Live From Rotterdam (Jan 4-14, 2023)

[canadianbear]

14 minutes ago, Charlene1985 said:

If my previous post came out in a bad font, let me know.  It was a copy/paste job and it gave me a text alert.  It looks fine to me but your device may be different. 

Reading this on my iPhone and looks just fine to these old eyes! 

[Florida_gal_50]

20 minutes ago, Charlene1985 said:

If my previous post came out in a bad font, let me know.  It was a copy/paste job and it gave me a text alert.  It looks fine to me but your device may be different. 

Looks fine to me.

[Charlene1985]

Day 4 complete.  Today was San Juan instead of the scheduled sea day.  
 

Made it to MDR for breakfast around 9:00. We were seated in the same section as our first morning and the service was lacking.  Received water when seated and asked for coffee.  Waiter came for order and we asked for coffee again.  My fruit and cottage cheese “appetizer” came and asked for coffee again.  Finally someone came with it.  I asked for sweetener each time we asked for coffee. Breakfast came.  Asked for sweetener again. None came.  So now I will bring my own that I grabbed from my dessert coffee this evening.  The two seem very disorganized and I noticed a few incorrect orders being delivered and sent back at the tables around us.  I am assuming they are new which is understandable and my “complaint” won’t make it to anyone other than this forum.  I was new at my job once too. 
 

Ran on the running track today.  It was hot but the breeze helped.  There were a few other people on the track but thankfully we all moved in the same direction and passing was easy.  But 72 times around was boring.  Almost as boring as a treadmill. 
 

Got off the ship for a few hours.  Didn’t do much of anything and we were back onboard around 3 or 4.  We normally don’t eat lunch but we were both hungry when we got back and decided to split a margarita pizza. I liked it. Certainly not my beloved NY pizzeria pizza but good. It only took about 10 minutes. We ate on the balcony and worked on our crosswords.  My husband was excited to listen to Regal Princess’ The Love Boat toots at her departure.  
 

He watched a football game and to avoid listening to him yell at the TV, I sat on the balcony for a bit. We showered and made our way to the MDR for our fixed late seating. I had the eggplant hummus which was mediocre and the spaghetti and oil with shrimp which was fantastic.  He had a Caesar salad and the steak and fries.  He said his was just OK.  Our waiter is wonderful.  He’s attentive and the service is efficient without being rushed.  
 

We came back to the room after dinner to do some work stuff we should have done today with better cell service.  But the WiFi was good enough to get it done. And still was good enough to “call” my cat on the pet camera. 

 

Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way towards Curaçao.  And tomorrow I am determined to try the pancakes for breakfast.  

[canadianbear]

The dining room was hit or miss for service even a few years ago.  Hubby isn’t as patient waiting for food as I am, lol.

 

I’m like your husband, love hearing the Love Boat toots!   
 

We have never done fixed dining before but it seems the waiters are more attentive having the same guests I think.  I actually picked late fixed dining for our next cruise (shh, don’t tell Mr Bear).  We shall see if he likes it or not. 
 

So cute about your “pet” cam! 

 

[Sir PMP]

24 minutes ago, Charlene1985 said:

Day 4 complete.  Today was San Juan instead of the scheduled sea day.  
 

Made it to MDR for breakfast around 9:00. We were seated in the same section as our first morning and the service was lacking.  Received water when seated and asked for coffee.  Waiter came for order and we asked for coffee again.  My fruit and cottage cheese “appetizer” came and asked for coffee again.  Finally someone came with it.  I asked for sweetener each time we asked for coffee. Breakfast came.  Asked for sweetener again. None came.  So now I will bring my own that I grabbed from my dessert coffee this evening.  The two seem very disorganized and I noticed a few incorrect orders being delivered and sent back at the tables around us.  I am assuming they are new which is understandable and my “complaint” won’t make it to anyone other than this forum.  I was new at my job once too. 
 

