We recently cruised for 11 days to 6 different islands in the Southern Carribean on the Norwegian Pearl. Everything from beginning to end was absolutely wonderful! It was a repositioning cruise starting in Tampa, FL and ending in NYC! We went to the Cayman Islands, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Thomas and NYC. We took port exercusions to all these beautiful islands, each being a little different from each other making it special. We ended with a tour of NYC...always a fun time! On the ship we were treated like royalty. Every sincle crew person made us feel special. Loved our cabin steward who always would smile and ask us about our day, did an excellent job taking care of our cabin. We LOVED the beautiful Summer Palace dining room and spent every single dinner there. Our waiter Rocky was absolutely the best. We became good friends and he was an excellent waiter knowing what kind of beverages we liked and making our cruise extra special! The food on the ship was excellent. the french onion soup was the best Ive ever tasted. We were so pleased to see Kit Kat Guadalupe, Guest Services Director, and Pedro, Cruise Director who we had met on another NCL Cruise. They were warm and welcoming. We loved the shows on the ship (except for the juggler...didnt care for him...more of a childrens act), especially the Legends in Concert which included the singers and dancers on the ship...excellent! We enjoyed the dances in the Spinnaker Lounge nightly as well as the game shows (so much fun, I participated in one) and the trivia games. This was our 6th NCL cruise...already booked on another one...love NCL!!! Read Less

The reviews of HAL out here lately have been snarky. We had a lovely time some years back in Canada on the Veendam. For some reason we strayed – but we can’t remember why. I had one open week in March and searched on price and a few of my criteria. The Rotterdam was the cheapest for ocean view- and for Mariner members we got $100 off on HAL.COM. One thing to watch for on OV on some Holland ships- they are nice and big and have a couch- (and even a bathtub). But a top grade (HH) can be obstructed view literally on Lower Promenade. DW did not trust the one way glass tinting- as people could possibly see in as they walked by. We booked a specific porthole (1815) down on deck one “Dolphin” - and were amused to get three “urgent” upgrade offers back up to HH- starting at $69 pp and the last was $19 pp. We had one 110V outlet, one German (250V/50hz) outlet and 2x USB charging ports. Tampa is usually a low cost air destination for us. I saved a little and booked a connecting flight- why I asked myself after a four hour delay. Ubers are cheap and abundant. The cab from the airport asked for $26 not on the meter, six over Uber XL and DW rolled her eyes and tipped him poorly. The chain hotels were pricey the start of spring break. We tried the Tahitian. The reviews were mixed. The pool and grounds were good. It has a smallish main building with a 1970s motel out back. There is no one from chain headquarters to remind the owner he needs to write a check and fix stuff like beds, bubbling plaster and clock radios or lose his franchise. The little breakfast/lunch café inside was excellent- the Tampa Police eat there. There is a cute residential neighborhood out back. Embarkation at 11 AM was less than optimal. We were too early, yes, but Terminal Six has not enough chairs. So get there at 11:30 and you proceed to the gangway and not have to stand in line after your speedy check in. Actual boarding started at 11:40. The ship is lovely and being very aggressively maintained – new carpet, paint, piping etc. The crew was cheerful and the art is really top notch. Rooms were ready at 11:45 AM- who ever heard of that. We ate embarkation lunch in the MDR. The selections were just right. The Cajun items had un-spiced sausage but they did a good job on vegetables and soups. Dinners were also good- we had aft facing sharing tables for eight and the conversation was really great – four couples our age with 15+ cruises each. Note the average passenger age was up there. The wine prices were high to us- $9 is apparently the norm -but they had three IPAs. One was out of stock but they had a Florida one that was not bad. A few tap beers are available here and there. We were so excited to see the Oceans Quartet (sometimes or formerly called Neptunes) with four sets starting at 7PM or even 5PM. The dance floor is smallish (14 feet by 14 feet or so) but the band was very good- the guys are from Mexico and will be on the ship until May. Several couples were dancing. One of the dancers said they were playing all jazz the previous week but I went up and begged for some Latin – and it was amazing. A piano player was there in between sets. If you know the Foxtrot Box Step- it is handy on a small floor. Up the way there was a piano bar player- he was well regarded- Barry from Boston. The casino was packed and a bit smoky. There was no actual production show- this caused some grumbling– replaced by a movie. Others seemed OK with the movie. There was comedy a few nights. Both were good and one of the comedy shows had music (we won’t give it away). There was a musical show- Postmodern Jukebox that was only OK but way over hyped. If I was HAL I would being back a smallish production show. The reports on the Test Kitchen were positive. As I write this is it 5:45 AM in the lounge/coffee shop/library aka Explorations Cafe. There is no library on the deck plans but there are actual books, puzzles, board games and no piped in music. The coffee shop opens at 6:30. For a transatlantic or world cruise this is an excellent and large space- and very under-rated. We had our Cruise Critic unofficial meet and greet around a giant puzzle. They need a few electric outlets, and there is a wooden book sculpture that takes up a whole writing desk and needs to be recycled. I found a wireless laser printer which was good for boarding passes etc. The ship has an aft pool. These are nice and a good way to enjoy the sea views. Key West is a good port. On our third trip there we hunted for the free bus, which for us was like a unicorn and hard to find. Two important clues- it is called the Duval Loop and is a smallish city bus. There is a commercial trolley-bus and a wheeled train. The Duval Loop has red circular signs marking the stops. It was very full when we rode it and the commentary was safety vs tourist focused. The Southernmost Beach Café was again excellent and we found Turkish trivets and key lime jelly beans on Duval. The funny and interesting port talks downplayed Porto Tomas in Guatemala. The message was, over and over, buy a shore excursion or else you will be bored and disappointed. Some of us took the or else- many staying on the ship. There was hint you could walk out the gate of the container port by the craft market, go straight a block then right around the miniature naval station to some waterfront restaurants. At least one showed up on the online rating sites and can be seen from the ship. We dropped into Donde Pilo which seated us over the water on a thatched roof dock. They were sweet and friendly and recommending the large lobster seafood soup for $20. Some friends who arrived by power wheelchair had a huge fish. Divide all local currency prices by 7. We looked for and saw several crew. If they are trying to promote the port in the bigger picture I would humbly suggest to HAL and the Tourist Board to rent a few golf carts and shuttle guests over there. It is a similar look, feel and walk to Senior Frogs in Nassau. Pro tip- the local beer was $2. The craft market at the pier had pretty local crafts – I got two nice hand made belts for $20 each. Taxis to the actual town, a few miles away, were like $10pp round trip. Service in the MDR was cheerful but slow. Breakfast food was lovely – lots of choices- full English, waffles and even Asian. But they would take 45 minutes and ask for juice two or three times etc. We diagnosed the issue as “stay in your section” by the Head Waiters, vs “go and help the guests or supervise” – which is easy to fix and we dropped in a note to the Hotel Director. Dinner was slow but everybody was pitching in. MDR Lunch was efficient. They were not serving in the MDR on port days, so we tried “Dive In” by the covered pool – which has a taco bar also and a good chicken sandwhich. There were rumors of a shortage of limes aboard. I cornered a senior beverage person, who stated they have to use certified (food safety?) suppliers, such as those back in Tampa, so just racing off to buy a case of limes was just not possible. I complimented him on the wise decision to carry several IPAs. He hinted they would have more but there were issues with shelf stability. He did acknowledge the cost of them was also a factor, and that guests were “crazy for light beers.” The founder of our local (large) microbrewery at home, Summit, makes of big point of his decision to hire a chemist and build a lab to work on shelf stability as he tries to expand nationally. This may be a helpful clue as to why there not more craft beers on cruise ships. We were baffled by the real world dress code aboard. Yes the published one was easy to follow. Dress to Impress aka Formal Night was the big question. So, based on a sample size of say 100 people I noticed (this is valid sample size I think), the average for men was sport coat and tie. We saw a tux or two and quite a few business casual. Mahogany Bay is a dedicated cruise ship port. The Captain mentioned the entrance was narrow and challenging to back the ship into in high winds, but everything was just so. The grounds were manicured, the shops air conditioned and the beaches sandy. There were life guards and lots of security. We had a dip in the ocean. The online drawings and photos show the place as barren but the jungle has filled in and it quite pretty. There were lots of lounge chairs and shade available. We enjoyed the signs on some of the exotic (to us at least) trees and flowers. Costa Maya seemed the same and massively crowded. We stayed on the ship. The gentle rocking at the open sea pier made it like a sea day. We read books and went for several walks. MDR breakfast service settled in. I did some asking around – this is a happy ship- with high guest satisfaction ratings. I have noticed a correlation between happy ships and good ratings on places like Cruise Critic. You can tell if the crew is enjoying their (hard) work. We were impressed by the towel animals – Riston (covering the whole forward-odd side of Deck One up to about 1857) designed an amazing elephant, sleeping dog and monkey- the best we have even seen. They did not seem to use cleaning carts which can block the hallways. Getting off the ship could not have been easier. CBP had a lot officers on duty in Tampa, which helped. There were no lines at all at 8:40. Just before leaving we had a walk on the all-around promenade deck, then ordered eggs benedict and Belgian Waffles in the MDR. This was a good reminder of how well organized things are on the co-flagship of the line Read Less

