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

[rkacruiser]

11 minutes ago, idiebabe said:

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.  

 

This is unacceptable.  What's the cause of this?  Based on my experience with such a cruise, the responsibility falls on the Senior Management of the Ship.  That starts with the Master, proceeds to the Hotel Director, and the fallout continues.  Like you, many of the worker bees (Cabin Stewards, Stewards) did their jobs that met my expectations.  Interesting to me, I thought, the staff that did their jobs well were the ones who had HAL experience.  However, too many did not.  

[grest]

23 hours ago, 0106 said:

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

We got quite a bit of sun...enough to catch the rays if that's what we wanted, or to read with some shade from the overhang much of the time.   Note that the aft cabin and verandah are both smaller than on the other class ships.

 

[grest]

21 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. 😎

We did too, Roz!   Too funny.

[grest]

15 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

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?  
 

Interesting....we were in an aft facing balcony on the Eurodam in December, and both the cabin and balcony were larger than the same type cabin on the Rotterdam.

[RuthC]

58 minutes ago, grest said:

Interesting....we were in an aft facing balcony on the Eurodam in December, and both the cabin and balcony were larger than the same type cabin on the Rotterdam.

It appears that every other new class of ships has smaller cabins in the same categories, overall. 

The remaining R-class ships have the largest cabins in their respective categories generally; they are the same size as the former S-class cabins were. 
When the Vista ships were introduced, the same category cabins were smaller, again in general. There are a few exceptions to that rule. Signature class has the same size cabins as Vista class. 
When Pinnacle class was introduced, again, cabins in the same category were downsized. 

[rkacruiser]

8 hours ago, grest said:

Interesting....we were in an aft facing balcony on the Eurodam in December, and both the cabin and balcony were larger than the same type cabin on the Rotterdam.

 

The cabin that I referenced was not an aft balcony cabin.  Not surprising to me that those on the aft part of the vessel are different than those that are located along the Starboard or Port sides of the same category.  My aft Neptune suite on Westerdam was rather different in size/arrangement than others in the same category.  

[Linguist208]

On 4/5/2022 at 9:28 AM, grest said:

We did too, Roz!   Too funny.

We did as well, and also at the "bee-thuvvin" (Beethoven)

[Linguist208]

We were on the same sailing, in a Vista (5141 - "Gershwin deck"). A perfect location, midships both fore/aft and top/bottom. This was our first ever cruise.

 

We only tried the Dive-in once, because the first time we tried we were in line for 15 minutes before the line moved ahead by 2 people. So we ordered on the app the next day... and when I went to pick up my order, they had gotten it wrong (a completely incorrect item which I pointed out and they corrected, but it did take another nearly 10 minutes for them to make). The pizza place had a similar vibe (lines 15-20 people deep all the time).

 

We had Club Orange as well, and we loved it. The wait staff and hostess were wonderful, and remembered us and our preferences on our second visit! (And the "drink runner," Lee, was a hoot!)

 

We agree that the piano duet were, regrettably, the low point of the music experience. We didn't see the dance troupe, but we did see nearly every performance the Lincoln Center Stage quartet gave, and they were amazing!

 

We only dined in the MDR on the first gala night, and it did seem that the staff was... distracted. Oh, we did have Tea there twice, as well, and that was perfectly fine.

 

We only had a few encounters with our room steward, but there was absolutely nothing to find fault with there.

 

We're already trying to decide when/where our next cruise will be!

[Roz]

@Linguist208, thank you for posting your impressions of the cruise.

[Wakepatrol]

I think some people must think they’re walking into a three bedroom house when they open their cabin door 

[michmike2]

Roz - 20 yr HAL cruisers here.  We were on Rotterdam 3/13 - 3/20.  Not impressed either. Took a reasonably priced offer to try a Vista Suite.  Underwhelmed.  Other than double days in our quest for 4 star, no great difference from a VD -VA balcony.  Cabin steward informed us he was only allowed to service the room once a day.  
Spring break time so half the pax were under 50 and many brought kids.  We have always enjoyed the Halcats in the Ocean Bar at nite.  Gone.  A piano player for 2 45 min sets and he played obscure music rather than stds and was far too loud.  Hot hor doevres - Gone.  Mixed nuts - Gone.  Replaced w/ tasteless unsalted peanuts.

