Review MS Rotterdam Voyage of the Midnight Sun

[HarR]

MS-Rotterdam June 7th – 21st

Voyage of the midnight sun cruise. 14 nights Rotterdam - North Cape – Rotterdam

 

We are a couple late 40's early 50's. This is our 3rd cruise, and our 1st with HAL. Previous cruises were on Princess and Celebrity. DG is German, I am Dutch, and we live in Rotterdam.

 

Other cruise lines offer similar itineraries, and HAL would normally not have been our 1st choice. When on holiday, I am rather not among my fellow Dutch, as it does not give me that being away feeling. Also the demographic on HAL did not particularly appeal to us. However I really wanted to take this opportunity to sail away from my own city.

 

Embarkation

Living only 12 km away from port, I decided to drive over, just to drop of our bags around 10am. No airline limits so we packed 2 suitcases and a large bag.

Then my sister drove us to the pier, and dropped us of around 1.15pm.

It took a few minutes to get our papers checked. Then through security check without any waiting lines. Then the health questionnaire, and on to the actual check in. Waiting line approx. 15 mins, and immediately could access the ship after that. Think the whole process took about 30 minutes.

Bags were already in our room.

On the bed were our excursion vouchers, Librije reservation, the Explore 4 Signature beverage cards, free Explore 4 Pinnacle voucher (date and time determined by HAL), and the daily program in German. During the cruise they could not make their mind up, so we sometimes got the Dutch and then again the German versions and in the end both.

 

The Ship

Liked the size of the Ship. Still got the feeling it's a big ship, without the big masses. Overall the ship looked in fine condition. Public spaces do not show wear and tear.

 

Service

Crew is friendly, but not standing out compared to our experience on the other lines. Which a lot of people claim to be the case. Cabin stewards Andri & Djufri were very friendly and efficient though. When we left our room for either breakfast or dinner, we always found the beds made up, and the room cleaned with fresh towels upon our return. They were always ready for a chat. Favorite subject became of course the World Cup games.

 

Room

We had room 3346 which is a so called Lanai cabin on the lower promenade deck port side.

The cabin has a sliding door to the public promenade deck. There is an additional pair of key cards to be able to unlock the door from outside. The room was in good condition. The space around the bed a bit tight. The storage space is sufficient, but as we brought 3 bags we just managed to get it all stowed.

The cabin was quiet. No noise or vibration problems, just some squeaking when the sea was rough. We did notice a section down the corridor, between the mid and aft elevators that really suffered from vibrations, and we were happy our cabin was not in this section.

After 2 nights DG got fed up with the strong cold airflow coming from the ceiling. After informing the front desk a technician came to adjust the system. Front desk also called back to check if the adjustment was satisfactory. We got a bit irritated by several maintenance jobs that took place on deck in front of the cabin, reducing the ability to go out on deck. Some of their actions caused hydraulic oil to drip down our door the last 3 days.

 

Food

Main dining room food overall tasted good and was nicely presented. We had the free seating which usually meant no table for two was available straight away. So mostly shared a table with others. We were also asked if we preferred to have Dutch speaking table mates. We did not use the option to make a reservation. Except for last night’s diner, we never had to wait more than 2 minutes before being seated. MDR waiters seemed less stressed, and MDR atmosphere was less hectic compared to our previous cruises.

The Lido buffet we only used for breakfast and lunch. Would have liked some longer opening times. The food was ok, although variety not as extensive as we had on our last Celebrity cruise. The atmosphere sometimes a bit hectic. We usually took our food to a table outside or poolside.

The pool side "Dive inn” hamburgers were among the best I ever tasted. After placing your order you will be handed a pager, that would signal you order being ready, which usually took about 10 minutes.

 

Entertainment

We are not into production shows, so only watched a few of the shows, like the performance of Iris Kroes, former the Voice of Holland winner. There also was very funny comedian. The (Dutch) cruise director was Michael Langley. I would describe him as "slick", not over-present. Captain Hans Mateboer was not really a smooth talker during his announcements, but his information on certain situations sounded sincere.

 

Day one

Just before our cruise the weather changed dramatically, and was beautiful. Spent the whole way from Rotterdam to the North-sea on Deck 8 aft. Also called the retreat. Very exiting was to have our relatives waving us farewell, and the the ss Rotterdam V greeting our Rotterdam VI with multiple horn blows when leaving the cruise terminal.

 

Day 2

At sea. Beautiful weather, spent most of the time on deck.

 

Day 3

Flåm

This was supposed to be a tender port, but we docked. Because I expected tendering we had booked the train via HAL just to make sure we would be able to get on it. It was just an up and down ride of approx. 2.5 hours with a 5 minute photo stop at the Kjosfossen waterfall. Some very nice panoramas could be seen along the ride. The right side however had the better views compared to the left side.

