ms Westerdam

The 2004-built MS Westerdam cruise ship is the 3rd Vista-class Holland America liner, with sisterships ms Oosterdam, ms Noordam, and ms Zuiderdam.

The vessel (IMO number 9226891) is Netherlands-flagged (MMSI 244128000) and registered in Rotterdam.

History – construction and ownership

Holland America Line (HAL) is a Seattle-based cruise company owned by Carnival Corporation. Between 1873 and 1989, HAL operated as a Dutch cargo and passenger shipping company offering regular Transatlantic crossings between Holland and the Americas. Founded in 1873 as the “Dutch-American Steamship Company” and headquartered in Rotterdam, HAL was acquired by Carnival Corporation in 1989 for approximately EUR 530 million. Additional company assets include the Westmark hotel chain (Alaska–Yukon), Worldwide Shore Services (logistics/warehousing), and Half Moon Cay (a private Caribbean island).

The 2000-passenger Westerdam balances traditional cruising attributes with modern conveniences, offering comfortable dining venues, a variety of onboard facilities, larger-than-average cabins, and the hallmark attentive service of HAL’s crew. Dining options include both traditional fixed seating and versatile open seating. Passengers may attend mixology or flower-arranging demonstrations, take computer classes ranging from email basics to digital photography editing, or join hands-on workshops in the Culinary Arts Center to prepare Food Network-style dishes. Demonstration-style cooking shows are led by the ship’s chefs or visiting experts from HAL’s Food & Wine Magazine partnership.

Decks and Cabins

MS Westerdam staterooms (984 total, in 30 categories) include 162 Suites, 479 Balcony cabins, 181 Oceanviews, and 162 Inside cabins. Most staterooms are sized 170–205 ft² (16–19 m²). Nearly 70% of all accommodations feature private step-out balconies. Wheelchair-accessible cabins number 28. The largest accommodations are the Pinnacle Suites (1000 ft² / 93 m², with a 320 ft² / 30 m² terrace).

The ship has 11 passenger decks, of which 7 contain cabins.

Implemented fleetwide in 2019, the “Club Orange” program provides exclusive amenities to Suite passengers booked in Neptune and Pinnacle categories. Program perks include:

• priority services (check-in, disembarkation, tendering, dining reservations)
• 24-hour concierge service (assistance, information, reservations)
• exclusive dining venue (complimentary Pinnacle Grill breakfast and Dining Room dinner, plus exclusive dishes)
• dedicated Concierge Desk (Guest Services and Tours)
• enhanced room service (à la carte breakfast menu with complimentary gourmet dishes such as smoked salmon and steak and eggs)
• sparkling wine on embarkation day, Club Orange tote bag, and premium bathrobes (for in-cabin use; available for monogramming and purchase)
• Club Orange Restaurant, located within the Main Dining Room as a separate VIP dining section

Shipboard dining options – Food and Drinks

The Vista Dining Room is a two-deck venue located aft. One deck serves guests opting for traditional fixed-seating dining, while the other operates with open seating (reservations optional). Three themed teas—Cupcake, Indonesian, and Royal Dutch—are offered once per sailing. The Lido buffet, noted as one of the best-organized at sea, is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks. It features vibrant décor and seating in the main pool area beneath a magrodome (sliding glass roof) and on the adjacent aft deck. Food is arranged at themed stations serving made-to-order sandwiches, salads, pizza, sushi, stir-fries, and hot dishes, minimizing queue delays.

Follows the complete list of ms Westerdam restaurants and food bars.

• Pinnacle Grill (148-seat, reservations-only seafood/steakhouse restaurant with a fine wine selection; complimentary for children under 12; transforms into “An Evening at Le Cirque” once per cruise through a partnership with NYC’s Le Cirque restaurant)
• Vista Restaurant (1120-seat aft Dining Room; open-seating Breakfast and Lunch; Dinner offered via two fixed seatings or “Anytime Dining” from 5:15 p.m. to 9 p.m.)
• Terrace Grill (fast-food pool bar; complimentary)
• Lido Restaurant (420-seat complimentary buffet; self-service Breakfast 6–11 a.m., Lunch 11:30–2 p.m., Afternoon Tea, Dinner 5:30–8 p.m.)
• Canaletto Restaurant (Lido annex; Italian dinner venue, reservations required)
• Slice (complimentary poolside pizzeria)

Shipboard entertainment options – Fun and Sport

The Queen’s Lounge, formerly an alternative lounge/theatre on Vista-class ships, was transformed into The Culinary Arts Center by day, featuring permanent cooking and demonstration equipment. Operated in partnership with Food & Wine Magazine, it offers wine tastings (USD 15), cocktail tastings, mixology classes, and hands-on courses in cooking, cake decorating, garnishing, and flower arranging. By night, the venue hosts musical performances as part of the B.B. King’s Blues Club program.

