Back From Third Westerdam Cruise

[MissCruiser]

First, I want to apologize for waiting until I have something to complain about before posting. I have been on 6 cruises in the past 3 years (New Year's cruises in 2006, 2008, and 2009- coincidently all on HAL Westerdam but different itineraries, plus 2 cruises on Norwegian and one on Royal Caribbean). I have gotten lots of valuable info from Cruise Critic and I promise to do better about posting my positive and negative experiences from now on. I appreciate all the assistance other CC'ers have given me.

Just got back today from 7 nights in SY6090 on Westerdam New Year's cruise.

Two things on this cruise spurred me to post:

1. We requested fixed seating on this New Year's Westerdam cruise, but were forced into open seating. We decided to give it a chance because we don't mind the open seating on NCL. It was a disaster for us and I will not go on another HAL cruise without fixed seating until/unless they make substantial changes to the open seating. I will post more specifics about my complaints on the As You Wish Dining sticky because some of the problems could have been unique to this week.

2. American Car Rental in Aruba had confirmed a reservation for a jeep rental for the day and had my credit card information but when we arrived found they had already rented out all their vehicles. I will post to the Ports of Call board about that, but I promised the owner that I would let other cruise critic members know about his unreliable business practices.

 

The dining was my main complaint about this third cruise on the Westerdam in 3 years, but I have several other observations about this cruise compared with my prior Westerdam cruises. Some are complaints, some are compliments and some are just observations:

1. My perception is that there is a decrease in the level of service. E.g. room stewards having more cabins, decrease in size of chocolate buffet, etc.

2. I could not believe that I did not see or meet my cabin steward until the FIFTH night of the cruise. The first day no one came to see if we were settled in or ask if we needed anything. I did not see anyone working in the cabins immediately adjacent to ours. Once or twice a steward cleaning a cabin way down the hall said good morning, but he didn't call me by name and I had no idea whether he was my steward or not.

3. This was not necessarily a bad thing. Our cabin was cleaned very well while we were at breakfast and again while we were at dinner. I just thought it very strange. One benefit was that I had better ice service than prior cruises and I saved $20. I pre-order a bottle of bourbon and usually the first day I tip the steward $20 and ask that he keep my ice bucket filled. Sometimes I have ice and sometimes not. Since he never came around I found the Pantry Ice Station myself, which happened to be just across from my cabin and I helped myself to an extra ice bucket and made frequent trips across the hall. It worked out fine.

4. We had ZERO towel animals in 7 nights. Again, not a huge deal, but I think it just reflects overall cost cutting.

5. We did not ever receive a comment card and by the time we realized the last night that one wasn't forthcoming, the line at the front desk was too long for me to care about asking for one. I did write a letter to the hotel manager about the dinner seating fiasco, but did not get a reply.

6. Everything was more crowded and everything ran out more quickly than I remember. I think this holiday sailing had every available fold-out taken and they were at maximum capacity. This resulted in several annoyances. For instance, we were told that towels were available at Half Moon Cay, yet we got there only to be told they had run out. More would come from the ship in 20-30 minutes. (Think wasted hour while you walk to the beach, get a chair which is uncomfortable without the towel, wait 30 minutes, walk back up to the entrance. You get the picture.) I should have not believed the crew and just gone and gotten my own from the pool before I went to the tender.

7. The lido was entirely too chaotic. I think the removal of the trays has helped. I would have hated to have seen all those people wielding trays piled high. My kids and I think that slower pace and less crowds of the dining room for breakfast and lunch suits us much better.

8. Pinnacle Grill- We pre-paid $20 each in expectation of a price increase I saw on the boards. Price was still $20 this past week according to the hostess. Pinnacle Grill had our reservation date and time correct from the on-line purchase, but they did not credit the pre-payment to our shipboard account until I went to the front desk and showed the e-mail confirmation of my payment.

Pinnacle Grill food was excellent and something I enjoy once or twice each cruise. The service was pleasant enough, but I believe just too slow. We spent more than 2 1/2 hours for dinner. They would clear a course and it would be 20-30 minutes before they served the next course. Perhaps some people enjoy that pace, but we missed both shows that evening and it literally took up our whole evening.

9. I also pre-booked and pre-paid a couples massage in the spa. Tha money was credited onto my shipboard account, however, the spa claimed that they never received any information from HAL about a specific date/time reservation (despite that it was on the web-site) and by the time I went to confirm the reservation, that whole sea day was booked.

