VERY disappointed with the ship which was supposedly refurbished about 5 years ago. Cracks in bathroom sink, very poor signage, including poor placement of cabin locations (from elevators). Speakerphone doesn't work correctly.

Item: Westerdam
Rating: 3.1
Author: luchu2000

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

luchu2000

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 68

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5

Verified Review

16 Night Far East Discovery (Singapore To Hong Kong)

Sail date: January 17, 2019

Ship: Westerdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6125

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Great ports. Have been on two other wonderful HAL cruises....SE Asia (again) and Mediterranean. This one was such a disappointment, I cannot recommend to friends, and will probably steer away from future cruises on HAL. We are planning an Alaska cruise......saw that Westerdam will be going there.....NO WAY!!! I told our friends that we would not cruise on Westerdam again, and to stay away from HAL, unless HAL is the only line that goes where we want.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

As mentioned above, poor signage, speakerphones don't work correctly, no list of commonly used numbers....have to look up on daily newsletter for dinner reservations/cancellation. Tour desk should be near lobby front desk...1st deck...instead it's on 10th deck on other side of ship. Cannot believe ship was restored 5 years ago (or less). Cabins are okay, but don't appear to be restored. Cannot say enough negatives about this ship. Need more AFT/FORWARD signs.....what's the big secret?

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

Cracks in bathroom sink. Lounges on verandah very nice Why are we supposed to close the verandah light at night? Safety issue, or dd someone make mistake putting sign there? Need more shelves

Ship tip

Don't sail on this ship. Instead of starting off relaxing, it's frustrating trying figure things out....not just our opinion. Others feel the same.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Singapore

4 out of 5

Nice

Thumbs Up 0

Ko Samui, Thailand

4 out of 5

Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand

4 out of 5

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

4 out of 5

Great excursion. Wasn't able to take advantage of free HAL shuttle.

Thumbs Up 0

Phu My (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam

4 out of 5

Nha Trang, Vietnam

4 out of 5

Hue (Da Nang), Vietnam

4 out of 5

Sanya, Hainan Island, China

5 out of 5

Beautiful island with wonderful beach

Thumbs Up 0

Hong Kong

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

excellent disembarkation......no muss, no fuss and very efficient.

6 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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GerryBCruisin 3 years ago

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

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Shota 5 years ago

Wow, you seem to be unhappy for no good reason. In 15 days on board Westerdam I did not find it necessary to telephone anyone on the ship outside of my travelling companions. Not being a vexatious person I cannot conceive of a good reason to telephone any official except in emergency. As for the tour desk being sited where it is, on a cruise if a person has anything in abundance it is time. Having said that It must also be acknowledged that lifts are plentiful and frequent. Cruises should be enjoyed, finding fault does not help with that objective.

Thumbs Up 1

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werdnerd 5 years ago

We sailed in January 17 also. It was such a great cruise. The ports were amazing. We travel to see the world and it was life changing to see these places. We loved the food on board. There crew was wonderful. The ship beautiful, entertainment was amazing, speakers and other programs were very helpful. We are so glad we did this cruise!

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enjoyurdaysmile 5 years ago

We've been on the Westerdam in 2016. It's very laid back and not enough activities although we had gone on excursions through the ship each day. At night, there was the dancing party and we were the only people. There were kids on board and they have the club for them. I don't remember the bathroom being not good. We had a very classy CD and she was lovely. We always have a good time. Ports were good...Grand Turk, PR, St Thomas and the private island Half Moon Cay. I don't think we'll go with HAL again..too laid back unless the ports are great. Not saying we didn't have a good time.

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willwork4cruz 5 years ago

I read your complaints and I think I would have enjoyed the cruise despite those experiences. I never use the speakerphone, I don't pay much attention to signage, and I don't expect an older ship to be new. It would take a lot more for me to have a bad cruise. I'll give Westerdam a chance.

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Other reviews of this sailing

Another great HA cruise.