Review: Holland America Line - Rotterdam - [February 25 , 2005]

[Net Reviews]

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Reviewer Comments:

Rotterdam - Ft. Lauderdale to the Panama Canal and return.
Feb 24 - Mar 6, 2005.

Part 1. Getting there.

Checking in at the Ottawa airport, we were advised that our plane
for Montreal would be leaving on time from Gate 13. I am not a
suspicious person, firmly believing that if you keep your fingers
crossed nothing can touch you.

At the gate, there was no Gate 13, but there was a Gate 12A and a
Gate 12B. We got to use Gate 12B.

We had to change planes at Montreal. I do not know what it is
about that place, but to me it always seems to mean some kind of
trouble whether at the airport or in the town itself.

This time we got thoroughly lost, and I got shouted at about
several times. Once was at the U.S. immigration desk where I was
told rudely not to stand so close and to get back behind the red
line. My fault, of course. Moments later, when I accidentally
tried to bypass the security machines, I got in trouble again.

On account of getting lost and having to back up a considerable
way, time was running out. By the time we got to the security
gates we only had seven minutes before flight time. The person
before us in the line must have looked suspicious or something,
because he had to practically strip himself. Jacket off, shoes
off, etc. And us rapidly running out of time.

Through there, we needed Gate number 72. A large sign pointed
around the corner to gates 72 to 89. Around the corner was
another large sign pointing to gates 74 to 89. What happened to
Gate 72? It and number 73 were around yet another corner but no
sign pointing to them. This was very typical of our troubles.

We eventually got to the plane.

Air Canada on this particular flight sells food to those
passengers willing to pay for it. One chocolate bar for $5.00
seemed to be the going rate. Planning ahead, I had purchased a
couple of power bars, a sort of confection made out of oat meal
or something. Several times passing through US immigration I was
asked if I was bringing food into the United States, and on each
occasion answered "No", forgetting all about the power bars. No
problem in this regard, but it might have been a bit tricky if
this food had been found. I had it all eaten up long before we
landed at Fort Lauderdale so no harm done to the US environment.

The HAL bus ride to Pier 66 and our check in at the hotel went
smoothly. We flew down the day before in case of weather.

I suggested to Margaret that we walk across the road to a gas
station that has a deli bar and get a couple of sandwiches and
maybe a bottle of wine.

"It will be a long evening, so we will get a proper meal." We
ended up in the hotel restaurant for a delicious dinner, in nice
surroundings and at a reasonable price. So good on Margaret.

Next morning I went alone to the same restaurant for the full
buffet breakfast. $15 which was a bit expensive IMO. The food
was good, but the service was terrible. Not one dirty dish was
removed from the table, I had to ask for cream, and even coffee.
I decided to not leave a tip. So instead of paying with a $20
bill for the cost of the meal plus any tax and leaving the
change, I asked for the meal to be charged to the room.

Imagine my surprise when I saw that $2.70 cents had been added to
my bill for a gratuity. No wonder the service was so bad. Who
needs to bother when the tip is guaranteed? So that spoiled my
breakfast a little bit.

The bus for the ship was due to leave the hotel at twelve noon.
Suitcases had been picked up two hours earlier from outside the
rooms for transit to the ship. These are usually piled up
outside the hotel entrance and moved to the pier about an hour
later by truck.

Waiting in the lobby, we were told that the bus was a little late
and would be here soon. As there were not too many suitcases
these would be loaded into the bus. The bus finally showed up
about 40 minutes late. We got on board about one o'clock.

Two passengers in wheel chairs were boarded next, and we finally
left the hotel half an hour later.

At the pier we had to wait behind another bus that was unloading.
Our driver advised that we had to wait until the other bus had
cleared, then he would unload our luggage. At that time we would
have to identify our suitcases to the porters so they could be
moved to the ship.

In noticed people from the first bus milling about amongst the
porters, showing them their bags, and money was changing hands.
I figured we were looking at another way of generating revenue
for the port staff.

Our bus eventually moved up, our driver unloaded all the bags
while the porters looked on, and at about two o'clock we were
invited out of the bus. Quite a lot of us first noted that our
bags were indeed there, then left for the check-in counters
inside the terminal building. We must have individually figured
that no way could those porters manage to lose a whole bus load
of suitcases.

Our cases showed up safe and sound an hour later in the cabin.

We were directed to check in at position 13. 13 again. The
auguries for this cruise were not looking good.

