Reporting from on the Rotterdam January 14 through February 25

[iflyrc5]

We went to see the musical group "The Knights" again tonight and they are excellent.  They will be on board for the Feb 25 sailing so make sure you see them.  They are doing a 3rd show on our last night of the cruise.

[iflyrc5]

Sea day #1 of 2 heading back to Port Everglades.

 

Here is the daily for Friday - Feb 24.

[iflyrc5]

Yesterday was the last day of our 42 day cruise.  We had an excellent time and as always the crew members were OUTSTANDING.  The entertainment for the most part was good.  The Step One Dance company is excellent but we have seen these same shows (I have seen Humanity 14 times) since 2018.  The 2 singing groups (The Runaround Kids and The Knights) were excellent - looking forward to seeing them again on a DAM ship.  The food was good in both the MDR and Lido.  Pinnacle and Tamarind were very good but I still don't understand the reason for an upcharge if you want soup and salad in the Pinnacle.  I can have 3 or 4 appetizers in the MDR for no extra.  The one thing that HAL can improve greatly on is the shipboard process on turn around days.  When we turnaround in Port Everglades and CBP requires all passengers to get off the ship and go through customs (I don't really understand why but it is a requirement).  The issue we had on all 3 turn around days was that on the ship we are required to meet at a stated location (World Stage on this ship).  Instead of scanning our ship cards when we entered guest services personnel were there with paper lists to check people off.  This was a very slow process and on all 3 turn around days the line was all the way back to the BB King lounge.  The scan our cards  when we order as the NY deli, the Dive In, and the Gelato bar so you would think that they could scan us in for turnaround day.  They do it on other HAL ships so why not on the latest ship?

 

Again - overall a great cruise with a great crew and looking forward to our next 3 cruises on a DAM ship.

[leerathje]

lol...I haven't been on board the Rotterdam since the 15th.  Apparently, I have a reservation at the Tamarind tonight, according to Navigator.

 

Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to make it!

 

Leanne

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by leerathje

[Florida_gal_50]

45 minutes ago, leerathje said:

lol...I haven't been on board the Rotterdam since the 15th.  Apparently, I have a reservation at the Tamarind tonight, according to Navigator.

 

Sorry, I don't think I'll be able to make it!

 

Leanne

 

I had issues with that after returning from cruises but strangely enough not since the upstart.

[iflyrc5]

Got off the Rotterdam at 0845 this morning - we were at pier 19.  It was a real hassle to get a taxi to the airport.  50 people in line and a taxi only showing up every 5 minutes or so.  Finally took a private company shuttle which was also a hassle as they had to stuff it with luggage and people (held 14) with different airlines.  Lucky we were on Southwest so got off at the first stop.  Still took a little over an hour for the 10 minute ride.  Might use Uber next time.

[KroozNut]

56 minutes ago, iflyrc5 said:

Got off the Rotterdam at 0845 this morning - we were at pier 19.  It was a real hassle to get a taxi to the airport.  50 people in line and a taxi only showing up every 5 minutes or so.  Finally took a private company shuttle which was also a hassle as they had to stuff it with luggage and people (held 14) with different airlines.  Lucky we were on Southwest so got off at the first stop.  Still took a little over an hour for the 10 minute ride.  Might use Uber next time.

Appreciate the insight and your personal experience here. We're looking at best option to get from the cruise port to the airport at the end of our cruise next month.

Sounds like it may make sense to get an Uber.

[0106]

@iflyrc5sorry there was an issue with the taxis.  I’m glad you had a back up plan and were able to find transportation to the airport.

I had a very different experience disembarking the Rotterdam on 2/15.  Left ship about 8:15, walked off the ship with our luggage, no lines, customs was facial recognition, no lines.  Walked outside, taxis were lined up with police directing traffic.  Arrived at Southwest gate at 8:58.

[leerathje]

10 hours ago, KroozNut said:

Appreciate the insight and your personal experience here. We're looking at best option to get from the cruise port to the airport at the end of our cruise next month.

Sounds like it may make sense to get an Uber.

 

I was on the same cruise as @0106.  There would be influxes of taxis, and like she said, no one had to wait long, but we needed to ensure we had room for my dad's rollator, so we ordered an UberXL.  it was $26.00 to the airport.

[boatmad]

We disembarked 2/4 with lots of ships in port.  Had called for a Lyft early am.  Changed drivers 3 times while we waited.  Mess!  However got to our car at hotel quickly and only cost $16.00.  Uber was $35.00 that morning.  So much better than waiting in that huge taxi line!