This was my 4th year in a row sailing aboard this ship for a themed cruise run by Norwegians company sixthman. TERRIBLE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT FOR THIS YEAR! The staff was rude and careless! Sewage issues on decks 4 and 10... lets start there. Plastic bags being suspended from the ceilings filled with human waste!!! Pool towels on the floor to capture any spillage. As if that wasn’t bad enough there was no announcement to avoid the areas! And when we walked down the hall we were told to “walk around or duck under the bags”! How in the world is that sanitary?! What happened with those pool towels? Were they laundered or discarded?! Cause when it comes to issues where you’re dealing with BIOHAZARD MATERIAL there are saftey precautions that need to be followed! I have a picture of this posted on my Twitter @kco8586 We go to the Irish pub for food and I order a potato soup... the server brought out seafood gumbo and put it in front of me without saying a word. I’m HIGHLY ALLERGIC TO SEAFOOD! When I asked him where the potato soup I ordered was he told me “oh we switched to the dinner menu so the soup is this now”. How dangerous and careless to do! On top of that he was rude when I explained to him that I was allergic to seafood and would prefer a salad. After that we never saw him again. He had another server drop all of our entrees. Never checked on us. Then, we go to a very popular event on this particular cruise called “dirty bingo” and event security pushed my one friend into a seat and said “you’ll sit where I tell you” then the same guy lunged at my other friend as she was taking a picture. He grabbed her by the wrist and threw her arm down! This is completely and totally unacceptable behavior by any security team! Then to add insult to injury when speaking to another member of the security team at the night club we were informed that this wasn’t the mans first offense when it came to being physical with cruisers! To add insult to all the injury the very last night we leave the silent disco looking for food. To our astonishment we exited the elevator to see two of our celebrity guest standing in front of the closed buffet doors. Only to tel us they were hungry and there was no food. We proceeded down to the Irish pub as we knew they do a late night buffet and low and behold no food. When we asked the person mopping the floor they told us to leave. No explanation nothing! At this point frustrated, thirsty (all hydration stations were away), and hungry our group of about 10 went to the front desk. This was the final straw for me. When asking why there was no food or beverages being served we were told the entire ship was being shut down and sanitized for the guests boarding the next morning!! HELLO! What about the guests standing in front of you still aboard the ship that paid thousands to be there?! Then the rude and snide woman told us to order room service and take drinks from the mini fridge! How exactly do you order room service if all the kitchens are shut down?! And why should we have to acquire extra charges on our rooms when we have paid for the drink packages and the “freestyle dining and 24 hours buffet”? How ridiculous! After 2.5 hours of arguing and asking for a manager this very unhelpful woman got a a member of sixthman staff. This guys name was Matt. Matt was condescending and rude. He talked down to us. His was of rectifying the situation was to give us ring dings and chips. Thousands of dollars on a trip and I’m given ring dings and chips! Unreal! I have since reached out to sixthman and their staff continued to be rude and gave me the run around on everything! It was the blame game for them. Everything was NCL’s fault! Funny considering Sixthman is owned by NCL! Needless to say this is my last cruise with NCL and Sixthman! The last 3 years were amazing but this one was definitely enough to make me never ever go back! Read Less

