This was my first time with Holland America, having previously cruised with Royal Caribbean and the now extinct Royal Olympic Cruises. Having experienced a Balcony cabin on RCL I decided to book the same on the Rotterdam.

Embarkation in Lisbon was a bit of a mess, all passengers were given numbers and told to await their turn to check-in, the only exception being those who had booked a suite, they had a dedicate check-in facility. However saying that the process took no more than an hour and one on board we were able to go direct to our cabin. The balcony cabins on Rotterdam appear to be larger than RCL and certainly have more storage space, plus a jacuzzi bath/shower. The cabin was well appointed with comfortable leather sofa, flat screen tv and on the balcony sun lungers with padded covers.

The dining room is very impressive being on 2 levels, we had booked late dining option and sat at a table for 8, our fellow table guests were from all parts of the world and we all got to know each other very quickly. Read more