qsuzi Posted September 28, 2015 #1 Share Posted September 28, 2015 We disembarked from the Westerdam on 9/26 and greatly enjoyed our Alaska itinerary and the ship!! So much so we just cancelled our 12/16 Princess cruise and booked the Westerdam for 12/16!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjarrett7 Posted September 29, 2015 #2 Share Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) We disembarked from the Westerdam on 9/26 and greatly enjoyed our Alaska itinerary and the ship!! So much so we just cancelled our 12/16 Princess cruise and booked the Westerdam for 12/16!!! Love it! We disembarked from the Westerdam on 9/5 and canceled our January Celebrity Cruise and booked the Westerdam for 1/2!!! We absolutely loved the Westerdam! Can hardly wait for January. [emoji41] Edited September 29, 2015 by bjarrett7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PathfinderEss Posted September 29, 2015 #3 Share Posted September 29, 2015 We disembarked from the Westerdam on 9/26 and greatly enjoyed our Alaska itinerary and the ship!! So much so we just cancelled our 12/16 Princess cruise and booked the Westerdam for 12/16!!! Good for you, love the Westerdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted September 29, 2015 #4 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Great to hear. We really enjoyed our last cruise on the Westerdam and yes, despite our love of the small ships, we have another one booked on her for next year. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freestyling Posted September 29, 2015 #5 Share Posted September 29, 2015 We too are Westy fans. Out 1st cruise to Alaska was on her and we had a great time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalliekae Posted September 29, 2015 #6 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Glad you had a wonderful cruise! We have never sailed her, but are looking forward to our 2016 Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sail7seas Posted September 29, 2015 #7 Share Posted September 29, 2015 That's Great. I agree Westerdam is a lovely ship. Happy you had such a good time. Welcome Back. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilvertoGold Posted September 29, 2015 #8 Share Posted September 29, 2015 qsuzi! Welcome Home! That is great news! Really glad you enjoyed the Westerdam, enough to cancel a Princess: that is quite something. I would love to read your review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cxc362 Posted September 29, 2015 #9 Share Posted September 29, 2015 These comments are making me look foward even more to our upcoming cruise on the Westerdam! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IRL_Joanie Posted September 29, 2015 #10 Share Posted September 29, 2015 We disembarked from the Westerdam on 9/26 and greatly enjoyed our Alaska itinerary and the ship!! So much so we just cancelled our 12/16 Princess cruise and booked the Westerdam for 12/16!!! The Westerdam is our 2nd favorite ship:) It is almost up there with our absolute favorite Zuiderdam:) Glad you liked her enough to want to go back!! Now, you can be our spokeswoman for how great she is:) Welcome Home!! We missed you here on the boards:) Joanie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie68 Posted September 29, 2015 #11 Share Posted September 29, 2015 We disembarked from the Westerdam on 9/26 and greatly enjoyed our Alaska itinerary and the ship!! So much so we just cancelled our 12/16 Princess cruise and booked the Westerdam for 12/16!!! Glad you enjoyed her. The W'dam is also my favourite ship after the 3 fabulous weeks I spent on her this year. I know you enjoyed our Sailaway Gang live thread at the time - all endorsed her as a great ship, and there is something about the captain and all crew that just makes you want to return to her again.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted September 29, 2015 #12 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Glad to hear that you enjoyed your Westerdam cruise so much that you have booked another cruise on her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welovetocruise1234 Posted September 29, 2015 #13 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I will be sailing on her December 19. Can I ask you all what makes her so enjoyable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EbayCruiser Posted September 29, 2015 #14 Share Posted September 29, 2015 That's great news to hear! We have never sailed on the Westerdam and are so looking forward to our Jan. '15 cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjarrett7 Posted September 29, 2015 #15 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I will be sailing on her December 19. Can I ask you all what makes her so enjoyable? This is a very good question! My DH and I were trying to figure this out ourselves. The service and food were excellent. The ship was very well maintained. It's classic and beautiful. The Westerdam is smaller than most mainline ships though she is considered to be midsize. It's like comparing a boutique hotel to a massive resort in a way. Both have food, entertainment, bars etc. I think my DH and I prefer the boutique feel over a shopping mall feel. All of the public spaces were very useable and comfortable as well as warm and inviting. We enjoyed using the public spaces on this ship more than any of our previous cruises. I was a little anxious about cruising on an older ship especially since the Westerdam was the oldest ship we have cruised on before. That's why it was such a pleasant surprise! Of course if you looked for it, there was some wear and tear. I didn't care for the wallpaper in the halls and it was peeling in some places. I think it is important for me to also say that I really don't enjoy large crowds of people. There were times, for example, on Celebrity Reflection that I felt very crowded and couldn't find a chair. The Nieuw Amsterdam was similar, especially the Lido...but not quite as bad. I wasn't sure if a smaller ship would be better or worse! I have to say that we NEVER felt crowded!!!!! Always found a chair! We had an SS cabin and thought it was fantastic! It might have spoiled us though! In general, we find HAL cabins to be very spacious. I still really can't put my finger on why we liked it so much. I think it must have been a combination of a lot of different things. