HA Rotterdam 7 Day Norse

[SSBrickNJ]

Has anyone cruised on The Rotterdam in the past?

I'm considering a 7 Day Cruise Holland America refers to as the " 7 Day Norse Legends "

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/E3N07A/Y332.html

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The dates we are interested in would be this coming August 12 to August 19 (2023)

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Please share any feedback on the ship or the itinerary.

We 9my wife and I ) are Royal Caribbean cruisers but a very interested in this Holland America cruise.

[SSBrickNJ]

On the itinerary that HA provides, there is more than one instance where next to the Norway ports of call it states: " VISA required for some nationalities "

I'm sure you can tell from my user name that I am an American who resides in New Jersey.

Would my wife and I need to obtain "Visas" for/from Norway?

I've never done that so forgive me if I am clueless about that.

Thanks in advance to anyone will to provide feedback 🙂

Steve

[SSBrickNJ]

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/E3N07A/Y355.html

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This link better reflects the August 2023 dates we are considering.

[SSBrickNJ]

For Ocean View Rooms they seem to only offer me Mid Deck 1

Would we hear the engines loudly or just somewhat and it would be like a sound machine lulling us to sleep?

Pros and cons of a deck 1 stateroom please?

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by SSBrickNJ

[SSBrickNJ]

Ocean View deck 1 for our dates....details:

Guest 1 $1,322

Guest 2 $1,322

(This is based on "Customer selects the room" ...rather than "Holland A. selects)

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Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses $250

Minimum Deposit $350 

Remainder of $2,544 due on May 14th 

Total : $2,894

Edited December 27, 2022 by SSBrickNJ

[Bostonjetset]

I haven’t sailed to Norway yet so won’t comment on the itinerary other than it looks great. 
 

We sailed Rotterdam this past January and loved her. She’s a beautiful ship inside and out. We’ll be on her again in April to Scotland and didn’t hesitate for a second booking her again. The decor is clean, modern, and elegant. Dutch Cafe is wonderful for snacks (free) and good coffee (up charge). Lincoln Center Stage is great especially if you like classical chamber music. The size of the ship is perfect as well. Whilst bigger than older HAL ships, less than 3,000 people (double occ) is fairly small by current standards. Big enough to have various options of activities but not huge and swarming with people. There will likely be a lot less children than on RCCL as well. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by Bostonjetset

[cbr663]

We did that cruise in 2017 and it was the absolute best cruise that we have taken to date.  We loved it.  We can't wait to get back to Norway again.  Our only regret is that we did not do the 14 day cruise.

 

We did the cruise on the Koningsdam.  It's a lovely ship.  The Pinnacle class ships are nice.  New and shiny.  The Rotterdam is a sister ship to the Koningsdam.  There is one thing that I dislike about the Pinnacle class ship and it is their smaller cabin sizes.  HAL had a long history of offering larger cabin sizes than other cruise lines and it has abandoned this with the Pinnacle class.  If you have never sailed on other HAL ships you may not even notice.

 

If you can, I suggest you try and do the 14 day cruise.  The scenery and experience is wonderful.

[SSBrickNJ]

4 minutes ago, cbr663 said:

We did that cruise in 2017 and it was the absolute best cruise that we have taken to date.  We loved it.  We can't wait to get back to Norway again.  Our only regret is that we did not do the 14 day cruise.

 

We did the cruise on the Koningsdam.  It's a lovely ship.  The Pinnacle class ships are nice.  New and shiny.  The Rotterdam is a sister ship to the Koningsdam.  There is one thing that I dislike about the Pinnacle class ship and it is their smaller cabin sizes.  HAL had a long history of offering larger cabin sizes than other cruise lines and it has abandoned this with the Pinnacle class.  If you have never sailed on other HAL ships you may not even notice.

 

If you can, I suggest you try and do the 14 day cruise.  The scenery and experience is wonderful.

My wife is in a new job and she does not have the seniority to take that many days off from work.