Check in went smoothly and we were on our way. Half way across
the large room was a Carnival sign advising that taking personal
liquor and consuming it on board the ship was strictly forbidden.
"Your co-operation is greatly appreciated." What they should
have added was ".. so we can over charge you by marking up our
liquor by 2000 percent." It was OK to take on your own wine and
champagne.

There was no waiting to board the ship. Our bus was so late,
everybody else was already on board. So after getting our
picture taken, it was over the gangway where Holland-America took
over and a just about perfect cruise began.

Part 2.

We left Fort Lauderdale a little late on account of having to
follow a parade of other cruise ships all heading out to sea.

The Cruise Log showed that we 'unmoored' at 5:10 pm. Unmoored?
There are lots of words starting with 'un', but unmoored sure is
not one of them. How about cast off?

We settled into the cabin quickly, then decided on a guided tour
of the ship that afternoon. Although we had sailed on Rotterdam
VI before, maybe we could catch up on something we might have
missed.

The library was open as we went past, so we left the tour to
check out some books. Right away I asked the librarian if she
had a copy of 'The DaVinci Code' that I wanted to read. "Yes, I
do," she said, "but somebody just booked it out. Leave me your
name and cabin number and I will call you when it is returned."
I had heard this story many times before, of course. Like the
garage promising to call when the car is ready. It just does not
happen.

So imagine my surprise eight days later when I got a call from
the library saying that the book I had requested had just been
returned. By now it was the third last day of the cruise, and
books had to be returned by 4:00 pm the following day. 26 hours
to read 464 pages. I managed about a 100, and must now wait for
our local library to give me a call.

We got the 8:00 pm seating for dinner on the upper level of the
dining room. We had a good table for two on the edge of the
balcony so we could see what those below were doing.

Starters, soups, salads, entrees were all excellent as usual on
HAL.

While on this subject, I will get a bit personal. Last summer I
was advised by my doctor that if I did not lose weight fast I
would turn into a Type 2 diabetic. I do not like being sick, and
decided to do something about this.

I lost 35 pounds, relaxed my regime, and promptly put 5 pounds
back on again. No matter how hard I tried, this 5 pounds would
not go away. Now I had this ten day cruise coming up, booked
long before, and eagerly anticipated. How to stop gaining 10
more pounds during this cruise?

Best way was to try and lose weight. So no trips to the dining
rooms for breakfast. I know my limitations, and surrounded by
eggs benedict, sausages, hash brown potatoes, mushroom omelettes,
etc, etc. I would not stand a chance. So every morning it was
room service, with half a grapefruit, two slices of white toast
and coffee. I survived. Excellent service. On time, no
mistakes, courteous.

Lunches were taken in the Lido at the Deli Bar, being a sandwich,
ham and cheese on white, smoked meat on rye, etc. and a coffee.
No bread pudding, which was a severe loss.

Dinners were no problem really. Deserts were chosen with care.
The entrees were very good. The best for me, believe it or not,
was a simple plate of liver and bacon. A lot of people do not
care for this. The best serving of liver and bacon I ever tasted
was on this cruise. In our whole family, only me and the father
of my daughter-in-law like it. The rest of the gang think we are
crazy.

What helped with the weight watching was weighing myself most
mornings on the scales in the spa on Deck 9. It was a very
accurate balance beam type scale that apparently could go to a
quarter of a pound. One sliding weight had to be moved over a
notch at say '200 lbs' and a second weight moved until the beam
was level. Every second or third day or so a pound would have
gone.

Second last day it showed that I had gained 4 pounds. No way!
So I see the man in charge and he says those scales do not work
when the ship is at sea and bouncing around. Only when the ship
is tied up and very stable do you get an accurate reading.

Back at Fort Lauderdale at disembarkation, the spa was locked up
tight, so no chance of a last reading. Next day at home, the 5
pounds had gone and I was back at my target weight.

Time to get back on topic.

There was a Broadway type song and dance show on the first night.
I am not too keen on these kind of shows, but sat through the
whole of this one. The performers were very talented.

Generally speaking the entertainment was good. There was an
extremely funny comedian on the second night. He started off
about the previous cruise. He figured the average age of the
passengers on that cruise was deceased. The captain decided to
have the Farewell Party on Day 2 just in case. And so forth and
so forth. All the usual Holland-America favourites. It was nice
to hear them again.

He then went on about the pronunciation of the German word for
'five', ie 'funf'. By the time he got to 5,555,555, the place
was in an uproar. He did not make a second appearance as most
entertainers do. I did not see him about the ship either. I
expect he moves around the fleet every other day or so. Talent
like that cannot be allowed out only twice every ten days.

