Rotterdam Review
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My husband and I are in our early fifties. We cruised with my parents, who are in their early seventies and fairly active. This was our sixth cruise, and our third with Holland America. We enjoy cruising with HAL even though the average age is probably in the sixties.
We flew into Amsterdam and took the train from Schiphol Airport to Rotterdam Central Station. Be aware that your American credit cards may be rejected when buying train tickets (as ours were), so carry enough euros. The cost for the 50-minute train ride was about 11 euros. From the Rotterdam Central Station we paid 2,40 euros for a short tram ride (Tram 20 or 25) to Wilhelminaplein, which is a block from the cruise ship. Check-in at the Rotterdam went smoothly and quickly. The first lunch at the Lido buffet was disappointing. The food was mediocre. HAL takes the lifeboat drill very seriously, so don't try to skip it. Dinner that night (and every night) in the dining room was very good. Allow about an hour and a half to eat in the dining room.
Our first full day was a day at sea. This gave us time to recover from our flight and explore the ship. The Rotterdam is a beautiful ship with very good facilities. I was impressed by the library, and many people used it. The shops rotated their inventory to reflect the current port. There was a "Russian bazaar" onboard as we left St. Petersburg. Our room, which was a standard outside cabin, was spacious enough as cruise cabins go, and it had more storage space than we could fill. The lighting was good. The bed was very comfortable, but I was disappointed to find stains on the sheets. The satellite TV was not working until the very end of our trip, which was a great frustration for my husband as he tried to keep up with sports. The shower had a good adjustable showerhead and plenty of hot water, though the temperature varied somewhat on busy mornings. The twice-a-day cleaning service of the room was excellent. We used the self-service laundry room: $2 for wash and $1 for dry. You can get quarters at the Front Office. The temperature settings on the dryers were not reliable.