Cruise Review – Holland America Rotterdam

Marco and Robin hopped on a short flight to the Netherlands to board Holland America‘s newest flagship, the Rotterdam, as she set sail from her namesake city to Amsterdam on a short shakedown cruise. She will soon welcome guests onboard for a transatlantic crossing before embarking on her maiden season in the Caribbean this winter.

Itinerary

Rotterdam / Day at Sea / Amsterdam

How was the embarkation process with Holland America Line?

Arriving from Rotterdam airport it was a stunning sight spotting Rotterdam sitting proudly on the Nieuwe Mass river as we crossed the imposing Erasmus Bridge. Glistening in the autumn sun fellow passengers and numerous locals were on hand to take photos of the ship which had docked in the city earlier that morning. The embarkation process was extremely smooth with the usual checks on vaccination certificates and a rapid covid test (which we have become well accustomed to having cruised several times in the past few months) before being allowed onboard where the welcome was akin to that of that usually reserved for celebrities walking down the red carpet at a movie premiere. It was clear to see how much it meant to all the crew to be welcoming passengers on board for the very first time.

Tell us about the accommodation on Holland America Line’s Rotterdam

A Vista Suite midship on deck 8 would be our temporary home for the short three-day cruise. As you would expect the cabin was spacious and well-appointed with an extremely comfortable bed and sofa area. The balcony was a good size with two chairs and accompanying footstalls which slide neatly underneath to maximise space when not in use. In the cupboard you’ll find some comfortable bathrobes, beach towels, and blankets that come in hand for poolside movie nights. There is also some binoculars for use during your voyage, whilst we didn’t make use of these, I can imagine they would come in handy whilst on an Alaskan sailing.

Our cabin stewards John and Dave were fantastic, always on hand to check that everything was ok, and to surprise us in the evening with their creative towel animals waiting for us on the bed after a day at sea.

How did you find the ship in general?

With her dark hull, Rotterdam looked spectacular from the quayside, and whilst she seemed huge whilst docked in the city centre once onboard it certainly felt like you were on a midsized ship rather than on a colossus mega-ship. You soon realised the size when walking through the interior public areas, for example leaving the dining room at the aft of deck 2 and walking all the way to the World Stage theatre at the forward of the same deck would take very little time, unless of course you were distracted on the way by the music offerings on Music Walk which would be a very likely occurrence.

Walking around the ship you’ll spend the majority of your time admiring the various pieces of incredible artwork that adorn the walls of this ship. Forget taking the lift, as the stairwells are a treasure trove of musical themed masterpieces. Not only will you hit your step count goal sooner, but you’ll also be able to appreciate these inspiring works of art.

What was the food like on the Rotterdam?

The main downside of these short-shakedown cruises is not being able to try out all the dining options which are available onboard, however, for strictly research purposes only, we did try our best to test out as many venues as possible. The main dining, spanning across decks 2 and 3 and offering beautiful views out to sea is an incredibly impressive venue. The bright, modern decor gives the environment an elegant yet relaxed feel, and the pillars that transect the dining room resemble the spine of a whale, pictures really don’t do this venue justice. Sadly we only ate here for breakfast on our last morning however the menu for lunch and dinner also looked as delicious as our breakfast was!

The Lido Market is a casual, modern marketplace buffet with a wide array of choices. The service here was fantastic, at breakfast you’d be sat down less than two seconds before your cup would be filled with hot coffee and breakfast juices would follow seconds later. There are a couple of standout casual poolside eateries too, Dive In serves up freshly made burgers and hot dogs. The Cannonball (topped with gouda cheese, smoked bacon and caramelised onion) has to go down as the best burger I’ve ever had on a cruise ship! You’ll also find some very good freshly made pizzas at New York Pizza, you can literally watch the chefs stretching out the homemade dough in front of your eyes.

For dinner we managed to try out two of the five speciality restaurants onboard. Tamarind, which serves up culinary favourites from Southeast Asia, was a particular highlight. If we thought the starters of shrimp tempura and the satay sampler were good, we were in for an even bigger treat when our main courses of wasabi & soy crusted beef tenderloin and Mongolian barbecue lamb chops turned up. The only regret, having had a late lunch and not having room for dessert…

Our second speciality dinner was at Pinnacle Grill which features signature recipes from James Beard Award-winning chef and Culinary Council® member, David Burke. if you have a sweet tooth you have to try out the clothesline candied bacon starter! There are a wide variety of steaks to choose from as well as various other grill and seafood options for your main course. I opted for another David Burke special, the beef tenderloin with lobster dumplings and it certainly did not disappoint. From speaking to other guests who also ate here it’s clear to see that this is one of the standout speciality restaurants on Rotterdam.

What is the entertainment like on the Rotterdam?

Does the Rotterdam offer any fitness & recreational facilities?

Any tips for someone looking to cruise on the Rotterdam?

On our final morning, having navigated the Ijmuiden locks we began our journey towards Amsterdam city centre. The deck at the bow on deck 5 had been opened up earlier in the morning allowing us a fantastic vantage point to watch the onlookers on the canal side admiring the beautiful ship. At around 10.30 the crew began to dish out ladles of Erwtensoep, a traditional Dutch Pea soup. This warming treat is normally reserved for guests on Holland America’s Alaska or Norwegian fjords sailings, as they admire the wonderful scenery from out on the deck, however, we were lucky enough to sample it and it was certainly a hit, maybe in part because most of those onboard were actually Dutch…

Final thoughts on the Rotterdam

Having never sailed with Holland America Line I was looking forward to finding out more about the brand and how it compares to other cruise lines. From the moment you step onboard you will soon realise that this is a true five-star product, the service is second to none. You would have never had guessed that this crew had not been working with passengers onboard for the last 18 months, and despite some of them claiming they were rusty it really didn’t come across that way.

There is also a proud history within the line, after all, they are coming up to their 150th anniversary, having gone through two world wars and now a global pandemic of unprecedented scale, its testament to all who are involved that Holland America are still growing and innovating their offering as a cruise line. This incarnation of Rotterdam is the seventh ship to have sailed for Holland America bearing this iconic name, and I’m pretty sure she won’t be the last.