Live from the Westerdam-March 29th

[marle7]

Boarding the ship yesterday was quick and painless. There’s something to be said for being in the PH.:) From the moment we hit the front door, till the time we boarded the ship, we were escorted all the way. The conceirge met us at the gangway, and although it was only 11:30 and the cabins generally weren’t ready, ours was, and we were allowed to go to it right away. More about the suite in a minute

 

We got settled in a bit, read all the various documents, then set out to explore the ship. The Westerdam is an easy ship to get around and we had no trouble finding our way about

We found the casino and the aft pool bar as those are the two places I’m likely to be spending most of my time.as they are the two places that allow smoking. Oh the sports bar does as well near the casino.

 

The internet seems to be pretty quick. I’m not having any trouble connecting or moving about the Internet at a very decent pace.

 

Although the ship was in Code Red last week, it is not now, and everyone seems to be healthy. We shall hope it stays that way!

 

Muster was quick and painless, and when we got back, our luggage was in the room and we upacked.

 

 

We have fixed late seating at a table for two. I have to say I’m pretty picky about my meat and the Prime Rib last night was just about as good as it gets. I also had the French Onion soup which was good as well.

 

We made our way to the casino after dinner, which is rather small, and figured out how to move money to and from the room key to the slot machines. I didn’t win anything big, but I came out about $100 ahead.

 

Bringing a little night cap of Bailey’s with us, we headed back to the suite and the jaccuzi on the balcony. Oh, didn’t I mention that?:p Ok the suite is amazing. In addition to the separate bedroom with enough closets to house the women’s clothing department at Macy’s, there is a dining room, living room, kitchen and another bathroom. The kitchen is equipped with a microwave, coffee maker, large fridge and toaster. While I can’t really imagine making toast in the morning, the coffee maker is wonderful. I’m a person who needs coffee in the morning, and I always wake up before my husband. I can make a pot of coffee, sit here at the dining room table and write my reports while hubby sleeps, because the bedroom has doors that close, so he isn’t disturbed, and by the time he wakes up, I will be human because I’ve had my coffee.

 

The balcony boasts two full loungers, a couch and table, a jaccuzi and two chairs. I could spend the entire two weeks in this suite I think.

 

We are currently sailing towards Half Moon Cay, and we have a cabana and butler package booked . Our butler will pick us up this morning. I am hoping we have a nice sunny day.

 

Tonight is formal night.

 

And now, more coffee.:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for checking in.

Glad you are off to a great start.

Aren't those PH cabins great?? Got to tell you -- we never used the pantries - not even for coffee. But the refrigerator is really a refrigerator and realy kept my water COLD.

Enjoy your cruise.

[brownie1005]

PH sounds amazing! Looking forward to your reports - thanks for taking us along.

 

Have a wonderful day at HMC :)

[cmdchiefthom]

Hi Marle7

 

I watched you sail out through the inlet yesterday, and frankly can't wait until you sail back into port next Sunday. Your suite sounds wonderful, especially the jacuzzi, and the Baileys;) Prime rib, first night out also sounds perfect. I hope it will be on the menu next week. Waz and I also have fixed late seating, although we're not sure what size our table is.

 

You may have missed my lamenting about our weather yesterday, as I watched the rain come down on the Westerdam yesterday afternoon, I was out on my deck cooking a couple racks of BB ribs in a snow storm!:eek: We can't wait to join you on the second leg of your BTB.

 

Thanks for the update!:D

[~Jo~]

Thank you for your report. I will be following you along on your voyage as I am getting ready to go on mine in 2 weeks. I am glad that the Westerdam isn't in Code Red anymore. I was looking for that positive report from anyone.....Thank you!!!!

~Jo~

[chicopaige]

My husband and I are sailing on the Westerdam in June and he wonders if there is poker in the casino--not the slot machine games, but an honest to goodness game. Thanks!

[usha]

Hi, marle7! Thanks for the little "live from" report.

