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

sailawaybellaluna

By sailawaybellaluna,
in Holland America Line

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sailawaybellaluna Great Review Rare

sailawaybellaluna

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Back on board, and we ended up watching the sailaway from our cabin window since it was gala night and we needed to get ready.

 

We sat with my mom and dad and waited maybe 15 minutes for a table tonight.

 

The food and service were really delicious! I think this is the first time on a ship where the waiter came and cut out our lobster for us from the tail! ;p I did appreciate it because I do not know how to do that gracefully!

 

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After dinner we went and listened to Adagio in the Explorer's Lounge for awhile. They were our favorite entertainment on the entire ship! They are a two-person team, one playing the piano and the other on the violin. They're such talented young women, and our kids LOVED listening to them throughout the cruise! In fact, a couple of times during the week we'd walk through the lounge when they were NOT playing, and our kids would sit and just wait with the expectation that they might show up and play!;)

 

Overall, a great day!

 

Next up - our final full day of the cruise - a sea day!

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Kesstral

Kesstral

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We had never been to Costa Maya before, so this was a new port for us! Including the Rotterdam, there were three ships in port that day, although nothing felt overly crowded!

 

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That is an awesome photo! I've only been on 4 ships and those are 2 of them together!

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sailawaybellaluna Great Review Rare

sailawaybellaluna

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Before I move on to our final day at sea, I wanted to post the When & Where from Costa Maya, in case they prove useful for anyone...

 

Thank you for sticking with me as it's taking a little while for me to get this review finished up! We've jumped back into school/sports and my husband has been traveling for work quite a bit. Leaving me with lots of time to entertain and care for two little ones and not as much time as I'd like for CruiseCritic!;p

 

Here is the When & Where:

 

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sailawaybellaluna Great Review Rare

sailawaybellaluna

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Here we are, at the final day of the cruise - a sea day!

 

We started the morning with room service, although before it was delivered, my son and I ran up to the Lido for some food and coffee. It seems turning the clocks back and forth on so many consecutive nights made it difficult to determine when we'd wake up and what time we should order room service for!

 

The weather couldn't have been more gorgeous on this particular day!

 

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Today we had had the Mariner lunch! A couple of days prior, an invitation was put outside our door inviting us to dine with the captain and other crew. We walked into the dining room and were sat at a beautiful table by the window with six glasses of champagne already poured and waiting at each spot! Luckily for me, two of those spots were taken by my children, so I got a bit extra!

 

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I thought the meal and service was so nice! At each place setting there was also a little gift: a Delft tile coaster with the Rotterdam on the front! I loved this! I've collected a few pieces of Delft pottery from previous trips to Amsterdam, so I was really excited to get these!

 

During the lunch, a farewell was said honoring the captain. He would be disembarking the Rotterdam on the following day and moving on to a new ship...

 

We wandered around a bit after the Mariner lunch and were so lucky to catch Adagio playing in the Explorer's Lounge! I really had no idea my kids would love violin and piano music as much as they did!

 

After about an hour, we decided to head back to the dining room for afternoon tea. I snagged this photo in the entrance, because I really loved the model of the Rotterdam behind the glass case in the front of the dining room!

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After tea we headed up to the Crow's Nest for the first time! What a beautiful lounge with stunning views! I really loved the vibe up there, although it was VERY warm. I'm not sure if it was all the windows or being on the top deck, but I couldn't stay long because it was so hot!

 

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We wandered through the shops a bit and debated what to do with our luggage. I'm just not one to be able to pack the day before my cruise is over. It makes me too depressed. So I usually wake up SUPER early on the final day and pack everything rather quickly. We popped back to our cabin and found some reminders and luggage tags...I was surprised we were given tags saying we didn't need to disembark until 9:30am! What?! I spoke with my cabin steward to see if that were the case and he'd have enough time to clean our cabin. He said yes! No problem! Wow. I feel like we're usually kicked out of cabins by 8am and forced to wait with our luggage in common areas. I was excited that tomorrow wouldn't be like this!

