First Time Cruiser’s Review June 21 – June 28 Norse Legends msRotterdam

[SumoChewie]

Hello everyone! My name is Camille and I wanted to recap my first ever cruise on HAL’s msRotterdam departing from Rotterdam. :)

 

My husband and I are in our early thirties and we’ve traveled extensively. Admittedly, the my preconceived notions of cruises were not very good. All I could think about were norovirus outbreaks and the Carnival Triumph incident. I was also a little hesitant about the little time spent on ports.

 

We took this trip with my in-laws, who are seasoned cruisers on HAL, Royal Caribbean and Carnival. They assured me that a HAL cruise to Norway would be nothing like a Carnival Cruise to the Caribbean. So, why not? We’ve never been to Norway and this seemed like a good introduction to the country, as well as a budget friendly option (vs. touring Norway by land).

 

We arrived in Amsterdam the day before and took our in-laws around the city. My husband and I have visited before and it was fun to reminisce all the fun we had in our twenties. ;)

 

Saturday, June 21

Embarkation process was smooth. We settled into our room, a Lanai Stateroom with access to the Lower Promenade. We met our room stewards, Andri & Djufri and explored the ship. I met my in-laws in the Lido for lunch. I did appreciate the suspension of self-service in the Lido for the first 48 hours. There’s also hand sanitizer stations all over the ship.

 

I attended a “Make the Most of Your Norse Legends Cruise Presentation” by Cruise Director Michael Langley and Location Guide Linda. This was very helpful and informative. I highly suggest attending these presentations to get an overview of the ship and ports of call.

 

The mandatory passenger emergency drill was the most painful part of the trip for me. Fellow passengers would not stop talking and it made it a bit difficult for crew members to conduct roll car. This was promptly at 3:45 and all I could do was shake my head at fellow passengers who casually strolled in late like it was no big deal... :confused:

 

We went to the Sports Deck as we sailed off. There was a fun band that played. I wish I could understand the lyrics to the songs. They sounded fun!

Video:

 

Husband and I as we left Rotterdam

 

We dined at La Fontaine (Main Dining Room) for an early dinner. I was pleasantly surprised with my meal- fruit salad, steak salad and crème brulee.

 

I met fellow CC member GoHoward in the Crow’s Nest that night. We were the only ones active on our Roll Call. The Germany Ghana game was also showing. We took pics of the 10pm sunset.

 

I had trouble sleeping due to the time difference and since we ate an early dinner, I ordered room service at around midnight. There’s a limited 24 hour menu, as well as a bigger variety between the hours of 10-10. Service was quick and prompt and we would utilize this service many times during the trip. Room service is free. Make sure to call them once you are ready to have your tray picked up. They don’t want you to leave the trays outside your door for safety reasons.

Edited June 29, 2014 by SumoChewie
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[SumoChewie]

Sunday, June 22

Day at Sea

 

I attended a Pilates class in the gym in the morning. The class costs $10 with a $1.50 tip for the instructor. Alicia was in charge of the gym and taught all of the classes. She was very friendly. I had done Pilates before, but obviously never on a cruise ship. The water was a little too rough for me and I had trouble with my balance.

The rest of the day was spent trying to relax. My stomach was queasy most of the day. I guess I was getting used to being on a boat. I drank lots of Ginger Ale and took my Dramamine that night.

 

I attended a Norwegian Ports of Call Presentation by Location Guide Linda. I’m so glad I did, since this was another overview of the ports.

 

I went to the front desk and ordered flowers for my mother in law. They have a binder with lots of choices. Look for a coupon book in your room. There is a 10% off coupon for flower orders.

 

The US Portugal was on late (midnight) and we watched inside our cabin.

[SumoChewie]

Monday, June 23

Bergen, Norway

 

We did not book an excursions since I read this city is very compact and easy to walk. Location Guide Linda is always on the pier for an hour and a half to answer any last minute questions.

 

We took the Fløibanen to the top of Fløyen. The views were incredible. We were also very lucky that it did not rain in Bergen.

 

 

We hiked back down and headed to the Fish Market, where I ate an expensive shrimp lunch, walked around Bryggen and then stopped by Baker Brun to try a Skilingsbolle.

 

 

 

After the snack, we stopped at Rosenkratz Tower and Håkon’s Hall on the way back to the ship. The admission fee was 60 NOK, but you receive 50% off admission to other sites (including Håkon’s Hall). The staircases are very narrow and uneven so be cautious.

 

I enjoyed Håkon’s Hall more. At one point, I was the only one inside for a good 10 minutes. So cool! :cool:

 

We found out upon returning to our cabin that our Romsdal and the Troll Path excursion for Thursday was cancelled due to lack of interest. I was determined to go here, since I was looking forward to this attraction the most (well, tied with Geiranger). I spoke with Location Guide Linda and asked if there was a way we could do this ourselves. She suggested renting a car in Alesund and driving to Trollstigen. I knew this was a possibility since I had read I-Cruiser’s (Lars) very helpful Alesund thread in the Norway ports of call board. After a little going back and forth and speaking with my husband, I went ahead and booked a car in Alesund. More on this excursion later…:eek:

[SumoChewie]

We had reservations at Pinnacle Grill and it did not disappoint. Service and food were fantastic. I had Spicy Chicken Lemongrass Soup. 10 oz Filet and a Trio of Crème Brulee.

 

 

 

 

Downtime outside our room

 

We headed upstairs to our favorite Crow’s Nest for drinks and to watch the Cameroon Brazil game.

 

 

We attended Ronald Moray, “The Dutch Master of Magic & Comedy’s” show at 10:30pm. It was entertaining to say the least. :o

 

To Be Continued!

[TracieABD]

Excellent start to what appears to be a great review. I love the photos!

