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   Cruise Travel - Reader Reviews

Welcome to Your Favorites, where you have the opportunity to share your travel experiences with fellow Internet Travelers around the world.


Holland America Line

MS Westerdam

Your Rating:Four Stars
Reviewed by: Bruce Tuffin
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: May 17, 2001
Itinerary: Alaska-Inside Passage

Overview
Go and do it NOW!!! The Westerdam is a "real" ship, with sailors as crew; not a floating gin palace. Polished brass and timber and immaculate. Few kids; average passenger age probably a bit high -- in the 40s at least. The food is just SUPERB -- there is no other word. And the captain handles that ship like you and I would handle a 12-foot dinghy.

Public Areas
Imagine this: You're sitting in a luxurious leather armchair, sipping a cocktail of your choice. Your wife is nibbling on a handmade chocolate. Outside, the temperature is just above freezing -- inside, you are in light slacks and a summer shirt. It is almost dusk as you glide through a channel. Ice and snow-covered hills slip past, not a hundred yards away from your full-length picture window, while a first-class string ensemble oozes classical music into the opulence.

Food and Service
The cruise is about food, food, and more food.

You haven't lived until you've eaten freshly-barbecued Alaskan salmon on the pool deck.

Or until you've stood in awe in Glacier Bay, watching small icebergs calve with a rumbling "cr-a-a-ck", while sipping hot Dutch pea and ham soup brought around on trays by the crew.

The buffet is five-star; the dining room even better. Dutch, Indonesian, seafood --- you name it; it's the sort of cruise where you keep the menus as souvenirs!!!

Cabins
Our cabin was just above the water line; outside double, with window -- "H" grade from memory. We were only about 8 cabins from the stern and the ride was magnificent. Only once did we even realise we were at sea. Any "rhythm" just lulled us to sleep -- and I'm the sort of person who can get seasick on a wet lawn!!

Entertainment
The shows were first class without being world class --- but, hey!! they were damned good!!

Activities
TIP: Book your tours ashore, not through the cruise -- and save about 50%!!

The casino is small but fun.

The cinema had some great shows, and the seating was, for a relatively small cinema, first class.

My biggest regret is they had no clay target shooting off the stern as they do on some ships.

Who Goes
We DID invite some of our fellow passengers over -- not just for a meal but to stay with us on holidays.

We met some really wonderful people on the cruise. There were a lot of Aussies because it had been heavily promoted.

VACATION & CRUISE SPECIALS
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Royal Caribbean - Bahamas Getaway from $129 per person
Description: Experience the beautiful ports of Nassau and Royal Caribbean's private island - CocoCay on a 3-night Weekend Getaway to the Bahamas. Absorb everything island life has to offer as you snorkel with the stingrays, parasail above the serene blue waters and walk the endless white sand beaches. From Miami.
Carnival - 4-Day Bahamas  from $229 per person
Description: Enjoy a wonderful 3 Day cruise to the fun-loving playground of Nassau, Bahamas. Discover Nassau, the capital city as well as the cultural, commercial and financial heart of the Bahamas. Meet the Atlantic Southern Stingrays, the guardians of Blackbeard's treasure.
NCL - Bermuda - 7 Day from $499 per person
Description: What a charming little chain of islands. Walk on pink sand beaches. Swim and snorkel in turquoise seas. Take in the historical sights. They're stoically British and very quaint. Or explore the coral reefs. You can get to them by boat or propelled by fins. You pick. Freestyle Cruising doesn't tell you where to go or what to do. Sure, you can plan ahead, or decide once onboard. After all, it's your vacation. There are no deadlines or must do's.
Holland America - Eastern Caribbean from From $599 per person
Description: White sand, black sand, talcum soft or shell strewn, the beaches of the Eastern Caribbean invite you to swim, snorkel or simply relax. For shoppers, there's duty-free St. Thomas, the Straw Market in Nassau, French perfume and Dutch chocolates on St. Maarten. For history buffs, the fascinating fusion of Caribbean, Latin and European cultures. For everyone, a day spent on HAL's award winning private island Half Moon Cay.
Celebrity - 7-Night Western Mediterranean  from $549 per person
Description: For centuries people have traveled to Europe to see magnificent ruins, art treasures and natural wonders. And the best way to do so is by cruise ship. Think of it - you pack and unpack only once. No wasted time searching for hotels and negotiating train stations. Instead, you arrive at romantic ports of call relaxed, refreshed and ready to take on the world.
Holland America - Alaska from From $499 per person
Description: Sail between Vancouver and Seward, departing Sundays on the ms Statendam or ms Volendam and enjoy towering mountains, actively calving glaciers and pristine wildlife habitat. Glacier Bay and College Fjord offer two completely different glacier-viewing experiences.