The Digital Workshop, powered by Microsoft, is a dedicated computer learning venue equipped with two rows of computers and a large monitor connected to the instructor’s system for step-by-step demonstrations. Additional amenities include complimentary 24-hour room service, supervised kids’ programming (“Club HAL”), onboard weddings, Internet/Wi-Fi access, and self-service laundromats.

Follows the complete list of ms Westerdam lounges, clubs and entertainment venues for kids, teens, and adults.

• Atrium (three-deck midship open-floor area with live performances)
• Vista Lounge (846-seat theatre/main show lounge; hosts HAL’s enrichment program in partnership with BBC Earth)
• Piano Bar; Sports Bar; Pinnacle Bar (38-seat wine bar); Ocean Bar (Atrium lounge with dance floor and live music)
• Northern Lights Disco & Nightclub
• Queen’s Lounge & Culinary Arts Center (cooking shows, culinary classes, live band entertainment)
• Explorer’s Lounge & Bar (classical concert venue)
• Meeting Rooms (Hudson, Half Moon, Stuyvesant)
• Photo Gallery & Shop; Art Gallery
• Casino (served by Casino Bar and Sports Bar)
• Screening Room (40-seat cinema); Erasmus Room (24-seat library)
• Atrium Shops (duty-free boutiques for tobacco, liquor, perfumes, watches, clothing, HAL logo items, souvenirs); Marabella Luxury Shop
• Explorations Café (specialty coffee bar and patisserie; also the ship’s Library and Internet Center)
• Neptune Lounge (exclusive venue for Deluxe Suite and Pinnacle Suite guests)
• Fitness Center (gym with separate aerobics room); 5 Jacuzzis
• Greenhouse Spa & Salon; Lido Pool with Lido Bar and Terrace Grill; Sea View Pool with Sea View Bar; The Retreat (adults only)
• Crow’s Nest (observation lounge with bar and dance floor; nightclub at night)
• Sport Court (basketball, volleyball, soccer); Promenade Deck and Walking Track
• Club HAL (kids’ lounge and youth programming)
• The Loft (teen lounge with video games arcade, computers, PlayStations; teen disco)

Since 2023, all HAL ships feature pickleball courts (on the top deck) operated through an exclusive partnership with the PPA – Professional Pickleball Association. HAL also offers complimentary beginner lessons led by onboard instructors, sells branded pickleball starter kits in the retail shops, and provides Play Pickleball tutorial videos via the cabin TV system.

Itineraries

MS Westerdam’s itinerary program is based on Alaska cruises from Seattle, WA, during the summer season. The ship also offers Eastern Caribbean voyages from Fort Lauderdale and Panama Canal transits on repositioning routes.

Between September 2018 and April 2019, the ship operated in Asia on 10 itineraries ranging 10–31 days, visiting China, Japan, Korea, Russia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The Asian season began with a 14-day Pacific crossing from Vancouver to Yokohama, Japan.

Back-to-back cruises can be combined into extended “Collectors Voyages.” For Asia, these range 23–31 days. The “Grand Asia Voyage” (82-day Pacific circumnavigation) departs September 30, 2018, roundtrip from Los Angeles, with 33 port calls and 6 overnights.

Due to the Coronavirus crisis, Westerdam paused operations for more than two years (March 2020 through June 2022). Service resumed on June 12, 2022, with 7-day Alaskan roundtrips (from Seattle), followed by Asian deployment (homeporting in Hong Kong and Yokohama). For winter 2022–2023 (September 25 through March 13), the liner was deployed in Australia and New Zealand, homeporting in Sydney, NSW.

One of HAL’s “compass ships,” Westerdam is the company’s 2nd Vista-class liner, with sisterships Noordam, Oosterdam, and Zuiderdam.

“Wester” means “west” in Dutch.

