Help! Seeing lots of negative reviews and posts on Westerdam-convince me!

[big al]

Thanks again for all your comments and opinions! JL-Thanks for your imput on the food...I have read from some that the food in the DR was just "OK' or 'Not anything special" or "mediocre"..I usually look forward to Lobster night,Prime-rib,Rack of Lamb,and my wife loves Filet-Mignon.Dakreuser-I enjoyed The Celebrity Mercury,however it was lacking in several important areas,mostly in the nightly activities.Average age was close to death..we are no youngsters(late 40's when we cruised),but most of the people were 25-30 years older than us,some celebrating their 60th weddding anniv!!!!Plus they changed the itinerary because of engine problems and we never went to Tortola,which is one reason I chose the Mercury.Best shower ever was on the Mercury....Access to food was limited though-I am a diabetic and if you boarded the ship,say 2:30 PM and had no lunch yet-TOO BAD! You had to order room service and wait...when your sugar drops rapidly,you need food quickly..I did not appreciate being told "sorry-dining room is closed..you can order room service if you're hungry"....that's why I like the 24 hr. buffets like Princess,NCL,etc. have...I may try the Millineum series,I hear they are nice,though I did have several friends tell me nightly activities were pretty lame.....We do not stay up too late anyway,so maybe I'll try them...

[Brentwood Cruiser]

Well I finally did it booked a cruise on the Westerdam. Have never sailed HAL before have been on 5 other cruises Carnival RCL and X. Read all the positive and negative comments about the main dinning room but I love the itenerary and the timing was perfect.

One thing the pricing was all over the place. Talked to my T/A at Hal and he agreed but could do nothing about it. I saved $800.00 per person $1600.00 total by booking thru Cruise Value Center on line that is a lot of money to me. Im in sales so it wasnt a big deal to me I know its a hassle for some people. I booked a suite.

So I guess Im all set for the famous HAL experience maybe tonight Ill go to church and lite a couple of candles just to be safe.

This board and all the information on it is fantastic.

[QuitMyDayJob]

Stevesan: "Beware the dreaded snickersnack"

[Stevesan]

Stevesan: "Beware the dreaded snickersnack"

 

The Snicker can have my snack. Took off forty pounds and intend to keep it off!!!:D

[CRCOCruise]

Hey all! My partner and I were on the Westerdam in February for seven days in the Eastern Caribbean. Prior to that, I had read A LOT of negative reviews on the Westerdam. Therefore, I went with low expectations. Boy, was I surprised! The Westerdam is a beautiful ship! My only complaint was that it was sometimes hard to get a cocktail as there did not seem to be enough bartenders and/or waiters. Other than that, it was magnificent! The food in hte main dining room was not spectacular but it was very good. The lido buffet was great! All of the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful and our cabin steward was terrific! I think some people will go out of their way to find SOMETHING to bitch about. Go...relax...and have a wonderful time! I had such a terrific time that I booked an 8 day cruise on the Westerdam for next March...can't wait!:D

[leafs97]

We just returned from the March 20 - 27, 2005 sailing on board the m/s Westerdam. This was our second cruise (our first was on board the Celebrity Millenium in Feb 2004).

 

Our experience on the Westerdam was fabulous. We had a cabin in the aft of the ship (#5184) which had a HUGE balcony (approx 160 sq ft.), which was much larger than the cabins in the same category on either side of the ship.

 

The ship is beautiful, the service from all crew-members was outstanding and the food was great.

 

Overall, we slightly preferred Celebrity (which may be attributable to the fact that was our first ever cruise), but we would cruise again with HAL in a heartbeat and we would highly recommend HAL to anyone.

[Beachgirl1251]

We returned yesterday from our Westerdam vacation (3/20-27) and had a fantastic time! The ship is beautiful. Every crew member had a smile! We ran into the Captain one afternoon and he stopped us and ask how we were enjoying our vacation and proceeded to walk with us for several minutes. We ate dinner twice in the Pinnacle restaurant. The restaurant and service reminded me of "Morton's Chicago". Everything was delicious. We ate one evening in the dinner and the food was acceptable. In my opinion, the food in the Lido was much better. There were 400 children on board (Spring Break) and you would never know it. This was my third HAL cruise and I would return to the Westerdam in a heart beat. Don't cancel your trip....

[big al]

CRCO,Beachgirl & leafs-Thanks for your imput..I'm not cancelling thanks to you guys...Gotta try out S cat cabin,and Tortola and the chocolate stuff!!It takes alot for me not to have a good time....

[Pereiras]

Hi there,

 

We were on the Zuiderdam (tortola as one desination) March 12. Wow. The food in the main dining room is absolutely horrific. Not 'average'. Turf in the surf and turf on the formal night tastes like chrome cleaner they must have used to clean the steamers. We had to upgrade every other night to the Pinacle restaurant. The food there was good, but should you have to pay $40 US a couple to eat every night? Also, HOL management gave us a real hard time regarding our air.. which we had bought through them. Gave us tickets a week before leaving a day early and coming back a day late, both leaving at 6:20 am.. one with 2 connections, the other 3. Hotels were on us! Told us too bad. Spent days trying to resolve, and finally threatened to dispute... and finally cancelled and did. Then we get a call .. lo and behold.. they have air.

