Need Help -- Adriatic Dreams?

[Cindy]

My husband and I are looking at a cruise on the Westerdam in 2017 -- the Adriatic Dreams itinerary. We really like the itinerary, but we were on the Westerdam in 2013 to Alaska and we didn't care for the ship at all.:confused:

 

We were surprised by the Westerdam experience, because our first HAL cruise was on the Noordam and we had a great time. What we found on the Westerdam was the ship was like a ghost town. Each evening we went to one of the bars for a drink before dinner, and we were almost always the only ones there. The same thing happened after dinner. Even my then 81 year-old mother was shocked at how deserted and depressing it was around the ship. That was in sharp contrast to our Noordam cruise, where we met lots of great people in the lounges in the evening, and thought the mood was very upbeat.

 

I've since wondered if maybe the problem on the Westerdam was location (Alaska) and timing (late September). We ran into quite a bit of weather, our itinerary had to be changed, we had lots of time at sea, and it just felt like people were in hibernation!:eek:

 

If someone out there has been on an Adriatic Dreams itinerary, can you tell me what the evenings on the ship were like. The itinerary is extremely port intensive, with only one sea day out of 12, so I don't think we'll be looking for much from the ship as far as daytime activities!

 

If we choose to book this cruise, we'll be getting either a deck 5 or deck 7 corner aft suite. We had one on the Noordam, and really enjoyed the experience. I also think part of the reason we didn't like the Westerdam was we booked at the last minute and had to take a guarantee. We ended up in an SS right under a tiled area where they were rolling carts all night. I'm a light sleeper so that made me cranky!:o

 

I appreciate any comments...thanks!:)

Edited January 21, 2016 by Cindy

[RuthC]

Any time you have a busy itinerary, which was true in Alaska and will be true in the Med, people are out all day getting tired. They retire early so they can get up the next day and start all over again. They don't want to miss anything thinking they may never pass that way again.

It's just the way it is.

[Cindy]

Any time you have a busy itinerary, which was true in Alaska and will be true in the Med, people are out all day getting tired. They retire early so they can get up the next day and start all over again. They don't want to miss anything thinking they may never pass that way again.

It's just the way it is.

 

That's the thing...our Alaska itinerary wasn't busy at all! We only had one early port day (Ketchikan) -- two if you include Glacier Bay. Our Southern Caribbean cruise on the Noordam was a lot busier than the Alaska cruise.

 

I understand retiring early -- my husband and I frequently do it ourselves! I'm not talking about a ship that's a ghost town at 11:00. I'm talking about 6:00, 7:00, 8:00...early evening. I'm just trying to figure out which cruise was the outlier -- Noordam or Westerdam. I don't need a lot of entertainment, but I do like to relax in a lounge with some nice music before or after dinner. We enjoyed that on the Noordam and missed it on the Westerdam, which is why I'm trying to find out what the norm is.

[PatsyAnne]

We've always liked the Noordam, but the last time we took it (I think a year or so ago through the Panama Canal) I was not enthralled. Then we took the Westerdam (first time on that ship) to Alaska this July and I really liked it and thought it was well-run and lively. Go figure. So I wouldn't let your experience in Alaska affect your decision on the Adriatic.

[Cindy]

We've always liked the Noordam, but the last time we took it (I think a year or so ago through the Panama Canal) I was not enthralled. Then we took the Westerdam (first time on that ship) to Alaska this July and I really liked it and thought it was well-run and lively. Go figure. So I wouldn't let your experience in Alaska affect your decision on the Adriatic.

 

 

I think you're probably right...every cruise is so different, and unfortunately we hit a week when there were just a number of things that made the Westerdam not great.

 

I'm leaning towards giving the ship another chance, because I really like the itinerary. It's between the Westerdam and Azamara Quest (we've never cruised on Azamara), and the TA I contacted got us a much better deal on HAL. I might be making too much of the ship. The cruise is so port intensive the ship is literally going to be a moving hotel. If we had a lot of sea days I would probably pick more by ship than itinerary.

 

 

Cindy

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[OlsSalt]

You mentioned rough seas - we also find the ship gets very quiet during those times too. But in general, HAL ships tend to be a lot quieter than what it sounds like other lines are like. A lot of us like it that way, so one may need to keep shopping around to find the right mix for each passenger. After all HAL ships do have the biggest and best libraries among the mainline cruise ships -that tells you something, doesn't it. Shhhhhh..........:cool:

[Shetlander]

I imagine that location and time of year will have a far greater effect on the on-board atmosphere than any differences between two Vista-class ships.

 

We were on Zuiderdam last summer from Venice to Barcelona and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I imagine that your itinerary would be similar although I presume you will also be visiting some of the Adriatic ports such as Kotor and Dubrovnik, which are wonderful places.

 

We did not find the ship busy at night but then it wasn't completely void of people either. As an example there were plenty of people out on deck when we left Monaco at night.

 

At the end of the day it all depends upon what you specifically want! I hope that you have a nice cruise whatever you decide.

[Cindy]

Thanks, all. I'm heavily leaning towards this Westerdam cruise over the Azamara cruise. We're going to talk about it over the weekend and make a decision.

 

The next decision we'll have to make if we choose the Westerdam cruise is cabin. I already know we'll be getting an SB on either Deck 5 or Deck 7, but I'm torn between the two. We were on Deck 5 on the Noordam and loved it, but I know the aft configuration on the Westerdam is different.

 

We like a combination of sun and shade, so I'm a little nervous that the covering on Deck 5 might be too much of a good thing. Does the overhang make the cabin seem dark, or do you still get a lot of light? Pros and cons of Deck 5 and Deck 7?

 

Thanks!:)

[sammygoose]

here's the link that I posted some pics of our Westerdam aft wrap cabin. We really liked it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2301302

[Cindy]

here's the link that I posted some pics of our Westerdam aft wrap cabin. We really liked it.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2301302

 

Thanks! Your pictures were really helpful!

 

We decided on the Westerdam cruise, and we're going to try to get 7151.:) Even though the balcony isn't as big as the corners on Deck 5, my husband and I both like the mix of sun and shade instead of complete covering. That was how 5191 was on the Noordam, and we loved it!

Edited January 23, 2016 by Cindy