Westerdam or Princess Crown to Aruba?

[DeRon]

We've never sailed HAL before, but seriously considering the Westerdam cruise to southern Caribbean in Nov. Any thoughts on this? Is the ship in good shape? Do you think we will like as well as Princess?

 

Princess Crown is doing the exact same itinerary. Thoughts?

[Infi]

We did this itinerary for our first HAL cruise last year. It was a unique itinerary and we love the Southern islands, which is why we chose it. We were very pleased and enjoy sailing HAL more than Princess now. Westerdam went into drydock after our sailing (April 2010), so she should be pretty fresh for your cruise.

 

I think if you like Princess and are pretty low-key, you'll like HAL. HAL is much more subdued at night, with less activities and entertainment, but you can still find a show to see or something to do if you're interested. Food is subjective, but IMHO better than Princess. I think service is a small cut above too, as HAL's crews really aim to please. Westerdam is significantly smaller than the Crown, and the size difference is nice. I find that the larger Princess ships can often feel crowded at peak times (i.e. the Horizon Court, the theater before a show), but Westerdam was comfortable and we never had problems finding a seat or anything. If you've sailed the Coral/Island twins on Princess, you'll find Westerdam comparable to those.

 

If you're interested in the itinerary, why not give HAL a try? The lines are roughly comparable with each having their strengths. Worst case scenario is you confirm Princess is the line for you.

[CruiserBruce]

The Crown Princess and the Westerdam are about the same age, give or take a year. What shape is the Crown Princess in?

 

My experience on the Vistas is that they rarely feel crowded.

[StartrainDD]

You can look up my detailed reviews in the review sections. Or see the "Star rating" in my signature below. Honestly, I would choose the Westerdam at twice the price over the Crown Princess.

 

In fact, we did pay TWICE the amount we paid for the Crown Princess for our Westerdam cruise, and in our opinion it was worth it!

 

Biggest difference? As CruiserBruce said - the Crown felt very crowded - all the time. Public rooms are just too small for the number of people. Almost impossible to find a shady deck chair. Needed to get to the theater 45 minutes early for a 40 minutes show!

 

We were NEVER crowded on the Westerdam, and the ship was sold out. Walked into the shows as the lights were going down and easily found seats.

 

You won't be dissapointed in the Westerdam!

[DeRon]

Thanks for everyone's replies! Westerdam is sounding better and better to me!

[cmdchiefthom]

Thanks for everyone's replies! Westerdam is sounding better and better to me!

 

Take a minute to look at the SB and SC suites located on each corner of the stern of the ship. I've had 7151 aboard the Westerdam and twice aboard the Zuiderdam. You can not imagine a better cabin doing the southern itinerary. Huge balcony, beautiful views, quiet, great bedding, and very reasonable. Take a look. I had the Owner's Suite aboard the Tahitian Princess, and these cabins, although somewhat smaller, have balconies that are similar in their size (huge)! From deck 8 down to 6 basically the same size, deck 5 balcony is fully covered, and deck 4 is wide open.;)

[Cruzman]

Well, we are sailing to Aruba on the Crown in November; then, we are sailing to Aruba on the Westerdam in February. Will give you our thoughts then, but by then you will have already gathered your own opinion, lol.

[cruz chic]

While I´ve never been on the Crown I do like Princess. I´m on the Westerdam right now and I would say the ship is in pretty good shape but the service for the most part leaves a lot to be desired.

[DeRon]

What's lacking in service? Also, does the ship seem boring at night? Please elaborate on what you like about each line...:o

[cruz chic]

What's lacking in service? Also, does the ship seem boring at night? Please elaborate on what you like about each line...:o

I'm just finding the service in the MDR and the ship to be very slow to bad. Many times they forget something that you've ordered. One day in the dining room the waiter was holding up each item asking who ordered the oatmeal, who ordered the eggs etc. He took the order so I would have thought that he would have known. That said, my waiters are awesome in the anytime dining at night. We managed to secure the same ones for the whole cruise. My laundry seems to take a good 2 days to come back. When I was on the Oosterdam it came back the same day it went in. Also my stewards need a lot of instruction and I don't tend to be high maintenance.

 

Hal is still my favorite line. I like the fact that the ships don't feel crowded. I tend to work out a lot and like that the gym isn't that crowded although I've found that it has been busy on this cruise. It is pretty dead at night so take that into consideration if that's a problem. Usually I'm in bed by midnight but I stayed up late on night and it was dead dead at midnight.

 

I find Princess and HAL to be similair but the food was much better on my last Princess cruise. While I don't think I'll rush back to the Westerdam any time soon I don't have a problem sticking with HAL.

 

This is my last port and I have free wifi where I'm eating so if you have any questions I may not see them. I will look for this thread when I return to reality on Sunday.

[debshomespun]

We enjoyed our cruise on HAL Westerdam. Thought the ship was very classy. Crew were all friendly. We have only sailed once on Princess (Caribbean Princess) and the crew were not very friendly. Food was great on HAL. We love Aruba and the southern route too!

[DeRon]

Debbie, comparing all your experiences of cruising, what's your favorite line/ship?

[Krazy Kruizers]

I'm just finding the service in the MDR and the ship to be very slow to bad. Many times they forget something that you've ordered. One day in the dining room the waiter was holding up each item asking who ordered the oatmeal, who ordered the eggs etc. He took the order so I would have thought that he would have known. That said, my waiters are awesome in the anytime dining at night. We managed to secure the same ones for the whole cruise. My laundry seems to take a good 2 days to come back. When I was on the Oosterdam it came back the same day it went in. Also my stewards need a lot of instruction and I don't tend to be high maintenance.

 

Hal is still my favorite line. I like the fact that the ships don't feel crowded. I tend to work out a lot and like that the gym isn't that crowded although I've found that it has been busy on this cruise. It is pretty dead at night so take that into consideration if that's a problem. Usually I'm in bed by midnight but I stayed up late on night and it was dead dead at midnight.

 

I find Princess and HAL to be similair but the food was much better on my last Princess cruise. While I don't think I'll rush back to the Westerdam any time soon I don't have a problem sticking with HAL.

 

This is my last port and I have free wifi where I'm eating so if you have any questions I may not see them. I will look for this thread when I return to reality on Sunday.

 

sounds as though the westerdam has gone downhill since we were last on her

[CJcruzer]

would definitely sail the Westerdam (we've been on 2x) over the Crown princess (sailed once, never ever again).... thankfully our Crown princess cruise was very port-intensive (British isles) - so did not have to spend a lot of time on the ship --- poor service, poor buffet, poor organization (shore excursion desk and meeting places) and poor attitude....

[cruz chic]

sounds as though the westerdam has gone downhill since we were last on her

It seems like it. Because I go to the dining room for most meals I've chatted with several people. While several are happy with the service it's seems the majority think it's a bit off. I enjoyed myself a lot more on the Oosterdam which a lot of people have complained about. Sometimes I think it's the luck of the draw. While a good amount of the staff are very nice I get the feeling many wish we would just leave. I think if you do short cruises ( I know you don't) your outlook would tend to be different.

[Crusing Bob]

DeRon, join our sailing on 11/13 and come on over to our Roll Call. We have sailed the Westerdam 4 times in the last 5 years and love her. Don't know of the complaints because we certainly haven't had any and do not feel she is lacking.