Live from Rotterdam to Norway, Sept. 6-13, 2014 (plus a few days in Netherlands)

[magandab]

I am so enjoying your POV on this trip. After my raves about the cruise, I was so fearful you would not have the same experience.

 

If you read this in time, and get a chance.... one of the cocktail waitresses, Melinda, is a friend from a couple of previous cruises. She's hard to miss. She's really tiny, short hair, and dances and sings all the time. She was in the Ocean Bar and the Lido when we were on board. If you happen to see her, please tell her Amy and Mom send their love.

[Kristal Blade]

Hi Sppunk,

 

I will be doing a Christmas and New Year cruise on Rotterdam so it has been really terrific to read your review, especially the info about dining and entertainment.

 

Your photos are just dreamy! Loved the reflection shot in Alesund.

 

Please keep the review going, I am enjoying it so much.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you!:D

[sppunk]

Wednesday, Sept. 10 continued

 

The afternoon sailaway was taken in from the bow, then the 6th floor (hidden) forward observation deck. It's funny staff will tell you there is no forward observation area on Rotterdam and yet ... Deck 6 disagrees.

 

The view from here is really great. See?

 

 

A long nap was also in order. It was such a good nap we almost overslept out 8 p.m. dining time. Thankfully we didn't however, as it was Indonesian Night in the MDR. The menu and room itself were decked out in food and design hailing from Indonesia. The food was marvelous, spicy and plentiful.

 

After dinner we were sitting enjoying the Wang Wang 1 of the night when the cruise directing came on saying all outside decks (except the promenade), the Crows Nest, gym, spa and Showroom at Sea must be evacuated immediately. Turns out a guest needed immediate medical attention and evacuation by helicopter.

 

We went to the promenade port side and watched as the Rotterdam slowed a bit and a Norwegian coast guard helicopter came along side us. In the span of about 45 minutes they lowered a coast guard member, successfully evacuated the ailing passenger and then lifted the coast guard member. It seemed to take forever but then you remember the ship is moving, the helicopter is hovering, it's pitch black with clouds obscuring moonlight and the wind is blowing quite hard. Tonight the ship has been rolling a bit, not adding any ease to the operation.

 

The work coast guards do, no matter where, is unbelievable work. If there are any members reading this post I want to thank you for your service.

 

Rotterdam's crew did a fantastic job as well positing her to perfectly to allow the transfer. Kudos to all crew.

 

I hope the passenger recovers fully. It's never good to be taken off a ship without your choosing.

 

Since this event didn't end until around 10:30, the show didn't start until 10:45 which pushed the crew show to nearly midnight. We were too beat to stay up (we love the crew show) so decided to read in our room and get to sleep a bit earlier than usual.

 

Thursday, Sept. 11

 

First, 13 years ago today many died at the hands of pure hatred. I always take a moment and remember those killed in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa.

 

I'd never heard of Eidfjord but looking at this itinerary. You won't find much info anywhere for it, the ports of call board have very few posts.

 

The sail in was beautiful, and the bow was again open for it with live narration from 9-9:30 a.m.

 

This place is no Gereinger but then again what is.

 

The HAL excursions all seemed really lame too and I had read you can get a free walking map at the pier and that's exactly what we did.

 

We got a walking map from the tourist center and set forth on Yellow to climb up the mountain and come down the other side. It took about 1:45 to complete the circle but it was filled with great vistas.

 

Here are a few of the things we saw. Note we might have accidently on purpose trespassed a little itty bit. I won't tell if you won't tell. I think it was worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

For those planning a trip here the tourist booth had all the HAL options for a quarter of the price. FYI.

 

After our walk we were sweaty so came back to our cabin to cool off, then lunch.

 

Note to the old man in the bathrobe at the pasta station around 1:30: we can see your rigatoni ifyouknowwhatimean.

 

We are now utilizing wifi to check up on email.

 

Tonight is the last escargot night, tomorrow is the last sea day and Saturday we get kicked off the ship in Rotterdam. I think we are going to take a boat tour of Rotterdam's waterfront and then walk around the city and try not to get hit by bicyclists. Our friends will pick us up later Saturday afternoon for a final goodbye meal together. I'm going to really hate saying goodbye to then, their country, this ship and this trip.

