by Mike Hall (thehalls@elite.net)
For our tenth cruise we returned to a company we had cruised with twice previously, but not recently. Our third HAL cruise was on the MS Westerdam on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary departing from Ft Lauderdale Jan 11 97. The overall conclusion is that this is a very nice trip indeed!
We chose independent air and arrived in Ft Lauderdale the previous day. We stayed at the Comfort Inn Airport, which offered free shuttle service to the airport and Port Everglades. This was a very wise choice as otherwise we would have had to take a red-eye from the West Coast and would have arrived tired out before our cruise began.
EMBARKATION: On the advice of experienced HAL cruiser Tudor Jones, we did not believe the published 3 PM embarkation time, but instead got to the port early, went through the metal detector and got a low embarkation number. The security guard advised us that boarding was likely to begin about 1:30 so we spent some time wandering around the port and admiring the many other ships in port, then returned to embark with no fuss or waiting. The crew was waiting to show us to our cabin and assist with hand luggage, and then we went up to the embarkation buffet for a very good meal. All in all embarkation could not have been more painless and enjoyable.
CABIN: Our cabin was an "E" category on A deck. "E" category is labeled as "large" but I took that as typical cruise line euphemism so I was VERY pleasantly surprised at the spacious and elegant cabin we found. The width of the cabin was two twin beds plus two large end tables. The length was one twin bed PLUS one sofa bed plus one end table. On the other side was a lovely dressing table/bureau with six spacious drawers, one lockable. Then there were two sizable closets and a bathroom large enough to include a full size tub. We felt this was a remarkably spacious cabin for the category. Everything was spotless and a basket of fresh fruit awaited us. Our cabin steward soon introduced himself and fetched an extra pillow for me cheerfully. We were located right next to the elevators and main stairway landing so I was a little worried about noise but need not have been. We were not disturbed at all by noise in the hallway.
FOOD: The food was universally very, very good. It is not, IMHO, the very best food served in the Caribbean, but it did not lack by much. Breakfast and lunch offer many options: continental breakfast in cabin or on deck, full American buffet breakfast in the Verandah poolside or the Lido cafe, or full service breakfast in the dining room; Lunch buffets in the Verandah or Lido, burger/taco bars poolside and on the aft deck, or the full service in the dining room. The buffets were bountiful and imaginative, and the lines were seldom very long if you avoided the first few minutes. Dinner is the classic two sittings. We were on first sitting and never felt rushed out of the dining room. The service in the dining room was wonderful, the Indonesian staff are extremely friendly and eager to please. The only handicap was the language barrier. Each entree comes with a fixed plate of accompaniments, and to try to get any changes made was usually an exercise in hand-waving and finger pointing. Not that they were unwilling to make changes, it was just overcoming the language difficulties. Renée is the meat-eater of the family and she found filet, steaks, prime rib, lamb chops and veal to her heart's content and pronounced it universally cooked to her liking and delectable. I am the seafood fan, and I enjoyed the grouper, swordfish, sole, salmon and so on but missed the shrimp and crab entrees I am used to. They did have one night of magnificent lobster tails so that helped a lot.
ACTIVITIES: The cruise includes three and a half days at sea and they are crammed with the usual assortment of activities. Bingo and the casino are available to try your luck, although the 25 cent machines in the casino take tokens only so it is hard to casually walk through and drop a few quarters in the machine as you pass by. Classes by the cruise staff range from dancing to scarf tying and sarong wearing! There is a daily quiz which, alas, we never won but tried every day. Fitness activities abound, too. I think the activity program is comparable to any ship in the Caribbean.
ENTERTAINMENT: Each night featured the usual shows. A very nice on-board cast put on several flashy dance production numbers. A magician, a comic, a juggler and a pianist provided quite a variety of shows. The entertainment was typically Las Vegas opening act quality ... no super stars but good professionals. Lounges featured dancing (mostly Sinatra style tunes) and the late night club had a DJ.
PORTS: St. Maarten/StMartin, half Dutch, half French, all touristy. Lots of shopping on both sides of the island if that is your thing. A beautiful place with many beaches and blue water. We took the island tour and glass bottom boat ride which was a very nice tour.
St. John/St Thomas, the classic Caribbean shopping spree. We had been there many times so avoided the island tour, Megan's Bay, party boat, or snorkeling at St John, but opted for a new addition, the Atlantis submarine. This is a very expensive shore excursion, but is a truly marvelous way to see coral and fish down to 90 feet. The 45 minute dive is very exciting. The only problem is the 2 and 1/2 hours spent transferring from the ship to the dock to the safari bus to the pier to the boat to the submarine to the boat to the pier to the gift shop to the safari bus to the dock!! A lot of waiting around.
Nassau, Bahamas. We had not been there for 20 years and were amazed to see that it has turned into just another Caribbean extravaganza of one jewelry store, liquor store, t-shirt shop after another. We took the water taxi to the aquarium at Crystal Cay which is pretty nice, especially the sea turtle tank. Apparently they are successfully breeding the turtles on their own little sandy beach in the tank.
ONE-LINERS: Here are some quick notes mostly about subjects often discussed on rec.travel.cruises.
The age group on HAL definitely remains 50+ but they are not stodgy old folks ... some of them swing pretty well!
Liquor consumption was very light. There is certainly no problem with noisy drunks in the hall at 2 AM.
As expected, the cruise director emphasized "Tipping not required" and refused consistently to make any recommendations. I saw some tips delivered the last night, but not too many.
There were 2 formal nights, and it was about 10% tux, 50% business suit, 30% coat and tie and 10% "other" for men. Women were a little more formal, about 40% long gown, 40% party dress, 15% business clothes and 5% "other".
Soft drinks are $1.50 every place, in your cabin, at the bar, at the buffet, on deck, and in the dining room. Coffee and tea free 24 hours a day in the Lido.
Elevator service on eight elevators was very good, with little waiting except right at dinner or show time.
SUMMARY: An absolutely delightful trip, and one which we would cheerfully repeat! HAL remains one of our very favorite cruise lines!
For more information, e-mail thehalls@elite.net.
