LIVE from the ROTTERDAM 14 day Aug 11/2012 Norway Voyage!!!

[sldispatcher]

Greetings one and all.

 

As often is the case with so many who visit this site, I enjoy the "LIVE from" threads. Along with all of the other related topics, I am able to glean information about my upcoming cruises.

 

I do these "LIVE from" for two reasons:

 

1. To give back to the CC community.

 

2. I just enjoy doing them. They give me a fun review of details I might have forgotten previously.

 

Background:

 

40's couple traveling with parents and aunt/uncle all in their 70s

 

Three previous HAL voyages:

10 day Ryndam BAJA (standard verandah)

12 day Amsterdam deep Carib (standard verandah)

7 day Eurodam (least impressed) (SY category)

 

Three previous Celebrity voyages:

 

10 years ago on INFINITY/Sky Suite 14 day RT from San Fran to Alaska

7 day carib on Eclipse (verandah - mildly impressed)

12 day Med on Solstice (aqua class - loved it all)

 

One previous Oceania voyage:

Inaugural Voyage of the Marina - wow

 

 

Okay....so here we go.

 

Important items about Rotterdam:

 

1. Really like the Hotel New York. Can't beat the location for getting on the ship (100 yards from terminal) HOWEVER>......

 

You need to know that steps into the hotel are required.

No luggage assistance to speak of.

Avoid the temptation of the Tower Rooms...access is steep/winding..concept is great, but execution is poor.

Standard rooms are plenty nice.

 

 

2. We arrived by train....all the way from Edinburgh! We had spent two weeks in Ireland/Scotland before heading to the ship. We decided to try something different and use rail service all the way from Edinburgh to here (Rotterdam).

 

Notes to you:

Don't hesitate and buy the first class train tickets..worth it.

Pack lightly, but there is space for suitcases.

Eurostar was the bomb! Love the 190 mph experience.

East Coast Rail from Edinburgh to London...very nice. Holland America on rails.

Thalys (Brussels - which was a creepy train station to Rotterdam): Could skip it. Dirty carpet on train, dirty seat stuff/ample luggage room...service okay..skip the snacks.

 

Okay....

 

Now for our plans on the Rotterdam:

 

Hopefully will be aboard ship by 1145 in the morning.

We have 3 aft rooms...

Will try and give you as honest a review as possible. However, if you look at some of my other "LIVE from" reports, sometimes I focus on a singular aspect of the day..and not necessarily a blow by blow account.

 

I'll also try to answer as many questions as possible. May take me a few days to find the answer..will depend on internet connections etc.

 

Reporting to you LIVE from the Rotterdam.....

[solocanadian]

Looking forward to your posts. Have a great cruise & enjoy the Rotterdam. I love these "R" class ships. Nice size and large Oceanview cabins with lots of drawer & closet space.:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Looking forward to your "Live" review.

Thanks for the heads up on the Hotel New York. I need to use a walker and can no longer walk steps -- so that would not work out for us. Also DH can not handle luggage due to heart condition. I imaging others will appreciate that useful information who also have handicap problems.

Bon Voyage!!

[vivavegas]

Looking forward to your live posts!:)

[RuthC]

I'm looking forward to following along as you cruise to one of my favorite places. And on what used to by one of my favorite ships, too! I have well over 100 days sailing on this Rotterdam. Hope you enjoy her as much as I have.

[Typhoon1]

Looking forward to the rest of your updates.

[rafinmd]

Do have a great cruise on a very nice ship. When you leave Rotterdam tomorrow listen for the Rotterdam's horn and perhaps the SS Rotterdam's in reply.

 

I enjoyed a transatlantic on the Rotterdam last year on the way to Norway on the Prinsendam, but opted for ferry rather than Eurostar/Thalys between Rotterdam and London.

 

Bon Voyage.

 

Roy

[PathfinderEss]

Love live reports, thanks for posting. We'll be following along with you. Looking forward to more post.

