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Login Rotterdam delivers the best of everything we do: exquisite cuisine, award-winning service, superbly appointed staterooms and suites, and world-class entertainment. At the heart of it is Music Walk®, an exclusive collection of live music performances. Be first to experience Rotterdam’s Pinnacle-class luxury on her inaugural voyages. You will find a mastery of the details that keep our guests returning again and again.
Overall - This is the newest ship in the Holland America line - everything is in excellent condition. The staff goes out of their way to be friendly and helpful - way above average! Our room stewards rank among the best we have ever had. Dining - We ate at Club Orange, the Pinnacle, Rudi's, Tamarind and Canaletto. The only disappointment was the Pinnacle. It is living on past glory - overpriced for what you get. It is priced above Rudi's, but Rudi's is much better. There is a surcharge for the Dover Sole but it is worth every penny. The Tamarind is also excellent - the Wasabi Tenderloin beats the Fillet Mignon at the Pinnacle by a mile. Half Moon Cay - We are looking forward to stepping off the ship onto the dock at Half Moon Cay on our next cruise. We have been told that the new dock should be completed in the next few months. Entertainment - Singer / Comedian Tricia Kelly was excellent; Ric Steel, who I had never heard of, was really good - he has been around forever, but hasn't lost a step.
Cabin - Standard balcony which was comfortable but lacking in storage. Cabin Stewards - Excellent Main Dining Room - Very good quality dinners with ample choice. Dinner service was very good. Breakfast service was slow but food quality was good. Buffet - Overalll excellent with many good choices. I only used buffet for lunch. . Speciality Dining - I tried all five venues. All were slightly better food than main dining room and services was attentive. However, I found them all to be of poor value. Simply not better enough compared to main dining for the cost. Rudi's was the best and Motamoro Pop-up the worst due to terrible sushi appetizer and small and chewy lobster tail with Angry Dragon Pad Thai. The classical music trio was excellent and the highlight of the trip. The comedian and magic shows were excellent. The singers and dancers were also very good. I thought that the cruise director Nick was one of the best we have experienced in 20 plus cruises.
We have about 15 cruises under our belt, but this was our 1st HA ship. We ended up on HA because our Princess cruise changed itinerary and HA had what we wanted so we gave it a try. Food: I will give it a B. Dining room food was pretty good and only had 1 dinner where I was a bit disappointed, but no big deal. Specialty restaurants were all very good and get a B+. Ruedi's was my least favorite and probably would not go back. All dining rooms had great service. Room: B+ We had a standard balcony room and it was a good room. Shower was better than on other lines for same room type. The A/C gets and A+++++++ the best I have ever had on any ship!!!! I am always warm and this was the 1st time I did not have to ask for a room fan. Room steward was very nice and did what he needed to do. Itinerary: A As mentioned before we ended up on HA due to a change in our previous booked cruise. Panama was my desired spot so we rebooked on this cruise and were not disappointed. Costa Rica was my favorite, but all ports were really beautiful. Staff: A: EVERYONE was wonderful. Every single person we came in contact with was awesome. Ship: B Rooms were decent, dining room was nice, bars could use more seating they got very crowded. The usual pool chair hogs were on board. We moved a few in 10 days. Bar Service: B/C So very slow. They need a lot of work in this area. Too many people in bars for amount of waiters and bar tenders. They can not keep up. Waiting half an hour for a drink is just too long, and it was every night at most bars. Going up to the bar wasn't any quicker. Tours: B+ We did 3 tours booked through HA and all of them were really fun, well run, and exactly what they were supposed to be. All and all we had a really nice trip. The crowd was a little older than expected probably the oldest we have experienced. We met many super nice people from all over the world. There were a few obnoxious folk but that is always expected. My big issue was with the nickel and diming drinks. Almost none of the drinks are on standard drink package pricing. Almost every single one is $1.50-2.50 MORE. 10 day trip x 2 people and this really adds up. I have never experienced this before on any ship for drinks. Either make the package more or get rid of this game. It really left a bad taste in my mouth and leaves me on the fence about HA.
