Rotterdam 2/10-2/24

[RuthC]

5 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Tonight it is the filet and lobster night.  Other choices - Tortellini, Veal, Arctic Char, Rotisserie Duck and a vegetarian option. 

Ooo! Pairing the filet with the Arctic char sounds like my idea of surf & turf.
I don't remember ever seeing Arctic char on a HAL menu. I hope I do some day.

[existentialtraveler]

15 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

We are having a third gala night tonight.  Tonight it is the filet and lobster night.  Other choices - Tortellini, Veal, Arctic Char, Rotisserie Duck and a vegetarian option.   

 

All good choices! Tough to choose just one!

[jimbri]

Great photos!

[framnmike]

We too are on the March 10th sailing and really appreciate you taking the time to give us so much information on your experience on the same cruise we will be taking. I hope you have time to tell us about the rest of your cruise. Thanks again. Mike & Beryl.

[ottahand7]

We are in Tampa waiting to get off.  We are driving home to MI so are taking our time getting off.  We got in right about 6:30 so baggage appears to still be off loaded right now.   It has been a wonderful cruise with a relaxing itinerary.   Enough sea days.  Easy entry to ports.   When we had our meet & greet on 2/12 our organizer recommended holding off buying the liquor in Grand Cayman and boy was he right.  Thank you very much!   We got wonderful prices and duty free delivery to the ship.  No carrying it back to the ship.  Liter bottles of Flor de Cana 7 year was about $20. Appleton 12 year rum for $30 about $19 less than in Antigua. 

The food has been excellent and varied.  Last night we dined in the Pinnacle one last time and as a complimentary dinner because our seafood at the Rudi's dinner was not up to Holland standard.  J had asked if we could get our shrimp cocktail pan fried with garlic and it was prepared that way.  Then he asked if instead of having it served cocktail style could it be added to the lobster bisque.  They brought the bisque with shrimp chunks for J and in addition the butter cooked shrimp cocktail.   The lobster bisque was the best I have ever had not only in past PG meals but anywhere.  It was rich, smooth and buttery.  Photos to come later.  My bone in rib eye was very good.  J had the lam chops and they were excellent.  No room for dessert.

As I mentioned in an earlier post our head chef was everywhere and the food service showed it.   From the Lido to the snacks in the Neptune Lounge I would say that the food was the best on any Holland ship other than the seafood in Rudi's.  They can't make that better if it comes on ship that way.  Cabin service was excellent.  Bakti and Kurnia did a wonderful job. 

All bar service has been excellent and friendly.  Rommel in Mix, Dyan and Henry in Mix and casino.  Every trip is different but the gym was rarely used in the afternoons.  Sometimes there was more crew than passengers in the gym.  There is only a drinking fountain (right near the restroom) so if you have a drink package bring your water or your own cup.  The rowing machine is still waiting for its' part.  Not a lot of lower sized weights 5 pound the smallest and not medicine balls. 

Neptune suite lighting above the king bed arrangements is a problem if you like to raise your arms above your head when sleeping.  I probably turned the lights on 7 nights of the 14 and then a treat trying to figure out what switch to turn off.   

As we are waiting a man just walked across our balcony from the balcony next door and proceeded to our other neighboring cabin.  Good thing we are dressed!  He just returned back to the way he came.  8:10 AM we aren't even supposed to be able to get off until 8:30. 

Casino had some machines that paid well.  I was fortunate to hit one of them the last day so it covered my tips for our Pinnacle Grill crew.  I can't recall if I had written before about the casino in Curacao.  Right near the ship and is smoke free.  

This is a charming ship with beautiful public spaces other than the dirty windows.   It seems that instead of playing cards in the Lido that most people took their games to the beautiful library/cafe' area.  Book selection was very nice.   

 

Gala night  #2 dinner menus

[ottahand7]

Pinnacle Grill Amuse bouche - Mushroom soup  Main dining room room service which was crab topped filet and an extra lobster tail   Beef roulade main dining room room service - that was just OK

[existentialtraveler]

Thank you so much for your postings with all the great information and terrific photos. We enjoyed every one of them ( What's up with a man walking across YOUR balcony???). We leave 2 weeks from today and can't wait. Now my only decision is ...should I bring my tuxedos with me? Did many passengers really dress for Gala Nights? I am leaning towards BRINGING them..not many opportunities to wear them any more! Plus, my wife is going to look spectacular in her new dresses.

I am glad you had a wonderful cruise!

Edited February 24, 2019 by existentialtraveler

[St Pete Cruiser]

Wonderful!  I have a soft spot for the Rotterdam and am very pleased to read such a positive report on her and her crew.

 

[ottahand7]

I just got back to chilly MI yesterday after a 3 day drive back.   I really can't say about dining room attire for the Gala nights as we dined in the Pinnacle one night and our balcony the other 2 Gala nights.  

