Just Returned from 11-day Rotterdam Cruise - Wow!

[Djptcp]

DH and I just returned yesterday from an 11-day Rotterdam cruise and had a fabulous time. The ship is gorgeoous, the food was excellent, and the crew was over the top friendly and helpful. We had a Vista Suite mid-ship and it was very comfortable. Only complaint was the bathroom was unexpectantly tiny. We only ate in the main dining room once for dinner and twice for breakfast. Ate at the Cannelleto twice and the Tamarind once - both were excellent. Loved the NY Pizza and Deli for lunches, and DH ate once at Dive-in and wasn't impressed. I had room service about 50% of the time for hot breakfasts and enjoyed them. The rest of the time we ate in the Lido Buffet and everything was delicious. Such a wide selection of foods and the staff served everythig, no self serv.

 

Masks were required and most everyone complied. There were hand washing stations at each entrance to the Buffet area and disinfectant stations all over the ship.

 

Check-in was easy and fast. The bad thing about returning to Port Everglades yesterday was that the ship docked at a different terminal and our car was quite a distance away. They had shuttle buses to take us to the mid-port garage - so a bit of a disappointment but we managed ok.

 

Most islands required Holland or government sponsored excursions and on others, you couldn't go beyond the port area. This was our 58th cruise so not a hardship for us as we had been to all the islands before and done excursions. We did the train trip around St. Kitts and it was fun.

 

I was part of the $50,000 Slot Tournament cruise but did'n't make it past the first round. The casino was tiny (knew that from being on the Koningsdam) and slammed most of the time. I did return home with money as I had some great bonus rounds on the slots.

 

We'll be back on the Rotterdam in Feb. and April and already received an invitation to the next $50,000 Slot Tournament cruise in Nov. Can't wait to be back on board the Rotterdam!

[Homala]

Thank you for taking the time to share your review. Sounds like a lovely trip. 

[aliaschief]

Thanks for sharing your cruise experience. 

[SueMo]

Can you share which islands you visited required a ship excursion?  

[Djptcp]

SueMo - since we weren't going on any excursions except one, we didn't really keep in mind which ones required Holland or govt. sponsored excursions. I'm sorry I can't answer your question, but maybe someone else on the cruise will respond.

[wdw1972]

I was onboard as well & agree with all the positive comments.  We ate at Sel de Mer (outstanding) & Pinnacle in addition to Tamarind, Canaletto & 2 nights at Nami Sushi.  Everything was so delicious.

 

My only negative was the smoke from the crowded casino stunk up the forward part of deck 2 (even into BB King's) and deck 1.  I've never had it be so bad, and that will be my big complaint on the satisfaction survey.  Why they allow smoking inside a brand new beautiful ship is beyond me.

 

We had a family Retreat cabana (shared by 3 of us) and it was wonderful as usual.

 

The ports that required a ship or govt approved excursion was Dominica & St Kitts.  Initially St Lucia & Barbados were in that group, but upon arrival the authorities lifted that restriction.  In Dominica the only excursions were HAL's - don't believe there was any other option.  We did the Trolley Train tour because it was short & we didn't want to take significant time away from the Retreat, and it was very good - great guide, and just a nice couple of hours seeing a new port.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[wdw1972]

2 hours ago, Djptcp said:

We'll be back on the Rotterdam in Feb. and April and already received an invitation to the next $50,000 Slot Tournament cruise in Nov. Can't wait to be back on board the Rotterdam!

When in November and which ship(s)?  I've got Eurodam booked for 11/30/22 and I'm hoping that's not a slot tournament cruise.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Bostonjetset]

Thanks for sharing your review!! We board her in three weeks and also have a Vista Suite. How did you like that category of suite?  It’s our first time in a mini suite (or suite of any size really) and I’ve heard mixed reviews. 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Bostonjetset

[Sharon in AZ]

Thank you for your comments on the Rotterdam. We board next week for the Holidays and can’t wait. We also are in a Vista and am disappointed to hear about the small bathroom, but I’m sure it’s functional. 
 

I believe San Juan is replacing St Kitts on our itinerary. It isn’t official yet but the Navigator app shows the change. 
 

Enjoy your next cruises you have scheduled!

[zelker]

Did HAL test you at any time during the cruise and if so, how often?

 

Did HAL provide face masks and if so, what kind and how many?

 

Thanks.

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, Djptcp said:

next $50,000 Slot Tournament cruise in Nov

Hi,  Could you post the dates of any Slot tournaments that you are aware of?  I would like to add them to the 'Dry Dock, Groups on Board' thread, as I think cruisers would like to know of a group like this being onboard. TIA

[Laminator]

13 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

Hi,  Could you post the dates of any Slot tournaments that you are aware of?  I would like to add them to the 'Dry Dock, Groups on Board' thread, as I think cruisers would like to know of a group like this being onboard. TIA

The 600 pax onboard for this slot tournament was an anomaly. That amount of pax may happen once or twice a year for their tournaments. Club 21 has several events where there may be 50 to 100 pax onboard total for the event. 

[Laminator]

1 hour ago, wdw1972 said:

When in November and which ship(s)?  I've got Eurodam booked for 11/30/22 and I'm hoping that's not a slot tournament cruise.

 

Sue/WDW1972

They won't hold an event of any significance on the Eurodam as there is no smoking in that casino. 

