Trip Report -- 28-day Arctic Circle / Solstice on the Westerdam

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

 

My wife and I were on this cruise and I decided to write a short trip report since it was such an unusual itinerary. For reference, we are in our early 60s and have been on a number of cruises, but we are not exactly cruise people. We love cruises that have a lot of scenery right from the boat. We booked this cruise the day we found out about out it.

 

This was a fantastic cruise for both of us. Before I get into the specifics, I want to say that a cruise like this would be a truly once-in-a-lifetime event for most people. The length, the itinerary, the ship itself — these were all so incredible that one has to temper any commentary. I say this because this cruise had a very experienced / mature set of guests. I think the average Mariner level was 4+, an experienced but perhaps demanding group of people. It’s fine to review things from that perspective, but only if we all agree that it is a very skewed perspective.

 

OK, here are some of the things that I loved about this cruise:

 

The Route

Much of the cruise was spent very close to shore, often in sight of land on both sides or in some cases all sides. There was something to see for almost the entire 28 days. This is the kind of cruising we love, where the land itself is the star. We had two different captains, and the first captain — Captain Bart — did a great job of keeping us in the most interesting places on our route. As just one example, we followed the true Inside Passage route right from the start of the cruise, whereas most Seattle-origin Alaska cruises travel out at sea for the first day. This got us off to a great start and Captain Bart made other choices that were just as good (mostly). Our second Captain, who was a bit less talkative than Captain Bart, did not seem as driven to take the best route, specifically skipping a Grenville Channel option on the way back south. Overall though the route was incredible and the scenery was boundless. We saw dozens of whales, otters, eagles and more, all right from the ship. 

 

The Ports

We enjoyed each of the ports in one way or another. Some of the ports get very few cruise ships, so the excursions were limited or were largely just exploring the town. We had a great bicycle tour in Anchorage, a fantastic tour of Gull Island in Homer, a nice walk out to a dredge in Nome, and a lovely, atmospheric, self-guided hike to an old gold mining town, now overtaken by the rain forest, in Juneau (the Treadwell Mine), among other things. All of these were very nice. Where possible we also tried to get a meal in the town we were in.

 

The Entertainment

We loved the classical trio — Alice, Alex, and Ashley. Every day they had a new program, and all of them were excellent. Very challenging and the performances were at a very high level, at least to our ears. We also loved the Billboard Onboard guys, Nathan and Carson, and the Rolling Stone band. All three of these groups were able to keep up the intensity for the full month of the cruise and we enjoyed every show. There was also a good jazz group, however we did not see them much as happy hour was in their bar and it was a bit too busy for us. As far as the main stage shows, we are not that interested in those shows generally. We did go to one funny comic, and one not-so-funny comic, plus a magician husband-and wife show.

 

The Crew

This should really be the first on my list. The crew, down to the very last crew member, was fantastic. We had attentive, pleasant service everywhere we went. It does seem like the crew is stretched way too thin, but I never heard any crew member complain and there were smiles everywhere for the entire cruise.  The “part of the family” feel that Holland is known for is incredibly strong on this ship. Special note of the staff at the coffee bar in the Crow’s Nest. They worked so hard every day and were always so friendly and happy — a huge thank you to them. 

 

The Ship

The Westerdam is an older HAL ship, and it is missing our favorite part of the newer ships, the NY Deli pizza place. We -love- the NY Deli but had to do without it for this cruise. Other than that, this ship was perfect. It is beautifully appointed, with a lower-key approach to art and design than the newer ships. The size is just right, it is easy to get from one end to the other, and nothing seemed crowded at any time. Supposedly this was a sold-out cruise but we never waited for anything. Not for a table at Anytime Dining, not for a lounger, not for anything really at the Lido. The Crow’s Nest did get busy at times, but that is the best spot on the ship and this was a scenery-heavy cruise, so that was to be expected. Oh and yes the tenders were crowded and slow at times, but only once or twice.

 

The Library

This ship has the best library I have ever seen on a cruise ship. Tons of titles and multiple copies of each. On such a long cruise it was great resource to have. It was very busy early in the cruise and I saw people in and out of it all the way through. I hope HAL can improve the libraries on some of the newer ships where the libraries are lacking a bit.

 

The Weather

Well weather is largely a case of good or bad luck, but on this long cruise we had absolutely the best of luck. Honestly the weather could not have been better. Most days were very clear, cool but not cold, with minimal to no rain. All of our ports had nice weather, at several ports the locals told us we were there on “the nicest day of the year”. In some stretches where a few clouds could add atmosphere to the visual, we had clouds. At Glacier Bay we had stellar views of all of the glaciers, t-shirt weather on deck and once again, no rain at all in a rain forest. I think I only put my rain jacket on once on the entire trip. That said, on this trip you need to be prepared for wild and wet weather. We just did not get any of it.

