CruiserBruce
December 25th, 2004, 01:54 PM
Happy Holidays!
Like jhannah, I am working today, so will put in a few thoughts about our cruise.
Clopaw- haven't heard your thoughts on the cruise- you are probably tied up with holiday celebrations.
The Rotterdam is very pretty and in great shape. We did notice two broken interior windows- one at the Neptune Lounge, and I forget where the other one is. Probably leftovers from the Atlantic storm.
The crew is superb. Capt Peter Bos is very friendly and approachable. He witnessed a lady have a minor accident at a meal, and literally ran over to fix the problem before anyone noticed. I only noticed because I was standing next her. We have sailed with Robert Versteeg 3 times now. He has just been promoted from Beverage Manager to HM, and does a great job. Peter the CD, as mentioned in another post, is funny, friendly and extremely good at what he does.
Our Room Steward- Bambang, Dining Room staff- Nugie and Yono, and Arthur
and Maureen in the Neptune Lounge were all outstanding, and earned the extra tips we gave them.
The food was very good. The Pinnacle was awesome- the best meal I have ever eaten on a cruise- 11 cruises now. The Filet Mignon was so tender I almost didn't use my knife. DW and I felt the Volcano Cake was good, but not the best chocolate on board. (A room service only menu cake takes that prize. Thanks Nugie for forcing us to have it every dinner after he recommended it to us!) And we are serious chocoholics. We became friends with a chef that was a passenger, and they ate in the Pinnacle 3 times. I would consider that a recommendation!
We dodged most of the weather problems (we beat the big Midwest storm out of Dulles by less than 24 hours), but it was a little cold at HMC, and it rained most of the morning in the Panama Canal. Otherwise weather was warm and humid most of the time. Seas were flat to moderate.
Tours were great. The Jolly Pirates in Aruba, which were at first, canceled, then re-instated, were a kick. White Water rafting in Costa Ria was fun- great crew/tour guides, and great group of passengers. Kayaking in HMC was fun as well.
As reported by maril, there is a great Internet cafe at Puerto Limon. There is also a pretty good one at Aruba, in the small shopping center immediately to the right of the ship dock. I think it was $2.50 for 30 mins.
Some minor problems- a poorly planned (time was not used well) tour at Curacao. Embarkation was a little sluggish- possibly due to Customs. A number of older passengers spent a long time standing in the hot sun, while a wedding party was brought inside as soon as they arrived. When it started, boarding was very smooth.
We sailed on a Sunday. There were 6 ships in port, the Rotterdam being the smallest. I estimated 20,000 arriving, and 20K departing passengers that day, and the area was jammed. But, all in all, things went very smoothly.
A great cruise! I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about this route or the ship. We saw on board that the Veendam will be doing this route next winter, and the Rotterdam will be doing So. America, I think.
Happy Cruising!
Bruce
Like jhannah, I am working today, so will put in a few thoughts about our cruise.
Clopaw- haven't heard your thoughts on the cruise- you are probably tied up with holiday celebrations.
The Rotterdam is very pretty and in great shape. We did notice two broken interior windows- one at the Neptune Lounge, and I forget where the other one is. Probably leftovers from the Atlantic storm.
The crew is superb. Capt Peter Bos is very friendly and approachable. He witnessed a lady have a minor accident at a meal, and literally ran over to fix the problem before anyone noticed. I only noticed because I was standing next her. We have sailed with Robert Versteeg 3 times now. He has just been promoted from Beverage Manager to HM, and does a great job. Peter the CD, as mentioned in another post, is funny, friendly and extremely good at what he does.
Our Room Steward- Bambang, Dining Room staff- Nugie and Yono, and Arthur
and Maureen in the Neptune Lounge were all outstanding, and earned the extra tips we gave them.
The food was very good. The Pinnacle was awesome- the best meal I have ever eaten on a cruise- 11 cruises now. The Filet Mignon was so tender I almost didn't use my knife. DW and I felt the Volcano Cake was good, but not the best chocolate on board. (A room service only menu cake takes that prize. Thanks Nugie for forcing us to have it every dinner after he recommended it to us!) And we are serious chocoholics. We became friends with a chef that was a passenger, and they ate in the Pinnacle 3 times. I would consider that a recommendation!
We dodged most of the weather problems (we beat the big Midwest storm out of Dulles by less than 24 hours), but it was a little cold at HMC, and it rained most of the morning in the Panama Canal. Otherwise weather was warm and humid most of the time. Seas were flat to moderate.
Tours were great. The Jolly Pirates in Aruba, which were at first, canceled, then re-instated, were a kick. White Water rafting in Costa Ria was fun- great crew/tour guides, and great group of passengers. Kayaking in HMC was fun as well.
As reported by maril, there is a great Internet cafe at Puerto Limon. There is also a pretty good one at Aruba, in the small shopping center immediately to the right of the ship dock. I think it was $2.50 for 30 mins.
Some minor problems- a poorly planned (time was not used well) tour at Curacao. Embarkation was a little sluggish- possibly due to Customs. A number of older passengers spent a long time standing in the hot sun, while a wedding party was brought inside as soon as they arrived. When it started, boarding was very smooth.
We sailed on a Sunday. There were 6 ships in port, the Rotterdam being the smallest. I estimated 20,000 arriving, and 20K departing passengers that day, and the area was jammed. But, all in all, things went very smoothly.
A great cruise! I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about this route or the ship. We saw on board that the Veendam will be doing this route next winter, and the Rotterdam will be doing So. America, I think.
Happy Cruising!
Bruce