Ran on the running track today.  It was hot but the breeze helped.  There were a few other people on the track but thankfully we all moved in the same direction and passing was easy.  But 72 times around was boring.  Almost as boring as a treadmill. 
 

Got off the ship for a few hours.  Didn’t do much of anything and we were back onboard around 3 or 4.  We normally don’t eat lunch but we were both hungry when we got back and decided to split a margarita pizza. I liked it. Certainly not my beloved NY pizzeria pizza but good. It only took about 10 minutes. We ate on the balcony and worked on our crosswords.  My husband was excited to listen to Regal Princess’ The Love Boat toots at her departure.  
 

He watched a football game and to avoid listening to him yell at the TV, I sat on the balcony for a bit. We showered and made our way to the MDR for our fixed late seating. I had the eggplant hummus which was mediocre and the spaghetti and oil with shrimp which was fantastic.  He had a Caesar salad and the steak and fries.  He said his was just OK.  Our waiter is wonderful.  He’s attentive and the service is efficient without being rushed.  
 

We came back to the room after dinner to do some work stuff we should have done today with better cell service.  But the WiFi was good enough to get it done. And still was good enough to “call” my cat on the pet camera. 

 

Tomorrow is a sea day as we make our way towards Curaçao.  And tomorrow I am determined to try the pancakes for breakfast.  

I am getting the feeling that you're not enjoying the cruise.

[Charlene1985]

49 minutes ago, Sir PMP said:

I am getting the feeling that you're not enjoying the cruise.

Why would you say that?  We are having a great time. 

[Charlene1985]

23 hours ago, leerathje said:

 

DH used to work in the wholseale floral biz. He said he thinks they won't flower until the are 7 years old, soyou still have a few before you should feel them mocking you!

Good.  Glad to hear this and thank you for sharing.  

[hmorrow]

We board on the 8th of March.  Love crab cakes- sorry to hear they were bad, as well as some of the service in the dining room, and the moldy grout on a 14 month old ship.

All suprising. We're on deck 6, aft cabin. Do you think we'll hear the music from the music walk?

Still looking forward to our trip!

[Charlene1985]

Today marked the halfway point of our voyage. 5 nights down, 5 nights to go.  It was a sea day.  
 

We were planning on going to breakfast in the MDR but husband didn’t sleep well so when the alarm went off at 8, he decided that he needed some more sleep.  So instead, I got up and did my run on the jogging track.  When I finished, a man who was sitting on a nearby bench asked how many times.  I said 72, I think. May have been 71 or 73.  He said he counted 69.  I wish I knew he was counting so I didn’t have to do it myself. Ha!! 
 

Husband met me at the Explorations Cafe in the Crow’s Nest for a cappuccino and biscotti.  Grabbed the crosswords and enjoyed all of the above on our balcony for a bit.  Took a quick shower and went to the MDR for lunch. Since I was planning on having pancakes for breakfast, I decided on the chicken and waffles.  Waffle was great. Chicken was greasy but had a great flavor.  Service was excellent.  Afterwards we made our way to the sea view pool. It was crowded but we found two loungers next to each other without having to wait.  The music was the perfect level for me- which was audible but not loud enough to make conversing hard.  We stayed for about 3 hours then made our way back to our room.  
 

Before dinner last night, we sent out two bags of laundry.  Nothing fancy, just swim cover-ups, workout clothes, socks, etc.  Everything came back beautifully washed.  No missing items. My husband now expects me to do our laundry with such care.  I asked if he was going to hire a chef to make us the qualify of meals we’ve been receiving onboard and he changed his tune quickly. 
 

We did some “research” on the available itineraries next Jan-March. Noticed Rotterdam doesn’t sail for about 6 weeks from mid Feb to late March.  I’m assuming that is some scheduled maintenance.  But disappointed to see only a few possibilities to sail her again that would work with our schedule. 
 

