12/11/22 Rotterdam 10 day Southern Caribbean Cruise Review

[Happy_Traveler_2008]

• I just finished this cruise on the Rotterdam and had a wonderful time! Check in around 11:20 only took about 30 minutes or so and the cabin was ready for us. Cabin 4025 has the extra balcony space which is lovely!  We ate most dinners at the Lido because of the food variety, especially the Asian dishes.  My husband is lactose intolerant and they offered him a menu for the dining room for him to choose dishes for the next night.  Had lunch at Pinnacle Grill and that was nice.  Ate 2 dinners at Tamarind and loved the food there!  Apple and bacon pancakes and the spicy spring rolls at Grand Dutch Cafe were outstanding!
• We did the Glass Bottom Boat excursion at Bonaire and saw plenty of corals and many fish, including a sting ray, turtle and scorpion fish so it was highly enjoyable! We also did the Hato Cave and Beach excursion at Curaçao and loved that well since the guide was informative, caves were interesting and the one hour beach stay was very relaxing. Had plenty of time afterwards to explore the town on our own.  Took the taxi to Eagle Beach in Aruba but the day was too windy to enjoy the water much.  Really enjoyed the beach at Grand Turk but be sure to wear water shoes since both the beach and water are full of small rocks. Rented a clam shell at Half Moon Cay and ate delicious lobster and seafood chowder at Lobster Shack. Guava flavored short ribs at the regular buffet are good as well!
• We were well taken care of by all the staff onboard who are very hardworking.  We had an 11 am flight and left the cabin at 7:40 with our luggage and arrived at the airport by 8:20.
•  I thoroughly enjoyed my first HAL cruise and even though the entertainment options are more limited (Step One Dancers were terrific though) than other cruise lines, I appreciate the HAL experience and would like to cruise with HAL again. There’s makeup mirror in the cabin along with a big umbrella and robes. On the final day, there’s luggage scale on each floor for guests to use.

[canadarocks]

Thanks for the review. Glad it was such a good cruise for you!

[quilty964]

Thanks for sharing!