This was our fist ever cruise and the experience was out of this world,the staff,food,entertainment was fantastic. The cleanliness of the ship was excellent and would love to travel with holland america again espesially the westerdam and can not wait for our next cruise it was the best 14days we have ever had thank you.

This was my first experience of cuising and I have to admit I was very apprehensive, preferring to do my own thing on holiday rather than typical 'package holidays'. My friend who had been on three cruises, talked me into our Caribbean cruise. Although the idea of trying lots of different places (Jamaica, Mexico, Grand Cayman etc) was appealing, I was very sceptical about being one of hundreds of passengers (1800 in fact) stuck on one ship and envisaged nothing but queues for food and excursions. In the event, the holiday turned out to be one of the best I have ever had and I would recommend it unreservedly. The Westerdam definately lives up to its 5* rating. It was immaculate, spotlessly clean and the service is unbelievable! Our cabin was cleaned throughout the day and towells and toiletries constantly replenished. The staff were really friendly and couldn't do enough to please. Everybody we spoke to agreed that the service is faultless. As for the food, that was something else! The only thing I can say is that the only problem was trying to be disciplined so that I didn't go home two sizes larger! Evening meals were 5 courses and amongst other things consisted of lobster (you could have another if you asked nicely!), fish, freshly baked bread etc. One of our dinner companions was on a gluten free diet and they went to endless trouble to accommodate her, even baking bread especially for her. Being what appeared to be the only two English people on an American ship was not a problem either, the Americans contributed to making it a great holiday, they were all so friendly to us. The negatives? Well, it's hard to think of any. Definately the queues for the tenders on the days we couldn't moor up. Although they have a ticket system, it still took a considerable time to exit the ship. Also, my friend and I had booked the cruise as a 'girls week away', looking forward to a relaxing holiday away from work, the kids and housework. I have to say that being married to someone quite active, I think my husband could have been slightly bored on the 'at sea' days, although there are plenty of activities such as shows, pool games, demonstrations etc, (indeed, we never found time to do some of the things we intended to do). But otherwise, a wonderful experience that I can't wait to do again and I would recommend this ship to anyone.