 

Looking forward to reading more...:)

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Looking forward to the next installment.

[madera1]

I am enjoying your review. Thanks for posting. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the cruise as we would like to go to Norway one day.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am enjoying your review. Keep it coming.

Great pictures.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review of your Rotterdam cruise. Looking forward to more of it, awesome photo's.

[SumoChewie]

Thanks everyone! I have better photos coming. I have not uploaded and edited my camera pics. These iPhone pics and video will do for now. :o

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Lizzie68]

Wonderful! Can't wait for more.:)

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your report.

 

Keith

[cruise_bunnies]

Enjoying your report. We are leaving for Norway on the ms Rotterdam the 19th of July and I can't wait!

 

cruise_bunnies

[Mtn2Sea]

Thanks Camille for writing a review of your cruise to Norway. Nice photos. Looking forward to your future posts.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for posting!

Looking forward to more pictures and reviews.

:)

[Vict0riann]

Great report and photos. Thanks.

[SumoChewie]

I guess I need to finish this review, huh? :p

 

 

Tuesday, June 24

Geiranger, Norway

 

This was the port I had been looking forward to for months! :D

 

I had read online and heard from Location Guide Linda that it’s good to get up early to see the beginning of Geiranger. I set my alarm VERY early and was the only one on the lower promenade deck at 3:30am.

It takes 4 hours to get to Geiranger once you enter the fjord, so I hopped back in bed. I woke up at around 6ish, just as the Seven Sisters Waterfall was in view! I nearly stumbled out of bed and was talking excitedly (according to my husband). LOL! :eek: I was taken away by the fjords. It was so awesome!

 

The Lanai room really came in handy that morning since I was just able to step outside my room. ☺

 

I went alone to the MDR for breakfast. I can’t say I was impressed. There were only a few people there, and it took my food 30 minutes to come out.

 

We were REALLY lucky and had a gorgeous, sunny day. The Captain and Cruise Director commented that they had been to Geiranger 2 (or 3?) times in the past month and this was the best day so far. :cool:

 

We had booked the Mt. Dalsnibba and Eagle Road excursion with HAL. We met in the Showroom to wait. The tendering process was a smooth and painless experience. Very organized. No complaints here.

I do recommend buying water/soft drinks before you leave the boat since Norway is very expensive. They had a beverage steward in the Showroom, as well as right before you leave the ship.

[SumoChewie]

We headed up the Eagle Road and the bus driver made his way carefully up the 11 hairpin bends to the viewpoint. I was not disappointed. This was the view I was looking forward to since August!

 

We made our way to Mt. Dalsnibba. Our guide said that there was fresh snow from 4 days ago. We stopped at Flydalsjuvet and had a great view.

 

Mt. Dalsnibba was spectacular as well. I cannot emphasize how lucky we were that we had a sunny day. That made a difference! I spoke with a lady that was on the Arctic Circle itinerary the prior week. Their stop at Geiranger was rainy and cloudy, so she was happy to repeat this port.

 

 

After the tour we wandered around town. I stopped by the Tourist Center to see if I could get a map to Trollstigen for our adventure the next day. There’s free wifi outside the building, but I didn’t have any luck. After shopping and preparing to go back on the ship, I realized that I had lost my card! Luckily, I had my passport and security was able to cross reference and confirm that I was in fact, me. I got a new card at the front desk and confirmed that my old card would be deactivated it (in case someone want to have drinks on me…)

 

There was a Costa ship that was in port with us. One thing I noticed is that HAL had the portable hand sanitizers before we got on tender. The Costa ship did not. It's the little things that I appreciate!

 

Back in the room, I tried to phone the Avis Rental Car in Alesund to see if we could pick up the car earlier than their 8am opening. I couldn’t get through since communication and satellite are blocked while in the fjords. I tried to find a working phone in town, but had no luck.

[SumoChewie]

We sailed out of Geiranger at 5, and Location Guide Linda provided commentary for 30 minutes.

 

We had booked a massage that evening. There was a special for a 50 minute massage for $79 (normally $96). The massage was ok, and the masseuse was friendly. My only complaint was the robe provided. It was old looking and ratty. :confused:

 

We headed to the MDR for dinner. We had open seating, but had to wait a good 45 minutes to be seated. This was during peak dinner time and the place was packed! The service was sub-par and the food was mediocre. I didn’t want to go to the Lido since I had a bad experience the day before with average food. The place was a zoo and I witnessed the hungry savages that acted like they had not eaten in days! :rolleyes: Hahaha!

 

We just chilled in the room and after we arrived in Alesund at 11pm, I went to bed since the next day would be an exciting one!

[SumoChewie]

View of Eagle Bend Road

[sppunk]

Thank you for this review - we are taking this exact trip Sept 6!

[garf1108]

We are doing the same cruise in June 2015. Any advice?

Did you stay in Rotterdam and Amsterdam? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

[SumoChewie]

We are doing the same cruise in June 2015. Any advice?

Did you stay in Rotterdam and Amsterdam? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks

 

 

We flew into Amsterdam Schipol Airport and stayed a night in the city. My husband and I have been to Amsterdam twice and our family wanted to go to the Anne Frank House.

 

We love Amsterdam and there's so much to do. You can take a canal cruise, visit the Anne Frank House (buy tickets online to avoid waiting in line), Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, ride bikes and just walk around and admire the city. :o

 

We stayed at the DoubleTree Centraal Station mainly because my MIL is a Hilton Honors member. Good hotel.

 

Amsterdam to Rotterdam takes 40 min by train or an hour by car.

[SumoChewie]

Thank you for this review - we are taking this exact trip Sept 6!

 

You will love it! Norway is magnificent. :cool: