Westerdam good
Written: Dec 09 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Luxury, the rocking motion of the boat, ready food and drink
Cons: Somewhat insular, smoking.
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| pageclot's Full Review: Holland America Westerdam |
In February 1998, my wife and I decided to go cruising, lured by a Wine themed boat cruise through some part of the Caribbean (Western I think). The cruise was to have 2 or 3 wine-themed events, usually tastings and flackery by a wine maker or two, while wending its way down through St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Half Moon Cay and Nassau.
We booked extremely early (the previous August) and got a great rate on one of the 5 staterooms available. The cost was around $3500 US total. The cruise was our attempt to live in luxury, without the need or desire to interact with other people too much. We like relaxing at our own pace.
The flight and transfers to the ship went smoothly, helped along by not getting any sleep the night before the flight (last minute details), and falling asleep on a stranger's shoulder on the plane, while it was waiting to be de-iced in Toronto. Hope I didn't drool.
Once on board, we had to go through a mandatory evacuation drill, cut short because of the possibility of a hurricane in the area. We sailed in the evening, and went down to dinner.
The accommodations:
The staterooms on the Westerdam are superb. They include a cordoned-off sleeping area, a washroom with a shower and tub, a walk-in closet (where the life vests are) and a roomy living room area. There are two portholes. A TV showed movies, or closed circuit transmissions of on-board entertainment, or the view from the bridge. The bed was firm and comfy.
The common areas:
The stairwells, bars, dining areas, decks, patios and shopping areas are tastefully decorated within the obvious constraints of a shipboard's need for ruggedness and durability. The broadloom, draperies, and furniture are as good looking as constant care can make them. There seemed always to be someone about, vaccuuming, wiping down brass and cleaning windows. The boat is up to hotel standards, which is amazing considering the outdoor salt exposure of most of the areas. The downside of the common areas is the amount of smoking, but more about that later.
Cuisine:
Except for dinners, most of the meals are buffet-based, and suffer from all of the downfalls of buffet meals worldwide. I imagine it's tough to get motivated about scrambled eggs when you make them in 50 pound batches. Most mornings, I should have skipped breakfast anyway. There is altogether way too much food available on board, and it's tough to break the habit of eating as much as you can, as often as you can.
The dinners are all served in one of the lower decks, in vast dining rooms. We had requested a table for two, so we could enjoy our own company and concentrate on the food. Each afternoon, we stopped by the Wine Steward's desk and chose a wine for that evening's meal, so he would be sure to have it breathe the appropriate amount of time before our meal. Although all meals are included in the all-inclusive price, the wine we bought each evening, because it was special, was extra. This usually meant that I felt duty-bound to finish the bottle, and since my wife doesn't drink that much, that meant I was half-looped by the time dessert came. All in all, not a bad way to spend an evening.
The food, with one notable exception, was undistinguished. It was good, all right. Fresh vegetables, good cuts of meat, and some round balls they called potatoes. It was all just so...bland. The possibility was raised that the food was intentionally bland so that it wouldn't offend anyone. I suppose they succeeded. On a boat with 1400 or so passengers, they have to please as many patrons as possible.
The one exception was the night where the kitchen staff cooked up dishes from their native Indonesia. The soup, spring rolls and main course were all Indonesian. These dishes were fantastic! My wife asked for extra spring rolls, they were so good. That night was definitely the highlight of cuisine for the trip.
Deck life:
There were a few days where all the boat did was sail for another port of call. They called these "Restful days at sea", and indeed, if you were so inclined, the motion of the boat could keep you asleep for the whole day if you let it. The lure of the open decks called, however. Walking around and around the boat was not only good exercise, but it also allowed us to see flying fish off the bow. I think we even saw a shark.
The downside of deck life is the smokers, but more about that later.
Ports of call:
At each port of call, there were tour packages available, and the scramble for the primo tour packages was responsible for a certain amount of stress during our time on board. As soon as we got on board, there was this undercurrent of scurrying by other passengers, trying to book the best tour packages. The Nature Walk on Half Moon Cay. Something else on Puerto Rico. We felt left behind. The thought of leaving the boat, once we were there, felt distressing. We didn't sign up for anything except something to do while waiting for the flight back to Toronto, but this feeling that we were missing out, which was helped along by a promoter on the CC television describing these tours, telling us we'd better sign up now before all the places were gone, was distressing.
So we didn't go on tours in the Ports of call. We just walked around, and then went back to the boat. St. Thomas, Nassau, and Puerto Rico all look very nice. Half Moon Cay, we didn't get to see. Neither did most of the people who signed up for tours. Some tenders (little boats that ran from the big boat to the island) got to the island, and someone actually got to parasail, and then a huge thunderstorm came out of nowhere and smacked everyone down on the island. Those poor people on the island had to come back to the boat on these tenders, in the middle of the storm, tossed around like cookies on the ocean. From our perch inside, behind the strong glass of the bar with our margueritas in our frosted glasses, it all looked so so horrid.
Smoking:
We don't smoke. Other people do. Turns out, a lot of people. There's no smoking in the dining rooms, so all the smokers hang out outside, finishing up their last few puffs. So going into the dining room is like walking through a smokescreen laid down by a world war 2 barrage company. I'd prefer a non-smoking vessal next time. I hear there is one, somewhere. Eventually, there will be more.
What I would do differently:
- Not worry so much about the tours.
- Take more books.
- Not eat as much
- Sleep in more
- Unplug the TV.
- Dash down to the dining room a minute before dinner was served to avoid the crowds and the smoke.
For Whom would I recommend this cruise?
Either you are:
- a crowd person who enjoys mixing it up with strange people, and who doesn't mind chatting with just about everyone, or you are:
- a person who knows what makes you happy, and won't be dissuaded from doing that.
There's really something for almost everyone on board a cruise. It being like a hotel with a motor, though, you won't really see as much of the countries you are visiting as you may like. It can be very insular on board, so if you want a more interactive vacation, cruising may not be for you.
p
Recommended:
Yes
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