LIVE On M/S Rotterdam to North Cape, June 1-22

[Mike B Landlubber]

Last year when I read Norwegians were serious about limiting cruise ship access to certain destinations I did a few minutes of confirmation research and signed up for this cruise on the spot, without even leaving my chair. I thought I had beaten the restrictions, but soon after I signed up, several controversial ports were edited out anyway! But here I am anyway. 😉 After a short land bound visit to a Baltic port, I arrived in Rotterdam to board Rotterdam and we are off today. Boarding today was routine, just before checkout time from my hotel at 10:55 AM I was able to drag my luggage behind me for just a couple of minutes and walk right into the baggage drop. I walked through the process almost without stopping until it actually came time to board the ship. That took perhaps ten minutes of waiting in line. I made it to the Dutch Cafe a few minutes before they opened at 11:30, and slurped down my pea soup and headed for my room. Here are a few pics….

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note the small old-fashioned building, I’ll have more to say about it soon.

 

“What, you mean there’s another Rotterdam!?”

I was not the only one watching as we sailed out of the harbor

 

“Look here, Chopin is a tough ship, and we will have no namby-pamby piano playing, see?”

 

Edited June 1 by Mike B Landlubber

[RedIguana]

That old building the original headquarters/hotel for Holland America line?

[swin26]

Can’t wait to join you on the 8th!!

[Mike B Landlubber]

16 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

That old building the original headquarters/hotel for Holland America line?

Yep, I’ll have a LOT more to say about it!

[Mike B Landlubber]

The Hotel New York was the original headquarters building for Holland America company. They used it from 190 one to 1977. But now it is a hotel right by the pier. I was able to check out of the hotel and roll my luggage behind me right to the boarding area for Rotterdam yesterday. I spent two days at the hotel and it was nice.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2 by Mike B Landlubber

[ski ww]

We will be boarding the Rotterdam in Aug & will be staying for two nights on the old Rotterdam. We did the cruise to the Nordkapp last summer. Looking forward to reading about yours.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Have a great cruise..

[Iamthesea]

We also stayed in Hotel New York last month.  Had a wonderful 3 night stay and loved everything about the hotel except for having to carry our luggage up and down the entrance steps. 

 

I wish the check-in area could be more inviting, but I guess HNY are trying to keep the original look of the lobby.  At first, we thought we had made a mistake of booking there.  Based on first impressions, my husband thought the hotel was going to be a dump.  However, once out of the lobby, the rooms were very modern and inviting.  Very comfortable beds!  

 

Three of our favorite meals (of our entire 3 week trip) were had at the hotel restaurant.  Two dinners inside the restaurant, and one along the shoreside. The breakfast brunch was also great!  All of the service staff were excellent. 

 

Being a decorator, I thought of some ways to lighten, brighten, and welcome guest into the hotel that would still embrace the original feel of the hotel.  I was not asked for my opinion. 😁  We will stay at HNY should we return to Rotterdam in the future. 

 

OP, great photos!  Not sure if you are finished with your review of the hotel, or if you have pictures of your room to share.  I have some if anyone is interested.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!!!

Edited June 2 by Iamthesea

[SilvertoGold]

Fantastic photos and excellent commentary! Have a GREAT cruise and enjoy this lovely ship!

[Mike B Landlubber]

44 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

 

 

OP, great photos!  Not sure if you are finished with your review of the hotel, or if you have pictures of your room to share.  I have some if anyone is interested.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!!!

My room was fascinating in itself, pics will be forthcoming! 🙂

[Mike B Landlubber]

This is a sea day for us, so I can spend some time on my interesting hotel room. Viewing this post, remember that the building was originally built as the office for Holland America Lines. I reserved their most basic style of room, which their website accurately describes as being in the interior of the hotel. It is on a light shaft so light from the outside does come in the windows. But the view is of windows on the other side of the light shaft. One of the earliest things I noticed about the room is that there are two massive spotlights hanging from the ceiling where you might expect a more normal lamp. I’ve gone back-and-forth over whether they were actually in the room for some reason I can’t imagine, or they were added later as a curiosity. 
 

