Westerdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Love this cruise. We went to St Thomas, San Juan and grand Turk all beautiful islands. We walked San Juan visiting 2 of the forts it was interesting to see the history of the island. The tour at Grand Turk we signed up for was cancelled so we Went Snorkeling right next to the boat saw lots of fish and very convenient. We had connecting room very nice and bigger than others I have been on. The ship is not the biggest or newest but is nice and the crew was great. Our room was always clean the shows were good and we never had to wait in line for anything.

More healthy selections of food available than I remember from past cruises. Salad bar at Lido was great. B B King show was a big hit. Service in main dining room was very good. Did not feel crowded, though there were short lines (especially for the salad bar) in the Lido buffet restaurant. Would like to have had some cardio exercise classes in the gym. Prices for alcoholic drinks were reasonable.

First, the service and accommodations were "Excellent" on this ship, so that is not why the rating is only "Good".  The staff did an outstanding job.

Second, the shows were pretty good.  The BB King group was "Excellent" and did a great job of entertaining.  I don't think they repeated a song EVER on the entire cruise.  The illusionist was also top notch.  The Westerdam singers and dancers also did a very good job.  The violin/piano duo were very talented, but repeated tunes often, so after the first few nights, we had heard enough.  The violin duo had some flash about their show, but their overall presentation to me was a bit flat.

The ports that we stopped at:

1. Half Moon Cay - super crowded and took a LONG time to get on and off the ship using boat shuttling (tendering).  I think the cruise lines could coordinate better so that two ships don't end up on the island the same day.

2. St Thomas - great day, but the weather was bad for 1/2 the day, so not a good beach day.  This is, of course, not the fault of the cruise lines.

3. San Juan, PR - we greatly enjoyed the time we had their, but felt a bit robbed that we were there for such a short time.

4. Grand Turk - YUCK!!!!  This place is a dive and not worth the trip.  We walked down the beach a ways only to find dogs running loose and doing their jobs all over with nobody picking up.  We nearly stepped in it!  Then we tried the beach, and I injured my foot due to 8-10" boulders in the water near the shoreline that I wasn't expecting in water that was only up to my knees.  The beach was a bit better close to the main ship dock.  We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon at the pool that is part of Margaritaville.

As usual, we met nice people on the cruise and the meals were very good.

Parts of the ship were showing wear, but it didn't detract too much from the experience.

We had a great time! The food was really good...probably some of the best I have had on a cruise! Our room attendants were excellent! We would definitely go on another Holland America cruise in the future!

The entire staff we interacted with was superbly well trained in customer service.

I wear a hearing aid.  When Sarah, the cruise director makes an announcement and sitting in a public space, her voice sounds very loud and shrill.  The Captain has a Dutch accent and I had difficulty understanding his  message.

The main course food selection has been reduced from our last trip.  The waiter staff was slow because they have been assigned more tables.  When the waiters were at the table their service was excellent.

The resident dance staff and singer did an excellent job  However the comedian and illusionist were mediocre.

Before boarding we had searched some reviews online, some of which were indicating this ship is very bad. However, after embarking we realized that everything was just awesome. Friendly crews, beautiful scenes, and most importantly, delicious food! I gained 15 pounds after this trip, what do you say? The only pity for us was that we didn't make the exclusive at San Juan on time so that we were added to the waitlist where has never been called eventually. Other than that everything went very well. Thanks!

the ship looks old , the room was extremely small and the toilet did not work for 5 out the 7 days

the food was just average

the entertainment was poor the only quality show was the bbking and after a while got old

twice they canceled the excursions and did not tell us until last minute

i dont have anything else to say just the it was pretty bad and a waste of money

Westerdam was the right way to enjoy a cruise with the right number on board.  Everything one would want is found on the Westerdam.  From the Captain to the cabin attendants, food servers, to the entire crew the journey was outstanding.

The embarkation and disembarkation was the best of 20 cruises.

My husband and I were first time cruisers.  We chose Holland America,  not knowing much of the differences.  It was prefect for us.  We liked the mid sized ship.  Because we choose to dubs with other people at dinner each night (optional), and the ship is smaller than some other cruise lines,  we got to know sine of our fellow cruisers. That was very enjoyable - to make friends and see them around.  The food was incredible - better than some top restaurant's I've been to!  If you have the chance,  make a reservation at Le Cirque for dinner. It can't be beat! 

