This was my first cruise and I hope it will not have been my last. My travelling companion and I had a marvellous time on the MS Rotterdam and, in fact, everything about the ship, the itinerary, and the ports was well-nigh perfect.

We arrived at the cruise terminal in Rotterdam at 11:40 and, as soon as we got out of the taxi, our luggage was whisked from us by a porter, to arrive in our cabin by mid-afternoon. Check-in went smoothly and in under two hours we were in our ocean view state room on the ship's main deck. Our cabin was clean, our bed was comfortable and there was ice in the ice bucket to chill our wine. What more could we want!

We then set off to explore the Rotterdam. As a first time cruiser, I was surprised and impressed by how elegant and under-stated everything was. Images of gaudy, floating hotel, mega-cruise ships quickly vanished from my mind. We had booked fixed, late dining (at 8pm), with a table for two, in the main dining room. So we went first to check-out our table. Its situation, on the upper level of the dining room, was perfect. It overlooked the lower level on one side, while the other side commanded a view of the passing seascape through a large window. Then it was time for a spot of lunch in the self-service, Lido dining room. Read more