Holland America Rotterdam Ship Review | CruiseReport

[@kathyhiggins2847]

Really appreciated the amount of detail you provided. Have never sailed with HAL, but are booked on the Rotterdam in May of ‘24. There seems to be a lot happening onboard, glad they still have the paper copy of daily planner. I agree with you regarding the calendar portion of Princess’s app, it’s hard to use, constantly having to swipe through daily events. Thanks for making this video. Will be looking for your other Rotterdam videos.

[@barryhaley7430]

Once we went to 18% on cruise ships I stopped additional tips. I usually prepay tips but still tip a few crew who provide extra special service. Usually on the last night.

[@catherine4159]

This was a great review. I appreciate the fair and respectful assessment of the cruise experience and ship itself. We had to cancel a spring cruise for 2024 and are looking at a transatlantic with Holland America Rotterdam (Rotterdam to Fort Lauderdale). You really give me confidence in this ship that it is a good one for us in our late 50s who appreciate a less party atmosphere but lots of activities. Can I ask was the bbq buffet at the Cay included as part of your package or was there an additional fee? Thanks again for the great detail.

[@l.a.rivasesq.8841]

The BBQ is included in your fare. I was just there last March, 2024.

[@Rose-bv6wp]

Another excellent video and I really appreciate all the detail you provide. Thank you for an honest, thorough review of the ship and your experience. 👍

[@williamhansen5498]

Great fair overview

[@dpeters24]

I rarely had to sign a receipt with the beverage package on Rotterdam for 2 weeks in August (Norway itinerary). Also, wifi and the app worked great. Great review overall.

[@ginacota9724]

I do appreciate the details! All of it matters when you are passionate about cruising. Love your content and the fact that you are very easy to listen to

[@kathrynhelm4176]

I really appreciated your review information on the Rotterdam. I will be on her in Sept/Oct for the first time so was very interested in your opinions. Thank you. 🥰🇺🇸

[@jameschickiebaby]

Thanks for the review. We are thinking about going on the Rotterdam. Our concern are the activities(or lack of activities). We understand it does not have all the bells and whistles as other resort type ships but have heard that there is not much to do during the day other than sit by the pool and maybe go to some enrichment talks. We would have 4 sea days and am concerned we might be bored. Is there live music during the day, trivia, game show type shows, pickle ball games-during sea days? I have been trying to look for a daily log for the Rotterdam to give me a better idea-We booked a 9 night Caribbean to the ABC's

[@patrickws]

Just booked my first cruise. It'll be on the Rotterdam. Glad to have spotted your videos!

[@bobell69]

We just returned from a 10 day cruise aboard the Rotterdam. The ship is beautiful and the service was amazing. The entertainment was diverse and well done. I would cruise with Holland America again, thats for sure.

[@BraddGraves]

I guess you never looked down at the carpets. The Rotterdam is a COVID ship. Stay away!

[@bobell69]

@@BraddGraves Covid is everywhere now days and not just on ships. Best thing is prevention with vaccines and wearing masks. I wore a mask while on the ship in areas where there were crowds and am up to date with vaccine.

[@BraddGraves]

@@bobell69 Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Try to keep up, you clown. The "vaccines' don't keep you from getting it but actually make sure you get it again and again. Science has ALWAYS shown masks don't work with tiny viral particles. And I caught if from a vaxxed person, who got it from some of the very unhealthy crowd on HAL ships.

[@CruiseReport]

What exactly is a "Covid ship"?

[@BraddGraves]

@@CruiseReport A ship full of very, very, very old people and chain smoking drunks combined with incredibly toxic air filled with not just smoke but chemical solvents and disgusting aerosol perfumes. The only fresh air available on this ship was above deck 12. Perfect conditions for getting Covid, which we did on this ship. I have the medical report to prove it. STAY AWAY FROM HAL SHIPS IN THE CARIBBEAN! You have been warned.

[@juanitafurtado8805]

Another excellent review, honest and complete. I will be sailing on Rotterdam in a few months so this is very helpful. About tipping bar waiters, yes, i usually add $1 or $2.

[@BraddGraves]

Just tip them cash. The slave owners probably take a cut from the additional tip.

