Dipping our toes back into cruising

[taxman1]

My wife and I decided to it was time to get back onboard as our last cruise was in 2018. This is our 5th on HAL and 14th overall.  As most we utilize the CC boards to gain valuable insight from fellow cruisers and share our own thoughts.  Well here we go …

 

We boarded the Rotterdam yesterday at Port Everglades. We were about 30 minutes ahead of our boarding time after dropping the car off at Park n Go.  The boarding process was fairly smooth and took approx 45 minutes from the time we stepped off the shuttle until we reached our aft cabin.  This is our first venture into an Aft cabin (more to come on that front).
 

The standard aft room is a bit smaller than expected but we got ourselves organized and seem to have our process in place.  Thanks to those providing the shoe storage over the door idea - brilliant!   The magnets for the walls have also allowed for excellent organization and saved on the precious closet space.  The bathroom is clearly a one person only space and probably my biggest surprise on size.  However, the actually balcony space is larger than expected and the main purpose of grabbing that cabin.  
 

Although the temperature was a bit chilly for us Floridians we still enjoyed watching the Harmony of the Seas maneuver out from behind us before we pushed off for our journey.  Looking forward to many afternoon cocktails on our balcony until we return back to Port Everglades on the 15th.  
 

We booked this cruise under the HIA promotion and added Club Orange.  Dinner in Club Orange was excellent.  We had a sinking feeling when proceeding to the Club as we passed the long line waiting for the dining room.  The line extended the length of the hallway onto the staircase.  Club Orange had a full house, but the wait was less than 10 minutes, as Wilder promised.  We wanted another 10 minutes at the table before being greeted by the waiter which allowed plenty of time to nail down our choices for the evening.  The Burrata salad and corn chowder was excellent.  Fresh greens in the salad and very cold.  Soup was hot with a nice amount of heat for the tastebuds.  The Peruvian Chicken was the star of the show!  The rub on the chicken had the right amount of kick and the meat was juicy and flavorful.  Looking forward to another meal at the Club tonight.  

After dinner we made our first contribution to the one arm bandits and explored the shops.  The band playing at The Rolling Stones venue sounded great when playing a Joe Walsh cover tune which caused us to pause in the hallway and watch a bit.  We made it an early evening as the night before was not restful due to the excitement of our first cruise in 5 years.  
 

We expected more movement in an Aft cabin but oh Nelly - very rough seas last night caused us both to jump up several times.  White caps this morning have started to disappear and the sea legs are getting back in shape.  An officer we met in the elevator suggested another 24 hours of high wind and bumpy seas.  
 

All in all not a bad return … more to come.  
 

 

 

[ski ww]

Welcome back, hope you enjoy your cruise, the very back or very front of the ship in rough seas can be exciting. Gives some great stories to tell after the fact.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Welcome back to cruising! Interesting that you think the regular aft cabin is smaller than usual. I had a corner aft on K and thought it was smaller than the corner afts on the vista ships. And for a Neptune suite, the bathroom was very small. (I later had a midship Neptune that had a large bathroom. Maybe they skimped at the back for everyone.)

 

I loved breakfast in CO. It was nice to have a small, peaceful venue to start the day, Waffles and pancakes made to order, not fetched from a warming tray in the main kitchen.

 

I hope you have smooth seas. K'dam bounced and slammed down on waves like you describe. That's why I went midships on my second cruise on that class of ship.

 

Don't miss Tamarind and the Dutch Cafe!

[Florida_gal_50]

Agree with the previous poster.  I’ve had aft cabins before but the koningsdam seemed really rough.  I hope yours is better.  I really enjoyed the Peruvian chicken as well.  I didn’t eat in club orange very often at night but when I did the food was excellent.

[Bemidji Ty]

Thanks for your review.  Cheers.

[taxman1]

Yesterday was another day at sea.  We enjoyed the sun deck on 12 most of the afternoon as we got our steps in on the Promenade first thing in the morning.  We have found the Lido for lunch satisfying with the salad bar and sushi.  As we tend to just have coffee for breakfast our lunch is typically 11:30-11:45 so no crowds to deal with at that time.  Dinner at the Club was fantastic yet again - short ribs are a must try.  The group playing at BB King’s is a must see.  The female singer came alive last night with a Marvin Gay classic.  Last night we attended a Mariner’s special event and met some great fellow cruisers.  The sentiment was pretty consistent amongst the group that HAL is losing its touch.  
 

