Live from Rotterdam Dec 3 - 22. Daily mini review

[QuattroRomeo]

[QuattroRomeo]

[QuattroRomeo]

A few pics of Club Orange:

[QuattroRomeo]

The show Wed. night was Island Magic. A really good steel drum band from Trinidad and Tobago. The theatre was packed again- go early for a seat!

 

[jimbri]

Great pictures.  Have a wonderful cruise!

[QuattroRomeo]

 

Yesterday was Curacao; we arrived in the wee hours of the morning to disembark an ill passenger. Then apparently in the afternoon, another passenger was sent by ambulance to hospital.

 

We did a private tour from 945-5, including Porto Mari beach, Shete Boka National Park, Knip beach and the Chocolobo distillery. Great guide and driver and really nice people joined us from local resorts.

 

We were in port until 1030 pm so the shops weren't open on board. Had dinner at CO and went to the show- comedian Marc Yaffe. 

 

[Huskerchick]

1 hour ago, QuattroRomeo said:

 

Yesterday was Curacao; we arrived in the wee hours of the morning to disembark an ill passenger. Then apparently in the afternoon, another passenger was sent by ambulance to hospital.

 

We did a private tour from 945-5, including Porto Mari beach, Shete Boka National Park, Knip beach and the Chocolobo distillery. Great guide and driver and really nice people joined us from local resorts.

 

We were in port until 1030 pm so the shops weren't open on board. Had dinner at CO and went to the show- comedian Marc Yaffe. 

 

Not sure if it's allowed but could you share who you did your tour with? We are always looking for things to do in Curaçao 

[QuattroRomeo]

1 hour ago, Huskerchick said:

Not sure if it's allowed but could you share who you did your tour with? We are always looking for things to do in Curaçao 

 

The tour was with Curacao Dreams. (Not affiliated with the resort of the same name). We did a different tour with them earlier this year as well. The visit to Knip beach for the turtle swim is hit and miss. First time, tons of turtles. This time, I only saw one. The private area they have at Knip beach is on top of a canteen and the stairway is quite tricky (all rocks). If you have any issues with flexibilty or steadiness, you won't want to climb them. But you could just stay down below. The entrance to the water drops suddenly and is rocky- wear water shoes.

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Last night's show, the comedian Marc Yaffe. The first part of his show was typical cruise jokes and old people aches and pains jokes..the latter part of his act was much better. He is a native American, and his related jokes were pretty good. All the shows so far seem well attended, so don't dawdle getting there!

[Iamthesea]

Did you need to sign-up for the Mixology class?  Looks like there would be an attendance limit around the bar?

 

Oh my goodness, that is some dinner menu!  Most items sound desirable, especially in the Starters column.  Why they put so many great choices on one night is beyond me.  I don't rememeber that menu when we were on the N. Statendam in May, so we much have been dining away from CO that night.  I will have to look for it when we are onboard the Rotterdam next May.

 

Jill and Gary - Same to you!  Looks like we are taking similar cruises on the Rotterdam this spring/summer.  Wish we were sailing together!!!

[QuattroRomeo]

 

Today (Friday) is another beautiful day at sea. Of course today my watch battery decided to konk out. Checked in the shops and they don't do batteries. Oh well, an excuse to go to the sales today and maybe find a cheapie watch! 

 

There is a Panama Canal talk this morning in the theatre, and it will be repeated tomorrow afternoon, after we leave Cartagena. So far, everything looks to be a "go" for Panama.

 

Had a leisurely breakfast in CO. I ordered the ham and cheese skillet. It is the only breakfast I have found that actually includes what I call "real" hash browns- cubed potato with peppers and onions. Not a fan of the ubiquitous triangle wedges..might as well be eating at McDonalds for those!

 

[QuattroRomeo]

The dreaded wedge "hash brown" 🙄

[QuattroRomeo]

3 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Did you need to sign-up for the Mixology class?  Looks like there would be an attendance limit around the bar?

You can sign up at pretty much any bar, or just do what I did and plunk yourself down! There are actually lots of chairs and side tables set up opposite the bar for more people, it just doesn't show in the photos here.There is more than one class, 3 or 4 I think, with different topics.

[Hobby3333]

41 minutes ago, QuattroRomeo said:

You can sign up at pretty much any bar, or just do what I did and plunk yourself down! There are actually lots of chairs and side tables set up opposite the bar for more people, it just doesn't show in the photos here.There is more than one class, 3 or 4 I think, with different topics.

We will be boarding in six days and your pictures and descriptions have really help pass the time.  We really enjoy HAL and love CO and the Rotterdam.   Thank you and keep ‘‘em coming 

[QuattroRomeo]

This is the bar events sign currently on display. This sign happens to be at Dutch cafe.

[QuattroRomeo]

Pretty quiet on board today, not much to take photos of. So a few more Art of the Day pics:

 

[QuattroRomeo]

[QuattroRomeo]

Up on Observation Deck, I noticed an area set up for what I assume will be a vow renewal:

 

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Container ship going by:

[QuattroRomeo]

Cabanas well attended today:

 

 

[cbr663]

On 12/6/2023 at 12:58 PM, QuattroRomeo said:

 

Thanks for showing the wood wall pics of CO.  I think I prefer the glass wall of the Koningsdam only because so many times while dining in CO there were long lineups in that hallway to the MDR.  The glass wall may help keep the noise level down in CO.

[cbr663]

10 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

We had dinner in CO. We both had the zucchini bisque, which was as good as we remembered. I had the daily special- braised short ribs- nice and tender. DH had the striploin but didn't really care for it. We also shared a small dish of Beechers mac n cheese, because we've read about it on CC but never had it before. It was pretty good, sharper cheese taste than I expected and Roy (rafinmd) is right- the crust is the best!

 

 

 

When my DW ordered the Beechers Mac n Cheese on the Koningsdam we were told that there would be a bit of a wait as it is made per order.  I agree, it was pretty good.

[cbr663]

6 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

The dreaded wedge "hash brown" 🙄

 

The dreaded triangle.  In another thread I have written of my distaste for these things, so I won't repeat it here again.  I was surprised yesterday though while watching a vlog from a Viking cruise to see the dreaded triangle on a breakfast plate.  😜

[oakridger]

12 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

The show Wed. night was Island Magic. A really good steel drum band from Trinidad and Tobago. The theatre was packed again- go early for a seat!

 

 

I have heard several positive reports about this group, even pre pandemic I believe.  I hope to see them sometime and was sad they weren't on my 3 weeks on Rotterdam in November 2022.

 

Nothing says "Caribbean" to me like a good steel drum band!!

 

~Nancy

[QuattroRomeo]

To close out this very nice day at sea- we had dinner in CO, both of us the choosing the shrimp costini, which was a good pile of shrimp in a creamy sauce on 2 small baguette slices (okay, one slice was gone by the time I took the picture)! Then the callaloo soup, nice and light. Followed by the Port to Table hake. We hadn't tried hake before so that was good, another mild white flesh fish and true to form for this cruise, not over-cooked.

Dessert for me was the yummy Opera cake, and DH had his usual cheese plate.

 

After dinner, the show was Robert Neary again, this time with hits through the decades. A very good show. The theatre was full by 7:06 for the 7:30 show! I enjoyed my new favourite, a mojito, during the show. Later I tried the third of 3 coffee drinks- Christmas chocolate mint. Pretty good concoction. But of the 3, my fave is the spiked eggnog.

 

Tomorrow we are in Cartagena, leaving at 2 pm. We just plan to go to the terminal area with the shopping building, aviary, and coffee shop. We've done a few tours already over the years so that will be enough. It will be interesting to see if it has changed much.