[@bobkonkel6344]

Interesting that We had the signature drink package (Have it all) on the Koningsdam 16 day cruise to Hawaii and we never signed the ticket. I agree with the service staff and one bar we really loved was the crows nest..almost always empty!

[@CruiseReport]

Interesting.

[@sandradouglas6874]

Thank you for your review. I am cruising on Rotterdam March 2023.

[@BraddGraves]

Cancel now unless you want to get sick on the toxic fumes all over this ship, including hefty amounts of cigarette smoke. The only place on this ship to catch some fresh air is on deck 14,

[@islandgirlejfan]

Hubby and I will be on this ship in January, first time on Holland America. We will be 64 and 62 when we cruise. We just made Elite on Celebrity, however their pricing right now pushed me to look at other options for cruising. When you get the beverage package with them, you really don't sign anything else as long as the beverage is covered, so not sure how I feel about that because isn't that the reason to have the drink package?? I don't really know where I am with the additional tipping. While we do add $$ to our room staff, we get drinks frequently (and we aren't talking necessarily liquor), so I am not as compelled to add unless it's AMAZING service! Good information on Half Moon KEY (Cay). We've always been able to use our drink plan on private islands, so this good info. It is so interesting how different cruise lines operate.

[@CruiseReport]

Have a great cruise!

[@mikeb2777]

Great review. We leave in a week or so. Do you know if they have Jack Daniels?

[@CruiseReport]

I think I did see it, but don't hold me to that.

[@baroo52]

Thank you for this video! My husband, his parents, my parents, his sister and her husband, and my grandma and I are all cruising HAL to Alaska a month from today! 🎉 This will be my first real cruise - I did 3 days in Alaska with HAL when I was 14 but barely remember it. We have the “Have it All” package which includes both gratuity and the signature beverage package. Will I still need to pay 18% per drink or is that included, and any other tip amount I add would be the extra?

[@CruiseReport]

You will love it. Have a great cruise 🚢.

[@carolgenty9761]

No more Lincoln Center I’ve heard. Do you know if there will be some classical music occasionally in lounges etc

[@CruiseReport]

On our last cruise, they held it in BB Kings a couple of afternoons.

[@carolgenty9761]

Thank you for answering me.🥰@@CruiseReport

[@texasboy5117]

Perfect timing: we get on the Rotterdam in 12 days!

[@CruiseReport]

Have fun! You will love the ship and crew.

[@cruisecrazy7066]

Holland may not be actually paying you for the review, but you are getting a FREE CRUISE. And if you want more free cruises, you better not get too critical.

[@tajacobson1]

Thanks for the great video. We are excited to take our first Holland America cruise on the Rotterdam in January. It wasn't clear but it seems like you didn't do the Have it All package, is that correct? We are debating whether to add that or just do everything a la carte. Can any of your followers help us decide what to do? Thanks again!

[@CruiseReport]

Correct. We just had the Signature Beverage Package.

[@melissam.8838]

How was your trip? We leave soon on the Rotterdam.

[@melissam.8838]

This was to @jazzismyname

[@tajacobson1]

@@melissam.8838 leaving in January!!

[@barryhaley7430]

How does this ship compare to the Celebrity Apex?

[@CruiseReport]

A little larger. Virtually the same layout and design. A couple of new dining venues.

[@danbernstein4694]

Nicely done review. I am considering a transatlantic crossing on Rotterdam this spring and I am wondering how she will sail in rough seas. Do you have an opinion? Thanks.

[@CruiseReport]

She should sail as smoothly as any modern ship with stabilizers. Our sailing was rock solid.

[@BraddGraves]

The ship constantly lists from side to side even in calm waters. Makes you feel dizzy and you never get used to it.

[@BraddGraves]

@@CruiseReport Your credibility is ruined with this comment.

[@rodzimmerman1979]

When you purchased the trip drink packages did it not say if the tips were included in the package? That would be what would be the deciding factor for me.

[@CruiseReport]

Yes they are

[@Desjardins50]

I’m confused. The Have it all package says tips included for the drinks. Is it different for the bar package?

[@goingplaces1860]

We give additional gratuities at the bar on a case by case basis.

[@georgeschramm-y7r]

I have no added an addition gratuity to the check. I give cash if the service is exceptional. Probably the same either way.

[@akemp895]

I am a smoker and just wondering is there places to smoke on the Rotterdam?

