We stayed in Amsterdam for 3 days visiting sights such as the Rijkmuseum, Anne Frank Huis, Van Gogh Museum and the infamous De Wallen Red Light District which was pretty near to our hotel. We took a tour to the Zaanse Schanes Windmills, Marken and Volendam which was a great way to leave the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam and visit the country which was a very interesting experience and we even got some really delicious Dutch cheese for souvenirs!

On the day of the cruise, we travelled by train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam which roughly takes about an hour and a half and arrived at the port by 11am which was really crowded with passengers by the time we got there. However, despite the crowd, embarkation was a breeze and were on the ship 30 minutes after we arrived the at port.

Our first impression of the MS Rotterdam was that it was very similar to the MS Volendam which felt really spacious despite the ship having a full capacity of guests. Its decor had many Asian-Inspired pieces including the famous Terra Cotta Warriors from Xi'An, China and Samurai Armor from Japan, there were also a large scale model in the dining room of Rotterdam V which was the predecessor to today's MS Rotterdam, these pieces created an elegant yet subtle decor which we really appreciated during the cruise. Read more