Very Relaxing Caribbean Cruise
Rotterdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 67
Review summary
This was a nice, relaxing, way to spend 9 nights. The seas were fairly calm for much of the trip and the weather was great. This itinerary was a bit heavy on sea days for my taste and the Rotterdam is light on scheduled activities that interest me, but this was an opportunity to spend a lot of time simply relaxing.Embarkation
It was very good, though now that HAL doesn't assign boarding times, having preferred boarding wasn't really a huge benefit.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
I only ate at the buffet, Dive-In, and NY Deli/Pizza. The food at the buffet was usually quite good, though some items weren't as hot as would be preferred. The Dive-In was very good. The pizza at the NY Deli was mediocre, at best.
The milk shakes at Gelato were very good and included with my drink package.
The coffees and treats at the Grand Dutch cafe were also very good.
Onboard Activities
The pool area was quite nice, though the chair hogs were out in full force every day.
The spa experience, both for massages and the thermal suite was very good.
Service and Staff
The waiters, room stewards, spa staff, and the rest of the ship personnel were excellent all around. The waiters in the buffet see hundreds of passengers daily, yet several of them remembered my name and my beverage preferences after the first encounter, which amazed me. The spa personnel are always great.
My room stewards did a great job of keeping my room clean and doing their best to avoid disrupting me when I was in the room. They put effort into figuring out when I was going to be away from the room for a while.
Ship Quality
The layout and design of the Rotterdam are quite good and the personnel do a really good job of keeping it in great condition.
Cabin / Stateroom
Overall, the room was excellent. However, compared to the verandah stateroom I had on the Noordam previously, my room on the Rotterdam was smaller and had a smaller balcony. I really like the walk-in shower rather than having a tub with shower curtain.
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
I didn't really do anything here other than get onto the ship and then head to the airport at the end of the cruise.
Thumbs Up
0
The submarine excursion was quite good, but I didn't think the island itself was especially nice.
The Best of Bonaire excursion was a great option for someone who isn't much of a swimmer or into diving. The island itself is definitely much prettier than Aruba and the people seem to take more pride in keeping it looking nice.
I did a 3rd party swimming with stingrays excursion, which was a mixed bag. The island itself seems to fall somewhere between Aruba and Bonaire.
Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)
I'm not a beach person, but the beach was amazing. The sand is very comfortable to walk on and the clarity of the water is amazing. If nothing else, get off the ship and walk the length of the beach if you're up for it.
Disembarkation
Exiting the ship was easy, but finding my transfer to the airport was not obvious as there weren't clear signs explaining where to go for the various options.