Rotterdam for Hawaii/Tahiti??

[welshcorgie]

:confused:Considering Rotterdam for Hawaii/ Tahiti trip March 2012. Pros and Cons? Never been on HAL before. Have cruised Princess, NCL, and Carnival, favorite being Princess, least favorite Carnival.

[stew4united2]

Hi there. My wife and I are already booked on this cruise. We enjoy the laid back and quiet ambiance of HAL. The entertainment will not be as good as Princess or Carnival, but the food and service will outshine both, IMO. The crowd will no doubt be mostly retired, with few, if any, children. HAL's ships are designed for longer cruises, so standard staterooms are larger than the competition...especially in the bathroom. There are a few Rotterdam reviews specific to this cruise as it ran last year. You will find a host of information and objective critiques from that resource. The cruise is also an excellent value considering the cost of a land trip to the South Pacific. I can't imagine you'd be sorry for booking this trip. Join the Roll Call after you book!

[kakalina]

We did this on the Rotterdam in March, It's great.

Trisha did a review.... http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=66142

 

Virgil

[trophy_23]

Just fresh off the Rotterdam from Alaska and must say she is in wonderful condition! Food was excellent and staff were great. I would say go for it!

[prescottbob]

... on several factors.

 

Do you enjoy more sea days then port days?

 

Is the ship size and pax capacity a consideration?

 

Are scheduled activities (while at sea) more or less important to your during your cruise experience?

 

Personally, we prefer the sea days on our recent HI/FP journey (along with the wonderful ports). It's certainly an unforgettable cruise that I believe you will enjoy.

 

The food , BTW, is comparable to the other lines (& better in most cases IMO) that you've mentioned.

 

Regardlesss, have a GREAT CRUISE!

 

A recent review & pix can be found under my signature for my recent impressions on our January 2010 HI / FP HAL cruise.

 

Be well and never stop dreaming.

 

Bon Voyage & Good Health!

Bob:)

[pspercy]

I'd be glad to check it out for you, for a (not so )small subsidy :)

 

This one's on my bucket list, near the top.

[welshcorgie]

Thank you so much! It will be our 20th anniversary and I want it to be special. It's a long time to be on a cruiseline and ship that we're not familiar with. I value your opinions. Happy Cruising!!

[HamburgAvonLady]

:) Hi: DH and I are booked on the Rotterdam's Jan 3, 2011 for this same itinerary. This will be our first HAL cruise (we have done Costa, Princess, Celebrity and RCCL). We

started out with 7 day cruises, then 10, then 14 and our

last was for 30 days on a repositioning cruise from FLL to CAL around South America and Cape Horn. Was a marvelous trip but I must say that the Meet and Mingle

group that we joined 6 months prior to sailing MADE all

the difference for us. We had friends before ever meeting them in person. Our group leader, Paul, was great about getting different activities planned for our

sea days - which are about the same number as this Hawaii/Tahiti trip. Made those days pass quickly and

lot of fun, as well. The Mariner of the Seas, however, is a much larger ship so there were more onboard areas

to enjoy like miniture golf, online skating, rock wall.:cool:

 

I see from your post that you have done about 8 cruises so far with about 14 days being the longest -- the RCCL trip was our longest to date and

DH was kind of "antsy" after 14 days but the different ports of

Rio, Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Cape Horn and Valpariso

were so interesting -- we are so happy we decided to take the "plunge". Actually, the sea days were the most

relaxing as port days were pretty intense with lots of sightseeing. :D:D

 

The best advise I can offer -- go for it and see for yourselves. You are the best judge of what will make

you and family happy. We have some "concerns" about

recent posts regarding the Rotterdam's plumbing problems and some less than great food reviews -- but

we are the type of passengers who like to go and judge

for ourselves.

 

Whatever you decide - Bon Voyage !!! ;)