Please tell me about the Rotterdam and holiday cruises on HAL

[Scrapchick]

We did a 2 week holiday cruise to Hawaii last year on Princess and had a marvelous time. Hubby is thinking of booking us on the Rotterdam to Mexico for this Christmas and has snagged the last verandah suite on deck 6 at the very back of the ship. He's trying to persuade me to go for it.

 

We're well cruised but I do have concerns about this one... There doesn't seem to be any kind of roll call at all, which for a Christmas cruise does make me wonder why...

 

The gym looks like it has some very outdated cardio equipment... Can anyone tell me about this?

 

Recent reviews are pretty unkind about the service and the food... Has anyone recently been on board and can give me their opinion?

 

What are holiday cruises like on HAL??? We have a 9 year old daughter who is also very well cruised and she will obviously be looking for friends, activities and plenty of festive fun. We have sailed with HAL several times and generally like them a lot, but I am having a hard time finding a lot of enthusiasm out there for this ship and a holiday sailing.

 

Would really love to hear some positives, as I think Hubby is going to go for it anyway and it could be a long 12 days at sea...

 

Please convince me this is a good idea!

[trophy_23]

I have no idea about Holiday cruises, but I was on the Rotterdam in June and can say she was in wonderful shape! Everything was nice and clean, the gym equipment looked good, but I didn't use any of it, I prefer to do laps of the LP. My GF used the gym many times and had no troubles. The ship was great, I think you'll have a great time!

[Linda&Vern]

We did a 2 week holiday cruise to Hawaii last year on Princess and had a marvelous time. Hubby is thinking of booking us on the Rotterdam to Mexico for this Christmas and has snagged the last verandah suite on deck 6 at the very back of the ship. He's trying to persuade me to go for it.

We're well cruised but I do have concerns about this one... There doesn't seem to be any kind of roll call at all, which for a Christmas cruise does make me wonder why...

 

The gym looks like it has some very outdated cardio equipment... Can anyone tell me about this?

 

Recent reviews are pretty unkind about the service and the food... Has anyone recently been on board and can give me their opinion?

 

What are holiday cruises like on HAL??? We have a 9 year old daughter who is also very well cruised and she will obviously be looking for friends, activities and plenty of festive fun. We have sailed with HAL several times and generally like them a lot, but I am having a hard time finding a lot of enthusiasm out there for this ship and a holiday sailing.

 

Would really love to hear some positives, as I think Hubby is going to go for it anyway and it could be a long 12 days at sea...

 

Please convince me this is a good idea!

We have not cruised the Rotterdam ... however since you asked for opinions - here's mine:

(1) My past experience is that Holiday cruises have fewer Cruise Critic members and sometimes have no roll calls at all. I would not let this bother you.

(2) I looked at the photos of most gyms on HAL ships and I honestly didn't see much difference. I don't think any of them are something on the level of a cardiac rehab facility ... but if on your other HAL cruises you found the gym fit your needs I'm sure the Rotterdam would also.

(3) I've read some rave reviews of this ship. Consider the small percentage of passengers who actually post on CC. There are always two (or more) points of view on every cruise.

(4) I think your 9 year old DD will find lots of friends to occupy her time on board. The kids always seem to be enjoying themselves on any cruise I've been on.

(5) :eek: I'm sorry ... I can't even begin to imagine 12 days of cruising to be a long and unhappy event. Our best cruise was our Christmas one. Aside from missing our adult children ... it was the best Christmas ever!!

Let us know what you decide.

 

Linda & Vern

looking forward to the Zuiderdam in November!

Maasdam (2) Veendam (1)

[Atomica]

I haven't done a holiday cruise before - on any line - but I did sail on the Rotterdam back in May, and she quickly took up her post as my current favorite HAL ship. She's in fantastic condition, and I can't wait for the opportunity to sail on her again.

 

I published athree-part photo-tour on my blog back in May; I hope it's of some help to you!

 

http://fromthedeckchair.blogspot.com/2010/05/focus-onthe-rotterdam-part-1.html

http://fromthedeckchair.blogspot.com/2010/05/focus-onthe-rotterdam-part-ii.html

http://fromthedeckchair.blogspot.com/2010/05/focus-onthe-rotterdam-part-iii.html

[Scrapchick]

I haven't done a holiday cruise before - on any line - but I did sail on the Rotterdam back in May, and she quickly took up her post as my current favorite HAL ship. She's in fantastic condition, and I can't wait for the opportunity to sail on her again.

 

I published athree-part photo-tour on my blog back in May; I hope it's of some help to you!

 

http://fromthedeckchair.blogspot.com/2010/05/focus-onthe-rotterdam-part-1.html

http://fromthedeckchair.blogspot.com/2010/05/focus-onthe-rotterdam-part-ii.html

http://fromthedeckchair.blogspot.com/2010/05/focus-onthe-rotterdam-part-iii.html

 

Seriously?! These pictures are absolutely fantastic... I hardly need to go on the ship now:D. Thank you so much for sharing this with me... A huge help.

 

Did you happen to get to the gym and see what the equipment was like??

