Photo Review! Our Family's Spring Break Aboard the Rotterdam!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Your photos have a beautiful quality and very nice depth of field. Will you please tell us about the camera you use and any particularly artistic background you might have? Thanks. That last shot with the ship in the background is particularly gorgeous.

 

Thanks so much! I love using a Canon DSLR, however, on this trip I took all of the photos on my phone! We tried packing light on this trip, and I wasn't sure how the humidity would be (I don't like taking my DSLR in extreme humid conditions). My phone is an Honor 7x with dual lenses.

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Thank you! I'd love to do a cruise like that during the fall to see the leaves changing colors!

 

I did the New England/ Canada Tour, it is a wonderful trip. I suggest it! (Do the Anne of Green Gables Tour). I made friends with a little one on the Oosterdam in January, a simple fist bump goes a long way.

Edited April 13, 2018 by IllinoisGirl1978

[Krazy Kruizers]

Loving the review and the pictures.

[sailawaybellaluna]

Loving the review and the pictures.

 

Thanks so much!

[erewhon]

Great review and photos.

[Tiggipaws]

Loving the review, hope there is more to come. Glad to see you all dressed up on Gala night, you all look fabulous.:D:D

[I_r_a]

Hey SAB,

 

>My little one kept saying, "me moving or water moving?!"

 

Your child has discovered Relativity.

 

She could be another Einstein. :)

 

Ira

[I_r_a]

Thanks for sharing, SAB.

 

Ira

[kazu]

I am really enjoying your review and all of your fabulous pictures.

 

And, I have to say, your children are beautiful and charming :)

 

Don't let one comment from one person ever discourage you from travelling with these lovely youngsters. Most of us enjoy having them on board.

 

1of4's children were a joy on our Westerdam cruise and really added to our experience just as I am sure yours did for many on your cruise :)

[sailawaybellaluna]

Loving the review, hope there is more to come. Glad to see you all dressed up on Gala night, you all look fabulous.:D:D

 

Thanks so much! Yes, more to come later this morning...!

 

 

I am really enjoying your review and all of your fabulous pictures.

 

And, I have to say, your children are beautiful and charming :)

 

Don't let one comment from one person ever discourage you from travelling with these lovely youngsters. Most of us enjoy having them on board.

 

1of4's children were a joy on our Westerdam cruise and really added to our experience just as I am sure yours did for many on your cruise :)

 

Thank you!

[sailawaybellaluna]

What a fantastic review! I'm so happy you're doing this for us. It's rare to find a HAL review with photos. I keep telling my husband I want to give HAL a try and now I have to find a cruise to book!

 

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I wouldn't hesitate to book another HAL cruise!

[sailawaybellaluna]

Hey SAB,

 

>My little one kept saying, "me moving or water moving?!"

 

Your child has discovered Relativity.

 

She could be another Einstein. :)

 

Ira

Hahaha. Now is she could just discover how to sleep all night consistently! ;p

[sailawaybellaluna]

To continue with our day in Mahogany Bay (Roatan), Honduras:

 

We stepped off the magic flying chairs around 8:50am, and the beach was PACKED!

We actually spent a solid 20 - 30 minutes searching for chairs - every single one seemed to have a towel on it! I was surprised this was the case, especially so early in the morning!

 

We found one of the staff setting up the clamshells, and my husband went and chatted with him and asked if he might have two extra lounge chairs we could set up in the front row, near the water's edge. There was a bit of empty space near the coconut water vendor. Thankfully, he agreed and set them up for us. We were so thankful and tipped him! The four of us shared these two chairs the rest of the day, but that wasn't really a problem since we were often in and out of the water.

 

The $5 coconut water drinks were a treat too!

Throughout the day we played in the water. I had purchased some emoji inflatable beach balls back at home, so the kids were excited when I got these out of my beach bag and inflated them!

 

After a couple of hours, my son and I escaped over to the other swimming/lounge area and tried snorkeling. We saw a few fish, and several conch! He's holding a conch above that we thought had been abandoned, but after a few minutes we saw some of the body sneaking out! So we hurried and set it back on the ocean floor...

