Pleasant Cruise in the Fjords
Rotterdam Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 25
Review summary
The Rotterdam ship is comfortable with a reasonable number of guests, and a well-trained and delightful crew. We felt pampered, cared for, and well fed. The cruise ports and itinerary offer some beautiful sights of fjords.Embarkation
Embarkation port was changed from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and we made our arrangements to spend the morning travelling. Upon finding the cruise port it seemed the change in port caused more people to show up at the same time, no staggered arrival. The lines and instructions were easy to follow and check-in proceeded by groups.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The dining room food and service were excellent. The buffet was pretty busy, and due to our need to feel safe we tended to find our food quickly, seating was crowded but turned over often. We liked the Dive-in burgers which could be pre-ordered. Almost all foods were available for in-room delivery, and because my shipmate was sea sick part of the journey we utilized this service frequently.
Onboard Activities
Attended the flower arranging demo in which the ship's florist spoke about the beautiful arrangements he prepared. He demonstrated techniques that can be used in smaller bouquets. I attended the towel folding demonstration showing how to twist and fold those wonderfully cute towel animals.
Entertainment
I only attended the Blues band and singers night club and it was great.
Children's Programs
no children
Service and Staff
All the service staff was so friendly and helpful. Room stewards were considerate of my seasick room mate, and they also were sure to greet us by name when we were out in the hallways. Although we did not have assigned dining table/time (which was convenient), we became friendly with a pair of wait staff who asked after my companion when she was unable to go to the dining room. There was one staff member at the pizza place who helped me get the food to our stateroom when it was more than I could manage.
Ship Quality
The ship is beautifully appointed with decor, lighting and flowers that are elegant yet not stuffy. There were many hand-sanitizing and hand washing stations available with encouragement to use them, and signs encouraging masks be worn (although a majority of passengers did not heed that advice). All common areas were kept clean and neat.
Cabin / Stateroom
It was wonderful to have a verandah to sit out and view the passing scenery as we sailed the fjords. The size of the cabin was adequate, with good storage and closet space. There was couch seating, bedside tables with drawers, a dressing table with drawers, two closets and more drawers. The bathroom layout was well-planned and had toiletries in dispensers for neatness. The room lighting was good to provide general as well as task-specific lighting, i.e., reading lamps did not disturb room mate. There was an umbrella provided for shore use.
Ship tip
All the HAL ships use a mobile app, Navigator, and it helps to setup your account on that prior to embarkation. It provides much-needed info and daily updates, menus and activities.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
The "map" at the tourist/visitor center could be more detailed. We set off in another direction from our plans and ended up with a great view, and then found our way to our intended sight after that.
The program director's narration of the cruising was good, it was broadcast on the Bow-Cam, but we could not hear it from our verandah. Had to go back and forth into the cabin.
We took the little 'train shuttle', booking when we arrived on shore. I recommend not to delay getting in line for this ticket as there is limited seating for each departure. The narration was good.
We used the hop-on hop-off bus to get up on the mountainside because I am not a strong hiker. The views are spectacular, and we got off and walked down along the roaring waterfall to return to port.
We used hop-on hop-off bus to get around to the places we wanted to see. There was no narration on the bus which was a disappointment, but it took us to the several places on our list. The University's museum had informative and innovative exhibits onn natural history.
Disembarkation
The bus we were scheduled to depart on was late in arriving so we had to wait longer than expected. But the dining room served breakfast in an unhurried manner, a delicious way to end our cruise and fortify us for the wait. Because the debarkation port was changed from the original, we were easily able to book a transfer from ship back to Amsterdam airport.