Westerdam 12/14/08 - mini review

[katier825]

Westerdam 12/14/08, Southern Caribbean (Half Moon Cay, Aruba, Curacao)

A little about us: we are 40’s/50’s. This was our 12th cruise, first on HAL. Previous cruises 2x on Carnival, 2x on NCL, 7x on Princess. Our group’s ages ranged from mid 40’s to mid 80’s, all have previously cruised, but not on HAL. We live in FL, so we took the Cruise Connection bus to FLL.

When we cruise, we like to just sit back and relax ( i.e. sit in a lounger and read all week). This cruise was very enjoyable for us. We did travel with 6 others, the majority I think prefer Princess over HAL, mainly because of the food/entertainment. Embarkation/disembarkation were excellent ~ very short lines. Every crew member we encountered was very friendly and courteous…noticeably better than on any cruise we’ve taken. The lack of announcements made it a very quiet and relaxing cruise.

We did not participate in the formal nights, took our meals in the Lido or the grill. We did not have any problem finding a large table for our group. We did not use room service. I thought the drink prices were very reasonable, especially in comparison to NCL. Most were under $6-7.

The Crow’s Next/Explorations Café is a great place to relax. Very comfortable seating, leather chairs/recliners. Promenade, another great place to relax. The atrium wasn’t as inviting as some are. The ship was clean and in good shape, but not as pretty as some of the Princess ships or the NCL Pearl. The shops were not very impressive. They had cheap and high priced…not much in between. I think all I bought on the ship was a package of cough drops!

We bought a day pass for the hydropool/thermal loungers. Most of the time we were the only ones there. I’m glad we only did a day pass on this cruise, as we were traveling with a group and would not have gotten our money’s worth if we got for the week. We don’t often do any ship’s excursions, so we figured we’d spend the money this way. On our cruise, there weren’t many kids, but the Christmas week, I heard would have about 350 kids. I definitely would have wanted a week pass on that one! LOL

I think the demographics on this cruise were comparable to Princess ~ a variety of ages. I think some people were probably bored, as the activities were lacking compared to other lines I’ve been on. I don’t know how the kids club is, but it sure looked empty when I went by. I would think the kids would be more likely to be bored on this line than some of the others. If you are looking for a more active cruise, you might want to consider another cruiseline.

As far as attire goes, what I did see was pretty much the same as on the other lines.

Ports:

Half Moon Cay ~ very nice. We spent a couple of hours on the beach, then went back to the ship. Excellent beach, plenty of loungers. Not much in the shops.

Aruba ~ it rained that day, so we only went shopping, then back to the ship. We were there a few years ago and really enjoyed the island.

Curacao ~ took a taxi to the Con Tiki beach resort area that we read about in other reviews. Admission was $3, chairs $3. We got there early and had chairs under an umbrella. Very nice day. I thought the taxi was pricey ($20 each way), but I hadn’t researched it, so I’m not sure if it’s the going rate or not. We arranged with the driver to come back for us. It’s a bit out of the way, so I don’t know how much luck we would have had finding a ride back otherwise.

Overall, we thought it a very nice cruise and if the right deal came along, we’d do HAL again. We do prefer Princess’ ships, but it’s nice to have another option.

Pros:

· Service was Excellent ~ best of any cruise we've taken. All crew were very friendly and greet you with a smile and pleasant greetings.

· Embarkation/disembarkation ~ excellent!!!

· Quiet ~ lack of announcements and silent disembarkation made it very pleasant

· Hydropool ~ mineral water is gentler on my skin than regular hot tubs. Day pass kind of pricy for one day, but we did enjoy it.

· Half Moon Cay very nice

· Food ~ not bad, but I prefer to get my own in a buffet

· On-deck barbeque ~ was pretty good, entertainment after was great too.

· Large Inside cabin was nice, convenient location (8041)

· When pool chairs were taken, could usually find some on the promenade (although there were several broken ones).

· Elevators were very fast!

 

Cons:

· Layout of the Lido Buffet is too spread out and requires you to be in a few lines to fill your plate. By the time you get everything, the hot dish isn’t so hot.

· Only 2 pools – they also closed the larger indoor pool 2 evenings for a private group gathering (of course, those were the nights we wanted to swim).

· The way they do lifeboat drill. Saw a couple of people fall down the stairs. You can't see the steps when you are wearing the life vests. I prefer the drills where you carry the vest down, and are taught how to properly put it on when you get there.

· Entertainment ~ didn’t care for the assortment of entertainers on this cruise, with the exception of the DJ (Jazzy) Illusionist (Leo Ward) and one piano player (Nathan Temby). These few were great! This is the first cruise I’ve ever seen a show lounge half empty, which it was for the 3 shows we attended. They started closing the balcony, I wondered if it was to make the audience appear fuller to the performers.

· Daytime activities ~ there didn’t seem to be much during the day other than bingo, seminars, napkin folding, mixology. Certainly not enough to have to choose between them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Noticed that you mentioned something about getting your own food in the buffet?? What does that mean?

[katier825]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Noticed that you mentioned something about getting your own food in the buffet?? What does that mean?

