Westerdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Overall, this was a great cruise.  Juneau is very touristy, so if you didn't book a cruise to go shopping, find an excursion that interest you.  We did a small whale watching excursion with Gastineau Guiding.  John, our guide, was extremely informative and entertaining. The Westerdam is showing her age. I noticed a strong, musty, mildew odor when we boarded, but i eventually got used to it,  We had a balcony suite which I was so thankful for.  I wish they would put more effort into cleaning the glass that surrounds the balcony so when you are seated in the deck chairs you have a clear view.  The staff was very friendly and competent. If I needed anything, all I had to do was ask.

I was very disappointed in the quality of the food,  Quantity does not equate to quality in my book.  Basically, you are getting cheap cafeteria food.  With what I paid for this cruise, I had much higher expectations.  The Asian Food was the best thing on the ship.  They put out a lot of hamburgers on  the Lido deck, and they are edible, but lack seasoning and need a little fat content to give them flavor and keep them from being so dry.  The fries are crunchy and great,  I wish you good get deli type sandwiches in the evening,  They only serve them at lunch time. We did order room service a couple of times.  Stay away from the onion soup.  It was dreadful, with some sort of  rubbery, whole wheat bread in it.  Everything I had was edible, but that's the best adjective I can give it.

So, enjoy your cruise by focusing on the beauty and majesty of Alaska,  That alone was what made the cruise,

upon arriving to our state room we were immediately overcome with the most pungent paint I had ever experienced. I immediately had a migraine headache that stayed with me for over 3 days, limiting what I wanted to do  together with my wife on our 35th anniversary.

Why the maintenance  was not done prior to 1000 guests arriving  I don't understand!

Your little sorry gift of 3 day old strawberry's was not sincere but rather a jester that was just done. I would really have to evaluate if I would spend my hard earned money with your services.

The crew was very polite and helpful unlike other cruises we have been on.

Holland America has wonderful food and service.

They average age of the passengers is usually older than other cruise lines, but we enjoy the quit times with not a lot of kids running around.

Our favorite place was Glacier Bay.  The entire trip was worth it just for that. With their smaller ships, they can get closer to the glaciers.

Extremely accommodating and friendly crew. I was very impressed with how genuine the cabin steward and dining room staff were. 

My husband and I really enjoy dancing and I found the variety of music somewhat lacking. There was a BB King group that played amazing music, but the whole atmosphere was more of a "theater" theme therefore the atmosphere was more for listening, not dancing. the last set they would play cheesy dance music and people would get up and dance.  Holland used to have a music up in the crows nest and the atmosphere was always very relaxing for people that wanted to have a few drinks and dance. 

We didn't know what to expect with this being our first cruise.

Everything exceeded our expectations. The staff were helpful, and  friendly and all seemed to enjoy their work. The room was comfortable and kept spotlessly clean. The food and service were excellent. We would definitely choose Holland america again.

Cleanliness, comfort, fine staff, beautiful weather and cruising route, but

food in the large buffet area (LIDO) was not good....boring, bland, unimaginative, absence of seasoning of most dishes, soft and mushy fish, weak coffee, etc.

After 3 days it seemed to taste alike, no matter what was served.  This is a fine

ship but something is seriously lacking in the LIDO food. So, this recommendation is choose another ship until you know that the food is greatly

i mproved. Other cruise lines traveled had far better food, and food is a very

important part of a cruise.

The scenery is beyond words.  The ports were good.  Enjoyed seeing the small towns.  Everyone should see Alaska this way at least once.  However, the ship lacked a LOT!  Both in staff and food.  Taco bar was EMPTY of several foods one afternoon, someone told me they waited one hour on a hamburger, lobster was not cooked done the last evening of the cruise, etc. Booked thru USAIRWAYS and called about a week before to upgrade to suite and was told it would be $339 each but if I could wait THEY would watch the sailing and there were a lot of upgrades complimentary about a week before sailing.  NEVER heard ANYTHING.  Last time to book with these people.

This is my first cruise the staff is top notch,. My storeroom was a decent size , but too closes to the engine room The food was great, but not enough seafood..  I will travel with Holland America in the future. 

This was our first cruise in over 20 years so we are definitely novice cruisers. The stateroom was as we expected, although the bed was larger than we thought it would be (seemed to be a King size). The staff were friendly, especially the Show Host and Librarian. We enjoyed the food; we ate at the Lido Buffet more often than the Dining Room because we didn't want to dress up for formal night and they served some of the same food at the buffet. The entertainment was not high quality, in my opinion. We liked participating in the Trivia and Name That Tune contests. The city of Juneau was just OK, although we enjoyed visiting the Mendenhall Glacier (got bus ride on our own.) Sitka and Ketchikan were charming towns and nice to walk around in. Glacier Bay was wonderful-highly recommended. The size of the Westerdam (1800 passengers?) was good for us. Never had to wait for an elevator or to get off the ship. One negative was The Crow's Nest being closed for a private party almost every day. We felt that the cruise line was catering to one specific group on the ship and could have used a different location for the private party.