[VMax1700]

8 minutes ago, Laminator said:

The 600 pax onboard for this slot tournament was an anomaly.

That is fine, but I would still like to post the dates of the 'anomalies' for the information of fellow cruisers! 😉

[VacationCharlene]

1 hour ago, wdw1972 said:

My only negative was the smoke from the crowded casino stunk up the forward part of deck 2 (even into BB King's) and deck 1.  I've never had it be so bad, and that will be my big complaint on the satisfaction survey.  Why they allow smoking inside a brand new beautiful ship is beyond me.

That is way crazy and VERY unfortunate.  A Brand new FRESH smelling ship and they allow indoor smoking....BLAH!!!

[Bolt.]

1 hour ago, Sharon in AZ said:

I believe San Juan is replacing St Kitts on our itinerary. It isn’t official yet but the Navigator app shows the change. 

I'm hoping to keep an eye on this information. My Navigator app doesn't show any change from St Kitts on the 29 Dec... which is strange. You'd think it would all change at once! I'll need to do some port research on San Juan if there really is a change.

[mcrcruiser]

2 hours ago, wdw1972 said:

I was onboard as well & agree with all the positive comments.  We ate at Sel de Mer (outstanding) & Pinnacle in addition to Tamarind, Canaletto & 2 nights at Nami Sushi.  Everything was so delicious.

 

My only negative was the smoke from the crowded casino stunk up the forward part of deck 2 (even into BB King's) and deck 1.  I've never had it be so bad, and that will be my big complaint on the satisfaction survey.  Why they allow smoking inside a brand new beautiful ship is beyond me.

 

We had a family Retreat cabana (shared by 3 of us) and it was wonderful as usual.

 

The ports that required a ship or govt approved excursion was Dominica & St Kitts.  Initially St Lucia & Barbados were in that group, but upon arrival the authorities lifted that restriction.  In Dominica the only excursions were HAL's - don't believe there was any other option.  We did the Trolley Train tour because it was short & we didn't want to take significant time away from the Retreat, and it was very good - great guide, and just a nice couple of hours seeing a new port.

 

Sue/WDW1972

Thanks for your review . We agree that smoking in any ships casino stinks up more than just the casino as  the smoke drifts . Why HAL doesn't yet understand that 2nd hand smoke is dangerous  to peoples health

[Laminator]

1 hour ago, VMax1700 said:

That is fine, but I would still like to post the dates of the 'anomalies' for the information of fellow cruisers! 😉

Here is a list of the sailings that have casino offers.

 

HEP2152CO_Sailings_Final.pdf (hollandamerica.com)

 

There could be 10 people or 100 people from Club 21 on these sailings. You really only need to concern yourself with the large events Club 21 holds such as the $50,000 slot tournament, a combined blakjack/slot tournament or a stand alone blackjack tournament.

[iflyrc5]

If you have to wear a mask inside the ship except when eating or drinking how do you smoke with a mask on?😡

[VMax1700]

55 minutes ago, Laminator said:

You really only need to concern yourself with the large events Club 21 holds such as the $50,000 slot tournament, a combined blackjack/slot tournament or a stand alone blackjack tournament.

Can they be identified from the list you posted, or are they a different listing?

[VMax1700]

56 minutes ago, Laminator said:

Here is a list of the sailings that have casino offers.

 

Thanks, appreciate it.  (there is a lot of them)!

[Seasick Sailor]

3 hours ago, Sharon in AZ said:

Thank you for your comments on the Rotterdam. We board next week for the Holidays and can’t wait. We also are in a Vista and am disappointed to hear about the small bathroom, but I’m sure it’s functional. 
 

I believe San Juan is replacing St Kitts on our itinerary. It isn’t official yet but the Navigator app shows the change. 
 

Enjoy your next cruises you have scheduled!

 

Sharon,

We are onboard thru Jan 16th. St.Kitts is not listed as you stated. We are in a vista suite 8090 and love it. I'm glad they changed to a nice huge shower rather than the tub and teeny separate shower.

 

Looking forward to seeing you. 🙂 and fellow Daily-ites.

[Sharon in AZ]

24 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

 

Sharon,

We are onboard thru Jan 16th. St.Kitts is not listed as you stated. We are in a vista suite 8090 and love it. I'm glad they changed to a nice huge shower rather than the tub and teeny separate shower.

 

Looking forward to seeing you. 🙂 and fellow Daily-ites.

 

Thank you Joy!  Can't wait to see you also!

[AV8rix]

30 minutes ago, Seasick Sailor said:

....and fellow Daily-ites.

Wonder how many of us are on the upcoming cruise?  I'm on the Dec 22-Jan 2 B2B with Jan 2-9.  I know that the "Head Daily-ite" @richwmnis on the Dec 22-Jan2.  Do you (or Sharon) know of any others?  Perhaps we ought to have our own Daily-ites M&G?

 

Sorry for hijacking this thread.

[Sharon in AZ]

1 minute ago, AV8rix said:

Wonder how many of us are on the upcoming cruise?  I'm on the Dec 22-Jan 2 B2B with Jan 2-9.  I know that the "Head Daily-ite" @richwmnis on the Dec 22-Jan2.  Do you (or Sharon) know of any others?  Perhaps we ought to have our own Daily-ites M&G?

 

Sorry for hijacking this thread.

Susan----  email me..  My email is in my signature.