pattycakes4810 Posted May 30, 2016 #1 Share Posted May 30, 2016 We are booked for a 21 day cruise in February aboard the Rotterdam, but have never been on this particular ship before. Since we don't see many posts about this ship, how about some opinions from past passengers? What can we expect in regard to balcony rooms, meals and entertainment and staff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iflyrc5 Posted May 30, 2016 #2 Share Posted May 30, 2016 We are booked for a 21 day cruise in February aboard the Rotterdam, but have never been on this particular ship before. Since we don't see many posts about this ship, how about some opinions from past passengers? What can we expect in regard to balcony rooms, meals and entertainment and staff? It has been 6 years since we have been on the Rotterdam but I think you will find it to be as good as the Prinsendam just more people. At one time (not sure it still is) it was the "Flagship" of Holland America. The only down side for us is that it does not have the sea view pool on the aft deck (just the wading pool).:( We have a roll call started for this cruise so please come on over and join in. We have a group of 8 friends traveling with us so looking forward to a great time.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernphoenix Posted May 30, 2016 #3 Share Posted May 30, 2016 We love this ship. Enjoyed the 12day Baltic cruise onboard, and hope to have another Panama Canal cruise this January, on this vessel. All HAL ships are blessed with a remarkable crew, and so far I have cruised on the Volendam ( Alaska), Eurodam, (Caribbean and New England,/Canada), Statendam (Alaska/Alaska/Yukon land tour). I enjoy any, and all of these ships, but so far my personal favourite is the Rotterdam. Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberta Quilter Posted May 30, 2016 #4 Share Posted May 30, 2016 If you're on the Feb 12/17 cruise, here is a link to the roll call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2254829 I hope you will join us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammygoose Posted May 31, 2016 #5 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I'll be on her in 3 weeks. Let me know if there is something specific you are interested in knowing and I'll see what I can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Alphen Posted May 31, 2016 #6 Share Posted May 31, 2016 (edited) It has been 6 years since we have been on the Rotterdam but I think you will find it to be as good as the Prinsendam just more people. At one time (not sure it still is) it was the "Flagship" of Holland America. The only down side for us is that it does not have the sea view pool on the aft deck (just the wading pool).:( We have a roll call started for this cruise so please come on over and join in. We have a group of 8 friends traveling with us so looking forward to a great time.:D Rotterdam and Amsterdam are still the flagships of the fleet. Rotterdam, since sailing out of Rotterdam for its homeport, sometimes has a different atmosphere than all of the other ships, because of its larg(er) amount of Dutch guests on board. Dutch guests are also not so much present on this forum. Edited May 31, 2016 by Alphen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loreto Posted May 31, 2016 #7 Share Posted May 31, 2016 We were on the Rotterdam from April 23-May14 of this year. This was our 2nd time sailing on her. The ship is beautiful and well maintained, and the staff, wonderful! We were in Verandah Suite # 6213 and for the first time ever the stateroom was perfect: The toilet flushed, the A/C was cold and the water was hot!:) Great stewards, Kadek and Taufik. Captain Mateboer is the master, and has been for awhile. He is very personable (and an author) and we sailed with him on the Noordam. We had open seating, and kept the same table the whole cruise. The dining staff seemed very upbeat and service was very good. We enjoyed a dinner at the Pinnacle Grill and but did not dine in the Canaletto this time. The showroom was comfortable. The only sad part about the Rotterdam is what they did to the stern of the ship with the "Retreat."for our cruise, the water area was empty and it was an eyesore IMO. You will enjoy the Rotterdam! Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernphoenix Posted May 31, 2016 #8 Share Posted May 31, 2016 If you're on the Feb 12/17 cruise, here is a link to the roll call: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2254829 I hope you will join us. Actually, planning on January 13/17. Many thanks for,the invite, tho! Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattycakes4810 Posted May 31, 2016 Author #9 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Thanks so much to everyone for the updates on the Rotterdam. My DH and I have been on the Noordam, Maasdam, Veendam and Prinsendam; but each ship has attractions of her own, and the Rotterdam seems to fit our needs very well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAKcruiser Posted June 1, 2016 #10 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Does anyone remember the fixed seating dining room times on the Rotterdam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikesyd Posted June 1, 2016 #11 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Hubby & I will be on the Rotterdam for a Canada/New England cruise departing Montreal on 1 October, it is part of a land tour prior to cruise. Have never sailed with HAL before, but chose this ship due to the size(Princess were too big) Could also have gone on the Veendam, but what reviews I could find, the Rotterdam came out better. Haven't had any response to my rollcall, was hoping others may have liked to join in some private tours. Will be interested to see any comments from sammygoose on their return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammygoose Posted June 2, 2016 #12 Share Posted June 2, 2016 well it is 2 weeks tomorrow that we leave to make our way to Rotterdam. It seems like we have been planning this cruise FOREVER and I am actually starting to believe it is going to happen! I'm not going to have internet access because I love being disconnected but I will happily do a review when we get back. I have sailed on the Eurodam (3) the NA (1) the Westerdam (1) and the Maasdam (1). I am looking forward to trying the Rotterdam because there were a lot of things I really liked about the Maasdam that I see the Rotterdam has like the Mix and the library/Explorations Cafe being separate from the Crow's nest. I am also interested to see the new Lido Marketplace. I usually take about 3000 pictures so if there is anything in particular let me know and I'll try and pay attention. This is especially true for the piano bar and other entertainment acts- I don't attend but if there is an interest I will do some recon. