Holland America MS. Rotterdam

[JGCRUISE0507]

I just made final payment for the October 22 2023 sailing, feel a bit apprehensive after making final payment. I usually cruise with Celebrity (22) cruises. This is my 2nd cruise with HAL. Cruise the Veendam back in April 2008. I felt it was good to try something else and give another line a chance instead of always being loyal, lol. Is anyone else on this sailing or having experience sailing this ship?

 

 

[westcoastcruiser]

We primarily cruise either Celebrity or HAL.  We are loyal to both and cruise based on destination.  We have status with both and enjoy both cruise lines for what they offer. 

 

We spent two weeks on Celebrity in November and three weeks on HAL in January -- the Rotterdam.  You will absolutely love the Rotterdam.  It is the newest ship and just pristine.  

 

Go and enjoy!  Both cruise lines offer a wonderful experience albeit a tad different.  

[Crew News]

51 minutes ago, JGCRUISE0507 said:

I just made final payment for the October 22 2023 sailing, feel a bit apprehensive after making final payment. I usually cruise with Celebrity (22) cruises. This is my 2nd cruise with HAL. Cruise the Veendam back in April 2008. I felt it was good to try something else and give another line a chance instead of always being loyal, lol. Is anyone else on this sailing or having experience sailing this ship?

 

I sailed the Rotterdam last December.  With experience on every other ship in the current HAL fleet, it is one of my favorites.  The many food options are a real plus.  The outdoor theater with a plate of chicken wings or pizza was a nice touch on many evenings.

 

You will savor your experience on Rotterdam.
 

[Roz]

Have you joined your roll call?  What specifically are you apprehensive about?

[JGCRUISE0507]

I have not joined the roll call yet, I will shortly. Trying something new and spending all this money, the cruise wasn't cheap. 

[ISLANDFAN]

After becoming somewhat disenchanted with Celebrity post Covid, we booked and sailed on the 14 day North Cape sailing of the Rotterdam from Amsterdam. We had high hopes for this cruise and I will state that our expectations were were more than met. The ship is beautiful and pristine. Our veranda stateroom featured what I believe to be the most comfortable bed in all our 42 cruises. Attendants were polite, and efficient. Service onboard was friendly, gracious, and again efficient in all departments. 

 

All the food venues were great! From the Main Dining Room, Lido Cafe, the specialty restaurants, Dutch Cafe, and we especially enjoyed Dive In with their made to order burgers, New York Deli with made to order pizzas, and our favorite Tamarind Asian Restaurant which I found to be one of the best specialty restaurants at sea! 

 

The music venues onboard were outstanding, as we spent most evenings enjoying music from one or more of the three music halls. Man can those musicians play!

 

Getting on and off the ship was a breeze as embarking and disembarking in Amsterdam quick and easy.

 

All in all we found Holland America to be superior to Celebrity and Royal Caribbean during this post Covid return to sailing. I believe you will find the same!

 

 

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, JGCRUISE0507 said:

I just made final payment for the October 22 2023 sailing, feel a bit apprehensive after making final payment. I usually cruise with Celebrity (22) cruises. This is my 2nd cruise with HAL. 

Here is your rollcall: 

We sailed the Koningsdam (sister to R'dam) last winter and pretty sure it is our favorite ship/class now. So many venues, but rarely the feeling of crowding. Except the line for Open Seating for the MDR. If you want to dine there, get fixed seating if you can!

[JGCRUISE0507]

Thank You

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

25 minutes ago, ISLANDFAN said:

After becoming somewhat disenchanted with Celebrity post Covid, we booked and sailed on the 14 day North Cape sailing of the Rotterdam from Amsterdam. We had high hopes for this cruise and I will state that our expectations were were more than met. The ship is beautiful and pristine. Our veranda stateroom featured what I believe to be the most comfortable bed in all our 42 cruises. Attendants were polite, and efficient. Service onboard was friendly, gracious, and again efficient in all departments. 

 

All the food venues were great! From the Main Dining Room, Lido Cafe, the specialty restaurants, Dutch Cafe, and we especially enjoyed Dive In with their made to order burgers, New York Deli with made to order pizzas, and our favorite Tamarind Asian Restaurant which I found to be one of the best specialty restaurants at sea! 

 

The music venues onboard were outstanding, as we spent most evenings enjoying music from one or more of the three music halls. Man can those musicians play!

 

Getting on and off the ship was a breeze as embarking and disembarking in Amsterdam quick and easy.

 

All in all we found Holland America to be superior to Celebrity and Royal Caribbean during this post Covid return to sailing. I believe you will find the same!

 

 

I agree with you .

The music venues onboard were outstanding, as we spent most evenings enjoying music from one or more of the three music halls. Man can those musicians play

 

[C 2 C]

2 hours ago, JGCRUISE0507 said:

I felt it was good to try something else and give another line a chance instead of always being loyal, lol. Is anyone else on this sailing or having experience sailing this ship?

