Great ship and staff

Item: Rotterdam
Rating: 4.7
Author: Cajunsailor

Rotterdam Cruise Review

Cajunsailor

Contributor Level: Second Mate

17 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 70

Overall rating:

4.7 out of 5

6 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 23, 2022

Ship: Rotterdam

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Cruising may not be as it was prior to Covid but is still a wonderful experience. The HA team was outstanding. Thanks. HA.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

We were assigned a 12:20 PM embarkation time and ended up being about an hour late -hotel shuttle took forever. However it had no impact on the embarkation process. We were on the ship within 30 minutes of arriving at the dock. Excellent experience.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

First -a pet peeve of mine, why do folk post photos of food on this website? Most folk here have been on cruises and know what cruise dishes look like 🤷🏼‍♂️. Besides, some of the photos posted here look like TV dinners from Banquet. But I digress. The food was excellent in every venue on this ship. The New York Deli-Ruben sandwich- was outstanding. Main Dining room- Some of the most tender beef I have ever eaten and the appetizers were beyond describable. The Lido Deck was also delicious, plenty of selections and always flavorful, fresh and tasty.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

We don’t participate in many of the activities but that isn’t meant to be a negative toward the cruise line. So it’s not fair for me to rate them. Giving them a five anyway.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

This is a two part review: First the good (the non-Main Theater/World Stage entertainment) - the B B King music is great, the Lincoln Center Stage is great, the Rolling Stone music venue did not perform due to sickness among the members but I imagine it is great. For the not so good: they had 2 comedians that were average at best. The HA singers and dancers performed one night and they were average. Holland America has done a documentary with BBC on nature-animal life in various parts of the world and has the Lincoln Center Stage musicians perform the music for the film which is shown in the Main theater. Both the music and film are awesome. All considered I’d rate the entertainment a four. The Covid has had a huge negative impact on the cruise line and it seems that the entertainment has taken the biggest hit in terms of cost reduction -at least on this cruise. I certainly understand that there have to be cost reductions and frankly I appreciate HA providing any entertainment. Thank you HA.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Can’t say enough good things about the service from all staff. Considering the impact Covid has had on the staff, I very much appreciate the service with a smile attitude they all have. Thank you HA.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Excellent.