Westerdam Reviews
24 User Reviews of Westerdam Cruise Ship
by AdamC
1 Review
Publication Date: July 1, 2012
This was the worst cruise I've been on by far. Ever since being acquired by Carnival, Holland-America line has been steadily declining. This was my second HAL cruise. 6 years ago, I cruised on the Veendam and had a wonderful experience. ALOT has changed since then.
When Carnival "updated" the ship in 2010, they removed most of the common areas from the 9th deck. The library and internet center were moved to the Crow's nest. The movie theatre was removed entirely and movie showings were in the Queen's Lounge, deck 2, which was very inadequate given the number of people on the ship. All of this was done in order to make room for more staterooms on the 9th deck. So instead of carrying 1500 passengers like the ship used to, it now carried close to 2000. The ship was very crowded.
The first night we went to dinner in the Vista dining room, we were made to wait 45 minutes before being seated. Once seated, I noticed at least half of the tables in the dining room were open, yet hundreds of people were still waiting to be seated. It became very
apparent that the ship was understaffed. Lines in the Lido restaurant were ridiculously long.Service overall was terrible. There simply were not enough staff to take care of the number of passengers. It was very obvious to me that the staff were not happy, probably due to being overworked. When you called room service, it would take at least 45 minutes for someone to show up.
In typical Carnival tradition, I felt like HAL was nickel and diming us the entire cruise. You want popcorn with your in room movie, sure, it will be $5. They even started charging $20 per passenger for carrying your bags off the ship at the end of the cruise. Hotel service charges were tacked onto the bill for each person staying in a cabin (they used to charge one service charge per cabin, regardless of number of guests) Shore excursions were ridiculously overpriced. For example, 6 years ago, we went whale watching in Juneau for $40 per person. It now costs $140 per person to book on the ship. Need internet access? That will be 75 cents per minute plus a $3.95 activation fee. The majority of the ships activities each day were designed around the idea of selling your something(art, jewelry, etc.)
And then there were the little things we noticed. No more ice sculptures. No more fresh fruit in your stateroom basket. No more chocolate extravaganza. I guess those activities were affecting the bottom line.
The food was mediocre at best. The food in the lido was okay if you could tolerate the long lines. The main dining room food was very disappointed, with some nights verging on being edible. One night, I tried 10 different options from the menu in an attempt to find something decent. I gave up and ordered a hamburger from the stateroom. When the hamburger arrived, you could hardly recognize it as such. It was burnt beyond recognition.
We noticed that our time in port was much shorter as compared to six years ago. Then we discovered the cause. HAL has decreased energy consumption by 10 percent in the last 4 years. Now, they will tell you that it is all in the name of "going green" and being environmentally friendly, but in reality it is all about the money. By slowing the ships down, they save alot of money in fuel costs. Also, the shops onboard have to be closed while in port. If the shops are closed, they can't sell you something, and they would rather you spend your money on the ship rather than at the port. So spending more time at sea helps accomplish that goal.
This was our last Holland-America cruise. We will now be trying Celebrity or Reagent. It is sad that Carnival has ruined what was once possibly the finest cruise line around.
by EKennedy
1 Review
Publication Date: June 6, 2011
This ship is small, but adequate. The decor is red with various oriental ornaments and art. We purchased a balcony room and I must admit, I expected a larger room. It was extremely small and quite cramped. The couch made out into a bed and it was impossible to access the balcony when this bed was down. The cabin service was adequate, but nothing special.
We ate in the dining room once and from them on, the buffet, which was very good. We found the dining room to be too slow and the portions too small. We had "ship envy" whenever we saw the gigantic Princess cruise ship near. It was 3 times the size of the Westerdam! Overall the trip was very good, but I would not book a cruise on this ship again. I have sailed with Royal Carribean, Carnival and Holland America and definately prefer Royal Carribean of the three.
by Troy Woodyard
1 Review
Publication Date: May 28, 2011
My wife and I took a week long cruise from Seattle along the coast of Alaska. It was fantastic! Holland America's Westerdam was a first class ship. From the boarding experience to the cuisine and accomodations. We had two meals in the Pinnacle Grill - and both were great.
