Log In | Customer Support   
Home Book Travel Destinations Hotels Cruises Air Travel Community Search:  
Search

Search CruisePage

Book a Cruise
 - CruiseServer
 - Search Caribbean
 - Search Alaska
 - Search Europe
 - 888.700.TRIP

Book Online
Cruise
Air
Hotel
Car
Cruising Area:

Departure Date:
Cruise Length:

Price Range:

Cruise Line:

Forums
 >  Cruise Talk
 >  Rail Talk
 >  Air Talk
 >  Destination Talk
 >  Hotel Talk

Buy Stuff

Reviews
 - Ship Reviews
 - Dream Cruise
 - Ship of the Month
 - Reader Reviews
 - Submit a Review
 - Millennium Cruise

Community
 - Photo Gallery
 - Join Cruise Club
 - Cruise News
 - Cruise News Archive
 - Cruise Views
 - Cruise Jobs
 - Special Needs
 - Maritime Q & A
 - Sea Stories

Industry
 - New Ship Guide
 - Former Ships
 - Port Information
 - Inspection Scores
 - Shipyards
 - Ship Cams
 - Freighter Travel
 - Man Overboard List
 - Potpourri

Shopping
 - Shirts & Hats
 - Books
 - Videos
 - Reservations
 - Vacation Specials
 - Web Deals

Contact Us
 - Reservations
 - Mail
 - Feedback
 - Suggest-a-Site
 - About Us


   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:Five Stars
Reviewed by: Jerry Robinson
# previous cruises: 9
Date of Trip: March 15, 2005
Itinerary: Caribbean

Overview
This a wonderful ship with a friendly, courteous and efficient crew. The Holland America Line experience was as good, if not better, than any I have taken including Princess, Royal Caribbean and Orient.

Public Areas
All public areas were well appointed and pleasant. The three deck Atrium at midship was smallish, but large enough for the front desk and shore excursion desk on deck 1. The Atrium also opened on deck 2 which housed the lower level Vista Lounge (Show lounge also), the Casino, several bars, the Odyssey restaurant ( a $20 fee per person), and the lower level Vista Dinning Room. My wife and I enjoyed the Explorer's Lounge where a Hungarian String trio played beautiful music from 9:15pm until 11pm. The atrium also opened on deck 3 which housed the upper level Vista Lounge, shops, photo gallery and upper level Vista Dinning Room. Most of level 1 was passenger cabins, all of decks 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 were passenger cabins. Deck 9 had the casual Lido restaurant, Lido Bar and pools midship and aft. Deck 10 had the Crow's Nest lounge and Kid's Zone. Deck 11 was an observation deck.

Food and Service
Food was outstanding. The Lido had excellent breakfasts and lunches, and casual evening dinning. The main dinning room also had excellent food, a varied menu and courteous, efficient service. Of course, our opinion is based on our tastes, but I never heard anyone complain about the food.

Cabins
We had a Veranda cabin with bathroom (shower only), Queen Bed, sitting area, mini-bar and balcony. The cabin was large enough for us and had sufficient closet space and shelves. We did not have many drawers, but that did not give us any problems. The cabin was extremely quiet, we never heard our neighbors. The shower was easy to use and adjust for hot or cold water.

Entertainment
We attended most of the shows and the entertainment was good. The singers and dancers were beyond excellent, they were the best we have ever seen in 9 cruises.

Activities
We went ashore at each port, Half Moon Cay (the Line's private Island); Ocho Rios, Jamaica; George town, Grand Cayman; and Cozumel, Mexico. Since we had been to Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel before, we did not do any shore excursions, but did enjoy visiting the ports and shopping.

Who Goes
We had a good cross-section of passengers from families to young people to mid-life to seniors. I had read that Holland America would have a majority of seniors (I am), but this was not the case. Everyone was cordial and obviously enjoying their cruise.

VACATION & CRUISE SPECIALS
Check out these great deals from CruisePage.com

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.