Westerdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The ship itself was nice. Easy to get around. Prices in the ships stores were very expensive. They put a hold on your credit card so that it can only be used on the boat for any purchases. Take another form of card to use on land.

we chose holland america mostly because they had religious services daily..and we were not disappointed..the services[Catholic}were inspiring and rewarding and convenient.. the rest of the cruise more than met our expectations..the service was outstanding..they couldnt do enough..holland america also had great food and entertainment..suitable for all ages.. we were more than satisfied..will sail again on this line..hopefully soon..

Due to new regulations (emergency generator) we stayed in port for over a day waiting for the cruise ship to have one installed. This caused us to MISS OUR FIRST PORT (Grand turks and Caico). We were refunded for our excursions and nearly not enough fo rthe inconvenience of the missed port and MORE time AT SEA We spent more time AT SEA than in ports.The time that we did have in ports was not very long, therefore we could not do an excursion and shop. My foster daughter saved for a year to have her first cruise and she was greatly disappointed in the lack of things to do on the ship. She has decided that cruising is not for her.

First I must say I don't think we are really "cruise people." We like to spend more time exploring little towns, living the lives of local, which really is an impossibility on a cruise ship as you don't get to spend much time on land and when you are their are so many other passengers from your boat and other boats, that it really is hectic! The ship on the other hand was a lot of fun. Food and drinks were always readily available and the music entertainment was really fun. I wish there was more music entertainment throughout the "at sea" days and not just in the evenings. We are not really bingo people, so we felt like there wasn't as much to do on those days when we were at sea. The crew was amazing nice and super helpful. People would remember our names and everything was always clean and orderly! It really was a wonderful time.

I thought it was just the right size--not too big and overwhelming which for this first-time cruiser was great. Glacier Bay was AMAZING! I'm not sure what I expected but it was more. Really loved it!

Seven years ago, we took the same trip on the Amsterdam, so we are comparing that trip to the one we just took on the Westerdam. We enjoyed our recent trip, but it did not meet or top the Amsterdam Cruise in 2002. We felt the Westerdam was overcrowded at times, hard to find seating on the Lido Deck. When arriving at Seattle Dock, we came early (around noon) as suggested. There was crowding of people departing the ship and those waiting to board. When on ship, we were late in departing, and it was crowded (everyone was encouraged to be on the Lido Deck) until we could access our stateroom.

I am not sure that I am a cruise person, but that said, this was an impressive ship.

The Westerdam is one of the most beautiful ships I have ever been on and I've been on several cruises. It was comfortable and accessible in that we could get wherever we needed or wanted to be. I would go on this ship over and over I loved it. In fact with most cruises I am ready to go home on this one I wanted to stay a few more days.

The stewarts were wonderful! Kind, helpful, and kept our rooms wonderfully clean. The food service was horrid! One night we went to the open dining, the food was good, but we saw our waiter take the butter and bread from our table, refill them, and then deliver them to another table. The buffet was a real bad experience. We had to get our own drinks and more times than not there were no glasses and/or cups. We had to wait up to 20-30 minutes for clean dishes. There was almost never any clean spoons for stirring coffee. Plenty of dirty ones, but no clean ones. One time I asked a server to clean a table and do the set-ups (silverware), and he pointed behind me and told me the set-ups were there. I then told him I needed the table cleaned again and this time he saw I was upset and he did clean the table and place the set-ups. Two times they wiped our table with a dirty napkin from the people who had just left, and then put our set-ups there for us to eat. Rarely did anyone come around to refill glasses -- 95% of the time we had to do our own refills, get different drinks, etc. There was not a good selection of foods. Each day there was Italian, hot foods, sandwiches, and salads. The last day there were steaks. There was always mexican food, but they ran completely out of taco shells the fifth day. The buffet was not open enough!!! One day we docked at 6:00 p.m., and they opened the buffet for the evening meal at 5:30. One night I went down at 8:50 to eat, and all that was available was Italian and I had to yell for someone to come out to fill my order. At 9:30 my brother-in-law only had two old slabs of pizza available to eat. I understand that buffets have to close for clean-ups and things, but numerous times there was no food available or just a single choice. This buffet did not have a good selection of foods, they were not open with good selections, and the service was lousy. We heard two cooks get into a screaming argument and one of them was forced to leave the serving line. As I stated above, the stewarts did a wonderful job, the activities on the ship were okay, the crew was efficient and obliging, but the buffet was such a disappointment that we will not cruise this line again.

night and day is to be commended. That she celebrated her fifth birthday inBecause of the H1N1 (Swine Flu) outbreak in Mexico, the ports of call scheduled for the last week of the Panama Canal, ship relocation cruise were canceled. The Holland America Corporation is to be commended for the superb substitutions and opportunities they made possible on this trip. The Westerdam's officer corps radiates warmth and charm; it is obvious that they truly enjoy and appreciate each other, and are very proud of the Westerdam. Their skillful handling of the ship herself, in all sorts of weather. wind or sea conditions, keeping the journey absolutely top-notch comfortable the middle of the Panama Canal was so exciting. Yes, we recommend this ship and her sister ships, and this cruiseline above others.