More interesting is the unusual set of closet doors I noticed. On examination, they proved to be very thick and massive and made of steel. This had originally been a vault! The locking mechanism had been removed, and it was dark when I looked inside. Opening the doors found that there is quite a substantial area inside, and it has been set up to be used with a chair, hangers and lights. I can conceive of Holland America wanting to store Money or perhaps sensitive documents in 1901 when digital money transfers and records were not even in science fiction. But I noticed that, in addition to the one vault in my room, in a nearby hall, there was a double level vault, one above the other. I find it difficult to believe that HAL needed that many vaults, but there they are! The spotlights are another problem. I see no reason to put spotlights in our room with the vault. But it is certainly odd to imagine an interior designer overseeing the conversion to a hotel room saying “Let’s get some big spotlights and put them in the room just to freak people out!”. It remains a puzzle for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2 by Mike B Landlubber

[Mermen]

Thanks so much for posting, great pictures! We’re sailing the Rotterdam for the same reason as you, in September. Appreciate the intel on the hotel too!

 

[Iamthesea]

That's a neat vault/closet!  Our room also had two spotlights.  I took it that the decor was to have the look of old ships. I found the following quote on HNY website about the style of the room that we booked.

 

"The atmosphere in these rooms is typical Hotel New York: a warm interior with an idiosyncratic wink and a maritime twist."

 

See the railing, spotlight, and the porthole bathroom door in our room.  The closet, not shown, looks like a large wardrobe, and there was a huge steamer trunk to place our luggage on.  The bedside tables were also trunks.  Our room was the middle balcony seen in the hotel photo.  The door to the balcony was HUGE!

 

We loved the hotel so much!  If we lived near enough to Rotterdam, we would go stay for a few nights getaway.  There appeared to be a lot of locals, and young European families that were dining or staying there.

Edited June 3 by Iamthesea

[Mike B Landlubber]

@Iamthesea I think your theory about spotlights being used to give the feel of a ship is probably correct, though I think of them more as being associated with a theater. To cover the traditional review items that I didn’t cover because I was focused on the weird stuff in the room, I should mention that the bathroom was excellent for me with a modern walk-in shower and fixtures.  My bed was not a strong point. A mattress pad had been added to the bed, apparently to try to squeeze another year out of an aging mattress. The combination wasn’t terrible to sleep on, but definitely wasn’t great. I am not a member of Team Carry-on Only, and on my evening arrival I had some trouble at the hotel front entrance moving my checked bag and carry-on up some stairs and through a classic revolving door setup with little maneuvering room in front of it. When I checked out, a bellhop was on duty, and with his assistance the exit was easy. In the hotel restaurant, the added-cost breakfast buffet was very satisfactory and my lunch was excellent.

Edited June 3 by Mike B Landlubber

[ski ww]

Enjoyed the pictures, if we're ever back this way we'll have to try the hotel. 

[Iamthesea]

Interesting that you mention the beds.  When we checked in, the women at guest services gushed that they just put in new mattresses.  DH and I thought the bed one of the most comfortable we have slept on, including our own bed.  The added topper and duvet were heavenly. Firm mattress with a soft topping. Did your bed look like the bed in my photo? 

 

Our bathroom was adequate enough, but with this type room, we expected two sinks.  I realize that all rooms are different, so perhaps the configuration did not allow for a larger bath.  The bedroom was very large.  There are two sections not shown in my photo.  One other odd thing about the bathroom was that the toilet had a beam going up beside it that caused one to have to sit at a slight angle.  Got us ready for the ships toilets. 😁

 

Looking forward to following the rest of your review.

[Mike B Landlubber]

On M/S Rotterdam, they have 2600 passengers to serve, so the pre-breakfast staff meeting is important!

[grannyshell]

On 6/2/2024 at 8:34 PM, Mike B Landlubber said:

@Iamthesea I think your theory about spotlights being used to give the feel of a ship is probably correct, though I think of them more as being associated with a theater. To cover the traditional review items that I didn’t cover because I was focused on the weird stuff in the room, I should mention that the bathroom was excellent for me with a modern walk-in shower and fixtures.  My bed was not a strong point. A mattress pad had been added to the bed, apparently to try to squeeze another year out of an aging mattress. The combination wasn’t terrible to sleep on, but definitely wasn’t great. I am not a member of Team Carry-on Only, and on my evening arrival I had some trouble at the hotel front entrance moving my checked bag and carry-on up some stairs and through a classic revolving door setup with little maneuvering room in front of it. When I checked out, a bellhop was on duty, and with his assistance the exit was easy. In the hotel restaurant, the added-cost breakfast buffet was very satisfactory and my lunch was excellent.

