downfalls to the underwater bag (vs the hard case from Canon). Overall, we are happy with the pictures.

 

The best snorkeling was Cozumel, more fish, but that could be because they brought out food for the fish. Clear water in both Coz and GC. Stingrays in GC are not to be missed though!

[CDRMark]

Great review, thank you very much for sharing your experiences.

 

Cheers

 

MarkB

[scluvsrain]

Your pictures were great, thank you! I have a question about the location of your purple cabana. Was it quiet? If I recall correctly, the purple cabana is next to the watersports equipment area. How about sun on the deck? Was there a tree nearby that gave the cabana shade or was the deck sunny the whole time?

 

If you booked a cabana for your next cruise, would you pick the same purple one or another? If another, which one and why?

 

Thanks!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

You are definitely NOT late with the review for me it is perfect timing to read and reread before our cruise.:) I have only had a few minutes to review you pictures but what I have seen they are fantastic. We will also be doing the Stingray city with Nativeway on the 9 AM swim. I was concerned about getting on the first tendor, we are Suite passengers so that might help. Sharon from Nativeway told me there are 3 other couples from our ship on the morning swim so will be no problem wo wait. How many were in your group in the Stingray swim? Also how deep was the water? Both DH and I are fairly short and DH does not swim so he will not want to be in deep water. And one more question how warm or should I ask How Cold was the water? Not sure if doing it in the morning if the water is that much colder than the afternoon. We had originally signed up for her afternoon swim but really feared not getting back to the ship on time. Plus we want to do some shopping in Georgetown and did not want to have to drag our pruchased along with us on the swim. Oh yes, one last question. Did you use an Underwater Camera for your great shots? Was it a disposable Underwater Camera? We have a nice digital camera but don't wat to take it in the water.

 

Thanks so much for your GREAT review.:)

[K&RCurt]

You're not late at all.. I'm still not done with my review from the Westerdam cruise the WEEK BEFORE your's.

 

The photo's were great. I just have to figure out how to post ours!

[luv2travel2beaches]

Thanks so much. We are so looking forward to our trip on the Westerdam in December. Your pictures are great!

[Himself]

Hey:

 

I really enjoyed those pictures, particularly those of StingRay City. It brought back many memories.

 

Himself

[grenouille]

LAFFNVEGAS- Can you take me with you, on your cruise, back on the Westy?????

Pretty Please????? ;)

 

Thanks for all the comments on my review and pics.

As mentionned a few posts above yours, all our pics were taken with our digital camera - a Canon S45. We bought the underwater bag from Ewa-Marine, and it worked out quite well. We were also a bit leary about putting an expensive camera in a plastic bag, but we had tested everything at home, and it was indeed waterproof. And definitely cheaper than a Canon hardcase.

 

As for stingray city, I posted a review with Nativeways in the GC section. We were also a bit worried about the tender, and especially since we anchored late in GC. The Queen's Lounge, where we got the tender tickets, was pretty empty when we went. We showed up around 8 - 8:15 am.

We met a couple on the ship and they were intersted in the tour, so once ashore, we checked with Sharon, and she was OK for them to join us. Originally, there was only us, and another couple from a RC ship. So with the extra couple we ended up with 6 people on the boat!! A truly personalized tour! The water was not deep in the center of the sandbar, maybe 3-4 feet. Where our boat anchored, maybe 5-6 feet. You can get a better idea with some of the pics- especially those where there are people standing up in waist-high water.

The water temp was just perfect (but of course, keep in mind that we're from the great white north!!:D )

 

scluvsrain: yes, the purple cabana is near the watersports area, but far enough that we didn't even notice it!! (at least 30 feet away) we would book that location again, although there was a tree which gave some shade. It's hard to tell how much sun we would normally get, since our day was pretty cloudy as you can see on the pics. Didn't really wander off too much to scope out the other cabanas, so it's hard to compare.

The section of the beach past the watersports, in front of our cabana and towards the pink and yellow cabanas, was definitely much less busy than the first section of beach. So for that reason, I would book something further from the pier, like purple, pink, etc...

 

 

Have fun!!!

[adamken]

Hi Deb & Rob

 

We are sailing for the first time with HAL this coming Sunday, Can I ask a few questions? First of all, the pictures were wonderful, great job !!

 

We have a balcony cabin 5118, do they supply shampoo/soap, stuff like that in the cabins? Is there a safe? The mini fridge, is there room enough for our stuff in there, soda's...ect... Is there anywhere to eat late night, (Light snacks) after hanging out dancing in the bars?

 

Ken

[grenouille]

Ken-

 

First off, you will *love* the balcony!!:D

The amenities do include a conditionning shampoo, body soap, hand soap, a shower cap, and some body lotion. And the bathrobes were nice too!

 

There is also a safe, located in the closet, which you can use, free of charge. We left our valuables in there for the entire week.

 

As for the fridge (mini-fridge really) it's packed to the gills with drinks and alcohool, but we asked our room steward to empty some of it so we could put in our own soda and water. (we had an incident on our first cruise where we had removed a beer can, and left it on the counter above the fridge, but somehow the bar people missed it when they replenished the fridge, and ended up charging us for it. when we showed them the can, they reversed the charge no questions) So this time, we informed our steward. He told us to simply put the unwanted items inside the round bench in the room, and that he would inform the bar staff. No problems, plenty of room, no charges.

 

As for late night, there is a) always room service, complimentary of course!:D and b) Pizza/Pasta bar at the Lido and c) late night snack (more like a full meal offering with soups, appetizers, some main dishes, and dessert) from 11 to midnight I beleive... different theme every night.

 

Enjoy!

[ehrkes]

Thanks so much for your posting..........we are so excited! We are so looking forward to our trip on the Westerdam in March. Your pictures are great!

 

Thanks for giving us an inside look and I especially love to covert photo of the photos of the food items (how did you grab that shot?) That was too cool......Thanks,

 

Shawn and Laura from Chicago:)