Muerz

I returned from my first ever Holland America Cruise this past week and I wanted to share my experience with you. I have cruised a few times before, mostly with the mainstream cruise lines Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC and AIDA. I also cruised twice with Hals's direct competition Celebrity and this was my first post-Covid cruise. In the first part of this review, I try to recount my experience „journal-style“, in the second part, I try to review the ship, the service and the different facilities and in the last part, I am going to summarize my experience in just a few words and give a rating comparing this to previous cruises. I took the May 22 departure from Amsterdam on the new MS Rotterdam VII to beautiful Norway. Ports of call were the Eidfjord, Alesund, Geiranger and Bergen and the cruise also included two sea days. Our family had two separate cabins (Verandah 8001 and inside 7119). I got to Amsterdam on the day before the cruise and used a free night to stay at the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport hotel, which just completed a total renovation - a great hotel. I stayed close to the airport mainly because I needed parking and parking cost is much more reasonable around the airport as opposed to the city center (up to 70€ a day). We ventured into the city in the afternoon and had a great Asian hot pot meal close to the red light district. The next day, our assigned embarkation times were 2:20 pm and 3:00 pm respectively and we got to the port around 1:50 pm. What at that point had looked almost like a walk-on was abruptly stopped by port staff once we had dropped our luggage. Without further explanation, they held us in the downstairs waiting area for almost half an hour. Once they let us go up to the second floor, we had to wait once more in a seating area for almost another hour - the explanation we were given was that everybody showed up at the same time instead of when their assigned boarding time was - until our group was finally called to get in the next line so formalities and covid checks could be completed. That next line moved very fast though and we were finally onboard around 3:50 pm. So far, not an impressive performance: the first cruise line that did not let me choose my preferred boarding time and at the same time the first cruise that had significant boarding delays. Our first stop on board was our cabins in order to retrieve our keycards. We met our respective cabin stewards and they informed us that we needed to complete the muster as soon as possible. That meant we were gonna miss out on a really late lunch as the buffet was already about to close. Again, a really disappointing, lackluster and time-intensive boarding procedure and not the way we expected to start an upscale cruise. We had a quick and tasty lunch at the New York Deli and then found relaxing spots on the aft Deck 11 for sail away before taking a quick dip in the Lido pool. The first night in the MDR has been chaotic on every cruise we took so far and the Rotterdam was unfortunately no exception. Despite having reservations rather late at 8:30 pm, it took us a while to get seated and the service was hectic and slow at the same time. Food quality and taste were okay (without being great) but the portions were very small and the meals were served only lukewarm - we honestly could not understand why people would rave about food and service with HAL. We finished the night with a good cocktail at the Rolling Stones lounge listening to classic rock. The next morning started the way the first evening had ended: frustrated by the total incompetence of the wait staff at the MDR: 25 minutes from getting a table to ordering and a further 45 minutes until we got our meals. Of course, multiple items from our order were missing, no beverage refills, and not even simple orders like toast or croissants were available as they „ran out“ of these even before 9:00 am. I‘m having trouble finding words for the disappointing first 24 hours aboard the Rotterdam. Fortunately - it all got better. After these initial disappointments, we had a fabulous day on the Lido deck, enjoying the pool area as well as the sights of passing oil rigs and ships of all sizes. For lunch, we had very decent food from the New York Deli as well as the Dive-In burger joint. We especially liked the possibility of ordering over the Navigator app. As always on cruises, most people left the pool area between 4-5 pm and we had the lido deck almost to ourselves around 5:30 pm. Day 2 was the first gala night of our cruise and both food and service were an absolute class act. Definitely better food than on the mainstream cruise lines and the service was much calmer and at the same time faster than the night before. Once again, we finished off our night on the music walk and were listening to their dueling pianos in the Billboard room this time around. The piano guy even played our request Rocket Man as their final title of the night. Day 3 was the first port of call, Eidfjord. Breakfast service at the MDR was once again painfully slow and this is why we decided to just not bother anymore and have breakfast at the Lido buffet instead for the remainder of our cruise. I’m not sure if they are just understaffed or what other reason there might be but breakfast took longer than the 4-course Gala meal the night before and that’s simply time I prefer to spend ashore or using the ship's facilities. We did not book any excursions on HAL, in fact, we almost always try to arrange private activities. Since we only booked this cruise 6 days before the departure, we were too late for many of the fun activities and therefore decided to mostly explore the ports of call this time around. We booked tickets on the Troll train and went to explore the village and the small shops and returned to the ship around 2 pm. After a quick lunch at the buffet, we decided to relax for an hour and then experience cruising the fjord from the sports deck. It‘s a breathtaking experience, the landscape is stunningly beautiful. Our evening concluded with an exceptional meal with outstanding service at Sel de Mer - most certainly among the top 3 dinners, I ever had on a ship. Day 4 brought us to Ålesund where we also took the City sightseeing train to the Fjellstua viewpoint. What a beautiful view over this small but charming city. Once back downtown, we strolled a bit through the stores and tried to find some local food but unfortunately, most restaurants were closed until 5 pm. Interesting they don‘t open early on days when 3 cruise ships are in town (MS Rotterdam, MSC Grandiosa and MS Trollfjord). The weather was nice for sail away so we experienced it outside at the Sea View Bar on deck 9. Dinner at MDR and drinks at Full Moon bar to conclude the night. On Day 5, the next port of call was Geiranger, a small village at the end of the famous Geirangerfjord. We took the hike up to the Flydalsjuvet viewpoint and also did the Norsk Fjordcenter museum on the way down. Again, breathtaking scenery, an absolute beauty, too bad the weather was rainy and stormy almost the entire day and only got better once we were leaving Geiranger. It‘s a beautiful stop that should be on every Norwegian cruise. We got lucky and got seats in the outdoor hot tub for sail away where we enjoyed the next two hours of cruising in the Geirangerfjord. Day 6 was our last port of call: Bergen which is a rather large but also very beautiful city. We decided to take the Mt. Fløyen train up the mountain and hike back down to the city center. We ate at the local fish market and - shame on me - I tried whale. Interesting