Today was St Maarten for shopping.   4 ships in port today so a busy one on the streets.  The water taxis is a great addition since our last visit to the port a good number of years ago.  A great day was had by most I am sure.  
 

We ordered breakfast from room service and must say they food was hot, correct and on-time.  Coffee was ok, but I prefer the Dutch cafe. When coming back onboard late this afternoon. We decided to try the Dive-In for a hamburger.  I placed an order on the app from my room and left almost immediately to pleasantly find our order ready as we approached the counter. Burger and fries were hot and very good.  Tonight is Tamarind so will provide more insights shortly.  
 

St Lucia tomorrow - Beach time!
 

 

[doone]

I am on the Rotterdam in March with a group of friends and family, we all have open dining am I am now a bit nervous…….what time did you see the long lines waiting to be seated in the dining room?

 

Nervously waiting😟

[robotpony]

11 minutes ago, doone said:

I am on the Rotterdam in March with a group of friends and family, we all have open dining am I am now a bit nervous…….what time did you see the long lines waiting to be seated in the dining room?

 

We were on a fully booked NS cruise at Christmas that had a max of ~30 minute waits (twice over 14 days), where they used the pager disks so you could go sit at a bar to wait. The other days were < 10 minutes, even if there was a bit of a line. We tend to eat around 7PM.

 

We didn't mind the waits, and most restaurants around our area normally either have waits or you need to make reservations ahead of time.

 

We did find service a bit slower than previous cruises, but it didn't really affect our experience overall.

[doone]

50 minutes ago, robotpony said:

 

We were on a fully booked NS cruise at Christmas that had a max of ~30 minute waits (twice over 14 days), where they used the pager disks so you could go sit at a bar to wait. The other days were < 10 minutes, even if there was a bit of a line. We tend to eat around 7PM.

 

We didn't mind the waits, and most restaurants around our area normally either have waits or you need to make reservations ahead of time.

 

We did find service a bit slower than previous cruises, but it didn't really affect our experience overall.

Thank you, that works for us……phew!!!

[Cruise Suzy]

2 hours ago, doone said:

I am on the Rotterdam in March with a group of friends and family, we all have open dining am I am now a bit nervous…….what time did you see the long lines waiting to be seated in the dining room?

 

Nervously waiting😟

 

Don't forget you can make MDR reservations once onboard. That results in not being part of a long line.

[taxman1]

We have encountered the lines around 6 ish when we are making our way to the Ocean Bar for cocktails.  And yes we have noticed fellow cruisers walking around with pagers for the main dining room.  Can’t say this happens to all but we have certainly noticed fellow passengers coming into the bar with their pager and remaining there when we we leave after 20-30 minutes from their arrival.  
 

Yesterday was St Lucia. Breakfast in the morning was delivered almost 30 minutes early, but hot and correct.  The tour which included a beach break was a train wreck.  Too little time at the beach and was constantly hawked by locals who did not understand the meaning of “No Thank You”.  Dinner at the Club was outstanding as usual and was crowded when we arrived after 7:15pm.  Wilder and Genesis found us a table for 2 and we enjoyed a glass of wine before dinner.  I tried the flat iron steak while me wife had the eggplant.  Both were outstanding, however, the Peruvian chicken still holds the title for best dish.   BB king Allstate were on fire again last night.  She covers Tina Turner with such feeling, all without shouting like most need to do when covering Tina. 
 

The beach break today at Barbados was excellent.  Night and day compared to our experience yesterday in St Lucia.  Only complaint is the 4 hours seemed to go by way too fast!   The port here in Bridgeport is a bit chaotic and confusing for most to get with the right tour.  Celebrity and Aida both had representatives insight to help passengers.  None could be found for HAL.   An afternoon at the pool was most enjoyable and now off to get our 10k steps before cocktail hour on the veranda!