Just off the Rotterdam

[CNSJ]

Just a quick review of cruise completed two days ago on the Rotterdam.  We normally don't travel to Europe for a 7 day cruise, and had a transatlantic (B2B - albeit with a ship transfer from Zuiderdam to Rotterdam planned), but due to a unexpected set of events, we had to cancel T/A part of our trip.  So we took four days in Amsterdam, a seven day trip to Norwegian Fjords, and a post stay in the Netherlands as our Spring 2024 trip.  Despite a forecast for rain most days, we actually had great weather most days.  Who complains about sunny and 65 in Flam in May?  Short sleeves in Amsterdam city?  All good.

 

Ship:

• Rotterdam remains in great shape and is being well maintained.  Our Deck 6 amidships verandah was immaculate with everything in working order.
• Had Cub Orange this run and will have to say the Club Orange dining room experience was on par with the best we have had in the Pinnacle Grill.  Fast and great service, and the food was the best we have had in over 15 years of cruising with HAL.
• FISH!  Love seafood and had a great variety on this ship.  In Canaletto they offered Norwegian Red King Crab for a $25 upcharge.  Well worth it as the same crab in a Bergen seafood market area stall was over $120 a pound.  The fresh fish items were marked in bold red.  Had several other fresh fish items on the main dining/Club Orange menu as well as in Lido.
• This cruise had a very large Dutch passenger load.  I heard one crew member say over 2,000 passengers from the Netherlands.  As English speaking Americans we may have even been outnumbered by our English speaking friends from Canada.  All announcements were in English and Dutch.  With this passenger mix, late dining was packed, and entertainment started later to along with European time preferences.  All in all a great passenger mix.
• Embark and departure were quick and easy. 

 

Ports:

• Eidfjord:  Nice little fjord town with shops and trips to nearby waterfalls.
• Alesund:  Small city with many sights to see in the nearby countryside - all connected by underwater tunnels.
• Flam:  The railway is a must do.  Buy your tickets online through train company if you can to save many dollars/euros/kroner
• Bergen:  The cool Norwegian city that is walkable, scenic, and rich in history.  Walk to the funicular and enjoy the panoramic view.

 

Other comments:

• Pre cruise hotel we stayed at the Doubletree near Centraal Station in Amsterdam.  Hotel was modern, clean and had a great breakfast.  Very easy walk from train we took from AMS Schipol (20 min).  Don't be worried about buying tickets etc.  The machine works in English and has easy buttons like "I want to go to Amsterdam"
• Train from Amsterdam Centraal to Rotterdam Central easy as well.  Short walk to our night before stay at Hilton Rotterdam.  Another immaculate hotel with great service.  Morning Uber to cruise terminal was about 20 euros for an Uber XL and a 5 min wait.
• Post cruise we took HAL shuttle to AMS Schipol Airport, where we stayed at the Hilton Schipol.  Our room was ready so we had an early check in and used day to run into Amsterdam by train (20 min each way) before our flight back.  Perfect pre flight hotel before dealing with AMS airport.  But, it turns out we were checked in for our Jet Blue flight in minutes and security took only about 15 minutes.  So plenty of time to enjoy the shops at Schipol.  I won't take such times for granted on our next trip and will still arrive 3 hours before flight!

 

HAL continues to provide a level of service we enjoy.  The product remains consistent across the fleet in our opinion.  ROTTERDAM shines. 

[Sea42]

That sounds wonderful! I'm glad you enjoyed your experiences.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your comments.  It sounds like you had a wonderful cruise.

[MustBCruzn]

1 hour ago, CNSJ said:

HAL continues to provide a level of service we enjoy.  The product remains consistent across the fleet in our opinion.  ROTTERDAM shines. 

 

DH and I were disembarkng the 14-Night British Isles cruise on the Rotterdam as you were preparing to board. I agree with you completely that the ship, service, and food were fantastic. We loved the Rotterdam. Glad you had a wonderful cruise, we sure did!

[wdw1972]

Thank you for your review

 

Sue/WDW1972

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info.

[epanchenko]

Did you have to tender in Flam?  I am taking this cruise in August and am just curious.  I understand your experience may not be mine, depending on the number of ships in port that day (currently I saw only one for my sailing).

