Rotterdam Review
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Just got back from a 12-night Mediterranean cruise with Holland America Line (HAL) onboard the MS Rotterdam, with another couple. We had a phenomenal time, and much of the credit goes to reviews that we had read on Cruise Critic - the tips and warnings we had read proved invaluable in making the most of this fabulous opportunity!
A couple of general comments when coming from the US to Europe for our cruise. First, do not underestimate the challenge of getting your body clock adjusted to and 8+ hour time change. It makes arriving a day early, or better two, valuable. I would also recommend having some sleeping pills available until you adjust. Secondly, based on a previous post, we brought euros with us, exchanging with our banks at home. We never had to do anything more than change denominations with HAL. Most of the places we went, the entrance fees, our guide services, and shopping were paid with euros - they even worked in Turkey. The bigger shops and some attractions take credit cards but not many of them.
This was our first cruise with HAL, having previously been on Royal Caribbean and Princess. As expected the other guests on the Rotterdam were far senior to our previous cruises. We are in our mid-40's and the average age had to be mid-60's. However, that never posed a problem as the focus of the tour was the sights on shore, far more than the activities of the ship. Rotterdam was the smallest and oldest ship we have cruised, but we were very pleased with her. She was very well maintained and equipped for this itinerary - the cover over the pool was excellent for this time of year! The entertainment, while not the best we have seen, was still quite good, and targeted to their normal demographic. My only frustration was in the workout facilities - very limited and sadly not well maintained. I realized that the senior circuit may not exercise as robustly as a younger crowd, but they should provide well maintained equipment. The crew did a very good job, in a slightly understated way. Not nearly the number of "characters" on the crew as in other cruises we have taken.