Trip Report - Rotterdam - Ship was Perfect but our Worst Cruise Ever

[kazu]

10 minutes ago, AKJonesy said:

@friendswithdave In your first post you suggested booking a small balcony room, then upgrading with Club Orange.  Did you actually get to pick your (Club Orange) room, or was that chosen for you?  We have never done that yet, but sounds like a good way to get an upgraded room for less. 

 

I’m not the OP but I chose my cabin.  When you call the CO line, they actually tell you to have the deck plans handy.

[Ipeeinthepools]

18 hours ago, friendswithdave said:

Overnight on our first night I also learned that this ship does not have the floor lighting that comes on when you get up out of bed at night. Why this wasn't included on their newest ship is a mystery to me. PRO TIP - bring a night light for the bathroom. I'm pretty sure I hit the target every time but a night light would have helped.

 

PRO TIP - Sit down, you're almost guaranteed to hit the target.

[BetsyS.]

Tigerlily75 - I agree with you about the Seabands. They're great and drug free. 

I bring  them, but the shops onboard must sell them also. 

[57redbird]

6 hours ago, JohnCoffield said:

Same here. First thing I pack is spare glasses- can’t imagine being so far from home & not being able to see properly.

Or even being in Puerto Vallarta across from the mall with a pair of glasses with a broken nose piece - thankfully a jewelry store did a quick fix for me, but lesson learned to bring a spare pair.

[friendswithdave]

To answer a few questions, wife did take meds for seasickness and they helped some, but the drymouth is annoying to her. I'll suggest the seabands and ginger to her. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

We booked the cruise through a travel agent. We booked the guarantee verandah and Club Orange with chosen room 4036 at the same time. Therefore our guarantee verandah was ours for just a few minutes until Club Orange was confirmed. A few minutes later our friends tried to upgrade to Club Orange but it was full. They were waitlisted and in July and then got it in September.

[friendswithdave]

Day 6 - Sea Day. While the seas were OK, wife's mobility was limited now by the sore toe. We had the thermal spa morning and took it easy the rest of the day. I found happy hour in Rolling Stone for the second straight day and enjoyed a discounted Tennessee Lemonade - a new favorite of mine. 

 

After this I headed to the Holland America Fans reception in BB Kings. It wasn't planned but I stumbled into it and realized that would be a great event to chat with other HAL fans. 12-14 officers were present greeting guests as they entered and offered appetizers and champagne, which continued to flow freely. A few officers spoke and recognized the leader of the fans group. I also met an engaging retired couple from Florida who were likely 5 star mariners. A few officers stayed and chatted with guests including the environmental officer and Captain Timmers. It was great to meet with both of them and learn a little more about the ship, their personal lives, and HAL. Highly recommend this if it is offered on board. 

 

Dinner in Club Orange (I think I had the lamb shank - absolutely wonderful but I could only eat half of it. Wasn't sure why I wasn't that hungry.) and enjoyed the steel band for their "island music" show. While I hoped for reggae they played more old and new pop songs on their drums and pans. It was still enjoyable and I recommend it. I was tired early we retired after the show.

 

Day 7 - Half Moon Cay. I didn't sleep well last night. HMC is always enjoyable and we planned for breakfast in the Lido and to head to the island. The weather looked iffy with a forecast high of 72 and it rained during breakfast. My appetite was still off but I assumed my stomach was just crying uncle with my excesses the rest of the week. With wife's still sore toe and the iffy weather we decided to skip HMC. Our friends went and said it was OK with just a few brief rain showers they could mostly avoid under the trees. 

 

We stayed on board, did the spa and visited a few parts of the ship. Wife's toe felt a little better today but my allergies were bothering me. We ordered burgers from the burger place through the app and they were good as usual. Neither of us finished ours.

 

By dinner I was feeling a little tired and had an inkling that my allergies could be something else. I ate less than half of my dinner and skipped the comedian that everyone else attended while I went to the room and packed. Wife said the comedian rehashed some stuff from the previous set and she could take it or leave it.

 

I forgot to mention the first dance show was postponed to the third night for the weather. On the third night they cancelled because of the high seas. Their second show was cancelled as well for the same reason so they did not perform all week. 

 

I slept better the next but still wasn't feeling right when I went to breakfast. I didn't feel terrible, just not quite 100%. I wore a mask at breakfast (and the rest of the day) except while eating. and only ate half my food. We debarked as late as possible with a 1:45 flight out. We relaxed in a lounge and left the ship during the final call around 9:40 AM. We may have been literally the last guests to leave the ship because we saw no one behind us and our bags were the only once in the bag area. With no lines debarkation was super quick. We called a Lyft XL, took it to the airport. Flight home via Southwest was fine.

