Somewhat disappointed

Westerdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 35

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Westerdam

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 02, 2016

Ship: Westerdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 5159

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

First, the service and accommodations were "Excellent" on this ship, so that is not why the rating is only "Good".  The staff did an outstanding job.

 

Second, the shows were pretty good.  The BB King group was "Excellent" and did a great job of entertaining.  I don't think they repeated a song EVER on the entire cruise.  The illusionist was also top notch.  The Westerdam singers and dancers also did a very good job.  The violin/piano duo were very talented, but repeated tunes often, so after the first few nights, we had heard enough.  The violin duo had some flash about their show, but their overall presentation to me was a bit flat.

 

The ports that we stopped at:

1. Half Moon Cay - super crowded and took a LONG time to get on and off the ship using boat shuttling (tendering).  I think the cruise lines could coordinate better so that two ships don't end up on the island the same day.

2. St Thomas - great day, but the weather was bad for 1/2 the day, so not a good beach day.  This is, of course, not the fault of the cruise lines.

3. San Juan, PR - we greatly enjoyed the time we had their, but felt a bit robbed that we were there for such a short time.

4. Grand Turk - YUCK!!!!  This place is a dive and not worth the trip.  We walked down the beach a ways only to find dogs running loose and doing their jobs all over with nobody picking up.  We nearly stepped in it!  Then we tried the beach, and I injured my foot due to 8-10" boulders in the water near the shoreline that I wasn't expecting in water that was only up to my knees.  The beach was a bit better close to the main ship dock.  We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon at the pool that is part of Margaritaville.

 

As usual, we met nice people on the cruise and the meals were very good.

 

Parts of the ship were showing wear, but it didn't detract too much from the experience.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Toilet seat was repaired, and this gave a bit of a 2nd class sort of feel. Everything else was fine.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

3 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

3 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

1 out of 5
Be careful of the beach - there are some large boulders (8-10") near the shoreline on part of the beach. Watch out for dog poop if you walk past the main beach area.
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4 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

GerryBCruisin    2 years ago

Thanks for taking the time to share your review of the Westerdam.

enjoyurdaysmile    8 years ago

We went to Grand Turk and took an island tour and went to Govenor's Beach which was part of the tour. We always look for something we like only through the cruise line. People take private tours, but it's not a good idea even if people say they have no problems. The dogs that roam around is sad to see as they are not kept in good shape by the owners. We have seen many of them and my husband tells me to stay away. The dogs look so thin and it's sad. The main thing is we just hope the cruise is smooth sailing and our first with Holland America.

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