We chose this cruise for convenience of the port. My husband had a course in Orlando on January 12 and 13, so we quickly drove to Tampa when his class finished and boarded by 2:00. This is the smallest ship that we have been on, but it offered the delicious food that Holland America is known for and that we enjoy. Our ports were Key West, Puerto Rico, St Thomas, Antigua, St Lucia, Curacao, Aruba, and Grand Cayman. Our weather was fantastic and each port had something to offer. Food: On this ship, there is very little self-serve in the buffet. This cuts down on germ transfer, but you need to be quick and specific about portion sizes when you ask for food to help them be efficient. The sticky buns were delicious and I ate at least one every morning for breakfast in the Lido buffet! There were also the usual stations with made-to-order omelettes, pancakes, crepes, waffles, sausage, bacon, fruit, yogurt, etc.... There is a great tasting and fresh taco bar set up by the pool for lunch every day! Buffet lunch highlights included roasted pork belly (so delicious!!!) , fresh salad station, and pasta bar along with freshly made Holland America Bread Pudding and vanilla sauce. My husband enjoyed ice-cream almost every day as well, skillfully and cheerfully scooped by Romeo, the ice-cream man! Dining Room: We never ventured into the extra charge restaurants since our food was delicious in the main dining room or buffet. We found the fish tended to be a bit underdone and bland to our liking, but there were many other choices to be enjoyed over the two weeks. The menu was always different. Lobster could be purchased every night for $20, but it was offered complimentary on our last gala night ( three gala nights in total). Escargot, Caesar salad, french onion soup, shrimp cocktail, and crab cakes were some of the highlights. I appreciated that the food was served hot on hot plates! Desserts were my favorites, and the staff were gracious to let me try two of them when I couldn't decide between them! The lava cake with berry sauce was my favorite, and the creme brulee was also very good. When we didn't get to the dining room for dinner, we found that similar choices were offered in the buffet. Afternoon Tea: I would have loved to have gone for tea every day at 3, but I managed 4 out of 14 days. There was only so much eating that I could do!! Music: we enjoyed the Adagio string quartet which played almost every night at 7,8, and 9. The Ocean Trio, piano soloist, and piano bar entertainer performed almost every night as well. They were all very talented and a pleasure to listen to. Movies: A different movie was featured each day with a few showings either in the theater room (100 plus comfy seats with popcorn) or the Main stage, The theme was mostly recently released action movies, but there was the odd comedy or drama thrown in. Mama Mia 2 and Bohemian Rhapsody were also featured. Microsoft Classes: Desiree was a very knowledgeable and patient teacher and taught up to 17 classes on various topics. There were at least 15 individual computers for hands-on learning. America's test kitchen: On sea days we were able to observe cooking shows in the theater and go home with beautiful recipe cards. Entertainment: We did hear murmurings from other passengers that the entertainment was a bit odd, but we enjoyed the following shows: Magician, comedians, Postmodern Jukebox, Planet Earth in concert (BBC Earth movie with live music), Harmonica Virtuoso, Solo Pianist, Philippine crew talent show, and a few variety shows. The BBC Earth movies were very well done! It was a bit tricky to eat in the dining room and still get a seat for the early show, but we always managed to see what we wanted to see. Library/Games/Puzzle room: What a beautiful area!! Enough said! Check out the Explorations cafe in the afternoon for macarons and biscotti and the evening for truffles! Gym: we used the gym 12 of 14 days. We were always able to find a treadmill or elliptical machine, and the view through the front windows was fantastic. There were various weight machines, rowers, etc. Free stretch/ab classes were also provided. The NFL playoff games were enjoyed in lounges on large screen, and there were also various trivia games, board games, card games offered along with pickle ball and basketball. There is a lot of up-selling on the ship, and the shops and spa offer various sessions to learn about their products. Mass is offered every morning, along with Interdenominational and Jewish services weekly. Information sessions on the ports of call were also appreciated. The ship is older and is the second fastest in the world behind the Queen Mary, but it has been beautifully redone in old world charm. If you are interested in art, I asked for a listing of the on-board art at guest services and took it upon myself to locate as many items as possible. It took several hours, but I enjoyed the process...a personal scavenger hunt, if you will. The ship does not offer the Entertainment that Royal Caribbean would offer, but if you don't mind a casual cruise with an older crowd and better than average food, this may be the ship for you! Read Less