We had a very nice cruise with no surprises. Being a Christmas cruise, the mix of people was all ages with an average age of maybe 45. Holland America is known for an older crowd normally. The HAL club kept the children busy and having fun all week. We had some gusty wind and rain heading to the Eastern Caribbean and some guests did not make it to dinner. Our cabin was attended to 3 times a day and we always had fresh towels, ice and towel animals in the evening. The professional entertainment was mediocre, but we did enjoy the staff singing Christmas Carols to us at 11pm on Christmas Eve. The meals in the dining room were very good and the non-stop buffet selections were excellent. The Windows 10 classes I would rate a 6 out of 10 as the trainer had his own agenda and did not follow the curriculum. The only real complaint is "open seating". It reads "dine as you wish". But we were told we could choose to eat at 5:30 or 7:45, or come and wait with a beeper at the entrance to the dining room. The Maitre D finally relented and gave us 7pm (we wanted 6:30) reservations but the majority of guests had to eat early, or late, or wait. There should have been two assigned seating times and fill ins in between. There was not a whole lot for men to do regarding the onboard activities..The ship docking and leaving went smoothly at all of the ports. The ship's decor is not elaborate, but it is clean. Our balcony was kept clean and it was private. Disembarking at the end was quick and easy. 

very good services.. room staff people where very nice... food was good...

dining room service was good...ship was very clean and the entertainment was good. Enjoyed the casino.lido deck buffet

i like the stateroom keepers' hard working and friendly towel animals every night. i like the ice cream and cakes and this servant works really hard to satisfy everyone. i like the table servants' hard work but please don't take my rest food away so quickly LOL. I want you to provide more Asian food and not so much cheese everywhere.

Entertainment, other than the comedian who was very good, needs to be upgraded. Singers and dancers and choreography need to be changed for the better.

As always, I enjoyed my cruise on Holland America.  For mature adults it's a great cruise line.  The Westerdam is a nice size and not too difficult to get around.  The daily events are interesting, some educational, and some just fun.  Shane, the cruise director, was a lot of fun.  The entertainment is average, however, Deborah the steel pan player, and The BB King Allstar Band were exceptional.  The Adagio classical duo were also excellent.  Our balcony room had a good size balcony and there was enough storage space in the cabin, although the room was not as large as Carnival's.  

We are not native English speakers. So it takes some time for us to understand the services provided on board.Anyway, we gradually understand how to enjoy all the services provided, no matter they are for the kid or for the adult. So I think, our cruise trip would be perfect if you could provide the booklet in our native language. Anyway, after we book the cruise, you asked about our preferred language.

All in all, we and our friends are satisfied with this trip, from the clean room service to all kinds of food and entertainments provided on board. My daughter really enjoys the sea at the first stop and at the Half Moon Cay. How beautiful they are.

Thank you for this wonderful trip and the sweet memories.

Cruise was great. All food fantastic, crew very friendly Destinations were good. The best was St. Thomas.The excursions on both PR and St. Thomas were Great.  

This is our third cruise on the Westerdam....also the shortest.  We enjoyed a relaxing itinerary, stopping in ports we have visited before.  Entertainment on ship was good.  Portion control big time in the main dining room.  Pinnacle Grill and Cannaletto both excellent though.  We also think the décor in the companionways is starting to look dated and a little drab.  Love the layout of the ship.  They have closed our favorite bar in the atrium.  We heard the noise from the bar was disturbing the guests in the Pinnacle Grill.

Aside form some choppy seas and a little rain and an older ship our time was great.  Meeting new friends and enjoying the great hospitality of Holland America - is always part of a good get a way!

Great trip! Staff was excellent food was excellent, room was great. Plenty to do. Westerdam is a smaller ship so less lines and crowds. The only issues we had were with the ship being small it rocked some we had some rough water, not bad actually made it a bit fun but my wife gets sea sick and normal off the counter stuff didn't do it but we found some patches on one of the stops and she was good after that so plan for that. They had several things that were a nice feature such delivering you baggage directly to the airport when disembarking small fee but great! Aslo priority disembarking for early flights been nice to know that I am sure it was somewhere in the reams of paper but my first cruise. I will know better next time. All and all great experience.

I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent service...Our room was great, big enough for my husband and myself and of course the luggage...being able to smoke on my balcony was a bonus...food selection as good...enjoy the tub in the bathroom...