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Mom just returned from the Rotterdam and LOVED her cruise!

iloverags2

By iloverags2,
in Holland America Line

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iloverags2

iloverags2

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Hi All! My mom arrived at O'Hare around 12:30 a.m. this morning, so I did not get a chance to talk with her until this evening. We just spent an hour on the phone (and she knows she forgot to tell me something during our convo!).

 

She and her husband sailed on the Rotterdam this past week, and had a wonderful cruise. Quite frankly, the only negative she had to say was regarding Canaletto (poor service in comparison to everywhere else on the ship and subpar food). Everything else was wonderful! They had open seating and had no problems eating at 5:30 every night (except one night at 6:00 p.m.), trying out all options at least once (The Pinnacle twice, Lido, Room Service, Canaletto, and MDR twice). She thought the MDR is gorgeous! They did Pinnacle on both of the formal nights it turned out, but still dressed up both times (her hubby brought his tux and wanted to put it to use!). They ate at the Kings Room, I believe is what she said, for breakfast each morning. Not sure why Pinnacle was not open for the deluxe suite guests, but she said it was still very lovely with the same servers as The Pinnacle. Lunch was also different places depending on the day.

 

They did not discover the Crows Nest until Thursday, and were disappointed they hadn't found it sooner! They spent a good part of Friday there also. The shows in the main theatre were good, and they really enjoyed the movie theatre (I believe that is what she said). They took a peek at the Casino, and did spend a bit of time in the clubs just to see what they were like.

 

Hubbard Glacier was beautiful! The weather cooperated that day, and the calving was wonderful. They spent almost all of their time at Hubbard out on their verandah, and had a perfect view. Oh, that was also the day of the On Deck for the Cure walk. Mom participated, as she is a survivor and does every walk she can. There were five survivors on their walk. She did three laps before having to bow out, so she was quite pleased with that! They took a picture of her and the other survivors holding the banner, so looking forward to seeing that!

 

The ports were lovely, although they decided not to go all out on shore excursions. Mom's husband will be having knee replacement surgery soon, so they did not want to overdo his knees. They did the tram up the mountain in Juneau and really enjoyed that! In Sitka they went on their own to a Lutheran Church (which we are) and a Russian Orthodox Church, and just enjoyed the sites. They did a carriage or trolley ride (can't remember which she said...I think it might have been horse drawn) in Ketchikan, and walked around the little town (doing the touristy shopping thing!). One of their main goals on this vacation was to just take in Alaska. (First weeklong cruise for both, and first time to Alaska.) I forgot to ask what they did in Victoria!

 

As for the ship, they thought it was very nice, and the service was impeccable (minus Canaletto). They especially enjoyed the Neptune Lounge, and I have a feeling if they cruise HAL again it will be in a deluxe suite! Mom just couldn't stop singing the praises of the HAL employees in the lounge and how helpful they are. And the lounge itself was just wonderful!

 

Oh, she did mention...they listed! Not sure how much, and if it was less than what she thought (she doesn't have much experience on ships or boats), but she did say the captain came on almost immediately after and said they hit a swell but the stabilizers were in place and all was good after that. She laughed about it (now) and said it was quite exciting (not to mention scary). This was on either Thursday or Friday (she can't remember! LOL).

 

Their room...let's see. As I mentioned they were in a deluxe suite and had plenty of room. She loved the closet space and dressing area, and thought the drawer space was very generous. During the day, she loved having the couch as a few times her hubby took a mid-day nap and she just caught up on some reading. One nice thing also, they were one deck down from the Lido deck so it was very easy to run up in the morning for coffee which was right above their room (7039).

 

I know something has been overlooked, and Mom knows she will be calling me tomorrow with something she forgot. Will post whatever either of us remember!

 

Again, thanks to all who helped me plan this trip with her...your posts and advice were invaluable!

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iloverags2

iloverags2

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Did they book another cruise yet? ;)

 

LOL! You know, they haven't for one main reason. They haven't decided if they want to do a cruise or a cruise tour. They really would like to return to Alaska, but want to see more inland sites (Denali, mainly). But on top of that, Mom just loved the cruise itself, and if they do another cruise only they might look into other itineraries. We shall see!

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IRL_Joanie

IRL_Joanie

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That is awesomely fantastic news!! You know they are addicted now:)

 

It is good to hear they continued to have a great cruise and relaxing for them. I am sure will get a nice long call tomorrow from my HAL PCC as it is her day to come back to work after disembarking from the same cruise.

