Westerdam-After the fire

[Montanagirlalways]

All went welll after leaving Seattle port after the fire. There were some complimentary drinks, extra ship board credit and discount for a future cruise. We enjoyed the ship. The shows were outstanding in our evaluations. Never really looked forward to the shows but I did on this ship. The props, choreography and singers were great, loud but great. Diane in the piano bar was great also. Alaska- well cold by my standards. But a magnificent day in Glacier bay. I heard from someone at the airport who was on Norweigan that they barely entered glacier bay and then the ship turned around. TOO bad, because it is jaw dropping. The fire caused us to miss Sitka, oh well. Anyway I would do it again with HAL. one other thing, food is good but not sure what happened with the dinner entree's, they are about the size of an appetizer. You have to ask for 2

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the report!

Maybe next time you'll get to Sitka.

:)

[sportsmum]

Thank you!

 

Do you remember, since you brought up food :) , do they still have fruit crisps for dessert?

 

They used to have it on the everyday menu but the last menu thread I looked at did not have it listed.

 

I am not even sure if that's what they are called on the menu, it's what we call them at home. It's the baked fruit with the oatmeal and sugar topping.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your report, sounds like your cruise turned out to be a good one, despite its rocky start.

[Daisyloo]

Thank you!

 

Do you remember, since you brought up food :) , do they still have fruit crisps for dessert?

 

They used to have it on the everyday menu but the last menu thread I looked at did not have it listed.

 

I am not even sure if that's what they are called on the menu, it's what we call them at home. It's the baked fruit with the oatmeal and sugar topping.

 

When we were on the Maasdam this past December the fruit crisps were available every day. Lunch time there would be a fruit crisp in the Lido, and every dinner in the MDR had a crisp of the day. I tried them all (except the banana- not a banana fan) and they were yummy.

[cruz chic]

Thank you!

 

Do you remember, since you brought up food :) , do they still have fruit crisps for dessert?

 

They used to have it on the everyday menu but the last menu thread I looked at did not have it listed.

 

I am not even sure if that's what they are called on the menu, it's what we call them at home. It's the baked fruit with the oatmeal and sugar topping.

 

I was on the Westy in April and they do have fruit crisps. I enjoy them. They are my go to dessert.

 

Agree with the OP on the entree size. Seems they are smaller every time I go. Someone commented recently about making the smaller. If they do that they can use tweezers to serve them :D.

[Montanagirlalways]

I don't remember seeing any fruit crisps. They sound delicious and I would have thought I would spot something like that but did not.

As for the entree's we had a good laugh one night when they delivered 2 crab cakes about 1 inch round and 3/4 inch thick. Not kidding.

[mskaufman]

Thank you!

 

Do you remember, since you brought up food :) , do they still have fruit crisps for dessert?

 

They used to have it on the everyday menu but the last menu thread I looked at did not have it listed.

 

I am not even sure if that's what they are called on the menu, it's what we call them at home. It's the baked fruit with the oatmeal and sugar topping.

 

On Veendam, last week, there were fruit crisps every night.

[cruz chic]

I don't remember seeing any fruit crisps. They sound delicious and I would have thought I would spot something like that but did not.

As for the entree's we had a good laugh one night when they delivered 2 crab cakes about 1 inch round and 3/4 inch thick. Not kidding.

 

The crisps are on the always available menu so if you didn't look there you wouldn't have seen them.

 

I remember that crab cake entree. It's tiny. It's like an appie.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for letting us know that everything returned to normal after the fire.

[sportsmum]

Thank you all. I will rest easy knowing my dessert is still there!

 

The last HAL cruise they had pineapple 4 out of 7 nights. I can't eat pineapple so this time I will have my fingers crossed that Alaska's pineapple crop has failed miserably this year. :)

 

Thank you as well for letting us know in advance that we should maybe order 2 of something we are looking forward to. OR.... are we the only ones who leave the dining room, spend $20 at the casino then head up to the buffet to see if we missed something?

[rkacruiser]

montanagirlalways,

 

You mention the Piano Bar performer, Diane. Do you recall if her last name was "Fast"? Diana Fast was on the Eurodam last Summer and she was a fantastic artist and an all-around nice person.

 

The Crab Cakes you described sounds like the size of what is served in the Pinnacle Grill as an appetizer.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I, too, am a Westerdam fan.

[TiogaCruiser]

I don't remember seeing any fruit crisps. They sound delicious and I would have thought I would spot something like that but did not.

