Rotterdam not seaworthy thru Panama

[wagstaff]

My husband & I decided to do a Christmas/New Year's cruise for the first time ever. We booked HA Rotterdam going thru the Panama Canal starting in Ft Lauderdale & ending in San Diego. It was the most expensive cruise we had ever been on & the most money we had ever spent on a vacation. We got to the pier to board the ship & had to wait for 3 hrs. to get onboard. We finally got to our state room about 4 pm. We looked around & the toilet was completley black & would not flush. They finally came to fix it & cleaned it. the fridge was not hooked up & raw wire were hanging out of the back. The electicians came to fix it. We were to leave about 5 pm but did not leave until 9pm with workers all over the ship trying to get it ready to sail. We should have got off before it sailed because after we were at sea everything went wrong. Toilet kept malfunctioning, A/c kept breaking down, dinning room was so cold we had to leave a couple nights without eating dinner, flooding from rooms above, tender boats breaking down etc etc. Everyone was very apologetic but absolutely no compensation!!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Sorry your cruise did not go well.

[GeriatricNurse]

My husband & I decided to do a Christmas/New Year's cruise for the first time ever. We booked HA Rotterdam going thru the Panama Canal starting in Ft Lauderdale & ending in San Diego. It was the most expensive cruise we had ever been on & the most money we had ever spent on a vacation. We got to the pier to board the ship & had to wait for 3 hrs. to get onboard. We finally got to our state room about 4 pm. We looked around & the toilet was completley black & would not flush. They finally came to fix it & cleaned it. the fridge was not hooked up & raw wire were hanging out of the back. The electicians came to fix it. We were to leave about 5 pm but did not leave until 9pm with workers all over the ship trying to get it ready to sail. We should have got off before it sailed because after we were at sea everything went wrong. Toilet kept malfunctioning, A/c kept breaking down, dinning room was so cold we had to leave a couple nights without eating dinner, flooding from rooms above, tender boats breaking down etc etc. Everyone was very apologetic but absolutely no compensation!!!!


What a sad and sorry state of affairs! Obviously, the Rotterdam should not have sailed with so much unfinished work related to all the issues that you experienced onboard!!

[Pete Jackson]

Welcome to Cruise Critic, wagstaff. Yes, the Rotterdam's problems on this cruise have been well aired on this board (see, among others, the thread Rotterdam is totally Rotten.. on page 2). So you might want to read through those for questions about compensation.

[gmarockson]

Welcome to Cruise Critic, wagstaff. Yes, the Rotterdam's problems on this cruise have been well aired on this board (see, among others, the thread Rotterdam is totally Rotten.. on page 2). So you might want to read through those for questions about compensation.

The thread you are referring to does not seem to be here anymore anyway I can't find it.

[iamaqt2]

The thread you are referring to does not seem to be here anymore anyway I can't find it.

It appears that the post has been removed. :rolleyes:

[gmarockson]

It appears that the post has been removed. :rolleyes:

I'm new here. Why would it be removed:confused:

[Barocl]

I looked and it's gone. It was there yesterday. Take care.

[sapper1]

I'm new here. Why would it be removed:confused:
Discussion on these boards as to why the moderators remove a post is not allowed.

[discover]

Hi We are getting on that Rotterdam at San Deigo on the 6th of Febr. for a 30 day cruise, I hope it is much better than what you all had, or I will not be a nice as you were! Discover

[tbrein]

Here is another thread on that same cruise--not the one you are looking for:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1119281&highlight=rotterdam

Terri

[Pete Jackson]

I looked and it's gone. It was there yesterday. Take care.

It was there on page 2 when I made my post - I checked!

Saves disk space, I suppose...

[Tropic]

Hi We are getting on that Rotterdam at San Deigo on the 6th of Febr. for a 30 day cruise, I hope it is much better than what you all had, or I will not be a nice as you were! Discover

We are scheduled for same crusie by in Oct-Nov. Will look forward to hearing your experience with the cruise and the ship itself. Also it looked to me that no visa's are required for this trip with the exception of Panama (that really surprised me) are you aware if they are required for your cruise and if they are is the cruiseline doing them on board. We have done many two week cruises throughout the world and have taken month long trips a number of time, but this is our longest cruise... hope all goes well for you.

[Kay240]

We were on the Rotterdam for the reverse (San Diego to Fort Lauderdale) cruise Dec. 08 and had no problems. I previously read the thread mentioned above, and it would seem that the Rotterdam was not scheduled for a long enough "dry dock" time.:(

Discover: we will be on the Rotterdam again directly after you (March 8-April 9). I am sure you will find a GREAT IMPROVEMENT by now.:D

wagstaff: Some things can be easily overlooked, some things are easily fixable (sweater or jacket at dinner) and some things can make a nightmare for you! Usually the latter situation is brief, and when you look at it in the future (like the pain of childbirth) you will (hopefully) only remember the good parts!

Karen

[wagstaff]

Probably you are right. But when you have toilet content on your floor several times it really does take the enjoyment out of the trip. Waggy

[wagstaff]

We are scheduled for same crusie by in Oct-Nov. Will look forward to hearing your experience with the cruise and the ship itself. Also it looked to me that no visa's are required for this trip with the exception of Panama (that really surprised me) are you aware if they are required for your cruise and if they are is the cruiseline doing them on board. We have done many two week cruises throughout the world and have taken month long trips a number of time, but this is our longest cruise... hope all goes well for you.

Hi, we did not require any visas. I am sure they will have worked out all the bugs by the time you go. Waggy