[SSBrickNJ]

33 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

Ocean View deck 1 for our dates....details:

Guest 1 $1,322

Guest 2 $1,322

(This is based on "Customer selects the room" ...rather than "Holland A. selects)

*

Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses $250

Minimum Deposit $350 

Remainder of $2,544 due on May 14th 

Total : $2,894

We are considering Stateroom 1090

What is above that?

What is below that?

THANK YOU!!!! 🙂

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, SSBrickNJ said:

Has anyone cruised on The Rotterdam in the past?

I'm considering a 7 Day Cruise Holland America refers to as the " 7 Day Norse Legends "

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/E3N07A/Y332.html

*

The dates we are interested in would be this coming August 12 to August 19 (2023)

*

Please share any feedback on the ship or the itinerary.

We 9my wife and I ) are Royal Caribbean cruisers but a very interested in this Holland America cruise.

 

We did that itinerary on the Rotterdam this past June and thought it was a great itinerary. We solicited opinions on here for 7 day options this one came out on top. 

[vicd1969]

Here is my review of the Norse Legends cruise I took this past June

 

[Sea42]

51 minutes ago, SSBrickNJ said:

We are considering Stateroom 1090

What is above that?

What is below that?

THANK YOU!!!! 🙂

Here are the deck plans for the Rotterdam

https://www.cruisemapper.com/deckplans/ms-Rotterdam-2166

[SSBrickNJ]

I am so very thankful for the responses I've gotten so far.

Very helpful!

What about the "VISA" question I posed earlier.

Will our US Passport be sufficient or will we need Visas?

If we need visas, how is that accomplished?

 

[vicd1969]

I think there may be an online form you'll have to fill out to enter the EU in 2023. 

 

https://www.etias.info/

 

But it says the ETIA will start in November 2023. In the meantime, you don't need a visa as an American.

Edited December 27, 2022 by vicd1969
Changed content

[SSBrickNJ]

4 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Here are the deck plans for the Rotterdam

https://www.cruisemapper.com/deckplans/ms-Rotterdam-2166

Stateroom 1090 seems to have the Atrium or the Pinnacle Grill above it.

Agree? It's difficult to tell.

I'm only concerned with having a quiet room between Midnight and 9am.

Thoughts on Stateroom 1090 everyone????

[SSBrickNJ]

Just now, SSBrickNJ said:

Stateroom 1090 seems to have the Atrium or the Pinnacle Grill above it.

Agree? It's difficult to tell.

I'm only concerned with having a quiet room between Midnight and 9am.

Thoughts on Stateroom 1090 everyone????

Or how can I accomplish selecting a stateroom on an upper deck that has a stateroom above it....and a stateroom below it.....yet doesn't cost a fortune. An inner stateroom would be fine.

Ocean view SEEMED to be limited to Deck 1. Any help finding a "quiet room" that is "affordable" would be most appreciated.

Steve

[vicd1969]

Cabin 1090 is directly below the BB King - I'd definitely recommend moving if you want to avoid noise in the evening. A few options, in order of my personal preference:

 

• Ask your travel agent if you can purchase Club Orange and get the free upgrade to a family oceanview. The family oceanviews are towards the back of the ship and are much more quiet (except maybe in the morning when chairs are rearranged in the Club Orange restaurant). Club Orange dining on the Rotterdam was fantastic for me. It comes with Club Orange and so worth it.

 

• Move to cabins 1127, 1129, 1131, 1133, or 1135 - Those are the ones below the atrium

 

• Get an inside on Deck 7: J7055, 7057, 7062, 7064, 7059, 7065, 7072, 7074, 7078. What's nice about these inside is that you have passenger decks above and below. The best part, however, is your cabin attendants are the same ones servicing the Neptune Suites so in theory they are the highest-rated or most experienced cabin attendants on the ship.