I specifically chose the ports of call, rather than the ship. But the Rotterdam and myself were a perfect fit. I love the smaller ships which do not make one feel like "another head in a bed", or like cattle being herded in or out of the ship. I loved my room near the front of the ship on the Dolphin Deck. The ship was very stable, but I like the bigger waves which I could hear slap the sides of the ship, and the gentle wave motion would lull me to sleep. My room was perfect, the cabin stewards were prompt and efficient, always pleasant and courteous. I had no issues with my room, or bathroom. I love the Elemis products which are supplied in the bathroom, especially the Elemis lotions. I do not like the pool area with the retractable roof, as it echos, and there is no outdoor pool. However, I knew this prior to booking the cruise, and it was not an issue. I went to quite a number of lovely beaches during my cruise. The food was excellent, both in the Lido and the main dining room. I had a lovely lunch for those who have been on Collector's tours, but did not attend any Mariner's lunches. This is a lovely ship, constant maintenance to keep it shipshape! It was very clean. I like the way the food is served in the Lido....where people cannot handle the food themselves, except for using tongs for some breads, fruit....but all is served, and with a "sneeze guard" over top of the food. I did see one guest put his face on the sneeze guard! I am so aware of handwashing and loved the automatic handwashing machines in the Lido. Factually there are guests who do not handwash properly, or use purell, and who may have poor personal hygiene practices, and who do not understand that a norovirus can be virulent on the ship. Happily no children on the first 2 weeks of the cruise, and only a few on the last week. I would like to see the small back pool between the hot tubs off limits to children, as the outdoor pool is on some of the other HAL ships. I specifically cruise with HAL for the fact of very few to no children on these cruises. I neither go to casino, or need jewellry etc., and attended only a few shows and music events. Miss BB KIngs and dueling pianos, like on the bigger ships, but really not a huge deal. I enjoyed the ports of call. All in all this was a very good cruise. Shout out to the attendants who clean and maintain the public bathrooms....a very important job on a cruise ship which is often overlooked by the guests. Read Less

My wife and I have cruised with all the big and not so big cruise lines. As it was our 23rd wedding anniversary, we splashed our on a Neptune level suite (7039). On our arrival at the dock in Tampa for embarkation, the paperwork was dealt with in minutes and very soon we were outside our suite. On entering we were delighted. It was spacious and clean. The veranda was enormous with 2 sun loungers plus a table and 4 dining chairs. The en-suite had a bath (it was looking a bit old and tired though), plus upgraded lotions and shampoos. It had been a long flight from England, so that evening we had room service. I am an early riser, so about 5am the following morning I had a good look around. It was amazing. I can honestly say that this was the best looking ship I have ever been on. It was very clean and had so many nooks and crannies. When I got back to the suite I couldn't wait to tell me wife all about it. We had breakfast in the Pinnacle restaurant, which is served at your table. The staff were very pleasant and welcoming. That night was the 'Gala' night, so my wife wore a beautiful evening gown and I wore my best tux. As we were free dining, we had to wait for a table. It was then that I saw that only a handful of my fellow diners were dressed like us, the majority were extremely casual, ie jeans and trainers, some even in flip flops. This spoilt our night as we always look forward to these occasions. After that it became obvious that the dress code on the ship was ultra casual, not what I expected for such a good looking ship. As stated, the staff were wonderful and always smiling. We only went to one show, which was ok, but not Hollywood style as they say in their ads. The only reason I have given the Rotterdam 4 stars is because of the very casual dress code that is allowed in the evening restaurants. I should add that the average age of this cruise was 71 years. Read Less

we took this for the convenience of the Port of Tampa, having done several HA in the past knew Its reputation for being a stable product. The ship is very nice layed out well with lots of" nooks and crannies" to read in or watch the sea. We liked the feel of the ship and the ease of getting around. The Rotterdam has a lot going for it in its staff and service, it is however, lacking to much for us to ever go again. If HA did it the product different this would be a wonderful ship and indeed the flagship of the fleet. I knew there are charges for everything, but having to pay extra if you wanted a lobster, come on. Pinnical Grill which you pay extra to eat has extra, extra charges to order different items. The quality of the food in PG was very good, maybe we are to picky, I really expected the the main dinning room to have as good a quality and PG to the height of dinning. Gala Night should be done away with. Most men just had on sport shirts with jeans even saw shorts with flip flops. I guess we have been spoiled by other lines and at our age will stick to them Read Less

Week long cruise with my mom and niece. Neptune suite 7034 with shower only was perfect for my mom who has trouble getting in and out of a bathtub / shower combo. Enjoyed the piano bar, comedian, and music on board. Ports were good - except we did not do anything in Guatemala. Had rented a wheel chair for my mom in advance through travel agent which was in the cabin when we arrived. Food overall was very good although we could not get dining room reservations earlier than 7:45. Really enjoyed the lido market - salads made to order were fantastic! Crew and overall service was excellent throughout the ship. Internet went down on the last afternoon / evening causing none of the slot machines to work and all ship computers were down for about 4 hours. Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze as was valet parking at Tampa port. Read Less

My wife and I have sailed for 30+ years and with HAL since 2000 - We are 3 star mariners and debating if we will ever travel Hal again. This trip started off rocky and we were give excuses as to why they could not deliver what was promised. This was our worst experience on HAL The telephone representatives seemed to not really in touch or capable. We were offered an e-mail upgrade which was not an up-grade or equal to what we requested. We were shuffle from room to room. Toilet overflowed; bath tubs need replaced; little or no air in the stateroom; difficult to get seating in the dining room. The old girl is well past due a maintenance overhaul. Entertainment and dining room food was mediocre. All service staff were great. the professional staff seemed aloof. We choose cruising as a means to a hassle free and relaxation experience. After after 10 hours of air travel, getting settled with a dry room and dinner reservations in the dining room was a hassled start to our vacation. The cruise was economically price and embarkation and disembarkation was good. Read Less