 

More then. Thanks again for reading, hope it's not been too boring a "live from" thread.

 

Overheard comment of the day

"Alesund is really hung up on a fire that was more than 100 years ago."

Edited September 11, 2014 by sppunk

[Alberta Quilter]

Note to the old man in the bathrobe at the pasta station around 1:30: we can see your rigatoni ifyouknowwhatimean.

 

Ewwww!:eek:

 

How do I get that vision out of my mind?!!!

 

Seriously, thanks for a great Live From thread. It's been very enjoyable to read. I really want to go to Norway and now you've made me want to go even more.

[cruz chic]

Thx for the update. Beautiful pics!

[Lizzie68]

Ewwww!:eek:

 

How do I get that vision out of my mind?!!!

 

Seriously, thanks for a great Live From thread. It's been very enjoyable to read. I really want to go to Norway and now you've made me want to go even more.

 

 

So agree, but had to laugh at the rigatoni description.:eek: I wonder if the dress code is more lax on those cruises.:confused:

[Copper10-8]

....................After dinner we were sitting enjoying the Wang Wang 1 of the night when the cruise directing came on saying all outside decks (except the promenade), the Crows Nest, gym, spa and Showroom at Sea must be evacuated immediately. Turns out a guest needed immediate medical attention and evacuation by helicopter.

 

We went to the promenade port side and watched as the Rotterdam slowed a bit and a Norwegian coast guard helicopter came along side us. In the span of about 45 minutes they lowered a coast guard member, successfully evacuated the ailing passenger and then lifted the coast guard member. It seemed to take forever but then you remember the ship is moving, the helicopter is hovering, it's pitch black with clouds obscuring moonlight and the wind is blowing quite hard. Tonight the ship has been rolling a bit, not adding any ease to the operation.

 

The work coast guards do, no matter where, is unbelievable work. If there are any members reading this post I want to thank you for your service.

 

Rotterdam's crew did a fantastic job as well positing her to perfectly to allow the transfer. Kudos to all crew.

 

I hope the passenger recovers fully. It's never good to be taken off a ship without your choosing. ................

 

Awesome job Norwegian Coast Guard;Bravo Zulu!:)

 

 

[1of4]

I just have to do this cruise...thanks for the pictures and tips!

[Alphen]

Awesome job Norwegian Coast Guard;Bravo Zulu!:)

 

 

 

Indeed good old Lynx, BZ.

The picture is from one during external load operations though.

 

Norway is also in the proces of introducing the NH90, not without initial hick-ups too.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Alphen

[Copper10-8]

Indeed good old Lynx, BZ.

The picture is from one during external load operations though.

 

Norway is also in the proces of introducing the NH90, not without initial hick-ups too.

 

Yup; could have been a RNorAF Sea King also ;)

[TiogaCruiser]

So agree, but had to laugh at the rigatoni description.:eek: I wonder if the dress code is more lax on those cruises.:confused:

 

On formal nights he adds a little bow tie pasta.....

 

 

Seriously, the Lido Manager did nothing????:eek:

[sppunk]

Greetings from the Sheraton at Amsterdam Schiphol!

 

Thursday, Sept. 11 continued

Our sailaway was cold but picturesque and we were greeted by several people standing along a bridge we passed under shortly after leaving Eidfjord. Local custom has area residents waving goodbye to the final ship of the season, and this was it. Not sure how a bridge constructed last year already has a local custom but I'll let facts slide in lieu of a good story.

 

It was formal night and the escargot and lamb were excellent, as always. Our waiters have been good, but distant. It's not an issue and they're certainly overworked, just makes you miss the "good old days" of cruising that weren't really as good as people like to remember IMO.