Dining room service pace was glacial.  Had to ask for water or tea refills.  No more cold fruit soups.  Shrimp cocktail one night.  Other than that, an $8.50 upcharge. No choc tulip dessert.  No lobster other than w/ surcharge.  Lasagna on menu 3 nites.  Finally tried it and I’d prefer Stouffers frozen.  Back to the smaller ships for us.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

13 minutes ago, michmike2 said:

Roz - 20 yr HAL cruisers here.  We were on Rotterdam 3/13 - 3/20.  Not impressed either. Took a reasonably priced offer to try a Vista Suite.  Underwhelmed.  Other than double days in our quest for 4 star, no great difference from a VD -VA balcony.  Cabin steward informed us he was only allowed to service the room once a day.  
Spring break time so half the pax were under 50 and many brought kids.  We have always enjoyed the Halcats in the Ocean Bar at nite.  Gone.  A piano player for 2 45 min sets and he played obscure music rather than stds and was far too loud.  Hot hor doevres - Gone.  Mixed nuts - Gone.  Replaced w/ tasteless unsalted peanuts.

Dining room service pace was glacial.  Had to ask for water or tea refills.  No more cold fruit soups.  Shrimp cocktail one night.  Other than that, an $8.50 upcharge. No choc tulip dessert.  No lobster other than w/ surcharge.  Lasagna on menu 3 nites.  Finally tried it and I’d prefer Stouffers frozen.  Back to the smaller ships for us.

 

Yeah the vista suites for sure are underwhelming.  I took a reasonable upsell for one in November.  I took a pass on one in March.  There is very little difference in the balcony and vistas.

[Djptcp]

Sorry the OP didn't enjoy the Rotterdam cruise. DH and I sailed on the Rotterdam twice in March and disagree with most of the OP's negatives. We found the service to be stellar, including wait staff, room stewards, Lido-Tamarind-Cannelleto staff, Sea View Bar staff, Neptne Lounge concierges, etc. The food was exceptional in all venues (we did not eat in the Main Dining Room). This was our third Rotterdam cruise since Dec. and we are also 4*.

[Wakepatrol]

On 4/3/2022 at 6:07 PM, 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. 

 

 Why take the chance?

You won’t be pleased😂

 

 

 

[Roz]

@Wakepatrol, the 31-day SA itinerary is unique so it's not a cruise I can easily do with another cruise line.  This was the first time I've had major service issues on HAL, so I'm hoping they'll be ironed out by next March.  

[Roz]

3 hours ago, Djptcp said:

Sorry the OP didn't enjoy the Rotterdam cruise. DH and I sailed on the Rotterdam twice in March and disagree with most of the OP's negatives. We found the service to be stellar, including wait staff, room stewards, Lido-Tamarind-Cannelleto staff, Sea View Bar staff, Neptne Lounge concierges, etc. The food was exceptional in all venues (we did not eat in the Main Dining Room). This was our third Rotterdam cruise since Dec. and we are also 4*.

 My sister and I wished we knew how to get stellar service on the Rotterdam.  It just wasn't there.

[Florida_gal_50]

15 minutes ago, Roz said:

 My sister and I wished we knew how to get stellar service on the Rotterdam.  It just wasn't there.

I’ve heard of no cruises that were as “occupied” as yours was.  Maybe there was and I haven’t heard of it.   If a person is on a cruise with 95 percent capacity and one with 40 there is going to be a difference.  Surely hal knew more than a day before that your ship was going to be packed.  They could have temporarily at least sent crew from another ship in Fort Lauderdale. 

Edited April 9, 2022 by Florida_gal_50

[MISTER 67]

We sailed on the Rotterdam on March 20-27. Mixed reviews, ship was sold out except for the deck set aside for those infected with Covid, I believe there were 2,300 on board. We had some crowded conditions at times like waiting to get a table for dinner the first 2 nights, we lucked out and were able to get fixed seating on day 3 to the end of the cruise. Elevators were packed at times.

Smallest cabin we ever had on an HAL ship, hardly any room on the left side between the bed and the wall. Bathroom was a joke except for the shower. When you sat on the toilet seat your knees were almost touching the door.

No trash can in the room, only in the bathroom. Short on closet space and our cabins stewards were not up to usual HAL standards, though they serviced the room twice a day, they always forgot something, we didn't receive the daily program 2 times and had to ask for the HAL bags, gave us 1 and it looked like it was it was shipped over from Ukraine. We did receive our tiles and also our 4 Star Mariner pins on the last Gala night.

We had very good service in the MDR except there was a butter problem also, one pat each but a basket filled with 8-10 rolls. Service in the Lido was excellent. A few times in the Ocean bar it was hard to get a drink. 

The Rotterdam was beautiful in spots but other places sort of ugly like the Main Showroom. The Dutch Cafe looked out of place although everything served there was excellent.

We booked the Nieuw Amsterdam for December and will be happy to be back on a Signature Class ship with a traditional promenade deck and steamer chairs.

Edited April 9, 2022 by MISTER 67

[Roz]

@MISTER 67, thank you for your review.  I agree the cabins are a disappointment on this ship.  The first night we were told it would be a 13-14 min. wait and turned out to be an hour.  Got better after that.  The main showroom was not what I was expecting. 

