Great Destinations

Rotterdam Retired Cruise Review to Other (Asia/Africa/Middle East)

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 0
Helpful Votes: 8

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5
Rotterdam Retired

57 Night Passage To The Far East (Rotterdam To Singapore)

Sail date: January 07, 2016

Ship: Rotterdam Retired

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 2575

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

The quality and number of exotic, new-to-us destinations on this cruise made it a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable experience.  Highlights included Malta (perfect location for a Segway tour with all it's hills), Crete (hired our own expert in Minoan civilization as a guide - Marilina Paters was fantastic), Muscat and UAE (especially Dubai - incredible architecture, and the light and water shows at the base of Burj Khalifa at night), Myanmar (overnight excursion to Bagan to tour the ancient temples; Yangon - Shwedagon pagoda at night), Singapore and Bali.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Fine. Although directly across from a staff service door.

Ship tip

BB King Blues Band was a fantastic addition - great, authentic music in the Crow's Nest every night.

Ports of call

Rotterdam, Netherlands

1 out of 5

Southampton (London), England

1 out of 5

Lisbon, Portugal

3 out of 5

Gibraltar (U.K.)

5 out of 5

Malaga, Spain

5 out of 5

Valletta, Malta

5 out of 5
Great place for a Segway tour, since it is very hilly. Can go for greater distances and see more in a short period of time.

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

3 out of 5

Iraklion (Heraklion), Crete

5 out of 5
Look up Marilina Paters as a guide if you want to learn about Minoan Civilization history.

Suez Canal Transit

5 out of 5

Muscat, Oman

3 out of 5

Dubai, U.A.E.

5 out of 5

New Mangalore Port, India

3 out of 5

Cochin, India

5 out of 5
Alleppey Traditional Houseboat cruise was a real highlight.

Hambantota, Sri Lanka

3 out of 5

Thilawa (Yangon), Myanmar

5 out of 5

Phuket, Thailand

5 out of 5

Tanjung Priok (Jakarta), Indonesia

1 out of 5

Semarang, Java, Indonesia

3 out of 5

Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia

3 out of 5

Benoa, Bali, Indonesia

5 out of 5

Lembar, Lombok, Indonesia

1 out of 5

Komodo Island, Indonesia

5 out of 5

Surabaya, Java, Indonesia

1 out of 5

Singapore

5 out of 5
Stayed on for 4 days after cruise was over - Marina Bay Sands hotel is fantastic & over the top - especially the infinity pool on 57th floor. Don't miss it!
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2 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

glomarrone    7 years ago

Your cruise sounded wonderful. What a terrific itinerary.  One reason that I like HAL so much is the different itineraries that they offer.  I have gotten to see so much of the world traveling on cruises with HAL. 

I, too, enjoyed the water show in Dubai. I took videos of it that came out beautifully.  I was very excited about going through the Suez Canal.  It was not what I was expecting.   I also loved Malta.  My husband was leery about seeing the Komodo Dragons but our hour hike went well and we did see them. How wonderful that you were able to stay in Singapore.  I was there twice.  

 

I sail on this ship in August on a very different itinerary.   Thanks for posting.