 

The salads, breads, fruits and desserts you could get yourself. The entrees, side dishes were served by the crew. Only the entrees were labeled. The sides weren't (at least not that I saw). I prefer to help myself in the buffet. Before we left, I had read that you request your entree and they gave you a number and brought it to your table. That wasn't the case on our cruise.

[WeRockChalkKU]

It's always nice to read someone else's experience on the same cruise.

 

Overall, we too enjoyed our cruise. Our biggest negative was that we had As You Wish dining by default and did not care for it at all. I don't know if having the large group on board affected the AYW dining or not - it just seems that the wait staff were a little confused/lost about who they were serving and when. Staff took you to your table but had to carry maps of where the tables were and struggled to find them. Members of The Nation were also seated in the lower level - we were told The Nation was supposedly to have the 8:00 traditional time on the upper level and then to confuse things even more, The Nation members rotated tables with one another. So, we ate in the Pinnacle twice which was very nice and even ate buffet twice (previously we hadn't done this on 22 cruises). I hope to never have to eat AYW again.

 

Staff/crew were all friendly except for one rude/snide Spa staff. We went up to weigh one suitcase after we packed and he refused to let us and told us to just "be surprised" when we got to the airport. Thankfully one of our CC rollcall buddies had a scale and we used it to avoid the airline penalty for an overweight bag.

 

As far as Curacao - there was only the 2 of us and we took the public transportation to KonTiki for $1.50 each way pp. It was fairly easy and timely.

 

Thanks again for posting about your experience and happy future cruising.

[katier825]

As far as Curacao - there was only the 2 of us and we took the public transportation to KonTiki for $1.50 each way pp. It was fairly easy and timely.

 

 

 

Was this a bus or cab? I can only blame myself if I overpaid, since I didn't research it much before I left. It would be good to know for next time. :)

[WeRockChalkKU]

Was this a bus or cab? I can only blame myself if I overpaid, since I didn't research it much before I left. It would be good to know for next time. :)

 

It was actually a mini-van. You catch them in a big parking lot in town. It's down by the outdoor "New Market". You then cross over a small walking bridge and you'll find lots of mini-vans with cardboard signs in their front windows telling you where all they go. You take one that lists the SeaAquarium as a stop. At the SeaAquarium you just walk along the water towards all resorts and pick which one you want to stay at. To come back, you just go back to the SeaAquarium and wait until a mini-van comes back. There isn't a real schedule but it seems it's about every 30 minutes. We were lucky because both times we didn't have to wait. Another cruiser had been waiting there 20 minutes before us. Town folk were friendly and helped point us in the right direction intitially because the "official" information kiosk person only gave us very general directions when we asked.

[katier825]

It was actually a mini-van. You catch them in a big parking lot in town. It's down by the outdoor "New Market". You then cross over a small walking bridge and you'll find lots of mini-vans with cardboard signs in their front windows telling you where all they go. You take one that lists the SeaAquarium as a stop. At the SeaAquarium you just walk along the water towards all resorts and pick which one you want to stay at. To come back, you just go back to the SeaAquarium and wait until a mini-van comes back. There isn't a real schedule but it seems it's about every 30 minutes. We were lucky because both times we didn't have to wait. Another cruiser had been waiting there 20 minutes before us. Town folk were friendly and helped point us in the right direction intitially because the "official" information kiosk person only gave us very general directions when we asked.

 

Thanks for the info. I will be prepared next time I visit there!

[coho ken]

Thanks for the review.

What time do the pools close?

[royalcruz]

I was on this cruise. Overall it was great, very friendly service, great food, great entertainers. On the negative side, I think the only activities in the daytime other than trivia and table setting either cost money or were designed to sell something. I also prefer to serve myself at the buffet, so I can take little tastes of things without going over my allowed calories. I had to keep repeating "just one slice" or "just one piece", as they tend to put way too much on the plates. I got 3 scoops of ice cream, 3 pieces of french toast, 3 slices of meat; they just didn't seem to understand English and I hate to waste food. As You Wish Dining was pretty chaotic, with lots of people waiting to get seated, and took way too long to get served, even when we got a table for 2 and ordered just 2 courses, so it was hard to get to the 9:00 shows on time(the broadway-style show was very enjoyable, but I wish there were more of these kinds of shows). We ate in the Lido buffet 3 nights and in the Pinnacle one night (great filet mignon with peppercorn sauce). The bonus was that we got upgraded from VF to VA. The cabin was very nice.

[katier825]

Thanks for the review.

What time do the pools close?

 

Usually around 9 pm. I think they opened at 8 am.

[katier825]

The bonus was that we got upgraded from VF to VA. The cabin was very nice.

 

Congrats on the upgrade! A couple months before the cruise, we noticed how much the balconies came down in price. I called my TA to see what kind of price he could negotiate for us. I didn't expect the low price, as that was for new bookings only, but I thought they'd come back with something between that and the highest price. Nope! They wanted the highest price. If it were only $200 +/- more, I would have gone for it. But they wanted $600 more, so we stayed with what we had. We did not get an upgrade at the last minute. However, 2 couples traveling with us were upgraded from insides to balconies for free. Funny, I was willing to pay for it, and they got it for free. Just wasn't my day for the upgrade fairy, I guess. But I must say, for an inside, the large inside is pretty roomy. It was worth the extra few dollars. I forget exactly how much maybe $20-30 more.