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Casino on the Holland America Westerdam
Okay, I'll admit to being a Casino junky. I don't gamble a lot, but I do like to watch that roulette wheel hit my double zeros. The casino was a comfortable size, not too crowded and had the various tables, as well as slot machines that took nickels to dollars. If you've ever played the tables in Vegas and been to the Casinos on a cruise ship, it's quite a different experience.

On previous cruise ships, I would always catch the dealers making small mistakes, missing a bet or taking a long time to figure out how much a bet paid off. The dealers on this ship were friendly, but also proficient. They definitely got a few tips from me, whereas the other cruises I didn't tip at all.
Computer and Internet at Sea on the Westerdam
The Internet lounge was large, with quite a few computers available. there was always one available.

But as to the service -- all I can say is ouch. Do you remember the days of dial-up 14K or 28.8 modems? Yep, that's about what it felt like. It typically took about four minutes for my Gmail page to come up for me to be able to read my mail. I had several time sensitive items that needed Internet access, so decided to purchase a wireless package. There was an incentive of an extra 15% minutes added to the package if purchased on the first day, so that's what I decided to do. There were various deals from 75 cents per individual minute to 500 minute packages.

I went the middle of the road and opted for 200 minutes for $125, plus the additional 15% worth of minutes. It was definitely worth it for my situation, but would only do this again if I was in the same fix -- Internet access for time sensitive work projects that could not be done beforehand.

I took my laptop as the ship boasted Wi-Fi service, it was so limited as to where I could pick it up, the laptop was put away the second day and not used again. The cost was the same as using the ship's computers.

There were several computer classes offered, including a free Digital Image Download & Organize class. I took the Adobe Photoshop Elements class, which consisted of four sessions for $20. each, definitely worth the price to learn the ins and outs of the program.

Cabins on the Westerdam
We were directly below the pool area on the Navigation deck in a Superior Verandah Suite, a very roomy cabin.

The cabin on the Westerdam had

• a queen-size bed with two night stands with additional storage
• a vanity area with six small drawers, a stool to sit on, as well as a make-up mirror and hair dryer.
• another dresser area had three roomier drawers, a TV on top and a built-in refrigerator.
• a full size sofa that could convert to a bed, as well as a coffee table and two arm chairs.
• three closets. Two that converted from hanging full length items with a shelf above and below, or with a few simple clicks, convert to all shelves. The third closet held the room safe, another short hanging area and several more shelves to store items.

The bathroom was the roomiest we've had on a ship, with a full size bathtub, separate shower and two sinks. Two mirrored cabinets on each side were available for essentials.

The balcony was also roomy and held two lounge chairs with an ottoman, a small table and two additional chairs to be used with the table for outdoor eating. The balcony was also private and could not be seen by others.

Ship Shops on the Westerdam
The shop on the ship was laid out a bit strangely, sort of all ran together and a bit crowded. There were some clothing choices, souvenirs, jewelry, liquor, perfumes and sundries, etc. Of course each day featured a special showing of a different product, such as Jackie Kennedy or Swarovski jewelry.

The shop area wasn't laid out every well and not too conducive to shopping, but Holland America apparently has changes in mind. The Westerdam will be in dry dock during April and they will be enlarging the shop area, doing some remodeling and adding cabins on many decks at the back of the ship. This drove me crazy trying to figure out how they do this, until I asked one of the officers. Apparently a large section has already been made that will fit on the back of the ship and is in Europe waiting. They will cut off the entire back section and fit this "piece" in. Currently the back of the ship is tiered, as you can look down and see the various balconies on each deck. The new plan is to take away the tiered areas and have more of a "straight" back. It should be interesting to see how the ship's appearance changes with these modifications.

Library on the Westerdam
A nice sized library, but the glass book doors were locked and you had to wait until it was staffed to check out a book.

Movies on the Westerdam
New and current movies are shown three times a day in the Queen's Lounge, Casino Royale and the Queen were several of the daily offerings.