Rotterdam - South America Cruise

[Pooky11]

Hi

I did a quick search of the forum for posts on Rotterdam and obviously quite a few came up! I wonder if anyone can help. My husband and I are in our late 20's and have cruised a couple of times before. Our last experience was with Carnival and although we didn't hate it, we have to say it wasn't our cup of tea. We chose the cruise because of the islands the boat went to.

We would very much like to do a cruise around South America and the line and ship that go to the places we want to visit is HAL and Rotterdam. Will we look totally out of place amongst the other cruisers in our 20's? What is the ship like? Are the inside cabins a good size? What's the food like and is dining formal every night? What are the drinks prices like?

Basically I am hoping that people can give me a view of the ship and of the itinerary!

Thanks in advance
Pooky :)

[RuthC]

Good choice---even for a couple in their 20's.

Is the cruise you're considering the one that includes Antarctica? If so---go with no concern whatsoever as to the age of the other passengers. It was the best cruise of my life. If your cruise doesn't include Antarctica, it's still a wonderful cruise. You will go to places that are far off the beaten track.

The ship herself is beautiful---as behooves the line's flagship! I take the inside cabins, myself. Let me say they are quite large! Two people will be quite comfortable in them.
The public rooms are lovely. There are fresh flowers everywhere, cloth towels in the public restrooms. There are lounges with a variety of entertainment styles for evening---different nooks and crannies for relaxing in the daytime.
The ship has lots of outdoor deckspace for viewing all those wonderful sights on that itinerary.

There are three forms of dress for the evenings: formal, informal, and casual. About half (or a bit more) of the evenings are casual, with the remainder divided between formal and informal. And it's the "evening" that has the designated dress code---not the dining room only.
Food is very subjective. Let me say that I'm a finiky eater and have never managed to miss a meal onboard. :rolleyes:
Drink prices have gone up in recent times; last month my nightly cocktail was in the $6.25-$6.50 range (I forget exactly).

Post about your ports and I'm sure that there will be plenty of information forthcoming.

[lsross]

We were on the Rotterdam this spring on its cruise from South America across the Atlantic. The ship is one of the older Holland America ships, but as you will see from this forum, Holland America keeps its ships in good shape. The ship is a pleasure to sail on as it is a traditional ship with less passengers than other lines.

We are on the younger side, and you will find that the Rotterdam passengers tend to be older, more experienced cruisers. Most of the Americans on board in fact will be veteran Holland America cruisers. When we were at the Mariners Reception (having 39 days on HA), we noted we were definately far below the average for number of cruise days on HA. The great thing about having experienced cruisers is that the ship just seems so pleasant as everyone understands why we all love cruising. That all said, you will find the experienced cruisers are very friendly and you will no doubt gain new friends. The only comment I will make is that the South American cruises, by the fact of where they are, attract a significant number of South Americans which adds a much different dimension to the cruise.

The staff on the Rotterdam, like every Holland America cruise we have been on, are superlative. (We have done many other cruises on other lines, and can say this with some certainty, the Asian staff of HAL are truly the best at sea). The food on the Rotterdam was great, but we were doubly spoiled as the Executive Chef for Holland America was on board. You will not be dissapointed by the food or service at dinner.

The passengers follow the same dress code as every other Holland America cruises, you can expect 2 or 3 formal nights depending on the cruise length (about 60% of the men wore tuxes, and the remainder were in suits in the dining room).

I have thought about doing a full review, and now that I see your thread, perhaps I will make an effort to do one in the next week or so.

[xpcdoojk]

We were on the November sailing of the Rotterdam in South America, and it was a great cruise. Try to get to Iquassu Falls on the border between Argentina and Brazil as a pre or post trip if you can. We also, went to Peru at the end of our cruise and if you can take that much time off that is wonderful as well. Our group of 3 adult couples ranged in age from 46 to 60, and there were several couples in their 30s. I would say that if you need to be amongst people your age you will be somewhat limited, but we very much enjoy mature adults that have some wonderful life experiences to share. I am not really fond of the pushy crotchety older folks and fortunately we were very lucky on our sailing as we really only had one that we noticed. On our sailing there were zero children on board the ship.

jc

[BldLvr]

My DH and I are booked on the 12/22/06 holiday cruise. I don't think age matters at all. Come join us, you will find HAL cruisers are wonderful people with a sense of adventure. We have stayed in inside, outside, and verandah cabins and they are all very roomy. We don't usually spend alot of time in our cabin so we book the cheaper ones, more money to spend elsewhere! I hope you decide to join us in December.

[BldLvr]

My DH and I are booked on the 12/22/06 holiday cruise. I don't think age matters at all. Come join us, you will find HAL cruisers are wonderful people with a sense of adventure. We have stayed in inside, outside, and verandah cabins and they are all very roomy. We don't usually spend alot of time in our cabin so we book the cheaper ones, more money to spend elsewhere! I hope you decide to join us in December.

[BldLvr]

Oops, I clicked too fast, sorry about that!!!

[Pooky11]

Thanks to everyone who has commented thus far. As requested, our destinations will be:

Valparaiso, Puerto Montt, Ushuaia, Port Stanley, Buenos Aires (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=134), Montevideo (http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=117), and Rio de Janeiro

As for the time of travel, we intend to catch either the last sailing in Jan or the first in Feb 2007. This in turn will dictate our direction of travel.

As mentioned and as commented on, we have found on other cruises that our time in our cabin is limited and without the prospect of a balcony on the Rotterdam we are going to opt for an inside cabin and use the money saved on excursions. That being said, does anyone have and recommendation about the best possible cabin location on this ship or any particular excursions?

[Ides of March]

Pooky:

We did South America last January on the Prinsendam and have at least 4 ports in common with your itinerary. I posted as we went and my impressions can be found at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=273494&page=3&highlight=ides

Posts 54 to 77 cover Rio to Cape Horn and you may find something of interest as you plan.

Rio especially was awesome and probably the highlight of our cruise thanks to the perfect weather we had.

Have a great cruise.

Ides

[lsross]

If you are taking an inside cabin on the Rotterdam, I would consider the middle of the second deck from the bottom. The reason is that the trip that you are taking around the Cape can be quite rough. As all seasoned cruisers will tell you, lower and in the centre of the ship is the best place for a cabin when it is rough. You will find the inside cabins quite good on the Rotterdam.