Short Review of Rotterdam Southern Caribbean - March 20-27, 2022 - Disappointed

[Roz]

This was my first time on a new ship and I had high expectations.  You would think HAL would want to put their best foot forward.

 

The ship is beautiful, but the service, other than the cabin stewards, was subpar.  The dining room was ridiculous.  Order toast and you may or may not get it.  If you do get your toast, don't expect butter or jelly.  No salt and pepper, and if there are grinders on the table, they may or may not have anything in them.  Forget getting a 2nd cup of coffee or another glass of wine. You have to ask for milk and sugar for your coffee and tea.  It took forever to get a drink at any of the bars.  Bread served at dinner, but again, no butter. 

 

The Dive In was a disaster.  Waits of up to an hour.  I had one hot dog the entire cruise.  I think being able to order on the app was throwing them off.  It was constantly busy and the small kitchen couldn't keep up. 

 

As far as food, there were hits and misses.  The Lido didn't seem as crowded on this ship (we were at 92% capacity) so I never had trouble finding a seat.  If you like pea soup, definitely order some at the Dutch Cafe.  It was delicious.  I tried the toasted ham & cheese and they gave me two (?).  It was rather blah and need to be toasted more to heat the sandwich clear through.  I enjoyed the eggs benedict, short rib stroganoff, malfadini (pasta), and short ribs with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  We both ate more beef than we do at home.  I was disappointed that the Southwest omelet is no longer on the breakfast menu.  The apple and bacon pancake at lunch had undercooked bacon in it.  

 

We were in VE7183 and it was crowded.  It would have been tight if I was in there by myself let alone with someone else.  There was 2 ft. between the end of the beds and the wall.  The beds are smaller than a regular twin bed.  The cabin door, bathroom door, and closet doors all converge, so we had to be careful coming back to the cabin that we didn't slam into the other person coming out of the bathroom or getting something out of the closet.  There's a semi-sofa in an awkward position next to the sliding glass door, and a tiny coffee table.  Both useless.  We hardly ever used the balcony, and I would never book a balcony cabin again unless it was part of a suite.  Very small bathroom and a person of size would have difficulty using it.

 

There was a lot more in the way of activities and entertainment options than on my last couple of HAL cruises.  We had the problem of having too many things we wanted to do and had to pick and choose.  This was the first ship I was on that had the Rolling Stone Rock Room.  The performers in BB King's and the Rock Room were OK, the piano duo weren't good at all.  The female singer (who had a flat voice) drowned out the male singer.  The dance troupe in the show lounge was excellent.  I got to see 3 of their shows.  The 2nd night there was a male vocalist who accompanied some the dance numbers and he was excellent.  I would liked to have heard more from him.

 

We had temps in the 80s the whole way, no humidity, no rain, but lots of wind.  Made it to HMC.  The bbq was meh.  I think Carnival's HUB app is easier to use and has more functionality than HAL's Navigator app.  This was the 1st time we had a drink pkg. and we both agree we wouldn't purchase it.  We would be better off paying for drinks as we go.

 

I was good to get away and be back at sea again, but it was definitely not one of my standout cruises.   I'm now a 4-star Mariner.  The free laundry will come in handy on my 31-day SA cruise next March.  I hope HAL is able to get its act together by then. 

 

 

 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

I wonder if hal has forgotten how to deal with a full ship.  I’ve taken 2 cruises on the koningsdam since November and although I had plenty of problems on my last cruise none of it was related to the food side.  The food was very good and my cabin steward couldn’t have been better.  They seem to struggle with the concept of wanting to put butter on anything.  I totally agree.  My cruises were at about 63 percent and 40 so totally different.  Thanks for the review and congratulations on becoming a 4 star.

[OlsSalt]

HAL's prior strength was the intimacy of its smaller size ships.

 

There is a tipping point in the overall HAL experience and I worry HAL has passed it with these larger, more anonymous ships. But I also recognize there is an economic tipping point as well that may have been no longer sustainable just having the smaller ships.

 

No larger than Vista for me for the longer cruises, unless it is a throw away shorter cruise - then I would try the others.  Thanks for the report and the attention to the important details that make a lot of sense to any long time HAL cruiser. 

