Oh Westerdam, oh Westerdam.....how do I begin? I was really hoping for more, only to be slightly fooled.
Let me start by saying, we are a family in our late 30's and mid 40's with a child in elementary school. We are all seasoned cruisers, this being our 12th cruise and our child's 5th. Having sailed mainly Royal Caribbean and Celebrity and Carnival, we were looking for something different this time...something we felt perhaps would be more our speed. After cruising for several years, we thought we had figured out what we really like in a cruise. Hindsight...nothing is perfect, ever. You win some, you lose some.
Starting with pre-cruise, we flew down to Fort Lauderdale and stayed at the Embassy Suites for a few days and really enjoyed this. Upon arrival, we decided to take a cab (cost us $15, $20 with tip, not bad). Aside from a few dusty corners in the room, we really enjoyed it. The room was cleaned even better the next day. We had ordered room service upon arrival and it was fantastic...pricey, but fantastic. Martguerita pizza really great. The next day, we awoke to the beautiful sights of the cruise ships docked at Port Everglades from our room. Very nice. We enjoyed a great breakfast. I highly recommend the made to order omelette station. Customer service at this hotel was top notch. We ate at Duffy's Sports Grill for dinner. Best Kobe beef burger ever. Wow. Can't say enough. We also enjoyed our shopping at Total Wine that day and loaded up for our week long cruise, that along with water and Diet Coke from Publix. We enjoyed the pool very much as well the afternoon before our cruise. Great place.