Sounds like you might just be having a ball.:D

[Sage]

Enjoy your cruise. Yes the PH is incredible, and I hope that you enjoy your cruise as much in it as we did on the Noordam.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Oh Marlene I am so glad you are finally on the Westerdam. How wonderful you are off to a great start, hey $100 ahead is often much better than in Las Vegas :D

Looking forward to hearing more :)

[cruzkitty]

Thanks for posting this "Live" thread-I will anxiously be awaiting more. The Penthouse sounds to die for-enjoy!!:p

[Two@Sea]

Marle~

 

So glad to learn that everything is going well for you thus far. I took the liberty of refreshing my memory on the location of the PH, and unfortunately it seems I will not be able to send up a bucket from our balcony to your's next week for morning coffee... ;)

 

Marsha

[marle7]

Thom, yes it did rain quite heavily for a while yesterday. Fortunately we had boarded so were not caught up in it. see you next week!

 

 

My husband and I are sailing on the Westerdam in June and he wonders if there is poker in the casino--not the slot machine games, but an honest to goodness game. Thanks!

 

There is. There was certainly a texas hold em game going last night, and I believe one other poker table.

 

Oh Marlene I am so glad you are finally on the Westerdam. How wonderful you are off to a great start, hey $100 ahead is often much better than in Las Vegas :D

Looking forward to hearing more :)

 

Isn't that the truth! I've left too much money in Vegas over the years.:D

Marle~

 

So glad to learn that everything is going well for you thus far. I took the liberty of refreshing my memory on the location of the PH, and unfortunately it seems I will not be able to send up a bucket from our balcony to your's next week for morning coffee... ;)

 

Marsha

 

 

Hmmm. we'll have to figure something else out.:D

 

We are just back from HMC, and I'll have a full report later, after I've had a chance to type it up offline. We have set sail towards Grand Turk. We need to hope that the ship store has cufflinks onboard as my husband seems to have forgotten his.:(

 

Tidbit for later. How the butler did.

[cmdchiefthom]

Marle7,

 

Tell Hubby, been there done that. The front desk will come through with a set of cuff links!;)

[Hollyday]

My DH and I are also sailing in two weeks. I'll be watching for your updates as we'll be boarding when you disembark......that is if they can pry you from your lovely suite. Thanks for the updates, they are appreciated.

[Two@Sea]

 

...Tidbit for later. How the butler did.

 

 

Oh, I love a good cliffhanger...

[marle7]

Marle7,

 

Tell Hubby, been there done that. The front desk will come through with a set of cuff links!;)

 

I wish I'd seen this! We found one set of the ugliest cufflinks I've ever seen, in the ship's store. I am going to look in grand turk tomorrow while hubby dives.

 

Off to write my update then I'll be back, so I'm not chewing up internet minutes!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Marlene do you feel like doing another round of "Where's the Fleet" for 2 weeks after you return? :D

I am heading to the Statendam to go thru the Panama Canal on the 17th but will leave on the 16th. If you cannot that is OK I know kind of short notice but I just got this cruise booked ;)

[marle7]

Marlene do you feel like doing another round of "Where's the Fleet" for 2 weeks after you return? :D

I am heading to the Statendam to go thru the Panama Canal on the 17th but will leave on the 16th. If you cannot that is OK I know kind of short notice but I just got this cruise booked ;)

 

I'm all over that for you Lisa!

[marle7]

We arrived to HMC with cloudy skies and a fair breeze clipping along. Still, we were determined to go and have our day at the beach.

 

We had a slight miscommunication over the butler. I swear the Pinnacle Grill Manager called us and said the butler would meet us in our suite at 8:20. I did think that was strange since I had read on CC that the butler pick up time was no earlier than 9, but hey, I’m not in charge here!

 

At 8:30 I called the Neptune lounge who called the Pinnacle who said, no, pick up was at 9. Ok no problem. We told the conceirge that we were ready to go, so we would meet the butler over at our cabana, and just go on ahead. Which we did. At 9:30 we still had no butler. By this time, various staff are running up and down the beach to get us set up, and calling the Pinnacle to find out where the butler was.

 

It really wasn’t a big deal, because hey, do I really need a butler at 9 a.m.? It’s not like I’m ready to start knocking back the booze or anything quite that early! Eventually, our butler, Robi,showed up around 10. He had to wait for a tender that wasn’t full of guests.

 

By this time, the skies were clearing and the sun was coming out and it was warming up. Robi turned out to be the most amazing butler of all time. A few examples. He went and found me some fresh squeezed orange juice so I could make mimosas from the bottle of champagne we received. (a champagne bottle count is coming shortly. Wait for it). I couldn’t walk down the stairs with something in my hand, before he was right there to take the items from me and carry them the two feet over to our lounge chairs in the sun.

