mini review Rotterdam July 4-11 Norse Legends

[pv girl]

Just off the beautiful Rotterdam and here are a few comments. Sorry no pics or food porn.

 

The ship is in excellent condition - all new upholstery and carpet everywhere. Crow's Nest is beautiful. Only saw rust in the tender boats. Service was exceptional! The Lido has the new "market" concept and I love it. Individual stations for everything, so few lines - only for breakfast at the made to order

egg station, and even then the wait was only a few minutes and eggs cooked perfectly to order, and served with a big smile. The salad bar is not self serve anymore - you pick your lettuce, the exact toppings you want, dressing is added - all behind a glass partition. Loved it - so much better and less prone to germs. Only self-serve area was dessert station and there the kids had their grubby little paws all over the cookies. Bread pudding at lunch and sticky buns for breakfast every day!

 

The oriental stir-fry station had wonderful dishes from a different land each day - curries, rice, noodles, naan bread, oh my- wonderful. And whole turkeys, roasts, etc. varied each day at the carving station - even meatloaf one day - and of course, lots of Dutch dishes, bitterballen, etc.

 

I had room service for coffee each morning, delivered exactly on time. Lunch in Lido and fixed dining for dinner. Lido waiters bring water, iced tea, lemonade, coffee, etc to table and helped this old lady find a seat etc. Wonderful service by all! I noticed a real step up in service here.

 

MDR dinner was at table for 8 - myself and another lady solo and 3 couples. We all got along great and were probably the loudest table - our waiter was very patient - we told stories and jokes, had great discussions, etc. Service was great after the expected rough first night as the waiters got to know our preferences. After that we never had to ask for tea with dessert etc. it just appeared. Wine steward very prompt with the drinks etc.

Food was overall good - no one complained, but escargot never appeared on menu on the 2 "gala" nights.

 

Overall, a very good cruise - will add more comments about the Dutch sailings later and about delayed embarking. Also - never heard AC or toilet problems - just perfect - and no Noro or coughing around.

[portofrome]

Thanks for the review.

[mame42]

Good to hear since I will be aboard for three months! Thanks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

[pv girl]

As expected, most of the guests on this cruise were Dutch. I experienced the same thing on this ship from Rotterdam on Baltic trip in 2012, so knew what to expect. So it is different - all announcements in both languages, and here is where I find a slight fault. Last cruise the director was a young Dutch fellow fluent in both languages, so he interacted constantly with guests all around the ship and at the dock in ports. Our cruise director was Linda "toot-a -loo" and while she is a nice lady, she does not speak Dutch - all her announcements were repeated in Dutch by a young male aide. Therefore, she did not interact with the guests a lot. I think some of them felt like foreigners on this cruise line and that shouldn't be - it is their cruise line, and this ship is based in their country. The captain was Dutch and personalized his comments for all. Very nice man.

 

The Dutch sit and have coffee and visit a lot in the Lido - all good- but hard to find a seat sometimes and they are not big on sharing tables. The waiters did help out here.

 

We missed the highlight port, Bergen, due to high winds. He tried to dock for several hours and then gave it up and we headed home. We were assigned a small dock only 250 ft wide and could not get alongside, wind kept pushing us off. Many disappointed, but such is ship life. I was bummed out, but accomplished the goal of the trip - to see the fjords and we did at the other ports. For compensation we got free bubbly at dinner and refund of port fees. The sailaway from Geieranger was fun - we had a toot fest with P&O and much waving from balconies. The scenic cruising down the fjord was wonerful - music in Crow's Nest started with song "what a wonderful day" and I was in tears - thinkling how lucky I was to be in this place at this time - so many do not have this opportunity. And this was in spite of the rainy day. It was sunny on Bergen day so we missed the good weather gods.

 

Comments on my first solo cruise to follow for those interested in this aspect of it.

[Susie51]

Great review. Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us.

[pv girl]

FYI for those who want an early flight from Schipol - I had expedited disembark - carry own luggage - at the gangway right after docking. Departed ship at 0730, negotiated with taxi driver for ride to Schipol for 130Euro, was at the airport 0830, made 1045 flight. New security is so efficient, just breeze through. Only line was at passport control, maybe 8 deep. Checkin lines at some airlines were long. I flew Delta, and no line at priority checkin for frequent fliers and/or business elite class. Short line for economy. KLM handles Delta at Schipol and all agents very polite. Taxi fare was high for one, but compare to $60 each for HAL bus shuttle and it would be quite reasonable for a couple or family. HAL's first shuttle leaves dock at 0830 and would arrive at airport about 0930, so good for 1130 or later flight.

Edited July 12, 2015 by pv girl
correction

[pv girl]

Staffing - varied by area but did not see a shortage. All bars seemed to have plenty of waiters going around for orders, dining room ran smoothly and manager stopped by daily to check if all was okay. Lido they were tripping over each other getting drinks, clearing tables, etc. and serving stations at Lido well manned. Room stewards were still working for turndown at 900pm but my room was always done when if I returned from early dining, so they must learn your schedule and go by it. Room always done in am when I came back from breakfast, again I think they see you leave and learn your habits. I slept late one day and he knocked on door to see if I was okay. I only used public restrooms a few times, but always clean and functioning.

