State of the Rotterdam

[OlsSalt]

......

 

Most of us want accommodations as nice or nicer than we have at home. Just saying , of course.

 

Is your home an ocean going vessel? Just asking.

[sammiedawg]

Is your home an ocean going vessel? Just asking.

 

We will agree to disagree on acceptable Ocean vessel standards.

I’ve had personal experience dodging buckets in hallways, although not in the Lido. I’ve had personal experience with non working HVAC so bad that a smoke haze permeated hallways and public rooms, even in non smoking areas. I’ve had personal experience with significant cabin vibrations so bad that the room steward left stacks of wash clothes to be shoved under broken table legs and broken drawers (sea conditions were mild and average ship speed). I’ve had personal experience with non working AC, musty cabins and hallways, broken down chaise loungers, broken light fixtures covered with tarps. I saw a dining chair leg break with an average sized person sitting in it.

Just saying.

[OlsSalt]

We will agree to disagree on acceptable Ocean vessel standards.

I’ve had personal experience dodging buckets in hallways, although not in the Lido. I’ve had personal experience with non working HVAC so bad that a smoke haze permeated hallways and public rooms, even in non smoking areas. I’ve had personal experience with significant cabin vibrations so bad that the room steward left stacks of wash clothes to be shoved under broken table legs and broken drawers (sea conditions were mild and average ship speed). I’ve had personal experience with non working AC, musty cabins and hallways, broken down chaise loungers, broken light fixtures covered with tarps. I saw a dining chair leg break with an average sized person sitting in it.

Just saying.

 

So have I. Ship happens.

[Jellyfish21]

My nye cruise on the Rotterdam last month was my 30th cruise since 1989. I have been on NCL, RCL, Princess and CCL.

Despite the dry dock, the Rotterdam was the most decrepit ship, had the worst entertainment and tied one CCL Cruise taken ten years ago for worst mdr service.

If this is what the rest of HAL is like, I could see this line being absorbed into its CCL sister lines.

For those who fault people like me for being picky, you’ve really missed the point. There are other cruise lines offering a better product and in a free market, it’s the better product they survives.

Keep in mind that cabin prices are market driven. High demand means cruise line can charge more, low demand means they can charge less. The cheapest holiday cruise was...HAL!

Did a search for summer AK cruise and the cheapest AK Cruise was...HAL!

I think that speaks volumes.

[OlsSalt]

My nye cruise on the Rotterdam last month was my 30th cruise since 1989. I have been on NCL, RCL, Princess and CCL.

Despite the dry dock, the Rotterdam was the most decrepit ship, had the worst entertainment and tied one CCL Cruise taken ten years ago for worst mdr service.

If this is what the rest of HAL is like, I could see this line being absorbed into its CCL sister lines.

For those who fault people like me for being picky, you’ve really missed the point. There are other cruise lines offering a better product and in a free market, it’s the better product they survives.

Keep in mind that cabin prices are market driven. High demand means cruise line can charge more, low demand means they can charge less. The cheapest holiday cruise was...HAL!

Did a search for summer AK cruise and the cheapest AK Cruise was...HAL!

I think that speaks volumes.

 

Nice of you to keep in touch with the HAL cruise critic group. Glad you found your own alternate choices for value cruising too. I take comfort learning HAL's "low-quality, low-demand" products will assure me continued lower-oost HAL cruising. Sail on.

[catnana]

My husband and I were on the Rotterdam for a 14 day Southern Caribbean departing Tampa on Dec.03/ 2017 in a balcony cabin. After we had booked I began to read all the cruise critic negative reports ( plumbing issues etc) that surfaced after the recent drydock in Nov. /2017. We became of course a little concerned as to the state of the ship and if we had made the right decision, given that we were coming a long distance from our hometown of Vancouver. To our surprise once aboard we found no issues at all, the ship was in great condition and we enjoyed our 4 star Mariner perks !

The only minor inconveniences were

1. Sidestepping crew doing maintenance work on the promenade deck during our daily 1 mile walk.

2. Problem with the tender cables pulling up the last tender, necessitating an 8 hour delay departing Grand Cayman.

We expect these things can happen on an ocean going ship and take them in stride as we like a real ship, not just a hotel floating on the water. I would not hesitate booking the Rotterdam again.

[TAD2005]

Some folks demand perfection. On a ship, it's not always possible. We had two cruises on Silver Seas and Crystal. On the Silver Seas cruise we had non functioning toilets and multiple problems with the ship's tenders. On Crystal we had air conditioning problems in a cruise near the equator, and some buckets in hallways. But they were very fashionable buckets !! All problems were fixed in a day, but it was an inconvenience. Just because you pay the "big bucks" doesn't guarantee perfection. As other's have said, on a ship.....ship happens !!!

[Cruizer Bill]

Lesley,

We recently had a very LONG discussion about the refurbished Rotterdam. You need to read it - here it is:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2560976