 

Never again. Holland America is absolutely at the bottom of any cruise we have taken (5). Don't do it. You will be sorry.

[sandij]

Hey neighbor, we just got off the Westerdam yesterday. We are experenced cruisers and love to cruise. I won't lie there were a few problems concerning what else, the food but we still had a wonderful week. I went into more detail on another thread so I won't repeat all the negatives. Instead I'll give you the positives, the beds were fab, I loved having a bathtub and shower, the pools were clean (and it was springbreak week with lots of kids), the shows were good, they even managed to bring in all the NCAA games each weekend (although my Duke lost), lounge chairs are comfy and the promenade deck is a delight. We didn't eat at the Pinnacle, I don't believe in encourging them to charge for food, may be the reason he dining room has gone down. The Dutch High Tea was wonderful. All in all it was a nice relaxing week and although they are not my favorite line I would go again-if the price as right.

[jcrandle]

Entertainment is a plus for us-on Celebrity(Mercury),the entertainment was awful-I had neighbors that could do better.One night the ENTIRE show was a violinist sitting on a chair for 60 minutes!!

 

Big Al

I don't suppose the sitting violinist was Itzhak Perlman? Naw, but I'd enjoy 60 minutes of listening to him.

[Balliett]

Nice ship, I'd say. We cruised last Feb on Oosterdam. This year on in Feb on the Westerdam. Food gets a B. Wish we'd ordered two lobster tails instead of surf and turf. The Baked Alaska night is lame. Wished we'd done the Pinnacle that night. Entertainment was a "C." Better last year on the Oosterdam. That being said, the cabin was an A and so was the crew. We booked air and hotels independently, as always. It's a ripoff for the bus to the airport, compared to a cab. Each cruise, we book shore trips more often independently.

[whalers4ever]

Sailed the Westerdam in January and I too had read some negative comments prior to my trip. Well I found that you must take them with a grain of salt as I enjoyed my trip immensely. :)

 

My only complaint had to do with US Immigration in Key West, which for the most part had very little to do with HAL. HAL sent us with excursions planned a letter advising us to get down to the US Immigration area on the ship at 7:00AM. The US agents arrived around 8:00 and decided to hold up the entire ship until ALL were accounted for. Needless to say there were a dozen or so that "disappeared" and had to be tracked down before anyone could leave the ship. I felt that HAL could have kept us more informed during the process. We didn't get off the ship until almost 10:00 but our excursion did wait for us so we were fortunate. I did let HAL know that they need to do a better job keeping us informed. :eek:

 

Other than that glitch, our cruise went off without a hitch. I'd sail the Westerdam again. JMHO!

[1stMate]

We were on the Westerdam 3/20- 3/27, see my review.

 

I wouldn't call my review negative.

 

Pros: Gorgous ship, for a 1st timer. SS cabin was great. Cabin steward was very nice, if a little shy. PERFECT WEATHER, just what we paid for. Lots o fun in the casino. Plenty of entertainment. Shows, games, audience participation, casino, disco, sports bar(jumping due to March Madness). Lots of deck space away from the pools. Good food all over except main dining room. Pinnacle Grille is a real special place to eat. Lido for Lunch is great. Burgers by the pool. Tortola and Half Moon. I loved getting dressed up for dinner, especially the formal night.

 

Cons, Main dining room: small portions, mediocre service, average main courses, advice: Always get 2 appetizers, a soup and a salad. very Crowded pool area. They should have added a 3rd pool by the bow on the main deck. Stop the Nassau port of call, hit Half Moon twice.

 

I went on the cruise ambivilant[sic] about cruising but I would cruise again. I would cruise the Westerdam again. But I would like to try another line before going back to HAL.

[Brentwood Cruiser]

Having booked a cruise on November 20 2005 on the Westerdam all the comments on the dinning room are somwhat upsetting.

So looked at some of the other boards on CC and wouldnt you believe it seems the service and the food in the main dinning room have gone down hill also..

Same comments on the X board also the Princess board.

We have sailed X twice and no major complaints. We choose the HAL cruise because we have never been to any of the ports on the cruise. Also the price was right for a suite take a look at some of the X pricing on suites and you will see what I mean.

 

To sum it up its what you make of your VACATION. This is supposed to be a time you relax and enjoy yourself. Life is too short to get aggervated on your VACATION.

[General Max]

After reading this thread, I am NOT going to cancel my cruise on the Westerdam.

 

General Max

[DDJ]

We just returned from the March 20 - 27, 2005 sailing on board the m/s Westerdam. This was our second cruise (our first was on board the Celebrity Millenium in Feb 2004).

