No Excitement Cruise
Westerdam Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America
21 Night Panama Canal Westbound (Ft. Lauderdale To San Diego)
Sail date: March 12, 2016
Ship: Westerdam
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 5063
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
We wanted to cruise through the Panama Canal and see some ports that we had not been to.
The cruise did that but the time at many of the ports was so short (3.5 hours in Columbia) that there was no time to really visit the location, especially if you did one of the shore excursions.
This cruise of 1,800 persons turned out to be much older. There were no children or teenagers aboard. The only night life was the piano bar. Only a couple of people stopping by the lounges. After the 10 PM show, the casino was empty as were most of the lounges.
Just No excitement on this cruise. Mario, the cruise director, did have a few entertaining 45 minute fun events.
Everything is based on a 45 minute length. Even when they had some country line dancing (2 times) and the turnout was very large, they stopped at 45 minutes and everyone moved on and the excitement went to zero.
This cruise line seems to nickle and dollar you to death. Everything has a cost. You had to pay $12.50 to learn how to make a martini, etc.
We know all about the gratuity add on so why not just put it onto the initial cost of the trip.
Crew and service were outstanding - 5 star. Food was good but not exceptional; like we have had on previous smaller ship cruises.
They need to remove the bath tubs so they can put in a decent size shower.
The Panama Canal crossing was good - 11 hour day. Very similar to the locks when you do a river cruise in Europe.
The Windows Workshops were excellent.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
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Ship tip
Research your cruise with Cruise Critic, trip Advisor, etc.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
Enter Panama Canal At Cristobal
Puerto Chiapas (Tapachula), Mexico