POA1

As long as the OBC is refundable, you can use it in the casino. We were able to use OBC we purchased prior to the cruise to fund a spectacularly bad 27 minutes at the tables.* If you have bonus OBC, like from a sale or early booking perk, it cannot be used in the casino. *Not that I'm bitter.

Thanks! We tried the other two dishes, the lobster and the black cod, and liked both. Happy someone tried the halibut and gave feedback.

The Department of Scanning Things will get busy today with the daily programs and the art tour and any other random paperwork I decided to keep, bringing it home in our latest Club Orange tote bag. (Which, as you know, is the highlight of the trip. We now have two. One for Poohby Joe and one for Michelle. I get mine next trip. We did get a 150th Anniversary HAL tote in December, so I guess that's mine.)

They're fairly bright, so they might not be what you want. I guess the best way to describe them is that they throw enough light that you would not have to turn on the bathroom light. I mean, you're not going to read by their light but you can see things. They'd be too bright for bedside, but they were good for this room and the Vista Suite we had in December. I plugged them in at the desk, which was far enough from the bed not to cause a problem. There is a dimmable version that might be more to your liking. They are 4 for $16.99 Dimmable LED Night Lights These are nicer, but exceed my threshold for caring if I leave one behind. (Apparently, that is somewhere more than $2.😁) We have these at home.

Sorry to pop in, but we had a few from last week. We went just about every night they played.

You're welcome! I have a tendency of forgetting to unplug these from hotel rooms, so the pack of 6 at a low price help to soften the blow when I leave one behind. I bought a pack of 6 in 2022, and I still have 4 left,

Speed does not change. Only service portfolio.

The night lights we carry are only $10 for 6 lights. They last a long time and they're inexpensive enough that you don't have to fret if you leave one behind. 0.5 Watt Night Lights

Your web browser might be "remembering" your credentials. I can sign in as both myself and my wife with no problem. The browser remembers both, and I use the down arrow key to toggle between them when I am inputting the email address.

The reimagined Billboard space on the Rotterdam was much more like the piano bar concept of yore. The pianist, Derek, would have fit right in to the former concept. I'm not sure if you'd be wild about the room, because it is larger, open, and faces the Rolling Stone Lounge. However, the piano performance was a whole lot more like the former piano bars.

Yes, I am going to send these to HALfacts. This room is not on their excellent photo resource list.

Our Room - We opted for one of the "pointy" category V verandah rooms. This one, 7058 is on the port side of the ship, opposite the PS on deck 7. Room 7058 sits on the foreward bump out, which adds an extra triangular bit to the room. You can see the pointy piece in this picture. The primary difference in the room configuration is that the desk is on the same wall as the sofa. The desk is closest to the balcony doors, which are set at a jaunty 45° angle to the walls. The stretch of wall next to the balcony door gives you a nice photo background for taking pre-dinner photos. You can choose either the beige wall or the green curtain, depending on which one looks best with the outfit du jour. You can see onto the Neptune Suite balconies which neighbor you. As long as you stay behind the partition, you will be blocked from view. (Important for avoiding the poohparazzi.) Looking toward the door from the wall by the balcony. The TV is opposite the bed. Given that we watch the safety briefing and that's about it, the placement did not bother us. Safe, mini fridge, and drawers. Standard glassware and ice bucket set up. Two closets for hanging. Only one could take longer items as shelves in the right closet are fixed and don't fold up. The left closet will hold longer items. It had a nice orange umbrella, which thankfully, we did not need. Full length mirror so you can make sure you are looking sharp before heading out. USB and 120 Volt AC outlets on both sides of the bed. There are a slew of outlets by the desk. I kept an automatic LED night light in one of the outlets. The Rotterdam did not have the auto lights under the closets like the Nieuw Statendam did. Nor did it have the cool light bars in closet on the hanger rod. I also used one of these lights in the bathroom. I'll post a link to them later. They're very handy. I keep a couple in our travel bags. I took this in wide angle. The commode is not bizarrely long.(For some odd reason, CC replaced the word I used for taking a photo with asterisks.) The shower is spacious. It had good water pressure and did not leak.

They looked very cool, but I did not see anyone using them. In all fairness though, we were in port and I was merely passing through, taking photos. It's entirely possible that Mr. Smee is there during sailing. (Probably with a parrot, on his shoulder, cracking wise.)

Not at all! Thank you for catching that.

From the Crow's Nest - Far forward there are two articulated binoculars. A fair amount of club chair style seating. The shore excursions desk is here.