 

 

Those are just the highest of the high points, overall I was completely happy with the cruise but wanted to point those out specifically. There are also a few things that could use improvement:

 

The Drinks

The mixed drinks on this ship were terrible. Virtually every drink comes pre-made from these humongous, hand-labeled plastic containers that are very unattractive — like something that would be used at a frat party. In other cases the drinks instead come right from a bottle of mix, "Finest Call” brand. These mixers have massive amounts of added sugar(41g per serving!) and are in no way representative of the drinks they are named for. A margarita has a very standard, well-known recipe and it does not include “high fructose corn syrup”. I tried repeatedly to get a bartender to just make a proper margarita, but the best they could do was a “skinny margarita”, which tastes nothing like a proper margarita. It’s not just margaritas either, virtually all mixed drinks come from a similar giant vat or bottle. They simply do not make these drinks using the normal ingredients that one would expect. Just as bad, there was very little alcohol in any of these drinks. I do not drink much, rarely more than two drinks in a day, yet I could drink 3-4 mixed drinks on the Westerdam without getting any buzz other than from the sugar. We had the drink package, but I can not imagine paying full price for these drinks. The bartenders should be embarrassed to be serving this level of quality.  If you drink on this ship, stick to beer or wine, or mixed drinks that have only one ingredient other than booze, like a gin and tonic. One more note on drinks, they sometimes have special variants on a drink, like a “Gala Lemon Drop”, listing different exotic ingredients on the menus. I could not taste any difference in these variants and they seem to come from the same giant bottles so I’m not sure what is going on there.

 

Resuppply

We had some items run out on this cruise, and some were either not resupplied or were minimally resupplied. I get it, these are remote ports and resupply is costly, but a cruise this long needs at least one proper resupply. This is the second time we have been on a 3-week-plus HAL cruise and I am starting to think we may need to avoid them due to this issue, as it happened last time as well. Here are the things we ran out of around week 2: Strawberries , Blueberries, Cream cheese, Grapes, Bananas, Mandarins, Pecans, Almonds. These are just  the items I would normally eat. Some were eventually resupplied but only in limited quantities. For example, strawberries were available but only before about 8AM, if you got to the Lido after that, the guy at the Sweet Spot where the strawberries were carefully metered out would say “it (is) too late for strawberries”. Bananas were available, but only if you knew to ask the right person. It’s very hard to eat healthy on a cruise ship, but when so many fruit options are missing it gets even harder. On the bright side they did not run out of IPA.

 

Cleanliness

The Westerdam does not have the excellent “washie washie” stations with automatic hand washer/driers that the newer ships have. On the newer ships these are at each Lido entrance, along with a crew enforcer. Instead the Westerdam has the basic hand sanitizer stations and no enforcement of use. Also, unlike with the newer ships, much of the food service at the Lido is by guests directly. It would be difficult to eat at the Westerdam Lido without touching several serving handles that dozens of other guests have already touched. Hand sanitizer does not kill norovirus, only hand washing can do that. My wife and I washed our hands after each visit to the Lido, but I did not see one other person in the Men’s room washing hands in the 28 days we were on board. Most people also skipped the sanitizer stations. Elderly guests and especially 4+ star mariners simply do not like being told what to do and undoubtedly some do not even believe in COVID. There were many ill people on this cruise and I don’t think we had one tender without at least one person that was obviously sick and coughing, same with the Lido area. People hacking and not even covering their mouths was not unusual. I hope HAL can figure out a way to address this on these older ships — avoiding common touch surfaces and also forcing guests to follow basic sanitation procedures. As it is now they are begging for a norovirus outbreak and they or more or less managing a constant COVID level.

 

 

Those are the highs and lows of the cruise. As I said at the start, we loved this cruise overall and are completely satisfied. HAL is, in general, a value line and we felt like we got great value for what we paid. We applaud HAL for offering these spectacular itineraries to their more experienced cruisers and we look forward to seeing what they offer next. For those of you considering this cruise or perhaps already signed up, you will not be disappointed. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 8 by FlaviaOfTheMonth
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[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Thanks for explaining why the couple of margaritas I had, tasted like there was no tequilla in them. Because there wasn’t,

 

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

I would not say there was no tequila, but there was not very much.