[kazu]

Another one signing on to catch your live reports:) Wishing you all smooth seas and following winds. Loved this ship when we were on - hope you do too:D Sounds like an incredible experience is about to unfold:):)

 

Bon Voyage:D:D

[erewhon]

Looking forward to your "live from" posts.

[NoobCruise]

:) LOVE the live reports! Looking forward to sharing your cruise!

[canadarocks]

Reporting to you LIVE from the Rotterdam.....

 

I hope you have an amazing cruise! We were in Norway last summer on a HAL cruise and it was truly wonderful. :cool:

[sldispatcher]

Why is it that sleep sometimes so desparately needed tends to go hiding out in other rooms when it is embarkation day?

 

I have to admit I am now officially excited. The travel woes of land based journeys can wear you down a bit with luggage movement and driving, but ours has not been too frightful.

 

Being from the Southern US, the idea of having this last land night in a room with air conditioning would be something akin to having the famous HAL Parmesan Dijon chicken breast served to you on a golden platter in a private jet. It just doesn't get any better.

 

This morning, under a cloudless sky, a few lone wolf sea gulls make their daily runs and hardly notice the visitor in the harbor. But I can't help but notice the majesty and splendor of the ROTTERDAM.

 

My body, although a little tired, is now waking up. My nose is certainly looking forward to the delightful aromas onboard while the tastebuds, suffering from HAL amnesia, are starting to get their memory back. My nerve endings are craving that delightful contact with arguably the best beds at sea. Even my eyes, still contaminated with sleep dust and morning tears are sharpening their focus to look for fjords, falls, and auroras.

 

Yes, I'm awake. It's cruise time!

[canadarocks]

Why is it that sleep sometimes so desparately needed tends to go hiding out in other rooms when it is embarkation day?

 

I have to admit I am now officially excited. The travel woes of land based journeys can wear you down a bit with luggage movement and driving, but ours has not been too frightful.

 

Being from the Southern US, the idea of having this last land night in a room with air conditioning would be something akin to having the famous HAL Parmesan Dijon chicken breast served to you on a golden platter in a private jet. It just doesn't get any better.

 

This morning, under a cloudless sky, a few lone wolf sea gulls make their daily runs and hardly notice the visitor in the harbor. But I can't help but notice the majesty and splendor of the ROTTERDAM.

 

My body, although a little tired, is now waking up. My nose is certainly looking forward to the delightful aromas onboard while the tastebuds, suffering from HAL amnesia, are starting to get their memory back. My nerve endings are craving that delightful contact with arguably the best beds at sea. Even my eyes, still contaminated with sleep dust and morning tears are sharpening their focus to look for fjords, falls, and auroras.

 

Yes, I'm awake. It's cruise time!

 

What a poetic post! :cool: Have a magnificent cruise!!

[monina01]

Welcome to the Netherlands! I just saw my in-laws leave port Amsterdam yesterday, on Eurodam, also on their way to Norway (7 day cruise).

 

So you are heading out today. Weather is supposed to be great for sailaway...few clouds now but clearing up as we go. Temp's between 72F and 77F.

 

Bon Voyage and have a wonderful cruise!

[kazu]

Why is it that sleep sometimes so desparately needed tends to go hiding out in other rooms when it is embarkation day?

 

I have to admit I am now officially excited. The travel woes of land based journeys can wear you down a bit with luggage movement and driving, but ours has not been too frightful.

 

Being from the Southern US, the idea of having this last land night in a room with air conditioning would be something akin to having the famous HAL Parmesan Dijon chicken breast served to you on a golden platter in a private jet. It just doesn't get any better.

 

This morning, under a cloudless sky, a few lone wolf sea gulls make their daily runs and hardly notice the visitor in the harbor. But I can't help but notice the majesty and splendor of the ROTTERDAM.