The vessel (built at Fincantieri Marghera, hull number 6077) has a volume of 82,862 GT, deadweight 10,965 tons, and maximum draught of 8 m. The powerplant comprises five Wärtsilä-Sulzer marine diesel engines (3×16ZAV40S and 2×12ZAV40S) with a combined output of 75.14 MW (100,764 hp). Propulsion is diesel-electric and based on two ABB Azipod thrusters with a combined output of 35.24 MW (47,260 hp). The registered shipowner is HAL ANTILLEN NV, and the registered manager is HOLLAND AMERICA LINE NV.

Westerdam’s Inaugural Cruise/Maiden Voyage departed April 25, 2004. The 12-night roundtrip itinerary from Venice visited ports in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, including Malta (Valletta), Croatia (Dubrovnik), Greece/Greek Islands (Santorini, Rhodes, Samos, Piraeus-Athens, Katakolon), and Turkey (Kusadasi-Ephesus). In November 2004, the ship was repositioned to North America and began operating 7-day Eastern and Western Caribbean roundtrip itineraries from Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale.

The vessel’s Godmother is Renette Pauline Soutendijk (Renee Soutendijk), a Dutch actress born in 1957.

The ship’s interior design theme is Dutch exploration, represented by numerous sculptures, statues, and paintings of historic Dutch ships.

In the Atrium, Westerdam features a cut-glass sculpture of a Dutch sailing vessel. The ship’s art collection also includes many pre-Columbian artifacts (including 5,000-year-old carved figures from Ecuador) as well as contemporary sculptures and paintings. During the extensive 2007 refurbishment, 34 staterooms were added and major public areas were redesigned.

Westerdam is HAL’s third vessel to bear this name. The first Westerdam served the company from 1946 to 1965 (scrapped in Spain). This combined cargo-passenger ship—featuring numerous first-class cabins—was sunk three times during WWII (before her maiden voyage): in 1942 (by Allied forces) and again in 1944 and 1945 (by the Dutch resistance). Westerdam I operated monthly Transatlantic crossings between Rotterdam and NYC. The second Westerdam was launched in 1986 as Homeric (Home Lines). HAL acquired the company in 1988, and in 1989 the vessel underwent a major refit that lengthened her by 130 ft / 40 m. After 13 years in HAL service, she was transferred in 2002 to Costa Cruises (renamed Costa Europa) and later chartered to Thomson UK/Marella Cruises as Marella Dream.

MS Westerdam refurbishments review

During a major drydock refit in April 2007, Westerdam was stretched by adding a 130 ft / 40 m midsection. The refit resulted in the following changes:

• 34 new passenger cabins were added when an entire section was installed aft on Decks 6, 7, and 8, narrowing some aft-located balconies.
• Numerous public spaces were redesigned, and the Sea View Pool area (aft on Lido Deck 9) was expanded.
• Changes were made in the Library/Shopping Arcade area: the Windstar Café and Internet area were removed and replaced with new shops.
• The Oak Room was replaced by the Explorations Café, added to the Crow’s Nest on Observation Deck 10.

The drydock refurbishment in 2017 (April 14–26, completed by Fincantieri in Palermo, Sicily) resulted in:

• (Deck 10) addition of 25 new balcony and inside cabins on Observation Deck.
• (Decks 1 and 2) Vista Lounge (the theatre) renamed “The Main Stage.”
• (Deck 2) Lincoln Center Stage (chamber music hall) added starboard; Sports Bar transformed into Billboard Onboard.
• (Deck 11) The Retreat (adults-only sundeck area) added on Sports Deck, replacing the two Canvas Cover areas.

General maintenance drydocks (completed by Sembcorp Marine in Singapore) were carried out in January 2020 and January–February 2023. During the 2023 drydock, ALMACO Group was awarded a turnkey contract to modernize the ship’s galley and kitchen areas. The project included installing new flight-type and rack-type dishwashers in the Lido Market pot-wash area (aft on Deck 9) and replacing various equipment. Notably, to access the pot-wash area, yard workers had to cut a hole in the bulkhead and remove/replace part of the interior in the Vista Dining Room (lower level on Deck 2) on the opposite side of the bulkhead.

Note: ALMACO Group (founded in 1998, based in Kaarina, Finland) specializes in turnkey projects for newbuild cruise ships and the modernization of marine and offshore catering, stateroom, and laundry areas.