Rotterdam review Dec 17th-24th

We are a family of four, 47 years old 45 years old 23 and 21. We booked during a special when they had buy 2 get 2 free on third-party website plus we got $150 credit so our total bill for all four of us for a quad room was around $1,900 before the credit. Our room was an oceanview room 1937 and it was aft above the engine. There was a sofa bed, a bunk bed out of the ceiling, and a queen bed. It was roomy enough as long as you are not prone to throwing your belongings all over the place and that you stay organized. We brought a large suitcase each which we tucked under the bed, using one of them situating it towards one side so that we could stuff dirty clothes into it.

Food: the buffet was decent. Some sections of it or sides would close early or at random times and so we were never quite sure exactly where we were supposed to be going to get the food. The buffet was hit or miss.... we had wonderful meals at times and lackluster meals at others. Our favorite place to sit was near the pool that was under the retractable roof. You could eat peacefully there and watch the world go by and yet not have everything blown all over.

The main dining room was very nice. The food was always very good and so was the service, but I will say that ordering mixed drinks was usually a crapshoot depending on who was waiting on you. The sommelier/drink attendant usually took our drink order. There was one in particular who was not familiar with normal drinks and so our dirty martinis we're not dirty etc. They served my hot coffee drink in my wine glass at breakfast. :) But we didn't complain. We were there to have a good time. The lobster was some of the best I've ever had. Loved the cold European and English breakfasts as well. They did have a night or two that was casual. Most times collared shirts and ties or a sundress sufficed. It's difficult to go from beach to glamorous in an hour, so I don't mind. People are on vacation.

Dive in burgers and dogs were fabulous. Pizza not so much.

We ordered room service numerous times at all hours of the day.... sometimes in the afternoon other times at 3 in the morning and they were always very prompt and courteous and the food satisfactory.

Drinks were fantastic. We paid about $1450 for the drink package. Out of all the receipts that we managed to save our total cost was around $2,000 so it worked to our benefit in having the drink package. Favorite drinks were in the Crows Nest. The Anchor Drop martini!!!! So good, and if anyone knows how to make it let me know. Just don't tell my liver you told me. :) Loved the Crows Nest for pulling into port. Great views and calming atmosphere with forward facing recliners. Best place to watch pulling out of port was aft starboard side (back right as you face the front.) The local pilot who helps the captain guide in and out of port can be seen scrambling down a ladder to get in his local boat and let us on our way. He always got a cheer from all of us for his help.

Explorations coffee bar had many specialty spiked coffees that were delightful!

Entertainment: Decent. We never took full advantage of everything. Comedians, movies, game shows, shopping events, art, America's test kitchen (which after reading someone's enjoyment I'm sorry we missed it.) A favorite was the piano player, a Scottish/Irishman, who said he loves to drink but doesn't want to pay. :) He played Billy Joel sing a longs, etc. Fantastic! Not a lot of activities requiring physical action .... many elderly/infirm, and little space for it, so that was probably was purposeful. We did a lot of relaxing and reading.

Plenty of reading materials, puzzles, board games, etc.

Hot tubs were nice, but closing at 10pm was early. Pool(s) were lacking.

Was there a ton of exciting stuff? No, if you are a twenty something you will be bored at times if expecting the cruise line to provide all your entertainment.

Service was excellent and the staff fabulously service oriented. If you are hoitey toitey and expect all etiquette rules and serve-from-the-right-clear-from-the-left decorum to be followed at every moment, you will be disappointed. We just want to have fun and didn't care. Phillip and Alvin at the bars are the best! April was always there to offer us a drink and a smile. Our cabin steward Dedi (sp?) was excellent and always had the place sparkling.

Casino was fun. Lots of winners and losers. Loved Stampede, Buffalo game, etc.

Our aft room was super loud from the engine at times, especially when we were coming in to port or were trying to make up time because of our change in plans diverting from Costa Maya and instead going to the Cayman Islands. We were going over 22 knots and you could tell. I thought they handled the situation well. Motion sickness was not bad. The second night I was green at the gills. There was a lot of rocking so I was glad to have Bonine.

Overall i was a great experience. There are some things I would prefer on our next cruise...... to have more pool space, more dining options and entertainment options, but for what we paid I thought the quality of our experience was wonderful, especially going over Christmas break which is a very expensive time to travel. It never seemed overrun, and we never had to fight for a lounger or a seat. I would also book a forward room. We had a wonderful vacation and I'm glad we had the opportunity to do what we did!

Glad you had a great experience!

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Thank you for taking the time to write your review. Very well done.

Glad you enjoyed your Holiday cruise.

Thanks for the review.

Glad you had a great time. Enjoyed your review and hope your adult children enjoyed it despite the lack of excitement. We are considering an Alaska cruise in 2019 with our family that has grandkids that will range from 13 to 5.

Maury

Thank you for your review.

Thanks for your review!

I enjoyed reading your review and thank you for taking the time to write it.

Happy Holidays.

Keith

Most welcome!

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

Never sailed HAL. Thank you for your review.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experiences.

Great review - good detail and well done :)

Glad you enjoyed your Holiday cruise and welcome home :)

Thank you for the wonderful, detailed review. We are on the Rotterdam sailing Jan. 7th. This will our first HAL cruise and am really looking forward to a week away and experiencing HAL. Seems as though things are getting smoothed out over time.

A very enjoyable review. Detailed and an overall good read. We love the Rotterdam, the most comfortable ship of the fleet for us, and we love to hear about others' experiences. Thanks so much.

Thanks for your review and we are glad you had a good time.

Welcome back.

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

Thanks. Glad to hear things are getting better after the dry dock. We will be boarding on Jan 7.

This is our first time on HA and cruising out of Tampa. Just curious as to what time you were allowed to board. Our documents say 1:00 PM, but I have seen reports of people on board by 11:30.

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Thanks. Glad to hear things are getting better after the dry dock. We will be boarding on Jan 7.

 

This is our first time on HA and cruising out of Tampa. Just curious as to what time you were allowed to board. Our documents say 1:00 PM, but I have seen reports of people on board by 11:30.

 

 

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Thanks, all!

As far as boarding, we took our time and didn't board until after 2 or so. Not sure when they started, but I will say disembarkation had glitches and lagged so I would be surprised if the turnaround was as quick as 1130

Thanks so much for the review. DH and I are sailing on the Rotterdam in Nov. and first time on this particular ship. I appreciated your detail and honesty.