With parents living in Tampa, this is a great port for us making it easy and convenient to get to and from the port. We embarked late intentionally avoiding having to wait to board. That plan paid off and we were through security and onboard in 20 minutes after arrival. We traveled once again on Rotterdam one year after the "drydock" cruise. We were offered a fairly generous incentive after some issues the previous year. So we decided to try again, and this time the ship was in much better shape. Holland tends to attract a more mature group of people which could be good or bad depending on your circumstances. We prefer a more quiet cruise without competing with families and children in the common areas. If we wanted to travel with our children or grandchildren we would not choose Rotterdam, but probably a newer Holland ship with more offerings appealing to families. Even though Rotterdam is an older ship, it's in pretty good shape. We liked all dining options and made dining choices based upon the daily menu or our mood. Lido is still great for quick breakfasts, lunches or dinners and offers a good place to meet up with new friends. You can find just about anything in the Lido with all of the options and choices would be similar to what you might see in a diner. The Lido is a large scale operation and I think the staff does very well considering the high number of people being served each meal. The Main Dining room offers served meals and menu options are posted outside the doors well before dinner. We like to go to the Canneletto and Pinnacle at least a few times during our cruises and find the food to be very good at both. The modest additional cost is well worth it. One of the best values is dining at Pinnacle for lunch. The staff and service in all of the dining areas was excellent. This was a pretty laid back trip for us and we only did three excursions this time. One excursion was through Holland and the other two were private excursions. I would choose a ship excursion for a short port day eliminating any worries about getting back in time. There were some great happy hour type events that we enjoyed and met up with others after returning from excursions. It was a surprise to be served some nice appetizers during these happy hour specials. We had a minor incident with our room, but it was promptly addressed. We were offered a letter of apology for the inconvenience and were given a complementary meal in Canaletto. We chose our room in advance on the Promenade level so that we had quick access to the deck for walking. The Promenade deck on Rotterdam is quite wide allowing many people to walk at the same time. The Fitness Center has good programs and the equipment and space is well appointed. If I had to point to areas of improvement, it would be Entertainment and Enrichment, and this would mirror other reviewers. We've been to so many Microsoft Windows and America's Test Kitchen classes in the past, so there seemed less for us to do. I think more daytime enrichment is needed especially during sea days. If you are the type looking for endless excitement and things to do, I don't think this was the ship for that. However, when talking to other people, they did comment positively on stage shows, bar entertainment and dancing. I think you can make your own fun wherever you go. Most people we met were on the ship to relax, and that is what we were there for. Upon arrival in Tampa, we didn't make arrangements for any transfers, but there was no need for worry. There were several offerings for reasonable prices. We grabbed Super Shuttle at the last minute for a great price. For us, Rotterdam and the itinerary offered a pretty good balance, and the ship size is just right. We would travel on the Rotterdam again based upon this experience. Read Less

We chose this ship for the itinerary,6145 This ship is old and in a state of disrepair. Our cabin had multiple issues, TV with awful picture quality / had to be replaced twice. Very few channel selections. The cooler didn’t cool and had a broken door hinge. Plumbing/ sewer repairs to two cabins away. Hall carpet soaking wet with fans blowing terrible smelling air towards us. Repair crew sloppy,left us with a dirty carpet, and paint chips/dirty painters tape on our balcony from maintenance next door. In addition they had to return multiple times. The cabin temperature uncomfortably warm throughout. There was the frequent stench of varnish being pumped into our room. The singers and dancers are gone, now you get “YouTube sensations”, unremarkable. The hours for Lido and the Dive In reduced to minimal,not convenient for passengers. Food selection was minimal and redundant. Food looked better than it tasted. Laundry rooms removed, now you’ll pay a fee. Unable to get an iron. I was told that that was due to a fire hazard, however smoking is allowed on deck. Nothing much to do unless you like board games. Shops were scant. A loud piano bar situated next to the bar that had our football game on. The piano player appeared to be in competition with our game, not enjoyable! So, the cabin was uncomfortably warm and in a constant state of repair so use and privacy gone, nothing on TV, no real evening entertainment, food unimpressive! Overall, a third rate experience! Read Less