Thanks for the hotel review. We're also staying there in September pre-cruise. Are those ramp-like structures alongside the stairs actual ramps and wide enough to wheel a suitcase up/down?

[Mike B Landlubber]

2 hours ago, grannyshell said:

Thanks for the hotel review. We're also staying there in September pre-cruise. Are those ramp-like structures alongside the stairs actual ramps and wide enough to wheel a suitcase up/down?

Alas, no. I manhandled my suitcase and carry on up one at a time. There wasn’t a lot of space at the top of the stairs to organize either. I arrived about 9:30 in the evening and the the front area had only one clerk. I left at checkout time and there was a porter there who carried the big bag and made it easy. If you were arriving at more conventional hours, you will hopefully get help. I really liked the hotel but this was an annoyance. I suspect they can’t change the front because of historic preservation laws. When I checked out, I asked if there was an easier alternate route and they just referred me to the porter. 

[Mike B Landlubber]

23 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Interesting that you mention the beds.  When we checked in, the women at guest services gushed that they just put in new mattresses.  DH and I thought the bed one of the most comfortable we have slept on, including our own bed.  The added topper and duvet were heavenly. Firm mattress with a soft topping. Did your bed look like the bed in my photo? 

 

Our bathroom was adequate enough, but with this type room, we expected two sinks.  I realize that all rooms are different, so perhaps the configuration did not allow for a larger bath.  The bedroom was very large.  There are two sections not shown in my photo.  One other odd thing about the bathroom was that the toilet had a beam going up beside it that caused one to have to sit at a slight angle.  Got us ready for the ships toilets. 😁

 

Looking forward to following the rest of your review.

 

[Mike B Landlubber]

23 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Interesting that you mention the beds.  When we checked in, the women at guest services gushed that they just put in new mattresses.  DH and I thought the bed one of the most comfortable we have slept on, including our own bed.  The added topper and duvet were heavenly. Firm mattress with a soft topping. Did your bed look like the bed in my photo?

My beds did look like that. What specifically bothered me was that my mattress felt saggy and back a little sore after first few hours, but then I shifted to sleep on the center of the bed and it was fine for that and succeeding night. I may have gotten a bad individual mattress or just have been unlucky and giving them a unfair black mark. I still like and recommend the hotel.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Sounds like you are having fun , Who is the Captain , and the Hotel Director ??

[Iamthesea]

5 hours ago, grannyshell said:

Thanks for the hotel review. We're also staying there in September pre-cruise. Are those ramp-like structures alongside the stairs actual ramps and wide enough to wheel a suitcase up/down?

 

I assume that "ramp" is just part of the stair sides.  Frankly, we did not notice it, but it would have been hard trying to maneuver a suitcase up or down.

 

3 hours ago, Mike B Landlubber said:

Alas, no. I manhandled my suitcase and carry on up one at a time. There wasn’t a lot of space at the top of the stairs to organize either. I arrived about 9:30 in the evening and the the front area had only one clerk. I left at checkout time and there was a porter there who carried the big bag and made it easy. If you were arriving at more conventional hours, you will hopefully get help. I really liked the hotel but this was an annoyance. I suspect they can’t change the front because of historic preservation laws. When I checked out, I asked if there was an easier alternate route and they just referred me to the porter. 

 

We arrived at around 9:00am and left around 10:00am.  During our entire 3 days, we never saw a porter.  I was surprised to see him in your photo.  Kind of looks like the guy at the Disney Tower of Terror Hotel.

 

Sorry about your bed experience.  Hope your stateroom bed is better!

[nunuc2000]

2 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

 

I assume that "ramp" is just part of the stair sides.  Frankly, we did not notice it, but it would have been hard trying to maneuver a suitcase up or down.

 

 

We arrived at around 9:00am and left around 10:00am.  During our entire 3 days, we never saw a porter.  I was surprised to see him in your photo.  Kind of looks like the guy at the Disney Tower of Terror Hotel.

 

Sorry about your bed experience.  Hope your stateroom bed is better!

He totally looks like that guy from the tower of terror! They must get their outfits at the same place lol!!

[Mike B Landlubber]

Rotterdam in port at Stavanger. The big flat plates on the mooring lines are rat guards, intended to keep rodents off the ship. 
 

 

 

 

Edited June 5 by Mike B Landlubber