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Rotterdam delivers the best of everything we do: exquisite cuisine, award-winning service, superbly appointed staterooms and suites, and world-class entertainment. At the heart of it is Music Walk®, an exclusive collection of live music performances. Be first to experience Rotterdam’s Pinnacle-class luxury on her inaugural voyages. You will find a mastery of the details that keep our guests returning again and again.
We boarded on January 9 for a 21 day cruise. Prior to embarkation we were delayed by a Norovirus outbreak sanitization procedure. Holland America is best in the business for dealing with these outbreaks. I have full confidence in their cleanliness and commitment to ensuring our safety. This was backed up by a fellow passenger who, as a retired CDC expert said he sailed HAL because of their standards and cleanliness. The issues that spring up are always passenger related. Some are simply pigs or do not pay attention to their gross habits. I will give examples later. Cabin: we booked when cabin choices were limited and we were slightly concerned we could only get a forward Oceanview on the 1st deck almost below the Rolling Stones and BB King. The room was very quiet , comfortable, big for an Oceanview and I would have no hesitation in booking this area again. Close to elevator that was near the Lido Pool one way and the Crows nest the other. Dutch Cafe, World Stage and many other areas not far. I usually book an aft cabin to be close to the aft pool area but I think my new favorite area is this forward low deck area. Food: I always raved about HAL's food up until now. We have on our past 2 noticed one issue, food temperature. The choices and variety of food is still exceptional and nobody can complain about the extensive Lido buffet. From delicious Sushi, carved turkey, prime rib to key lime cheesecake in a jar, HAL has an exceptional buffet. The issue is food temperature. Enough to point it out. Some items were just lukewarm. Nothing to make a big issue over, just the only thing that could be improved a bit. Main Dining Room: We were open dining as usual. We don't like being on a set time as our daily activities influence our dinner timing. Never had to wait long for a table for two. Most times straight in. A couple times at most 5 minute wait. Never shared a table. The New York Deli and Pizza has in my opinion upped the pizza game. What used to be an ok pizza is now a delicious one. I ordered their Bronx pizza three times and they were always really good. Its the crust. I think they changed the dough and wow...a huge difference. Pinnacle Grill is the same great steakhouse. We dined there three times. 8oz Filet Mignon is cooked to a medium rare perfection. Sides of Candied clothesline bacon, beets with blue cheese, a Caesar salad made tableside and finished with a delicious Creme Brule. Tamarind was amazing. Unique cocktails, a delicious tasting platter of appetizers. A curry chicken dish my wife ordered all 3 visits. i tried a wasabi crusted tenderloin that rivalled Pinnacle. Canaletto: I was impressed by this restaurant as compared to it on other ships. It is usually our 3rd choice when thinking of specialty dining. Rotterdam's Canaletto is wonderful. Great service and delicious food. Other passengers raved about it too. The veal cutlet dinner is really good. For my second 2 visits I chose the spaghetti with shrimp and clams. One of the best meals I had onboard. This dish seems simple and ordinary but its anything but. A hit of heat and perfectly cooked. Entertainment: BB King is it's usual greatness. Top notch bandmembers. The main singers are impressive. Rolling Stones was also really good. Tomasso is a brilliant keyboard/singer/director. Billboard Onboard. Meh....I honestly don't like giving criticism but I have heard much better. The common complaint by all is seating. Every night is a game of rush from one venue to the other and hope for a seat. The Rolling Stones stage has a big pole blocking much of the view and seating is terrible. The running joke is the low barrel style seats are intentionally uncomfortable to stop people from sitting too long. Main Stage: singers and dancers are great. Comedian and Illusionist are good. HAL does show some very well done shows/talks. I thoroughly enjoyed one in particular. The history Of HAL, "Origin Story". A very well done show with the always funny Cruise Director Nick. a heartwarming must see. poolside Steeldrum. A very talented musician playing the typical kind of music you expect. Aft pool it was really good but many complained how loud it was at the Lido Pool and other inside areas. Smoking: I love cruising with HAL but seriously the smoking is a big issue. Some cruiselines have banned smoking at the casino and I think one HAL ship has. The smoke can be smelled in many areas away from the casino. The aft pool smoking area is better but has issues too. Over the course of a cruise you see people extending the area further. The pool bar is right here and I guess if you smoke you may drink more? The smoking area should simply be moved up a deck and to one side. Many avoid the aft pool bar because of the smoking area. Cigars should be banned. I noticed several who probably never smoked them before sucking on them after a port visit...with on table 4 going at it same time. Staff: Holland America has the most caring, attentive, hard working and positive attitude people I have met on a ship. Beautiful humans. Fellow cruiser habits: My pet peeve. What adult needs to be told not to sneeze into their hand? What adult needs to be told to wash hands? What adult needs to be told not to clip toenails poolside? What adult needs to be told not to pick up several bananas to inspect and put back in the bowl? What adult needs to be told not to wash their hand off in the pool when its full of $not from blowing their nose. No matter how meticulous staff are in cleaning, sickness will spread due to ignorant and disgusting guests. You can hear the coughing and sneezing increase as the days pass.