To be fair, no experience in life is perfect and so my expectations were reasonable. The positives: First of all, the public areas are very attractive with music sculptures everywhere and attractive layout and lighting. The cabin is so well designed that you can fit absolutely everything into drawers, shelves or cubbies. The Indonesian stewards and waiters provided consistently attentive service. The common areas were never overly crowded. The sales of jewellery, clothing and photography offers were in evidence but not at all aggressive as on other cruise lines. What I personally enjoyed most was the exceptional classical music trio 2 - 3x every afternoon and evening. Internet service which I paid for was 90% in working order. The food was very good - excellent. Lido Market buffet had tasty enough food choices including healthy options like a variety of salads, stir fry and Indian flavours... but I found that buffet area rather busy, noisy verging on chaotic as people lined up and milled all over the place. For an early breakfast it was fine. Otherwise we mostly preferred the dining room for its atmosphere and higher quality of food. Lots of delicious seafood/fish and tender beef options. I'd have preferred more chicken but not a big deal. For rock, blues and popular music fans every late afternoon-evening and late into the night there are excellent activities, sing alongs, dancing and music trivia games to satisfy them. The pool area is pleasant with a retractable roof. There is pizza and ice cream nearby. While my husband did his 12x around the walking deck tours to equal a mile, I watched the news on our room TV. I attended lectures in the 'World Stage' on travel, Caribbean music history, 'Ask the Captain' hour or an excellent talk with amazing 3 screen video on the inner workings of the ship etc.. The bus excursions were interesting and enriching. The guides were informative about the history of the 3 islands we visited and their Dutch influenced socialist inclined care of their citizens. The arid landscapes were stunning. Being an enthusiastic amateur photographer I was very pleased to get great sea and landscape photos. The negatives: the art classes were rather mickey mouse. An old world declaration or pirate map in calligraphy would have been more interesting than just copying strokes for example. At the end of a bus tour in Curacao we were not returned to the ship. Instead we were dropped off in the town and expected to walk the half hour+ back to the ship, over a bridge etc...all in blazing and dangerously debilitating heat and humidity. (it is near the equator after all). I brought this to the service people's attention and they plan to get the bus to give passengers the option to be dropped off back at the ship. The age is definitely mostly over 60 with some people with canes, walkers and mobility scooters. That didn't bother me... The atmosphere is definitely as lively or as relaxing as you want it to be depending on your choice of activity. Everyone is in a good mood and friendly. It was a very pleasant and enriching cruise. Thank you to Holland America!
Refined amenities and our signature Mariner’s Dream™ bed grace each elegant stateroom offered by Holland America Line. Most of our spacious cruise ship rooms are ocean-facing; many have teak-lined verandahs for dining alfresco or sunbathing in private.
Wet your appetite for delicious new tastes and engaging interactive culinary experiences on board.
Every day aboard a Holland America cruise ship brings a wealth of cruise activities and indulgences, along with the freedom to partake in as many- or as few- as you please. It's an opportunity to try something new that surprises you, every day. Dabble, discover, daydream- do everything, or do nothing at all.
Whether you want to workout in the Fitness Centre, learn yoga, pamper yourself with a massage and spa treatment, or enjoy a game of basketball, there's a perfect onboard activity for everyone.
Holland America Line's youth activities program, Kids Club, offers an array of entertaining events for kids and teens ages 3-17, supervised by a full-time, professionally trained staff. They'll have an opportunity to join other kids their age for arts and crafts, sports, video game competitions, scavenger hunts, challenging team games and themed parties.
Note: Kids Club is not offered on cruises of 25-days or longer, including all Legendary and Grand Voyages. We will offer a selection of children’s activities throughout these longer voyages for any children who may be onboard.
Safety Comes First
Safety is our primary concern and strict policies are in place for effective supervision. Adult guests are not permitted to remain in Kids Club unless attending to a special-needs child.
Please note: During voyages with a high number of families onboard, we will make all efforts to accommodate interested parties. However, participation in our program cannot be guaranteed. Hours of operation may change to better serve our guests.