We did this same itinerary about 9 months ago on the same ship but decided on this one because we were going with some friends and the price was right. We had not done a 21 day cruise and wanted to see how we handled it as we are looking at a 28 day cruise to the south pacific. Overall, the ship is in pretty good shape considering its over 20 years old. The crew and staff were excellent, as always and we have never had a complaint against a Holland America crew member. The food was pretty good although we detected a slight downgrade from the previous cruise. Mostly, the meat was a bit tougher which might be the result of cost cutting? We were fortunate and received a lot of on board ship credit when we booked so we were able to splurge on wine every night! We typically do not do excursions as we find them very costly and frankly, "touristy". We prefer to go out and negotiate a fare with a local cab driver and spend a few hours seeing the area. Sometimes, this can reveal delightful experiences and sometimes a dull, routine drive. Since we had seen all the ports of call at least one time before, we elected not to drive the areas but simply wander around whatever the ship pulled into. Mostly, these are shopping "cruise villages". The first two weeks of the cruise, we noticed a large contingent of seniors on board with very few corresponding activities. We were told by one cruise staffer that Holland doesn't do anything because the seniors only want to sleep and read. The MainStage entertainment was spotty with some excellent acts and some lame ones. Again, the result of cost cutting? Wandering around the ship yielded few things which interested us and since it is a small ship (1300 passengers), other than a pool, some hot tubs and a basketball court, there wasn't anything else to attract our attention. Our cabin was 3399 on the lower promenade deck. We picked it because we struggle with mobility issues and needed a roll in shower. It is a slightly larger cabin with a wider door for our scooter. The only real complaint was it is located under the main kitchen so we could hear someone rolling carts above us from time to time. It was also located next to a door leading to the promenade deck outside and that was slamming as people went through. It is only one deck up to the main dining and 6 decks to the Lido dining and pool so the location is pretty good. The third week of the cruise was an "add-on" as we returned to port and then headed back out. Because it was only a week and right before Christmas, we noted the passengers were much younger with small children in strollers, in some cases. This group was more "rookie" as it appeared many had never cruised before. We were told Holland offered a pretty special pricing which may have drawn so many first timers. We heard many complaining about the lack of things to do on the ship, especially for young children. Maybe they should look at Disney? Our final week took us to the western Caribbean which was Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Maya, Mexico. Mostly, we found the Guatemalan stop largely a waste unless you want to buy some things at great prices. The people are poor and desperate for US dollars so you can drive the prices down pretty low if you want. Otherwise, it was a large shopping shed with no real "town" or anything which would have drawn us out for a local cab tour. Some went out and said it was worth it and others said it was a waste. Roatan, Honduras is a "Disneyland-esqe" stop with nothing but a cruise village...a very pretty, clean sterile shopping cruise village which reminded us of something we would see in Disneyland. We tried to negotiate a cab fare for touring but found all the cabs basically run by shopping village and prices were pretty steep so we elected to stay in the immediate area and spent most of the day on the ship. Costa Maya was a much larger and more vibrant cruise village with many people and much more shopping. We took a shuttle to town and found bargaining far more enjoyable and we ate on the beach. It was our favorite stop of the three. Returning to port, the debarkation, like the embarkation was easy and smooth. We don't travel with children and try to avoid family cruises so by and large, this one worked for us. Read Less

Easy boarding , no lineups, carried own luggage. Tampa was less congested than other ports. Room was ok, windows dirty, minerals buildup between the panes in our cabin. All observation windows were dirty or water stained when we started and some were cleaned a couple of days into the cruise, but not maintained very well. Some brass window frames were corroded (digital workshop). Maintenance was obviously ongoing during the cruise but re-staining of handrails should not be done during cruise as passengers depend on these. Dining room was nice, but we had a bad experience with table of 8 when our waiters abandoned us for 40 minutes. One of our party complained and we did get a new waiter who served us well. After that we never had a problem. Buffet is not help yourself for most items, they loaded your plate according to your preferences and then handed it over. There were a few self serve options for fresh fruit desserts and some pre loaded small specialty plates. The service was good, although sometimes half of the serving stations were closed during the designated meal times. Breakfast and lunch had repetitive options but good variety all the time. Liked the the ice cream stop, always a unique flavour of the day. Good snack stations for fast food and pizza. No food was available anywhere on the ship between 8 and 1030pm. Entertainment ok but not outstanding, good comedians. Had to arrive early to get seats for early shows. Show times (8 and 10) were quite late. Both show times and dining times should be adjusted (maybe 7 and 9) to better split the crowds between shows. Good canned background music, never too crowded at pools, decks, always chairs available. Lots of old folks and handicapped walkers and scooters which sometimes slowed things down. I overheard the average age onboard was 75. Short stopovers at some of the nicest ports limited activity options. Same old trying to get your money, for alcohol, casinos, dining, spa and health services, art and jewelry, especially shore shopping for jewelry. Good news was Diamonds International shops at ports always had wifi, but sometimes slow due to user loads. I hate the automatic hotel service charges and these should be built into the cruise pricing instead. The ship needs overhaul, due next year. I would go again just for the value but would prefer other cruise lines. Read Less

The Rotterdam is a fine way to get from Point A to Point B but that's about it. They have done away with sail-aways and the onboard entertainment and activities were below average and repetitive. A three week December Caribbean cruise with no holiday/Christmas event or regional entertainment seems cheap and unimaginative. Thankfully, we like to walk the teak deck and read. We used the well-stocked library on many occasions. Otherwise, I'd have to say that this ship has gone completely boring. The food, presentation, and service in the dining room were all fine but the Lido offerings and service were more in line with a school cafeteria. The common areas are pleasant and the onboard string quartet was enjoyable (offering a variety of music styles) and a decent choice for come-and-go evening entertainment. We would probably sail on this ship again because we now understand its onboard lifestyle but the price would have to be right! Read Less

I went on this cruise with my sister and overall everything was okay except the entertainment. I loved that there was an older crowd and I didn't have to deal with a lot of kids. I was always able to get a lounge chair by the pool and seats for the entertainment (may have been able to get the seat because the word was out that the entertainment was bad). Thankfully, they loaned out DVDs and I was able to bypass the second jukebox show. I heard that the second show was as bad as the first show. There was a BBC animal show with the music from the band - very strange, why would I want to watch on stage that I could watch in my cabin? Not into that style of music. I was very lucky to have a great cabin steward to give us clean towels (I love to take many showers) and to keep the room neat - also loved the towel art every day. The dinning room staff was very attentive and over-worked - they seem to have too many tables to service but I was able to get my food and drinks okay. I'm not much into the buffet but I was able to get great coffee and deserts on the lido deck. I think the ship was once a CLASSIC because of the grand construction but is needing some maintenance. They did redo the mainstage seating so it wasn't run down - the ceilings were very beautiful to look at. This ship had the BEST embankment and disembarkation of all the cruise lines I've been on! I couldn't believe that when they let us on the ship our cabin was ready. When we left the ship, it was so organized and easy to get off and get my luggage. I couldn't believe how many porters there were to help me - I am disabled and it was great to have the extra help! Read Less

