Live From Rotterdam (Jan 4-14, 2023)

[REOVA]

4 hours ago, Charlene1985 said:

 I like how the Promenade Deck allow you to experience the water and the cruise for what it is: a ship.... I still love the nautical aspect the most. 

 

 Totally agree. One of the reasons we love the old HAL ships with the loungers on the wide teak decks and feeling of a real Ocean Liner instead of a hotel at sea. Being in the middle of the open Pacific (Pacifying) on sea days is still a favorite. 

 

4 hours ago, Charlene1985 said:

 

I saw seats get wiped down with a cleaning rag and then the same rag used to wipe down tabletops.  That is gross to me. 

BINGO. We see this on every ship and have mentioned it multiple times in surveys. Even asked a crew member if they consider washing below and then their face with same cloth. "Top to bottom" means just that.

 

 

Thank you for your review and time, especially with the news from home. 

[Charlene1985]

On 1/12/2023 at 7:41 PM, ew101 said:

Are there any signs or hints of ballroom dancing aboard?  

Not that I have seen honestly.  Just some dancing type of movement during a few songs at The Rolling Stones Rock room. 

[cruzincari]

On 1/12/2023 at 12:13 PM, Charlene1985 said:

Again, I’m late.  We are at sea today but this post will be for our day yesterday, in Aruba. 
 

We woke up and had breakfast in the MDR.  Disappointed to find “powdered” eggs as my scrambled eggs today.  Now in the future I’ll know to order an omelet to get real eggs.  I don’t mind powdered eggs honestly but I don’t expect them in the MDR.  Oh well. Lesson learned.  I’m certainly not starving. 
 

We did a tour of the island with a beach break.  Husband has been to Aruba before but I have not.  We saw a small church and the lighthouse.  The cacti on the island are beautiful and I keep wanting to touch them.  I have yucca at home and those things are just as violent so I refrained.  We paid the $5 each to climb to the top of the lighthouse.  It was 127 steps and after my husband’s huffing and puffing about not wanting to climb, he built his bridge, got over it, and we climbed.  It took 4 seconds but it was quite narrow.  I sort of have a fetish with tall buildings and towers so if there are stairs, I’ll climb the structure. The view was beautiful from the top but of course it was caged in so pictures were nearly impossible.  After those two stops, we made our way to Eagle Beach for 2 hours.  The beach was beautiful but it was sandy so no fish and poor visibility.  We didn’t buy any sodas or snacks but there was a “food truck” there.  I have no idea what they offered.  We spent the time at the beach chatting with another couple. 
 

Now let me say this.  I’m not good with strong smells, loud noise, etc.  So this tour was on an open air school bus with loud music, a funny sounding horn, a driver who sang, and it was painted a variety of colors, most of which I have never seen before.  This was not the tour for me.  People stared at us and I felt like the typical American tourist.  I enjoyed the day, but in some ways the embarrassment and high energy made me not enjoy it. The driver was 20 minutes late picking us up (1:05 vs the 12:45 he told us all to meet- and yes, this was a HAL tour). 
 

We were docked in front of two Royal ships.  Majesty OTS and Harmony OTS.  Harmony is 227,000 gross tons.  She is almost 2.5X the size of Rotterdam.  I don’t like sharing a cabin with my husband half the time.  I couldn’t share a ship with 5,000 other people.  Too much. Too big. But I have a friend that loves them. To each their own.  
 

We were missing a passenger and we left about 10 minutes late.  Harbor pilot saw us out and we were under way.  My husband says they make an easy $300K a year, at least in the US.  So I figured next life, that’s what I’ll do for a living.  Good money and a horn blast of gratitude from the ship when the job is complete.  Can’t ask for more than that. 

 

 We were slightly hungry so we split a meatball hero (sub/hoagie/sandwich or whatever you want to call them). Since the sign says “sub” I know the NY Pizza name isn’t authentic.  Ha!!  Anyway, it was good and took about 10 minutes to make.  I ordered on the app.  Afterwards, I tried a virgin pina colada which may have been the first time I ever had one.  I’ve had pinna coloda flavored things like ice cream, but I’m not going to lie.  It was really really really good.  Without the rum at least.  I don’t like rum.  Maybe that would ruin it. Or maybe it would make it better?  And as we made our way back to the room to work on our crosswords, we passed a batch of cookies in the Lido.  We each grabbed a Macadamia nut cookie and I asked if I could try a chocolate chip cookie and the lady gladly gave us 2 each.  They were really good too but I was partial to the macadamia one. 
 

Did the crossword and showered for dinner.  We ate in the MDR and I had the farro salad which was out of this world good and he had the carrot soup.  His was OK but it wasn’t all that warm.  I had baby back ribs for dinner and a glass of the Pinot Noir.  I’m not a red wine drinker and after half a glass, I remembered why.  It makes me feel awful.  But the main course was great.  It came with spinach, what I can only assume was a spaghetti squash cake and half an ear of corn.  The corn was roasted with something sweet and it was a fantastic meal.  I had the hot fudge sundae for dessert and it came with pistachios.  That was also really good. 
 

After dinner, we made our way down to The Rolling Stones Rock Room to listen to a 45 minute set.  I think this band is fantastic.  I don’t recognize all the songs but I would hire them to play at an event. After their set, I asked if I could take a picture with them and they happily obliged.  I really like that they are 30 years younger than the songs they are playing.  I wonder how long their contract is and if they will stay on Rotterdam or move to different ships from time to time. 
 

After their set finished at 10:15, we came upstairs to our room.  I had some work stuff to take care of and we got watching an old movie on the TV that became more addicting than it should have.  
 

I really liked Aruba.  The view leaving port was absolutely stunning.  I’ve tried uploading a few photos along the way but the cropping mechanism on this website distorts them, so I’ll try again when I get home and have my computer. 
 

I’ll post about today later or tomorrow.  
 

But for those of you who like these items, you’ll be pleased to hear we received two tiles this morning as well as our next level mariner pins since we crossed a level during this sailing. 

Was it Luc’s Open Air Bus Tour?
 

 

[cruzincari]

Was it Luc’s Open Air Bus Tour?

[sansterre]

Thank you for a well-written review of your cruise.  The tornado at your lake house had to be frightening.

We were on the first cruise of this  Rotterdam Fall of 2022.  It is a wonderful ship, although we do prefer the smaller HAL ships.  Ne4vertheless, I do like the Dutch Cafe, so DH and I look forward to boarding the Rotterdam Jan. 25th for an itinerary similar to your cruise.

 

Edited January 15, 2023 by sansterre

[Charlene1985]

Cruise Credits Update!

 

We purchased the Vista Suite so we received the standard 10 cruise credits for the sailing, ten bonus credits for the suite, and because we also purchased HIA, we earned 10 spending credits as well.  Our folio charges totaled $1280. So we earned “spending” credits by having HIA above and beyond what we actually spent onboard.  
 

I still am waiting on a refund for our cancelled Bonaire excursion booked via HAL prior to boarding.  I have called and emailed without success.  I will give them until the end of February then I will dispute the charge with my credit card company. 
 

The clean up at home continues from the tornado.  I am still crying about losing some of my beloved trees.  

[oakridger]

@Charlene1985Thanks so much for the update on cruise credits!

 

Best wishes to you on the tornado damage.  I guess you could find some faster growing trees that are suitable for your area and plant those.  I know, it's not the same but may be therapeutic! 

 

~Nancy

[Charlene1985]

Bump for friend.

Edited February 3 by Charlene1985
Typo.