Beautiful Alaska
Westerdam Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 18
7 Night Alaskan Explorer (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: August 13, 2023
Ship: Westerdam
Cabin number: 7083
Traveled as: Large Group
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
We would definitely go on another Holland America cruise. Know that the target age is the older crowd. Most passengers seem to be 50's and up. I know they had some teen activities, but the teens with us were not interested. The pools are small and looked kind of old and tired. It's not flashy and colorful with all the bells and whistles, so kids might be a bit disappointed. Our teens looked longingly at the water slides and cart track when we pulled into port next to a huge NCL ship. But we didn't have to deal with so many people on board or kids running around everywhere. If you are looking for a low key cruise experience with beautiful ports, great food and impeccable service, then the Westerdam would be a great one.Embarkation
Got there early. Short lines. Had priority boarding and walked right on to ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The Pinnacle Grill is amazing. We had breakfast there every morning included with our Neptune Suite. Worth it. We ate in dining room most nights and the food there was delicious. The service there is amazing too. Skipped the buffet as it was always crowded and food was lackluster. The Dive has good burgers and great hot dogs/fries. Room service was also good and arrived in a good time.
Onboard Activities
Holland America is geared towards older customers. Not a lot to do if you have younger kids, though there is a kids club. The teens in our group were board. They have trivia every day, which most in our group enjoyed. An assortment of random classes/presentations. Casino if you're into that. I would have liked to have a theater to watch movies on sea days. We did stay busy, but we were with a group and were able to find places to play games.
Entertainment
Rolling Stone Lounge band is awesome. We enjoyed every show we saw with them. Problem is the lounge is small and by the last few nights it was too crowded and couldn't hold everyone that wanted to go in. The Billboard entertainment at night was lackluster. The shows we saw on the World Stage were great. The comedian was also very good. They showed a movie on embarkation night. We missed it and thought it would be shown again, but it wasn't. So if you want to see the movie, go the first night.
Children's Programs
No children, only teens.
Service and Staff
The service was top notch from everyone we came into contact with. Everyone smiled, spoke to us and went out of their way to help. Our room steward was excellent.
Ship Quality
The Westerdam is an older ship and it does show. It is clean and well taken care of though. The design is a bit dated but it didn't take anything away from the cruise. Everything is easy to access and flows well.
Cabin / Stateroom
We had a Neptune Suite and it was absolutely amazing. It had so much storage that we had many empty cabinets and drawers. The bathroom was large and had a dressing area that was convenient. The balcony was large and had a table with 4 chairs as well as two chairs to lounge in. Our family that came to see it couldn't believe how big and roomy it was compared to their balcony room. The closet space is awesome too. I would highly recommend splurging for one if possible. It also gave us access to the Neptune Lounge which is a nice little break to get a snack or drink and only for suite passengers.
Ship tip
Neptune Lounge. It is well worth it.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We did the Luxury Whale watch excursion. Saw some whales. Nice to night have to fight a lot of passengers in the smaller boat. Great service. The crew was awesome and very knowledable.
We did the glacier excursion. It was great to get up close and get more information from the crew. It was drizzly and cold, but the inside is heated and covered and you can still get good views if you don't go out. Great crew.
We did Bears and Barnacles tour. We loved it. Got to see eagles, brown and black bears, a behind the scenes of the salmon industry. Very informative and great tour.
My favorite stop and tour. We did the Bering Sea Excursion and highly recommend it. The Aleutian Ballad takes you out for some crab fishing. You get to hold the crab and get pics. We also made a stop and fed Bald Eagles and got some great shots of them diving for food. The crew of the boat is amazing and told us some great stories. Highly recommend.
You don't get long in this port and it was getting dark as we got off the boat. We had to walk quite a ways to get to the Empress Hotel and to see the Wharf. If you have trouble walking or not sure where to go, I suggest an Uber or small sightseeing shuttle. The buses are like $13 or so for each person. We got an uber to bring us back to the ship from the Empress and it was only $15 and well worth it. I think we would have made more use of our short time if we had done a small tour to learn about Victoria. It's too far to the gardens to do in such a short time.
Disembarkation
Everything from embarkation, tours to disembarkation is very organized.
1 Comment
Ladyjunecliff 1 year ago
Sweet to enjoy a nice suite. Your excursions sounded great. We just returned from Alaska without seeing any bears or eagles. But wonderful to see salmon spawning and whales. Glad you had a wonderful time. Look into other cruise lines that advertise rock climbing walls and rides for the younger crowds.