 

Plenty of fresh flowers, towel animals, etc.

 

Only "cutback", if you want to call it that, were it seemed like less number of choices on dinner menu, but the food was good. No one at my table complained except the gluten-free lady and she said the only choice seemed to be chicken and she was getting tired of it. Again, she wasn't unhappy with quality of food, just the choices. Dessert menu was same as always - loved the fruit crisps and creme brulee. Missing in action - escargot on "gala" night and lamb chops - had to go to Pinnacle for grilled lamb chops. There was a lamb kebob one night. New dish on menu one night was a mixed Indonesian plate - all kinds of stuff - and very tasty.

 

Did not try Dive-In but saw lots around pool eating the burgers, so they must have been good. Cookies were super. Less flavor choices at ice cream bar - a little thing and I would not fault them for that - many lines only offer soft serve for free so HAL is exceptional for offering free real ice cream. Had to pay for gelato on Princess, only soft serve was free.

 

Rotterdam is a clean well-run ship and I highly recommend her. She is old but so elegant. Saw Capt. Card's paintings of the old ships.

 

Microsoft classes were well attended - lots of classes on new Windows 8. Internet stunk - my only complaint on the whole cruise - too slow. They told us it would be bad in the fjords, we could not get CNN or BBC on TV when in fjords either. But internet was slow even when at sea. They refunded when I complained.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thank you so much for the review. We are seriously thinking of booking this cruise on the Rotterdam in 2016 as it fits perfectly before a river cruise we are taking which ends in Amsterdam, so one airfare!

 

Can you tell me more about the ports you visited?

 

Thanks again!

Edited July 12, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your enjoyable Rotterdam cruise.

[sppunk]

This made me relive our legends cruise last September. Thank you!

[AlohaO]

Do the still have have self serve laundry on the updated Rotterdam?

[Keith1010]

Thanks for the review.

Keith

[pv girl]

Do the still have have self serve laundry on the updated Rotterdam?

 

yes

I used the one near my room on deck 6. 3 washers and 3 dryers - no one else in there - got quarters from front desk - special soap provided - all you need to bring is dryer sheets - ironing board and iron also - there were 2 other laundry rooms on this ship also

[Moriah]

Lovely review! I love reading positive comments and delight. So glad you enjoyed your cruise. Rotterdam is on my "to-cruise" list!

[alandau]

Thank you so much for your review. We are on the Rotterdam Sept. 12 for two weeks. Doing the fjords past the Arctic Circle. Looking so forward to this and now even more so.

[pv girl]

Just another thought to add - about the entertainment.

 

3 nights the showroom had the singers/dancers - nothing on first night by the way. One night a popular Dutch magician and he was good. Another night a singer called "Iris" and one night the winner of Dutch "Voice" who sang and played harp - very good.

 

Piano bar each night. The Band in Ocean Bar early in the evening and folks were dancing. Adagio was one piano player and noticed she had a pretty full room when I walked thru on several nights.

 

BB King at 9,10,11 in Crow's Nest. Unable to use the room for a quiet drink and viewing due to this. They are loud! Schedule showed DJ in Crow's Nest at midnight.

 

Movies in afternoon and evening in Wajang shown on the TV next day.

[mame42]

Have the Lanais or Vistas been updated at all?

[pv girl]

Have the Lanais or Vistas been updated at all?

 

I had a vista Suite on deck 6 and all appeared in good condition. Deck chairs and cushions seemed new as no wear or fading on cushions at all. Make-up lighted mirror had some of the mirror finish missing and I reported it the first night and a new one was installed next morning. Towels were new as very fluffy and pure white. Same for robes. Couch was black leather and seemed brand new - bed comfy as usual, and linens in perfect shape. Also no marks on walls (in room or hallway), so they must have been recently redone. All was good.

 

Flowers replaced midweek and they weren't dead yet. Day of week in elevators. Did notice a blower in hallway one day so leaking somewhere, we had rain though. Machines in laundry looked new.

 

FCD gave me the new cruise catalog when I paid my deposit, so I am looking at 2016 now! FYI - she said sailings on new ship are selling well, so not to dally on a decision there - especially the maiden transatlantic.

Edited July 16, 2015 by pv girl
add

[Loreto]

Thanks for the review pv girl! We were on the Rotterdam in 2008 Black Sea, Egypt and Holy Land. I will be booking the Rotterdam for next April...21 day Western Europe and Norse Legends while we are on the Statendam in Alaska. I have already booked business class air with FF miles on Delta/Air France, with one flight from Amsterdam to CDG Paris on KLM. Good to hear about Schipol. Our return flight leaves at 4:30 PM so we have plenty of time to get to the airport...I was worried about booking an earlier flight.

I appreciate your information!

 

Karen