Short review of the Westerdam, March 7 -14 Eastern Caribbean cruise

[albingirl]

We drove to the pier and had an easy embarkation, short and sweet. Once we were on board, we skipped the embarkation lunch and headed to the Lido for a bite to eat, and then off to the Seaview bar for a drink. The bar staff, for the most part, are very different from the staff on our last cruise, the 42 day Maasdam. Very few smile, and there is rather slow service at times. The best staff are from the Maasdam who were reassigned to this ship and we were very happy to see them.

The dining in the MDR is excellent. We had dinner there every night and we were with family members who enjoyed it as well. Great food and service. Nothing to complain about here. Formal nights were the best of all with the escargot and filet.

We had the best cabin stewards ever. Achmad and Tony were the finest gentlemen we've encountered for our room service. We knew Tony from another ship and we were very happy to see him. Wonderful gentlemen.

Our cabin was an aft verandah at the stern. We had a fair amount of vibration, and soot on our balcony. It was under the pool deck and the noise in the morning was very, very loud, as they moved chairs and so forth. Plus, it sounded like a pile driver at times. Although the view is outstanding, the cabin is not one I would book again.

Westerdam is spotless and shiny. The ship is in great shape.

For the entertainment, we thought the BB King Blues Band was the very best entertainment we have ever seen on a ship. We went to see them every night after dinner. They were GREAT! The other types of entertainment on the ship did not interest us at all. We've seen it before.

Ports of call were ok. We always love Grand Turk for our short stop and Half Moon as well. Wish the stays were longer since we love the beach

San Juan is a place we've been to many times, so we don't have much to do there. It's a long cab drive to Isla Verde, but I really would have preferred going to the beach rather than walking through the town.

In St. Thomas, we met friends when we ferried over to Water Island. Had a great beach day there.

All in all, a good cruise. I don't think we'll go back to the Eastern Caribbean since we've been there a lot. I love the Southern and we really prefer the Maasdam crew. It was great for us that some of them were on this ship!

Disembarkation was easy and we found it to be quite orderly.

We enjoyed this trip since we got to have some fun family time too. They came down from Boston so you can imagine how excited they were to be in the warm sun finally! Most days we enjoyed breakfast and lunch in the Lido, as well, so it was good to have them with us onboard. End.

[cruz chic]

Thx for taking time to do a review.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

Glad you had a good cruise.

[Susie51]

Thank you for sharing. I'm glad to hear the Westerdam is in good shape.

[Vict0riann]

Thanks for that. Do you remember who was on Westie from Maasdam? And had they come off after the Atlantic Adventure? I guess they would have had leave in between?

[albingirl]

Thanks everyone. The crew from Maasdam were mostly from the 14 day and 21 day Southern Caribbean cruises from last December and January. It was so awesome to see them. Not sure if any of them were from the 42. But, wonderful crew!

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for taking the time to share.

[Scrapnana]

Going to be on Westerdam in four weeks so it was nice to hear all the positives. Thanks for your review.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review of your Westerdam cruise.

[freestyling]

Sorry to hear about your aft cabin but sounds like the ship is in excellent shap. Thanks for the review

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your Westerdam cruise.

[Alcarondas]

Thanks for posting. Good to see more positive feedback for Westie.

[nana51]

Going to be on Westerdam in four weeks so it was nice to hear all the positives. Thanks for your review.

 

Keep her in good shape for me. We are on her the 27th of April.:)

[Boatdrill]

On this eastern Caribbean trip, was there a pool party/dinner buffet on Lido Deck one night ?

Edited May 14, 2015 by Boatdrill

[albingirl]

Yes, but it's hard to remember which night. We don't usually go to those, but many do.

[igloo810]

Thanks for the review.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

[Boatdrill]

Yes, but it's hard to remember which night. We don't usually go to those, but many do.

 

Ok thanks. I checked the daily programs on HAL Facts but may have missed it. Will continue to look !