[togacath]

Adding that the Laundry Team was incredible on this trip.  One report was that there were over 1,000 passengers at 4* or 5* who were all entitled to free laundry.  In spite of that, we got our laundry back next day every time we sent it out.

[Catlover54]

Thank you for taking time to write this detailed review, listing both pros and cons. 

 

1. Do you (or anyone else) perhaps have a screen shot showing the itinerary?

 

2.  I didn't know that mixed drinks with multiple ingredients come from pre-mixed containers (loaded with sugar).  Is this true on all HAL ships and itineraries (as far as you or others know), or just on Westerdam and/or on an Arctic cruise?  DH and I were recently on the Rotterdam, but we ordered wine and/or only the occasional cocktail with only 1 other ingredient besides the alcohol, so we didn't notice (I am pretty sure I would have noticed 41 gms of sugar in my drink). 

 

3.  ". . . .My wife and I washed our hands after each visit to the Lido, but I did not see one other person in the Men’s room washing hands in the 28 days we were on board. Most people also skipped the sanitizer stations. Elderly guests and especially 4+ star mariners simply do not like being told what to do . . . "

Statistically, I don't think it's just elderly and 4 stars who don't like being told what to do on cruises.   But if your cruise was already full of 4 stars, which you reported, and/or elderly (unclear but likely, for this long a cruise and as you called them "mature" ), those would just be primarily the people you saw, so without a direct age comparison, your sample is a bit skewed.

 

I don't spend any time in men's rooms (unless I'm on an excursion in a long ladies' line and am desperate) :), but my DH does.  

Researchers actually study who does and doesn't wash their hands! It is not just elderly men, but men in general who don't wash their hands much.

Signage (and seeing others wash) can help remind people to do so.

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14738345/

 

DH and some others think there is more hand-washing in luxury venues or more affluent  settings (and even then some  skip the washing up part, despite good maintenance and all the easily available towels for drying). 

 

For an interesting read (for those of us interested in learning more about why things might happen as they do): 

 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200417-the-hidden-reasons-some-people-dont-wash-their-hands

 

For a more 'explicit' read:

 

https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/12/men-explain-dont-wash-hands-pee-12381749/

 

 

Fortunately, you didn't have a noro outbreak and you had an overall great cruise. 🙂

And I do wish people of all genders would wash their hands more than they do, on or off cruises, in any event.

 

 

[cccole]

I love this review.  Sounds like you had such a great time.  I so agree about being able to see beauty from the ship on sea days.  That's what we loved about the 22 day Antarctica cruise and why we have booked the Islands of the South Pacific in 2026. 

 

Those plastic containers were a bit disturbing, but necessary for the bar staff.  We asked for alcohol and mixers separately and mixed our own drinks.  When a bartender took out the "maragarita" mix for my lemon drop I knew there would be too much sugar.  I haven't figured out how to get a not too sweet lemon drop, my drink on the way back to our cabin after the evening entertainment.  I started asking for no sugar rim and extra lemon juice.  The bartender at the Lido pool bar gave me lots of fresh lemon juice.

 

Again, I really enjoyed your review, thank you for taking the time to post.  Cherie  

Edited July 8 by cccole

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

1 hour ago, cccole said:

We asked for alcohol and mixers separately and mixed our own drinks.  When a bartender took out the "maragarita" mix for my lemon drop I knew there would be too much sugar. 

I tried doing this a couple of times but each time the bartender steered me towards the skinny margarita. I think the limiting factor here was unsweetened lime juice. The don't juice limes unless absolutely needed. This was at fairly slow times too so it is not like the bartenders were jammed up. They had time to make a drink that was worth $11.50. I think HAL is just committed to the drink mixes, to the extreme detriment of the drink quality.

 

And I don't really object to the plastic jugs as long as they had been mixed with the actual ingredients of a margarita (or any of the other menu drinks for that matter). Lemon Drop is another one that comes from a mix, and water and sugar are both above lemon juice in the ingredients list. That is not a Lemon Drop.

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

2 hours ago, togacath said:

Adding that the Laundry Team was incredible on this trip.  One report was that there were over 1,000 passengers at 4* or 5* who were all entitled to free laundry.  In spite of that, we got our laundry back next day every time we sent it out.

I agree. In fact I used the app Feedback section to send a note to that effect while we were on board. Great quality work and turnaround times.

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

2 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

Researchers actually study who does and doesn't wash their hands! It is not just elderly men, but men in general who don't wash their hands much.

