Cruising on Westerdam with Holland America Line was very different to cruising with Liberty of the Seas. Royal Caribbean generally caters for a (much) younger crowd, particularly on their Caribbean trips. While Westerdam's SE Asia cruise was definitely targeting the retiree market and, as such, the ships fitout didn't have anywhere near as much for the younger (under 60) demographic to do (no mini golf, waterslides, running track and onboard splash park for example). To be fair the gym was well utilised and sometimes I had to wait for a treadmill when going on my daily run. I did get two chances to run in port at Da Nang and Halong Bay and it's amazing how much more enjoyable it is running outdoors (even on a main road near a container port).
The kids club on the voyage was almost deserted. Some days Sam was the only person attending and we were told there was only about a dozen kids onboard. Sam still enjoyed himself, choosing to stay in the club a few times when we went ashore and managing to befriend a girl from Adelaide which was nice for him (and the staff were really good).
More fundamentally as discussed in our previous posts, the ports of call in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam were mainly focussed on offering historical and cultural excursions with a bit of shopping which was the reverse of Liberty where shopping was a major focus in the various ports followed by spending time on or by the beach or ocean and culture a distant third.
If you read our previous posts, cruising around the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea is a bit less glamourous than cruising the Caribbean, Europe or the South Pacific. Many of the cruise line docks double as container ports which doesn't make for the most romantic shore photos.
We were really happy with our room. Although it was an interior cabin this was actually a smart choice given we had a few days of heavy seas. The interior cabins are in the middle of the ship and consequently don't pitch as much when the boat is heaving. Speaking of heaving 😵, there were a few mild cases of seasickness around but thankfully, Sam, Elise and I were fine except for two slightly queasy evenings for Samuel where he decided dinner was better served in the cabin and not in the main dining room.
No complaints about the dining. It was excellent with the biggest problem being avoiding the Lido between meals. The dessert bar and Ice cream were available almost all the time so plenty of opportunities to pack on the kilojoules. The Burger Bar served the best burgers and chips I've eaten for years.
We enjoyed formal dining each night. Apart from being a chance to dress up (Elise had suddenly accumulated a huge wardrobe of nice dresses she was keen to display), the opportunity to have a sit down meal with the extended family was great. The three of us were obviously missing the company of family on our long journey and this was a great chance to catch up with Elise's parents and Aunt and Uncle. Samuel and Bruce played Crib just about every day, and Sam also spent a lot of time with Barbara which gave Elise and I even more of a break from childcare duties on top of the Kids Club (thanks again B&B). Bruce also managed to squeeze much of Elise's new wardrobe into their bags for the trip home meaning we wouldn't need to cart them around for another month (more thanks B&B).
We had a wonderful group of staff looking after us in the dining room which gave us yet another reason to come back each night. They even put on a quick show for Russell's birthday complete with cake.
The kids club on the voyage was almost deserted. Some days Sam was the only person attending and we were told there was only about a dozen kids onboard. Sam still enjoyed himself, choosing to stay in the club a few times when we went ashore and managing to befriend a girl from Adelaide which was nice for him (and the staff were really good).
More fundamentally as discussed in our previous posts, the ports of call in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam were mainly focussed on offering historical and cultural excursions with a bit of shopping which was the reverse of Liberty where shopping was a major focus in the various ports followed by spending time on or by the beach or ocean and culture a distant third.
If you read our previous posts, cruising around the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea is a bit less glamourous than cruising the Caribbean, Europe or the South Pacific. Many of the cruise line docks double as container ports which doesn't make for the most romantic shore photos.
We were really happy with our room. Although it was an interior cabin this was actually a smart choice given we had a few days of heavy seas. The interior cabins are in the middle of the ship and consequently don't pitch as much when the boat is heaving. Speaking of heaving 😵, there were a few mild cases of seasickness around but thankfully, Sam, Elise and I were fine except for two slightly queasy evenings for Samuel where he decided dinner was better served in the cabin and not in the main dining room.
No complaints about the dining. It was excellent with the biggest problem being avoiding the Lido between meals. The dessert bar and Ice cream were available almost all the time so plenty of opportunities to pack on the kilojoules. The Burger Bar served the best burgers and chips I've eaten for years.
We enjoyed formal dining each night. Apart from being a chance to dress up (Elise had suddenly accumulated a huge wardrobe of nice dresses she was keen to display), the opportunity to have a sit down meal with the extended family was great. The three of us were obviously missing the company of family on our long journey and this was a great chance to catch up with Elise's parents and Aunt and Uncle. Samuel and Bruce played Crib just about every day, and Sam also spent a lot of time with Barbara which gave Elise and I even more of a break from childcare duties on top of the Kids Club (thanks again B&B). Bruce also managed to squeeze much of Elise's new wardrobe into their bags for the trip home meaning we wouldn't need to cart them around for another month (more thanks B&B).
We had a wonderful group of staff looking after us in the dining room which gave us yet another reason to come back each night. They even put on a quick show for Russell's birthday complete with cake.
It was sad after our fortnight when we arrived in Hong Kong to leave the ship and family. Wearily loading our luggage again, we started thinking about home. Only one month to go!
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| The stateroom attendants we experts in the noble art of Towelgami |
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