Anyone have a good experience on the Westerdam?

[sail-a-bration]

I booked a long awaited Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam for Aug. HAL was supposed to be nicer than my Carnival cruises, but all I have read is how bad the ship is being run, and the disembark disasters. I am now beginning to dread my decision to book on HAL. Because of fuel costs warnings I bought my airline tickets (Delta, their TA said the price probably would not go lower, then it drops 70.00 a week later:mad:) so I cannot change dates, their change fee is 100.00 each. Please those of you who sail on her in the next two months, let us know if the ship morale improves, and if there are major problems, please let HAL know. I may still be able to switch to Princess, they have one leaving the same day, if their price comes down some.

[twinkletoes4445]

I was having the same sinking feeling after reading several negative posts about the Zuiderdam. It seemed like every time I turned around someone had a problem while on that ship. Turns out, we had a wonderful time on our cruise, in fact, that cruise was probably our favorite vacation. Everything was perfect. There wasn't one thing HAL could have done (other than drop some of the mushrooms from their items on the menu!) or any of the staff to make it better for us. So we've booked another HAL cruise, this time on the Noordam.

 

I don't doubt for a moment that the posters that complained had indeed had problems, but we just had none. But I do understand how you're feeling. Happy sailing whatever you decide to do. :)

[sppunk]

As someone who just walked off the Westerdam and posted a review, you will have a great time.

 

Yes, I believe (as others do) there are some things right now on Westerdam amiss. Those, however, do not ruin a vacation experience and most certainly do not spoil a cruise in Alaska, which is all about the land and little about the ship.

 

Once HAL gets full wind of the current Westerdam issues, I trust they will quickly be brought to order. A company as customer-driven and dedicated to consistency as HAL will not stand for one of its ships to be offering a less-than-perfect experience.

 

Relax, plan and enjoy Alaska. You'll have a wonderful time.

[Northshorecruisers]

I would really give HAL the chance vs jumping ship to Princess.

When we cruised Princess we found that the crew was adequate at best, no one smiled and then went the extra mile like they do on HAL.

Please post your observations no matter which line you choose.

[localady]

Prior to cruises I have been known, in the past, to fixate on all the negatives I have read here on CC about the Ship, food, staff etc. :o I have worried and fret, second guessed myself, and have then gotten onboard to have a stellar cruising experience ;) :D !!!

I don't think it is healthy to take alot of the remarks here on CC to heart, because many times others on the same cruise will report the exact opposite.

Alaska is spectacular and the Westerdam appears to be a lovely vessel (I've only sailed her sisters, Noordam and Oosterdam).

Please relax, take a breath, and enjoy your trip to the fullest. ;) If you don't go in looking for issues and promise not to sweat the small stuff, I am sure you will have a great cruise! :D :D

[Northshorecruisers]

Localady-

 

You are so correct!

[Crusing Bob]

You can read my review under Members Review from last October. We had excellent service and did not experience any problems or have any complaints. I think you can make a cruise experience what you will. We were very satisfied and changed an 8 day Veendam cruise for 11/1 to a 10/26 cruise on the Westerdam again and even the same itinerary and we plan to book it for 2009 for the Southern route. Many people like the smaller HAL ships and in our case we prefer the Vista class and have no interest however for the Eurodam that so many are so anxious to sail. Some are now even worrying about that decision, however. So, I think it is best to make your own decision and go with the expectations of having a great, relaxing cruise.

[localady]

Localady-

 

You are so correct!

 

Thank you so much, it doesn't happen often. ;) :D

My heart just bleeds for the newbie cruiser who has made that final payment on a very hard earned dream cruise vacation to read that their ship will be full of surly staff, uneatable food, smoke filled halls and inner areas, etc etc, etc........:rolleyes: :o

[Alaskabound77]

sspunk-

I think this was your first HAL cruise, but how long do you think it takes for a cruise company to implement changes when customers have complained? We said on the W in 5 weeks and I'm sort of freaking out too!

[Crusing Bob]

I think you need to take a break from CC threads and just plan for your trip so you don't continue to get more anxious about negatives coming from a few posts whereas others have said everything was fine.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Cruising Bob is right; spending too much time on these boards can make you nuts. I used to be a relatively sane and normal person myself.....;) :eek: And remember, all of the advice here is given for free by volunteer "experts". You get what you pay for!:D

 

Don't sweat the vacation planning; everyone have a wonderful cruise and make lots of good memories with your loved ones.....:) Aloha!