10. I just went back and looked at my receipts for these last three cruises. I paid less for this cruise (with an SY cabin) than I did for the 2006 cruise (with a VE cabin). Overall, I think HAL is still among the best values for higher end cruising and I wouldn't hesitate to go on another cruise with HAL (but only if they re-vamp the open dining or give me fixed seating). The things I think you can do to avoid problems include: avoid the peak holiday cruises (which I am not able to do with teenagers in school) and do your homework ahead of time.

 

Happy cruising and thanks again for all the great advice I have gotten from you in the past couple of years,

Tom

[wdw1972]

How nice to see your review - we're in SY 6092 on Feb 8th! It's nice to know there's an ice machine close by. I'm one of those tacky people who put ice cubes in white wine to keep the entire glass cold.

 

We've booked the Pinnacle for 6:30 one night - hopefully we can make it to the 9pm show. I do think alot of your problems were due to it being a holiday cruise with all the extra kids. It's no excuse, but everything seem overtaxed on those cruises. Hopefully your next one will be more "normal".

 

Sue/WDW1972

Westerdam 2/08/09

[ekerr19]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. We had some similar issues on the Rotterdam, especially with the cabin steward and ice. We like ice water 24/7 and will gladly get it ourselevs as not to put anyone out. I had to ask for it the first three days. Once from the concierge. I asked for two ice buckets and ended up getting the second one only to have it disappear several days later.

 

Our fridge did not stay cold, nor was it ever replenshed - either was the mini bar and bar glasses in our Deluxe Verandah Suite.

 

I would tell one steward something and the other steward was unaware of it. It was also disappointing that they never once called us by name as they've always done in the past.

 

I agree with you on open seating. We had it on last cruise (Maasdam) and vowed never again!

 

Thanks again for sharing your cruise with us. :)

[SAYHEYRENEE]

I was on the same sailing. Will be getting to a formal review soon.

Here is my little review on the AYWD: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=17577381&postcount=1612

 

Disclaimer:

Overall I am extremely please with the cruise. Just like any of my cruises-there are things I love about one line and others I don't like. I like them all, and don't prefer one over another. I book by ports first no matter what.

 

My experience for some of the cabin things were different, I feel lucky. We met our steward first day and since we never kept a schedule, we seen him often as he was always trying to figure us out.

 

We did have towel animals all but 2 days.

I also met the person who would stock our mini bar. We didn't have a green card with price list the 1st day and was using the water. He finally put a card out by the 3rd day that there were other items. I personally was use to Carnival coming prestocked and you could either ask them to remove items or lock it. Every mini bar I ever had on any line was always a lowere temp then a refrig.

 

I was annoyed by photogs-worst experience ever. My boarding pics were not out. Found them in negatives and they were dark. Mgr said so sorry-flash didn't work. I asked why would the photog look at the screen and not notice nothing there. When we arrived at Aruba at 12:15 for our excursion-no photogs. They were out earlier they said. We weren't due until noon there-just because we arrived early doesn't mean they shouldn't be there for all the people on the 1st excursion.

 

I don't like that there wasn't anything to do at night besides the bar and casino. I wish they would put shows for late dinner after dinner like other lines. I choose late dinning so I can nap after a long day. NYS there was something late and one night an 11:15 comedian. Otherlines always have it at midnight. I thought this was funny since it is HAL after all.

 

Food was terrific. Never had a complaint.

 

The spa: I booked 1st day and if you book for a port day, you get % off. Well they didn't take it off. I had to ask. They said because my appt was before we arrived at the port. Well the discount said port day, not while in port. Also, the mgr who made the appt on the 1st day stated about the discount. Other than that I enjoyed my experience.

 

The size of the choc buffet was piss pour compaired to any line (carnival, NCL and RCCL) I have been on. It was held on pool deck with the roof closed. It was a sauna!! I was melting so I know the food was going bad.

 

Room Service-I was sea sick one night-they offer some items to help. When my husband called for 2 of the items for me, they said 45 minute wait. He asked is that because its getting delivered? He would come pick it up where ever because I was feeling ill. They would not allow. It was broth and crackers. Not rocket science.

 

I don't like that they have all the activities at the rear pool with not enough room. I like the trivia back there-that was fun! Sometime activities should be in the middle where families with kids could enjoy. (since kids were not able to go to the back pool) And the surrounding decks above-you could not hear the music or there was plexiglass blocking any airflow.

 

Room size-we had a balcony-smalled I ever had. carnival and RCCL were bigger. Best bed I ever had but miss the feather comforter on Carnival. Liked the tub idea. Easy to sit and shave :)

 

 

Love the Hydro pool and thermal spa. We did a day pass the 2nd sea day (not the last day). I would to the week pass next time. They didn't refresh the fruit or juices. Had to ask. There was a gentleman who came in to clean up after slobs every 30 minutes. Why can't people put their cups on the tray or throw a towel in a bin instead of leaving it around-annoying.

