After 25 years of exclusively cruising Princess Cruises and over 30+ cruises, we ventured to another line.  Why?  We have watched as the reasons we fell in love with Princess Cruises slowly slip further and further away.  The ship kept getting bigger, the service slimmer, another cost added each voyage and a serious deterioration of the quality of the food offerings.  So it was time.

We researched a number of lines but wanted to return to a smaller ship experience without to cost of the luxury lines.  We chose this itinerary on the Rotterdam. As part of the Pinnacle Class, the largest of the ship’s in Holland’s fleet, its size is equivalent of the Grand Princess which was our first ship 25 years ago when it was new.  It now represents one of the smallest ships in the Princess fleet.

We booked early so we were able to take advantage of the Early Booking Have It All Bonus that gave us upgraded beverage and wifi packages along with paid gratuities.  The price point was slightly more than Princess but when the additions of Have It All with the bonuses worked in, it was fairly comparable.  We also Chose Club Orange…that’s anther post.

We enjoy slow sea days, good wine, cocktails, dining and live music.  We do not participate in games, shows, shopping events or ship photos.  No judgment here just trying to lay the foundation for our review.  This will not be a comparison to Princess; rather with that background here is our take on our first Holland America Cruise.  

We embarked the Rotterdam in Rotterdam.  The port is very convenient to anywhere in central Rotterdam.  We stayed the night before at CitizenM by Markthal and we elected to walk since it was a beautiful day and a 30 minute walk (we travel with carry on only for luggage).  We had Priority Embarkation (due to Club Orange) and it was sidewalk to ship in 30 minutes flat. That included a 12 minute wait for the boarding process to start.  Simple and efficient.  The cabins we not ready for another 90+ minutes so up to the Lido Deck for pizza at New York Pizza and Deli.

Prepared to order, the pizza was hot crispy and tasty.  Everything at New York Deli & Pizza is included in your fare.  They also have breakfast bagels, sandwiches and coffee in the mornings and snacks at night like popcorn and soft pretzels. Nice touch.

We had an aft verandah cabin deck six.  Well designed, small loveseat, a bit tight at the corners with oddly hitting doors between the bathroom and the closet opposite it.  It’s one or the other; not both at once.  The bathroom was well done and the shower had great pressure and hot water all the time.

After traveling for 6 days through The Netherlands, the first order of business was to get the Unlimited Laundry Package.  $168 for the cabin, not per person, for a 14 night cruise.  As we travel with a carry on only, this was a no-brainer.  We have free laundry on Princess due to our loyalty status but we are new here.  The laundry bag is cloth, the service was one day return and the small items are returned ina basket wrapped in paper and hanging clothes in a cloth clothes bag.  Super nice.  Impressed.

We found the ship lay out and decor understated, elegant and easy to navigate. Deck 2 and 3 had most of the entertainment venues, bars, dining rooms and two specialty restaurants. The Lido buffet, poolside pizza and burgers were all located around the main pool with various bars from stem to stern. 

The “music walk” venues: B.B. Kings, Billboard and Rolling Stone are close together and stagger their sets so that they do not compete with each other. The variations of live music is very nice in the evenings . Some nights it is themed (e.g. 70’s rock). There was also a strings/piano trio that would play classical music mostly in the afternoons at afternoon tea and a few other random times. We very much enjoy live music of all kinds and this ship did not disappoint in that area.

Speaking of music. We were in port in Warnemunde Germany until the evening as many passengers went to Berlin for the day. A local German brass band came aboard and Holland America set up the Lido pool area as a beer hall in the Oktoberfest tradition with the buffet featuring food to match. They were terrifc.

Little local touches such as this makes the trip even more memorable.

Coming up: dining including specialty dining; Club Orange and Baltic port basics.