From the "choose the name of your Destructor" section of the Lido pool area. The Lido pool bar. We went here to upgrade our SBP to the Elite Beverage Package upon embarkation; the logic being that there would be extra bar staff and management here to handle all the new passengers who were boarding. Gelato and Juice Bar - You can, and we did, get milkshakes here. The shakes are covered by the beverage package. The cold-pressed juices are not. The gelato was quite good. Despite it being a supplemental charge, it's significantly less than gelato in Fort Lauderdale. If you want frozen treats without the upcharge, there is ice cream and soft serve in the Lido. Not shown, but to the left, is the Dive In. Yummy burgers, dogs and fries. They had gluten free buns, veggie burgers, and a mushroom "burger."

Yes, indeed. The term exc is short for excrement. 💩

One of the things I've always admired about Holland America's ships is that they have art that celebrates their heritage. There are a number of nicely detailed Rotterdam models located around the ship. These two are located in the deck 7 forward and midship elevator areas. As residents of Schubert Deck (7), we saw these two models quite often. Despite passing these ships many times a day, we never saw any tiny people in the little pools This is the largest of the Rotterdam models that I came across. It is located in the Crow's Nest area. (The area is currently labeled as "explorations central & cafe" except they omit the acute diacritical on the e in café. (Perhaps it's a nod to e. e. cummings.) I will probably go to the grave calling this the Crow's Nest. After all, why call it explorations central? It's forward, and on a high deck. Nothing central about it. In addition to the ship models, there are a number of paintings of former Rotterdams. The ship's bell from the Rotterdam VI is also on display in the Crow's Nest. The current Rotterdam is the Rotterdam VI.

Dance lessons were held almost every day in the BB King Lounge. They taught a variety of dance styles throughout the cruise. There was a ballroom dance hour most nights, featuring recorded music.

It would not work because travel agents often have proprietary booking confirmations and that information is not stored on HAL's servers.

Did you buy them as standalone? Or are they part of some sort of offer?

I'm bummed to see that you, too, missed taking a photo of a bar we passed at least 4x a day. However, the fact that you hove drink photos show your commitment to our primary mission. 😘

Some assorted bar photos: Sea View Bar by the Aft Pool - This one is back by the smoking area on the starboard side of the Lido deck. Notes - The whiskey tasting bar. I had high hopes for this, but we never made it to any of the events. The one bourbon-focused tasting conflicted with our sunset sail excursion. The other issue was scheduling. The tastings usually fell at around the time we were getting ready for dinner. Maybe in 2025. The Ocean Bar - This turned out to be our favorite. Friendly, entertaining bartenders and a vibe more in tune with what we were seeking. Seating area for the Ocean Bar - The Ocean Bar has two fairly large seating areas. If you wanted to have a drink and conversation, thus was an ideal place. The seating is comfortable, and arranged in what your HGTV-watching friends would call "natural conversational groupings." At first, we thought that the Half Moon Bar was going to be our regular pre-dinner stop. (And hopefully Michelle has a photo. Because, despite going there a few times, and passing it several times a day, I do not have any.) The Half Moon Bar had a good following and their craft cocktails were excellent. We like the occasional craft cocktail, but we're usually drinkers of simpler fare. Michelle drinks Ketel One and soda with a lime. I drink Maker's Mark on rocks. The non-stop parade of fussy drinks with a litany of ingredients, does not equal an everyday bar for me. There's nothing wrong with it. It's just not my speed. (I felt the same way about flare bartending, if you remember that craze. Still like the song, "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys, though.)

One note - If you are in a suite category, you get double points only if you a suite is what you booked originally. If you get a discounted or free upgrade into a suite, you don't get the suite bonus days.

If you are using Flight Ease, you cannot change your arrival time. Flight Ease feeds it into your booked flights section. (It should, anyway.) The advice to pre-book the transfer from the airport is solid. You will want to be on the transfer list. I don't know how you booked, but talk to that person - or, if you booked online, call HAL. Tell the person to look up the pick up times and location on the Guest Logistics Transfer Summary for Rotterdam. The Guest Logistics Transfer Summary is the master reference for all the embarkation / disembarkation ports. (Aka turnaround ports.) They should be able to tell you where to meet the bus, times to meet, and transit times. You cannot always meet the bus at the HAL hotels if you aren't booking the hotel through HAL. However, the person should be able to look up all the pick up points for you. The airport is always a pick up point or drop off point. If you get someone who knows what they're doing, they should be able to answer you pretty quickly. By telling the person to use the Guest Logistics Transfer Summary for Rotterdam, you're telling them exactly where to look.