We recently sailed on the Westerdam and I must say there are pros and cons to the vacation. It is hard for me to complain when I received quality time with my family, time off from work and a good sun tan. But there are a few things that I was disappointed in from the Holland America Company. Understaffing: It is clear that through this economic hardship decisions must be made to effect the business and clearly the staff had been dramitically cut. The dining rooms did not have enough staff, resulting in multiple 3 hour dinners. Due to the length of time spent in the dining room, my family was not able to make the nightly shows. This was a huge disappointment. The lack of staffing was also clear on the pool deck, as finding someone to provide seating, refreshments or towels was basically impossible. The staff that WAS on the ship was wonderful though. It was clear that they were doing the best that they could. But it's a shame, because all through the boat the patrons were complaining. Many were getting comped on certain items to make up for the disappointment. If Holland America is saving money by cutting staff, then the overall price should had been cut as well. The expectation remained the same from patrons, if I'm paying the same price, then I deserve the same service. And that was clearly not the case here. I must say that it was my families favorite cruise line until this past trip, and that is no longer the case. I do hope that Holland America finds away to save money in other ways so that you will maintain the repeat customer. Because if they keep on the same journey they are on now, Holland America will soon find an empty ship.

I've taken about 15 or so cruises in my life on almost all the major lines and HA is usually among the best with service staff (second only to Seabourn and Silversea). This voyage had lackluster staff both for the cabin attendant and the dining room personnel. It took 2 days to get a fruit basket in my stateroom - seemingly trivial but when you ask for something AND fill out a written request, it shouldn't take that long. Only 3 nights out of seven did we have the little towel animals on the beds AND the cabin guy never replaced drinking glasses for water/soda - we would have to take them from the buffet. My dining assignment was changed without asking and took a number of irate requests to be changed back. It just seems that with the advent of pre-paid gratuities (those auto added to your bill) and open dining, the staff doesn't really seem motivated to attend to as many details and service as before. The verandah furniture (ersatz rattan) was in poor condition and was unraveling. The quality of the food was very good (brkfast,lunch, dinner, midnight buffet) but the customary dessert buffet was pretty to view but overall tasted awful. The afternoon tea services were similarly mediocre. The entertainment was great - some of the best I have seen at sea, especially the comedian whose name I forgot, the Elton John Impersonator/showman, and the magician. The regular cast was de riguer for a cruiseline although their singing voices were very good. The cruise director was excellent as well as his little team of helpers, etc... The southern caribbean voyage had a lot of sea days which is ok if there are plenty of activities which there wasn't - especially if you wanted to do mindless activities. The main pool was also closed on 1 of the sea days which isn't good and usually half of all the whirlpools were closed all throughout the trip and the ones that were open were tiny in size compared to other vessels. Music on deck and in the lounges, etc.. was pretty good consistently. Embarkation/debarkation was smooth. The ports of call were just ok - being from Miami, beaches are not much of a draw. Once you have seen Aruba and Curacao one time, that is really enough although the ostrich farm was very cool. The excursion are overpriced as usual for a cruise ship and we opted to pay 4 a private tour and taxis and just walk around, buying souvenirs, crafts, etc... It was spring break week so the passenger demographics were more varied than the tradit. HA 40-70 age range, although more and more young people are making there way aboard regular sailings. The ship interior was consistently clean and nice with the HA flowers all over which is very nice. The art in the public rooms was not spectacular. Shipbuilding contest was very nice but the lounge hogs made it difficult to find a chair in the sun if you are not an early riser. Glass elevators were nice. Never spent a lot of time in the casino, so no comment there. Spa package for 250 per week per couple to go into a special whirlpool and stuff was a waste of money. Duty free liquor always a great value and onboard I purchased the drink cards for alcoholic bevs. thankfully photographers were not pushy and HA's private island is one of the best in the whole industry. Smoking passengers really stunk up the aft pool area. Movies on board were old and showed over and over again. The Crows Nest is a great space and is combined w/library and coffee bar. What else can I say?? The price was pretty good for the time period I travelled and they upgraded my cabin. My special food request for a gluten free diet was good after the first day's kinks were worked out. The ships holds about 1000 less people than newer megaships but there really is something to Royal Caribbean's interior space that looks like a 3 story shopping mall and wave rider and outside big hot tubs. I am a price driven consumer and got a little more than what I paid for on this journey-overall pretty good.

We've been to this ship four times. Needless to say, we love it. Not too big. a ship. Easy access to all areas. Food and service are the best. Something to do for everyone. Your choice.

The Westerdam is a beautiful ship. While not the newest ship in the Holland America fleet, it is still clean and bright with all the ammenities you expect to find on a fine cruise ship.

We like sailing with Holland America for a number of reasons. This cruise line is not for everyone. It is definitely more reserved and not a party ship. This is the fourth Holland ship we have sailed and we enjoyed the Westerdam. Not too big and not to small. It did seem we felt more motion on this ship, than others. We thought the food excellent and the service very good. For the life of me I do not understand how people complain. The staff is awesome and help make everyday a pleasure. We also like that Holland has a priest on board and you can attend Mass daily, if you so choose. We had a relaxed vacation and liked fewer ports. Cruising is all about personal preference so know ahead what you are seeking for your cruise experience and you will be happy.

Overall, this is a very beautiful ship..nicely decorated, great art pieces abound. Plenty of space and lots of amenities (such as neptune's lounge). The Pinnacle Grill was fantastic..the food was great and the service was excellent..a must on this cruise. Overall, Lido Buffet and dining areas were top notch.

Overall excellent. This was my 9th voyage on Holland America which can tell you what I think.

enjoyed the itinerary to the southern carribean. the sea days were very relaxing. breakfast and lunch were great. dinner was average. pinnacle grill(upcharge restaurant was well worth it!! diembarking/emabarking the ship was very easy.

Great ports, great ship, great service.

Food and Entertainment were mediocre. Don't book this ship unless you want to be underwhelmed or asleep by 9PM every night. Celebirty and Carnival Liberty food quality and service far surpasses this ship. Our first and last HAL trip.