Fabulous vacation

Westerdam Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 20

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5
Westerdam

7 Night Glacier Discovery Northbound (Vancouver To Seward)

Sail date: May 13, 2018

Ship: Westerdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 4021

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We really enjoyed our time on the Westerdam. The staff was friendly and courteous. Our cabin was much more spacious than we anticipated. As long as you don't go crazy with packing stuff there was plenty of storage. There are USB outlets (3) so we didn't need to extra plug adapter that we brought. The stage shows were nothing to write home about but the other entertainment was excellent. We really loved the Billboard on Board piano bar and were there just about every night. Food was great most of the time but be ok with waiting for the food in the dining room and the Pinnacle grill. The only real complaint was that they needed more wine stewards. I don't mind waiting for food if I have a glass of wine but waiting a long time for that can ruin the mood. The ship was in good shape and clean. Some of the decorations were not my taste but that is not the ships fault. One of the things I really liked was that even though the ship was full it rarely felt that way. The inside Lido buffet area would be crowded at meal time but just go outside by the pool (either with the roof in the middle of the ship or without in the back) and there were usually plenty of tables and chairs. That is where we ate most of the time. Lots of food options, as is expected, and it was always good. We had the Signature drink package included in our trip which was nice but I don't think I was have paid for it as I just don't think we could drink enough. (though we gave it the ol' college try). We had a balcony cabin but it was often too chilly to sit out there. Later in the summer I am sure it would be fine. Even so I would still opt for that. It is definitely an older crowd but that was fine with us. Ketchican and Skagway were great. Totem Blight Park was really nice and we just enjoyed walking around the town. We took the city bus to the park which only cost a few dollars and not much time. The city park next door (the name eludes me) was even nicer and it was free (there was a small fee for Totem Blight). The White Pass train in Skagway was fantastic. Took a helicopter to a glacier in Juneau which I would highly recommend. We used Coastal Helicopters which we booked separately. We had time for a second excursion in Juneau and I wish we had done a whale watching trip as everyone who did was raving about them. Glacier Bay was beautiful and Seward was nice as well. Definitely go to the Alaska Sea Life Center - amazing! All in all a great trip!

Embarkation

4 out of 5
We arrived at the port at about 1:30 and took less than an hour to get on the ship. The crowds had died down and our room was ready when we arrived.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Anywhere you went someone was cleaning.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

If sailing out of Canada Place in Vancouver going to the port around 1:30 will get you through much quicker. If you are ok with waiting for your food the dining room has a great breakfast.

Ports of call

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

4 out of 5

Ketchikan, Alaska

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

4 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5

Seward (Anchorage), Alaska

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
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9 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

GerryBCruisin    2 years ago

Thank you for taking the time to share your review of the Westerdam.

cruisellama    5 years ago

dianeandpete    6 years ago

Cruise1Sue - Totem Blight and Potlatch Park are right next to each other and neither is very large. It took about 20 minutes to get there by city bus. Go inside the Visitors Center at the port and ask about how to get there. I can't remember how much it was but it was just a few dollars but they need exact change so we had to buy something at one of the shops to get it. Totem Blight was $5 to get in (if I remember correctly). Potlatch is free. The bus runs about every hour and we were able to see both parks in that time. We had plenty of time to explore the town. I would have liked to have been there longer as there are some hiking trails I would have liked to explore but didn't think we would have enough time to do that. We might have been able to but it would have been rushed.

Cruise1Sue    6 years ago

Thanks for your review. We want to go to Totem Bight on our own. How long did you stay and did you have time to go into town and do other activities?

VegasF1    6 years ago

Thanks for the review

IkeDeb    6 years ago

macko420    6 years ago

Leaving on the Westetdam in 1 days! Thanks for all the useful info!

Gillian1959    6 years ago

Great review

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