 

My body, although a little tired, is now waking up. My nose is certainly looking forward to the delightful aromas onboard while the tastebuds, suffering from HAL amnesia, are starting to get their memory back. My nerve endings are craving that delightful contact with arguably the best beds at sea. Even my eyes, still contaminated with sleep dust and morning tears are sharpening their focus to look for fjords, falls, and auroras.

 

Yes, I'm awake. It's cruise time!

 

Oh my heavens - what a great post - what a good writer you are:D

 

I am looking forward to more posts more than ever.

 

Bon Voyage:)

[sldispatcher]

In the Wake of Imperfection

Have you ever really studied the wake of a ship? It is turbulent and stormy. There is also a certain rhythm that seems to be traceable in motion but never captured by a single photograph. If you look at any particular section, you might be confused by the sheer chaos of the churning water.

In today’s world of cruising, I personally think that many CruiseCritic threads are starting to show that we are all guilty of no longer looking at the cruise as a whole. I could easily right a scorching review on the check in today at the Rotterdam port. With a terminal count of an easy 350 passengers already assembled by 1100am, registration did not start until 1130. When it did, although it was orderly, the shore side staff seemed ill prepared to handle a cruise chip check in.

It took an hour and a half for us to get checked in from the time the process started until our group (4) was called. That is the first time check in has taken so long or seemed so ill prepared t begin. I would assume, and I could be wrong, that most persons sailing on HAL for a 14 day Norway cruise know that they don’t have to wait until 1pm to check in. This group obviously didn’t want to miss lunch!

Embarkation grade? D+

Arriving on the ship reminded me so much of the arrival on Amsterdam. Completely understated. No trickery or gimmicks. No light shows or slick greetings. Nope, it was a direction of either going to lunch or you can proceed to your stateroom.

I like that.

Lunch was in the Main Dining Room (MDR). Again, the ship overall just felt warm. We had to fan ourselves in the MDR for a bit. We could tell the air conditioning was getting better as lunch proceeded.

Our rooms, aft facing, were as generous as I remembered on the Ryndam and Amsterdam. I will miss the R and S class ships one day. Hopefully someone at HAL will rediscover the quality of these ships and their broad passenger appeal one day. The balconies are fantastic. Deep aft balconies with no one peering down from above and no one really peering up from below.

Dinner was tasty with prime rib, a melt-in-your-mouth veal chop and asparagus risotto as some of the entrees served at our table of 6. Again, about 5 degrees too warm in the aft section of the dining room. The assistant matre’d was not too helpful in terms of discussing with him: “you should ask for a different section”. We were not the only ones fanning in the area. It did get better as dinner went on.

(Getting on soap box: as a healthcare professional, I’ve noticed airlines and cruise ships have started dialing up temps lately. Airlines most likely because they got rid of blankets and cruise ships because some of the more cold blooded of our species will always complain it is too cold while wearing some skimpy outfit. Please note to those companies: with all of the concern over infection, your raising the temperature is simply worsening the problem. And yes, 4 or 5 degrees can make all of the difference in the world.

If you want to lower the infection rate while decreasing motion sickness, turn the temps back down…….

…off of soapbox)

I need to stress that so many things are right. I really don’t notice any major wear or tear, but honestly I cut any large company some slack when running a hotel operation on this scale. The cabin steward handled many requests quickly today and has done a great job so far.

The perception of the group is that HAL easily has the best mixed drink recipes at sea…period.

The Spanish coffee after dinner in the Explorer’s Lounge is a treat for anyone.

The ship is quiet….even with 1300 people on board, we have yet to encounter a crowd on the vessel.

All of that is to say this as a reminder to myself and anyone else that has not fallen asleep by this point:

We have, through our own fault, raised the standard of perfection on cruises to be so high that I don’t think any company will ever be able to truly meet those expectations. As I look at the big picture of the churning water being stirred by the screws of the Rotterdam, I realize that I can look at a particular focus of the trip and consider the turbulence of the heat or the ambient temp of the air and think the entire vacation is ruined, or I can look at how much fun and relaxation I’ve been exposed to so far and we have been aboard for less than 10 hours.

