Westerdam review 2/18-2/25

[toodycat]

We are just back from a President's week seven night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the HAL Westerdam. Since Schplinky just posted what will arguably remain the ultimate Westerdam review, I will be a little more brief and write from a family's perspective. Just for some background info, I am a 44 year old high school English teacher. My husband is 46; he is an IT project manager. We traveled with our 12 year old son and my parents who are both 70 as well as a group of 8 friends of our family who are all older than we are

 

Air: We flew in and out of New York (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale on Jetblue. In spite of the many crises Jetblue was experiencing this week with the ice and snow, both our flights were on time with no problems.

Hotel: We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale. We stayed there last year and found that they went out of their way for our large group, chauffeuring us to dinner and providing complimentary transfers to the port. This time was no different, although the hotel was under renovation and some members of our party had rooms that were not up to standard. To the Embassy's credit, when they complained, their bills were reduced by $200.

 

Embarkation: This was a no brainer. We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and found no lines. Everyone was very helpful and friendly in terms of taking our luggage and checking us in.

 

Stateroom: We were in a category SS room which was very square yet larger (389 square feet with verandah) in comparison with a mini-suite on Princess (324 sq. ft.)or a family verandah suite on Disney (304 sq. ft). The room was very attractive and warm in color. The many drawers in the desks, tables and at the foot of the bed absorbed the absurd amount of clothing and luggage we brought. The bed was unbelievably comfortable and my son had no complaints about the sofa bed he used all week. The bathroom had both a tub with whirlpool jets and a stall shower. It was bigger than our bathroom at home. The verandah was a good size and had real wooden furniture as opposed to the cheesy patio furniture so often featured on other ships. HAL provides fresh fruit to one's stateroom daily. Our room steward, Taguh, was nice, efficient and observant. (After he noticed that my mother always pulled her covers out at night rather than tucking them in, when he turned down their bed, he untucked them).

Food: The food was fabulous. Whether it was the Lido buffet, room service, the Vista dining room or the Pinnacle Grill, everything was excellent. Some things we particularly enjoyed were the fresh waffles at breakfast, daily fish selections at the Lido during lunch---all of which were excellent---, the crab cakes and the Porterhouse steak at the Pinnacle Grill, the spring rolls and stir fried tofu at the Lido buffet for late night snack, the Parmesan crusted chicken, the black cod with brown butter, the conch chowder, the white chocolate chef's toque in the Vista dining room and the Butterfinger cake at the chocolate buffet. The fact that pasta and pizza and ice cream were available all day and night at the Lido made feeding my son very easy when he wanted a snack. My only criticism would be that the shrimp in the shrimp cocktail were very small.

 

 

Entertainment: As a family, we found plenty to do that was fun. Although my son pretty much turned up his nose at Club HAL because 1. he is shy and 2. he had already mastered all their video games, we still found plenty of "family" things to do. We did the daily trivia competitions as well as the Name That Tune games at the Northern Lights club. We also swam in the mid-ship pool and used the hot tubs. One day we borrowed a Scrabble game and played Scrabble. At night, we enjoyed the karaoke night which morphed into a week-long American Idol type competition called Westerdam Superstar into which my husband was quite humorously drafted. Comedians Julie Barr and Joel Mason were very funny, although at times the humor became less than family oriented. (Most of the time this was the fault of the passengers, not the comedians.) Joel's Elton John show was fun as was Julie's late night adult comedy. My parents and their friends spent every night in the piano bar singing with Robert Kent. Joelle, Stephanie, Chris, Juan, DJ Mike and Lenny led all the events with smiles and gave you the sense that they really cared if you were enjoying yourself.

 

Spa: The spa service was very good, although like most Steiner spas, the massage therapist tried to sell me stuff. I needed a manicure and the young woman did a good job, although the $44 fee was absurd. The Greenhouse spa now has YSpa for teens so my son had a massage, anti-blackhead facial and use of the thermal suite. The thermal suite was actually on the house and my son may be the only person ever to receive something free from a Steiner spa. My husband and I took and enjoyed Hillary's yoga class. It was not unreasonably challenging and she was an easy-to-follow instructor.

