The perfect cruise for first-timers
Beginners are equally at home among passengers who are long time devotees on this beloved ship as it sails around Asia.
A round-trip voyage from Singapore to key ports in Asia is an ideal way to tick off the region’s must-see list, including a few lesser-known destinations and watery passages that demand further investigation in the future. Names such as Surabaya in East Java and the Strait of Malacca seem to float from a grainy travelogue of long-ago exploration. Others, such as top-hits trio Phuket, Penang and Bali, are old favourites for many Australians but guided port visits, however short and quick, can present different perspectives.
I am aboard Holland America Line’s venerable Westerdam, hardly the newest in the Dutch-registered fleet, but this 2004-launched, 1964-passenger cruise liner is a favourite among HAL devotees and a 2017 refurbishment makes it feel far fresher than its two decades of service would suggest. One couple I speak to boarded in October last year, with plans to stay for five months. Others are true addicts of shipboard life and say they have no intention of venturing ashore. My partner and I are soon to discover that we are newbies in every sense.
Westerdam groupies love this ship, and with good reason. The service is genuinely charming, as evidenced by our Indonesian cabin stewards Francis and Andre, whose sunny smiles and attentiveness never fail. Accommodation is immaculately serviced and thoughtfully equipped. We are in a veranda stateroom category on Rotterdam Deck 7, which is the most abundant category in the 982-cabin inventory. Overall, the ship features 28 wheelchair-accessible options and 160 interior configurations. Ours has a petite balcony furnished with two semi-reclining chairs; the ensuite features a tiny tub and shower and, while definitely on the small side, there’s sufficient storage and space to spread out over 14 nights and as a bonus, at least for me, two TV channels include American NFL games.
We soon learn a few tricks of the cruise trade, as it were. If we want to hide away with a book, Crow’s Nest Cafe on Deck 10 offers good espressos, quiet nooks and board games. The Lido Market buffet restaurant is popular but can be too crowded around 8.30-10am, so we head there much earlier each day for our morning meal. Despite a bit too much elbowing and shoving from some passengers, the staff do the actual serving on to trays and keep lines moving at lunch and dinner. The likes of pasta, pizza and chunky salads are pretty good. The Dive-In bar by the main pool is a fast-food option, too, with great hot dogs and Mexican dishes made to order, including vegan variations. We avoid waiting in line by booking to pick up orders via the shipboard app.
For evening meals, The Dining Room’s fare is uniformly excellent, especially seafood sourced under the cruise line’s Port to Plate program, which emphasises sustainable local catches. There’s no assigned seating so we get to meet different waitstaff and experience various views and aspects, which is more enjoyable than being stuck with the fixed table policy so common on big ships. It’s a good idea to book for dinner here each night at the start of the cruise rather than rely on tables (particularly for two) being available day by day, especially for early pre-entertainment timeslots. Leave space for dessert, of course, with plenty of variety, and a creamy cheesecake emerging as the clear winner.
A smallish lunch menu is available here, too, of easy items such as burgers, if you want to avoid the Lido crowd; and its breakfast service is also quiet. Canaletto, tucked away in The Lido Market, proves a fine option for share plates of authentic Italian fare.
The Lido Market transforms to an Asian theme on the evening of day six, with mostly Malaysian, Indonesian and Japanese fare. We wonder why passengers are rushing through the selections and then we realise popular British singer-comedian Rebecca Kelly is due by 7.30pm at The Main Stage two-tiered concert hall, also the setting for port talks. She has a huge voice, leads singalongs and delivers great self-deprecating lines, including bemoaning that Adele has lost a lot of weight (Rebecca has not). Other evenings, the six members of the Step One Dance Company perform lightning-quick costume changes to bring us the likes of West Side Story and Guys and Dolls, all to thunderous applause.