[CruiserBruce]

We are probably one of the people whose reviews have bothered you. But if you read closely, you will see we felt the problems were minor, and I mentioned at least twice the positives outweighted the negatives comfortably.

 

Here is one of the two, similar reviews I have written.

 

I had mentioned our positives (which we feel outweighted the negatives comfortably) in another post, but they go something like this...

 

- Great entertainment. Joel Mason (Elton John) and Jonathon Miller were awesome. I am forgetting names, but we felt every night's was pretty good or better. We didn't see the female singer, and we thought the first production show (the one, that unfortunately was repeated) was so-so.

 

Some of the other "special entertainment"- gallery tour, "nuts and bolts questions with Capt, Chief Engineer and Hotel Manager", backstage tour with cast, also were very good and much enjoyed.

 

- We mentioned our Waiter, Ass't Waiter and Cabin Stewart by name, and tipped additional to them. "nough said, I think. We also mentioned our dining room bar attendent by name, as well as the Neptune Concierges, with positive comments. We didn't use the Neptune a lot, but all experiences were positive.

 

- We thought the food very good to great, in taste, quantity (I only gained 4 lbs! DW, no comment), quality and selection. Exception, Farewell Dinner (food was good) repeated twice in 4 days.

 

- We adore HMC! We were spoiled by a cabana with Butler(s). As mentioned elsewhere, we had the near continous attention of not one but two Butlers, who wouldn't say no to anything, and did everything including serving champagne in the water, while one Buther took pics. The food was wonderful- the biggest shrimp I have ever seen.

 

DW wants me to figure out how to get our next cruise (a Med cruise) to stop at HMC. Or, we will definitely be doing B2B Caribbean 7 days, as long as they stop at HMC twice.

 

The only negative was the set up for the cabana the day before was a little rough. But I chalk that up to it being deaprture day from FLL. We didn't mention it on our comment card.

 

- We are not big on shore excursions, so little to be said here. We took only three, and none were overly remarkable. However, as mentioned by others, the disembarckation at Puntarenas was disorganized.

 

- We also mentioned the approachabilty of Capt Harris, and found him to be very entertaining and funny. Some of the other officers are attempting to be as approachable, and learning quickly.

 

- We also mentioned the hard work of the HalCats. While I found the female lead (I am already forgetting her name) to be a little too overdone in her sweetness, she is a pretty good singer, and the group as a whole works extremely hard and is very talented. I have a lot of rock music in my background, and I talked a couple of times to various members about their challenging job playing such a huge variety of music, which includes backing up so many of the entertainers on board.

 

- We did have a missing laundry issue, and we used the suite laundry service extensively. However it was resolved very quickly, and as it involved female underwear, I am not sure who was more embarassed, DW, or our Cabin Steward. It was more funny than anything else, and we didn't feel the need to comment on it.

 

You have to remember we were on the ship for 19 days. We had much more time to look at things at a microscopic level you probably won't have a chance to. The problems mentioned are minor. Even the dis-embarkation situation is small in the big picture IMHO.

 

I am sure you will have a great time.

[cruisepal48]

I'm about to sail on the Westerdam next Sunday, but I'm not worried. A cruise is what you make of it. Think positive. I've been on 2 cruises on NCL and was on CC before the trip. I read so many negative reviews and horrible happenings. When I went on my trips, I had a wonderful time. We sat with one woman at dinner and all she could do was complain. The crew did everything but stand on their head. Well the last straw was the dessert a mocha cheese cake. She took one bite and said (dropping her fork with this horrible look on her face) oh my gosh this has chocolate in it. Well I lost it by then, I had sat with this woman though the whole dinner listening to her complaints. I cracked up laughing. Needless to say she was insulted and got up and left. My point is read the reports and use them for your knowledge. We have people here giving wonderful reviews and good tips. One person is posting the dailies and menus. I find that very helpful. I find CC very informative in planning my trip. You will have a blast.:) I know I'm going to have fun. I will post when I get back.

[brucory]

I booked a long awaited Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam for Aug. HAL was supposed to be nicer than my Carnival cruises, but all I have read is how bad the ship is being run, and the disembark disasters. I am now beginning to dread my decision to book on HAL. Because of fuel costs warnings I bought my airline tickets (Delta, their TA said the price probably would not go lower, then it drops 70.00 a week later:mad:) so I cannot change dates, their change fee is 100.00 each. Please those of you who sail on her in the next two months, let us know if the ship morale improves, and if there are major problems, please let HAL know. I may still be able to switch to Princess, they have one leaving the same day, if their price comes down some.