 

So of course after the Mariner Lunch and the tea we did the obvious choice...went to the dining room to eat again! Another suprising/frustrating night...we arrived by like 5:30pm and were told there were no tables for 4 available but that we'd have to wait. Then, the host had a change of heart and seated us at a table for...(wait for it) 8 people! Oh my. I haven't mentioned, but we were also actually traveling with two family friends in addition to my parents, so a table of 8 would have been ideal and it was something I tried to reserve from night one but I was told it wasn't possible.

 

In any case, we stretched out and enjoyed our beautiful table in the aft of the dining room!enhanceenhance

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sailawaybellaluna Great Review Rare

sailawaybellaluna

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The next morning, we were up bright and early, packed, ate some room service and were off the ship by 9am. I couldn't believe how smoothly the disembarking went. No crowds or lines anywhere to get off the ship! I've never experienced this before, It was amazing and so convenient!

 

We were thrilled with our cruise, and the Rotterdam specifically. The staff really went out of their way to create an amazing experience, we enjoyed the size of the ship, the food and the itinerary!

 

I hope this review can be helpful for others planning to do this exact same cruise,

 

Today I just reserved a balcony cabin on the Nieuw Statendam out of Fort Lauderdale for next year's Spring Break! I guess that tells you how much we enjoyed the Holland America experience. The people onboard were really lovely too. I found it to be a very family-friendly atmosphere, even if it lacked some of the bells and whistles of the other cruiselines (rock walls, water slides, etc). Our kids really loved it, even without all of those things.

 

Now...I'm off to research what to expect of the Nieuw Statendam! I understand it's the sister ship of the Koningsdam, so I guess I'll begin reading some reviews on her!

 

Please let me know if I can help to answer any questions about the ports, or the Rotterdam specifically.

 

Thanks for reading along!!!

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

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Thank you for this final chapter. Your daughter's little sailor dress was darling. And nice to be honored at the captain's table for this own farewell.

 

What a perfect final touch - those late evening photos - lights out on a wonderful trip and we are so glad you took us along too. You get the all time photo prize - you actually made the aft Lido deck "bird bath" look glamorous. I hope you can do exactly the same thing on the Nieuw Statendam - It was a beautiful review. You were very generous with your time with us.

 

May you and your family always have fair winds and following sea.

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Sonhelena

Sonhelena

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Thank you for your great review and pictures, I enjoyed it so much. You have a lovely family, your daughters are adorable.

Now all we have to do is wait for our TA crossing next year April from Tampa to Rotterdam on the Rotterdam :D

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sailawaybellaluna Great Review Rare

sailawaybellaluna

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Thank you for this final chapter. Your daughter's little sailor dress was darling. And nice to be honored at the captain's table for this own farewell.

 

What a perfect final touch - those late evening photos - lights out on a wonderful trip and we are so glad you took us along too. You get the all time photo prize - you actually made the aft Lido deck "bird bath" look glamorous. I hope you can do exactly the same thing on the Nieuw Statendam - It was a beautiful review. You were very generous with your time with us.

 

May you and your family always have fair winds and following sea.

 

Thank you for such a kind comment, and for reading along!

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ski ww Holiday Sharing Rare

ski ww

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Loved reading about your cruise & enjoyed the pictures. I think it's great for kids to experience what your's are.What they learn, see & do on a cruise beats learning from a book any day. We've only taken our great grand daughter (8) on one three week cruise last New Year, but hope to do more in the future.

Allan

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sailawaybellaluna Great Review Rare

sailawaybellaluna

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Loved reading about your cruise & enjoyed the pictures. I think it's great for kids to experience what your's are.What they learn, see & do on a cruise beats learning from a book any day. We've only taken our great grand daughter (8) on one three week cruise last New Year, but hope to do more in the future.

Allan

 

Thank you for reading along! I agree, cruising is so wonderful for children (and convenient for families)!

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