 

My friend G wasn't quite 100% with a minor cough and decided to take a COVID test when he got home: positive (his wife was negative). After hearing this, wife and I tested. I was positive as well.

 

Since then, I've been segregating myself in a separate room in our house where I type this review now. We figure maybe we got it in the men's changing room or the steam room which we both enjoyed daily. Who knows. I am pleased to report my symptoms are very mild. Not being able to sleep well is the worst of them. 

 

Back to the title - worst cruise ever. The truth is I've taken 12-14 cruises in my life. All have been thoroughly enjoyable. That said, if I had to rank them all from best to worst, this one would come in as worst. None of this is the fault of HAL or the Rotterdam. Crew, ship, and food were all top notch, 10 out of 10. Entertainment was OK, I'll say 6 out of 10. However, the poor weather (almost every day), rockin ship, broken glasses, stubbed toe, CCL credit issue (I didn't mention this earlier. I didn't receive this credit and am still hoping I can get this worked out), and COVID which will adversely affect our Christmas and my ability to spend time with family, this wasn't the cruise experience we hoped for. Does this sour us on HAL? No. Would I recommend this ship? Yes. Would I recommend this itinerary? Yes, even this week. I know the weather for this week is a true anomoly.

 

If yall have questions I'll do my best to answer. Happy holidays everyone!

[waiting2retire]

Thank you for your report @friendswithdave  There are lots of reasons people may not fully enjoy their cruise (or any vacation) and many have nothing to do with the ship or efforts of the crew, as you have acknowledged. You can likely still count yourself pretty fortunate that this was your “worst”. 
 

My daughter was on the Rotterdam the cruise before yours and also came down with Covid which put her in quarantine for 4 days. Still not her worst, since she was disembarked on a transatlantic cruise in 2022 with a gallbladder attack. 
 

This has not deterred me and in fact I board the Rotterdam myself on January 4 😁. I love Club Orange on the Pinnacle class ships and the extended balconies on deck 4 are my favourites!!

 

Hope your next cruise is uneventful. 

Edited December 24, 2023 by waiting2retire

[Crew News]

Do you remember the name of the Hotel General Manager? 

[sciencewonk]

19 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

PRO TIP:  Ginger Root capsules.

 

I've suffered from motion sickness my entire life.  While I've never actually barfed while cruising, my first dozen or so sailings were not as enjoyable as they could've been because I either felt nauseated the entire time, or I was in a daze from the old-type Dramamine.

 

I read about ginger root here after discovering Cruise Critic.  I start 2 days prior to sailing and take one a.m. and one p.m. (with lots of water).  It's pretty much cured me.  Only if it's very rough will I take 1/2 meclizine before bed.

 

I sailed Rotterdam for 26 nights starting in early April on the 150th anniversary TA with 10 nights added on at the end.  I loved it.  Also had Club Orange and loved the separate dining room.

 

Sorry you had bad weather.

My wife had horrible motion sickness on the first day of our first cruise.  It was so bad we went to the infirmary.  They asked if she had vomited and she promptly replied by vomiting on the nurse.  Ginger root capsules don't help her, but fortunately she gets full relief from meclizine without any side effects.

[friendswithdave]

2 hours ago, Crew News said:

Do you remember the name of the Hotel General Manager? 

No, doesn't ring a bell. I'm bad with names and can't remember the name of the environmental officer I chatted with for 10 minutes at the Fans get together.

[SUESEABE]

Thanks for the trip report.

[jimdee3636]

@friendswithdave

I can relate to your good cruise/ bad cruise scenario. This past February, I had to disembark 7 days into a scheduled 35-day Hawaii/ South Pacific cruise on the Koningsdam. Although it was for an out-of-the-blue medical issue that came up onboard and which would require surgery, I was still able to enjoy the time on the ship---so much so that once I had recovered from the surgery my wife and I booked a "make up" cruise on the Koningsdam, even booking the exact same vista suite cabin. It was for an eleven-night Mexican Riviera/ Sea of Cortez cruise, which just ended a week ago today. The ship was as beautiful as we remembered and the late-seating MDR dining was even better. 

 

As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

 

I hope you and your wife have quick recoveries

 

Jim.