[@CruiseReport]

Yes there is. I believe it is aft on Deck 10 starboard side. It is the deck above the aft pool.

[@briannickerson6858]

We heard that Rotterdam has a better library than HAL has had in the recent past.

[@BraddGraves]

Yes, the library is small but well stocked and quiet.

[@KenDowney-mg5fb]

More Rikki please...

[@CruiseReport]

I keep trying.

[@KenDowney-mg5fb]

@@CruiseReport Great, thank you! Lol

[@DanaM2012]

Weren’t you going to tell us why the cruise ship took an extra day to get back?

[@CruiseReport]

They had to rescue some Cuban immigrants in a sinking boat.

[@BraddGraves]

Just got back from an 11-day cruise on the ROTTENdam. Departing from Ft Lauderdale was nightmare of lines after lines after lines with a lot of waiting in between as part of their understaffed and poorly trained "crowd management" system. We get to our room but checked luggage didn't arrive for 3-4 hours. Didn't buy the internet but Navigator wouldn't work for many people, including me. There was a separate line JUST for people with navigator problems. The ROTTENdam is a flat-bottomed boat which means it's constantly listing when at sea. This is very disorientating. The "world stage" can deliver a spectacular light show but the shows themselves were mediocre at best. After the first three we just stopped going. The pool is nice but doesn't open till 7 am and the hot tubs not till 9am. It can't be used in the evenings because the space is used for movies, and the screen is very grainy. The promenade had many sharp right turns, is quite narrow in many places, often stinks of turpentine or paint and is closed off much of the time. The sun view bar was taken over by chain-smoking drunks every day. It was NEVER empty as shown in this video. Yes, HAL has every kind of drink you might want. We actually saw two people collapse in public from overdrinking. The staterooms are quite nice. The "lido" aka the "trough" serves food that tastes like leftovers and served with indifference. The entertainment venues on deck 2 were directly downwind from the casino above on deck 3, and were by 5pm or so filled with cigarette smoke wafting down from above which they tried to cover up with some sickly prerofumey spray, creating a disgusting and very unhealthy environment. The shows were mediocre at best, but at least the venue was not filled with smoke. The age group is a 70 to 80 year olds. The BBC show was a talk over cut up branding promotion of HAL. VERY boring, unless you just LOVE hamster footage. Many of the crew were brand new and not particularly "nice" or helpful. The only way to get good food and service is to pay extra for The Orange Club, which provides excellent food and service.

[@stephenpolsky9901]

We must have been on another ship. This sounds like someone was paid by Celebrity or Royal Caribbean to smear HR. we’ve taken over 20 cruises, and this ship was the best we’ve ever been on. The staff , food, and ambience was outstanding. You should probably pay double and go on one of the “ luxury “ lines.

[@BraddGraves]

@@stephenpolsky9901 Yes, I heard idiots on the ship talking like this and gulping down the slop.There's no accounting for taste, and HAL Rotterdam appeals to those with very, very low standards.

[@BraddGraves]

@@stephenpolsky9901 The ship had the same, hideously ugly carpeting made specially for cheap cruise ships. The ROTTNdam DID have some updated and interesting art on the walls, but that doesn't make up for smoke-filled entertainment venues.

[@pipo5933]

Sounds like a smear campaign.

[@BraddGraves]

@@pipo5933 It's the truth about the Rotterdam. I was shocked myself as I'd believed all the rosy reviews here on youtube. They never talk about the smoking issue or the listing problems. It's a factual expose, not a "smear" campaign.

[@pullcarsmelly8051]

If I may.....the best way to determine space per passenger or per capita, is to take available square footage of the ship(excluding sq footage in places and decks that deny passenger access) and divide THAT by the number of passengers. Dividing passengers by GT doesn't compute volume, as tonnage is a unit of mass. Lets face it, engines have mass, but you cant sit on those. If you have a 1200 sq ft home and you have 2 occupants, then you have 600 sq ft apiece. If you added a guest, you would each have 400 sq ft apiece, and so on. The gentleman that provided tonnage was on the right track, but calculating by mass is like saying "Im so thirsty I could drink a mile of water". You have an amazing channel, and along with Tips for Travelers, have become my go to for accurate, articulate and thoroughly vetted info. Best to you and yours.