Showered and went to dinner.  First we stopped at Ocean Bar and had a drink. I’m not a big drinker but decided on one of their speciality cocktails and it was pink and very pretty but I can’t remember the name of it to save my life.  We both had the sushi trio which was just as good as the sushi we get in the sushi restaurant we go to at home.  I had halibut which was very dry and he had chicken with gnocchi which he said was the best meal yet on the cruise.  We split a hazelnut cake and I thought it was wonderful. He didn’t like it.  
 

I wanted to walk around the ship a bit and take photos of the art and such but decided to save that for another day.  A lot of people at the orange party on deck 2.  Orange is my least favorite color, so I tried my best with a pink and gold dress which was the closest thing I brought to orange.  I had no idea an orange party was a thing so I wish that was communicated a bit more clearly from HAL.  I still wouldn’t have brought anything orange but I would have appreciated knowing about it. 
 

We listened to a few songs on the Rolling Rock room.  The band was great but we called it a night when they took their 10:15 break.  
 

Would it be appropriate to have my picture taken with them one night (obviously not when they are playing) but when they take their breaks?  I feel awkward asking and don’t want to be a pest. 
 

Came back to find two towel animals.  
 

All the workers on this ship work so hard to make sure we have an enjoyable experience.  It also makes me feel embarrassed because I know they work 8X harder than I do at my job and they do it with smiles for 8 months straight.  I am grouchy after an 8 hour shift.  I’m sure it happens, and I haven’t seen it, but I don’t think I would ever be able to watch a passenger berate any of these workers.  They do an amazing job. 
 

Tomorrow is Curaçao. We spent a week in Curaçao about 8 years ago and I’m hoping we can snorkel at the resort we stayed at.  There is a public beach nearby but I don’t know if we’re allowed to be in the water in front of the hotel.  The fish there were amazing because they would feed them bananas and the fish were so plentiful.  Especially if you happened to steal bananas from the breakfast buffet.  

[KAKcruiser]

From mid February to late March the Rotterdam sails the 9 day Southern Caribbean and 12 day Panama Canal itineraries.  HAL has an annoying habit of only listing an itinerary on the first sailing (usually in January) and then you have to click on additional dates.  It would be so much easier if they listed each date individually.

[iflyrc5]

12 hours ago, hmorrow said:

We board on the 8th of March.  Love crab cakes- sorry to hear they were bad, as well as some of the service in the dining room, and the moldy grout on a 14 month old ship.

All suprising. We're on deck 6, aft cabin. Do you think we'll hear the music from the music walk?

Still looking forward to our trip!

All of the music venues are forward of midships so I don't think you will have issues from the music.

[REOVA]

You can also book Nieuw Statendam (middle) or Koningsdam (oldest) which are sister ships. Slight differences but similar layout. 

[iflyrc5]

7 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

From mid February to late March the Rotterdam sails the 9 day Southern Caribbean and 12 day Panama Canal itineraries.  HAL has an annoying habit of only listing an itinerary on the first sailing (usually in January) and then you have to click on additional dates.  It would be so much easier if they listed each date individually.

Yes - we are booked for the 9 day and 12 day starting Jan 14, 2024 and doing them each twice so will be on board until Feb 25.

[REOVA]

26 minutes ago, Charlene1985 said:

 

I wanted to walk around the ship a bit and take photos of the art and such but decided to save that for another day.  

That was what my DW called my excursion on sea day. There is a 3-d work by elevators that is hard to photograph correctly. (Scavenger hunt?). Can you name all of the artists on the stairwell walls? 

[oakridger]

1 hour ago, Charlene1985 said:

Afterwards we made our way to the sea view pool. It was crowded but we found two loungers next to each other without having to wait.  The music was the perfect level for me- which was audible but not loud enough to make conversing hard.

 

I was also very pleasantly surprised by the reasonable (to me) volume of music at the pool and in the Lido.  I am VERY sensitive to sounds that I don't control and had heard past reviews of other ships about canned music being too loud.