Our stateroom had a balcony and the views were very impressive. The only thing we saw that could use some improvement were the "Big Shows" in the Vista Lounge. They were more suitable to a high school production.
by Jim Thornton - jasthorn
1 Review
Publication Date: September 19, 2010
This was our 22nd cruise and our eighth Holland American Line (HAL) cruise since 1995, with each cruise on a different ship, except that this is our second cruise on the Westerdam. Our cabin was a super verandah suite (Category SY) on the Upper Verandah Deck mid-ship. We sailed on a 12-day eastern Mediterranean cruise from Greece, to three ports in Turkey, to two ports in Israel, to one port in Egypt, and back to a different port in Turkey again, before returning back to Greece. Plus, there were three days at sea when going between two Turkey distant ports, from Israel to Egypt, and Egypt to Turkey. Every port was most interesting. In addition, we enjoyed a three-day pre-cruise in Athens staying at the Holland America approved hotel - the Athens Ledra Marriott Hotel.
FLIGHTS We selected Delta Airlines for the flights from Los Angeles to Athens with a change of aircraft in both directions in New York City. These flights were long (over 16 hours going and 17 returning). Because the flights were long, we upgraded to business class.
SHIP The Westerdam is one of the larger-sized ships of HAL
Vista class. It has 11 decks with 11 elevators, four of which are glass-enclosed and located on the outside mid-ship. The ship has 972 cabins and carries 1,848 passengers with a crew of 800.CABIN Our cabin was larger (384 square feet) than on our previous 2004 Westerdam cabin (254 square feet) when we sailed the western Mediterranean. Plus, we were on one deck higher. And like on the previous cruise, we had a nice large verandah. Our cabin had air conditioning, bottled water, comfortable king-size bed with four pillows (actually two single beds placed together, with room to place your suitcases under) with two night stands, safe, bathroom amenities, bathrobes, hair dryer, three chairs, small coffee table, two desks with eight drawers, three closets, toilet, bath and shower, a separate shower, two sinks, fresh fruit, etc. Both 110 and 220 volts electrical outlets. HAL previously provided a special luggage tags containing our cabin number and our luggage arrived in our cabins before we did.
VERANDAH The large verandah (130 square feet) had three chairs with separate footrests, and one table.
IN-CABIN TV AND SOUND SYSTEM A color TV with 18 channels including CNN, BCC, ESPN, several movie channels, views of the ship’s bow and aft, etc. A DVD player with a choice of over 900 DVDs to choose from the ship’s library (action, comedy, drama, family, horror, romance, sci-fi, and television).
DINING ROOMS The main one is the Vista (decks 2 and 3), and the others are the Pinnacle Grill (deck 2), Canaletto and Lido (deck 9), and Exploations Café (deck 10). In the Vista dining room, at our assigned table, the overall and service food was good. For some unknown reason, HAL’s famous Baked Alaska dessert was not offered anytime. The Pinnacle Grill is only available by making a reservation. Service was very good and the food was much better than the main dinning room. There is a $20 per person surcharge.
BARS There are seven bars = Piano, Pinnacle, and Sports (deck 2), Ocean (deck 3), Sea View and Terrace (deck 9), and Crow’s Nest (deck 10). We always enjoy the Crow’s Nest, especially when leaving a port before dinner, as the room overlooks the ship’s bow and the direction in which the ship is sailing. There is a minor problem with the Crow’s Nest as it is so popular, you often find all of the tables being used by non-drinking passengers either reading books or even just sleeping. HAL should correct this problem.
TIPS There's an automatic assessment of $11 per day per guest and 15% is added to all drinks.
CHECK-IN Faster than usual, during check-in before initial boarding, digital camera takes your photograph. Each time you board the ship, your cabin card is scanned and your photograph is displayed to the ship's security personnel; eliminating the need to carry a second form of ID with your photograph (driver's license, etc.). Also, every time you re-board the ship, all carry-on items (purses, cameras, etc.) will be scanned.
TOURS There are ten ports and here is the most interesting thing in each port. Greece: Athens - Acropolis and the changing of the guards at the palace. Turkey: Istanbul - Blue Mosque, Antalya - ancient Roman city, Iskenderun - the cave church of St. Peter and the Roman mosaics, and Kusadasi - the house of the Virgin Mary. Israel: Ashdod - the tomb of the Virgin Mary and the Sea of Galilee, and Jerusalem - a museum to the Jews who died in World War II. Egypt: Cairo - the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Every port was most interesting. Many of the tours were long - some lasting up to 12 hours. Because of these long tours, we didn’t visit the spa, library, Movie Theater, evening entertainment, etc. However, the meals on the tours were very good; frequently served in the dining rooms of five-star hotels. There is a problem when the shipboard personnel are assigning the passengers to various tour buses, etc. The problem is that they gather all the passengers into the ship’s auditorium at the same time and then call them to leave by their tour name. HAL should assign the passengers to sit in designated sections of the auditorium at specified times to avoid the mass confusion and large groups of passengers attempting to leave all at once, etc.