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jantoby Posted July 29, 2016 #13 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Does anyone know what time the Lido opens for lunch? I want to book an excursion and would prefer the 12.30, but would that give me time for a bite of lunch beforehand? (other than room service) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakkojakko Posted July 29, 2016 #14 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Does anyone remember the fixed seating dining room times on the Rotterdam? 5hr45 pm and 8 pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakkojakko Posted July 29, 2016 #15 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Does anyone know what time the Lido opens for lunch? I want to book an excursion and would prefer the 12.30, but would that give me time for a bite of lunch beforehand? (other than room service) Lido opens for lunch at 12 pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlsSalt Posted July 29, 2016 #16 Share Posted July 29, 2016 (edited) The Rotterdam is one of our favorites of this class ship - love the color and decor and the whimsy of the many "faces" one finds around the ship in paintings, tile work, sculpture. We even liked the interior Pinnacle dining room on these class ship for our breakfasts when we had a Neptune suite (not Neptune on the Rotterdam but on her identical sister ships).. Looking forward to being back on her again on the Voyage of the Vikings next year after 52 days on her Passage to Indonesia a few years back. Very special crew on that flagship Rotterdam cruise. Zero complaints from us about the Rotterdam. Though on our long cruise we did get a stinky cabin carpet, which they tried to clean several times which helped a little bit. Then it just became part of the background buzz, and we carried on with a very fabulous trip. Edited July 29, 2016 by OlsSalt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted July 29, 2016 #17 Share Posted July 29, 2016 We loved the Rotterdam! She is a little jewel! She has everything the big ships do. We also sailed out of Rotterdam which was a blast and there was predominantly a ditch clientele who were lovely. Only problem they would speak to me and I could only smile and nod politely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlsSalt Posted July 30, 2016 #18 Share Posted July 30, 2016 We loved the Rotterdam! She is a little jewel! She has everything the big ships do. We also sailed out of Rotterdam which was a blast and there was predominantly a ditch clientele who were lovely. Only problem they would speak to me and I could only smile and nod politely. Let me translate - a Dutch clientele? I know they refer to the US as over the pond so not sure who the "ditch" people were. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovely other Posted July 30, 2016 #19 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Oddly I'm of the opposite to everyone else it seems when it comes to the Rotterdam ... I didn't like her and found her to be badly maintained when I sailed on her 3 years ago ... Has she been renovated since ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybear Posted July 30, 2016 #20 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Let me translate - a Dutch clientele? I know they refer to the US as over the pond so not sure who the "ditch" people were. :cool: Thank you for the translation. I hate autocorrect! You made my day, many giggles. :D Apologies to my Dutch friends, and before you ask, :eek:no I didn't confuse the canals with ditches! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue from Canada Posted July 30, 2016 #21 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Does anyone know what time the Lido opens for lunch? I want to book an excursion and would prefer the 12.30, but would that give me time for a bite of lunch beforehand? (other than room service) 11:30 for lunch (just got off ship 9 days ago). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue from Canada Posted July 30, 2016 #22 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Oddly I'm of the opposite to everyone else it seems when it comes to the Rotterdam ... I didn't like her and found her to be badly maintained when I sailed on her 3 years ago ... Has she been renovated since ??? I just got off her 9 days ago after sailing on her 18 days. She's a lovely ship. The crew were great as was the food, entertainment. No complaints from me. Oh, and I'll be on her again in 7 weeks:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jantoby Posted July 30, 2016 #23 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Lido opens for lunch at 12 pm. Thanks, Jakkojakko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted July 30, 2016 #24 Share Posted July 30, 2016 11:30 for lunch (just got off ship 9 days ago). Lido opening at 11:30 for lunch has been our experience as well on the HAL ships we have cruised on.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagporto Posted July 30, 2016 #25 Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) In case you are interested, I have PDFs of the OnLocation dailies of my recent Norse Legends cruise on Rotterdam. You may want to take a look at them for further information. You can download them from my wordpress blog. Edited July 30, 2016 by vagporto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now