Holland America Rotterdam 9-Day Southern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 4: December 1, 2025

Day four brought us to our first port of call on this 9-day segment of my 21 straight days on Rotterdam. If you’re just joining — this is the second half of a back-to-back. A whole lot has already been covered in the previous 12-day cruise, and instead of rehashing everything, you can just start reading from Day 1 of that segment by clicking here.

Now… back to today.

After three days of cold-by-Florida-standards temps, annoying winds, choppy seas, and more rain showers than should be allowed during a Caribbean cruise, we finally hit land. I love Curaçao and it’s easily in my top five ports. But of course — because Mother Nature apparently hates us all of a sudden — the morning started with… you guessed it: wind, rain, and a few downpours thrown in just for fun.

By early afternoon things started looking better, so instead of slogging through puddles with the morning crowd, I went ashore later in the day. As I watched from my cabana up on deck 12, I could easily spot the herd of Holland America guests heading out — how? Those bright orange umbrellas that are in every stateroom for guests to take ashore, and they stand out. Like:  “HEY LOOK AT ME, I’M ON A HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE!”  You could spot my fellow Rotterdammers a mile away.  But it’s an awesome gesture by HAL for sure and ranks right up there with the lap blankets in the room as well.

Curaçao is part of the Dutch Caribbean, which is why you see a lot of Dutch architecture and colorful buildings all throughout the town.

Cruise ships dock right next to the Renaissance resort — honestly one of the easiest cruise ports because you’re basically in town the moment you step off the pier. The Renaissance complex includes shops, a casino, bars, and Rif Fort, which was built in the 19th-century, and serves as the exit and entrance to the port. This whole area is packed with restaurants, shops, gelato, and yes, lots of Heineken.

Once you walk through Rif Fort and out toward the street, you’ll make your way to one of the most iconic features in the Caribbean:  Queen Emma Bridge.

It’s a floating pontoon bridge that connects the Otrabanda side to Punda. When a ship or boat needs to move through, the entire bridge swings open like a giant wooden gate. If the bridge is open for an extended period, there are water taxis to ferry people across.

When you get to the Punda side, this is where that picture postcard photo opp is located  — the row of bright, colorful buildings along the waterfront. If you’ve ever Googled “Curaçao,” THIS is the photo you’ve seen.

From here you’ll find tons of shopping: jewelry stores, souvenir shops, designer outlets, and an open-air market where you can get everything from trinkets to fruits and veggies even though you can’t bring food back on the ship.  Oh, and they have fresh fish.  That smells horrible, so follow your nose and you’ll find this market pretty quickly.

When it comes to safety, Curaçao is generally very safe, especially in the tourist area, but as always keep your wallet in front pockets and your phone close at hand — the same warnings I give for most all of the spots I visit in the Caribbean.  Just be aware of your surroundings and you’ll be fine.

The Famous Curaçao Love Heart — And What Happened to It

For years, Curaçao had one of the most photographed hearts in the Caribbean — the Punda Love Heart, a giant metal heart sculpture where visitors attached padlocks with their names, birthdate, anniversary date, divorce date, you name it, written on it.

Well…  the original heart got so full of locks that it physically couldn’t support the weight anymore.  It has since been removed and replaced with a square fence where people are attaching locks.  But don’t fret… it is being replaced by a new permanent display that will eventually hold all the past locks as well as future ones.

There’s now a sign explaining everything — including a friendly reminder to only use the designated fences because locks attached to cannons or street furniture get removed immediately, which absolutely nobody has paid attention to, including the people in charge of removing said locks that shouldn’t be there.

So yes — the heart is still a thing. Just in a transitional phase. Love lives on… just with better welding this time.

Curaçao Shore Excursions

If wandering around town isn’t your thing or the weather looks questionable (which has basically been the theme of this entire segment), Curaçao has no shortage of excursions to get you off the ship and out exploring. One of the most popular is the island highlights tour — an easy, no-brainer first-timer option that takes you to places like the Hato Caves, the Curaçao Liqueur Distillery (yes, the Blue Curaçao everyone pretends to like, but is really gross), and scenic spots across the island.

Beach lovers have a few choices. The most popular, and closest to the port, include Mambo Beach and Blue Bay — both with full facilities, bars, restaurants, and plenty of space to chill out for a few hours.

Snorkeling excursions are another popular choice, especially those heading to Tugboat Beach or Director’s Bay, where you can float over coral, fish, and an actual sunken tugboat. And for those who want to drink rum and do the whole “I’m on a boat” thing, there are catamaran sail-and-snorkel trips available.

If you prefer staying dry, bus tours, distillery visits, and cultural/history tours are all easy picks. Curaçao is one of those ports where you really can’t go wrong there’s plenty to see and do.

Christmas Comes to Curaçao

My day of wandering consisted of crossing the Queen Emma Bridge and heading into town, checking out a few shops, and just taking in the scenery — which in Curaçao is always interesting. There are blocks and blocks of streets and little alleyways that you can easily lose an afternoon exploring. Curaçao is super easy to navigate, so even if you wander until you forget where you started, you’ll have no problem finding your way back to the ship, just head to the waterfront!