 

 

We sailed on a sister ship, the N Statendam and loved it.  The ships are not as "pretty" as the new Celebrity ships but the interior is much more to our liking.  We loved the food , the live entertainment and the crew.  The theatre performances are weak in comparison but on Celebrity we found the shows repetitive.  On Celebrity the guest performers are better.  We "lived" in the Crow's nest on HAL and loved lunch at the NY Delhi!!

[Azllama]

We have mostly sailed with Celebrity, with a few trips on HA before Covid. Our last Celebrity cruise was out of Sidney this past March and April. It was not a great experience and we wont be back for a cruise with Celebrity anytime soon. We wanted to try HA, and have a August cruise to AK booked. From what I have read about the Koningsdam, we are very excited.

[CNSJ]

HAL is home for us.  Celebrity and Royal Caribbean were not as good in the areas that matter to us. Although we have not been on the Mega Ships of RCI or Celebrity's Edge ships.  

 

Our priorities that we find HAL does very well.

1.  Great service

2.  Well appointed staterooms 

3.  Clean, well-maintained and safe ships.

4.  Not a floating theme park!

5.  Superb buffet at Lido Marketplace (we only eat in MDR an average of 2 nights a week) 

 

I realize that Seabourn and Oceania may do these well too....but for a standard balcony cabin, twice the price. 

 

You will love the Rotterdam!

[CNSJ]

3 hours ago, Azllama said:

We have mostly sailed with Celebrity, with a few trips on HA before Covid. Our last Celebrity cruise was out of Sidney this past March and April. It was not a great experience and we wont be back for a cruise with Celebrity anytime soon. We wanted to try HA, and have a August cruise to AK booked. From what I have read about the Koningsdam, we are very excited.

Konningsdam, and her Pinnacle class sisters are our overall favorites....just wish the promenade deck was more like the previous two classes (Vista and Signature)....but you can still walk loops on the deck, just not as wide and open as we had come to enjoy.

 

I think you will find HAL a good choice. 

 

 

[JGCRUISE0507]

Thank you all for your valuable feedback!

[jeh10641]

On 7/22/2023 at 9:39 AM, JGCRUISE0507 said:

I just made final payment for the October 22 2023 sailing, feel a bit apprehensive after making final payment. I usually cruise with Celebrity (22) cruises. This is my 2nd cruise with HAL. Cruise the Veendam back in April 2008. I felt it was good to try something else and give another line a chance instead of always being loyal, lol. Is anyone else on this sailing or having experience sailing this ship?

 

 

Hi,

Here is a link to my review of the current Rotterdam from December 2021. We loved it.

Jim

2021 Cruise Rotterdam.xlsx

Edited July 23, 2023 by jeh10641
spelling

[JGCRUISE0507]

Hi Jim

 

I saw your attachment, I think this was your itinerary not your review, lol.

 

Jonathan 

[montythecat]

ISLANDFAN has written my response for me !  We are also now

very disappointed with Celebrity (Elite Plus so we have cruised

with X a lot). The Pinnacle Class ships are lovely with great music

and The Dutch Cafe. We are looking forward to being on Nieuw

Statendam in October/November.

[Pickalily, Wilts]

9 minutes ago, montythecat said:

ISLANDFAN has written my response for me !  We are also now

very disappointed with Celebrity (Elite Plus so we have cruised

with X a lot). The Pinnacle Class ships are lovely with great music

and The Dutch Cafe. We are looking forward to being on Nieuw

Statendam in October/November.

 

Our favourite of 6 HAL ships (so far).  It seems that very few Brits have ever heard of Holland America Line, but it's our first choice.

[CNSJ]

5 hours ago, Pickalily, Wilts said:

 

Our favourite of 6 HAL ships (so far).  It seems that very few Brits have ever heard of Holland America Line, but it's our first choice.

My observation is that fine people of the UK, Canada, and Australia are very well represented amongst the passengers on every HAL ship I have sailed.  Particularly in Europe. 

[Fivelinks]

Having sailed both Celebrity and HAL equally, and having been on both sister ships to Rotterdam I agree you will enjoy it very much. You may even find you like HAL a little better... We are booked on Rotterdam in January after the past 4 cruises having been with Celebrity due to declining service that we experienced this year. IMO Celebrity has better itinerary's and HAL is much more expensive now than 2020 when we last sailed with them. But we found an itinerary we like on this newest ship and are willing to pay more due to the experiences with Koningsdam and Neiuw Statendam and the higher service standards HAL sets. A former HAL employee on Celebrity Edge told me some of the differences he has observed and openly admitted he wished he had stayed with HAL.

We also love the private island and like the music venues offered on this class of HAL ships better. Again, both have strong positives, but the service and food quality are what matter most to me and HAL wins both IMO. No worries and safe travels!!