[LarsenPNP]

I've been following this thread with interest.  I think this is a true representation of "your mileage may vary". LOL.

We were on the same cruise.  It was our first cruise, so I can't comment on how things were done on this cruise vs how they were done in the past. However, for the most part, we would give this a 8 or 9/10 rating.

We were on deck 7 in an aft-view suite, 7192. I think we were very lucky (according to the sq ft someone posted in a previous thread, the balcony was one of the larger verandas). We had read how you should bring magnets to use as hooks for extra storage, but we did not, due to concern about luggage weight. It turned out that we didn't use all the nooks and crannies we had for storage. Our cabin steward was great. He serviced the room twice daily, and left towel animals on multiple days. I have no complaints about the cabin, balcony or staff.

We enjoyed the entertainment on Music walk - sad that Lincoln Center Stage musicians were sick at the start of the cruise.  We didn't care for the Billboard on board performers, but this is not our choice of music. Rolling Stone Rock Room performers were good, but loud. We sat farther away to enjoy the set.  The BB Kings was what we were most looking forward to hearing. It ws good, but it was more Motown than true blues.  Our tastes are more in line with Buddy Guy, Shamekia Copeland, Ronnie Earl, Vanessa Collier (as a new artist), Taj Mahal, so we hope that HAL will continue to expand the blues offering.

We ate many times in the MDR, both breakfast and dinner. Overall it was good. Enjoyed meeting people with open seating.  Except for the one evening when the fellow passenger to my right insisted on telling sex or disparaging jokes throughout dinner.  NO kidding!!!  I was ready to skip any dessert just to escape, and then my husband goes and orders coffee and dessert! Boy, the daggers he was shot across the table!

Ah well, in all our travels there is always something...

Cruising again on HAL to Alaska in June. Hoping for a great trip. Although I'm a healthcare provider and the fact that I won't be at work (its been a tough 2+ years), any time away is good!

Roz, I hope your next cruise is better and meets your expectations.

Edited April 10, 2022 by LarsenPNP
typo

[jeh10641]

23 hours ago, Roz said:

 My sister and I wished we knew how to get stellar service on the Rotterdam.  It just wasn't there.

See my Rotterdam review in my signature below. We had a great trip (except for testing and Navigator app).

 

Jim

[jeh10641]

21 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

We sailed on the Rotterdam on March 20-27. Mixed reviews, ship was sold out except for the deck set aside for those infected with Covid, I believe there were 2,300 on board. We had some crowded conditions at times like waiting to get a table for dinner the first 2 nights, we lucked out and were able to get fixed seating on day 3 to the end of the cruise. Elevators were packed at times.

Smallest cabin we ever had on an HAL ship, hardly any room on the left side between the bed and the wall. Bathroom was a joke except for the shower. When you sat on the toilet seat your knees were almost touching the door.

No trash can in the room, only in the bathroom. Short on closet space and our cabins stewards were not up to usual HAL standards, though they serviced the room twice a day, they always forgot something, we didn't receive the daily program 2 times and had to ask for the HAL bags, gave us 1 and it looked like it was it was shipped over from Ukraine. We did receive our tiles and also our 4 Star Mariner pins on the last Gala night.

We had very good service in the MDR except there was a butter problem also, one pat each but a basket filled with 8-10 rolls. Service in the Lido was excellent. A few times in the Ocean bar it was hard to get a drink. 

The Rotterdam was beautiful in spots but other places sort of ugly like the Main Showroom. The Dutch Cafe looked out of place although everything served there was excellent.

We booked the Nieuw Amsterdam for December and will be happy to be back on a Signature Class ship with a traditional promenade deck and steamer chairs.

I say again, read my Rotterdam review in my signature below. Our trip was great, especially the service. 60% full.

[MISTER 67]

11 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

I say again, read my Rotterdam review in my signature below. Our trip was great, especially the service. 60% full.

There is a big difference between 60% full like you had and sold out like we had. I don't think HAL was prepared for a sold out ship, we also heard that some of the crew was transferred from the Eurodam.

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess in November and again in December, both times the ship was at 50% capacity and both cruises were great with outstanding service. 

BTW I couldn't open up your review.

Edited April 10, 2022 by MISTER 67

[Roz]

@jeh10641, I can't see anyone's signature.  I'm happy you had a great cruise and service.  My sister and I didn't.  This was my 30th cruise, over half of them on HAL.  Believe me when I say the service was off. 

[jeh10641]

Roz,

I do believe you. I think every cruise is going to be different until sometime next year. I am doing a transatlantic Oct. 2023 on Anthem of the Seas and I expect a very different experience.

 

Jim