Rotterdam Review
Rating by category
Additional details
The itinerary of this cruise was outstanding. The crew and ship staff were caring, friendly and professional. The food started out good, but 6 containers were not loaded in Singapore due to a dock strike in the USA. Many of the crew got off at this time, and the food and service was only mediocre after this
The biggest problem was the Internet service - or lack thereof. Some days, it was impossible to even connect to the ship's server. Then, if you could get a connection, you might only be able to receive, not send an email. I went a whole week when it was impossible to send one email message. At every port, passengers and crew were desperately searching for a shore Wi Fi service so they could contact their family or friends. I have NEVER had such a bad experience on a cruise ship, and this is supposed to be one of HALs flagships!
Avoid this ship until they get the Internet service fixed.
Cabin Review
Large Interior Stateroom
Lots of room and storage. However, the walls, ceiling and light fixtures groaned and made noise when the ship encountered rough seas. This may be because the cabin is not made of metal, but some wood or plastic products. Many people could not stand the noise and had places shims all over the ceiling and wall panels to reduce the racket. Beware if you are a light sleeper!
Port Reviews
Rotterdam
Boarding in Rotterdam is usually fast and interesting. We only had about 500 people boarding, so it was quick. We missed the fireboats and the fireman glee club which have given us a send-off in the past.
Southampton
We took a cab to town and did our own Old Town Walk, which is easily followed. Highly recommended for a short and easy view of the city of Southampton.
Lisbon
We walked off the ship and made our way to the main square in town. There, we caught the tram to the Coach Museum, which was small but very interesting. We bought a few "Torte de Belem" pastries (excellent) and took the tram back downtown. We hired a taxi to take us to the Castle and walked back to the ship, stopping in the Winebar Castello for some samples of port wine and at the Se cathedral at the bottom of the hill. Overall, a good day.
Malaga
I found a café where I could get good Internet access. What a relief! We then took a short walk to the Picasso Museum. This is much smaller than the one in Barcelona, but very nice. Stopped at another café for churros and chocolate - delicious!