ms Rotterdam to Norway?

Thanks for clarifying what you are comparing.

OK I see how you are comparing, as the two ships have different deck plans and cabin types, and you are looking at balconies by whatever name and features.

We have been concentrating on Oceanview, which are $1100 more expensive on the Koningsdam in June vs Rotterdam in May.

 

We always book balcony, but for the first time we thought it was going to be a great deal to get a balcony on the Rotterdam thinking the "Lanai" was a balcony and when we called to book it, we find out it's a sliding door that leads out to the walking deck. I don't think we would like that.

 

We are still looking at the Rotterdam but the Koningsdam would probably give us more for the $$$$ as a ship and options on what to do.

I am also considering the Rotterdam Norse Legends itinerary, but I am somehow put off by the 2014 CC thread from Sppunk with his descriptions of the idiosyncrasies of the dutch guests.

 

I would appreciate if the CC regulars with several norway cruises under their belt care to comment on this topic. Is a dutch-based itinerary really that particular, or is it something that is not bothersome at all?

We always book balcony, but for the first time we thought it was going to be a great deal to get a balcony on the Rotterdam thinking the "Lanai" was a balcony and when we called to book it, we find out it's a sliding door that leads out to the walking deck. I don't think we would like that.

 

We are still looking at the Rotterdam but the Koningsdam would probably give us more for the $$$$ as a ship and options on what to do.

 

Yes, I agree that you really have to look at the details. Seems like some people like the Lanai cabins, some hate them.

With Oceanview cabins, Rotterdam has some cabins with portholes, some partially obstructed, some fully obstructed and some next to the walking deck. On Koningsdam, all the oceanviews seem to be plain old oceanview cabins.

In the end, the only sure way to compare prices on different ships is to do phantom bookings. It's a real pain but necessary.

I am also considering the Rotterdam Norse Legends itinerary, but I am somehow put off by the 2014 CC thread from Sppunk with his descriptions of the idiosyncrasies of the dutch guests.

 

I would appreciate if the CC regulars with several norway cruises under their belt care to comment on this topic. Is a dutch-based itinerary really that particular, or is it something that is not bothersome at all?

 

I like traveling with Dutch passengers - good energy.

Yes, I agree that you really have to look at the details. Seems like some people like the Lanai cabins, some hate them.

With Oceanview cabins, Rotterdam has some cabins with portholes, some partially obstructed, some fully obstructed and some next to the walking deck. On Koningsdam, all the oceanviews seem to be plain old oceanview cabins.

In the end, the only sure way to compare prices on different ships is to do phantom bookings. It's a real pain but necessary.

 

What are "phantom bookings"?

I am also considering the Rotterdam Norse Legends itinerary, but I am somehow put off by the 2014 CC thread from Sppunk with his descriptions of the idiosyncrasies of the dutch guests.

 

I would appreciate if the CC regulars with several norway cruises under their belt care to comment on this topic. Is a dutch-based itinerary really that particular, or is it something that is not bothersome at all?

 

I understand, but his description didn't sound so bad. Which part affected you the most?.

 

But I understand. We felt that way when one of our cruises was ruined by the Brazilian passengers that tend to be very loud and obnoxious. Maybe not all of them are, but the ones on that cruise were. :rolleyes:

Not sure what was said about Dutch people but it seems like dangerous territory to be making general and disparaging comments based on people's nationalities doesn't it?

Especially as the point of travel is to experience different places and cultures?

 

 

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Not sure what was said about Dutch people but it seems like dangerous territory to be making general and disparaging comments based on people's nationalities doesn't it?

Especially as the point of travel is to experience different places and cultures?

 

 

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Here you go, it didn't take long to find it, perhaps 20 seconds;), so now you can decide for yourself.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2095784&highlight=sspunk

Hi lizzie , thanks for attaching, I did try and search but on this tiny device I am using an app that is much more limited than the usual webpage.

Firstly, I really enjoyed reading the report it was well written and funny. Secondly, not sure why someone would be put off by the Dutch due to this report.

I was just concerned that after the negative mention of the Dutch we were followed by one about the Brazilians and this could lead to some real offence being taken? Do you agree?

For our upcoming cruise we are simply hoping that there will be a very diverse group not because we prefer any nationality but just like to meet different people.

 

 

 

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I'm sure you will have a good time. We need to not be overly sensitive and too PC these days.😉

Hi lizzie , thanks for attaching, I did try and search but on this tiny device I am using an app that is much more limited than the usual webpage.

Firstly, I really enjoyed reading the report it was well written and funny. Secondly, not sure why someone would be put off by the Dutch due to this report.

I was just concerned that after the negative mention of the Dutch we were followed by one about the Brazilians and this could lead to some real offence being taken? Do you agree?