texture - if I didn‘t know what I was eating, I would have guessed beef but certainly not fish. We bought a few souvenirs, among them my first Norwegian Starbucks mugs and headed back to the ship. I wished we had a few more hours to spend in Bergen as I felt a bit rushed here. Once boarded, I had a Spa appointment for a quick back massage using the 50$ off coupon that was gifted to everyone aboard on the second day and we concluded the night with dinner at Pinnacle Grill. We were very happy with the food quality but service was rather slow that night - we’d been in the restaurant from 8:30 to 11:15 pm for appetizers, steak and dessert. Day 7 was our second sea day on the way back to Amsterdam - we were relaxing the entire day in the Lido pool area. Once again, we passed many interesting ships and oil rigs. Dinner at MDR, a final cocktail at the Rolling Stones lounge and off to bed. We had our final breakfast at the buffet, said our goodbyes to our exceptional cabin stewards and were off the ship around 9 am. We ordered an Uber Van to get us back to our car at the airport and drove home. SHIP I didn’t talk about the Rotterdam at all until now and that’s scandalous because she is a beauty. She is well designed, she never felt extremely crowded and there really is a lot to like about her. For starters, she is the perfect cold-weather ship and the same cruise would have been a lot less enjoyable for instance if there was no enclosed pool area. But we also liked the fact that the aft outside pool area has heaters installed over the bar and that even the outside pool is heated. Perfect for people like me who enjoy swimming! She is in pristine condition inside and out. I honestly don‘t remember anything I didn’t like about the ship itself. I like all the artwork you can admire in every elevator lobby and around the ship. I also really like the fact that they embrace their history and have paintings and models of the 6 previous MS Rotterdams sprinkled all over the ship. One minor problem is the sound system in many public areas: I honestly could not understand a single word the Captain/Cruise Director said when I was in the pool area. CABINS The cabins are beautiful, I particularly like the subdued color palette and the larger-than-usual shower. Another plus: every cabin has an umbrella, blankets and beach towels. The Veranda room had enough space and the balcony felt larger than normal. I liked the real chair next to the desk - oftentimes you only get a stool. The inside cabin was smaller. Too bad there is no usable seating except for the bed. It‘s also sad they did not install virtual balconies like RCCL. A tiny point of criticism: the lack of tv channels. Don‘t get me wrong, I‘m not cruising to watch TV but given the very bad Internet onboard, it‘s nice to watch some news while getting ready for dinner. ENTERTAINMENT I don’t need much entertainment/activities in hotels or on cruise ships and I much appreciated the quiet zen-like atmosphere around the pool area. The live music on the music walk was top-notch. BB Kings had awesome blues performances, the Billboard piano players were very good (but the duo changed on the last night and the new crew seemed less good) and the Rolling Stones classic rock cover band kept the party going (their only weak point is the female voice). I did not attend any shows in the main theater though. They also had movie nights on the big screen in the pool area. I wish they would stream the bow or aft cam on the big screen while cruising the fjords. FOOD - MDR: I had a so-so dinner the first night in the main dining room. All other meals were very tasty and of rather high quality. I was particularly impressed with the high quality of the fish meals and the creative appetizers. I usually don’t take beef in the main dining room as they never seem to get the temperature right but the beef tenderloin on the Gala night was simply perfect. I even reordered a second serving. Maybe finetune the little details like a changing bread basket instead of serving the same bread over and over again. On the other hand, breakfast and lunch in the MDR were subpar. Extremely long waiting times (more than 70 minutes for breakfast entrees), amateurish service, missing orders, and the list goes on. Skip eating here, the buffet has practically the same stuff with no waiting. - Sel de Mer: WOW - maybe the best meal I ever had on a cruise ship. A fantastic menu and beautifully presented by top-notch waiters. We had Dover Sole, Lobster and Bouillabaisse and honestly, all meals were just perfect, as were the appetizers like Escargot or Steak Tartare and even the desserts (Crepe Suzette and Salzburger Nockerl). This was by far the best food we had on the ship. - Pinnacle Grill: also a great experience but honestly a step or two below Sel de Mer. The Steak Tartare was for instance better at Sel de Mer. The beef filet wasn‘t better than the one in the MDR during gala night and the chocolate soufflé was identical to the one in the MDR. Still very good but very slow service - not an absolute must in my book. - Lido Buffet: One of the better buffets I‘ve seen on cruise ships. I liked the way they serve the customers so no one touches the food with their hands. Also good waiter service. Maybe a bit too small to handle all the crowds for breakfast and lunch. - Grand Dutch / New York Deli / Dive In: Quick serve restaurants that serve nice lunch options. I liked the Matjes and Apple Pancakes at Grand Dutch. The sandwiches are better than the pizza at the Deli and Guy Fieris on Carnival still has the upper hand as far as burgers are concerned but we were happy with all three options. DRINKS I got wonderful cocktails at BB Kings, Ocean Bar and Half Moon Bar on the second deck. Three Mile Run at Half Moon Bar was my favorite cocktail on the MS Rotterdam. An absolute delight. As far as the top-level bars are concerned, I preferred the Panorama Bar on deck 10 to the Lido Bar on deck 9. Sea View Bar was only happening with smokers and Sun Bar on deck 11 was almost always closed because of the weather. Crows Nest has such a beautiful setting and would be a great location for the more elaborate cocktails of the Half Moon Bar. All bars were staffed with friendly and knowledgeable. Definitely a step above the mainstream cruise lines. SERVICE As said before, we received exceptional service from our cabin stewards as well as in Sel de Mer and the different bars. We also had pretty good experiences in the Spa and in the casual dining places. Unfortunately, service at the MDR was hit and miss. MISCELLANEOUS - There seemed to be many staff members leaving the ship in Amsterdam on May 29th when our cruise ended. The Billboard piano players, several barkeepers and servers were among those that mentioned to us their contract was up. - Many of the entertainers gathered all day long in the pool area, restaurants and on deck, something I did not notice as extensively on other cruise lines. - Internet speed aboard this ship was unfortunately a big problem. Good thing I could use the excellent Norwegian 4/5G network on my European cell phone plan. - The shopping selection aboard is rather limited, I found for instance no branded HAL memorabilia that looked great. REVIEW A spectacular routing on an excellent ship. This cruise was truly a wonderful experience - I wasn’t disappointed by this first HAL cruise except for some service issues mentioned before. BUT I wasn‘t as wowed as I was with Celebrity Cruises. It‘s the little details that Celebrity does better and why I would rank HAL below Celebrity but certainly a step above the mainstream cruise lines. 4,5 Stars