 

 

 

To be clear, I was not referring to people washing their hands after using the toilet. Instead I was referring to people washing their hands prior to visiting the Lido and using the utensils there, which are very widely shared. Ideally guests would wash their hands before and after each Lido trip. On the newer ships -- as well as on newer Carnival ships -- this is dead easy to do with the automatic washers. Without those it appeared that nobody washed their hands.

[cccole]

@FlaviaOfTheMonth  We always had lemons and limes from the bartenders or Lido for our beverages.  Besides lime juice my husband's margaritas and mai tais only include alcohol and ice. I think I will ask for lemon vodka on the rocks and add what I want.  Thank you again for such a great review and good info.  Cherie  

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thanks for your review!!

It is truly a shame to hear about the mixed drinks. Has anyone else encountered on recent HAL cruises? My last HAL cruise was on the Nieuw Statendam in December and while I mostly drank wine I did have a couple of margarita's and a Mango Margarita and Mango Daiquiri. None of the mixed drinks seemed to come from a mix nor did I see any plastic cartons. I wonder if this is something new to cut down on cost?? 7 weeks from now we will be on the Westerdam so will be able to report back on this.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

4 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

Thank you for taking time to write this detailed review, listing both pros and cons. 

 

1. Do you (or anyone else) perhaps have a screen shot showing the itinerary?

 

2.  I didn't know that mixed drinks with multiple ingredients come from pre-mixed containers (loaded with sugar).  Is this true on all HAL ships and itineraries (as far as you or others know), or just on Westerdam and/or on an Arctic cruise?  DH and I were recently on the Rotterdam, but we ordered wine and/or only the occasional cocktail with only 1 other ingredient besides the alcohol, so we didn't notice (I am pretty sure I would have noticed 41 gms of sugar in my drink). 

 

3.  ". . . .My wife and I washed our hands after each visit to the Lido, but I did not see one other person in the Men’s room washing hands in the 28 days we were on board. Most people also skipped the sanitizer stations. Elderly guests and especially 4+ star mariners simply do not like being told what to do . . . "

Statistically, I don't think it's just elderly and 4 stars who don't like being told what to do on cruises.   But if your cruise was already full of 4 stars, which you reported, and/or elderly (unclear but likely, for this long a cruise and as you called them "mature" ), those would just be primarily the people you saw, so without a direct age comparison, your sample is a bit skewed.

 

I don't spend any time in men's rooms (unless I'm on an excursion in a long ladies' line and am desperate) :), but my DH does.  

Researchers actually study who does and doesn't wash their hands! It is not just elderly men, but men in general who don't wash their hands much.

Signage (and seeing others wash) can help remind people to do so.

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14738345/

 

DH and some others think there is more hand-washing in luxury venues or more affluent  settings (and even then some  skip the washing up part, despite good maintenance and all the easily available towels for drying). 

 

For an interesting read (for those of us interested in learning more about why things might happen as they do): 

 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200417-the-hidden-reasons-some-people-dont-wash-their-hands

 

For a more 'explicit' read:

 

https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/12/men-explain-dont-wash-hands-pee-12381749/

 

 

Fortunately, you didn't have a noro outbreak and you had an overall great cruise. 🙂

And I do wish people of all genders would wash their hands more than they do, on or off cruises, in any event.

 

 

Here is a link to the itinerary with a map

 

https://www.theinsidecabin.com/2024-legendary-alaska/

 

 

 

[0106]

7 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

did have a couple of margarita's and a Mango Margarita and Mango Daiquiri. None of the mixed drinks seemed to come from a mix nor did I see any plastic cartons.

I have never seen fresh mango or strawberry used in a daiquiri or margarita on a HAL ship.  They have always come from a mix/ plastic carton (also the pina coladas).

[Hogladyrider]

While I was not on this cruise I have followed several threads with folks on this cruise along with blogs and you tube channels.

 

I think you have provided a very well rounded overall review.  From what I have read it does seem like there were many 4 & 5 star cruisers and I think that is great and I am sure HAL was prepared for that.  As for them being demanding, I'm not so sure about that.

 

While we only have 2 HAL cruises under our belts we are HAL fans.  Everyone has their own style of cruising whether it is evening entertainment or relaxation entertainment.

 

I am glad overall you had a wonderful cruise.

 

We also are not big drinkers and we have not experienced what you described with regards to the mix drinks being premade.

 

IMO HAL has the best staff!

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share your cruise thoughts with us.

[Lido deck main]

7 hours ago, 0106 said:

I have never seen fresh mango or strawberry used in a daiquiri or margarita on a HAL ship.  They have always come from a mix/ plastic carton (also the pina coladas).

Thank you for pointing this out, I have never noticed.  I do like a few mixed drinks during my cruise but if this above is the case I will stick to wine.