I think I’ll leave the imperfections in my wake.

[sldispatcher]

Breaking NEWS……

A serial killer with a particular pattern of hate and murder has now been verified on the high seas. Another portable bedside fan succumbed to the serial killer’s blood thirsty passion.

The infamous killer, E.V.O., struck first 3 years ago in Barcelona. It was thought to have been a passing of natural causes, but a post-mortem revealed that E.V.O. had killed that fan. Just 4 months ago, again in the gothic confines of Barcelona, another fan felt the wrath of this merciless killer. The typical calling card is the stench that emanates from the fan right before it is euthanized by E.V.O.

Apparently, on this adventure, E.V.O. struck in Glasgow, but we were not aware of the ill effects until just an hour ago. A much stronger fan was brought it and hauled from Ireland to Scotland and even took a 3 segment train ride yesterday being hauled around like royalty in a Chico’s bag. After dutifully serving, that fan was donated to the Rotterdam New York Hotel this morning.

If hindsight were 20/20, then I can see through a brick wall. The stronger decoy fan should not have been so easily retired.

Tonight, E.V.O. left its unmistakable calling card….a dead fan. The little green fan never whimpered. It did not make the pitiful bleeping sounds of the final breath like its first incarnation did on that fateful night in Barcelona 3 years ago.

No, this little green tornado of a fan just did nothing. We didn’t mistreat it. Well, we did plug it in briefly in Glasgow to an adapter, but I, well, pulled the plug when I noticed the first hints of fan gangrene setting in. It was still running at the time.

The fan’s owner, my wife, is so distraught that she has come down with a good case of the vapors. I refuse to allow her to play one of those games where you list the one thing/person you could not do without on a deserted island. I fall below night fan, Coca Cola, a good hair dryer and cool air.

E.V.O., European Outlet Voltage, has taken another victim. I fear the collateral damage by in the morning may be too much for all of us to bear.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for checking in.

 

I have also always felt that when a ship (or any other place) is kept cooler, the germs will no spread.

 

Sorry about the fan -- I loved the story.

[Skipper's Mom]

Thanks for the posts. I think we're all in for a treat! Enjoy your voyage.

[sldispatcher]

M & M’s

Today being the first full day at sea gives us all a chance to unwind and refresh. The ship had illness precautions in place at the Lido with everyone being served and no self service at the drink stations.

At 8AM, the Lido was sparsely populated. The freshly squeezed OJ is always pleasant as are the numerous hot stations. The scrambled eggs I remembered from the Amsterdam were back in full force. Not overly cooked. The French Toast and pancakes were fresh off the griddle.

Yesterday, we signed up for unlimited laundry. It has been great and so far has been a 12 hour turnaround. Although I had packed for cool weather and some warm weather clothes, I have mostly been going through the warm weather clothes. After 2 weeks of land travel, it is nice to see everything pressed and starched. A great value in my book on these extended cruises.

The Crow’s Nest was visited today and did have a rather “musty” odor associated with cigars and pipes and such. Not sure anything can be done about it as long as some smoking is tolerated. The windows there were all quite clean.

Next on my walkabout was a stroll through the casino. It was sparsely populated with a good variety of machines. My traveling companions did play a little this morning but complained that the machines were very “tight”. I have not been through there at night yet, but would assume that if they are not getting business at 3pm on a sea day, then night time is probably not much better.

The pool area looked busy as expected. The spa reported high bookings for the salon, but still quite slow for the spa area. From the looks of the crowd getting onboard, I would never have guessed that hair style was that important to them, but live and learn.