Half Moon Cay, HAL's private island, was our first call. Lots of
beach time for those that like it, and a quiet day on board for
me.

Our calls at Oranjestad, Aruba and Willemstad, Curacao were
transposed, I think because there was a Sunday involved. More to
do in Aruba on a Sunday than in Curacao.

I found a sort of Internet cafe at Aruba but it was very small.
Three or four terminals, all busy. I was told there would be a
half hour wait at least so I did not bother.

Leaving the ship at Curacao, we made a left turn to walk along
the dock towards the floating bridge. After a 5 minute walk or
so, the way was blocked for security reasons. We had to back
track past the gangway, and leave the dock by another entrance.
A sign by the gangway here would be a good idea to save a lot of
unnecessary walking in the hot sun.

In Willemstad we looked for a bottle of wine for Margaret. This
got us into some quaint back streets and alongside the floating
market. A collection of small boat owners that motor across from
Venezuela apparently to sell their wares. A strange array of
different fruits, vegetables and fish on display that's for sure.

At leaving time, the old Rotterdam V used to head up the river,
under the road bridge, then make a u-turn in the turning basin,
back down the river past the town and on out to sea. Because
Rotterdam VI is too tall, it will not fit safely under the road
bridge, so has to back out from the dock. They had to open the
floating bridge for us of course. By my watch it took just about
5 minutes to open.

The next day was a sea day and the repeaters party was held in
the Vista Lounge. This is tightly controlled these days, by
printed invitation only. Which is a good thing. Years ago it
seemed to be right out of control with everybody on board getting
in on the act.

Our captain was quite a humorous person. He explained the
different standards required of HAL alumni. After 10 days of
sailing, a passenger gets to be a junior cadet and is supposed to
know the difference between fore and aft. He pointed out that
the fore part was at the pointed end. After 25 days, one got to
be a full cadet. At this time, the difference between port and
starboard should be known. He pulled out a piece of paper from
his jacket pocket, unfolded it, looked at it and said, "Yes,
that's right. Starboard is on the right, port is on the left."
He got his laugh OK.

He also asked us to note that just because the drinks were free
that morning, it would not always be so. "After all, this is
Holland-America. We go Dutch!".

This was not strictly so. We were fortunate to be invited to a
party hosted by the captain and the hotel manager in the
Explorer's Lounge early one evening. It was very nice. Instead
of accepting a glass of white wine or champagne offered on a
tray, I asked if I could have a margarita instead. "On the
rocks, with s*****" No problem, and in a couple of minutes I had
my custom drink. From there we went on through to dinner.

Early the next day we entered the Panama Canal. We followed
another cruise ship into the locks. It was ahead of us and took
the left side. As we got closer, I saw that it was the 'Coral
Princess'. Another review on this ship a few weeks ago referred
to another cruise ship behind them, and it was us.

By the time we got to the central basin of the locks we were
alongside. We moved into Gatun Lake. A number of people left
the ship by tenders at this time to go on tours. They would miss
the downward transit through the locks, and would catch up to the
ship at Colon, our next stop later that afternoon.

Shortly after, a beautiful white cruise ship came up through the
locks, and anchored nearby. It was 'Brilliance of the Seas', all
white and brand new looking. I was surprised to find out later
that she has been around since 2002.

Another white ship arrived in Gatun Lake from the Pacific end of
the canal and anchored. It turned out to be a P and O cruise
ship. I cannot remember its name.

About 11:30 it was very quiet on board and I suggested to
Margaret that we go along to the Ocean Bar for a couple of
margaritas. Margaret was never a girl to turn down a free drink.
So off we went. Very quiet in this nice bar with just the
bartender for company. We got our drinks and a small plate of
nibbles or whatever. Delicious margaritas. Occasionally a
passenger would walk along outside the bar on the way to
somewhere. Super relaxing.

All the ships left the lake later that afternoon. When we had
got through the locks we moved around to Colon, not too far away.
We got there a bit late and had to pick up all the people from
the tours. These arrangements were not working very well, with
everybody being held up for the most part by security checks.
Lots of people were waiting a long time in some of those lines.
Good job it was overcast and not too hot.

By way of introduction, a funny comedian one evening told the
story of this Irishman named Thomas Crapper who invented the
modern toilet. Two years later an Englishman improved on it by
putting a hole in it. Not a bad joke.

A couple of weeks ago there was a short thread on this group
about buying bottled water on board. Why not fill an old bottle
from the cold water tap in the bathroom? Put the bottle in the
refrigerator for half an hour, and there is lots of ice cold
water.