Ports and excursions: Unfortunately, we missed Grand Turk because of high winds and rough seas. To compensate, we arrived in Tortola somewhat earlier. Our friends who took the bus tour came away unimpressed. We shopped (got great earrings at Amethyst in town.), had a spicy lunch at Roti Palace and took a cab ($20 per person each way) to Cane Garden Bay Beach which is a breathtakingly beautiful beach. There are colorful beach bars and restaurants there and lounge chairs are free. We did not get off the ship in St. Martin as we have been there five times already. Our day at Half Moon Cay was the best ever. We rented the turquoise cabana and my son and husband had their "shady" and air conditioned beach day while I had my sun. The buffet line was long, but the food was very good. The cabana came stocked with floats, snorkel gear, soda and chips. The beach itself is a true "Bahama blue." It is groomed and relatively shallow. Our friends who love Hawaii said this was actually prettier.

Disembarkation: The disembarkation talk was handled very well and the fact that they served champagne made it more enjoyable. The fact that you can arrange to check your luggage and receive your boarding passes at the port for a mere $10 per person is a great advantage. Last year, after our Princess cruise, we were schlepping our bags through the rain at FLL with several thousand of our closest cruise passenger friends. Not fun! This time, we just took a cab to Jetblue with our carry-ons and went straight through security. Also, HAL serves a full breakfast on disembarkation day and lets you remain in your stateroom until your group is called. How civilized. Overall, we had a wonderful time and are already planning our next HAL cruise. As a big group, we found lots to do when we wanted it and nothing to do when we felt like it. I know people say the HAL crowd is old and they are, but I found that sort of romantic. What could be bad about being married to the same person for 40 or 50 years and spending your retirement cruising around? I can think of worse options for my old age. My son said he liked HAL more than Disney and he has been on four Disney cruises. He enjoyed the food, the entertainment, the spa and the ship's more quiet, less frantic pace. (HAL is not a cruise line where cruise staff begin everything with the command, "Let me hear you make some noise!")We are cruising on the RCCL Mariner of the Seas in August and know that it will be a very different kind of experience. HAL doesn't have Disney's Broadway quality shows or comprehensive kids program or RCCL's roller blading, ice skating or surfing, but if you want a high quality, sophisticated cruise experience with attentive service, I would enthusiastically recommend the Westerdam.

[bluegrass grannie]

Toodycat--wow--these reviews just keep getting better and I can hardly wait to board the Westerdam on Sunday! Thanks for the positive comments and helpful info.

 

BGG;)

[Crusing Bob]

toodycat-also loved your review. My wife and I have been on two great Disney cruises(W. Carribean and Mexican Reviera) and we have no children. We are looking for an exciting and different cruise with Westerdam in October. Thanks again for such a positive review. Bob

[airlink diva]

I really enjoyed your review!!

My Westerdam cruise ranks as one of the best I ever had. From the food, to the staff and my fellow cruisers, I had a blast!!

Thanks for sharing with us!!

[gourmetgirls]

Thanks for mentioning the Teen Spa. We will be on the Westerdam for the Mediterranean cruise in July with two teenage girls. I am sure that they will enjoy a massage and facial!

[robertmartha]

Toody Cat

 

Thanks for the terrific review. With 2 preteen girls - I think I am in trouble in the coming yeas with teen spa services!

 

Being that it was a Presidents Week Holiday sailing - how was the FLL airport coming home? My wife also teaches and may be getting the presidents week off next year - so a sailing that week may be in our future...but concerned about the airport, transfers, etc.... What time was your flight out?

 

thanks

Bob

[Briny]

Toodycat - Enjoyed your review.

 

We were on the same cruise as you (our first) and also thoroughly enjoyed it, as you apparently did. We were a bit anxious because of some of the negatives we had read about peoples’ experiences on the Westerdam, particularly the entertainment. Perhaps after we have cruised more, we will be more discerning, but overall we couldn’t have been more pleased with the whole experience. I did forget to add to my "newbie" review that DW really enjoyed the culinary presentation. I didn’t attend, but she says the French chef (whose name escapes me) was a hoot.

[toodycat]

Thanks for the feedback to all those who commented on my review.

Bob---

"Being that it was a Presidents Week Holiday sailing - how was the FLL airport coming home? My wife also teaches and may be getting the presidents week off next year - so a sailing that week may be in our future...but concerned about the airport, transfers, etc.... What time was your flight out?"