[CNSJ]

15 hours ago, JohnCoffield said:

First thing I pack is spare glasses

I use the "last pair" system.  Keep the last pair as my back up as its closest to current prescription.  Another option is to get on one those super cheap online glasses (like two pairs for $99) - They are for an emergency, so fashion, super thin, and progressives etc.....are no longer an issue.  

[AtlantaCruiser72]

PRO TIP - you don’t need to use the phrase “PRO TIP” so often. Your helpful tips will be noticed, and appreciated, regardless. Sorry about the lousy weather and medical incidents. Those can definitely put a damper on the whole experience. Glad you were able to find the positives and that the ship/crew/food seemed to exceed your expectations. 

[Hobar]

I’ll be embarking on my very first HAL this coming year, so I have been reading with interest many posts about positives and negatives.  I find the OP’s title quite misleading.  It sounds like a very nice cruise except that the OP did not like the weather and the wife is prone to seasickness.  Knowing that front of ship is more prone to movement was the OP’s mistake and should have booked midship. If weighing between and what could be most unpleasant cruise due to the motion in the lower cost cabins, then be prepared to pay the price.  A better title would be A GOOD CRUISE. Period.

[cruisemom42]

I have to disagree with all the grief the OP is getting over their title. Nowhere does OP suggest that the "bad cruise" was due to HAL or the Rotterdam in any way, and certainly not in the title. I thought it was a good review overall with useful info. No reason the OP can't share their experiences, good or bad, as long as they are not assigning blame unfairly.

 

[leerathje]

DH, DF, and I were on board the Rotterdam this past February....The seas were rocking and rolling too for the first couple of days!  We had dinner in Canaletto on sailaway day, and everything was fine.  We had our appies, and all of a sudden, my father started feeling sick....he tried to work his way out of the restaurant, but couldn't make it to the bathroom.  BTW, there is a room right outside Canaletto that is, I believe, a scrap food drop off room.....and that's as far as he got!  He found a bowl, and tossed his meatballs, plus everything else he had that day.  Unfortunately, there is no closeable door to the restaurant, so everyone else having dinner there heard him as well! 

 

As I recall,  @0106 and her DH were on the same cruise, and it was so rough, her DH was knocked out of bed that night.

 

L.

 

[aliaschief]

Thanks for sharing.

[ozcruizer]

We returned from a 10 day cruise from Sydney to New Zealand and back to Sydney just under a week ago. It was our 14th HAL cruise. I must emphasise that none of what happened was due to HAL or the Noordam crew but it was probably our worst cruise ever. We always enjoy our HAL cruises, hence this being our 14th. We missed most of Milford Sound because of the time difference (our fault) and the next day we missed Dunedin because of high winds although the Captain did try to dock.  Finally, we managed to dock at Lyttleton (Christchurch) and had a lovely day revisiting for the first time since the 2011 earthquake.  Next morning I woke with a sore throat and sniffles so had a Covid test and sure enough I was positive. I was then confined to our cabin for the last four days of the cruise while my husband remained negative and still remains so, in spite of a heavy cold. Very disappointing for us but life happens. It could have been worse. 

[0106]

Everyone who sails has a story about a rough night on a ship but I didn’t remember my DH falling out of bed until @leerathje reminded me. Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt and it gave us a reason to hug each other tighter that night.  For me, the small negative incidents fade and wonderful memories remain.

 

BTW, I have seabands, candied ginger and MotionEaze in my toiletry bag in preparation for our trip through the Drake passage.  

Edited December 25, 2023 by 0106

[kazu]

Oops - deleted sorry.

[SargassoPirate]

Rough seas, rainy port days, missed ports, cruising during covid, but our worst cruise ever was 7 smooth sailing, good weather days in the Caribbean on a prison ship called the Norwegian Epic.

 

But that's another story for another time.

[albingirl]

Feel better soon.  I know that my beloved was sick on one of our recent cruises and that can make it challenging. Thanks for the review.

[Hobar]

Two years ago to the day my husband was patient zero on our Panama Canal cruise. He was moved to a separate suite. Being separated, especially over New Year’s Eve, was the hardest part. But I managed to visit him every day after I got out of my 4-day quarantine by sitting next to him with the partition from his balcony to the public space. And we celebrated NYE a few night later in black tie, even though it was a casual attire for the ship that evening. And so, as someone noted on this thread, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And then there’s always the story to tell for years to come.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2022/01/08/cruise-quarantine-omicron-covid-ship/

[mawvkysc]

I enjoyed this review and the tips