Westerdam Cruise Reviews - Reviews

I can't explaned as weel because my English is not good. But It was great

The ship was fine, the rooms large and comfortable. but there is dishonesty on board. My granddaughter had a lsptop stolen on the last day of the cruise.

A well maintained ship with excellent food and service. This was traditional cruising, not a floating amusement park.

This was our second time on the Westerdam.The first time was back in Feb. 2004.We actually discovered more beauty of this ship on 4/08.When we cruised on the Westerdam in 2004,she was still rather new and kinks had to still be worked out.The Westerdam is a beautiful ship,with its glitterig decor.

The MS Westerdam is a newer ship in the Holland America line. It is well furnished and boasts modern decor, albeit somewhat gaudy in different areas. The food was excellent, and Chef Andres has a wonderful persona. However, the service staff throughout the ship were not as friendly as the ones on other ships (such as the Carnival cruises). The average age for passengers on this particular ship was probably near 60, and as a consequence it lacked the energy and enthusiasm that you might find on other lines. It all seemed very "tame." My two main issues with this cruise experience were (1) the canceled port of call in Half Moon Cay and (2) the borderline homophobic comments and behavior by staff. I have visited Half Moon before, and I was looking forward to it, but according to the captain, the waves were too high to safely ferry passengers to the island. I found this unusual since the sky was blue and sunny throughout the day. I overheard some guests talking about the possibility that the stop may have been canceled due to the elevated fuel prices and the amount of fuel required to travel back to Fort Lauderdale by 7:00am the next day! I certainly hope this was not the case, because that signifies poor planning on Holland America's behalf. The other main issue was a scattering of heterosexist and homophobic comments that were present throughout the cruise. My partner and I are very discreet; we pass as brothers. I do not think the crew members were acting toward us per se, but they were just homophobic in general. For example, there was an Elton John impersonator who entertained one night on the cruise, but then during his second performance he maintained his heterosexuality and poked fun at the real "super gay" Elton John. It was distasteful. Our cabin steward also seemed "bothered" by two men sharing one room. He would not make eye contact, and he was just unhelpful.

The ship was clean although there were several places that seem to have a sewage smell and we never found out why. The buffet was about the best we've had in 13 cruises.

We have cruised on Princess, Carnival, NCL, Royal Caribbean and others, and without a doubt, the service level on Holland America is superior. We made a couple of special requests concerning the deck furniture which were taken care of immediately. We were provided a full dining room menu when it was necessary (read below) to have dinner in the cabin. Every employee - from the guys polishing the stair rails to the bridge officers were friendly and always had a positive greeting when passing in the halls and on deck. Our only problem was the noise level in our cabin. We did make several inquiries concerning our inability to sleep due to the noise. After the 5th night, we received a call telling us there had been construction/maintainance on the deck above us and efforts would be made to curtail the activity. The last two nights on board were quiet and we were able to sleep. Unfortunately, the lack of sleep resulted in my husband getting sick and not being able to fully partisipate in the cruise (requiring the need to use room service instead of the dinning room on several nights). If the cabin noise had not been present, we would have rated the cruise as superior, but unfortunately, the lack of sleep made it difficult to enjoy what could have been a wonderful cruise experience.

The ship itself was great but we were too young for the crowd that Holland America attracts. Also, they nickel and dime you too death. They charge $30 each for the fancy restaurant, extra for aerobic classes, extra for soft drinks and anything else they can think of.

The ship is very nice, a bit bigger than we would like. The crew is fantastic - great food and extremely clean. The only negatives about the ship would be the shopping on board is not a nice as some other ships we have been on, the instructor for the stretch class is very poor. In the dining room, Nono and Toro are fantastic, and our room steward, Imade was great! The cruise director, Shane, is super.

This was my thirtieth crusie and my first time on Holland America. Some friends were on another Holland America ship out of Miami the week before my cruise, and they reported that they were very disappointed with the service, accomadations and attitude of the staff. This did not help me with looking forward to a great crusie. I was very surprised that my experience on the Westerndam was the opposite of theirs. I enjoyed my crusie and would sail again on the Westerndam.

Our room was the largest in the catagory of any ship we've been on, the food was the best. Holland America does seem to cater to the older generation, 70, 80's. Not much to do except play bingo or drink and the piano bar with music from the big band era. A lot of scoters, so watch your toes. Slow walking lines for dinner and tendering on and off the ship. I'll try this line again in thirty years.

OVERALL, AN AVERAGE TO GOOD REVIEW.