 

During the morning and early afternoon, the line for the magic flying chairs was so long and the beach was really quite crowded. But by 2pm, things really slowed down and many guests returned to the ship. We stayed a bit later to enjoy the quiet beach and take our kids back and forth (and back and forth) on the flying chairs, which they really enjoyed!

 

Here's a view of the beach right when you step off the flying chairs. It is really fun and convenient!

 

 

And our final pic from Roatan, before stepping back onto the ship!

 

 

A quick note...I found the Dufry shop here in Roatan has ice cold bottled waters, two for $3. I purchased some to take on the ship as the only bottled water option onboard was Evian at $5/bottle. Just a little FYI.

 

More to come...

[sailawaybellaluna]

After getting back on board, we were quite hungry!

 

While at the beach, we ordered some nachos to share and that's about it! So we made a quick stop up on the Lido deck for some french fries, milk and salads. I did really enjoy the customized salads that could be ordered up there!

 

Then we cleaned up and got ready for our evening onboard the ship.

 

I don't have many photos from the evening, but here is the "Where & When" for the day!

 

More to come...

[sailawaybellaluna]

The following morning we started the day quite early in Santo Tomas de Castilla, Guatemala.

 

Now, as I've mentioned, I've been to Guatemala a couple of times before and absolutely loved it. My husband was born there, and I have an affinity for the culture and people there.

 

This cruise was very interesting to me when I was initially researching it, because Santo Tomas is just a rare port to find on any itinerary. From what I read about it on CruiseCritic, people really disliked this port or chose to stay onboard the ship all together!

 

Upon arriving to this lush, green area full of tropical birds, trees and hills, I can't imagine why you'd not even want to get off the ship?

 

 

Yes, it is an industrial container port so you will see lots of containers and cargo ships (instead of Diamonds International, for example), but I thought that made it all the more interesting.

 

 

On this day, I had really hoped to book a more extensive tour with Go With Gus or Happy Fish (local independent tour companies). However, I just had a hard time communicating with them and getting the date and time firmed up, which made me nervous. So in the end, I played it safe and booked the Fortress Tour online through Holland America.

 

The tour met on the pier at 7:45am, and the bus was ready to go! As with all tour buses in warmer/humid climates, it was FREEZING with the AC blasting, so I was happy I grabbed my jacket. The seats all had a bottled water on them, ready for guests to drink and I thought that was a nice touch.

 

The tour began with a 70 minute ride from the port towards the fortress. I actually really enjoyed the drive. You got a glimpse of so much. From the little industrial town center (now, sadly, primarily owned by Walmart and Walmart-affiliated chain stores), through the rolling green hills, and past some rural communities with small homes and brightly colored churches.

 

The roads were great, and the drive was very nice.

 

Around 9:15am we arrived at the San Felipe Fortress.

 

More to come...

[OlsSalt]

There is a bottled water package onboard I have used in the past - I think you get six large bottles for about $35 dollars - enough to get me through a few weeks for in-cabin use. Did I order it ahead of time in the drinks package section? Can't remember.

 

Again, loving your photos and reports and getting to see your beautiful family enjoying their first HAL cruise. .

[sailawaybellaluna]

There is a bottled water package onboard I have used in the past - I think you get six large bottles for about $35 dollars - enough to get me through a few weeks for in-cabin use. Did I order it ahead of time in the drinks package section? Can't remember.

 

Again, loving your photos and reports and getting to see your beautiful family enjoying their first HAL cruise. .

 

Thanks for this information!

 

I did also purchase a 12-pack of water at the grocery store prior to boarding (for only $3.99!), and we carried that on with our wine. That was probably the most economical decision, although a bit inconvenient for my husband to lug around! ;p

 

Thanks for reading along!

[JennysUncle]

Just be glad you were not on NCL -- you are not allowed to bring ANY beverage aboard, not even water. But they do sell bottles on-board - for $$$.

[ottahand7]

Thank you so much for sharing the photos of the ship and your family enjoying the trip. They are brightening my cold, gray spring day in MI. They are so much better than the usual that are available even through CC. I am loving your ship photos of the Rotterdam as I am on a February cruise on the ship. I think I will book reserved seating even though I am going single. It sounds like a hassle to work through dining reservations every few days.