[Florida_gal_50]

17 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

HAL's prior strength was the intimacy of its smaller size ships.

 

There is a tipping point in the overall HAL experience and I worry HAL has passed it with these larger, more anonymous ships. But I also recognize there is an economic tipping point as well that may have been no longer sustainable just having the smaller ships.

 

No larger than Vista for me for the longer cruises, unless it is a throw away shorter cruise - then I would try the others.  Thanks for the report and the attention to the important details that make a lot of sense to any long time HAL cruiser. 

I don’t understand your first sentence at all.  What does that mean exactly? These small ships are not economical for hal no matter how people pine for those days.  Though Roz didn’t have a good experience most of the information I read here is normally positive for the larger ships. Usually the negativity comes from people that have never set foot on these ships yet they “know” they don’t like them.

[Cruise Suzy]

@Roz Sorry you did not have a good experience on the Rotterdam.  We sailed the same itinerary on her February 20-27 in a Deck 7 Verandah. Capacity was lower than your 92%. We never had more than a 15-20 minute wait at Dive-In, Grand Dutch Cafe or New York Pizza & Deli. Reasonable for made-to-order items. Never more than 1 person ahead of me at bars but we went before 11:45 or after 1:30. Condiments and breakfast beverage refills were plentiful and provided quickly when we asked if they were missing. Wine and soft drinks were delivered from bars within 10 minutes when ordered in MDR, specialty restaurants and Lido. Never had a problem with under/over cooked food. There were a few items not prepared to my liking, but food techniques are often subjective.

 

We had been in verandahs on Koningsdam and Nieuw Amsterdam previously, so were familiar with the somewhat cramped layout. We happen to like where the loveseat is - across from the desk where we can see the TV without any problem. We made extensive use of balcony every day.  Both DH and I are "plus -sized" but never had a problem with the bathroom size. Are the room and bath smaller than hotel rooms? Yes. But most of our time was spent on the balcony.

 

We don't have smartphones, so have no experience with the Navigator app. We did make use of the interactive TV - no problems at all with our account. We did the math and had the "old" Have It All promo of gratuities, beverages and 2 specialty restaurants. Made sense for us even if we didn't include the cost of specialty restaurants. Not 4-star but we use our stockholders' OBC for that.

 

Each of us has different expectations and experiences. I hope your next cruise doesn't have as many disappointments.

[SUESEABE]

@Roz Did you try any of the specialty restaurants and if so what was your impression? Sorry to hear that you had a disappointing experience on the Rotterdam VII.  I do hope that improvements are to come as we board her in October.

[Laminator]

7 hours ago, Roz said:

This was my first time on a new ship and I had high expectations.  You would think HAL would want to put their best foot forward.

 

The ship is beautiful, but the service, other than the cabin stewards, was subpar.  The dining room was ridiculous.  Order toast and you may or may not get it.  If you do get your toast, don't expect butter or jelly.  No salt and pepper, and if there are grinders on the table, they may or may not have anything in them.  Forget getting a 2nd cup of coffee or another glass of wine. You have to ask for milk and sugar for your coffee and tea.  It took forever to get a drink at any of the bars.  Bread served at dinner, but again, no butter. 

 

The Dive In was a disaster.  Waits of up to an hour.  I had one hot dog the entire cruise.  I think being able to order on the app was throwing them off.  It was constantly busy and the small kitchen couldn't keep up. 

 

As far as food, there were hits and misses.  The Lido didn't seem as crowded on this ship (we were at 92% capacity) so I never had trouble finding a seat.  If you like pea soup, definitely order some at the Dutch Cafe.  It was delicious.  I tried the toasted ham & cheese and they gave me two (?).  It was rather blah and need to be toasted more to heat the sandwich clear through.  I enjoyed the eggs benedict, short rib stroganoff, malfadini (pasta), and short ribs with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  We both ate more beef than we do at home.  I was disappointed that the Southwest omelet is no longer on the breakfast menu.  The apple and bacon pancake at lunch had undercooked bacon in it.  