 

Our experience on the Westerdam was fabulous. We had a cabin in the aft of the ship (#5184) which had a HUGE balcony (approx 160 sq ft.), which was much larger than the cabins in the same category on either side of the ship.

 

The ship is beautiful, the service from all crew-members was outstanding and the food was great.

 

Overall, we slightly preferred Celebrity (which may be attributable to the fact that was our first ever cruise), but we would cruise again with HAL in a heartbeat and we would highly recommend HAL to anyone.

 

 

I just read your review. We are going on the Westerdam in October. We will be in the same cabin (#5184) as you were. Does it have a couch in it? Does the balcony have chaise lounges or chairs? Can you tell me about how big the room is? Lots of questions. We have never been on Hal, but we have been on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess. This will be our eleventh cruise. Did you have laundry done while on the ship? I wondered about the cost.

 

Thanks for any help,

 

Jean

[Brentwood Cruiser]

Direct from the HAL website: HAL is a 5 star fleet of luxury ships.

Serving gourmet cuisine with gracious hospitality.

 

Just recieved an e-mail from from Best Price Cruises and I quote:

The Westerdam isnt a ship for passingers with refined palates HALs food is underseasoned and bland although HAL says it will revamp and improve its cuisine. end of quote.

 

It seems with all of the negative posts we have recently seen on the board there is some validity to their claims of medicore food and service.

 

Hopefully HAL will work to correct this before I sail in November.

We can only hope HAL will live up to its past reputation of excellance.

[leafs97]

I just read your review. We are going on the Westerdam in October. We will be in the same cabin (#5184) as you were. Does it have a couch in it? Does the balcony have chaise lounges or chairs? Can you tell me about how big the room is? Lots of questions. We have never been on Hal, but we have been on Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Princess. This will be our eleventh cruise. Did you have laundry done while on the ship? I wondered about the cost.

 

Thanks for any help,

 

Jean

 

 

Jean, yes, cabin #5184 does have a small love-seat type couch.

 

The balcony had two lounge chairs, plus 3 regular chairs, and a small table... The room itself was not extra-ordinarily large, though the bathroom did have a small bath-tub rather than just a typical shower stall.

 

I didn't do laundry, but I think you could buy a package for unlimited laundry (excluding dry-cleaning) for $45

[RevNeal]

The Westerdam isnt a ship for passingers with refined palates HALs food is underseasoned and bland although HAL says it will revamp and improve its cuisine.

 

The food being "bland" and "underseasoned" has been a complaint against HAL food for as long as I've been cruising them (10 years). To put this simply, food is a VERY subjective issue. What one person considers "bland," another considers "excellent." What one person considers "underseasoned," another considers "spicy." Trust me. At dinner one night on the Oosterdam I thought that one of the dishes had a nice, pleasant, but not over-powering kick, while another person at my table thought that their version of the same dish was bland and without taste; a third person at our table, who had the same thing, thought it was far too spicy to eat.

 

In short, food is highly subjective.

[DDJ]

:)

Jean, yes, cabin #5184 does have a small love-seat type couch.

 

The balcony had two lounge chairs, plus 3 regular chairs, and a small table... The room itself was not extra-ordinarily large, though the bathroom did have a small bath-tub rather than just a typical shower stall.

 

I didn't do laundry, but I think you could buy a package for unlimited laundry (excluding dry-cleaning) for $45

 

 

Thanks for the information. Did you enjoy the balcony? I understand it's not covered. Did you have any problems with that? :confused:

 

Thanks, :)

 

Jean

[Pereiras]

Thanks for this.

 

Seems to validate in part what I and others have said. Save one additional incident I won't put here.

 

This is exactly why these things need to be said.. so they will improve it so that when you travel, it will be better. Good work Brent..

 

Direct from the HAL website: HAL is a 5 star fleet of luxury ships.

Serving gourmet cuisine with gracious hospitality.

 

Just recieved an e-mail from from Best Price Cruises and I quote:

The Westerdam isnt a ship for passingers with refined palates HALs food is underseasoned and bland although HAL says it will revamp and improve its cuisine. end of quote.

 

It seems with all of the negative posts we have recently seen on the board there is some validity to their claims of medicore food and service.

 

Hopefully HAL will work to correct this before I sail in November.

We can only hope HAL will live up to its past reputation of excellance.

[leafs97]

:)

 

 

Thanks for the information. Did you enjoy the balcony? I understand it's not covered. Did you have any problems with that? :confused:

 

Thanks, :)

 

Jean

 

You're right, the balconies in the aft cabins of the Westerdam are not completely covered. People on the decks above could see us if they were standing near the outer edge of their balcony and we were within the outer 1/2 of our balcony. Though, we were not at all visible to the persons above if we were within the inner 1/2 of our balcony. We spent a lot of time on our balcony and it didn't bother us at all. It was just so enjoyable being able to lie out in the sunshine on our own balcony.