[Petronillus]

17 hours ago, togacath said:

 One report was that there were over 1,000 passengers at 4* or 5* who were all entitled to free laundry. 

"If everybody's somebody then nobody's anybody"

                                                                -- G.S. Gilbert

[Petronillus]

19 hours ago, FlaviaOfTheMonth said:

The Drinks

The mixed drinks on this ship were terrible. Virtually every drink comes pre-made from these humongous, hand-labeled plastic containers that are very unattractive — like something that would be used at a frat party. In other cases the drinks instead come right from a bottle of mix, "Finest Call” brand. These mixers have massive amounts of added sugar(41g per serving!) and are in no way representative of the drinks they are named for. A margarita has a very standard, well-known recipe and it does not include “high fructose corn syrup”. I tried repeatedly to get a bartender to just make a proper margarita, but the best they could do was a “skinny margarita”, which tastes nothing like a proper margarita. It’s not just margaritas either, virtually all mixed drinks come from a similar giant vat or bottle. They simply do not make these drinks using the normal ingredients that one would expect. Just as bad, there was very little alcohol in any of these drinks. I do not drink much, rarely more than two drinks in a day, yet I could drink 3-4 mixed drinks on the Westerdam without getting any buzz other than from the sugar. We had the drink package, but I can not imagine paying full price for these drinks. The bartenders should be embarrassed to be serving this level of quality.  If you drink on this ship, stick to beer or wine, or mixed drinks that have only one ingredient other than booze, like a gin and tonic. One more note on drinks, they sometimes have special variants on a drink, like a “Gala Lemon Drop”, listing different exotic ingredients on the menus. I could not taste any difference in these variants and they seem to come from the same giant bottles so I’m not sure what is going on there.

 

@FlaviaOfTheMonth, thanks for a marvelously well crafted review. It should serve as a model.

 

DW & I enjoyed a 28-day cruise on board the Westerdam in February (r/t Hong Kong, via S Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines). Your observations regarding the ship and its crew are spot on. 

 

I never noticed the plastic jugs, but then DW & I don't fancy mixed drinks. A double Chivas Regal on the rocks with benefit of HIA is heavenly. In the morning I got Bloody Marys, which I watched the bartender in the Lido bar make, which was always from scratch (ok, the tomato juice was from a plastic jug but the vodka was never pre-mixed in). My preprandial cocktail was Bombay Sapphire on the rocks bone dry, and got disappointed only once, when I returned the drink and demanded genuine Sapphire.

 

Did I read you right, that there were two pianists at Billboard Onboard? We had only one but she was Krista Matthews and she was incomparable.

 

Thanks again for a brilliantly organized/presented review.

[JeffElizabeth]

We got wait listed on this cruise, thanks for the review.  Makes me still want to take it. 

[FlaviaOfTheMonth]

5 hours ago, Petronillus said:

@FlaviaOfTheMonth

 

Did I read you right, that there were two pianists at Billboard Onboard? We had only one but she was Krista Matthews and she was incomparable.

 

 

Yes, two "piano men". They played Billy Joel and a lot more. Nathan and Carson, I think they are both 23 years old. Very fun to watch and listen to. I particularly enjoyed how they interacted with the very aged crowd, it was a mix of the grandkids demonstrating their musical talent and the grandparents wistfully talking about how great music was when they were kids. I would love to see how different the interplay is with the 1-week itinerary crowds they will have moving forward.

[SeaMatesNYC]

On 7/8/2024 at 6:42 PM, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Thanks for your review!!

It is truly a shame to hear about the mixed drinks. Has anyone else encountered on recent HAL cruises? My last HAL cruise was on the Nieuw Statendam in December and while I mostly drank wine I did have a couple of margarita's and a Mango Margarita and Mango Daiquiri. None of the mixed drinks seemed to come from a mix nor did I see any plastic cartons. I wonder if this is something new to cut down on cost?? 7 weeks from now we will be on the Westerdam so will be able to report back on this.

We saw it done on recent Noordam and on Nieuw Statendam in May/June. They say it is to increase speed. Ask for a “by hand mix” when sitting at a bar and they will do it for you. Don’t accept the pre-mix!!

 

(P.s., I don’t drink alcohol so my Fre wine did not suffer this way. But I did have to send back several flat Bruts. Why some bartenders feel it’s ok to serve flat sparkling wine I so don’t understand. Don’t accept flat champagne, prosecco, or Brut!!  Order “Chardonnay” if you will take it flat.)

Edited July 10 by SeaMatesNYC
Grammar