Westerdam Review - June 4 -11

[nanashirl]

Just returned Sunday from Alaska on the Westerdam.

Great trip - Wonderful weather.

Will just give our opinion as first time HA cruisers.

Embarkation was a snap. Very short lines when we arrived at 11:00am and we were checked in and waiting when they opened the doors at 11:30.

We loved our cabin. We had a SZ guarantee and were upgraded to SS cabin 8090. Nice size cabin and large bathroom. We loved the balcony.

Our Cabin steward was a jewel. His name was Yamin. He saw him several times each day (which we hadn't on other cruise lines). He was very friendly. Always had a smile and was Johnny on the spot for anything that we needed.All the staff was all smiles from the Capt down.

The ship was very easy to find your way around and the staff was always cleaning so everything was nice and shiny.

We enjoyed the entertainment. The Westerdam cast put on a couple of great shows. Drew Murdock was the Cruise Director and he did a good job and keeping everyone entertained. Our Ship Captain was Henk Keijer. He was wonderful. He praised his staff constantly and seemed to really care for those working on the ship. We saw him out among the passengers every day.

The only dissapointment was the food. In the Lido the quality and taste of the food was not very good. The same thing every day and just not much variety. The dining room was a little better but still not up to others we have been on. Several passengers we talked to agreed but said that the Head Chef was new and they hoped that the food would improve over time.

Overall we had a great time and would cruise HA again.:) :) :)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Thanks for your review Nanashirl, and welcome home! :) How were the ports of call? Which one did you enjoy the most? Did you do any excursions?

[grannynurse]

Welcome home Shirl,

I've been eagerly awaiting your review. Aw cummon, not just one paragraph....

I know you're probably tired and busy unpacking. When you're feeling a little livelier tell me about Seattle, and how the Westerdam met or didn't meet your expectations. HAL food can be hit or miss, I know this from experience, but I need details, no hurry though.

Was the cruise truly wonderful or mediocre? What were the pluses and minuses in the SS cabin? This will be our first SS and our last cabin was an S on the Maasdam, I'm eager to hear your evaluation of the cabin and the ship overall. Did you love Alaska?

I'll be patient, again, welcome home.

GN

[nanashirl]

Will try to do a more detailed review later. Still trying to get caught up with ALL THAT LAUNDRY and putting up.

middle-aged mom - Our first shore excursion was to take the Capt Larry whale watching in Juneau. It was great. The weather couldn't have been better. Capt Larry was there and also Shawn (his boat was being worked on) was on the boat and gave most of the info and answered questions. He was really good. We saw probably 7 or 8 humpbacks, no Orcas this time. Lots of sea lions and got some great shots (close) of bald eagles.

We then did the Salmon Bake thru HA. The food was very good and the area is beautiful. Also went to Red Dog Saloon. That is pretty neat.

In Sitka we didn't do any excursions. Just walked around town and shopped some. Very pretty town.

In Ketchikan we went to Lumberjack show. Cute show. Not much tme in port to do any others. Did shop alittle there. Really thought we needed more time there. It is really a neat place.

In Victoria we did the Butchardt Gardens. A must see. It is awesome, We did this thru HA. Our driver was a 3rd generation Victorian and he was very knowledgeable about the area and on the way back took us thru some of highlights of the area. Really enjoyed it.

Grannynurse - Haven't been in a S cabin so hard to compare but we thought the SS was great. Had plenty of room for storage. The whirlpool was wonderful when we came back in the evenings. Not much room between chairs and the bed but it was not too bad. The bed was wonderful. Really slept well. Our balcony had 2 chairs with footrest and a table with 2 chairs.

I wasn't impressed with HA transfers. When we got to luggage area in Seattle - no rep. We got our luggage and when to area that our transfer said. Found bus and had to wait for quite some time for it to fill up. By the time we made all the hotel stops and got to ours we didn't have any time to do anything but check in and find some place close to eat. We would just take a cab next tme. We did use the transfer the next morning for our luggage but we just took a cab on to the pier as you would have had to wait until 12:30 to leave the hotel and the HA rep said that it had been late the day before and we wanted to go ahead and get on ship. Just left our luggage with them (since we had paid for transfer) and then just took a cab. At the end of cruise we got our luggage and had a porter take it to bus they were using to go to Airport. Took some time to get all luggage on. They take you to an area that is down a ways from the terminal and you are on your own to get a cart and push your luggage up a hill to the terminal to check it in. We would not do this again. Would have liked to seen some of Seattle but just needed to come a couple of days ahead or stay afterwards.