The FLL airport is definitely busy and crowded on Sunday of President's Week. There were already about 5 ships in port when the Westerdam docked early Sunday morning. We were off the ship by about 9:30 a.m. Our flight out of FLL was at 12:30 p.m. on Jetblue so we made it with time to spare, and, unlike everyone else on that airline last week, we experienced no delays to departure.

However, I would suggest using the HAL system of checking your baggage at the port for $10 a person. (You can only do this for FLL. We had friends going out of Miami and West Palm Beach and they had to check their bags at the airport.)This enables you to take a cab to the airport and go straight through security and on to the gate.

What I would recommend you not do is take a transfer bus to the FLL airport. This is because 1. you have to wait for the bus to fill up. 2. you have to wait for everyone's luggage to be loaded 3. You have to wait for the bus to find a place to pull up at the airport 4. You have to wait for your luggage to be unloaded. 5. You have to wait for everyone to exit the bus. 6. You have to sort through the many bags to find your luggage and then drag it from wherever they were able to squeeze the bus to the entrance of the airport, which could be---literally---1/5 of a mile away at the end of a crowded holiday weekend. Keep in mind that the actual ride to the airport from the port is only about 10 minutes so all of this waiting tacks on a lot of additional time unnecessarily. It is much easier to hop in a cab at the port and not have the added aspect of 50 other passengers and their bags.

As for your wife being a teacher with a President's Day vacation next year, President's Day week is exactly the week when a teacher needs a refreshing vacation so he/she can make it through the rest of the school year! Make sure she and you and your girls have a great time.

Jane

 

 

PS Many of the spa services offered by the GenerationYSPA on the Westerdam are outlined on the Royal Caribbean website as they offer the same thing.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/experiencetypes/experiencetype/experience/home.do;jsessionid=0000kPoFDjv4W0p6KbwyyG4FDRz:10ktdmlju?br=R&exCode=116

[robertmartha]

Jane

 

Thanks for the feedback. Great suggestion with the luggage checkin - seems like it would make things much easier. Just waiting for her district to finalize the calendar for next! Its been several yrs since she has had the week and now that the girls are older - I agree - its the perfect week for all of us to plan to get away!

 

THANKS AGAIN

[innlady1]

We are just back from a President's week seven night cruise to the Eastern Caribbean on the HAL Westerdam. Since Schplinky just posted what will arguably remain the ultimate Westerdam review, I will be a little more brief and write from a family's perspective. Just for some background info, I am a 44 year old high school English teacher. My husband is 46; he is an IT project manager. We traveled with our 12 year old son and my parents who are both 70 as well as a group of 8 friends of our family who are all older than we are

 

Air: We flew in and out of New York (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale on Jetblue. In spite of the many crises Jetblue was experiencing this week with the ice and snow, both our flights were on time with no problems.

Hotel: We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale. We stayed there last year and found that they went out of their way for our large group, chauffeuring us to dinner and providing complimentary transfers to the port. This time was no different, although the hotel was under renovation and some members of our party had rooms that were not up to standard. To the Embassy's credit, when they complained, their bills were reduced by $200.

 

Embarkation: This was a no brainer. We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and found no lines. Everyone was very helpful and friendly in terms of taking our luggage and checking us in.

 

Stateroom: We were in a category SS room which was very square yet larger (389 square feet with verandah) in comparison with a mini-suite on Princess (324 sq. ft.)or a family verandah suite on Disney (304 sq. ft). The room was very attractive and warm in color. The many drawers in the desks, tables and at the foot of the bed absorbed the absurd amount of clothing and luggage we brought. The bed was unbelievably comfortable and my son had no complaints about the sofa bed he used all week. The bathroom had both a tub with whirlpool jets and a stall shower. It was bigger than our bathroom at home. The verandah was a good size and had real wooden furniture as opposed to the cheesy patio furniture so often featured on other ships. HAL provides fresh fruit to one's stateroom daily. Our room steward, Taguh, was nice, efficient and observant. (After he noticed that my mother always pulled her covers out at night rather than tucking them in, when he turned down their bed, he untucked them).