[Atomica]

Seriously?! These pictures are absolutely fantastic... I hardly need to go on the ship now:D. Thank you so much for sharing this with me... A huge help.

 

Did you happen to get to the gym and see what the equipment was like??

 

Thank you!! So glad it was helpful to you.

 

I didn't linger in the gym too long, but I did notice it looked very similar to the gym on the Veendam. I'd imagine the equipment was the same, or very similar - there was certainly no shortage of equipment.

 

A better shot of the treadmills, taken on the Veendam a few years ago:

 

[flatcircle]

Last year, we spent both Christmas and New Years on the Zuiderdam. This was our first cruise on HAL and was a wonderful way to spend the holidays. Since this was our kid's "in-law holiday year", I wanted a different holiday experience where I wouldn't miss them. Well, this was the perfect choice. The ship's decorations were wonderful and different holiday entertainment was scheduled -- staff Christmas show, Christmas tree lighting, Visit from Santa for kids. We had a great New Year's Eve party (and a quite New Year Day.) On this 10 day cruise, we had 3 formal nights: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve. Although we love spending the holidays with our kids, this was a great substitution!

[pharmoz]

Hi Melanie, it's Orit, Talia mom from the Baltic cruise. Talia would like to get in touch with Amelia. Her email is taliaheimanson@gmail.com or she can call (310) 689-0717.

 

 

 

 

Hiquote=Scrapchick;25728616]We did a 2 week holiday cruise to Hawaii last year on Princess and had a marvelous time. Hubby is thinking of booking us on the Rotterdam to Mexico for this Christmas and has snagged the last verandah suite on deck 6 at the very back of the ship. He's trying to persuade me to go for it.

 

We're well cruised but I do have concerns about this one... There doesn't seem to be any kind of roll call at all, which for a Christmas cruise does make me wonder why...

 

The gym looks like it has some very outdated cardio equipment... Can anyone tell me about this?

 

Recent reviews are pretty unkind about the service and the food... Has anyone recently been on board and can give me their opinion?

 

What are holiday cruises like on HAL??? We have a 9 year old daughter who is also very well cruised and she will obviously be looking for friends, activities and plenty of festive fun. We have sailed with HAL several times and generally like them a lot, but I am having a hard time finding a lot of enthusiasm out there for this ship and a holiday sailing.

 

Would really love to hear some positives, as I think Hubby is going to go for it anyway and it could be a long 12 days at sea...

 

Please convince me this is a good idea!

[brewster007]

While we have not been on a HAL Christmas cruise we have been on one with COSTA as well as MSC and enjoyed both. We are actually booked for this cruise and are not concerned with the lack of a roll call. It maybe the popularity of them is waning or it maybe that folks do not think it is something that is needed for this itinerary. At any rate we are not worried. On another note bookings may also be slow for this cruise. I say that because some cabin categories and been reduced during the most recent 3 day sale. Even though our category had not been reduced we had our TA contact HAL concerning some of the other higher cabin categories that seemed to be priced the same or maybe even slightly cheaper. Anyway to make a long story short HAL changed our booking from a K category gtee to a specific cabin assignment category F. In addition HAL also asked if we would be interested in a further upgrade should it be available and of course we said yes.

 

Brewster

[Scrapchick]

While we have not been on a HAL Christmas cruise we have been on one with COSTA as well as MSC and enjoyed both. We are actually booked for this cruise and are not concerned with the lack of a roll call. It maybe the popularity of them is waning or it maybe that folks do not think it is something that is needed for this itinerary. At any rate we are not worried. On another note bookings may also be slow for this cruise. I say that because some cabin categories and been reduced during the most recent 3 day sale. Even though our category had not been reduced we had our TA contact HAL concerning some of the other higher cabin categories that seemed to be priced the same or maybe even slightly cheaper. Anyway to make a long story short HAL changed our booking from a K category gtee to a specific cabin assignment category F. In addition HAL also asked if we would be interested in a further upgrade should it be available and of course we said yes.

 

Brewster

 

How interesting.... We are booked on the Golden Princess Hawaii Christmas sailing for the second year in a row and the cruise is sold out, wait listed and the price has gone up since we booked, just like last year... We're trying to lower the cost of taking a holiday cruise, hence the interest in the Rotterdam sailing. I wonder if it is the itinerary??? Mexico doesn't interest me much, but I often cruise "for the cruise", so that isn't a major factor here.

 

We are booked right now in the very last verandah suite at the back of the ship but upgrades were mentioned and I wondered how this could be on a sold out voyage... We love those HAL upgrades, especially if we end up with Neptune Lounge privileges and nice big cabin.... This cruise seems more reasonably priced than many Christmas voyages. Wonder why?!

 

Maybe I'll see you on board and we can have our private meet and greet!

 

Thanks for the reply.

[Scrapchick]

Hi Melanie, it's Orit, Talia mom from the Baltic cruise. Talia would like to get in touch with Amelia. Her email is taliaheimanson@gmail.com or she can call (310) 689-0717.

 

Hi Orit,

 

Great to hear from you. I will pass this along and I am sure Amelia will be thrilled to hear from Talia. She can send e-mail from my address. I will be in touch!