Our one bad experience was our America's Test Kitchen cooking class.  We finally drew in and paid $39 for the last class which was All About Eggs.  I think this is a free perk for the 5 star Mariners.  I hope they didn't have to pay for that class.  Our invite said come 5 minutes early and all of us were there at 1:55 on a port day in Grand Cayman.  We waited and about 2:10 a young man came in and said "my aunt is late from her tour that was late and will be here shortly".  I guess we finally started up about 2:15 +.  She was flustered, we had to wait for the video to key up etc.  Missing ingredients (Dijon for deviled eggs, salt for meringue) poor measuring and little attention to the ladies next to me really needing a hand.  J was so disgusted he left at the end of deviled eggs.  I stuck around to learn to pipe the meringues but left at 3:35, 5 minutes after our class was to end.  Samples had yet to be served.  Nothing like the ATK and other cooking class I had done in the past.   I let Holland know about it in my feedback after leaving the ship.   More pictures to come later.  

 

[Traveler 13]

ATK has ruined what used to be wonderful cooking classes .  Thank you Barbara

[ottahand7]

1 hour ago, Traveler 13 said:

ATK has ruined what used to be wonderful cooking classes .  Thank you Barbara

I agree Barbara.  The first time I cruised on Holland on a one-week Alaska cruise on the Noordam we had a class that was led by a chef.  There were about 12 of us and we cooked a four-course meal and dined on the same lunch we cooked in the Pinnacle Grill complete with wine.  I remember our course was halibut with a lemon cream sauce.   Here we are with our wonderful dishes the teams cooked.  My sister would kill me if she knew I posed her deer in the headlights picture. 

[ottahand7]

Best port overall on this itinerary was Curacao.  If you like to gamble they have a completely smoke free casino attached to the Renaissance hotel which is a short walk from the ship.  A very clean port with a nice walking tour with no hard sell for tours etc.  Pic is the Rotterdam from the walkway into town.   Celebrity Edge in Grand Cayman harbor.  Curacao town. Apps on balcony early in the cruise. 

[ottahand7]

Here are a few more photos of the public areas on the ship.  If I had an inside cabin I would have plunked myself down in the leather recliners off the library/game room.  It was a beautiful and peaceful public space.   

[ottahand7]

Our last photo from on the ship arriving in port in Tampa.  We were able to watch arrival as we weren't fully docked until around 6:30.   I missed getting a photo of the bridge entering Tampa Bay as I had my phone but I couldn't unlock the suite door in time to get a picture.   Disembarkation was smooth and there were plenty of porters available to help us get our luggage outside.   Small ship = easy on and off for us on the Rotterdam.     The rest will be photo dumps of our trip.  As you will see we are all about food and wine.    

 

My comments are fairly complete but feel free to ask a question.  

[ottahand7]

Some of our best meals.  I think this was a gala dinner crab topped filet, shrimp cocktail and I ordered the supplement lobster tail.  One comment, it is rare for the lobster to be overcooked.    Room service food was consistently hot.  

[ottahand7]

Final pics.  Obviously we love food and wine.  Number 2 pic our wonderful singing wine steward Rudy.  Number 3 PG bone in ribeye,  Number 4 a typical day at the aft pool, 4,5,6,7 all room service MDR meals, last pic is whisking mayo in ATK.  The end of photos from a wonderful cruise.  

[GRACECRUISE]

We hop on the rotterdam in a couple weeks.  You are making the food look amazing.  We are in aft cabin for the first time and can hardly wait!  Thanks for taking us along.

[framnmike]

Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to relate to us your wonderful voyage. We board the Rotterdam this Sunday and are looking forward to following in your footsteps. We are first time cruisers and I am sure that you will have helped make our cruise a much better experience. Best Regards,

Mike and Beryl

[existentialtraveler]

Thank you! We enjoyed your live review immensely. We are on the Rotterdam for 14 days starting on March 10.  After following along with you on your cruise, we can't wait!!!

[ottahand7]

Have fun!  It was a lovely cruise and great itinerary. 

[chill6x6]

Thanks for your pictures and comments about this cruise!  I've got the 7-day itinerary aboard the Rotterdam coming up later in the month.  

 

I have a question for you...  From your pictures it LOOKS like the Rotterdam docked at the Mallory Square pier.  Is that the case?  I hope so!  That pier is so much more convenient than the Outter Mole.

[ottahand7]

15 minutes ago, chill6x6 said:

 

 

I have a question for you...  From your pictures it LOOKS like the Rotterdam docked at the Mallory Square pier.  Is that the case?  I hope so!  That pier is so much more convenient than the Outter Mole.

We were fortunate to be able to dock right at Mallory Square.  There were no other ships in port.  Nice to have a quieter town also.  

[chill6x6]

54 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

We were fortunate to be able to dock right at Mallory Square.  There were no other ships in port.  Nice to have a quieter town also.  

Thanks for the info!  Pretty sure the Edge will be docking with US.  IDK if there will be room at Mallory Square for both ships or not.  I'm sure the Edge will get the preferred pier.

[ottahand7]

My goodness, the Edge would dwarf the town.  

[SeaBands]

we were disappointed with all the Caribbean menus for this cruise. We ate at Sel de Mer twice and Canalleto 3 times. They now post a 2 pm MahJongg get together every day. Lots of people showed up every day. Great that they added it to the daily bulletin. I hope that this is fleet wide.