First HAL cruise Westerdam to Alaska Good Bad Ugly

[chisoxfan]

Just returned from our first HAL cruise Westerdam to Alaska. Despite the title we found only good and were impressed with the line.

Some impressions are shared in the spirit of this forum.

 

Prior to the cruise I have to admit I had become very apprehensive about the Westerdam with posts on non working plumbing and HVAC and terrible food.

 

-Check in was simple and quick. We were on board within an hour of arriving at pier (arrival around 11:30 AM). And the passengers were diverse with may families.

 

-Only one issue and HAL resolved. There had been significant price drop on this cruise a few weeks prior to sailing. I had asked my TA (big warehouse with a C)to see if they could get any OBC's or concessions. This went nowhere and I was a bit frustrated as I would have been happy with a small OBC.

A few days before while sitting at an airport I tried again and the agent said she secured a 300 OBC and upgrade from VC to VA. I was leary of accepting upgrade (I was on 6 level and upgrade was 5102). I figured what the heck and accepted the upgrade. Unfortunately we were displeased with the cabin immediately upon boarding the ship. There were lifeboats immediately under the balcony and it 'indent' midships made the room dark. I was kicking myself and I could tell from my wife's look that she had the same impression of the cabin ie 'here we are on our first Alaska cruise and we will be looking at lifeboats'. In desperation I headed to Guest Services- this was new territory for me as in 12 cruises I had never thought to change cabins or even think it was possible. I was told nothing was available except some cabins on 4- I offered to pay extra for a suite or anything else upgraded.

After some more checking she found a balcony on 7 near front of ship.

I was more than pleased. (I actually think this was a downgraded cabin from VA but not for us).

 

Cabin- was large,clean and modern. The bathroom was spacious with a tub.

We were very pleased as space is similar to Princess mini suite and larger than X Concierge balconies we usually have.

 

-Signature drink package- thought this would be marginal but worked flawlessly. Grey Goose and Tanqueray available on package. Also many cocktails. It seemed to us that HAL prices were modest. Only let down was wine selection but we could live with this.

On X we upgrade for approx 230 a week to get cocktails and wine up to 12

but this is an additional expense.

 

-The Dive In- great venue and we had lunch there almost every day

 

-MDR- a pleasant room. Meals were OK ie it is cruiseline food served on nice China but IMHO no different than X or Princess and maybe NCL. No waiting for open seating which is a plus.

 

-Pinnacle- went down on second night without reservation as I told my wife it would not be a problem (actually tried calling several times on room phone without success). Raj the MD said most of the cruise was booked. He was king enough to find a nice table for us after a short wait. We ate the following evening at a Cirque event and once more on the last night. The food was very good and steaks were good steakhouse quality. No complaints with this venue and price is reasonable compared to X specialty.

 

-Italian specialty- one night. Food was decent. Ambience near Lido was lacking.

 

-BB King's- a real highlight. It was nice to know we could have drinks most nights at a fun venue such as this.

 

-Casino- was small without newer slots but my wife came out ahead so how can we complain

 

-Entertainment- several comedians, one great, one OK, and one marginal.

Overall though we like this genre as compared to other acts on board.

 

The library was well staffed and equipped. We liked having an Alaska expert on board to present info and answer questions.

 

Microsoft classes looked interesting and worthwhile although we did not partake.

 

Shore excursion we took was Tracy Arm by small boat which was outstanding.

 

Nice touches- HAL prints a quality daily guide in color and there was a helpful

port guide provided. Way nicer than X.

Salmon bake, opening of bow during Glacier Bay cruising, some wine and cheese events. Room service on final morning before debark. On our X and Princess cruises this was not offered.

 

Ship was clean and elegant. It cannot compete in 'wow' with the Solstice class of X but was fine. Shops and Spa were a let down with their facilities. Spa particularly since it had an open concept where passengers walked freely through waiting areas.

 

Service- very professional, prompt, and friendly. Among the best IMHO.

 

Overall. We were well satisfied with HAL and thought we received good value on this cruise.

 

Unfortunately cruising as we know has become very competitive. HAL has earned our future consideration along with X who we have most experience with.