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Crew News Posted September 29, 2015 #16 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Glad to hear you really enjoyed the Westerdam. It is by far the most popular with the crew who try their best to keep sailing on her. A large number of HAL passengers sail the Westerdam over and over again just because of the atmosphere and happy crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsuzi Posted September 29, 2015 Author #17 Share Posted September 29, 2015 This is a very good question! My DH and I were trying to figure this out ourselves. The service and food were excellent. The ship was very well maintained. It's classic and beautiful. The Westerdam is smaller than most mainline ships though she is considered to be midsize. It's like comparing a boutique hotel to a massive resort in a way. Both have food, entertainment, bars etc. I think my DH and I prefer the boutique feel over a shopping mall feel. All of the public spaces were very useable and comfortable as well as warm and inviting. We enjoyed using the public spaces on this ship more than any of our previous cruises.I was a little anxious about cruising on an older ship especially since the Westerdam was the oldest ship we have cruised on before. That's why it was such a pleasant surprise! Of course if you looked for it, there was some wear and tear. I didn't care for the wallpaper in the halls and it was peeling in some places. I think it is important for me to also say that I really don't enjoy large crowds of people. There were times, for example, on Celebrity Reflection that I felt very crowded and couldn't find a chair. The Nieuw Amsterdam was similar, especially the Lido...but not quite as bad. I wasn't sure if a smaller ship would be better or worse! I have to say that we NEVER felt crowded!!!!! Always found a chair! We had an SS cabin and thought it was fantastic! It might have spoiled us though! In general, we find HAL cabins to be very spacious. I still really can't put my finger on why we liked it so much. I think it must have been a combination of a lot of different things. Hope this helps. Nice job/description! We didn't notice wear and tear just lucky I guess. Staff overall were so friendly and helpful. It's also the little touches like putting your final statement and your immigration information in envelopes, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsuzi Posted September 29, 2015 Author #18 Share Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) Glad to hear you really enjoyed the Westerdam. It is by far the most popular with the crew who try their best to keep sailing on her. A large number of HAL passengers sail the Westerdam over and over again just because of the atmosphere and happy crew. A big shout out to you Roger for providing me a chart and information about the Westerdam prior to our cruise. It really reduced my stress and helped us get around the ship. It's always great to have some really helpful tips like those you provided. Edited September 29, 2015 by qsuzi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redding Posted September 29, 2015 #19 Share Posted September 29, 2015 This is great to know that so many love the Westerdam. While we have sailed on all the other HAL ships, have never been on Westerdam. My husband has us booked on her for Dec. 16th, 2015 for my birthday which is a really big one and now I am looking forward to it even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsuzi Posted September 29, 2015 Author #20 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Thanks so much for the warm welcome back. Nice to know I was missed Joanie :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookymom Posted September 30, 2015 #21 Share Posted September 30, 2015 I'm so glad this is a favorite ship for many of you. Can't wait to find out for ourselves:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic The Parrot Posted September 30, 2015 #22 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Hey there, Suzi Welcome back! Thanks for your input on this ship. (And thanks to the others who provided the same.) It looks like I made the right choice. Now I'm really looking forward to it! Just a couple months, and it's my turn. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted September 30, 2015 #23 Share Posted September 30, 2015 (edited) Glad to hear you really enjoyed the Westerdam. It is by far the most popular with the crew who try their best to keep sailing on her. A large number of HAL passengers sail the Westerdam over and over again just because of the atmosphere and happy crew. yes, this ship is the SECOND most popular with passengers and crew. Not the most, but close enough. She has a huge following with crew and passengers and deservedly so, following only the Prinsendam. The second most repeat passenger ratio in the fleet and crew. Prinsendam is first. The only reason the crew leave the P'dam is to get to FLL more and other duty free ports for certain purchases ;) Edited September 30, 2015 by kazu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qsuzi Posted September 30, 2015 Author #24 Share Posted September 30, 2015 yes, this ship is the SECOND most popular with passengers and crew. Not the most, but close enough. She has a huge following with crew and passengers and deservedly so, following only the Prinsendam. The second most repeat passenger ratio in the fleet and crew. Prinsendam is first. The only reason the crew leave the P'dam is to get to FLL more and other duty free ports for certain purchases ;) Kazu, do you have a link to the statistics/information please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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