 

Then drinks and sleep. We haven't found any comfortable after-dinner spots on Rotterdam. The piano bar dude is God-awful so the entire Mix area is off-limits. The Crows Nest, we never were visited by a steward in our 30 minutes there, the Ocean's Bar is too loud. We've hung with the Adiago Strings but am I alone in cringing when they announce every song? Just play and don't break it up with hard-to-understand broken Eastern European English. It kills the mood to me. I'm probably alone in that thought.

 

I guess this is why we pay for a balcony.

 

Friday, Sept. 12

Our last day of this cruise thankfully was was a sea day and we were able to sleep in, take in a Norway lecture, attend Dutch High Tea (our first HAL tea experience ... not impressed, won't return) and read and relax. A great end to a great cruise.

 

As we walked around we noticed the ever-lovely Park West crew taking over Ocean's Bar. We noticed the ships cluttering the hallways with what I refer to as junk (no disrespect to those who buy things, just my term for things I couldn't care less about).

 

These things led to a fun conversation with my better half. The result is we want to take over HAL's merchandising and onboard revenue arm.

 

Instead of Park West, auction off historic HAL art/posters/memorabilia. In fact there are promo posters on Rotterdam I want. I'll be making a separate thread about this soon.

 

HAL too should sell its crystal. It should sell ship-specific clothing. It should sell models of ships. It should sell books about HAL's history or maritime history in general. It's better than the $5 Helsinki t-shirts they were hawking ... at least sell something Norway-related (there was nothing, nada, zip).

 

We think they are missing a huge revenue stream by offering the junk clothing and other stuff. Maybe some number cruncher in Seattle has studied though and disagrees.

 

And Park West is one of the bigger sham companies in the country but that is a different topic for a different forum for a different day.

 

Another balcony nap, dinner and its goodbyes (we really love Eddie, the Asst MDR manager), the last few Wang Wangs and then setting out the luggage. So sad. We are excited to see our kitten soon though, we always look for a silver lining I guess.

 

Saturday, Sept. 13

Disembarkation is never fun. But you do what you have to do so around 9 a.m. blue 1 was called and so we said goodbye to the Rotterdam. Fittingly our toilet decided to never flush after around 8 p.m. Friday so yeah I won't miss going to a public restroom a few times a day since I avoided ours. HAL will be receiving a letter about that, trust me.

 

We stored our bags at the hotel we stayed in last Friday and went off to do the official Rotterdam V tour prior to our friends picking us up for a final dinner together.

 

The ship is so beautiful, a shame they don't make 'me like they use to. The Odyssey Room us drop-dead pretty.

 

 

The outside is still eye-catching as well.

 

 

We walked around Rotterdam then and took in the architecture, then a river/canal Spido tour. As a final insult it have us a great view of Rotterdam being fueled before her 14 day trek to Spain.

 

 

Our friends then came and retrieved us and we had a great dinner together with them and a few of their friends. Then a nice street fair-type event in Rotterdam drinking beer and soaking in the nice cool evening.

 

A good last day to a most-perfect vacation. Thank you, Netherlands, Norway, Holland America and our dear friends!

 

 

Final thoughts

I've never felt so short! Dutch people are a tall people! :)

 

Coming to Norway? Just pretend you're in an amusement park and you won't shocked at the pricing of things. Because yes it is prohibitively expensive.

 

$15.99 NOK/liter, which is probably around $12-13 USD/gallon. Oreos are around $9 USD/pack. I saw sweaters for $295 USD. One pear is about $1.95.

 

But the scenery beats the heck out of Six Flags Over (insert name here) so it's well worth the bank account hit.

 

We booked this cruise mostly out of convenience since we wanted to visit our friends in the Netherlands. Our choice a year ago turned out to be excellent.

 

This cruise has been both fantastic and unusual since we were the minorities and couldn't understand much of anything spoken passenger-wise. I was a little surprised too the MDR wasn't more dressy. Conventional wisdom says Europeans dress nicer for dinner than us Americans but I don't believe it to be the case in today's age and I've never seen a cruise with more casual evening wear. Note I couldn't care less if people wear sandals and jean shorts to dinner so it impacts me not at all.