 

If you prefer plastic glasses and plates with breakfast and lunch to glasses and crockery, change over to Princess. You will also find a much lower class of food and service. Stick with HAL. Its JMHO, but for me, its like comparing a Holiday Inn with the Four Seasons. Enjoy!!!

[e-CJ]

I booked a long awaited Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam for Aug. HAL was supposed to be nicer than my Carnival cruises,

 

Due to all the glowing reports on CC and from other people we know who had sailed HAL over many years, we had great expectations for our first HAL cruise in 2007. Our expectations were very high indeed. It was a huge disappointment to discover that this HAL cruise was no better than the wonderful Carnival cruise I went on in 2003. There were a lot of little things that were off or less than what we expected. In the final analysis, we decided that our expectations were just too high going in. It was a very nice cruise, even if it wasn't every single thing we expected it to be. Now, when we remember the cruise, we are not thinking about the little things that were not perfect. The remaining memories are so good that we are giving HAL a second chance. So, it couldn't have been that bad, could it?

 

My advice would be to not pump up your expectations so high that you cannot appreciate the experience. Remember that there is every possibility that there will be some aspects of your cruise that won't please you. Then go and have a great time and don't let those little things bother you when they do come up. You deserve to get the vacation of a lifetime and you will if you don't sweat the small stuff.

 

Maybe take a little bit of your own special brand of sunshine *smiles* to share with a crew that might be suffering from low morale as well. It could make a big difference in their experience as well as your own.

 

Have a great cruise! CJ

[GmaPajama]

My one "perfect" cruise was on the lovely Westerdam. You're going to love her. Take the good advice already given here, and remember that when things meet a person's expectations they rarely mention it. Over two thousand people sail the Westerdam every week, and I'm willing to bet 99% of them are thrilled they did. It's just that the 99% don't often speak up.

 

Take a look at how many views there are here for the "I've got a complaint" threads - and how few for the "I'm happy" threads. Sadly, I think it's just human nature to seek out the worst sometimes.

 

Donna

[betonic]

I have been on the Westerdam three times in the last year (including the cruise where people complained about the dis-embarkation) and all of my cruises were great.

 

No vacation is perfect and the issues that I had on my last cruise were so small that I wouldn't even mention them. I would book the Westerdam again if it was doing a route that interests me.

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

[momofmeg]

I booked a long awaited Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam for Aug. HAL was supposed to be nicer than my Carnival cruises, but all I have read is how bad the ship is being run, and the disembark disasters. I am now beginning to dread my decision to book on HAL. Because of fuel costs warnings I bought my airline tickets (Delta, their TA said the price probably would not go lower, then it drops 70.00 a week later:mad:) so I cannot change dates, their change fee is 100.00 each. Please those of you who sail on her in the next two months, let us know if the ship morale improves, and if there are major problems, please let HAL know. I may still be able to switch to Princess, they have one leaving the same day, if their price comes down some.

 

Well I was on her for a caribbean cruise and debarktation was a breeze. We were allowed to stay in our stateroom and then leave it at 9:05 am to debark. (the time we were scheduled to leave that came with our luggage tags)

 

We did leave at 9:05 am as told and it did not take us more then 10 minutes total to leave our stateroom until we made it to gangway.

 

I found the ship VERY nice, plenty of choices of entertainent for me,at least, as I am in bed by midnight at the latest, and I enjoyed my cruise very well.

 

I saw nothing terribly wrong with this ship. As far as people complaining, many people are just chroinic complainers- I have often found when I have clicked on a complaining person's profile and read their other posts, that this person always complains in their posts- but since this person has taken 20 plus cruises my guess is things are not as bad as their posts After all, if they hate everything about their crusie-why do they KEEP booking crusies? some people just enjoy complaining. You have to take their posts with a grain of salt. You will learn to sift between the informative posts and those who just like to make negative posts.

[Moriah]

I sailed to Alaska on Westerdam in 2006 and then again just a few weeks ago to the Caribbean. Both trips were spectacular! Wonderful! Everything perfect!!!

Please expect the best and that's what you'll get. The crew on the Westie really really want you to have a wonderful time. I know you will!!