For our upcoming cruise we are simply hoping that there will be a very diverse group not because we prefer any nationality but just like to meet different people.

 

 

 

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These days people get "offended" too easily, but the truth is the truth. Our cruise was ruined by people being loud and obnoxious and it happened to be a large group of Brazilian tourists. So, if we know ahead of time that the ship has a large group of Brazilian tourists, we will change ships. This is not new, it has been an issue at attraction parks to the point that they were singled out for being so roudy and obnoxious to other guests. This particular group that we experienced didn't know how to respect other people's space and believe me it was not enjoyable for us.

 

But, I still fail to see the part about the Dutch passengers on his thread. He did make a comment about the chairs being all over the place and the kid being loud, but I didn't see the part about the passengers a whole group. For us the language barrier would not be an issue since the staff would speak English and that's pretty much all we need.

 

Edited to add this: by the way, the other day a fellow cruise passenger told us that she would never cruise on a ship with "Quinceañeras" groups because of the amount of kids on the groups that tend to be very disrespectful and roudy. So everyone has their experiences and that defines who they want to cruise with or not.

Edited February 5, 2016 by travellovers2

What are "phantom bookings"?

 

Sorry maybe that is just my wording. I have seen them referred to as dummy bookings too.

You go on the cruiseline website and pretend you are booking a cabin but stop short of actual booking. That way you find a price for every cabin category.

You can usually do it anonymously. In the case of HAL, you tell them you are not registered with HAL, etc. and you "select your own" cabin instead of letting them select one for you.

It is a little clumsy at first, but after a few times it goes easily.

Try it and if you have problems, post here. I or someone else will help.

We are leaving tomorrow AM for a Caribbean cruise on Veendam. :)

Sorry travellers2 I was referring to another post above who is not considering taking a cruise in reference to that 2014 report. I too in fact couldn't see anything in the report too disparaging but apparently vargporto has

 

 

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Accidentally finished post early. I am sorry to hear about your troubles. We spent 3 months in Brazil and loved it, they sure know how to party. Funnily enough when people ask me to generalise about Brazilians I say they are like the Americans. By that I mean loud but friendly.

We have been constantly on the road for over 4 years now and we always agree that any large group of people tend to annoy others and that cultural habits tend to be exaggerated, we Aussies are no exceptions. Hence I hope I get a very diverse group on our cruise.

 

 

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Btw does it strike any one else as funny that one could be concerned about Dutch travellers when looking to book with HOLLAND America? [emoji41]

 

 

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[quote name='jertom']Sorry maybe that is just my wording. I have seen them referred to as dummy bookings too.
You go on the cruiseline website and pretend you are booking a cabin but stop short of actual booking. That way you find a price for every cabin category.
You can usually do it anonymously. In the case of HAL, you tell them you are not registered with HAL, etc. and you "select your own" cabin instead of letting them select one for you.
It is a little clumsy at first, but after a few times it goes easily.
Try it and if you have problems, post here. I or someone else will help.
We are leaving tomorrow AM for a Caribbean cruise on Veendam. :)[/QUOTE]

Oh yes, I do that all the time mostly to see what cabins are available.
Have fun on your cruise!!!

[quote name='teamflames']Accidentally finished post early. I am sorry to hear about your troubles. We spent 3 months in Brazil and loved it, they sure know how to party. Funnily enough when people ask me to generalise about Brazilians I say they are like the Americans. By that I mean loud but friendly.
We have been constantly on the road for over 4 years now and we always agree that any large group of people tend to annoy others and that cultural habits tend to be exaggerated, we Aussies are no exceptions. Hence I hope I get a very diverse group on our cruise.


Sent from my iPod touch using Forums mobile app[/QUOTE]

Very good point. I agree 100%. All of us in large groups can become annoying.
It was a large group on that cruise so you definitely have a valid point.

[quote name='travellovers2']Oh yes, I do that all the time mostly to see what cabins are available.
Have fun on your cruise!!![/quote]

Thanks !
When we get back from our cruise, we will resume looking for a Norway cruise in 2017.
Good luck with your Norway search.

We sailed the 14-day North Cape cruise last year aboard Rotterdam and it was simply great. Fine ship. Good crew. Excellent food. I can't imagine what anyone could fairly complain about. The fjords are stunning and ports picturesque. This was our second fjords cruise, and I wouldn't hesitate to go again.

[quote name='jhannah']We sailed the 14-day North Cape cruise last year aboard Rotterdam and it was simply great. Fine ship. Good crew. Excellent food. I can't imagine what anyone could fairly complain about. The fjords are stunning and ports picturesque. This was our second fjords cruise, and I wouldn't hesitate to go again.[/QUOTE]

Would you have preferred the Koningsdam for the same itinerary?