The Rotterdam is for you if---- 1. You like old ships in disrepair with very outdated furnishings in the public areas, with rusted over window frames, distasteful outdated decor of poor replicas of Chinese artifacts that had no theme to them of any kind. 2. if you like very mediocre entertainment in the theater, with a theater with insufficient capacity requiring that you get there at least 40 minutes before show time to secure a seat and sit there, bored and annoyed for 40 minutes till they start the very unprofessional shows. I have been on NCL and MSC and the shows were outstanding and fascinating and Broadway quality and the stuff on the Rotterdam was boring as hell 3. if you enjoy being with a crowd whose average age was 80 and if you don't mind making way for walkers, canes, wheelchairs and scooters, which made up quite a bit of the guest list 4. if you enjoy being with people whose average weight was well over 300 pounds. 5. if you enjoy boring sailaways. In most other cruise lines, there is music and fanfare and celebration. Here, all sailings were silent. 6. if you don't mind getting to a host country without any warm reception. On other cruise lines, when disembarking, you are usually greeting with a small band and dancers entertaining in the ethnic garb and style of the host destinations. Here, you get off the boat and are not received by anyone. No fun....... 7. if you don't mind repeated errors in billing and needing to go to the guest services desk to stand in line for a while to get things straightened out over and over again 8. if you don't mind not getting the seat in the dining room that you repeatedly stood in line for to make sure you reserve just exactly what you want, and most often, you are told "sorry, it is not available, ma'am" even though you reserved in advance 9. if you don't mind that the TV can only be operated with the remote if you stand really tall and aim directly over the lip of the ledge on which the TV sits, otherwise, the remote does not work. 10. if you don't mind calling for a steward to correct something in the room and he never shows up 11. if you ask for a wake up call to make sure you don't miss your excursion departure and they call you an hour later than requested 12, if you enjoy very boring activities in the day, without fun options like being taught how to zumba, how to karaoke, no entertainment around the pool, without fun contests, without live music 13. if you don't mind that there are no staff that are trained to pull you onto the dance floor and reallly get you rockin', so that you have fun, or for the staff themselves to have great dance moves and make the bars and nightclubs come alive. 14. if you don't mind a reading room with totally outdated books of no particular interest to anyone. 15, if you don't mind that once off the boat at a host country, you ask the head of the EXC excursion department who waits at the dock, which is a safe and licensed taxi company to use if you want to do your own private tours and he blows you off and states he doesn't know much about the taxi system, only because he wanted you to spend quite a bit more to go on his expensive excursions so he offered no help at all. The Carnival cruise line excursion director was 10 times more helpful than our own Holland America staff. Shameful. But the food is outstanding, the staff is generally pleasant, and the rooms are comfortable. Not elegant, but comfortable. The excursions were good. All in all, it was a very boring cruise and I will never do Holland again. Read Less

My husband and I wanted to do something new for our 40 year anniversary cruise. We decided to try HCL for the first time as well as a 14 day trip which would be our longest cruise to date. We had a wonderful time! The staff was the best! Pleasant, attentive and always greeted us with a smile. The food was wonderful. We didn’t go to the specialty dining, we were completely satisfied with the buffet, main dining room and room service. We had a interior cabin. We were satisfied with the space and loved the extra closet/storage areas compared to other cruiselines we’ve sailed. The guest as expected were an older crowd than we were accustomed to but that was not a negative for us as it was just the two of us and a relaxing trip was our goal. The embarkation and disembarkation a breeze. One of the best we have experienced. Now for my negatives. Entertainment. A few good Main Stage evenings but Not much going on activity wise in the evenings. Our children and grandchildren would not have been happy with this as they generally stay on the move when we cruise. The indoor movie was nice, I would have possibly chosen a few different movies but that’s ones personal opinion. We did watch several movies in our room which were available from the service desk. We rarely go to the movies or even watch them on TV so this suited us. The retreat was a bit disappointing as I expected the lounge chairs in the shallow water and that had been changed. No self serve iron available as I had expected n we dealt with some wrinkled shirt issues. Lol We did meet many, very nice people and greatly enjoyed running into them often during the cruise. Being on small ship has its advantages. In summary, yes I would definitely cruise HollandAmericaLine again. All the negative reviews I had read prior to this trip had me feeling anxious about what to expect. Happiness comes from inside and many times I wonder if the ones that have such horrible experiences have ever had a good experience. Again I will say I would not recommend this cruise for young families with small children, but I’m convinced that if my entire family including 10 grandchildren had been on here with me we would have had a great time. All the entertainment in the world can’t be replaced by being together as a family. Make memories while you can! Read Less

We had cruised on Rotterdam several times previously. We enjoyed the Retreat area where you could relax on your lounge chair in the water. Since our last cruise they have removed the aft pool area. Now just hot tubs and small shallow stream. Very disappointing. Also they have done away with BB King entertainment on the dmaller ships. So the top things that made this ship special are gone. We hope the smaller ships are not going to be changed to floating Nursing Homes. The staff on board were exceptional and attentive. They anticipate your every desire. Entertainment was also unique in that the ship has no on board singers and dancers. All shows were from off ship talent. This was refreshing, however by the end of the vruise they seemed to be struggling to put a show together. Food was well prepared, however somewhat spicy consideting older cruisers. It appears that Holland America is heading towards using small ships for older clientel and newer ships for younger cruise customers. Read Less