As for the entree's we had a good laugh one night when they delivered 2 crab cakes about 1 inch round and 3/4 inch thick. Not kidding.

 

If you don't find crisps on the MDR menu try the lido. I was a teed at apparently how many people stopped by for only dessert.

 

The crab cake sounded like a squashed tater tot.

[donswife]

The fruit crisps were on the dessert menu, on the right side below the ice cream selections. The entrees were usually on the small side, but I didn't mind, since I like to try several different items on the menu. One time our entree lunch salads were so small we went to the Lido to get more to eat! On the up side, I did not gain any weight, even though I ate whatever looked good to me

[cruz chic]

Thank you all. I will rest easy knowing my dessert is still there!

 

The last HAL cruise they had pineapple 4 out of 7 nights. I can't eat pineapple so this time I will have my fingers crossed that Alaska's pineapple crop has failed miserably this year. :)

 

Thank you as well for letting us know in advance that we should maybe order 2 of something we are looking forward to. OR.... are we the only ones who leave the dining room, spend $20 at the casino then head up to the buffet to see if we missed something?

 

I find they like to use rhubarb a lot. I'm not a fan. Too funny about the pineapple crop.

[TracieABD]

So glad you had a great cruise. My family was on the same ship and had an equally great time!

[HokiePoq]

All went welll after leaving Seattle port after the fire. There were some complimentary drinks, extra ship board credit and discount for a future cruise. We enjoyed the ship. The shows were outstanding in our evaluations. Never really looked forward to the shows but I did on this ship. The props, choreography and singers were great, loud but great. Diane in the piano bar was great also. Alaska- well cold by my standards. But a magnificent day in Glacier bay. I heard from someone at the airport who was on Norweigan that they barely entered glacier bay and then the ship turned around. TOO bad, because it is jaw dropping. The fire caused us to miss Sitka, oh well. Anyway I would do it again with HAL. one other thing, food is good but not sure what happened with the dinner entree's, they are about the size of an appetizer. You have to ask for 2

 

So glad to hear this and that you had a great cruise in spite of missing Sitka. (We enjoyed Sitka but if we had to pick one port to miss on our HAL Alaska cruise, that would be the one.) The Westerdam is a great ship with a great crew. Got off in December and thought.....this is a cruise when there was absolutely nothing to complain about.

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[RuthC]

montanagirlalways,

 

You mention the Piano Bar performer, Diane. Do you recall if her last name was "Fast"? Diana Fast was on the Eurodam last Summer and she was a fantastic artist and an all-around nice person.

It probably was Diane Fast. Last I knew (early May), she was scheduled to return from her break in late June/early July, on the Westerdam. She was scheduled to be on that ship for a few weeks, then move over to the Amsterdam in August.

 

I agree---excellent in the Piano Bar. Knows a whole lot of songs, and will learn the ones she doesn't know.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[sppunk]

montanagirlalways,

 

You mention the Piano Bar performer, Diane. Do you recall if her last name was "Fast"? Diana Fast was on the Eurodam last Summer and she was a fantastic artist and an all-around nice person.

 

The Crab Cakes you described sounds like the size of what is served in the Pinnacle Grill as an appetizer.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I, too, am a Westerdam fan.

I'm not the OP but that is the correct Diana. She got back onboard two weeks ago. We are friends with her - met her on Eurodam last year and talk via Facebook.

 

She's the absolute best. Her husband Bob is a dang fine bassist too.

Edited July 7, 2014 by sppunk

[erewhon]

Montanagirlalways,

 

Thanks for the update.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for the report.

 

Keith

[gone2c]

Do you happen to know if anyone had trouble moving their private whale watching excursion from Monday to Wednesday in Juneau. I know Harv and Marv are usually completely booked and wondered how these companies handle this type of situation.

[rkacruiser]

I'm not the OP but that is the correct Diana. She got back onboard two weeks ago. We are friends with her - met her on Eurodam last year and talk via Facebook.

 

She's the absolute best. Her husband Bob is a dang fine bassist too.

 

You are 100% correct about Bob as well! Often, after his sets with the HAL Cats were through, he would join her in the Piano Bar and play along with her for awhile.

 

Anyone on the Westerdam that enjoys music and fails to find the time to visit the Piano Bar is missing out on a lot of fun and a couple of excellent musicians!

 

You probably found out as well as I did on the Eurodam: when people "discovered her", it was SRO most nights!