Plenty of taxis today but went off late at around 8:45 am

Well, finally got a boarding time: 2:20PM our room, 3:00PM for the rest of my family - not really thrilled I wasn‘t able to choose my boarding time at all and then they even separated our party but what can you do… heading to the Covid Test right now… maybe it will change again once I upload our tests into the Verifly App…

Good catch! I was somehow under the impression that my Antigen-test needed to be taken less than 24hrs before the departure. I‘m gonna handle that today in Luxembourg instead of having to deal with it in Amsterdam then 😉 Thanks again!

Thanks for pointing out the 3 day limit, I made the reservations yesterday for Pinnacle Grill and Rudi‘s Sel de Mer. I‘ll try to post some pictures and thoughts along the way. I‘ll also try to compare HAL to Celebrity which I‘ve cruised in the past (pre-Covid though). One final question: I‘m checked in, I completed the health form but my boarding pass still has no check in time attaced to it. It still says the check in time needs to be assigned. As I‘m still trying to schedule my Covid test, I‘d be happy if they finally assign a time. Or doesn‘t the check in time really matter in Amsterdam?

Thanks for all these quick replies! I have cruised with RCCL, Norwegian, Celebrity and Carnival before… looking forward to the change of pace this time around. One question I forgot to ask… do they offer special promotions aboard or should I book specialty dining, spa treatments etc… before boarding?

I booked my first HAL cruise (Norwegian Fjords on the Rotterdam this weekend) at the very last minute. I do have some questions though: - I booked a guarantee cabin and it hasn‘t been assigned yet. Since we‘re only days away from boarding… when will they assign a cabin? What are the chances of upgrades with HAL? - I also booked the Have it all package. Is the included internet a decent speed or is it just good enough for WhatsApp and Facebook? - Is there any indication on the cabin key that I have a beverage package included or do I have to get a sticker upon boarding? I saw on a recent vlog on YouTube that while soft drinks will be deducted from your daily beverage allowance, they have a 3 soft drinks equals one alcoholic beverage rule. Is that true? - Until what time does the pool / jacuzzi stay open with HAL? - Is the MDR open for lunch on sailaway day (or any specialty dining) or are there only Buffet/Burger/Pizza available? - Any must do‘s on this ship/itinerary you can recommend? Any objects I really have to bring aboard for a Fjords cruise (first time - only did sun destinations until now)? Thanks for your help!