Food: The food was fabulous. Whether it was the Lido buffet, room service, the Vista dining room or the Pinnacle Grill, everything was excellent. Some things we particularly enjoyed were the fresh waffles at breakfast, daily fish selections at the Lido during lunch---all of which were excellent---, the crab cakes and the Porterhouse steak at the Pinnacle Grill, the spring rolls and stir fried tofu at the Lido buffet for late night snack, the Parmesan crusted chicken, the black cod with brown butter, the conch chowder, the white chocolate chef's toque in the Vista dining room and the Butterfinger cake at the chocolate buffet. The fact that pasta and pizza and ice cream were available all day and night at the Lido made feeding my son very easy when he wanted a snack. My only criticism would be that the shrimp in the shrimp cocktail were very small.

 

 

Entertainment: As a family, we found plenty to do that was fun. Although my son pretty much turned up his nose at Club HAL because 1. he is shy and 2. he had already mastered all their video games, we still found plenty of "family" things to do. We did the daily trivia competitions as well as the Name That Tune games at the Northern Lights club. We also swam in the mid-ship pool and used the hot tubs. One day we borrowed a Scrabble game and played Scrabble. At night, we enjoyed the karaoke night which morphed into a week-long American Idol type competition called Westerdam Superstar into which my husband was quite humorously drafted. Comedians Julie Barr and Joel Mason were very funny, although at times the humor became less than family oriented. (Most of the time this was the fault of the passengers, not the comedians.) Joel's Elton John show was fun as was Julie's late night adult comedy. My parents and their friends spent every night in the piano bar singing with Robert Kent. Joelle, Stephanie, Chris, Juan, DJ Mike and Lenny led all the events with smiles and gave you the sense that they really cared if you were enjoying yourself.

 

Spa: The spa service was very good, although like most Steiner spas, the massage therapist tried to sell me stuff. I needed a manicure and the young woman did a good job, although the $44 fee was absurd. The Greenhouse spa now has YSpa for teens so my son had a massage, anti-blackhead facial and use of the thermal suite. The thermal suite was actually on the house and my son may be the only person ever to receive something free from a Steiner spa. My husband and I took and enjoyed Hillary's yoga class. It was not unreasonably challenging and she was an easy-to-follow instructor.

 

Ports and excursions: Unfortunately, we missed Grand Turk because of high winds and rough seas. To compensate, we arrived in Tortola somewhat earlier. Our friends who took the bus tour came away unimpressed. We shopped (got great earrings at Amethyst in town.), had a spicy lunch at Roti Palace and took a cab ($20 per person each way) to Cane Garden Bay Beach which is a breathtakingly beautiful beach. There are colorful beach bars and restaurants there and lounge chairs are free. We did not get off the ship in St. Martin as we have been there five times already. Our day at Half Moon Cay was the best ever. We rented the turquoise cabana and my son and husband had their "shady" and air conditioned beach day while I had my sun. The buffet line was long, but the food was very good. The cabana came stocked with floats, snorkel gear, soda and chips. The beach itself is a true "Bahama blue." It is groomed and relatively shallow. Our friends who love Hawaii said this was actually prettier.

Disembarkation: The disembarkation talk was handled very well and the fact that they served champagne made it more enjoyable. The fact that you can arrange to check your luggage and receive your boarding passes at the port for a mere $10 per person is a great advantage. Last year, after our Princess cruise, we were schlepping our bags through the rain at FLL with several thousand of our closest cruise passenger friends. Not fun! This time, we just took a cab to Jetblue with our carry-ons and went straight through security. Also, HAL serves a full breakfast on disembarkation day and lets you remain in your stateroom until your group is called. How civilized. Overall, we had a wonderful time and are already planning our next HAL cruise. As a big group, we found lots to do when we wanted it and nothing to do when we felt like it. I know people say the HAL crowd is old and they are, but I found that sort of romantic. What could be bad about being married to the same person for 40 or 50 years and spending your retirement cruising around? I can think of worse options for my old age. My son said he liked HAL more than Disney and he has been on four Disney cruises. He enjoyed the food, the entertainment, the spa and the ship's more quiet, less frantic pace. (HAL is not a cruise line where cruise staff begin everything with the command, "Let me hear you make some noise!")We are cruising on the RCCL Mariner of the Seas in August and know that it will be a very different kind of experience. HAL doesn't have Disney's Broadway quality shows or comprehensive kids program or RCCL's roller blading, ice skating or surfing, but if you want a high quality, sophisticated cruise experience with attentive service, I would enthusiastically recommend the Westerdam.

