Share with me about the Westerdam

[tls881]

What did you like about the Westerdam? What are excursions (Half Moon Cay, Aruba, Curacao) you wish you had done.........or did and LOVED!???!!!!!!??? Meals on ship.....best choices? :confused: Never cruised on Holland America before. Did a Western with Princess in December 2000, and again with the kids on Carnival in April 2001. I am so excited to cruise again! :D Any input will be appreciated! Thank you!

[Jade13]

Loved the ship. Dh is a chef and the food was very good. The soups were exceptional. I like the cold soups. He likes the hot soups. We went to the main dining room every night with the exception of the one evening they had an outside barbeque, which was nice for a change.

 

Sign up on your roll call and do the CC Meet & Greet. Do the Kitchen tour as I understand most ships don't let you walk through the Kitchen. I always go to afternoon tea on Sea Days. The first is the Dutch Tea and you will see the ice carving and other carvings they were working on earlier in the morning while you were on the Kitchen tour. In the Med on the second Sea Day they had Indonesian Tea and staff was dressed in traditional costume.

 

Don't miss checking out the art collection. If you have an ipod you can download the tour before you leave home. The Dutch Tiles behind the main reception are one of the ships highlights. There is also an Andy Warhol across from reception. Notice the minature art in the gift shop area. Have breakfast in your cabin, at least once even if you prefer the main dining room. HAL delivers a hot breakfast. You can write in anything you want and sometimes we request the "cheese platter".

Don't forget that HAL serves hot breakfast in you stateroom the last morning if you wish and you can stay in your cabin until your number is called. Have a great cruise!

[MercedMike]

We loved that cruise! Westerdam is a beautiful ship and the ports are very good, but also the nice sea days to relax on that itin.

 

The things we REALLY loved were the Thermal Suite

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/thermal.html

 

A cabana at Half Moon Cay

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/cabana.html

 

and the Sea Lion Encounter at the Curacao Seaquarium.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/scarib.html

 

Also look on our page in the sig below for our Zuiderdam cruises as she is a twin sister to Westerdam.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[O2B@C]

What did you like about the Westerdam? What are excursions (Half Moon Cay, Aruba, Curacao) you wish you had done.........or did and LOVED!???!!!!!!??? Meals on ship.....best choices? ...

 

Here's my two cents, in addition to what others have already posted.

 

I loved the Crow's Nest with the Explorations Cafe and library adjacent. If you enjoy classical music, spend an evening or two after dinner listening to the string quartet in the Explorer's Lounge.

 

If you like fancy cocktails, try the mango mojito and cosmo cubana. Don't miss the caribbean fish cake and mushroom vol-au-vent appetizers; the mango gazpacho soup; the rack of lamb and parmesan crusted chicken entrees; and the warm chocolate pudding dessert. And not to forget the famous bread pudding in the Lido! (Ask for it at the ice cream counter.)

 

Don't hesitate to take advantage of HAL's room service, which is much more extensive than that on Princess (at no extra charge, you can order dinner off the dining room menu to be delivered at the time of your choosing during dinner hours, as long as you phone in the order within 1/2 hour after the start of the first dinner seating).

 

Didn't take any excursions, so can't help you there. I highly recommend at least a clamshell on HMC - the natural shade is gone by noon, so if you want to hang out on the beach without getting burned, it's clearly worth the $14.

[Marie321]

We love the Westerdam. We enjoy walking fully around the promonade deck. We enjoy breakfast so much! We love all the friendly stewards and waiters. We had a cabana on HMC with a butler and we loved the experience. The beach is beautiful. We love all the fresh flowers. We love all the quiet places that can be found. We enjoy the trivia, bingo, and scavenger hunt on the ship. We love sitting out on the balcony reading or listening to IPods. We cruise her again the 29th and can't wait!

[Solo Cruiser]

Count me as another vote for the Hydropool and Thermal Suite area. I got a week pass for both places for $139 in October. The most relaxing thing I've ever done. I loved the room service on HAL, prompt and tasty. The "yum yum man" who hand out the mints and ginger after dinner is a very classy touch. The service was extraordinary. Getting on and off the ship is well organized. Don't miss the piano bar, Kory Simon is excellent and provides terrific entertainment.

 

Most of all, check in with the Future Cruise Coordinator and put down $100 per person toward an undetermined cruise. You will absolutely want to have this experience again.

[Jen&Joe]

We were on the Westerdam in October and really enjoyed it. The service and food at the Pinnacle grill was amazing. We found the staff in general on the ship to be very pleasant and really went above and beyond.

 

In Half Moon we rent inner tubes and spend our day floating in the water. There's no better way to spend your day there!

 

Meals - I don't think I had a meal on the ship that I did not love. My husband had the french onion soup every.single.night he loved it so much. The asian station in the lido had some great sushi and stirfry's. I had pork loin one night in the dining room that was spectacular.