[VMax1700]

One random note about the ship layout...I thought the ladies bathrooms outside of the dining room on level 5 were just gorgeous! Having a two-year old that needed to go every single night during dinner made me appreciate the views! :')

 

 

Last year on Rotterdam DW was really annoying me about how wonderful these facilities were. She took ages! Always blamed the wonderful view. On a sea day she 'smuggled' me in to have a look. They are stunning. I could stand there pppping all day!

 

PS loving your review.

[nana51]

Today we'll be talking about our first day at sea - officially day 3 of our cruise!

 

 

 

I love sea days!

 

 

 

We started the morning with room service. This is one area where I feel Holland America really stands out compared to other cruiselines. Hot omelettes and hash browns delivered to the cabin on proper dishes? Yes, please. The presentation alone was far superior than other room service I've encountered, but so was the quality of the food!

 

 

 

Here are the nuggets enjoying their fruit plates and fruit loops. (The ONLY time they're allowed to eat fruit loops!) :p

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following breakfast, I noticed the daily schedule said there would be a kitchen tour, meeting in the dining room at 10:30am. A few years ago I paid $79 to do a "Behind the Fun" tour on a Carnival ship, and I absolutely loved it! I was fascinated walking through the galley, seeing how the laundry was done, where the staff ate, etc etc. Now this tour was far less comprehensive, but no complaints as it was free!

 

 

 

It was a little unorganized. Basically, everyone was jammed into the entrance of the dining room, filling out a health questionnaire. Once that was complete, they took probably 10 - 15 people back at a time. It was a very quick, unguided tour. Basically, just walking through the kitchen. I really enjoyed it! It seemed very efficiently run, and very clean!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following the galley tour, I ended up spending about 30 minutes in the casino. Spoiler alert, I didn't win. In fact, I lost $130 over the course of the cruise! But, I enjoyed myself while losing it, so...

 

 

 

By this point we were ready to head outside and eat! We thought we'd try to Dive-In burgers up on deck 8! Now, the process to order and receive the food was quite lengthy. I'm not a huge greasy burger fan anyway, but I thought these were just "ok". In fact, I'd say this might be one area where Carnival has HAL beat with their "Guy's Burgers". Now those are very delicious, and the ordering process is streamlined and much quicker.

 

 

 

The ship was moving quite a bit during this time, and my 8 year old (who doesn't get motion sickness) was feeling a bit "off". So rather than insisting on a proper lunch + veggies, I let both kids have ice cream for lunch. Everyone was feeling great after that!

 

 

 

At this point, my family wandered around a bit and I laid out on the deck for about an hour, reading, before heading to the cabin to get ready for the day.

 

 

 

All that reading and relaxing made us hungry again, so off we went to Afternoon Tea!

 

 

 

I loved how Holland America served the tea on proper tiered tea stands! Everything was delicious, and I appreciate that an attempt wasn't made to "upsell" me on a brand name tea. That is something Carnival has been doing lately...if you don't want to drink Lipton (which I don't, but I will because it's free).

 

 

 

 

 

 

After tea time, we wandered around the ship a bit. There was usually piano music in the Ocean Bar during this time, although I felt a little bad for the pianist since the place was often empty.

 

 

 

More to come...

 

 

 

I almost can’t stand how cute your daughter is. I love having tea ☕️

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Krazy Kruizers]

Got caught up with your wonderful reports and pictures.

[St Pete Cruiser]

Thanks for posting your review with beautiful pictures. I love the Rotterdam and am so pleased to see a younger couple with two adorable children enjoying her, too.

[sailawaybellaluna]

Last year on Rotterdam DW was really annoying me about how wonderful these facilities were. She took ages! Always blamed the wonderful view. On a sea day she 'smuggled' me in to have a look. They are stunning. I could stand there pppping all day!

 

PS loving your review.

 

 

Haha! That's funny.

 

Thanks for reading along...

[sailawaybellaluna]

I almost can’t stand how cute your daughter is. I love having tea ☕️

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thank you! Me too!

 

Got caught up with your wonderful reports and pictures.

 

 

Thanks for reading along!