 

Day 4

Alesund

We climbed the 419 steps up to the viewpoint. Shot some great panorama shots from up there. As the Hop-on-Hop-of bus just pulled up, we decided to get on it, and save use the 419 step decent. Ticket was 150 Nkr. Included were earplugs that let you listen to touristic info in the language of your choice (not including Dutch). So we made the city tour on the HoHo, and got off at the cruise terminal. From there walked through downtown Alesund and had some lunch. DG really enjoyed the departure of the MS Deutschland, that was docked next to us. The ship features in the German TV series "das Traumschiff", the German equivalent of "Love boat". During departure the ship played the tune from the TV series.

 

Day 5

Trondheim

Weather changed, and presented us a rainy day.

In between rain showers we just had a walk through town center, and along the river. Enjoying the Norwegian style wooden facades.

Taste of the Librije

For those that do not know.. De Librije is a 3 Michelin star restaurant in the Netherlands. Chef Johnnie Boer is member of the HAL culinary council. This evening features some of the Librije's dishes. It's all about taste and surprise. Looks like Boer's theme here is to capture the separate tastes in a dish, and put them in separate components. I did expect these tastes to be more intense. Have never experienced "the real thing" so don't know if it is supposed to be this way. The desert of chocolate-rice cubes we did not like at all. We had wine pairings with all 5 courses. These are I believe 2 oz. servings. So not full glasses. We did not take the upgrade to full servings, and for us this was just right. Serving of different courses is quite rapid, so would have had a hard time pouring down all the wine. So all in all a great experience, but not blown away. If your idea of the ultimate dinner is a perfectly cooked stake or lobster, stay away from it. If you want to be surprised, and taste what 3 star diner can be like, I can recommend it.

 

Day 6

At Sea

Crossing the Arctic Circle. Which means, no sunset for the next couple of days.

 

Day 7

Tromsø

Although the day started rainy, we got lucky to find a more or less dry window to visit the town. We docked 4 km outside Tromsø, and used the locally provided shuttle. The 3 or 4 shuttle busses could not handle the early "siege" of passengers. Was saw people waiting in the rain, and boarding was somewhat disorderly. By the time we headed ashore we could get straight on.

Because of the weather we did not head for the funicular, but had a walk through the town center. Others told us the view from up the mountain was not that bad after all.

Pinnacle grill night. Our Explore 4 free pinnacle dinner voucher was in our cabin at embarkation, and set for 18:30 this day. Time and date were fine for us so we did not have to attempt to change it. Food was excellent, and size of the servings was more than adequate. Well worth the additional fee.

The Dutch were playing there 1st World Cup match. It was shown in the Crow’s nest, the mix and in cabin. We watched the Dutch demolish Spain 5-1. The mix was turned in to a sports bar, and crew was waiting Dutch football jerseys.

 

Day 8

Hōnigsvag / North Cape

We booked the North Cape transfer.

It consists of the bus ride to North Cape, with a short "tourist trap" stop on the way. At the stop we saw some moose, people in traditional Sami clothes, and could buy souvenirs.

The North Cape stop is about 90 minutes. In between showers we could enjoy the view, have a coffee, and look around the visitor center and souvenir shop. Because of the weather we did not explore the town after our return from the Cape.

Germany played Portugal. We watch the match in the mix again, and DG is very happy with the 4-0 outcome. We have some outages on the TV though. The ship is having problems locking in to the satellite signals this far north. For those that don't know. TV and communication satellites are all in orbit around the equator. So near the North Pole we are as far away as can be.

 

Day 9

At Sea

Officially called scenic cruising.

Looks better than back to back sea days on the itinerary. Apart from the very distant shoreline nothing scenic but sea.

 

Day 10

At sea

 

Day 11

Molde

Hiked up to Varden, a partly fairly steep 3.5 km walk. As we heard from some shipmates along the way, that the restaurant at the top was closed, so we decided to return after reaching a nice viewpoint half way (my knees are not particularly fond of steep descents).

 

Day 12

Geiranger

No excursion booked, so by the time we picked up our tender ticket, we could head straight down. When we got off the tender, it was very crowded in town. Three cruise ships (2 more later that day) and several tour busses is a bit too much for this beautiful place. We walked up the steps along the Fossevandring waterfall. We were rewarded with a beautiful view down into the fjord. On the way back via the road we stopped at a lovely small church.

Cruising out of the fjord we passed the famous Seven Sisters waterfall. To my surprise the Celebrity Constellation who was sailing ahead of us, made a 360 in front of the waterfalls.