 

1 hour ago, Charlene1985 said:

hazelnut cake and I thought it was wonderful

 

This cake was recommended by my waiter in the MDR early in the cruise and it was also my favorite cake type dessert!  They served it in the Lido too when it was offered in the MDR.

 

~Nancy

[hmorrow]

Really enjoying your unbiased review, as we're doing the same cruise in March. Some good, some not so good, but sounds like you're having a great time!

[CruiserN1]

Thanks for your review. Sailing on our first HAL cruise in March on Rotterdam.

[tchrms]

Thank you for your honest, unbiased and thoughtful reviews.  I look forward to reading these every day.  It's wonderful that you are taking the time to post.  Have a wonderful cruise.

 

 

 

[Charlene1985]

On 1/9/2023 at 10:33 AM, hmorrow said:

We board on the 8th of March.  Love crab cakes- sorry to hear they were bad, as well as some of the service in the dining room, and the moldy grout on a 14 month old ship.

All suprising. We're on deck 6, aft cabin. Do you think we'll hear the music from the music walk?

Still looking forward to our trip!

You won’t hear the band in the aft. We are deck 6, in the middle of the vista suites and I haven’t heard a single thing from above, below, side to side, or the hallway.  We hear a few people on their balconies but nothing terrible.  We do not have a connecting room.  We met the couple of one side of us- they are on for 21.  I am 95% certain the room forward of us is empty.  No signs on the door, the room has never been cleaned as we walk by, and we’ve never seen anyone at the railing. 

[triiip42]

Thank you for taking the time to review your cruise and share your thoughts. We board this Saturday and happen to be in deck 6 vista also.

[QuattroRomeo]

 Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. Sounds like you're enjoying the Explorations Cafe ☕. We thought it was very good on the Koningsdam and look forward to trying it next month on Rotterdam. Have you also enjoyed the coffee and food at Dutch Cafe? We liked it there too.

 

I think you could ask to take a photo with the rock band- after all, you liked them! And I would guess they have been asked before.

 

Good "save" on the laundry! I can just imagine neatly folding hubby's socks and underwear, wrapping in tissue and placing in a basket...🙄!..

 

ps- agree with you about the tablespoon of cottage cheese at breakfast- have seen that on a few ships,  so now I ask for a scoop!

[Charlene1985]

Sorry I’m a bit late.  Today’s post will be for yesterday, our Curaçao stop.  
 

We visited Curaçao in 2015 so we had an idea of what to expect from the island.  Husband wasn’t hungry when we woke up so I went to the MDR by myself.  I had pancakes and the fruit and cottage cheese.  Pancakes were good but nothing spectacular.  I’ve had much worse and I’ve had better.  Our excursion met around 11:30 and before we left, husband grabbed a breakfast sandwich from NY Pizza.  Typical ham, egg, cheese on a bagel.  He liked it, as a NYer myself, it was not your typical “BEC”. 
 

Anyway, we signed up for the caves and city tour.  Caves were neat- not overly exciting, but their anomaly is that they are above ground.  Learned a bit on how they are formed. No pictures allowed and a few people complained about climbing the 50 steps (which was clearly notated in the tour description).  Took about 40 minutes.  There is an outdoor enclosure with some tortoises and they were more interesting to see than the caves to me.  Rode back to the city and did a walking tour.  Husband is more into history, I’m more into architecture and landscaping so he enjoyed the tour.  I didn’t pay attention and instead looked at the pretty buildings and flowers.  We finished the tour by walking across the floating bridge.  Walking part took 45 minutes.  The best way I can describe Willemstad is “Amsterdam at the beach”.  You’ll see the architectural similarities, and because I didn’t pay attention, I can’t tell you the years it was under Dutch control and briefly, British control, before returning to Dutch control.  But it is very Dutch. 
 

