Rotterdam Retired Cruise Reviews - Tips

Always had the grill for hotdogs/hamburgers to fall back on.

The ice cream is excellent.

Make a reservation for the Pinnacle Grill restaurant as soon as you get on board as this restaurant gets booked quickly and is their best restaurant. There is a fee but it is well worth it. Same thing with their Italian restaurant, the Canaletto.

Treat yourselves for Le Cirque

Look for Internet onshore. The ship's wifi was expensive. On this particular cruise we were able to use accessible public transportation for excursions- much cheaper, just as interesting and provided a bit of adventure.

Lido was great fro breakfast and lunch.

Hamburgers aren't that great on the ship but the other food was wonderful. The excursions are very expensive so we only booked the boat excursion in Stavanger. You can save some money purchasing the train ride in Flam on your own when you arrive.

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

Hamburgers from poolside grill were good.

The passengers are generally old and sedate. This is a cruise line for more geriatric cruises.

Lower promenade deck is fun for outdoor walkabout. Sheltered somewhat from elements. We walked several mornings.

Do not sail on Rotterdam. Choose another boat. This one came out of dry dock a few weeks earlier and is not in usable shape.

I think the Crow Nest Lounge is the best place on the ship to view Alaska

When you are cruising on a Holland American ship you can go to the Computer room and read the New York Times online for free

Good food, good staff, good music. Smaller ship.

Its not too big, just the right size to enjoy yourself.

This was what I expected from Holland America "Dam" Ships

We were originally concerned about our stateroom as it was right next to the elevators, however either the room was well soundproofed or the other cruisers were extremely considerate as we were never bothered by the elevators at all.

Special restaurants much better than main dining room.

Go somewhere where it is warm enought to be outside if you want to take photos during the cruise or better yet, pick a newer ship. Most other passangers on the ship are Dutch and delightful but many events are in multiple languages or just Dutch so pay attention when selecting activities.