[CNSJ]

54 minutes ago, epanchenko said:

Did you have to tender in Flam?  I am taking this cruise in August and am just curious.  I understand your experience may not be mine, depending on the number of ships in port that day (currently I saw only one for my sailing).

No, we went alongside the pier.  I was surprised as the original schedule on HAL's website showed us with Flam as a Tender port.  Had I know that, I would have booked an earlier trip on Flam Railway (Flamsbana).  But, the later train ride led to better weather!

[epanchenko]

9 minutes ago, CNSJ said:

No, we went alongside the pier.  I was surprised as the original schedule on HAL's website showed us with Flam as a Tender port.  Had I know that, I would have booked an earlier trip on Flam Railway (Flamsbana).  But, the later train ride led to better weather!

I read a older post that said it just depends if there are two ships in port that day, the dock can only accomodate one ship.  If there is only one ship, it will be a dock port.  They put tender on the website just in case there are multiple ships and they can't dock.  I want to book another excursion besides the train, and the only way to make it work is to book the train early.

[Iamthesea]

Did you have any trouble with the transfer from the port to AMS?  We were on the cruise before yours and our transportation was at least an hour behind.  Huge lines to get off the ship and to where the bus was parked.

[Wayward Son]

11 hours ago, CNSJ said:

• Post cruise we took HAL shuttle to AMS Schipol Airport, where we stayed at the Hilton Schipol.

 

That is exactly our intention in August. However, HAL isn't currently offering that service. I find it unlikely that it's sold out (just keep running the shuttles until you're done), so I'm at a loss.

 

[Roz]

Great review!  I've stayed at the Doubletree Centraal Station twice pre-cruise and highly recommend it.  Reasonably priced hotel in a convenient location. 

[CNSJ]

10 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Did you have any trouble with the transfer from the port to AMS? 

No, but then again, we took one of the later shuttles.  Can't speak to those in a rush to get there after arrival.

[CNSJ]

10 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

 

That is exactly our intention in August. However, HAL isn't currently offering that service. I find it unlikely that it's sold out (just keep running the shuttles until you're done), so I'm at a loss.

 

In a pinch, take a taxi to Rotterdam Centraal and then train to airport.

[0106]

Thanks for your review @CNSJ especially the info about not having to tender in Flam.  I’m hopeful that we don’t need to tender in August.  Also good info about the train.  We plan on taking the tram to the train to the airport.  Much cheaper than the HAL transfer.

[VMax1700]

12 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

 

That is exactly our intention in August. However, HAL isn't currently offering that service. I find it unlikely that it's sold out (just keep running the shuttles until you're done), so I'm at a loss.

 

The shuttles to AMS were sold out online prior to our cruise in April/May, but more were added and were bookable during the cruise using stateroom tv.

As you are staying overnight (presumption on my part because of your wording) then you could also take a half day tour to the windmills at Kinderdijk with airport drop off.  Several people did that on our cruise taking the tour to Keukenhof gardens and airport drop off by 11.30 am)

[MustBCruzn]

13 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Did you have any trouble with the transfer from the port to AMS?  We were on the cruise before yours and our transportation was at least an hour behind.  Huge lines to get off the ship and to where the bus was parked.

 

We were on this cruise too (so nice to meet you at the meet & greet!). The line for the airport shuttle was definitely a zoo. Fortunately we weren't worried about a flight, we were just spending the night at the Sheriton Airport Hotel, and used the shuttle for a ride there. If I had a flight out that day I would have been stressed for sure.

[Iamthesea]

13 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

 

That is exactly our intention in August. However, HAL isn't currently offering that service. I find it unlikely that it's sold out (just keep running the shuttles until you're done), so I'm at a loss.

 

 

Transfers did not become available until closer to our cruise.  Perhaps the first of April when our cruise was May 11th.  I kept checking.

 

3 hours ago, CNSJ said:

In a pinch, take a taxi to Rotterdam Centraal and then train to airport.

 

55 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

The shuttles to AMS were sold out online prior to our cruise in April/May, but more were added and were bookable during the cruise using stateroom tv.