 

Rotterdam is in good shape mainly for it's age, and gets a dry dock fairly soon that hopefully takes care of some of the garish design aspects (bright orange carpet in the dining room, seriously?). And our toilet flushing was annoying at best, hopefully they can fix that too. It's never good to be scared to use your own facilities.

 

We can't wait until we step onboard another HAL vessel, though it might not be for several years as land trips and trying Crystal, Oceania or Azamara likely come sooner.

 

If anyone has any questions about this itinerary or the Rotterdam I'll try to answer.

 

Tomorrow morning we board our flight from Amsterdam back to DC. Then work on Monday. No fjords or Wang Wangs there I reckon.

 

That's about it I guess. Thanks all for reading! I enjoy writing and photography so these are fun for me to create.

 

Prost from Amsterdam!

[TiogaCruiser]

Wishing you safe travels and a big thank you for your reports.

 

(I think this thread just cost me a trip to Norway in the future).

[cruz chic]

Thank you for your thread. I really enjoyed it. Have a safe trip home.

[Copper10-8]

Heck of a job on the review; enjoyed it! Rotterdam V has been kept in a nice condition, huh? ;)

 

Safe flight home and proost/op je gezondheid!

[Ine]

Have a safe flight home. We enjoyed your review very much.

Indeed europeans ( dutch in this case) dress less formal nowadays, which is not always nice to see.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful review.

Great pictures.

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

[Mtn2Sea]

Great review! I really enjoyed your fantastic photos and commentary of your trip. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[kazu]

Safe travels to you both.

 

Thank you so MUCH for his great live from. Really interesting and a fabulous read!

[Barrheadlass]

Your description and pictures made me even more excited than ever about my December cruise in Norway on Hurtigruten. Thanks so much !

[cant51]

Thanks that you like the city off Rotterdam :)I live across the Erasmus bridge and my view is the cruise terminal, sometimes we cruise with HAL and we walk over the bridge whit our suicase, that is the way I like to cruise :-).

 

Have a save trip home !!

Edited September 15, 2014 by cant51

[sppunk]

Thanks that you like the city off Rotterdam :)I live across the Erasmus bridge and my view is the cruise terminal, sometimes we cruise with HAL and we walk over the bridge whit our suicase, that is the way I like to cruise :-).

 

Have a save trip home !!

I actually think I enjoyed Rotterdam more than Amsterdam. Rotterdam is young, vibrant, hip, varied. Amsterdam was none of that really - beautiful yes but lacking the things I find most admirable about cities. :)

 

The architecture too is overwhelming in its differences with nearly every other city.

[cant51]

I actually think I enjoyed Rotterdam more than Amsterdam. Rotterdam is young, vibrant, hip, varied. Amsterdam was none of that really - beautiful yes but lacking the things I find most admirable about cities. :)

 

The architecture too is overwhelming in its differences with nearly every other city.

 

We in Rotterdam all ways say in Amsterdam they live in a big museum:)

[sppunk]

Bumping ...

 

We wrote after our cruise to HAL expressing our displeasure of our toilet not working often and us using public facilities instead of our own most of the cruise. We wrote to let corporate know of the issue as I feel they should track infrastructure details and personal hygiene issues closely. We also complimented several key staff members for gong above their duties on the voyage.

 

Today we received a letter from HAL offering a fairly significant dollar amount off a future cruise. So, it can literally pay to voice concerns (and praise) in a level-headed, sincere manner.

Edited October 28, 2014 by sppunk

[wandb]

Bumping ...

 

We wrote after our cruise to HAL expressing our displeasure of our toilet not working often and us using public facilities instead of our own most of the cruise. We wrote to let corporate know of the issue as I feel they should track infrastructure details and personal hygiene issues closely. We also complimented several key staff members for gong above their duties on the voyage.

 

Today we received a letter from HAL offering a fairly significant dollar amount off a future cruise. So, it can literally pay to voice concerns (and praise) in a level-headed, sincere manner.

 

Chris, SO GLAD you got the nice discount from HAL. Where to next? Surely hope you will do another "Live from..." I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments and seeing your excellent pictures of Norway.

 

Also, a much belated "Thank You" for your very kind words on another thread. :)