 

We were in VE7183 and it was crowded.  It would have been tight if I was in there by myself let alone with someone else.  There was 2 ft. between the end of the beds and the wall.  The beds are smaller than a regular twin bed.  The cabin door, bathroom door, and closet doors all converge, so we had to be careful coming back to the cabin that we didn't slam into the other person coming out of the bathroom or getting something out of the closet.  There's a semi-sofa in an awkward position next to the sliding glass door, and a tiny coffee table.  Both useless.  We hardly ever used the balcony, and I would never book a balcony cabin again unless it was part of a suite.  Very small bathroom and a person of size would have difficulty using it.

 

There was a lot more in the way of activities and entertainment options than on my last couple of HAL cruises.  We had the problem of having too many things we wanted to do and had to pick and choose.  This was the first ship I was on that had the Rolling Stone Rock Room.  The performers in BB King's and the Rock Room were OK, the piano duo weren't good at all.  The female singer (who had a flat voice) drowned out the male singer.  The dance troupe in the show lounge was excellent.  I got to see 3 of their shows.  The 2nd night there was a male vocalist who accompanied some the dance numbers and he was excellent.  I would liked to have heard more from him.

 

We had temps in the 80s the whole way, no humidity, no rain, but lots of wind.  Made it to HMC.  The bbq was meh.  I think Carnival's HUB app is easier to use and has more functionality than HAL's Navigator app.  This was the 1st time we had a drink pkg. and we both agree we wouldn't purchase it.  We would be better off paying for drinks as we go.

 

I was good to get away and be back at sea again, but it was definitely not one of my standout cruises.   I'm now a 4-star Mariner.  The free laundry will come in handy on my 31-day SA cruise next March.  I hope HAL is able to get its act together by then. 

 

 

 

 

Not making any excuses but I read on a previous thread that the Nieuw Statendam was actually sending staff over to the Rotterdam on the day you disembarked. Obviously more staff was needed. 

[Mary229]

Hi Roz, was this your first Pinnacle class ship experience?   We sailed the Koningsdam in the Caribbean pre-pandemic, spring break and had similar food experiences in the MDR and at the cay.  We were on the 12 day and had to adapt to the dining congestion.  I hope that level of service that we both experienced is due to the locale and timing not a permanent staffing shortage. I continue to think that the multiple dining experiences are spreading the restaurant crew too thin, same number of crew spread among a plethora of restaurants.
 

yes, I agree the rooms on the Pinnacle class ships are not as large as other HAL ships.  
 

Looking forward to seeing you next winter. 
 

 

[albingirl]

We were supposed to be on the Rotterdam these past two weeks except for my husband's illness.  Nonetheless, we were on the NS prior and loved her, although there was a staffing shortage because it was a casino cruise.  There is a big change when capacity is nearly reached, and it seems the Rotterdam was almost there.  There will be some adjustments made as these ships get closer to capacity and there are some among us who enjoyed sailing when there were fewer passengers. When we sailed in December, it was like having the ship to yourselves.  Things have changed now. Thanks for your review.

[Roz]

@SUESEABE, thank for the reminder about specialty dining.  Yes, we ate in Tamarind the first night.  Not crowded and excellent food and service.  My sister had never eaten in a specialty restaurant and really enjoyed it.  BTW, I'm a Burgh ex-pat living in Nashville.

 

@Laminator, the Eurodam was in Ft. Lauderdale with us and we heard staff from that ship was brought onboard.  We also heard Eurodam was being used as a quarantine ship.  Do you know if there's any truth to that rumor?

 

@Mary229, yes, first time on a Pinnacle class ship.  Thanks for confirming that the cabins are, in fact, smaller than the other ships.  

 

@albingirl, sorry you missed your cruise and hope your husband is feeling better.

[Roz]

We knew there were a lot of new dining staff onboard by the fact that the waiters didn't know the table numbering system.  We had open seating, and several times wandered thru the DR following a wait staff member who seemed to be meandering. 🙄

[GlennG]

Thank you, Roz, for your comments and review of your recent cruise aboard the new Rotterdam.  While it's disappointing to learn of unsatisfactory experiences while cruising, I'm not surprised that HAL, apparently, is having difficulty shifting gears to accommodate more cruise passengers who are now travelling on its ships.  It would appear that more travelers are becoming more confident in resuming their participation in cruise vacations.

 

Like you and others, I'm hopeful that HAL can correct the problems that you have described.  As an aside, I'm always concerned when I discover undercooked meat, particularly pork and chicken, while cruising or at any restaurant.

