Rotterdam Review
A genteel cruise down the coast - pity about the weather!
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Additional details
We were visiting friends in Canada and figured that a cruise down the east coast of the USA would be a great way to see lots of places we haven't been to before. This was certainly the case, though unfortunately we did miss 2 ports because of bad weather. The weather cant be helped and we were at the end of the season, so that was a risk we took I guess. Overall we enjoyed it; we've cruised with HAL before and like the smaller ships and relaxed elegance they exude (no swinging gantries and rock climbing walls!) but on this cruise we realized that that quiet elegance brings an older demographic with it and some cruises can be almost comatose....maybe all those snowbirds heading south for the winter?
Whatever, we embarked without fuss and were quickly in our stateroom 3360, which turned out to be a great choice (well, there wasn't a lanai available when I booked but this was the next best thing, just a few steps to the promenade deck and the weather turned out to be less than conducive to sitting out anyway for most of the cruise.) Small but plenty of storage, pretty standard but everything in excellent condition, neat and tidy and clean. Bathroom looked to have had a recent makeover, very up to date fittings and the shower was the best! I had read some horror tales about Rotterdam beforehand but found our stateroom to be just great. (OK, a suite would be greater, but hey...:))
We ate mostly in the MDR at night, found the meals to be generally very good, with the exception of a fish dish served (at a Mariners' lunch) which was noticeably undercooked. Several people commented on it so I'm guessing that this got back to the kitchen. But otherwise we enjoyed some excellent meals - the salmon is a favourite of mine and always good and I had the most delicious Surf n Turf there. I like that the portions are not huge, (hey if it's not enough, order another!) so that you don't feel you've overeaten if you have dessert! The service in the MDR is consistently attentive. We also enjoyed an excellent dinner in Canaletto where the portions seemed enormous but were very good indeed.
Cabin Review
Large Ocean-View Stateroom
On Lower Promenade but without lanai doors to deck - proved to be an excellent choice as we could access the deck in seconds and the weather wasn't the best for sitting out most of the time anyway. Cabin itself was smallish but spotless, bathroom looked to have had a recent upgrade as all fittings were very modern and we had no problems with plumbing. Shower power is fantastic!
(Friends on other decks reported ongoing issues with toilets and a lack of hot water for the duration of the cruise - not us!)
Lots of storage space, only criticism was the TV which was very difficult to hear. Very easy to access the elevators, deck, no noise and being midships not much ship movement even in some interesting seas.