 

Joanie

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noteaching

noteaching

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Hi All! My mom arrived at O'Hare around 12:30 a.m. this morning, so I did not get a chance to talk with her until this evening. We just spent an hour on the phone (and she knows she forgot to tell me something during our convo!).

 

She and her husband sailed on the Rotterdam this past week, and had a wonderful cruise. Quite frankly, the only negative she had to say was regarding Canaletto (poor service in comparison to everywhere else on the ship and subpar food). Everything else was wonderful! They had open seating and had no problems eating at 5:30 every night (except one night at 6:00 p.m.), trying out all options at least once (The Pinnacle twice, Lido, Room Service, Canaletto, and MDR twice). She thought the MDR is gorgeous! They did Pinnacle on both of the formal nights it turned out, but still dressed up both times (her hubby brought his tux and wanted to put it to use!). They ate at the Kings Room, I believe is what she said, for breakfast each morning. Not sure why Pinnacle was not open for the deluxe suite guests, but she said it was still very lovely with the same servers as The Pinnacle. Lunch was also different places depending on the day.

 

They did not discover the Crows Nest until Thursday, and were disappointed they hadn't found it sooner! They spent a good part of Friday there also. The shows in the main theatre were good, and they really enjoyed the movie theatre (I believe that is what she said). They took a peek at the Casino, and did spend a bit of time in the clubs just to see what they were like.

 

Hubbard Glacier was beautiful! The weather cooperated that day, and the calving was wonderful. They spent almost all of their time at Hubbard out on their verandah, and had a perfect view. Oh, that was also the day of the On Deck for the Cure walk. Mom participated, as she is a survivor and does every walk she can. There were five survivors on their walk. She did three laps before having to bow out, so she was quite pleased with that! They took a picture of her and the other survivors holding the banner, so looking forward to seeing that!

 

The ports were lovely, although they decided not to go all out on shore excursions. Mom's husband will be having knee replacement surgery soon, so they did not want to overdo his knees. They did the tram up the mountain in Juneau and really enjoyed that! In Sitka they went on their own to a Lutheran Church (which we are) and a Russian Orthodox Church, and just enjoyed the sites. They did a carriage or trolley ride (can't remember which she said...I think it might have been horse drawn) in Ketchikan, and walked around the little town (doing the touristy shopping thing!). One of their main goals on this vacation was to just take in Alaska. (First weeklong cruise for both, and first time to Alaska.) I forgot to ask what they did in Victoria!

 

As for the ship, they thought it was very nice, and the service was impeccable (minus Canaletto). They especially enjoyed the Neptune Lounge, and I have a feeling if they cruise HAL again it will be in a deluxe suite! Mom just couldn't stop singing the praises of the HAL employees in the lounge and how helpful they are. And the lounge itself was just wonderful!

 

Oh, she did mention...they listed! Not sure how much, and if it was less than what she thought (she doesn't have much experience on ships or boats), but she did say the captain came on almost immediately after and said they hit a swell but the stabilizers were in place and all was good after that. She laughed about it (now) and said it was quite exciting (not to mention scary). This was on either Thursday or Friday (she can't remember! LOL).

 

Their room...let's see. As I mentioned they were in a deluxe suite and had plenty of room. She loved the closet space and dressing area, and thought the drawer space was very generous. During the day, she loved having the couch as a few times her hubby took a mid-day nap and she just caught up on some reading. One nice thing also, they were one deck down from the Lido deck so it was very easy to run up in the morning for coffee which was right above their room (7039).

 

I know something has been overlooked, and Mom knows she will be calling me tomorrow with something she forgot. Will post whatever either of us remember!

 

Again, thanks to all who helped me plan this trip with her...your posts and advice were invaluable!

 

 

 

Our room was 7035 - we were neighbors as it turns out! We probably passed in the hallway or saw each other looking over our verandahs! We also LOVED the whole experience.

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jdsaf

jdsaf

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We were on same cruise and loved it! Unfortunately, they were not the only ones that had problems with the Canaletto. :( We had poor service and the food was worst we had on the ship. Thank goodness, it was the only exception.

 

The seas did get rather exciting one evening. It did not bother us at all, we rather enjoyed it.

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iloverags2

iloverags2

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So glad your Mom had a great cruise.

 

Concerning where the Suite passengers can have breakfast -- on the R class ships -- Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Volendam and Zaandam -- we have always had breakfast in the King's Room.

 

Ah! Thanks for that tidbit of info. This was her first time on HAL, and I have very little experience with the line also. :)

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