As you are staying overnight (presumption on my part because of your wording) then you could also take a half day tour to the windmills at Kinderdijk with airport drop off.  Several people did that on our cruise taking the tour to Keukenhof gardens and airport drop off by 11.30 am)

 

I think that was the problem in Rotterdam.  The port parking lot was very small.  There were airport transfer buses, and also the tour buses leaving at the same time.  Our transfer was to begin at 7:30.  We were called down to disembark at that time, but instead of walking off of the ship and onto a bus (as I had envisioned), we were placed in a line mixed with those taking off their own luggage, taking tours (those staying on for another week), taking tours/airport transfer combined, and those taking their own transport.  Our flight was at 12:10, so we made it in plenty of time, but that's because we had priority check-in and security at the airport.  Also, we were not flying back to the U.S. on a major airline. We flew to Germany on KLM.

 

Having a large and small suitcase, each, we decided that a transfer would be the better option over taking a tram, plus a train back to the airport.  Plus, we had some leftover excursion credit to use.  The transfer was $35pp.  Before our cruise, we did take a train from AMS to Rotterdam Centraal, and then a taxi to our hotel in Rotterdam.  We had booked First Class train tickets ahead of time (because of our luggage).  Cost was $65.45 total.  The taxi from RC to Hotel NY was $30.  We came out ahead with the ship transfer and it was easier once we got through the line back-up.  

[Wayward Son]

11 hours ago, CNSJ said:

In a pinch, take a taxi to Rotterdam Centraal and then train to airport.

 

We have decided against that option w/ luggage.

 

 

9 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

As you are staying overnight (presumption on my part because of your wording) then you could also take a half day tour to the windmills at Kinderdijk with airport drop off.  Several people did that on our cruise taking the tour to Keukenhof gardens and airport drop off by 11.30 am)

 

That is an excellent option. Yes, we are staying at the Airport Sheraton. I'm putting that down as Plan B. If transfers do not become available soon, I'll book the excursion and cancel if things change.

 

[SDARCH]

23 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

That is exactly our intention in August. However, HAL isn't currently offering that service. I find it unlikely that it's sold out (just keep running the shuttles until you're done), so I'm at a loss.

I thought the same for our May 11 cruise.  I was looking for the transfer under Shore Excursions.  

It was a different tab.  Booked on Feb 21...so August should be available.

[Goldenrosebags]

We're going on a 14 day norwegian fjords cruise in mid July ( I think it may be a B2B) on the Rotterdam and they canceled our stop in Flam. I hope the people on the August cruise get to go. They're sending us somewhere else that day (can't remember where) Trying to just be excited about our trip and not dissapointed. Its our first HAL cruise.

[Wayward Son]

36 minutes ago, Goldenrosebags said:

We're going on a 14 day norwegian fjords cruise in mid July ( I think it may be a B2B) on the Rotterdam and they canceled our stop in Flam. I hope the people on the August cruise get to go. They're sending us somewhere else that day (can't remember where) Trying to just be excited about our trip and not dissapointed. Its our first HAL cruise.

 

Heh. If you get disappointed over one cancelled cruise port, don't ever cruise NCL (or any other mass-market cruise line). It's pretty standard. NCL is the worst.

 

 

[Iamthesea]

17 hours ago, Goldenrosebags said:

We're going on a 14 day norwegian fjords cruise in mid July ( I think it may be a B2B) on the Rotterdam and they canceled our stop in Flam. I hope the people on the August cruise get to go. They're sending us somewhere else that day (can't remember where) Trying to just be excited about our trip and not dissapointed. Its our first HAL cruise.

What is the new port?

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 6/3/2024 at 9:17 PM, Goldenrosebags said:

We're going on a 14 day norwegian fjords cruise in mid July ( I think it may be a B2B) on the Rotterdam and they canceled our stop in Flam. I hope the people on the August cruise get to go. They're sending us somewhere else that day (can't remember where) Trying to just be excited about our trip and not dissapointed. Its our first HAL cruise.

Every day on a ship is a good day  😀

[CNSJ]

38 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Every day on a ship is a good day  😀

And if it's a HAL ship.....it's a great day!!!