ON SHIP ILLINESS About halfway thru the cruise, a serious illness problem aboard affecting both a small group of passengers and crewmembers was reported. The problem was Norwalk virus causing those affected to have stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The ship personnel immediately sanitized the ship, closed popular common areas - the library, some dinning areas, etc., and we were given frequently and lots of special hand cleaner. After about two days, the problem was eliminated. Westerdam did a good job on this. And we were never medically affect in any way.
OVERALL OPINION I'm impressed with the Westerdam since it was remodeled a couple of years ago. And the tours were very interesting.
by Brenda Cordy
1 Review
Publication Date: December 13, 2009
This was the worst cruise we had ever taken. We were to go to 4 Island only went to 3. Then there was a lifeboat in front of our window,here we are out at sea and we hear scraping and banging right in front of our window ones are working on the hanging lifeboat right there and looking in our window. I called the front and they said we'll have them move, which they did only to come back later that day. Why would they do this when ones are at sea and can be in the cabins? Then then the shore excuision thur the ship as a joke not good at all. Would never go with Holland America again.
Also beware of the casino. They will let you have $1000 a day credit per person in your room. And you will lose. So watch out for that snake pit!
By the way, we had a verandah room. The verandah, or tiny little outside deck, is way nicer than the room.
The rooms are about the size of a large walk in closet -- very tiny.
Also watch out for the constant
sales pitches. They have whole channels on television devoted to selling you stuff on the ship. The shore excursions are dynamite, but my advice is for the price you pay just to get on the boat, fly to a city, and pay for your excursions, staying in a nice hotel room. You not only get a way nicer place to lay your head, but you can pay for way more excursions also. You can easily spend several thousand dollars on shore excursions off the ship, and they are expensive!Also watch out for illness. Way easy to get sick on this ship.
Holland America devotes a whole channel on the stateroom tv to selling you jewelry.
They have seminars on the ship just to sell you stuff.
by jessica sterling
1 Review
Publication Date: May 23, 2009
This ship touts itself as a five star ship. But I would give it a one star and consider it comparable to Motel 6.
The rooms are tiny! The rooms are filthy!
Within five minutes of boarding and looking at my room, I asked to have my money back. There are no consumer protections! They just flatly said no way -- you cannot have your money back.
Also beware of the casino. They will let you have $1000 a day credit per person in your room. And you will lose. So watch out for that snake pit!
By the way, we had a verandah room. The verandah, or tiny little outside deck, is way nicer than the room.
The rooms are about the size of a large walk in closet -- very tiny.
Also watch out for the constant sales pitches. They have whole channels on television devoted to selling you stuff on the ship. The shore excursions are dynamite, but my advice is for the price you pay just to get on the boat, fly to a city, and pay for your excursions, staying in a nice hotel room. You not
only get a way nicer place to lay your head, but you can pay for way more excursions also. You can easily spend several thousand dollars on shore excursions off the ship, and they are expensive!Also watch out for illness. Way easy to get sick on this ship.
Holland America devotes a whole channel on the stateroom tv to selling you jewelry.
They have seminars on the ship just to sell you stuff.
by Susie
6 Reviews
Publication Date: November 29, 2008
We picked this ship because of the itiniery. It sounded so great and we were going with my brother and sister-in-law, so I was very excited.
Not to be. She became sick the night before we flew and so I was very disappointed. My brother booked a flight for the following day, but she was still sick. Sad.
We flew to Ft. Lauderdale the day before and stayed at Pelican Beach Resort. Let me tell you that this is one fabulous hotel! Right on the beach, very clean, awesome restaurant, and the rooms! First class all the way. I didn't want to leave.
We left for the ship at 1:00 the next day and found there were virtually no lines to embark. Wow. This was a first for us. Easy peasy. We then went to our room and found it to our liking. It was a VB balcony. There was enough room and we knew we would have beautiful views. Unfortunately, the deck was flooded and this issue was never remedied during the cruise, despite two complaints.
Off to the Lido for lunch we went. We found the food to be consistently
good during this cruise. I should say that this was our first Holland America cruise and our tenth overall.Dinner that evening was spent at the Pinnacle. We had four nights there, since we were supposed to have my brother and his wife with us. We'd paid beforehand for this and looked forward to two nights that were now four. Believe me when I tell you that this was fantastic!!!! Food, service, and ambiance were excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed our dinners there. Another night, we ate at the Lido, and it was good. My disappointment was with the main dining room. We asked for, and were flatly denied, a table for two on two separate occasions. I've never had that happen before and usually a maitre'd makes some effort but this one did not. No smile, just no. We ended up sitting with a nice couple one night, but the other night we were seated with very negative people. It ruined dinner for us.