To get the Norway experience of visiting Fjords and those beautiful villages, do you need to take the 14 days cruise, or will 7 days be enough? If 7 days are enough, would you go for the itinerary the includes Oslo or the one that includes Bergen?

We have never had such difficulty choosing an itinerary!! Thank you. :)

Hi again... I never intended to be disrespectful to the dutch: I have travelled a bit in the Netherlands and cannot complain of anything (except of flatness of the land :) ). I should have been more specific in my post because my concerns were only regarding peace and quiet in the promenade deck. I enjoyed the serenity of the promenade deck chairs aboard HAL and Cunard. If the extensive socialization in the promenade deck is a norm in the HAL norway cruises, I may consider booking a similar itinerary with Cunard.

I understand that each itinerary attracts different demographics and that results in different atmosphere: what I enjoy is probably what other people don't enjoy... So there was no prejudice or criticism: just a simple question that took off in a wrong direction probably because of my bad command of written english. Edited February 5, 2016 by vagporto

[quote name='vagporto']I am also considering the Rotterdam Norse Legends itinerary, but I am somehow put off by the 2014 CC thread from Sppunk with his descriptions of the idiosyncrasies of the dutch guests.

I would appreciate if the CC regulars with several norway cruises under their belt care to comment on this topic. Is a dutch-based itinerary really that particular, or is it something that is not bothersome at all?[/QUOTE]

Woah.

I never meant to imply we disliked sailing wth a ship full of Dutch. I just pointed out differences between a ship sailing from Rotterdam than a typical cruise. our cruise was 95% Dutch so things were different, but not bad by any stretch. We LOVE the Dutch and the Netherlands itself.

I'd sail with the same guests 100 times in a row if I could (mins a particular family from iirc Crete).

I did find the Promenade antics bothersome, but don't know of that was a one-off trend started ny a few yahoos. Every country has their share of those. Edited February 6, 2016 by sppunk

[quote name='travellovers2']To get the Norway experience of visiting Fjords and those beautiful villages, do you need to take the 14 days cruise, or will 7 days be enough? If 7 days are enough, would you go for the itinerary the includes Oslo or the one that includes Bergen?

We have never had such difficulty choosing an itinerary!! Thank you. :)[/QUOTE]

Hi again travelers.

We are sailing on the Koningsdam this June. We wanted to do a Baltic and fjord cruise and it became apparent to us that the HAL itineraries were by far the best (we have not been on them before). An added bonus to us was when we discovered the brand new Koningsdam and the fact it departed from Amsterdam (haven't been there in 20 years).
Like you we had the big problem of which of the fjord cruises to take (one was offered pre cruise and one after). From the responses we received we think the trip that visits Bergen sounds like the better cruise for experiencing fjords but we chose the other for 2 reasons, firstly like you we really want to visit Oslo. Secondly, we thought it preferable to do the fjords post the Baltic section as we hope the weather will be warmer and it will be the more "relaxing" part of the cruise.
Hope whichever you choose is a great trip and that others who have experienced these ports helps in your decision making

[quote name='teamflames']Hi again travelers.

We are sailing on the Koningsdam this June. We wanted to do a Baltic and fjord cruise and it became apparent to us that the HAL itineraries were by far the best (we have not been on them before). An added bonus to us was when we discovered the brand new Koningsdam and the fact it departed from Amsterdam (haven't been there in 20 years).
Like you we had the big problem of which of the fjord cruises to take (one was offered pre cruise and one after). From the responses we received we think the trip that visits Bergen sounds like the better cruise for experiencing fjords but we chose the other for 2 reasons, firstly like you we really want to visit Oslo. Secondly, we thought it preferable to do the fjords post the Baltic section as we hope the weather will be warmer and it will be the more "relaxing" part of the cruise.
Hope whichever you choose is a great trip and that others who have experienced these ports helps in your decision making[/QUOTE]

Hi teamflames

Well, we already did the Baltics cruise :D that also spent two days in St Petersburg. You're going to love it. I wish we could have done that with Norway. You mention that you're glad Norway is the last part of the cruise because it would be more relaxing. That answers my question then. Two weeks of such a "relaxing" cruise might be too much for us.

We love to visit as many different places as possible. Last year in May we did the British Isles cruise and in Sept we visited (on our own) Austria and the Cezch Republic. So spending two weeks seeing the same "relaxing" scenery might not be for us.

Maybe we'll consider the 7 days on the Koningsdam and spend a week in The Netherlands. You just gave us an idea. We were actually booked on the Koningsdam for this May, but decided to go to Japan instead (on our own) no cruise because we already had to cancel Japan in 2014 due to two typhoons the same week we were cruising, so we're looking forward to being on it next year.

Thank you and I hope you enjoy your cruise!!