Our First HAL Cruise
Rotterdam Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
Cruise Director
Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Reviews: 5
Helpful Votes: 43
Review summary
We thoroughly enjoyed our HAL cruise. The only thing we didn’t like was the drink card. We loved the Medallion on Princess. We loved our cabin, plenty of plug ins, no need for extension cords for CPAP. Loved the service, ports, ship was beautiful. Length of cruise at 12 days was perfect. I understand 800 people were doing back to back cruises staying onboard. Met many wonderful cruisers. Didn’t get a chance to try all I wanted so much to do but felt very satisfied with what we did experience. Had to return my book unfinished as not enough time. We enjoyed some time streaming movies at night in our cabin.Embarkation
We drove and arrived way too early. We asked and they allowed us to proceed. Walked through to a sitting area that had free Wi-Fi and a comfortable place to sit. About 15 minutes later, we were boarding. A bonus was that the room was ready!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Tamarind was 5 stars! Pinnacle also was 5 stars. The buffet was repetitive. The choices were not as much as we had on Princess. If you are a steak lover, it was there everyday. I understand why they serve you, but too often I got ginormous servings. I tried to remember to tell them small amounts.
Their deserts is where they shine. Their cookies and pies are the best. Grand Dutch buffet served the best pea soup I have had in my life! The baristas made the best cappuccinos and lattes as well!
The main dining room had nice choices as well. I had the corned beef hash for breakfast. Yuck!
The crab Benedict for breakfast was delish! Some dishes were really good and others were all right.
Onboard Activities
So many activities, don’t believe folks who say there is nothing to do. I went to library first to borrow a book. My husband used the fitness center every day. I tried Tai Chi by the pool. Enjoyed conversing with my age folks in the pool. We had lots of chairs to relax in the area outside the pool to read and use our IPads. I played in casino, tried origami, enjoyed a movie at Main Stage, a couple of presentations, one about Panama Canal, and much more.
Entertainment
We listened to the dueling pianists. The vocals were a bit off. There was a band playing an ABBA song folks were dancing to on Orange night. It was a bit loud but everyone was having fun. Band sounded great, vocals ok. We were usually so tired after a busy day that we didn’t get to listen to the rock room band. Did enjoy the Dance Troupe performance once. It started off with ballet moves, but then it heated up to a fun, entertaining performance. Musical entertaining was missing before 7:30pm.
Princess had it in their atrium at happy hour, which we missed.
Service and Staff
Our stewards Aries and Gus were excellent! Always with a smile and addressed us by our names. Room service was excellent. service in Tamarind and Pinnacle was over the top. We felt so pampered and really enjoyed our food. Tamarind was our favorite. Wida and Apinya made us feel special. baristas at the Grand Dutch Cafe learned my name right away. And after that, they would shout out my name whenever they saw me. We had a great time. They all seem to truly enjoy being there and providing personal service on the Rotterdam.
The buffet servers overall did a great job. A couple times had to flag them down. An officer who works there rolled up her sleeves and cleared dishes. Doesn’t matter where you go, the service is excellent on the Rotterdam.
Guest services were very friendly and helpful. a noise in the cabin was keeping my husband up at night. They came to fix it while I was in shower for 5 minutes😂. Guest services called back and got someone to come back, fixed it and offered us a free lunch at Pinnacle.
Ship Quality
Layout of the ship is great. Ship always was clean. Staff constantly cleaning and maintenance.
Cabin / Stateroom
Got the Vista Suite. About 4 rooms away from elevator, midship. Great location, almost no movement from ship. Pretty quiet. Room felt large in comparison to balcony room. Plenty of room for clothes, stuff. Able to fit suitcases under bed. The sofa was soft to sit on, plus a chair. The TV at foot of bed was huge. The cabin was always clean. The bed and linens were comfortable. Bathroom big enough.
Nice shower head, ECO or full pressure. The Elemis soap, shampoo, lotion is very nice. We had big Beach towels in our rooms for our swimming ashore. Just bring them back, or you will be purchasing them. Vista suite also includes binoculars and an umbrella.
Ports of call
I am giving 5 stars based on our tour National Aviary of Columbia. It is a world class aviary. The bus ride to get there takes an hour. The birds are healthy, very beautiful. The place is mostly shaded by trees, but it is very humid. Not as hot as Aruba. It involves a fair amount of slow walking. Lots of photo opportunities. Coming back major traffic jams. I felt good booking through ship since it was close to being late. There were tons of motorcycles/mopeds everywhere. Lots of trash everywhere. I would not go anywhere at this port unless on an excursion, preferably through the ship. Most were late coming back from excursions. Nice gift shop on drop off area on way to ship.
Thumbs Up
0
Beautiful island. We did the Scenic Hike, Tortuguero Canal, and Countryside tour. There was no hike, just a slow walk on gravel through a touristy area with cocoa trees, banana trees, and other plants. T other buses there at same time so it was crowded and hot. Interesting though. Nice gift shop but a little pricy. The Canal tour involved some waiting as other tours were going there. But we had our own boat. Again hot. The boat slowly allows everyone to see the animals. The best part was walking to the boat with giant, old trees and many lovely plants and flowers. At end of the tour there is a big shopping area not far from the ship. Many bargains to be had. The Costa Ricans were all very friendly. A place I would love to visit again.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
Beautiful island all to ourselves. No other cruise ships as privately owned. Wonderful because part of the crew tenders with you to serve drinks at the Pirate ship, which gets billed to your account. It is not included in your drink package. We paid for the clam shell but if heat and sun don’t bother you, there are free beach chairs already set up. Just bring your beach towel from the ship and wear your bathing suit and some shoes to walk on the sand. We did not stay for the free lunch as it got pretty hot. There was a shaded area to wait at when waiting for tender to go back. Everyone loved this port stop.
Panama Canal (Cruise Into Canal)
Neat to watch entrance into the locks from the balcony and our TV in cabin for bow area. The Captain opened the bow for viewing. It’s a slow process but pretty neat. Because of the mining protests, you are not allowed off the ship at Panama City and Colon. The Gatun Lake is lovely but you just sit in place waiting for going back through the locks. Kinda boring. Too bad we couldn’t tender to a boat ride around the lake.
Disembarkation
Went quickly. Had breakfast 6am buffet, showered. Grabbed our stuff to head down to wait. Then Captain said all could disembark. Had to wait about 10 minutes in port facility for staff to finish bringing down luggage. Then done