This is my third cruise with Holland America and I wanted to share one with my husband (this was our honeymoon). As I expected the ship was clean and the service superior. The food, well, wasn't as good as previous trips, sorta blan. The wine was expensive and a bottle of wine was purchased every night at dinner for our table. Room service was superior however food was so so. The balcony suite we were assigned was somewhat dissapointing. We were a end unit on the 4 level and guests who walk the third level could look up at us. The entire site toward the front of the ship was rescue boats and in front of us railings used to lift them. Being that we were on our honeymoon, we enjoyed going out on our balcony, however there was no privacy at all. When I booked my this cruise I was specific about it being my Honeymoon. We also had a mishap at the casino. I really don't gamble however love to play caribbean polker and learned three card studd. I enjoyed playing cards every night after the show for about an hour or so. I accidently layed a $25 chip down after playing for an hour, didn't even know I had one. I always, I say always play a max $5 chip. Anyway, I started to pick it up and the dealer would not let me change it. We spoke to the casino manager however he said there was nothing he could do. The other four players at the table were so upset, they left the table when I did. My husband and I went into the piano bar, which we enjoyed every evening with Cory. The casino manager brought me a bag with a shirt and hat in it (male) as an appology. Well, due to the $25 chip I lost a bet of $75 and it was basically the principle of the matter. I played cards the entire 7 days and they knew that I was consistant in my betting. Other than that, being that we were on our honey moon it would have taken more than the above to spoil our time spent.

This is our 5 trip on Holland Amercia, and well, they still do it right. The signature of excellance is exactly what you get. The staff, Room service, Bar staff are just as good as they come and better. I feel at home from the time I check in till the time I leave. They never question but go out of their way to make you feel like your home. Entertainment in Piano Bar on Westerdam was the best of all cruises. Way to go Kory.....

I cruised on the Westerdam in October of 2006 with my mother. I bragged about it so much to my husband that he joined me on a cruise in November of 2007. What a difference a year makes, and not for the better. First, the food in the dining room was awful. Service was slow, I'm still waiting for the iced tea I ordered the first night. The waiters weren't friendly, didn't introduce themselves and didn't both to learn our names...unless you ordered alcohol with your dinner. The food was lukewarm at best, banquet quality. Finally after returning my dinner the 3rd night, we decided to eat in the Lido assuming it would be the same lunch buffet. They have changed the Lido. At night it's about 75% of the menu from the dining room. They have table clothes on the tables and waiters to serve you. You order the food and it's prepared immediately and served to you HOT and fresh by a very friendly waiter. Needless to say, we didn't return to the dining room again! Second, if you're planning to scuba dive, try and book your own scuba through a local dive operator rather than booking through HAL shore excursions. We loved the diving in Grand Turk. Our first dive was 40 minutes, and 55 minutes for the 2nd dive. On both Cozumel and Grand Cayman we had no more than 30 minutes per dive and were returning to the boat with over 1500 PSI of air remaining. When we complained about the short dives they said it was requested by HAL. We met some fellow divers on the boat that made their own arrangements those days, and they had longer dive times plus snacks & drinks, and they paid $70 for 2 dives compared to $109 with HAL. Also when we asked for anything, we were often told "no". For example we asked if we could leave our scuba gear somewhere on land so we could hurry and shop for an hour before the boat left. The woman in the Shore Excursions office said she'd check into it, then she called and left a message saying "no." My husband's biggest complaint was that I misled him telling him how great the food & service was when he found it lacking at best. Last year no matter what you asked, it was taken care of with a smile and a request "is there anything else we can do to help you." A year later, you were lucky to get a response if any, and it was always "no" or "I can't help, you'll have to ask so and so" instead of them taking any initiative to provide the outstanding customer service I'd expect from Holland America. Needless to say, if I want to go on a cruise again, it'll be with Mom and not the husband! And it probably won't be HAL.

The Westerdam is large enough to have a broad range of venues and activities, but small enough that you see people you know again & again, and you don't have to deal with overcrowded buffets, insufficient lounge chairs, and long waits for an elevator.

Everyone should take this cruise! Have already signed up for Holland America cruise.

Great ship. We've traveled on Holland America before, in fact on the Westerdam and we'll do it again. The whole experience is second to none. Ship is spotless, top notch crew, service A +++++.

Nice, nice, nice. Great friendly staff, clean, very comfy beds. Verandah suite perfect for us, food excellent in all restuarants, We will def. be cruising again with Holland America!!

Layout was great b/c our cruise was booked to capacity but there was still no lines for the buffet and it did not feel crowded.