 

Wonderful review, toodycat!

 

But it makes me think we were "taken!" We were at Cane Garden Bay on February 11. And paid a kid walking the beach, sounding "official," for the two beach chairs and umbrella! Can't remember the amount...we just paid and that was it. Other Noordam shipmates were charged the same (we asked). We knew them by their blue beach towels!

 

innlady

[toodycat]

Wonderful review, toodycat!

 

But it makes me think we were "taken!" We were at Cane Garden Bay on February 11. And paid a kid walking the beach, sounding "official," for the two beach chairs and umbrella! Can't remember the amount...we just paid and that was it. Other Noordam shipmates were charged the same (we asked). We knew them by their blue beach towels!

 

innlady

 

Thanks.

I don't know. Maybe because we got there late in the day, no one bothered to ask us for cash for lounges? Actually, I wondering why I paid $20 each way for a cab to Cane Garden Bay while Stevie 's review says she paid $6 a head. Maybe her party was bigger.

[balanceok]

Can you tell me if there is an extra charge to use the steam room? Is the thermal suite area free, or extra charge?

 

Thanks.

[steviek49]

Hey Toodycat,

 

In Tortola we just got off the ship about 10:00 am and there were taxi people all over the place asking people where they wanted to go. We told a guy Cane Garden Bay and he led us toward this bus-like automobile and said it won't leave until it's full. My wife and I and the two girls were in a bit of a rush because we signed up to swim with the Dolphins at 3PM and then they led me to a small taxi and he said $6pp. So all in all it was $24 each way.

This is what i expected because before we left I put out the question on this board (2/16/07) which beaches should we visit on Tortola and SAint MAArtin? and the consensus was Cane Bay on Tortola and Dawn Beach on Saint Maartin. I was told on this board the price was approximately $6pp each way on both islands. In actuality it could have been either $6pp or $7pp on Saint Maartin because it depends how many persons are in the cab. Signs and prices were listed everywhere in Saint Maartin but I did not notice signs and prices on Tortola.

By the way we too paid $5 per chaise lounge and $2 per umbrella at Cane Bay . At first we just found lounges walking left down the beach. The people around us said they all paid that amount. But we quietly used the lounges -but about an hour later some guy in a Michael jordan shirt told us the prices and we paid. We were there from about 10:30-1:30pm.

[innlady1]

Thanks.

I don't know. Maybe because we got there late in the day, no one bothered to ask us for cash for lounges? Actually, I wondering why I paid $20 each way for a cab to Cane Garden Bay while Stevie 's review says she paid $6 a head. Maybe her party was bigger.

 

I guess it all comes out in the wash, as they say. We paid $8 each way for a cab, yet $15 for use of two beach chairs and an umbrella!

[mamaofami]

Beach chairs and umbrellas are not free at Cane's Bay Beach. You are supposed to ask for the chairs, and then go around to the front of this little building and pay for them, so Inn lady, you didn't pay too much. In fact, I think you leave an extra deposit and have to return the chairs to get it back. I always sit under the palm trees at that beach, so no need for an umbrella.

 

Maybe they arrived at the beach late in the day and there was no charge. Seems they paid a lot for a taxi, though. We never paid more than $6 or $8 on any of the islands we stopped at.

 

 

Wouldn't mind being on that beach today.

[toodycat]

My husband reminds me that we paid $10 p.p. for the taxi each way, not $20 as I had written previously. Since he paid the driver, he would know.

 

Am still mystified about the lounges. We got there around 3:30 or 4 and the beach was full of empty lounges. There were only a handful of people on the beach, although it was a beautiful afternoon. We looked around for a vendor to pay, didn't see anyone and figured someone would approach us for $$ if we were doing something wrong. That beach is a great memory. I would have paid whatever anyone asked for the privilege of sitting there.

[hammybee]

Thanks Toodycat for making the time to share your cruise experience with us. I can relate to the " let me hear you make some noise" command, heard elsewhere.