I usually use the water in the ice bucket from the melted ice.
If the bucket has just been filled, and there is no melt, then I
put in a cup or so of water from the bathroom. Swish the bucket
around a few times, and lots of cold water is available.

To get the water from the bucket to the glass is a bit messy.
Take off the lid, hold your hand over the edge of the bucket, so
the water filters through your fingers and the ice stays where it
belongs.

This time in the cabin, the ice bucket had a pour spout in the
lid! What an excellent idea. Pure genius. The first time I
wanted a drink, I positioned the spout over the glass, held on to
the lid for safety, and poured. Water everywhere! Some in the
glass, on the desk, on the floor. I tried again. Same result.

I took the lid off the bucket and had a close look. The lid was
made of two pieces of plastic, pressed together. The top piece
had a knob for a handle, and the pour spout. The lower piece was
one clean sheet of plastic. No hole! Amazing. I hope it does
not take somebody a couple of years to put a hole in the ice
bucket lid.

Puerto Limon in Costa Rica was our next port of call. We docked
right alongside the 'Brilliance of the Seas', so had a good look
at it. An immense structure. Takes 2501 passengers according to
their web site. Almost double the 1260 guests that can be
carried on the Rotterdam.

Lots of tours to jungle destinations. We went along to a sort of
flea market at the end of the dock. It was quite crowded, with
passengers from the 'Brilliance OTS' and the P and O ship there
as well.

There was an Internet place, but it was very busy. To get to use
it, you had to buy a card for 100 minutes for $10. While I was
wondering whether to get one or not, this English fellow from the
P and O offered me his. He said there was 80 minutes or so left
on it and I was welcome to use it. "The trouble is," he said,
"is that all the computers are in Spanish so difficult to use. I
managed to send a fax, but that was it." So I declined his
offer.

He was on the P and O ship. It was on a 14 day cruise from San
Diego to Barbados, then it was heading back to Southampton.

That afternoon, Margaret and I visited the Ocean Bar again for
some more libation. The 'Brilliance' was just outside the window
it seemed. We could see the people moving about inside. We also
had a waitress this time, a young lady from the Philippines. We
were the only customers again. The waitress was not very tall,
and spent some of her time standing on a windowsill in the bar,
up against the window, looking at the people down below and the
big ship opposite. All very calming.

I think my best memories of the cruise are of these two brief
sessions in the Ocean Bar.

We were due to leave Port Limon at 6:00. I was in my usual place
for leaving harbour, leaning over the rail on the promenade deck,
amidships. About 5:45 Margaret suddenly showed up mildly excited
and said that she was glad to see me.

"I just got back to the cabin, and the phone was ringing. It was
the Front Desk wanting to know if you were on the ship. Their
computer showed that you were still ashore." A glitch when
reading my ID card I expect when I returned to the ship.
Margaret thought that I might possibly have gone back ashore to
pick up something from the stores on the dock. So a mild scare
for nothing.

Liquor was for sale from Room Service for consumption in the
cabin for $25 a litre. For my convenience, a 15% gratuity would
be automatically added to this price. Convenient for some I
suppose, but not necessarily for me.

The shops on board had a sale of liquor for taking home. A good
buy was for a litre of Crown Royal Canadian rye for $17.95, or
two for $32. This is a premium brand, the one where the bottle
comes in a red velvet bag with a gold coloured draw string. Good
for keeping things in afterwards.

I bought two bottles, one for me and one for my son Graham and
his wife Karen to share. Karen's father is the one who likes
liver and bacon.

At the farewell dinner, we on the upper level of the restaurant
were finished our meal long before those on the lower level.
Upper level starts dinner at 8:00, lower level at 8:30. I
suggested to Margaret that we leave when ready and not bother to
wait for the parade of the baked Alaska. Who wants to wait for
half an hour for a bowl of warm ice cream?

I mentioned to one of the head waiters that we would probably
leave early before the baked Alaska. "What do you want to do
that for? You have nowhere else to go or anything else to do."
We still thought this was a good idea. I also mentioned it to
our waiter. "Why? You have nowhere else to go, nor anything
else to do." This must be the official response. Looking over
the balcony railing, a table for eight were just getting their
entrees, so we did not want to wait that long, got up and left.
We were not the only ones on the upper level to leave.

Change the dining room times, and all sorts of complications
arise. I am glad that I do not have to make those sorts of
decisions.

The same thing the next night. We left before the waiters got to
sing their farewell song.

Disembarkation went smoothly, as did the flight home, this time
via Toronto, thank goodness.