 

 

[SSBrickNJ]

28 minutes ago, vicd1969 said:

Cabin 1090 is directly below the BB King - I'd definitely recommend moving if you want to avoid noise in the evening. A few options, in order of my personal preference:

 

• Ask your travel agent if you can purchase Club Orange and get the free upgrade to a family oceanview. The family oceanviews are towards the back of the ship and are much more quiet (except maybe in the morning when chairs are rearranged in the Club Orange restaurant). Club Orange dining on the Rotterdam was fantastic for me. It comes with Club Orange and so worth it.

 

• Move to cabins 1127, 1129, 1131, 1133, or 1135 - Those are the ones below the atrium

 

• Get an inside on Deck 7: J7055, 7057, 7062, 7064, 7059, 7065, 7072, 7074, 7078. What's nice about these inside is that you have passenger decks above and below. The best part, however, is your cabin attendants are the same ones servicing the Neptune Suites so in theory they are the highest-rated or most experienced cabin attendants on the ship.

 

 

Wow! I like you final two bullet dots.

I am going to investigate your suggestions immediately! 

[SSBrickNJ]

Getting a 24 courtesy hold for stateroom J7070

[ChinaShrek]

4 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

On the itinerary that HA provides, there is more than one instance where next to the Norway ports of call it states: " VISA required for some nationalities "

I'm sure you can tell from my user name that I am an American who resides in New Jersey.

Would my wife and I need to obtain "Visas" for/from Norway?

I've never done that so forgive me if I am clueless about that.

Thanks in advance to anyone will to provide feedback 🙂

Steve

I am also an American and did this cruise in August 2022. You do not need any Visas. Just your passport. Do this cruise! It was also one one of my favorite.

[AZNative2000]

We, too, are looking forward to this cruise (as well as the one right after).  Sorry, you can't

enjoy the whole 14 days.  With Norway on the bucket list, longer is definitely better but

until retirement, we couldn't get enough days off either.  Did you join the roll call yet??

[SSBrickNJ]

36 minutes ago, AZNative2000 said:

We, too, are looking forward to this cruise (as well as the one right after).  Sorry, you can't

enjoy the whole 14 days.  With Norway on the bucket list, longer is definitely better but

until retirement, we couldn't get enough days off either.  Did you join the roll call yet??

Did not join the roll call.

A little late to my brain was only AFTER creating the 24 hour courtesy hold booking...only then did i bother to look to see when my daughter's first day of classes begins at Liberty University in Lynchburg VA.

Ugh!

Monday Aug. 21st!

IF...IF....we commit to this cruise...we are getting off the ship on Sat. Aug. 19th between 9am and 10am....then we'd have to go directly to the airport....may a 3pm flight at the earliest....need to arrive 3 hours prior to the flight....arrive back in New Jersey Sat. night Aug. 19th.

then the next morning I'd have to drive from home to Lynchburg VA'.

Ugh!

Yet this cruise does not sail one week prior? Correct?

My "earlier" option would be July??? Correct?

I am NOT able to sail in July.

This is something my wife and I have to discuss tonight.

She is at work right now.

Thoughts everyone?

Is there a different cruise line w/ a similar itinerary that has a cruise earlier in August???

[vicd1969]

Can you sail June or September? There are sailings on those months as well.

[rodndonna]

You can do Viking Sagas on the 2nd of Aug from Copenhagen.

[keysey222]

We did this last summer on the Rotterdam. It's an incredible ship. Our itinerary included Molde instead of Alesund, but otherwise it was the same. Eidfjord is a tiny little port town and there isn't much in port itself. The main draw is excursions to a waterfall (it was a beautiful waterfall). It's very scenic though.  Geirangerfjord is other-worldly and is a must-have for any Norway cruise. The port has some shops and there's a waterfall that's right near the port area. Since we had a two-year-old with us, we did an excursion to a sheep/goat farm while we were there. The whole area is stunning. Bergen is also an excellent stop. We did it on our own - walked about the shops in town and rode the funicular up the mountain. We only did the 7-day and it was a totally fine amount of time in my opinion. 

Edited December 27, 2022 by keysey222