 

 

[grest]

We were on the same cruise, and found the service to be very good, with the exception of the Dive In, which was exactly as the poster suggested.    Otherwise, the service we experienced with MDR,  Pnnacle Grill, Canaletto, Tamarind, room service was wonderful.   Lido was ok, not great.   We were in an aft facing veranda on Mozart deck, and our cabin staff was excellent.    

[0106]

1 hour ago, grest said:

We were in an aft facing veranda on Mozart deck,

@grest How much sun did you get on your verandah?  We have booked an aft cabin on deck 8. Thank you.

[LadyBerard]

My husband and I were on this sailing too.  The last time we cruised on Holland was in 2008 on the Noordam.  We thought food was FABULOUS.  We ate dinner in the main dining room, Pinnacle, and many nights in the buffet, as we were just enjoying the aft pool and many new friends we had made and did not want to leave.

 

We spent time in BB Kings, and the rock and roll room.  Thought the bands were terrific and LOVED the music that they were playing.  OUR kind of dance music!

 

Thoroughly enjoyed the music trivia by the aft pool during the afternoons.  The service we received from everyone was above and beyond.

 

We were in a Cat V room on deck near mid ship elevators, and I agree that there is not much room between the bed and wall, that's the case with most cruiselines in a regular balcony room.  There was plenty of storage spaces, and our balcony was huge!

 

We ordered room service late at night, and ordered room service for dinner in our cabin one evening.  Always arrived within 1/2 hour, and was always delicious.

 

I'm sorry you were disappointed in your cruise, but we've been raving about how wonderful this cruise was for us, and we are looking into booking another HAL cruise for next Jan. 

[jeh10641]

ROZ,

Sorry your trip was niot up to your expectations. We were on Rotterdam in December for 11 nights and had a great time. See my review in my signature below.

 

Jim

[Mary229]

43 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

ROZ,

Sorry your trip was niot up to your expectations. We were on Rotterdam in December for 11 nights and had a great time. See my review in my signature below.

 

Jim

Hi Jim, 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed your review and am glad to hear you had a wonderful time and the wife’s birthday was wonderful.  

[Roz]

@grest, since you mentioned being on the Mozart deck, did you notice how the automated elevator voice pronounced Mozart?  It was something close to mozzarella.  🤣  We laughed every time we heard it.

 

@LadyBerard, yes, the bands played "our" music, but I didn't think they were as good as the bands on previous cruises.  Then of course I live in Nashville and can go out to hear great bands any night of the week.  Maybe I need to lower my standards. 😎

[LadyBerard]

2 hours ago, Roz said:

@grest, since you mentioned being on the Mozart deck, did you notice how the automated elevator voice pronounced Mozart?  It was something close to mozzarella.  🤣  We laughed every time we heard it.

 

@LadyBerard, yes, the bands played "our" music, but I didn't think they were as good as the bands on previous cruises.  Then of course I live in Nashville and can go out to hear great bands any night of the week.  Maybe I need to lower my standards. 😎

I did not notice how the automated elevator voice pronounced Mozart.  I guess I wasn't paying attention to that but was probably busy chatting.  I can't compare how the bands compared to your other HAL sailings, and as I stated, the last time we cruised on HAL was in 2008.  I was just comparing this sailing to the 40+ other cruises which we have been on, most recently Celebrity Constellation this past Nov.  And before that, we've cruised on Premier in the late 1990s (our very first cruise), then dozens of other cruises over the past 22 years, which include NCL, RCL, Princess, Celebrity, Carnival, Disney, and even Regent once.  I honestly thought the food, service, and live music was just absolutely wonderful on this cruise.  

[oaktreerb]

@Roz  We just got off the Koningsdam and I am with you on the butter….and we ate in Club Orange.  It became something of a joke whether we would have butter on our table or I would have to ask!  The toast was always cold and I do wish that someone could have put some butter on the toast as soon as it came out of the toaster!  In the Lido we enjoy the salad bar and they had some rolls at that station but I had to go to the next station for the butter.  The server would reach underneath the counter for the little butter cubes in a small square server.   Fortunately the ship was not crowded so I didn’t have to stand ln line for butter!

