Solid Premium Experience

Westerdam Cruise Review to Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East)

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 5
Helpful Votes: 247

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5
Westerdam

28 Night North Pacific Crossing/Japan & China Collector (Vancouver To Shanghai)

Sail date: September 30, 2018

Ship: Westerdam

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 8027

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

I only cruised for 14 nights...from Vancouver to Yokohama. Overall it was an excellent Premium category experience and the Westerdam's refurbishment was excellently executed. Service was good, though I didn't feel it was particularly personalized (though many learned my name, particularly after I made a $200 gift to the Crew Welfare Fund). The Signature Suite was excellent, large and everything worked well. That said, the extra cost wi fi was so slow (much slower than I've experienced on Celebrity on the same itinerary) that it was extremely frustrating and - wi fi being important to me - would prevent me from again booking the Westerdam (or other HAL vessels, assuming the wi fi is not up to competitive standards).

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Overall, food was good for the ship's premium category, though the choices in the buffet for lunch and dinner were disappointing. I ate most of my dinners in the Pinnacle Grill, well worth the extra charge for the ambiance compared to the main dining room, but despite eating there nightly (and generously tipping Hazel, the Manager), I was never once offered if I'd like something special that was not on the menu, particularly in that menu menu did not offer nightly specials (steaks and lamb chops were good, the halibut, not so).

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5
I particularly appreciated the classical musicians from HAL's partnership with Lincoln Center.

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Book the Rudi Sel De Mer pop up in the Pinnacle Grill. I regret having bought the Elite Beverage package as the better (only 2) white wines by the glass were only available in the main dining room and pinnacle grill, not at the other bars, and no bar tender outside the pinnacle grill offered to get them for me.

Ports of call

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

5 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5

Kodiak, Alaska

4 out of 5

Cross International Dateline Did not visit port

Hakodate, Japan

3 out of 5

Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan

5 out of 5

Shimizu, Japan Did not visit port

Osaka, Japan Did not visit port

Beppu, Japan Did not visit port

Hakata, Japan Did not visit port

Busan (Pusan), South Korea Did not visit port

SASEBO, NAGASAKI, JAPAN Did not visit port

Dalian, China Did not visit port

Tianjin (Beijing), China Did not visit port

Qingdao, China Did not visit port

Shanghai, China Did not visit port

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
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2 Comments

GerryBCruisin    2 years ago

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

cruisellama    5 years ago

Other reviews of this sailing