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SeaWatch

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    Photo Review! Our Family's Spring Break Aboard the Rotterdam!

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    After dropping our carry-ons down in our cabin, we headed up to the main dining room for lunch!

     

     

     

    The Rotterdam has a two-level dining room which is not very big, but very nice. Now I wasn't terribly impressed by the decor in there, but the service was great!

     

     

     

    One thing I noticed immediately upon being seated was the quality of the place settings. German porcelain dishes, silver vases with fresh flowers, and monogrammed silverware. It just felt a bit more "special" than Carnival, etc.

     

     

     

    Now we always eat in the main dining room when we sail, and our children do quite well eating there. We eat out regularly at home, and I feel confident our kids know how to sit quietly and not make a mess when they're dining out. That being said, as soon as we were seated, there was a table of 4 sitting behind us that made it quite clear they weren't thrilled to see our children on the ship. They were probably in their 60's and 70's, and commented quite loudly, "I can't imagine why they'd bring their children on this cruise. What can there be to interest children on a ship like this? They must just be the type of people that travel with their children simply for virtue."

     

     

     

    Now, I'm not going to lie, I was pretty shocked to overhear this and it did make me nervous about my children possibly not behaving just perfectly throughout their meal! This was the first time I felt that perhaps it was a mistake to book this cruise...We enjoy the quieter, smaller ship atmosphere and our children are very well behaved. In fact, the party ships make us feel a bit uncomfortable. At the same time, I kind of worried we'd be under the microscope and people would think because we had young children, that they would disrupt their meal somehow.

     

     

     

    We also believe that traveling with our kids is a valuable education, in and of itself. Showing them different parts of the world, encouraging them to taste different types of food, and learning about people who look and live differently than they do is very valuable! So while the ship may have not been full of crazy adventures for little ones, it was important to us to take them along so they could experience and learn something new. We've traveled with our kids since they were infants. My son added his 36th country to his list of places visited on this vacation, and I don't believe for a second that we'll ever regret that!

     

     

     

    As you can see, my two-year old handles her stemware rather well, and does say "cheers" every time she's seated in a restaurant. ;p:D

     

     

     

    enhance

     

     

     

    Fortunately, this was the only negative experience we had. In fact, I was so touched throughout the remainder of the cruise by the number of older couples that came up to us and told us how well behaved our children were in the dining room. A few mentioned how quickly the time passes, and how they enjoyed seeing them eating in there. So my initial worries were unfounded. I think we just were unlucky sitting next to a group that may have been having an "off" day...

     

     

     

    We also enjoyed wine with out lunch, something we rarely do! But when I booked this cruise, there were two promotions Holland America was offering: free gratuities and free beverage cards! Unlike other cruiselines, I learned the beverage credit must be used for just that - beverages. It can't be added as general onboard credit. So I enjoyed a nice Chardonnay with my lunch!

     

     

     

    More to come...

     

     

     

    Just wondering....why do people feel they have to publicly voice their feelings and not see it has a hurtful impact?

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

    Palermo to Cefalu by train?

    in Italy Ports

    Posted

    We spent several weeks on a land trip to Sicily and nearby islands....including two days in Cefalu. We dropped a car in Cefalu and took the train to Palermo. The train tip is uninteresting (so is the drive). Cefelu is interesting however if it came down to a choice we would take Palermo (which we very much enjoyed) in a heartbeat.

     

     

     

    One other thing. We have traveled throughout Italy by train. The are fabullous-on time, well priced, etc. We found the train service on the routes that we traveled to be at a much lower standard that the mainland in terms of keeping to timetable-at least on the Milazzo-Cefalu-Palermo run. Running 30 minutes plus late was the norm on our three trips.

     

     

     

    What did you like about Palermo

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

    Hydro pool

    in Holland America Line

    Posted

    I think it is on the larger ships, like the Nieuw Amsterdam, and the Vista ships. Not so on the smaller ships, where the 'hydro pool' is merely a glorified hot tub.

     

     

     

    Hi Ruth - is the Oosterdam a Vista Class ship?

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

    Palermo to Cefalu by train?

    in Italy Ports

    Posted

    Thanks Euro - I am trying to figure out if it is workable to take the train RT from the Palermo port. We will be there 8 am to 5 pm. Cefalu looks very interesting and the cruise excursion does not allow much time to explore.

     

    I do not mind taking a taxi to the train station.

     

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

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