I have just returned from a lovely day out visiting The Holland America 'MS Rotterdam' which is their Pinnacle-class flagship.
The embarkation was very smooth & efficient & on entry to the ship we were welcomed with coffee, pasties & cookies. The staff were all very friendly & welcoming.
The MS Rotterdam is a mid-size ship which carries 2,600 passengers and offers a wide range of cabins, from inside, ocean view & balcony to a family cabin for 5, and a selection of suites. There are many restaurants, bars and a theatre onboard, and a B.B. King’s Blues Club for a great night of live music & dancing.
During the summer months the MS Rotterdam is docked in Dover and Rotterdam, and offers a selection of itineraries to Northern Europe, while in the winter months, it is based out in Florida cruising the Caribbean.
Our tour started with a visit to an inside and an obstructed balcony cabin. Both felt very light, spacious, tastefully decorated and offered lovely ensuite shower rooms. The obstructed balcony cabin still had a relatively good size and was only partially obstructed by the lifeboats.
We then visited the outside pool area at the back of the ship, which was very spacious, had a good selection of sunlounges and a pool bar offering a wide range of drinks.
The buffet restaurant was well decorated with soft furnishings and the selection of food on offer was amazing! We also looked at their speciality restaurants and the orange club which again all offered excellent menus in beautiful surroundings.
We then went to look at “The Retreat”, which is an area where you can rent a cabana for the day in a quiet luxurious area of the ship and have waiter service offering a selection of treats (a glass of sparkling wine and chocolate dipped strawberries & grapes!). It felt very relaxing here, being away from the hustle and bustle of the ship.
There was also the lovely main swimming pool area with relaxing sun loungers, pool, hot tubs with a retractable roof which is ideal for cruising in the colder climates.
We had our lunch in the main restaurant which was very elegant and beautifully decorated. The food was delicious and very well presented. The waiters and waitresses were all very attentive.
Overall, I had a great day on board the MS Rotterdam and would highly recommend it to anybody looking for a good class ship with excellent facilities, food and service.
