Very disappointing

Item: Rotterdam
Rating: 3.4
Author: rust2fan

Rotterdam Cruise Review

rust2fan

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5

4 Night Bahamas & Key West (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 03, 2021

Ship: Rotterdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6233

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

It was our first cruise after COVID-19. Had great expectations for the cruise. But those expectations were not fulfilled. Would I try Holland America again? The answer is no.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

For being a premium cruise line. Was very disappointed in the food in the main dining room. It was probably one of the worst of the 29 cruises we have been on. The Lido deck food was OK. All in all very disappointed

Entertainment

3 out of 5

If it were not for the Rolling Stones band. This cruise would have been a disaster for entertainment. The BB King venue was OK when we walked by. But did not stop there. The worst was the billboard. The lady who sang in that venue was terrible. Her voice was screeching. I wanted to pull my teeth out.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

All the staff was absolutely 100% great! They made the cruise. It was such a joy to be there and seeing them excited about being back to work after COVID-19. They were always there to help you whenever you needed it. And I can’t thank them enough

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

The ship was absolutely gorgeous. And I really like the freshwater swimming pool. Never had that on a cruise before. Probably one of the nicest ships we’ve ever been on. And our aft balcony was great!.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

This is a aft balcony. It was great. But not worth the expense that you pay for it on this cruise line.

Ship tip

Don’t expect great food

Thumbs up

12 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 4 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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calestultz 3 years ago

One more complaint about the Rotterdam, the promenade deck for walking; it's terrible. Parts are very narrow and border on being dangerous. I predict law suits. We look forward to walking the deck each morning but we are not on this ship.

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calestultz 3 years ago

I'm on the Rotterdam now and I'm finding the food in the MDR to be great. It's much better than the food on the Allure of the Seas which I've been on twice this year. The food in the Lido is also very top notch. I do have two complaints. HAL's automation is about two generations behind RCL and the smell of cigarette smoke is everywhere throughout the music walk. Something's wrong with the air circulation.

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Cajunsailor 3 years ago

Thanks for the review as we have one booked on the Rotterdam late Jan. It would have been a bit more helpful if you could have been specific about the poor quality of food. Some of the photos I’ve seen here of other cruise line food plates look like something I’d whip up at my house, and I’m definitely not a cook. A lot of the photos seem like quality is less than expected. I guess the positive side of less than expected food is eating less and not gaining as much weight. Thanks again for the review.

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izrgreen 3 years ago

Sorry you were disappointed

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SHARRONGERMANOS 3 years ago

We sailed from Amsterdam to Fort Lauderdale in October 2021. The ship was not full and seemed empty. The service was great. Food was not what was expected by any stretch of the imagination. Dinning room terrible, Lido was good. We ate in the special restaurants for dinner after being so disappointed in our food at the dinning room. Rooms are small by very pretty and easy to get around in.

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cdavid46 3 years ago

Wow! What a bummer! Thanks for sharing.

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javawoody 3 years ago

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

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AuntPinkie 3 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Sorry the food didn’t meet your expectations. Glad you enjoyed your cruise in spite of that.

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cruising2004 3 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experience

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RetiredRay 3 years ago

The one time I did Holland I was very impressed with the food (Carnival and Princess are the other ships I have done). Hope that it is just the fallout from Covid and by May 2022 they will be back to what they were.

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CruzeFan 3 years ago

Thanks for the review. We cruised with Holland America twice and found the food quality and service below our experience with Carnival and Royal Caribbean also. We were surprised since many rave about their food and service. I found that most who have high ratings of Holland America rarely, if ever, have cruised other lines.

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