 

When we took the floating mats out, he was right at the water’s edge to take them from us when we got out of the water and carry them back to the cabana for us. The icing on the cake was when he had gone to the bar to get us a drink, and while he was gone, we headed back into the water. When he got back, he saw we were in the water and instead of just putting the drinks in the cabana or the fridge to await our return, he took his shoes and socks off and waded right into the water to bring the drink to us!. Now that was a priceless moment.

 

We ate. And we ate. We had chips and salsa. We had fruit. We had a veggie platter. And this was all before lunch. At lunch we had fruit skewers, gazpacho, and a half a lobster sandwich. And then we got our entrees. We both picked the steak which was beautifully done. And gee, since we hadn’t eaten enough, there was dessert. Hubby had the fruit salad. (enough to feed a family of four) and I had the chocolate cake. The fruit salad came in a half a watermelon that had been carved to look like a whale.

 

We headed back to the ship around 2:30 and washed the sand and sea away. Hubby went downstairs to find his really ugly cufflinks, and eventually, more food arrived in the suite. Geeze. Hot h’ouvres, (spring rolls, fried mozzarella, and potstickers. Two cheese plates. One cold h’douvre’s plate. Did I mention there are only two of us in this room?

 

Tonight was formal night and I would say the majority of men were in suits, with a few tuxes scattered about and most ladies were in nice cocktail dresses.

 

We paid a brief visit the casino, then headed off for (wait for it) more food. Yes! It was dinner time. If they hadn’t had Carpaccio and rack of lamb on the menu tonight, I would have been tempted to skip dinner altogether. But gee, I just couldn’t pass those up!

 

We couldn’t manage dessert though. (although it is true that I seldom eat it anyway). But they had chocolate souffle and I was soooo tempted.

 

I want to take a moment and just mention how outstanding the service has been on the ship so far. Everyone has a smile and a good morning, etc for us wherever we go.

 

We are back in the suite now for an early night since hubby will be diving tomorrow and well, my waist is expanding by the second and I needed to get comfortable. I also haven’t had a good nights’ sleep for three

Nights, as I never sleep well the night before we fly, the hotel was brutal for sleeping and last night, there was a lot of creaking going on in the room. We’ve learned though. This suite has a lot of doors. We need to make sure every one of them are shut or they will creak throughout the night!

 

I will be paying a visit to the fitness centre tomorrow while my man dives, and then we’ll start the food fest all over again I suspect!

 

Signing off from somewhere at sea!

 

 

--------------------

[Copper10-8]

Enjoying your daily reports! Have a great time!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Marlene, Thanks for the daily report and THANKS ;)

I will do as I usually do :)

BTW I have to admit I was feeling stuffed as I was reading your day :D And I will be at the gym with you in spirit.... actually I will be on my treadmill. I have 2 and a half weeks to go at this diet really hard :o

[marle7]

Good morning all! I have my coffee:D and we are sailing toward Grand Turk. We expect to arrive there around 10 a.m. or so.

 

The seas have been calm and smooth sailing so far at least as far as I can tell. I certainly slept much better last night and feel much refreshed this morning, although I am not particularly hungry:D

 

It looks like it is going to be another beautiful day. I just checked the weather at home and it says -2C brrrr.

 

More this afternoon after our Grand Turk adventure.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am enjoying your reports.

Glad you had a wonderful day on HMC.

[our turn]

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your cruise with us. We were in the PH on the Westerdam in '07 and loved every minute of it. Have they repaired the claw marks I left when security removed me from the suite? Hope the rest of your cruise is wonderful!

 

Kim

[fatcat04]

I am glad to see your butler was as wonderful as ours. Really makes for a magical experience.

 

Our cabana butler this last cruise, Andri, was also amazing. He went so far beyond what we expected. He actually sat down and helped my 7 year old build "the best sand castle ever" (in my 7 yo's words). He helped him get suited up for snorkle and helped him drag his mat both down and up from the water. Lots of little details he never missed. He took such good care care of us. The kiddo and he were big pals by the end of the day and I think our son will never forget "Mr. Andri" as long as he lives. This combined with the wonderful food and drink (we ordered the chicken, shrimp, and steak all of which were perfection) made this beach day the best beach day we have ever had and Andri was a big part of that. I can not stop complimenting Andri on his service or HAL on HMC. It really is a wonderful and well thought out luxury provided by HAL and, for us, well worth the cost. :)