We needed to 'get away' from the cares of life, and see a few places we had not seen. We thought this 2 WEEK cruise might be TOO LONG. But we enjoyed every minute of it, even the several days at sea!! The tours were reasonably priced (when compared to what was offered on shore), the food was excellent (as always on Holland America), the ship was older, but well kept and the service, of course on Holland America, was impeccable!! We would totally recommend this cruise and cruise line. The entertainment was average. The pools and hot tubs were clean and warm enough to swim in. It was a very quiet and relaxing journey. We were on the 4th level, with just a large window, but we were very happy there. The room stewards were very attentive to our needs. The servers in the dining room went the extra mile at all times. The food is always fresh and appealing, with many different items to chose from, even in the main dining room at night. Read Less

We wanted a week vacation, and We Love Holland America. The service as always very good, the food was also very good, the entertainment was slow at times, not too many activities like larger ships. The food was good, you always have Salmon, Chicken or Steak available if you don't like the menu for the dinner time. The Lido was great for breakfast and lunches. We never went to the Lido for dinner. The Pinnacle Grill as always wonderful, you pay $39.00 per person for dinner, but the quality of the food is superb, the service 5 star. The Ocean Bar had a quartet u unfortunately the singer likes songs from the 30's and 40's and it was almost impossible to dance that type of music unless you are in your seventies. BBC Earth presentations were very good, documentaries about mostly animals. American Test Kitchen was good, but not every day. The entertainment could have been better. Read Less

Nice size ship. staff is very attentive. CABIN was AWFUL. Windows that Slanted inwards into room .I am not tall but had to bend over to my waist to get to the bedside. No sofa, no chair in cabin. NO place to sit except on bed. Never book this spa rated outside cabin!!!!!! EVERYONE had air conditioning problems .in their cabins . I like Holland America a lot but not this ship.The ship holds 1402 passengers, this was very nice. Mainly older adults, I think we had 5-7 children on board. The public rooms are well decorated and spacious. The bars have 2 happy hours a day.An extra drink of the same is only $2.00 more at the happy hour. The entertainment was a saxophone player, very good, a pianist, exciting and hyper very entertaining. Also a comedian. A trio of male singers sang the songs we like to hear. Two of the bars had good space for dancing. Read Less

I was interested in seeing the southern Caribbean, had done Western several times. I liked to cruise with NCL until this cruise, it had always been my favorite. Embarkation was a form of torture. Had I not booked hotel and transfer, it would have been fine, but with all the buses arriving together it took over an hour just to get in the building from the bus parking lot. The Dawn was reconditioned in 2016 and I think what they did was just put in more “specialty” restaurants that you have to pay for. The buffet was below average for any ship I’ve been on. Every night there was a lot of Indian food. Set up for the buffet was ridiculous, instead of going in a circle, each side ended, making it constantly crowded. O’Sheehan’s had the best food, it was great and the service was great. The entertainment was great. Lots of variety. The itinerary was just what I was looking for. Key West,Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire,Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. Cabin service was good, pleasant employees. I would love to do this itinerary again on a different ship. I had issues with the booking and very disappointing response from customer service. Read Less

Tampa departure is very convenient for central FL residents. I have been to all the ports of call in the past but cruise for the on board amenities more than excursions. The food was consistent and good as usual on HAL. I do not use LIDO ever for various reasons. Aft vista suite (corner) afforded more sun and views than other similar cabins. Spent every night in casino so did not see any live entertainment. Elderly cruisers with many having mobility issues. Did not use elevators due to longer waits most of the time. Seating in main DR appears to reflect your Mariner status and/or cabin level. Window tables given to suite guests. Heard of one passenger that had a water problem on Nav deck. Our A/C plumbing etc was never a problem so previous reviews seem to be overblown or corrected. One couple booked a total of 77 plus days in a row! Read Less

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We chose this cruise for the 15 days with a full itinerary. "Circle the Caribbean." We had been to most of the ports before but added St Lucia and Antiqua to our list. The ports were great other than Cap Cana, Dominican Republic. We were tendered to shore to a new and very attractive shopping area. Strange place, due to the fact that there were very few shops open and no people. Nothing to do there. I had researched the port before the cruise and could find very little information about the area. The rest of the stops were great, plenty to do and see. Great beaches and activities for everyone's taste. Upon embarkation the ship was late in boarding. We arrived at noon and had to set on the terminal floor for three hours waiting to board the ship. Not enough seating. That should have been a red flag. Ship left late, around 6:30 pm. Debakation went fine without a hitch. ms Rotterdam had just came out of dry dock so we expected everything to be in great shape. To our dismay, there were a lot of problems with the ship. Electrical, AC, water leaks, ceilings falling. Buckets setting all over the ship to catch leaks. We had no hot water the first 11 days, but it was tepid enough to shower after being on a hot Island. Some rooms had no water at all and had folks had to shower in the spa or another room Some people had to change rooms several times due to problems. There were still a lot of repairs being made during the cruise. I had read the reviews before the cruise about it being an older ship and in need of upgrading. The ship should have never been put in service until the upgrades had been completed. It was unfair of HAL to offer a cruise to un- suspecting cruisers. The ship looks very prety on the surface, just don't scratch. I will say the service staff and crew are great. Very helpful and always smiling. Our room stewards Ali and Fat kept our room in great shape. Dinning was fine and the food was average. Entertainment and activities our very low-key, focusing on an older crowd. A lot of the music being played around the ship was from the 30s and 40s. I would not recommend this ship to families or people under 70. It's a very quiet and mundane environment. Great for readers and those wanting to relax. Don't expect any pool parties or caribbean music. It's and older small ship. So be prepared and make your own enjoyment. We love cruising...so a day at sea is a good day! Read Less