Had a sit in MIX for a while and was promptly served and hot appetizers offered. The mixed nuts were delicious. Tonight is formal night on the ship and the chef’s master dinner. So far, this rather particular bunch I’m traveling with has really thought that the food was beyond acceptable. Spicy things have been spicy and nothing over done. Only real problem has been some service levels have been spotty with wait staff. Unfortunately, the temperature level is close to unbearable in the dining room on the 4th floor in the aft section. You can tell that it is a little cooler to the front, but there really is no excuse for the conditions they are running the ship with in terms of ambient temperature. I’ll say it again, they are asking for trouble in regards to infection and sea sickness.

Tonight’s menu included Lobster Thermidor with grilled fillet, quail and stuffing, salmon mignon, and rack of lamb. Dessert that I had was chocolate crème brulee. The 4 mushroom soup was great and the cocktail sauce served with the shrimp cocktail had plenty of heat to it. Of course, the chilled soups are always great.

The cabins are comfortable and, as always on these R & S class ships, ample in space as compared to other ships.

I do see some things that need fixing up on the ship (our picture over the sofa has cracked glass, the ‘R’ on the Queen’s Room sign in the MDR is missing) etc. None of that should detract from your cruise unless you have an obsessive compulsive problem.

The overall personality of the cruise is calm. Passengers, although I’ve witnessed some gruffness, are rather quiet and not pushy. Even at the busiest times in the Exploration Café, there were some available seats. At lunch today, the Lido appeared as though every seat was taken during my walk through, but no long lines for food were evident.

If someone asked me to summarize the experience so far, I would have to say it is meeting overall expectations. I know everyone has different expectations in regards to their cruise experience, but that’s why there are different cruise lines and even different ships within a line. Some like nuts in their candies, others want soft centers while yet another like plain.

Aren’t you glad there is something for everyone in the cruising world?

So those are my Meanderings and Musings for the day..or my M & M’s.

[M5M]

Why is it that sleep sometimes so desparately needed tends to go hiding out in other rooms when it is embarkation day?

 

I have to admit I am now officially excited. The travel woes of land based journeys can wear you down a bit with luggage movement and driving, but ours has not been too frightful.

 

Being from the Southern US, the idea of having this last land night in a room with air conditioning would be something akin to having the famous HAL Parmesan Dijon chicken breast served to you on a golden platter in a private jet. It just doesn't get any better.

 

This morning, under a cloudless sky, a few lone wolf sea gulls make their daily runs and hardly notice the visitor in the harbor. But I can't help but notice the majesty and splendor of the ROTTERDAM.

 

My body, although a little tired, is now waking up. My nose is certainly looking forward to the delightful aromas onboard while the tastebuds, suffering from HAL amnesia, are starting to get their memory back. My nerve endings are craving that delightful contact with arguably the best beds at sea. Even my eyes, still contaminated with sleep dust and morning tears are sharpening their focus to look for fjords, falls, and auroras.

 

Yes, I'm awake. It's cruise time!

 

We're on an future sailing right after you....looking forward.!

[MightyQuinn]

Sldispatcher, I followed your "live from" thread on the inaugural sailing of Oceania Marina and had nothing but admiration for your attentive eye and superb writing. You developed quite a fan club over there! I look forward to following your current adventures on Rotterdam.

 

Oh - and if memory serves - wasn't there a fan mishap on Marina as well? :):)

[kazu]

Love the M & M's :D great title - thanks so much for taking us along - have really been enjoying your live posts:):)

[sldispatcher]

Sldispatcher, I followed your "live from" thread on the inaugural sailing of Oceania Marina and had nothing but admiration for your attentive eye and superb writing. You developed quite a fan club over there! I look forward to following your current adventures on Rotterdam.

 

Oh - and if memory serves - wasn't there a fan mishap on Marina as well? :):)

 

 

Indeed there was! That was the first. I happy to report that today, Fan Lives again! Of course, it took a bit of hunting on the streets of Oslo, but we found it! I gave it life at 1322pm today local time.

 

It's alive!