Entertainment was ok. I liked the comedian, Julie Barr very much. The rest was ok. Dancers were great. That's it. I think we've really enjoyed entertainment more on Norwegian and Carnival.
Okay, on to the ports! Loved Grand Turk since we beached it all day. Fabulous. There's a little shopping there if you're interested.
St. Martin, what can I say? My favorite port of all time. I like the Dutch side since I like those campy bars and the beach, so we were very happy there. Shopping is terrific there too.
Tortola was our best stop. We have friends there and they took us out for the afternoon for a catamaran ride. Loved every minute. What a treat. Fun to see them again and the scenery is awesome.
The disappointing stop for us was the private island. The Westerdam and the Noordam were both there at the same time and it was way, way too crowded. Couldn't find a chair. It was a waste of our time to get off the ship for this stop. I'd really looked forward to this island, too. It was a shame.
Well, all and all, we had a good cruise. Our room was very clean, service was genuinely friendly and top-notch, with a few glitches. Am I sold on Holland? Not yet. I missed the younger crowd. This ship had a lot of very old people on it. My goal is to become very old some day, but not quite yet! I missed the regee bands on other lines and the party atmosphere of Carnival.
Disembarking was a breeze as well. Easiest I've ever experienced.
by disapointed cruiser
1 Review
Publication Date: April 12, 2008
This was our 9th cruise. I love cruising, but this was the worst one yet!
From the unfriendly staff, to running out of certain foods often, it was very disappointing.
By far the food was only average at best. The cabin guys were good (did not know how to make the towel animals), but that was it.
Others told us they had been on the same cruise last year and it was much better. They were not enjoying this cruise either.
Having been on another Holland America ship doing a transatlantic, the difference was very noticeable!
I would not recommend this cruise to anyone!
by widowsson68
1 Review
Publication Date: February 10, 2008
If you like the smell and use of cigarettes you are going to LOVE this ship.
Smoking in the cabins. Smoking in the bars. Smoking in the Casino. Hallways and common areas permeated with SECOND HAND smoke.
Smoke in the photography shop from the adjacent bar. Smoke in any hallway that has smokers in their cabins. Complaints at purser's desk result in a reading that smoking is allowed from their brochure. "If you feel ill from cigarette smoke go to the infirmary", staff says. Hotel manager was conveniently never available for smoking-related complaints.
First time on this seagoing second hand smoking machine and it will be my LAST.
by Nannyny
1 Review
Publication Date: December 9, 2007
This was my first HAL sailing and I chose it because of the itinerary. Check in was very painless and we were onboard by noon. The ship was very clean and the land-based crew very polite. Trying to get through the detectors was a bit difficult, it was then I realized we would be sailing with an older-than-expected crowd. We headed to lunch then to our VA mostly aft cabin -- nice size bath with tub and the much needed balcony.
Unfortunately we got caught in Tropical Storm Olga's path and this ship rocked and rolled, more than I've experienced on other ships of this size. Captain got us close to Grank Turk, then decided that the winds were too high and took us back to sea. So much for our new island experience. We did get reimbursed the port charges and offered a glass of champagne.
Dinners were pleasant, food mostly good but the fish dishes were the best I've had on any cruise ship. The headwaiter made sure my husband had his roasted chicken every night, a simple request our first night, and it was taken care of for
the remainder of our cruise. Service was excellent and our waiter, Puto, was superb (we were a group of 11).The shows were mediocre, comedian Phil was good. The illusionist was better at humor than illusion, fun to watch. Cruise Director Shane Einspahr was the hardest-working CD I've ever met. He had a very small staff (2) to help with all of the activities.
Disembarkation was smooth, waited at one of the lounges. We used the Signature Express Baggage service, worked out great and all breakables arrived safely to JFK.
HAL's service was very good, my room steward was very late in making our bed every day but had a great attitude. Tips are automatically added to your shipboard account. Everyone onboard works really hard to make your cruise adventure a pleasant one.
Not to be missed -- HAL's Half Moon Cay Grand Oasis Cabana: Our group rented the Grand Oasis Cabana and it was the highlight of our trip, and a wonderful place to spend the day. For $1200 for up to 12, the cabana comes equipped with bar, bartender, butler, personal chef and food choices of steak, mahimahi, ribs, chicken, burgers, and hot dogs, along with salads and fruit. Brownies, cookies, snacks and dips are also provided. It did take us an hour to locate some mint for our mojitos, but worth every minute. The cabana has 2 bathrooms, full shower, 8 person hottub which we so loved! Also, snorkel gear and floaties, and lastly a great slide.