Afternoon movies are shown in The Main Stage area, too, with recent hits such as Oppenheimer and Barbie in the line-up. Well-known Australian comedian Scott Williams’s routines draw big laughs, while Polish-born jazz and classical concert pianist Filip Wojciechowski woos the crowd with his “swinging Mozart” routine, Chopin favourites and interpretation of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
More? Add the Billboard piano lounge and Rolling Stone, where the cruise band performs, and the more intimate Ocean Bar, home to jazz group Third Avenue West. An unexpected inclusion on the entertainment agenda, and a welcome distraction from my attempts at folding a Christmas tree in origami class, is an Orange Party in honour of the Dutch national colour and HAL’s 150-year anniversary, celebrated last year. It’s a fun event of free-flowing drinks, a quiz of officers versus passengers, and lots of shared tales between the cruise line’s committed band of regulars. Observing this coterie makes it clear that the clientele is fiercely loyal.
While we go ashore at almost all the stops, many of our fellow travellers use port days to “reclaim” Westerdam and make it their own. I can’t imagine such a sedentary holiday but for these veteran cruisers the ship is the destination. Some of our excursions entail more bus travel than sightseeing but all prove enjoyable with a schedule that covers the greatest hits, starting with Phuket on day three and an excursion to Koh Phi Phi and Bamboo Island.
The sun is high and bright, and there are speedboat rides, swimming time and a buffet lunch on the beach. A day later we’re on Langkawi for markets and rural sightseeing. Now we’re on a roll. Next is George Town, Penang, in the Strait of Malacca on day five and a trip up Penang Hill via a covered tram on the funicular railway, which departs every 15 minutes on a steep ride. There are broad views from the summit over this popular Malaysian holiday island, walking trails, butterflies and cool fresh air. Temples smoky with incense, golden buddhas, street art and traditional clan houses on long jetties are all ticked off the must-see list. Day six, we arrive at Port Klang, Kuala Lumpur, where the lures of the capital including the soaring Petronas Towers and Batu Caves. Three days later, we’re in Jakarta amid the mayhem of bumper-to-bumper traffic and massive malls.
Guides are all excellent but timings are not completely successful. Borobudur Temple in Java closes on Mondays, as we discover on day 10 when we take a cab there, our arrival aligning with passengers who’ve booked the ship’s pricey day tour. One passenger fumes that she doesn’t know why she bothered to leave Westerdam. We want to laugh but are rather cranky, too. It’s hot, our driver is a bit erratic and the ship proves a welcome sight as his rickety taxi drops us back at the port of Semarang. “Home safe!” announces my partner. Perhaps we are turning into cruise addicts after all.
In the know
Westerdam will be based in Asia from September next year to April 2026, with departures from Hong Kong, Yokohama and Singapore. Itineraries span several ports in Japan and visits to Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, including UNESCO World Heritage sites. Early Booking Bonus offers include shore excursions, specialty dining, signature beverage packages and wi-fi.
Just add
Singapore is a hub port for Asian cruises, and what better prelude to a holiday afloat than a broad crow’s nest of a view from level 19 at JEN Orchardgateway Hotel? This rooftop space, with 47m-long infinity pool, shaded sun lounges and viewing platforms, has the feel of a nautical top deck and, accordingly, there’s no shortage of cocktails and international food, from hula hula burgers and Malibu battered shrimp to tacos and gyoza at its semi-alfresco Trippi bar and diner. A Sexy Colada cocktail in a scooped coconut shell with a frangipani on top or a Passionata in a tiki mug? All yours and very cruisy.
JEN is a four-star lifestyle brand under the Shangri-la banner and in this portfolio member the 502 guestrooms are smallish, unless you opt for a club deluxe or panorama category, and rather spare in design details but crisp and sparkling clean. Location is the key to success here in the heart of the destination’s top retail district and above Somerset MRT subway station. It’s a well-priced option for short stays with direct access to three shopping malls, another compelling reason for a Singapore fling. There are also JEN properties in Malaysia, mainland China and Hong Kong, plus JEN Singapore Tanglin near Dempsey Hill and the Botanic Gardens.
Jo Makito was a guest of Holland America Line.
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