Then it was mostly a "black night" for us. The Dutch were playing the Aussies for their second WC match. Now the game was also presented in the main theatre, but the narrow fjords blocked most of the signals, and we were staring at a black screen for about 75 of the 90 minutes. Luckily we won so the evening had positive ending :)

 

Day 13

Bergen

Semi sunny weather, and we were docked a 5 minutes’ walk from city center. What a beautiful city. Some very narrow streets with all wooden houses. The fish market, where you can taste before you buy. We took the Floibanen funicular up. No waiting lines whatsoever. A Stunning panorama of Bergen awaits you. Back down we walked some more around city center before heading back to the ship. It started to get windy and captain Mateboer warned the ship would experience some rough seas. That night some passengers got sick, and we also noticed containers with bags were placed around the ship. Thanks to Bonine I was able to enjoy the evening. DG was kept awake by the ship's movement (and my snoring she said) though.

 

Day 14

At sea

Discovered the Oasis on deck 10 aft. Sheltered from the wind we could enjoy a bit of sunshine.

 

Day 15

Disembarkation

As we are only a 12 km taxi ride from home, we did not bother with public transport or arranging someone to pick us up.

We requested late departure, and were scheduled for 9AM disembarkation.

Our color got called 8.50 and by 9.05 we were in a taxi on our way home.

 

Overall

We had a great cruise. Liked the smaller crowd of the midsize ship. Would sale with HAL again, but not necessarily put them on top as favorite cruise line. Sailing from our home port was nice, but because of that also the majority of passengers were Dutch. This made the atmosphere less exotic, and gave us not as much of a being away feeling. The North Cape and the midnight sun is more a gimmick than a real highlight. Compared to the 7 day Fjord cruises, it adds many sea days without adding really interesting ports. The ports we liked most were Geiranger, Bergen and Alesund.

 

Thank you MS-Rotterdam crew for 2 fantastic weeks.

[portofrome]

Glad you had a great cruise. Thanks for the review.

[sppunk]

Thank you for the review! We are sailing on the Norse Legends cruise in September and really enjoyed your writings. Thanks again!

[Mtn2Sea]

Thanks for a great review. Sounds like you had a great itinerary. The Rotterdam is one of our favorite ships.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review! We cruised on the Rotterdam out of Rotterdam a few years ago and to date it is our favorite cruise!

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post a review.

Sounds like a great cruise itinerary.

Glad you had a good time.

[magandab]

Thank you so much for your review. I'm doing this cruise in August with my mom and feel we've chosen well!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

It was wonderful and very detailed.

[POA1]

Thanks for your review!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review of your Rotterdam cruise. Sounds like you enjoyed yourselves.:)

[0bnxshs]

Thank you for the thoughtful review. We did a similar cruise on the Ocean Princess out of Dover 2 years ago and really loved the Hellesylt and Geiranger area and found North Cape to be quaint. We chose Princess as it was a small ship and it went to Svalsbard and Murmansk, but it sounds like you had a wonderful time. Chao! :)

[Broon]

Thanks for your review. We were on the same ship, same itinerary, exactly one year ago. Very interesting to see what happened on your cruise.

[Stratheden]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write a detailed review. Really appreciated.

[ibfishing2]

Thank you the Great, detailed review. We will be in those ports during our cruise

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review.

[HarR]

This forum gave us a lot of information that was very helpful in preparation for our cruise. So decided to add my experiences, which could be interesting to others.

 

Thank you all for your kind comments.

[soccerpapi]

Thank you for your review.

 

The Rotterdam was my first HAL ship and enjoyed the cruise very much. It was the transatlantic cruise from New York to Rotterdam in July 2011. I love traveling to the Netherlands and actually really enjoyed this cruise because of the Dutch feel to the cruise.

 

Your itinerary sounds wonderful to me and I would be happy to take the cruise with so many Dutch on board. I think it would have a nice HAL feel to me.

 

I was very happy with the size and condition of the ship. Again, thank you for your review.

 

soccer

[SumoChewie]

Good review. We actually were on the June 21 Norse Legends itinerary after you. And we stayed in 3344. My inlaws stayed in 3346. :) Andri and Djufri were great.

[HarR]

Good review. We actually were on the June 21 Norse Legends itinerary after you. And we stayed in 3344. My inlaws stayed in 3346. :) Andri and Djufri were great.

 

 

It's a small world ;)

 

Hope you had a wonderful cruise.

[Susie51]

Wonderful review. Hope I can do that itinerary some day.

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. We've sailed on the Prinsendam to Iceland, Spitsbergen and the Polar Ice Cap. Those locations might have been more "exotic" and met your needs better.

[garf1108]

We are booked on the Nordic Legends next year on the same ship. I hope that it will be as exciting as yours. Was there laundry services available plus Laundromats?

Thanks

[SumoChewie]

Yes. There's a laundromat on certain floors open from 8 am to 11pm.

Edited July 8, 2014 by SumoChewie

[garf1108]

@ SumieChewie

Thanks.

How much does it cost and does it use USD?