Day 11 already — how did that happen? We’ve covered a lot of ocean since boarding Rotterdam last week: Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, Pointe-à-Pitre, and last night’s late-night stay in San Juan. With all that port hopping, the schedule finally slows down a bit as today and tomorrow are full sea days while we make our way back to Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) for Friday morning’s arrival. And yes, before you ask, I’m staying on the ship for another nine days… but we’ll get into that later.
Sea days are perfect for exploring more of the ship. Earlier in the cruise, I walked you through Deck 2 and Deck 3 — two of Rotterdam’s busiest interior decks with entertainment venues, specialty dining, bars, the World Stage, the casino, and the atrium with Guest Services. Today we’re heading up to what is always the busiest deck on the ship, day or night: Deck 9 — the Lido Deck.
This is the deck everyone ends up on at some point during the day, whether they planned to or not. Why? Pools. Food. Gelato. People-watching. Chair hogs. And… did I mention food? The Lido Deck is where half the ship ends up within five minutes of waking up.
Why Is It Called the Lido Deck?
Ever wonder why cruise ships call the pool deck the Lido Deck? The name actually comes from Lido di Venezia in Italy, a famous beach resort that became the place to relax and be seen in the late 1800s.
Early ocean liners borrowed the term Lido as a classy way to label their outdoor pool and sunbathing areas. It sounded a lot more elegant than plain old pool deck, and the tradition stuck.
Today, almost every cruise line still uses the name Lido Deck as a nod to that original Venetian beach.
Rotterdam Deck 9 Venues
Follow along on the deck plan below as we hit up some of the things you’ll find on Rotterdam’s Lido Deck:
Fitness Center & Greenhouse Spa & Salon (Forward)
Starting all the way forward, Deck 9 is home to the Fitness Center. The gym has great ocean views and all the usual things — treadmills, ellipticals, free weights, spin bikes, and a mirror for selfies so you can make it look like you really went to the gym, but didn’t.
Right next door is the Greenhouse Spa & Salon, where HAL will happily relieve you of money you don’t even remember bringing onboard. Massages, facials, medispa services, acupuncture, salon services — it’s all here. There’s also the thermal suite and indoor hydro pool area.
The Lido Pool & Midship Dining Options
Moving aft, you’ll hit the Lido Pool, the ship’s main covered pool area. The retractable magrodome roof can open or close depending on the weather, making the pool available for use every day whether you’re cruising in the Caribbean or Alaska. Surrounding the pool are loungers, two hot tubs, and the Lido Bar — for frozen margaritas, or whatever else makes you remember, “you can’t drink all day if you didn’t start in the morning.”
Right near the bar is Gelato, HAL’s premium ice cream counter, which is where diets come to die. The gelato here is not free, so you will have to pay to have some of that ship-made deliciousness. However, free ice cream is available at the Lido Market during certain hours.
Then there’s Dive-In, the burger joint serving up, you guessed it… burgers, chicken sandwiches, Nathan’s hot dogs, and those crispy “Dive-In fries” people swear are the best, but they obviously never went to McDonalds. If you’re looking for a casual bite, this is usually the fastest way to get something tasty without heading into the buffet. You place your order, get a pager, and when your food is ready and the buzzer goes off, just go pick it up and enjoy.
Lido Market (Buffet)
One of the largest spaces on Deck 9 is the Lido Market, Rotterdam’s buffet. And for a cruise ship buffet, HAL continues to do a great job here. It’s divided into stations rather than one long traffic jam of people lined up for food. Seating wraps around both sides of the ship with big windows and multiple beverage stations.
This is where you’ll find everything from salads to sandwiches to carved meats, carving stations, desserts, and rotating featured dishes. The Lido Market has a mix of self-service and we-serve-it-to-you stations, which I am a huge fan of. Crew members will plate your food for you, eliminating the need for you to touch utensils hundreds of others before you did, who never washed their hands after using the restroom. You can also get bespoke salads which are delicious!
The Lido Market is also home to Canaletto, HAL’s Italian specialty restaurant. While Canaletto is technically part of the Lido, it has it’s own secluded area with different decor and a low wall buffer making it feel like it’s own separate spot. Food you order at Canaletto, is actually prepared by a chef at a station at the Lido so food doesn’t have to travel far to reach you! Be sure to check out my Day 5 report for a review of my dinner at Canaletto.