I know there is great snorkeling just east of the city so we took a cab to Mambo beach.  The hotel I stayed at previously didn’t sell is a day pass but I heard the Marriott will.  There is a man-made breakwater about 200ft off Mambo Beach and there are many tropical fish- sergeant major, blue tang, Angel fish, stopflight parrotfish, rainbow parrotfish, etc.  Lots of sponges on the rocks and my husband said he saw some crabs scampering around.  If you have a banana, you’ll be popular with the sergeant majors.   Admission to the beach was $3.50 each and chairs were $9 each.  It was crowded and dirty.  Not the best beach, but definitely worth it if you like to snorkel.  Go elsewhere if you just want to lay in the sun.  There was a bar. Husband was happy to find some beer only available on the ABCs.  I had a soda. We didn’t order food but there were a few restaurants around.  
 

We left around 4:30 and a 15 minute cab ride later, we were back at the ship.  I downloaded my underwater camera pics to my phone and then went to the jogging track for my run.  Because the cool people were still off ship, the early birds were eating, the track was nearly deserted.  I ran and one lady walked so it was more enjoyable than it had been on previous days.  And the view of the sunset and Curaçao was phenomenal. 
 

We ate at Tamarind as part of our HIA package.  I am an Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food junkie.  I love it all.  It was some of the best red curry chicken I have had.  I also had the lobster potstickers and husband had baby back ribs.  We split our appetizers.  Other people ordered two apps around us, but I feel funny doing that, so we just split the two between us.  I had the crab fried rice as my side which was great.  I had mango sorbet for dessert and it was a little tart for my liking.  I think the only disappointment was not having a plum wine available.  But the decor is beautiful and the venue overlooks the Sea View pool.  Service was great too.  Tables were set up outside but we opted for indoor seating.  I believe the cruise director ate a few tables down from us. 
 

At 10:15 we made our way to deck 11 to watch the sailaway.  No harbor pilot needed and we used thrusters to rotate 270 degrees which was quite impressive.     The water was beautiful and you could see the pilings under the pier.  The spotlights turned the water a most amazing shade of aqua.  It was such a beautiful color it didn’t even seem real. I was pleased to see many of the off duty workers using the running track, basketball court, and outdoor exercise machines.  We didn’t want to intrude on their free time so we left a few minutes after sailaway.  I’m glad they are able to use those areas at night instead of being confined to crew areas inside. 
 

We called it a night around 11pm. 
 

As you can see from this thread, we are sort of boring people when it comes to entertainment.  We are quite active during the day so the few activities that are offered at night aren’t really interesting to us.  But that is NOT disappointing to us either. But if nightlife is important to you, I can see where one could be a bit bored. 
 

[PlainvilleGirl]

Your review is “spot on”.  We are currently on the same cruise, also enjoying a Vista suite.  We just came from breakfast in MDR; after 3 separate requests, our coffee refills and my English muffins never arrived.  Overall, the dining services have not been what we are accustomed to on HAL.  No lobster tail (other than at additional cost) offered the entire cruise.  My husband was told he could order escargot 24 hours ahead and receive it for appetizer but it has never happened.  The staff indeed work very hard but it seems they are either short staffed or not trained sufficiently.  We have loved HAL on past cruises but we have been disappointed this time around.  

[albingirl]

1 hour ago, PlainvilleGirl said:

Your review is “spot on”.  We are curreW hours ahead and receive it for appetizer but it has never happened.  The staff indeed work very hard but it seems they are either short staffed or not trained sufficiently.  We have loved HAL on past cruises but we have been disappointed this time around.  

Well, I read alot of people who are disappointed in their cruises.  It's a shame.  I really do feel it's a blessing to be able to cruise, considering the world around us.  I respect your opinions, but it's never been a disappointment to me.  I understand there are always little things, but overall the experience is generally lovely to me.

[mooseridge]

Thanks so much for your great review - the good & not so good.  Appreciate hearing about your tours/activity too.   We'll be on the Rotterdam (finally) this fall Baltic & TA.  The Pinnacle Class on HAL is our favorite - not too big, not too small.  Love the music venues too.  Lincoln Center is our favorite.

 

 

mooseridge