Rotterdam Retired Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Due to heavy fog over 8 hours late boarding. Sketchy communication regarding delay. Beautiful ship. New Year's cruise. We had an aft handicap facing cabin with an awesome view. Some of the service needed improvement. We are 4 star mariners and noticed a decrease in the quality of Holland America. Don't know if we would cruise with them again.

Compared with other cruise line, the buffet in this ship were very poor selective, everyday will have same kinds of food, the later the worse. Disembarkation was very slow and not organized. Total guest was 1400 but they used almost 1 hour for expedite people. They just wait and didn't call other group people even no expedite guest left. We were in the later group and stayed with most people in Main Stage room. The disembarkation of other groups were going on about half hour and then stopped and no one call on the next group. We went down to the outlet but did not see any guest there- the entire hallway was empty. The guard told us we could go out what ever our group was. At that time, we know a lot of people were still waiting for the call for their disembarkation.

Disappointed by missing Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico, I was hoping that we will stop in different port (Cazumel) instead .

The ship was a disappointment, it was understaffed, and the entertainment was very poor. The cruise missed a major port of call, I got severe food poisoning and spent 2 days in isolation. I would not recommend this cruise to anyone.

Bad ship, bad ports of call, bad check in and bad disembarkation. As a HAL 3 star mariner, this was an embarrassment and will likely push others not to 1) cruise again 2) never to sail HAL. Bad crew decisions make a bad cruise for all.

I had a great time onboard the Rotterdam. The ship itself: The ship itself is decent for being 20+ years old. The architecture is pleasing and designs of the interior felt quite grand, and to me I found the ship easy to navigate. Staterooms: I had a separate stateroom from my parents to share with 2 other people. Me and my siblings were in an interior stateroom on deck 1 (1925). It was about the size of your average walk-in closet. (It also felt like living in one) Even with it being small, it was well organized and had room for everything you need in a stateroom. Now my parent’s stateroom was a verandah stateroom on deck 6 (6209). It was obviously meant to be a room for couples, though at the same time roomy. Their room was also well organized and beautiful. Staff/crew: The staff and crew were exceptional! They were willing to help passengers with almost any issue, wether it be navigation or assistance, and they’re happy to even help disabled passengers navigate the ship or get up the gangway when leaving/entering the ship. Services: Services are pretty alright for the most part, actually. The guest services are dedicated and good at their jobs, but they seem to not really like teenagers showing up there (in groups that is.) Room services were pretty nice, too. There were many selections of foods and drinks that could be ordered to your stateroom. They were usually decently quick for having to order to multiple rooms at the same time, usually getting there in 30 mins. Entertainment: Entertainment onboard was very good for such a small ship. They had stuff going on Most every night in various locations on the ship. (Main stage, ocean bar, etc) There was an illusions and the Post Modern Jukebox onboard doing live shows, and there were some other entertainment options for an older audience. Food: One of the best parts of the cruise! Food onboard was very diverse. The Lido market was where I ate most while on the trip. Again very diverse food options that vary with the time of day. The main dining room: A very elegant experience with glorious holiday dishes such as lobster tail, ham, and several others I already forgot. I definitely recommend lobster tail, though. Canaletto restaurant: No information, I didn’t eat here. Pinnacle grill: Didn’t eat there, either. Well that’s the end of my review of the Rotterdam. Hope you have as much fun as I did aboard!

Boring, activities were awful and limited, shows lackluster, food unimaginative and they served the same things, not enough places to get drinks, missed a port of call, missed our return flights due to heavy fog and they were unwilling to help with new flights or finding hotels to stay. Just one disappointment after another. Many things didn’t have to be bad, such as linens with holes in them or stains on them

I’m a frequent cruiser and this was my first Holland America cruise. This cruise caters to a much older passenger and if I had realized this before I probably would not have booked it. Very few lively activities onboard and food was not as good as I expected.

This was a wonderful cruise on an older smaller ship. Average age of the guests was about 60. Very few children to be seen or heard. Ports of call were good and evening entertainment was enjoyable. Except for a warm cabin most of the cruise, it was a nice experience.

So-So. Expect high quality from Holland and didn't think that quality was present on this cruise

We have been on more than 15 cruises and this is by far the worst one yet. No entertainment by the pool. Not enough runners for drinks. Show's were a joke.

We LOVE Holland America but this cruise and this ship makes us want to change despite our three-star Mariner status with only a few days to make four-star it would be a shame to change cruise lines. Also, we sent our customer survey to Holland America two days after docking in Tampa and have as of nearly two weeks later have never received a reply from them...I'm thinking that instead of hiring a CEO that never worked in the cruise industry that they need to replace him -- Orlando Ashford certainly is leading this cruise line down a path that it will never recover. Just my opinion.

good cruise to several islands that I have not been to before.

Another relaxing trip during the holiday season. Can't wait to take another one.

This ship has the best crew I have experienced and any cruise line!

Great 7 day trip. Lots of wonderful food and friendly staff and guests. Nice ports of call overall. Guatemala was the only down side because there was not much to do.

This is very much a cruise that will be exactly what you make it. You can either be board and say there is nothing to do or go make your own enjoyment. Whether that is reading, getting some sun, making new friends or relaxing with old ones, Rotterdam is a great place to do it but you need to understand this is NOT like the other cruise lines.

The ship, staff and services were perfect, no problems what so ever. Such a clean ship. Couldn't anchor in Grand Cayman due to Ports being closed due to seas, but was refunded by Holland America. Great entertainment , just wish WiFi was free for passengers and crew.

All in all this was a very good cruise. This was the smallest cruise ship I have been on and the longest cruise I have been on, I hated for it to end. I would recommend this ship and itinerary.

We were surprised by the lack of daytime music, lack of activities on board and a rather dull Dining Room menu.