[Scrapchick]

Last year, we spent both Christmas and New Years on the Zuiderdam. This was our first cruise on HAL and was a wonderful way to spend the holidays. Since this was our kid's "in-law holiday year", I wanted a different holiday experience where I wouldn't miss them. Well, this was the perfect choice. The ship's decorations were wonderful and different holiday entertainment was scheduled -- staff Christmas show, Christmas tree lighting, Visit from Santa for kids. We had a great New Year's Eve party (and a quite New Year Day.) On this 10 day cruise, we had 3 formal nights: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve. Although we love spending the holidays with our kids, this was a great substitution!

 

 

That's the kind of thing I was hoping to hear... Thank you. We had a fabulous Christmas cruise on the Golden Princess last year and I am sure HAL will lay on the festivities as well.

 

Thanks for sharing this.

[BldLvr]

Greetings from Illinois, We spent Christmas 2006 and New years Eve2007 on the Rotterday during our S. America and Antarctica cruise. All I can say was...Fantastic. She is by far our favorite ship and we can't wait to walk across the gangway again. The ship was decorated for Christmas, lovely trees, gingerbread houses and bows. CH Eve we attended midnight church services, very nice. CH Day Santa made an appearance and the kids each got a gift. I do not know what they received tho. Dinner was very lovely. NY Eve was good too, we got hats and party favors in the main dining room, then went to the crow's nest to celebrate the new year in. The captain sounded the ship's horn. We thought it was great but we did miss the family but we made such wonderful friends during the 3 week cruise. There were lots of kids onboard but most at that time we from other countries besides America. (we left from Brazil). We took a very small CH tree and had small gifts for eachother. It was by far the most memorable cruise we have done. LOVE the Rotterdam!! Enjoy.

[Scrapchick]

Thank you!!! Great post and the positive story I was hoping for!

[govgurl]

I know nothing about holiday cruises, but I just got off the Rotterdam last Saturday. The gym was nice, it's small (everything on the Rotterdam is small), but the equipment is updated and in good condition, with individual TVs in all or at least most of the machines (I didn't closely examine each one, but it looked like they all had their own TVs, maybe one or two didn't). If you're a big lap swimmer, you'll be disappointed because the only real pool is small and frequently full of kids. Didn't bother me a bit, I just worked out in the gym vs. the pool, but I know that's important to some people.

 

The food was very good, and the service was great. I would rate the food as consistently very good, though it didn't cross over into "best I've eaten in a while" territory. Still, I was never disappointed. We ate once in the Pinnacle Grill, which was truly exceptional, but the Main Dining Room was pretty good as well.

 

Not sure if the service will be different for the Mexico cruises, but our service was great all the way through.

[Scrapchick]

Thank you very much for the feedback and positive reports. Glad you had a good experience and thanks for sharing your thoughts with me.

[casavaha]

We are one the Rotterdam now in Juneau, actually I am in the library using there free wifi.

 

We were on the Rotterdam last Christmas after drydock. Great cruise but i HAVE to tell

you that this cruise is even better. I think the food and service is much better.

We love this ship.

This coming Christmas we will be on the Statendam. I like HAL at christmas because they

will not put up with unruly children.

 

Have a great cruise to Mexico.

 

Greg

[Scrapchick]

We are one the Rotterdam now in Juneau, actually I am in the library using there free wifi.

 

We were on the Rotterdam last Christmas after drydock. Great cruise but i HAVE to tell

you that this cruise is even better. I think the food and service is much better.

We love this ship.

This coming Christmas we will be on the Statendam. I like HAL at christmas because they

will not put up with unruly children.

 

Have a great cruise to Mexico.

 

Greg

 

If you happen to see this... Would you mind checking out the gym for me and seeing what brand of equipment they have in there??? I'm interested in the ellipticals especially and also the spin bikes... Do they have clips on the pedals for bike shoes???

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to post from the ship and enjoy your cruise!

[dindovina]

Hello

 

I've just noticed two of your posts and wanted to let you (and your daughter) know that we are on the Rotterdam Christmas cruise with you. My twin daughters, who have just turned eight, would love to meet your daughter on board. I think HAL will be very nice. My husband and I cruised the Oosterdam before the girls were born and the girls have cruised on NCL's Dawn (last minute to Bermuda) and X's Solstice and loved both! We are looking forward to the traditions - dancing before and after great dinners, dressing up, etc. I'm sure we will all have a wonderful time.

 

Denise

[teachtocruis]

Hi,

 

My dh and I were on the Golden Princess last year to Hawaii over Christmas. We wanted to do it again this year, but the schedule didn't fit with my teaching schedule. It was a wonderful cruise, with lots of Christmas and Hawaiin activities.

 

We have wanted to try a HAL cruise/ship and this one fit my schedule much better. I am counting/hoping on some wonderful Christmas decorations and activities here as well.

 

I was wondering about the roll call thing too. Finally I decided to start one myself. If you look at it you can see it has had some views but only 2 or 3 posts. I am putting it at the fact that there are still quite a few cabins available for this cruise. It doesn't appear to be a packed one like the Golden Princess was last year.

 

I am sure we will have a wonderful time on the Rotterdam.

 

Kayla