I wish the port stays had been longer. I prefer a more in-depth experience. In general it was what I expected and I enjoyed the opportunity to be back in Mexico and Central America as well as Cartagena. The Westerdam is well run from the cruiser's point of view and if I were to do another cruise, I wouldn't hesitate to book with HAL again.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Smooth altho the facility in San Diego felt like a gym.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Excellent variety in the main dining room and the buffets, food always well prepared, and service was excellent. The staff was unfailingly polite and helpful.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The Lincoln Center performers were excellent! The main stage performers less so.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Always polite and helpful, going beyond what they needed to do to make us comfortable. With special dietary problems, I especially appreciated the dining room staff and the buffet staff. Our room steward was always pleasant, learned our names quickly, and kept our cabin neat and clean.
We took the bus to the Old Town of Puerto Vallarta and back to the ship, and walked all over the Old Town, from the beach and malecon to the market higher up the hill.
We walked to Las Crucecitas and walked all around town, stopping for a smoothie in a local restaurant. We shopped at the market stalls, then took a taxi back to the ship.
We did an HAL excursion to Leon. Our bus left a bit late, which left too little time in Leon. We hurried across the plaza to see the cathedral, and had only 15 minutes to see the plaza and market stalls before boarding the bus to return. The countryside was interesting, and the guide was very informative, but the excursion was too rushed.
We took a private excursion with only 6 people and had an excellent experience, including a boat ride to see crocodiles, a visit to a site with monkeys, a visit to a recreated Costa Rican town, an attempt to see toucans (none that day), lunch at a local restaurant with excellent local food (and a vegetable plate for the vegan), and an interesting drive to and from while the guide talked about many local topics. It was an excellent tour.
We took a post cruise excursion in the Everglades. The air boat ride was very short but the guide was interesting. I spent hours on the water taxi from Las Olas beach and loved the narration by the ticket taker.
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
