JRR

Cool, might be interested.

No group, just us.

Will be on this cruise also with my friend.

could you post your cabin number please, just to give those going in the near future a heads up. We'll be on her in january.;)

4061

Sorry you had a bad time. Maybe the prices are unsustainably low. Looking forward to traveling on the Westerdam in just a few weeks!

I would not say it was a bad time, just a few things I was pointing out. The rough seas was not their fault. You will notice the cutbacks in staffing and how it affects the cruise when you go in a few weeks I am sure.

Capt van der Hoeven had called it a "brochure cruise", and it pretty much was: kind seas and fine weather for the most part. Far too little time in San Juan and high winds at Grand Turk prevented snorkel/scuba activities. Overcast there, too, but GT is such a hohum port at best. A personal summary of the week follows:

 

The ship's in good shape--carpets, curtains and fixtures in good condition with little of the glitz that's crashing into the industry these days. Stateroom decor a bit tired, but well-maintained as is the case everywhere. Our cabin stewards just fine even though they must tend to 30 cabins each day. Too many, IMHO. Morale is a growing issue.

 

In MDR, too--to an extent. One hardworking DR steward per table, not a couple as in the past. And a steward mentioned that he'd been up till 3am the precious night trying to get his personal laundry done: broken washing machines on both A and B decks with consequent long lines.

 

Food OK, esp rack of lamb and duck. Beef tended toward tough and gristly. Soups and breads excellent as always. Service professional if rushed at times. Except first night dinner a disaster: slapdash, careless, even rude servers. A serving tray grazed my head. Not anywhere near HAL standards, and the server knew it. His exit line: "See you tomorrow night . . . Hopefully."

 

'Twas not to be. I spoke with the DR manager, efficient pleasant chap, and we received 1) a written apology, 2) a plate of chocolated strawberries, and 3) a different table that suited the three of us perfectly. The manager and various subordinates visited often to check up on our experience.

 

DR and elsewhere on ship-- far less dressy than in past. Sign of the times, I guess. Except, generally, at Oceans Bar where dancers looked pretty good, made the effort. HALcats just fine, esp Gabie the girl singer.

 

OTOH, the Adagio violin/piano duo were execrable, soul-less and tone-deaf. Once even announced Haydn, then played, badly, Boccherini. A happy surprise: the BB King Blues folks. Wonderful musicians and classy entertainers.

 

The cruise was billed as a big Dancing With The Stars At Sea item, and that it most certainly was. Four or so of the major pros from the TV series were on hand as were their fans. Hundreds of them. Four competitive events whittled down 15 winners of dance contests on each HAL ship to 10 dancers, then to 6, then to 3, then to the Mirror Ball Trophy winner for 2014--a hugely talented young man from Halifax, NS. The DWTS dance pros served as judges, and put on an evening show that tore the roof off.

 

Fly in ointment: emcee for the competition, a brash, nauseating chap name of Jason. Grade-school innuendos, smug mockery of foreign accents, condescending if not insulting remarks about contestants' backgrounds--the winner's in particular. A disgrace to HAL standards.

 

But gotta go. Fine week at sea. Too bad about short stay at San Juan. A two-star, wonderful week. Way to go, HAL.

Just got off the same cruise and mostly agree except: Seas were rough at times and the ship rolled around. Captain called it "swells" and announced that the ship's motion would be felt. They even put the sea-sick bags by the elevators several times. I was very uncomfortable two of the evenings.

Dining room and room stewards have indeed been cut back and it shows. In MDR at dinner our guy was very rushed and he made mistakes several times. Food quality was uneven: fish was good, meat (as stated above) was not, some of the food was not hot, only room temperature; soups were good but most were luke warm.

I thought Adagio was good but when she spoke it was silly and her command of English poor. They need to stick to playing music only. The Explorers Lounge is not large enough for this type of group as many of the seats do not afford a view of the duet, the view is blocked.

Room Maintenance leaves something to be desired. Sofa in my room had dirt stains on it; bathtub drain and sink drain had problems and there was a distinct sewer odor in bathroom. All this was reported and the drains were fixed but not the odor. Also AC had problems and they brought a fan the first night then tried to repair AC and by the third night it was fixed. Front Desk was very nice about it all though, they gave me a free beach towel for the problems and I thought this was very kind of them.

Not a bad cruise, but after third time on Westerdam I would look for another ship next time. HAL needs to re-think where they are cutting back and how it affects the customer base. It will do them no good if they save money and lose loyal customers.

Nobody, I believe, has mentioned the advantage if leaving out of Vancouver rather than Seattle for an Alaska cruise. If you leave from Seattle, you head out to open water directly going south of Vancouver island to the sea. You spend your first evening and the next sea day off the west coast of Vancouver island missing some truly amazing scenery along the inside passage. If you leave from Vancouver you spend that time between Vancouver island and the BC mainland where you get great vistas and up close and personal looks at coastal communities instead of an island in the far distance if you go on the outside route. The same holds true for the return trip too. Even though you may come to victoria to make contact with a foreign country, you will come at it from the open ocean side as you return to Seattle. You can get from sea to Vancouver by bus if the air fares are too high into van YVR for you. Just my two cents worth....have a wonderful trip wherever you go.

I agree with Muffin. Having departed both Seattle and Vancouver and both on HAL, the Vancouver option is far preferable for the reasons outlined above and also for another reason. Both times out of Seattle I got really seasick as the open seas through the Straits tend to be ROUGH. There is also nothing much to look at the first day of the cruise. Cold, grey open rough seas. Going out of Vancouver, first you have the beautiful city of Vancouver to spend some time in, then you immediately enter nice Alaskan scenery + the sea sickness thing is off the table. As to the Victoria Stop: both times on HAL-Seattle itinerary the stop in Victoria was from about 6PM to late at night. This required rushing around on your last night, eating dinner quickly, rushing for the transport, etc. Not a great stop even though Victoria is nice--a full day there would have been much better. It is not a plus for the Seattle departure option. Go with HAL for sure, but leave from Vancouver. IMO

Yessir, three of us going, we just booked last week actually with a great last minute deal.

Nice, am going solo. First time doing this.

Will be on this cruise. Anyone else going?