That said, we have two upcoming X cruises booked and I don't see changing since X is equivalent from a cruise experience for us and

price/ value will always be a factor in our decision. The previoss X bonus 3 option (free drinks, 300 credit, and gratuities) offer a lot of value on our booked cruises. (we looked at a comparable Med cruise 2016 from Venice while on board and VE price from HAL was over 1000 more than Concierge C2 from X and we also had the perks above included).

Regardless we will keep our eyes open for HAL cruises and look forward to our next.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Good to hear you were able to change cabins once onboard.

[Roz]

Nice review. Sounds like you had a good cruise. I was on the Westerdam back in April for a 4-day Coastal. Now you have another good option when you're considering a cruise.

 

Roz

[sail7seas]

Thanks so much for your review. Happy you were mostly pleased and seem to have enjoyed your cruise. Welcome Back. :)

[POA1]

Thanks for your review. We're going to have to work on the title though. ;) It's like "Still alive... Reporting in..."

 

Only in Act 2 we find out that you had a great time.

 

Suggested rewrite: "Death. Despair. But excellent blueberry muffins." :D

[supatraveler]

Welcome back! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your time on the Westerdam!

 

We are sailing on it in the next few weeks and I had a few questions:

 

1. How long did you generally wait for the Dive-In? Did you find some times were particularly better or worse than others?

 

2. How was the weather while you were there?

 

Thank you!

:)

[chisoxfan]

Welcome back! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your time on the Westerdam!

 

We are sailing on it in the next few weeks and I had a few questions:

 

1. How long did you generally wait for the Dive-In? Did you find some times were particularly better or worse than others?

 

2. How was the weather while you were there?

 

Thank you!

:)

 

Happy to answer your questions. We probably ate at the Dive- In five days and never waited long to order or pick up our food. From time of order I would say waits ranged from 5-15 minutes. Nothing extreme. One afternoon we did see what we considered a 'long' line for ordering which was maybe 6 people in line.

 

Weather was cool and overcast. mid 50's, We had some light rain but it was sporadic and did not hurt activities with the exception of Ketchican where it rained steadily.. Our visits to Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay were partly cloudy with sun coming out off and on and occasional few minutes of drizzle. . The last stop Victoria was a beautiful evening in 60's. Overall we were not disappointed in weather (we know how unpredictable it can be) but we were glad we had not booked outdoor activity in Ketchikan. My only regret was that I did not see muck of the Alaskan sky at night.

[sacway]

thanks for your review, and for leaving your books at the library, we are on the current cruise and having a great time so far.

[bjarrett7]

Thanks for your review!!! We had a similar experience on the NA in January after cruising X reflection the year before. We liked it so much that we're doing our first Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam in August for our anniversary. We were pleased to snag a signature suite for a LOT less than concierge on the solstice. I think the signature suites on HAL are a great value!

[chisoxfan]

Thanks for your review!!! We had a similar experience on the NA in January after cruising X reflection the year before. We liked it so much that we're doing our first Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam in August for our anniversary. We were pleased to snag a signature suite for a LOT less than concierge on the solstice. I think the signature suites on HAL are a great value!

 

Good luck and congrats. I am sure you will have a wonderful time on the Westerdam. Enjoy the 'suite life'.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

Glad you had a wonderful Alaskan cruise and were able to get a cabin you liked.

[Ky Colonel]

... great review - we were on the same cruise (our 3rd on the Westerdam, 14th on HAL and 16th overall), and I echo your comments. It's always good to see that others had a good experience on a HAL cruise ... we've already booked our next 2 cruises (both on HAL) and hope you'll be returning to HAL again ... smooth sailing ...

[erewhon]

Thanks for reviewing your Westerdam cruise.

[Tiffany18]

Thank you for sharing your review! We are sailing on Westerdam this month and its our first HAL and first time to Alaska. As you mentioned I have read some rather negative things about this ship, especially the food, so it was nice to read your opinions. We are expecting it to be similar in comparison to our experience cruising with carnival, NCL, RCCL. Anything above and beyond that would be a bonus.