I loved the Westerdam. She is a beautiful ship. The cruise was great. You don't see much until you get to Hubbard Glacier. That is awesome. Before and after the ports is some beautiful scenery. Don't know if Glacier Bay and the inside passage might be better?

As I said the food was just so-so. The Lido reminded me of eating at a Furr's Cafeteria. Not much taste and the quality was poor. One day I got some beans and they had just been warmed up (from can). Very little variety each day. The DR was better but with the exception of the last night (when they had surf and turf which was good) it was not ourstanding but very good presentation.

The biggest plus was the staff. They were great!!!!

We go for the ship and intinerary but it would be nice if the food were good too. Hopefully it will improve. The main thing was we had a great time and enoyed everything we did.

Shirl

 

 

 

ee some

[TLHB]

Hi all. I am sorry that I am a few days late getting on the boards. DH and I stayed a couple of days in Seattle and just got home late Tuesday night. He took off of work yesterday so we could catch up on bills and go get the pictures developed.

I agree with nanashirl's comments. The Westerdam was fabulous!!!! The weather was beautiful!!!!!!!!!!! The crew was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Drew was so hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I enjoyed listening to him talk at all of the shows and events. The disembarkation talk was fabulous! How touching it was to see him tear up when he started talking about the staff and how they were affected by the disaster in Indonesia. You could really tell that he loves his fellow crew staff!!!!!!!!! The song, "Love in Any Language," was just as great as everyone said!!!!! I enjoyed it so much!!!!!!!!

DH and I loved all of the ports and our excursions!!!!!!!!!! We booked all excursions through HAL, too. In Juneau we took the floatplane tour. It was breathtaking in beauty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We also did the whale watching tour. We saw three humpback whales and several eagles and sea lions. We loved it!!!!!!!! I admit that the boat was a bit crowded. It would have been nice to have had a smaller boat with fewer people. In Sitka we also did the sea otter and whale watch. It was a smaller boat in Sitka so I liked it better. We saw three humpback whales, numerous sea otters (a "raft" of them!), numerous sea lions and eagles. It was great! In Ketchikan we did the salmon fishing excursion. Even though we didn't catch anything, we had a great time! The eagles were everywhere!!!!!!!!!! One even landed on the water right next to our boat and grabbed a fish. I have lots of eagle pictures. In Victoria we didn't book an excursion. However, once we exited the boat we got a pedicab at the pier and had the guy take us on a full tour. It was very relaxing. Because he was a local we got lots of information. Also, it was slow enough to get great pictures. We stopped in the park and fed the ducks and squirrels. We were on the tour for about 2 1/2 hours so it was wonderful!

I agree that the food was not as good as I had expected. However, we had plenty of it, and I didn't think that it was bad. It was just not as good as I had imagined. I didn't care for the Lido. It was convenient, but the variety was lacking. My favorite thing there was the ice cream. :D

Our servers at the dining room were fabulous!!!!! We ordered room service four times - twice for breakfast, once for dinner, and once for snack. The two breakfast times were correct. The two times at night the people got our order wrong. I hated to call back so I let DH have the food and I ran up to Lido. Since we were on the 8th deck it wasn't a bad walk. I noted the errors on the comment card.

The beauty of Alaska was breathtaking!!!!!!!! I want to go back soon!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Nanashirl, I had hoped to run into you. What activities did you and DH do onboard the ship? I wonder if I saw you and didn't know it.

[nanashirl]

Hi TLHB -Also thought we might pick each other of the crowd but no luck,

We played some bingo, shopped in the shops. did a LITTLE gambling in the casino. Made most of the shows in the lounge. We had been put on waitlist for early dining and were pleasantly surprised that we got the 5:30 seating table 8. A mother and daughter from Tulsa were our table mates. They were funny and kept us laughing. We were at the sail away from Seattle. Didn't do Spa or pool. I guess you are having withdrawls like us. Would like to do Caribbean (Eastern) next time.

[TLHB]

Hi Nanashirl.

We got the 7:45 seating at table 24. I told DH that I would go at embarkation and ask for another time, but he told me not to worry about it so we kept our time.

We didn't do pool or spa either. We also did a tiny bit of casino time. We DID do EVERY BINGO. That is DH's favorite! Were you there at the first BINGO sessions, at sea days? If so, my DH is Chris, the guy from NC that won the Pinnacle lunch the first session and a BINGO round in the second session. He was also BINGO commisioner one of the times. He was also the one that yelled "BINGO" at Mark and then said "Just kidding. That is for the whales." He did that since Mark gave us the false whale siting at the Crow's Nest one day during BINGO.

Yes, we are having withdrawals. We want to do another Alaska cruise now!!!!!!!!!;)