Christmas also came early to Curaçao. Decorations were up and shops were decked out even though it’s permanently 85 degrees with palm trees. As someone who’s lived in Florida for nearly 25 years, I still can’t wrap my head around “Christmas without frostbite,” but it’s a heck of a lot better than shoveling snow, so here we are.

As I wandered, Mother Nature did thing again. I thought I was in the clear so I didn’t bring one of those previously mentioned bright orange Holland America umbrellas. I didn’t even bring a hat.

So, there I was… soaked. And once you’re wet, you’re wet, so I figured might as well keep going, take some pictures of the Christmas decorations, and enjoy it for what it was. I had planned to stop back at Rif Fort for a cold Caribe beer  but nothing pairs worse with a beer than a soggy polyester shirt clinging to your body. So I made my way back to the ship earlier than planned.

It really was an abbreviated day in town, which kind of sucks because I love Curaçao.

Christmas Comes to the Rotterdam

Back onboard, it wasn’t just Curaçao that got the Christmas treatment — the Rotterdam did too! Overnight, the holiday elves (also known as the incredibly talented housekeeping and pastry teams) went to work all around the ship. When I started walking around after drying off from my soaking ashore, I couldn’t help notice that Christmas had officially arrived.

Garland was wrapped around railings (yes, even up at the Lido Pool), and Christmas trees popped up in the public spaces.   But the real treat was the giant gingerbread village that magically appeared off the atrium.

A full gingerbread house display — complete with a train — was created by the ship’s pastry team. The moment you walk by, you’re hit with that gingerbread smell that either reminds you of fresh out of the oven delicious gingerbread cookies, or in my case, burnt gingerbread cookies that were inedible, because my mother was such a horribe cook!

I happened to stumble upon the pastry team just as they were gathering for a group photo in front of their masterpiece.

Mariner Society Reception

Before dinner, Rotterdam hosted this cruise’s Mariner Society Reception a little gathering for three, four, and five-star Mariners along with the elusive President’s Club members. I talked about the Mariner Society levels and perks the other day in the Day 2 report, so if you missed that rundown, you can click here to get caught up on Holland America’s loyalty program.

Now, on the previous 12-day cruise, there were two separate receptions: one for three-star Mariners and one just for four-stars and up. That alone tells you how many high-tier people were sailing that segment. This time it was one big combined event.

Once again, the whole thing was held at the Lido Pool. Servers were making the rounds with champagne and wine, the cruise director did her usual “welcome, thank you, please keep cruising forever” spiel, and the captain and senior officers mingled.

Since Mother Nature still wasn’t being cooperative the retractable roof was closed, turning the pool area into a steamy sauna with sweaty Mariners starting to wilt.   Then, at some point, someone in a white uniform must’ve started melting because the order came through to crack the roof open a bit. Fresh air started drifting in and we all stopped sticking to the furniture.

All in all, it was a nice little perk and a reminder that free champagne tastes better when you’ve earned it one sea day at a time.

Dinner at Pinnacle Grill on Rotterdam

Dinner tonight was at Pinnacle Grill once again.  Shocker, I know. For anyone just joining, a quick refresher: Pinnacle is Holland America’s signature steakhouse and one of the most consistently good specialty restaurants. Dinner runs $52 per person plus 18%, and lunch (on the select days it’s offered) is $35. It’s worth every penny especially if you’re a Mariner Society member getting that extra discount. Just remember: discounts apply to the cover charge only. Any extras or upcharges? Yeah… those are all yours, plus the 18% service charge.

Main Dining Room Dinner Menu

Lido Market Dinner Menu

Pinnacle Grill Menu

Now when it comes to seafood, if I even think something smells or tastes fishy, I’m out.  So ordering fish is always a gamble I rarely take. But tonight, I decided to try Pinnacle’s their tableside Dover Sole — also available at Rudi’s — and I thought I’d give it a shot.

I kicked things off with a caprese salad and one (fine, two) of those tableside De Lijn gin and tonics.

Then came the Dover Sole. My server, Winartha — who has been taking care of me each time I’ve eaten here over the past three weeks — offered to filet it at the table even though I told him he could absolutely skip the theatrics if he wanted, but he insisted on showing off his fileting skills.

He did a very good job.  Must have had a lot of practice!

The Dover Sole does come with a $15 upcharge on top of the cover, but it was cooked perfectly, mild, and not even remotely “fishy.” A win in my book.

Because I like to make sure my cholesterol stays just a the pre-Lipator level, I tacked on the Beecher’s Lobster Mac & Cheese — another upcharge at $12. Rich. Filling. Cheesy. Lobstery. Zero regrets.

And dessert? Not happening.

All in all? A great Pinnacle night.  Once again.

We’re currently sailing to Aruba where we will be spending two full days on “One Happy Island.”  Why two days?  Well, who knows.  The original itinerary at Bonaire thrown in, but it was removed and replaced with a second day in Aruba.  I jokingly said to someone the other night, “Bonaire is really known for scuba diving, and with the average age of the folks on this cruise, it’s probably best skipping all that…”

More from Aruba tomorrow!  As always, thanks for following along.

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