Wonderful trip with fabulous itinerary but dining could improve

Rotterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 63

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5
Verified Review
Rotterdam

11 Night Southern Caribbean Wayfarer (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 30, 2022

Ship: Rotterdam

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 6012

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Great cruise overall and we felt we got good value for money. We visited a lot of ports so really enjoyed the itinerary. The room was lovely and very comfortable and staff on the ship were excellent. The only real issue we had was the dining room as it was almost impossible to get in, had few options nd felt rushed.. We also had Covid when we disembarked which was a bummer. There were plenty of sanitizing stations and hand washing basins around the ship but nobody advising people to use them unlike other ships. We did use them regularly but still ended up with Covid. Overall a great time was had and we would do it again.

Embarkation

3 out of 5
Long line wrapped around hall to embark

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Dining room had large lines and no reservations available. If you want to go book before you embark through the app. Choices were very limited. As a vegetarian there was generally 1 choice per night - other cruise lines offer more choice. My husband also had challnges fining food he liked and he is not veggie. We normally enjoy the dining experience on board but ended up eating in the buffet most nights. That was just ok. The one good thing they had was stir-fry made to order so I ended up having that most nights. Staff were however exceptional and very friendly.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
pools were nice and had comfy sun loungers. Plenty of other sun loungers on higher decks.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
Musicians were fantastic - rock, jazz/ blues and classical Dancers were exceptional and better than most cruise lines. There just seemed to be a few nights where they needed more things going on.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
fantastic room stewards, staff in the buffet and overall staff were very friendly and helpful.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
Layout was a bit cumbersome at first but we got used to it. It was nicely appointed, great art and very clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Very clean, upgraded bathroom and very comfortable bed and bedding.

Ship tip

Book dining room in advance of travel

Ports of call

Philipsburg, St. Maarten

4 out of 5

Castries, St. Lucia

4 out of 5

Bridgetown, Barbados

5 out of 5

Fort-De-France, Martinique

4 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Basseterre, St. Kitts

4 out of 5

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

5 out of 5

Kralendijk, Bonaire

4 out of 5

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

4 out of 5

Grand Turk Island

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
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