 

I'm sailing on Westerdam a third time this coming July, just weeks before your cruise, and I expect no less than the best possible experience. I can't wait to read your trip report! :)

[sail-a-bration]

I let all of the negitive posts bring worry into a dream cruise, Thank you all so much for lifting my spirits. I went to bed feeling down and now with these posts, I feel a weight lifted. You are right though, it does seem much easier to complain and find faults. One of my favorite sayings is "people will look at others faults with a magnifying glass and their own through rose colored glasses" I will try and remember no one has a good day everyday and give the crew some grace. I need to hold on to the thought that the cruise will be as good as I let it, and allow the disappointments to roll over me like ripples on the water, and I will not let the ripple become a wave.

[GmaPajama]

I let all of the negitive posts bring worry into a dream cruise, Thank you all so much for lifting my spirits .... I need to hold on to the thought that the cruise will be as good as I let it, and allow the disappointments to roll over me like ripples on the water, and I will not let the ripple become a wave.

 

Glad we could help - with that attitude you're sure to have a lovely cruise!

 

Donna

[cruiseapril]

Hi- We were on the Westerdam April 9-13 of this year. I posted a brief review here and my formal review is in the Review section.

 

We had a very good cruise in all aspects and we had high expectations. We have cruised on most of the mass market lines and enjoyed HAL & the Westerdam so much that we are planning another Westerdam (different itinerary) cruise for the future.

 

The service, the cuisine, the ship's shape, and the cabins were all excellent aspects of this cruise for us. The Westerdam is beautiful, IMO- as I said in my review, works of art within a work of art. Enjoy your cruise.

 

Also, our disembarkation was fine. Smoother than some we have experienced.

[dlbaqua]

I was starting to get a little anxious, too. Then I remembered that there were negative posts about the other cruises I've taken since reading these boards and I remembered how great those trips turned out. Yes, there have been disappointing or not perfect things about each trip I've ever taken (on land or sea) but over all, they were great vacations.

[Lurker1]

I booked a long awaited Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam for Aug. HAL was supposed to be nicer than my Carnival cruises, but all I have read is how bad the ship is being run, and the disembark disasters. I am now beginning to dread my decision to book on HAL. Because of fuel costs warnings I bought my airline tickets (Delta, their TA said the price probably would not go lower, then it drops 70.00 a week later:mad:) so I cannot change dates, their change fee is 100.00 each. Please those of you who sail on her in the next two months, let us know if the ship morale improves, and if there are major problems, please let HAL know. I may still be able to switch to Princess, they have one leaving the same day, if their price comes down some.

 

We had a wonderful time on a 19 day cruise, with some glitches. I've posted all that before. The most important thing to have is a good attitude. Also, Alaska is amazing, and HAL is a pioneer of Alaska crusing.

Some of the negativity from various postings seems to be a comparison of what HAL used to be versus what it is today. IMHO, some of what is there today could be perceived as an improvement as compared to years past (Bedding, Inter-net connections, etc.). Some seems to be the way all cruise lines and indeed a great deal of the hospiyality industry in general is going in general due to rising costs. And some of it should be addressed by HAL.

Keep in mind DW and I have been on only 5 cruises, 4 on HAL, and there are people here with far more experience in cruising than we have.

[Fruitcake]

We've sailed HAL several times. A co-worker who is a big fan convinced us to try it and after our first cruise were sold! :)

We sailed on the Westerdam in January this year. It was the best HAL cruise we have ever taken. It was just about perfect.

The food was awesome, much better than I have had on other HAL ships. We had the early seating and had great waiters and a wonderful head waiter. Every night was a delight! In fact, we planned to eat in the Lido one night due to a long stop in Aruba. We told our head waiter, and he insisted we come to the dining room regardless of how late we got back on the ship!

The entertainment was THE BEST we've ever had. Joel Mason and Julie Barr were incredible and we enjoyed every show that included either of them. We loved the piano bar, Jimmy Maddox at the keyboard, the best piano man ever. It was packed night after night.

The crew was fabulous. I won't say our cabin steward was the best we've ever had, but we had no complaints.

Our only negative was an assistant CD who was very condescending to people and made a couple remarks at different venues (trivia contests, twice :eek:) which we found inappropriate. Google the word "snark" and you'll see his picture.

I am considering booking a 2009 on this ship, and nothing I read here would change my mind.