Westerdam review - part 2

[sandiego1]

Pools: I was surprised to find that the aft pool is for ADULTS only. This has been the source of much discussion on the CC web site. In the published Daily Papers, there was a note each day under "Services" listing the operating times for the "Midship Family Pool" and "Aft Adult Pool". Check out Schplinky's post of all the W-dam daily documents here (go to pic #41 for 1 example of the time for the Adult Aft Pool): http://schplinky.smugmug.com/gallery/2418958#127077843

That said, the only sign I saw was at the hot tubs. The sign stated that no one under 14 was allowed to use the hot tub. Despite the sign, I did see a small child in the aft hot tub one afternoon. I didn't look for any other signs regarding the pool since there were so few children on our ship and I preferred to use the Lido pool since it had more shade.

Food:

We ate most breakfasts and lunches in the Lido. We had 1 room service bkfast and I wasn’t impressed. I requested very dry scrambled eggs. They were nearly liquid and inedible. We also have 1 bkfast in the dining room. Big mistake. Service was unbelievably slow and the food was no better than the Lido and wasn’t as hot.

We were fortunate to have the crew Doctor (Gracielle Lopez) join us on the 1st Formal night for dinner. It was a pleasure to dine w/ her. She’s a lovely woman (see the crew show for more info about her).

We dined w/ 2 other couples that have been friends for nearly 50 years. They were a true delight and having dinner w/ them was one of the highlights of the cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company and kept switching seats every night to enable us to chat w/ each of the other people.

I thought the food was very good. I like fairly basic food and I never had to order one of the “always available” options. There was always something I liked. I am a picky eater and usually need to order stuff on the side or without one of the ingredients. I liked that HAL had detailed descriptions for each of the menu items. I only had to ask the waiter twice to leave something out of the dinner entrée. My DH likes spicy food and did find that it was a bit bland for his tastes. We always had several of the courses, especially dessert. One of our table mates ordered 2 entrees on night. The waiter didn’t blink an eye.

Ports/Excursions:

Grand Turk – We did the Dune Buggy excursion. It was fun. We explored most of the island. There isn’t too much to see but it was a fun experience. I don’t know why they told us to wear a bathing suit and water shoes. We were never near the water! Even though it rained the day before, it was dry when we went. I did read on CC that someone went through some mud/water puddles on a previous trip. I would recommend sneakers as it would be easier to push the gas pedal. Also, if you are very short, you won’t be able to drive since the seats don’t adjust. I’m 5’6” and I had to stuff towels behind my back in order to reach the pedals and steering wheel. Every time we went over a bump (which was often), the seat belt would snap back and lock into position and pull me closer to the back of the seat. Eventually, I was barely able to reach the steering wheel! My DH had to unlatch it, pull it all the way back and then latch it again. My DH is 5’9” and didn’t have as much of a problem. My in-laws spent the entire day at the pool at Margaritaville. It’s a nice pool.

St. Maarten – we did the Rhino Rider excursion here. I booked through Internet, not through ship and it was about half what the ship was charging. But we did have to get a taxi on our own. It was $15. We took the bus back ($1 each), then had to take a water taxi from Philipsburg to the pier ($6 each). It took about 45 minutes for the taxi so make sure you leave enough time. We were told 30 minutes so we were late getting to the excursion. They almost left w/o us. This was a fun excursion too! DH drove out to the snorkel area and I drove back. If you have a bad back, this is not a good excursion for you. Way too bumpy! Snorkeling was ok. There were a lot of fish, just not a big variety. The water was reasonably clear.

Tortola – we didn’t get into port until 2:15, not 12:00 as listed on our itinerary. This really didn’t leave enough time to do much in the port. We spent 4 days in Tortola when we went to Peter Island 4 years ago. We were initially going to go to the beach but my in-laws wanted to walk around Road Town instead. We walked down the very long pier, and my MIL’s hip started bothering her. So we split up and walked to Road Town on our own. We spent about an hour walking around, pointing out places we remembered and generally reminiscing about our last trip.

One important thing to note is that the entry into Tortola is really beautiful. You pass by several of the BVIs. I was told the area is called “The Narrows” and the passage is less than 4/10 mile wide. I recommend spending the time up top and taking pictures. It was really nice.

HMC – we booked the Sky Blue cabana, but all look good and I really don’t think there’s a bad one. It is busier at the end of the beach that is closest to the tender pier. The far end was less crowded but it was a longer walk. We were quite close to the BBQ and bathrooms, but far enough away that we didn’t get any noise. The fruit plate that was in the cabana was a joke. It had about 4 slices of fruit – barely enough for 1 person, let alone the 4 that booked the cabana! We didn’t get the butler upgrade. It was $279 and we’re not big drinkers so we didn’t think we’d get the value. I do recommend getting to HMC early. We were late arrivers (about 10:30) and it didn’t seem like we had enough time there. They hurry you out of the cabanas at 3PM. The last tender is at 3:30. The beach is like baby powder and the water is crystal clear. All 4 of us agreed that this was the highlight of our cruise.