 

The buffet-wonderful. Liked that they came around with drink cart often. Great choices. Also, despite it took longer, I thought it was a nice touch for them to make your plate up for everything except salads. Loved the soft and hard ice cream and the selection. Taco/Nacho/Burrito bar rocks!

 

 

I met wonderful people that will be forever friends. Hi Kathy, Dennis, Todd and Colleen! (they don't visit here but I suggested it!)

[newlaxfan]

This was my first ever cruise so I don't have anything to compare it to.

 

Cabin Stewards -- great service! Unfortunately they had to work around my brother (who was my roommate) who liked lazing in bed until noon or so. Really, I don't think I need my room attended to twice in one day but hey if they can do it, great! And most of the time they were able to do that. If they couldn't, it was b/c my brother was in there until noon and messed up their schedule. We had a towel animal every night except the first two, if I remember correctly. I didn't realize until late in the cruise that there was ice in the icebucket. :D I was pleased that one of my cabin stewards bumped into me in one of the ports and called me by name -- didn't expect that! I liked getting the Canadian news publication each day -- that was a nice touch.

 

Restaurant staff -- great service! Was impressed at how quickly the meals came, which was important to us as my mom can't sit for long due to a bad hip. I had mentioned to one of the waiters that I'd like to get a copy of a menu or two to bring home to show my students (a lot are interested in becoming chefs), and I ended up with about a dozen different menus! I don't recall any meals being a disappointment in any way. The baked alaska parade was fun but, quite frankly, my mom's baked alaska is better. :D

 

Photography -- Wasn't too impressed with the photography team. We wanted a family photo taken on the second formal night, and they had no system in place to keep track of which photos to take when. We were lucky in that they took ours only about 20 minutes after we arrived, but I suspect we ended up ahead of others who were there before us.

 

Did a photography 'class' with one of the photographers. It was advertised as improving our cruise photos, so I thought it would be about composition or good places to go for scenic photos at the ports. It was actually more technical than that, as the photographer talked about shutter speed, aperture, etc. There were only two of us there for it, and what he talked about was far above what the other lady knew. I suspect she didn't get much out of it unfortunately.

 

Microsoft session -- did one of the Microsoft-sponsored sessions, the one on photo editing. Found that the instructor was giving some misinformation e.g. what the rule of thirds is. It was good to try out the software though -- very easy to use.

 

Boarding -- was very impressed at how quickly we boarded the ship! Seems that there was no lineup at all! I had expected to be standing around for 2 hours while 1900 people were processed and it wasn't like that at all. Is that typical?

 

Family Pool -- was surprised at how many kids were running around the pool and that nobody (not parents, and not staff) stepped in to say something. Debated whether I should or not, and decided against it. If they ran into me or my nephew, I would have said something though!

 

Shop prices -- was pleasantly surprised at how reasonable the prices in the shops were! Thought they'd have jacked the prices up more for the captive audience, but am glad they didn't!

 

Hair Salon -- was pleasantly surprised at how little I paid to get my hair trimmed! Thought it would be in the $50 to $75 price range, but it was only $25! Nice!!

 

All in all, I had a great time and was pleased with the service. And I can't wait to go again!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you MissCruiser for writing your review.

I noticed that you mentioned that you wrote a note to the HM about the AYWD dining and didn't get a response.

Do you remember who the HM was?

[MissCruiser]

I believe his last name was Botel. I did not get a photocopy of the letter I sent. I will look again through my papers when I return from business trip in a few days.

BTW, I did send the letter on the fifth day, so perhaps it would not be reasonable to expect a reply by the end of the cruise./??

Tom

[MissCruiser]

KK

The Hotel Manager on the Westerdam as of last week was Ron Bontenbal.

[Bonnie Voyager]

How nice to see your review - we're in SY 6092 on Feb 8th! It's nice to know there's an ice machine close by. I'm one of those tacky people who put ice cubes in white wine to keep the entire glass cold.

 

We've booked the Pinnacle for 6:30 one night - hopefully we can make it to the 9pm show. I do think alot of your problems were due to it being a holiday cruise with all the extra kids. It's no excuse, but everything seem overtaxed on those cruises. Hopefully your next one will be more "normal".

 

Sue/WDW1972

Westerdam 2/08/09

 

I will be in 6092 this summer for Alaska. I hope you when you return from your cruise you will post some comments about your cabin. :D Have a nice trip!