We just returned from a 9 day Cruise on Holland America Rotterdam from Fort Lauderdale yesterday. Rotterdam is a lovely ship and super clean in all areas. I am a Four Star Mariner, having sailed on HAL over 15 times, so I know pretty well. We had a standard Balcony Room this time on the fifth floor, mid ship Room was typical Balcony, but the mattress was terribly uncomfortable. Overall, food was good, but service in main dining room was very slow. We ate in all 3 Premium restaurants, and food as well as service was good. However, coodination of plates coming to the table was very "off" in Canaletto....total confusion. Tamarind (Asian)was wonderful as always. Another note: Muffins and pastry tasted like Grocery Store bought, instead of baked daily on the ship. We began every evening at Ocean Bar on second floor. Drinks take way too long at this bar. Employees on HAL are always wonderful.
Parking was chaotic and disorganized (Ft. Lauderdale). Embarkation, however, was swift and breezy. I brought 2 newbies along for this sailing. The ship is beautiful and well laid out ( I have been on both sister ships). We enjoyed the food and drinks-absolutely no complaints there. The best entertainment of all time was the BB King Band, hands down, they saved this cruise from boring. All of the other entertainment options paled in comparison. Since the Ocean Bar lounge was taken over with slot machines, we had very little choices left in which to meet and socialize, so we stood in the walkway in front of the bar for most of our evenings. I preferred not to stand all evening, so my traveling companions stayed in the walkway and I left to find other entertainment. Sorry to say, but I was unsuccessful in finding anything worthwhile. Went outside to view the ocean and walk around. Was in bed early almost every night. All in all, I would check before booking again to make sure the lounges are not converted to slots. Disembarkation was the worst in 15 years. The staff was wonderful as usual.
We were on this ship for 21 days as we did a back to back. We are 4 star on Holland. We had a lovely cabin on deck 8. Our cabin steward was great. The bar service at the pools was horrible. Couldn't get a drink for anything. There needs to be more bar waiters at the pools. The bar service else where was fine. The food was great. I never had a bad meal. At the dining room or the buffet. There was hardly any service in the Lido buffet. Couldn't get a glass of water or tea. Need more servers again. The shows were hit and miss. I loved the production shows the most. The singers and dancers were great. The comedians were okay. I didn't care for the.violinist or the sax player. They were boring. The gift shops were so expensive. A simple Holland America polo shirt was $109. The purses were unbelievably expensive. Yes they were designer but still. Who is going to pay $1000 for a purse? Not me. I got a massage and it was wonderful. Don't waste your money on the hair keratin and teeth tightening. I hated my hair after the keratin treatment. It was flat and straight. I won't do that again. The teeth whitening worked at the time but not for long. Of course they tried to sell me all the potions for my hair and buy additional whitening for my teeth. Thankfully my massage was just massage I was not bugged to buy additional potions. The noro virus was on our second cruise. People were getting sick. We were told over and over again to wash our hands. Soon we were not allowed to do any self serve in n the Lido. Thankfully we didn't get sick. We had the have it all program. We got to take a few excursions, had internet and could get any alcoholic drinks under $12. Thankfully our favorites were under $12. You could get 15 drinks a day. The included Internet was great you could do most everything but no streaming. Our first cruise was over Christmas so there were 450 kids on board. This ship has none of the bell and whistles for the kids. No water slides or rock climbing wall. All they had was the pool. The pool was full of jumping, screaming, splashing kids. The back pool was designated the adult pool. The back of the ship was also the smoking section. Yuck. Our second cruise also had kids but not as many. You had to get to the pool by 8am to get a lounger. We learned to go to the pool early. The weather on this cruise was great, lovely and warm. To my disappoint this shipped didn't move or rock at all. I like to be rocked to sleep. Overall a pretty good cruise.
Refined amenities and our signature Mariner’s Dream™ bed grace each elegant stateroom offered by Holland America Line. Most of our spacious cruise ship rooms are ocean-facing; many have teak-lined verandahs for dining alfresco or sunbathing in private.
Wet your appetite for delicious new tastes and engaging interactive culinary experiences on board.
Every day aboard a Holland America cruise ship brings a wealth of cruise activities and indulgences, along with the freedom to partake in as many- or as few- as you please. It's an opportunity to try something new that surprises you, every day. Dabble, discover, daydream- do everything, or do nothing at all.
Whether you want to workout in the Fitness Centre, learn yoga, pamper yourself with a massage and spa treatment, or enjoy a game of basketball, there's a perfect onboard activity for everyone.
Holland America Line's youth activities program, Kids Club, offers an array of entertaining events for kids and teens ages 3-17, supervised by a full-time, professionally trained staff. They'll have an opportunity to join other kids their age for arts and crafts, sports, video game competitions, scavenger hunts, challenging team games and themed parties.
Note: Kids Club is not offered on cruises of 25-days or longer, including all Legendary and Grand Voyages. We will offer a selection of children’s activities throughout these longer voyages for any children who may be onboard.
Safety Comes First
Safety is our primary concern and strict policies are in place for effective supervision. Adult guests are not permitted to remain in Kids Club unless attending to a special-needs child.
Please note: During voyages with a high number of families onboard, we will make all efforts to accommodate interested parties. However, participation in our program cannot be guaranteed. Hours of operation may change to better serve our guests.
