Disappointed

Item: Rotterdam
Rating: 3.6
Author: jaudie2

Rotterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

jaudie2

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 16

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

Verified Review

4 Night Private Island Bahamas Escape (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 06, 2022

Ship: Rotterdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 4041

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Not sure I would spend the money to cruise on Holland America again. Having traveled on the Disney Cruise Lines over a dozen times, some without our kids, I would have expected a similar high end experience with Holland. Unfortunately that was not the case.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Uneventful.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

The main food was so poor in quality we were forced to book and pay additional money just to get a meal worthy of this level of cruise line.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Pool was very nice.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Average entertainment with very limited options.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff was excellent top to bottom.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

As expected, top quality.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

A+

Ship tip

Bring your own food.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

2 out of 5

No excursions. Just enjoyed the beach.

Thumbs Up 0

Bimini, Bahamas

5 out of 5

Very small island but the people went out of their way to personally thank us for coming to visit. Radio Beach was really nice. There’s a small straw market to which the vendors could not have been nicer. Unlike most island stops no “hair braid lady” people shouting and harassing you. $60 for a golf cart rental and u r off and running. Joe’s Conch Shake is tops.

Thumbs Up 1

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Ft Lauderdale port authority did a great job.

8 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

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javawoody 2 years ago

Thanks for the review

Thumbs Up 0

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oneijoe 2 years ago

No response as to your negative experience as that is a personal opinion, however... I can't understand the way in which you framed your review. Disney is at LEAST 3x more expensive per person in equivalent stateroom categories when it seemed you were implying equivalent cost. In my experience, HAL costs are slightly more than Carnival, equivalent to NCL, but moderately less than RCCL. It is more expensive on Celebrity, and MUCH more on Disney and so-called luxury brands.

Thumbs Up 5

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us.

Thumbs Up 0

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Shh813 2 years ago

We’ve only been on 1 Holland American ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam. We loved it. Service and food was wonderful. Didn’t care for the shows and not much to do at night but we don’t care about that. Loved the ports we went to. I would not recommend to bring children . We are seniors and it was great for us. No loud music or dj’s. Soft piped in music around pool which was so relaxing. Dive-In which has hamburgs, hotdogs and fries - all delicious and the best hamburgers we’ve ever had.

Thumbs Up 3

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Curt34 2 years ago

Sorry you didn’t have a great cruise experience. Thanks for the review.

Thumbs Up 0

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CruzeFan 2 years ago

Thanks for the review. We were underwhelmed by Holland America as well. The food, service and entertainment were below what we experienced on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. I have noticed that most that rave about Holland America rarely, if ever, cruise other lines, so they have nothing to compare it to. The upside to Holland America is that they have some great itineraries that you cannot find on most other mainstream cruise lines.

Thumbs Up 0

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Popdog 2 years ago

Thank you for your review. Holland America is certainly not geared to the same passengers as Disney. Unfortunately you needed to have a less than enjoyable cruise to find out.

Thumbs Up 1

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