Great Crew, poor ship

Item: Rotterdam Retired
Rating: 3.6
Author: davekayla

Rotterdam Retired Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

davekayla

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 108

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

Verified Review

16 Night Panama Canal (Ft. Lauderdale To San Diego)

Sail date: November 20, 2019

Ship: Rotterdam Retired

Cabin type: Suite

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Many of our issues had to do with the computer thinking we were someone else. We got an envelope stating we had a free internet package After going right down to guest services we found out in fact it was for someone else. I ordered the Romantic Voyage package as a surprise for my wife, and had no flowers, no chocolate covered strawberries in our cabin on arrival. I had to talk to the concierge many times to get all of the other amenities that come with the package. As we were getting off this ship, a life boat drill for the crew started, which meant all elevators were shut down. We had to walk down 9 flights of stairs. I walk with a cane so it was very difficult for me. My wife ordered pancakes for in room dining one morning and they said that they could not get them due to the griddle in the lido was closed down. I went to the lido and they made them for me...why could we not get them through room service? There were a number of "brown outs" during the last few days of this cruise. We also found out that the ship was mandated to go through an FDA inspection while in San Diego. This is just a very short list of the many, many things that did not go well on this ship. I will have to think long and hard before booking another HAL cruise.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Pt Everglades is always a great place to embark/disembark

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food in both the dining room and the Lido were not up the standards of previous HAL cruises we have taken. Dive in and Pizza were good.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

2 out of 5

We ducked our heads in to the theatre a few times, and were not impressed with what we saw of the entertainment, and so we left.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

I'd like to give a huge shout out and thanks to Bryan the bar waiter in the seaview bar. We could tell whenever he was on duty, we got service right away. I also want to recognize Joshua and Cathy in the Neptune Lounge. Without them, I firmly believe that the many, many issues we experienced would not have been resolved quickly or at all.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Many of the common areas inside the ship were ok, but outside there was noticeable rust and peeling paint. I know that salt are lends itself to this, but the areas (many) that we observed were long overdue for scraping and painting.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The cabin was impressive in size and well laid out. The bed was quite uncomfortable. That is the reason I give this only 4 stars.