We booked at the last minute and supposedly got the last room--4115.  It had a life boat hanging just outside the window.  On board, we asked for an upgrade, but were told "no such luck".  So, we asked to see any available room and toured a room with a little round port hole window.  After seeing this, we stuck with our room with the life boat.  It had a big window--as if intended to be a sliding glass window--and the life boat had big windows as well.  So, you simply had to look through the boat to see the water and the shore.  But, it was wonderfully sunny because there was no balcony above us and the sun shone in all around and the view was vast.  I went on board prepared to be disappointed with my room but we decided it was just fine.  

We chose the Westerdam Alaska 7 day Seattle round trip for our first cruise, and had an incredible voyage.  The staff that we had contact with became close friends.  The ship was spacious and we never felt crowded or uncomfortable, even though it was booked to capacity.  The Lido buffet for breakfast and lunch were the only times we saw very many people at once, and this was because of the large food selection and great presentation of great food.  We had to almost force ourselves to visit our table in the Vista dining room for lunch and breakfast.  Speaking of the Vista dining room, it was the most elegant dining experience I have had.  The menu was very good and the presentation was impressive.  Everything in the Vista was perfection.  When you go on the Westerdam, tell Wedodo and Dwepa that Rod and Em sent you.  They will make your dining dreams come true.  There were so many activities that we were interested in that we didn't get to do all the things we wanted to on the ship.  Now we have to go back to do those things. The Westerdam was one of the greatest things I have ever done, and I am looking forward to another voyage with my new found friends.  Oh, I forgot......Alaska was nice too.  Long story short- Book the 7 day seattle-Alaska roundtrip on the Westerdam,  It's a voyage you will never forget.  rod

This cruise was perfect for someone who wanted a low key, relaxing trip. The crew on the boat were amazing with top notch service and great personalities. The food was deciduous in the main dining room and the view was breathtaking. The only thing that we found disappointing, was that there aren't many shows before 8 pm. Our dinner was the late seating, which made it hard to catch any shows before. So our trip consisted of a few trivia afternoons and a martini mixology class....which don't get me wrong, was an absolute blast! There were a few families, but not many, and the average age was about 60-70, couples..but if your not going to find a date, and just want to relax, this ship is perfect.

All shows were wonderful and trivia was a blast. Food was great, service great and staff were attentive. Did not enjoy stop at Nicaragu. Should take Nicaragua off the ports. It's not worth the time.

Holland Cruise Lines is exceptional and I will cruise with them again in the future. Staff friendly and vey accommodating. Food was great. Stateroom serve wonderful  

I would recommend Holland America to anyone...it is a wonderful cruise line and friendly staff. I would recommend getting the premium drink package as soon as you get on the ship, this will save you money if you are a drinker.($49/day=15 drinks a day...)One could combine this with another. Make sure to go to all the shows...they are amazing. Get up early to watch the sunrise at least one of the days. You can take a taxi at any of the destinations and get an amazing tour just by listening to the driver...we saved money doing this instead of an excursion in San Juan.  If you do plan to book excursions...book them as soon as you look them all over on the first day...you can do this with the easy kiosk on 2nd floor.  If you dont go...you can get a refund.  Have fun!!!

The Ship/Crew and all the activities were great!!!!  The shore excursions were bad that we booked through Holland America "Dolphin Experience took 9 hours for 5 minute pet, kiss and shake finns with the dolphin"

Holland America is one of the best cruise lines available.  Their service and food are well above any of the other cruise lines that I have sailed on.  I will certainly be sure to cruise with them again.

In the past I had heard that HA was know to be a daytime centric vessel with a older demographic. THis was so true. Now I'm not a 20 something who was looking for a 4 am pool party, I'm pushing 50 but can still stay awake past midnight. The bars all closed by 1am and the casino was closed at 11:45 the first night at sea and never open past 1:00am. The specialty restaurants were the better choice as the main dining room fare was mediocre. The ship was clean and the staff attentive as long as you didn't ask for anything extra. We chose HA because of the itinerary and the cost to "value" based on reviews. It's a 3 start experience nothing more nothing less.

  We are very allergic to cigarette smoke.  Most of the Celebrity crushes we have been on have express defined smoking areas.  When Westerdam said the casino was smokeless, then they didn't enforce their requests. Many smokers congregated in groups of 6 or more with only one of them playing the machines and the rest using drinking service like a bar.  Give them a bar for smokers only. I have found found that all of the Carnival owned lines appear to have the same disregard for passengers that do not smoke..  It is a shame because the service offered by Holland America is well above or equal to the best any ship can offer.

The crew was outstanding and so very gracious!  The most polite crew ever!  Our waiters Yuda Satria and Sam Fit were excellent, polite, and were the best waiters we have ever had serve us!  Our stateroom attendants were also very gracious, excellent and polite.  Always available to serve us.