 

In the “meet the crew” session with the “Head Chef” someone said she preferred salted butter to the unsalted being offered onboard.  The chef told her he could add salt to the butter and mix it up for her if she preferred.  His form of dry humor didn’t get much of a laugh.

[Florida_gal_50]

30 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

@Roz  We just got off the Koningsdam and I am with you on the butter….and we ate in Club Orange.  It became something of a joke whether we would have butter on our table or I would have to ask!  The toast was always cold and I do wish that someone could have put some butter on the toast as soon as it came out of the toaster!  In the Lido we enjoy the salad bar and they had some rolls at that station but I had to go to the next station for the butter.  The server would reach underneath the counter for the little butter cubes in a small square server.   Fortunately the ship was not crowded so I didn’t have to stand ln line for butter!

 

In the “meet the crew” session with the “Head Chef” someone said she preferred salted butter to the unsalted being offered onboard.  The chef told her he could add salt to the butter and mix it up for her if she preferred.  His form of dry humor didn’t get much of a laugh.

Oh those tiny squares of butter 😔.  I can imagine that club orange has taken a step down since I was on two weeks ago.  It’s really hit and miss in there. One day great, the next day they chase their tails.  There was a lovely hostess but she has since gone home.  A lot of the same people were on the ship from November so it was great for me.  That said pretty much every person I talked to was going home just after me.  I can’t imagine that would help with service.  I don’t begrudge anyone going home.  It’s just an observation. 

[rkacruiser]

The reduction in size of the standard veranda stateroom did not begin with the Pinnacle Class ships.  My traveling companion and I had such a stateroom on the Eurodam.  Just adequate for two adults and nothing more as to size.  

 

Very disappointing to learn of Roz's MDR experience.  If, in fact, crew were transferred from another HAL ship of a similar Class, those Stewards are not "newbies" unless the MDR management of the two vessels are so totally different.  Which is a possibility.  Maybe another example of the inconsistently of cruise experience that we HAL cruisers have been encountering for now how many years?  
 

[Roz]

@rkacruiser, that's a good way to express it, inconsistent.

 

BTW, the 2nd night my sister and I had dinner with a former mayor of Centerville, Mr. Vic Green.  He now lives in Knoxville.

[rkacruiser]

9 minutes ago, Roz said:

BTW, the 2nd night my sister and I had dinner with a former mayor of Centerville, Mr. Vic Green.  He now lives in Knoxville.

 

I remember the name.  I did not know the gentleman.  

[idiebabe]

We were on Rotterdam on November 10th and had a great Cruise but it had a few hiccups.  The first two nights at Main Seating our Waitstaff were horrible resulting in cold food.  We spoke with Maitre’d and he switched us to a different table and Waitstaff.  From that point on service was excellent and a big improvement with the food.  We did have a fantastic Duo in Billboard and RSRR were very good, too.  We never did see a Comedy Show in BB King because we couldn’t get in.  They showed a Movie in World Stage while Comedian is performing in a SRO BB King.  This seems to be the new “Norm” having them in BB King.   We had 1923 passengers on that Cruise.  
 

We Debarked NS a week ago which was our 2nd NS Cruise since the restart.  Our experience was similar to your Rotterdam experience and so different from our December cruise. On both our NS Sailings we had approximately the same number of Passengers at 1550.   Inconsistent food prep, temps ranging from cold food to hot (if lucky), etc.  The Duo in Billboard was the worst we have ever seen, RSRR just ok, etc.  Our Pinnacle and Sel de Mer dinners the food and service were excellent.  Our Server, Stephen, was actually our Rudi’s Server on Rotterdam.  Tamarind and Canaletto’s  food were not good with cold ribs served and  “Mooing’ Steaks for “Medium” and a Well Done one, gnocchi undercooked, a bowl of beans with no broth or veggies being passed off as Minestrone, Soup, etc.  

 

We use the Nav App for ordering at Dive-in and NY Deli and that was great.  Angela at NY Deli was very consistent making the sandwiches.  
 

Our Room Attendant (yes only one) was very good, our Waitstaff was very good  and we found the Crew and Staff very friendly throughout the Ship.  Except for them we Debarked the Ship feeling as if we were on a different Cruise Line and not on HAL or on the Ship we so enjoyed in December.