Sea View Pool (Aft)
Keep heading aft and you’ll reach the Sea View Pool, Rotterdam’s adults-only outdoor pool. It’s open to guests 18 and older. The loungers here fill quickly on sea days and the fact that the Sea View Bar is right there doesn’t hurt either.
One thing to note: part of this deck is designated as a smoking area, though roughly half is non-smoking, so be mindful when you choose where to set up camp. The smoking section is right next to the Sea View Bar, so sitting at the bar will put you in a cloud of smoke! Not sure why they don’t swap the smoking section over to the other side, so you can actually sit at the bar and enjoy a few cold beers without filling out an application for Black Lung at the same time.
This whole aft area is also great for outdoor dining. Many passengers grab food from the Lido Market and bring it outside to eat here. It’s honestly one of the nicest spots on the ship, especially late afternoon as the sun starts to dip.
Dutch Dinner in the Main Dining Room on Rotterdam
Tonight was a big night on Rotterdam, because it was Orange Party night, the evening when the whole ship slowly turns into a sea of orange. Before all the festivities kicked off later, the Main Dining Room rolled out a special Dutch dinner, with some of those features also being served at the Lido Market. I decided to do Dutch Night properly and headed to the MDR for dinner.
Lido Market Dutch Dinner Menu
Main Dining Room Dutch Dinner Menu
I started with the bay shrimp cocktail with Dutch cocktail sauce, minus the boiled egg. The shrimp were those tiny little guys you usually see tossed on top of a salad. Not my favorite style of shrimp, since I definitely prefer the full sized ones, but it was fine as a starter.
Next up was the steak tartare, which you almost never see offered in the MDR because it’s usually a Rudi’s Sel de Mer thing. While it wasn’t the same upscale presentation you’d get at Rudi’s, it was still a generous portion, roughly chopped, and served with the world’s tiniest crostini. Thankfully, the bread basket stepped in to save the day.
For my main course, I ended up ordering something I absolutely did not expect to see on a Dutch menu: Bami Goreng. Indonesian stir fried noodles loaded up with chicken and shrimp saté, peanut sauce, and krupuk shrimp crackers. My waiter told me it was hands down the best thing on the menu and that he personally wasn’t a fan of the more traditional Dutch dishes like the hodge podge klapstuk. And honestly, pot roast doesn’t thrill me either, so Bami Goreng it was.
Two skewers of chicken and shrimp on top of perfectly cooked noodles coated in a sticky, rich, super flavorful sauce. Definitely the right call.
And for dessert… how do you let Dutch Night pass without ordering the Dutch apple pie? You don’t. Altough it wasn’t served warm, it was sweet, cinnamony (is that a word?), and everything you’d expect a Dutch apple pie to be, especially served on a cruise line with Dutch heritage! Once again the MDR came through with good food, great service, and just the right pacing.
Orange Party Night!
After dinner, it was time for the biggest party Holland America throws — the Orange Party. This is HAL’s signature “let’s channel our inner Dutch” night, where everyone is encouraged to deck dress in their finest orange gear and get ready to party. Some people, like myself, go all in with head-to-toe orange outfits. Others just throw on something with a splash of orange. Either way, its fun, loud, and a little chaotic in the best possible way.
On Rotterdam, the Orange Party took over B.B. King’s Blues Club, which is already one of the most popular venues on the ship, but tonight it was standing-room-only. And the band absolutely crushed it. They had the dance floor packed from the first note and didn’t let up for over an hour.
Lewie, the ship’s mascot, even made a special appearance — because what’s a Holland America celebration without a giant bear mascot making his rounds for selfies?
A pop-up bar was set up and bartenders were serving special orange cocktails for the night. After all, nothing says “we’re Dutch tonight” like holding a bright orange drink you don’t normally order, myself included.
Before the main event, HAL hosted a $29 + 18% pp bar hop — basically a warm-up around several bars throughout the ship. Think of it as pregaming.
Honestly, this was one of the best Orange Parties I’ve been to on HAL, and I give every ounce of credit to the band. Their set list and energy were spot on and completely made the night. When the band is good, the Orange Party is good — and tonight, they were phenomenal.
After the party wrapped up, I called it a night and made my way back to my stateroom. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and we’ll be spending the holiday at sea as we continue our journey back toward Fort Lauderdale. It should be a nice, relaxing day… or at least as relaxing as a sea day can be when 2,600 people all decide the Lido pool is suddenly the place to be. It’s definitely a reminder how thankful I am that I have a Retreat Cabana to spend the day at away from all that hustle and bustle.
More tomorrow — and as always, thanks for following along!