[Florida_gal_50]

33 minutes ago, leerathje said:

 

I was on the same cruise as @0106.  There would be influxes of taxis, and like she said, no one had to wait long, but we needed to ensure we had room for my dad's rollator, so we ordered an UberXL.  it was $26.00 to the airport.

So you didn't take a cab but you know it wasn't a problem.  OK.  I think I'll take the information from someone that did.

[Zanne208]

11 hours ago, KroozNut said:

Appreciate the insight and your personal experience here. We're looking at best option to get from the cruise port to the airport at the end of our cruise next month.

Sounds like it may make sense to get an Uber.

We paid for Holland to take our luggage direct (the night before), so make sure you keep a carryon for you toiletrie/etc.  We also paid for transportation with Holland (they provide large buses), they take you and your carry-on directly to FLL (for us, believe there was one for those flying out of Miami), dropped us off at our airline terminal.

For us, it was worth the extra $$ for no hassle at the end of an awesome cruise.

[leerathje]

7 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

So you didn't take a cab but you know it wasn't a problem.  OK.  I think I'll take the information from someone that did.

 

I know it wasn't a problem the week I was there because I physically saw the taxi lineup come and go, and knew how long it took to get one if you didn't have specific needs.  We considered taking a taxi, but realized as we stood there and watched taxis come and go, that many were smaller vehicles, and we could not ensure we had a larger one for my dad's mobility issues.   Everyone has different disembarkation experiences...We disembarked on a Wednesday, and there were only two ships in port that day.  The experience someone would have on a Saturday when there are 6 ships in port is completely different. 

 

However, I was simply letting @KroozNutand others who have to ensure a larger vehicle the cost of an Uber XL.

 

L.

 

[Florida_gal_50]

12 minutes ago, leerathje said:

 

I know it wasn't a problem the week I was there because I physically saw the taxi lineup come and go, and knew how long it took to get one if you didn't have specific needs.  We considered taking a taxi, but realized as we stood there and watched taxis come and go, that many were smaller vehicles, and we could not ensure we had a larger one for my dad's mobility issues.   Everyone has different disembarkation experiences...We disembarked on a Wednesday, and there were only two ships in port that day.  The experience someone would have on a Saturday when there are 6 ships in port is completely different. 

 

However, I was simply letting @KroozNutand others who have to ensure a larger vehicle the cost of an Uber XL.

 

L.

 

Yes disembarkation on a Wed is totally different then Saturday.  It just seems so prevalent on cruise critic to discount the experience of others.  That's really my issue.

[KroozNut]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes disembarkation on a Wed is totally different then Saturday.  It just seems so prevalent on cruise critic to discount the experience of others.  That's really my issue.

 

I didn't read any 'discounting the experience of others' in her response, she simply agreed with a previous poster that there didn't appear to be any issues with the taxi service on her morning of disembarkation.

Don't need first-hand experience to observe that. And yes, of course, disembarkation on a Wed is almost guaranteed to be less chaotic than a Sat.

[Florida_gal_50]

59 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

 

I didn't read any 'discounting the experience of others' in her response, she simply agreed with a previous poster that there didn't appear to be any issues with the taxi service on her morning of disembarkation.

Don't need first-hand experience to observe that. And yes, of course, disembarkation on a Wed is almost guaranteed to be less chaotic than a Sat.

Yes of course you didn’t see that.  No big surprise there. 

[KroozNut]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Yes of course you didn’t see that.  No big surprise there. 

 

I hate surprises! 😉

[islander47]

21 hours ago, iflyrc5 said:

Got off the Rotterdam at 0845 this morning - we were at pier 19.  It was a real hassle to get a taxi to the airport. 

What port are you in? We arrive in Fort Lauderdale on April 10th and had planned to take a taxi to the airport. Now nervous about this decision.

[Florida_gal_50]

9 minutes ago, islander47 said:

What port are you in? We arrive in Fort Lauderdale on April 10th and had planned to take a taxi to the airport. Now nervous about this decision.

He was in Fort Lauderdale.

[iflyrc5]

13 hours ago, islander47 said:

What port are you in? We arrive in Fort Lauderdale on April 10th and had planned to take a taxi to the airport. Now nervous about this decision.

It was Ft Laudale - Port Everglades - pier 19.  There were 6 large ships in which makes for a busy day of transferring guests the the airport.  We have not had an issue as pier 26 trying to get a cab so don't know if it was because we were at 19.   Since we had a late flight we should have just waited on the ship until the last call to depart and it probably would not have been as busy.  Some folks were taking Uber as I saw several cars with that sign on cars in the drop off line.