Holland America Rotterdam 12-Day Eastern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 6: November 21, 2025

Day 6 on Holland America’s Rotterdam and today we are visiting the island of St. Lucia, pulling into Castries right at 10am. This is our third port on this 12-day run — after Half Moon Cay and St. Maarten — and after two full days staring at nothing but ocean (not complaining), it’s great to have a bunch of land days in a row.

Castries is one of those ports where your experience depends entirely on which pier your ship decides to use. There are two, and they couldn’t be more different:

• La Place Carenage – This is the pier right smack in the center of town. Last time I was here — sailing on HAL’s Eurodam — we were docked at this one, and you basically walk off the ship and boom… you’re in the middle of a noisy, busy, very “real” Caribbean experience. The market is a 2-minute walk, traffic is heavy, shops are everywhere, and the whole thing feels very local and creepy at the same time. It’s definitely not “beautiful”  but if you like seeing real life happening, Carenage gives you that.
• Pointe Seraphine – Rotterdam docked here today, and this side is a bit more cruiser-friendly. It’s a bit larger than La Place Carenage and has a few stores, restaurants, and some green space. You can still walk over to the city center from here, but it’s takes about 10–15 minutes, depending on how fast you move and how often you stop to take pictures of the ship, because you do get a good view of it as you walk downtown.

I headed ashore a little after 1pm and did what I usually do in places like this — wandered around for a couple hours just checking things out. Now, let me be upfront: Castries looks sketchy… because it is sketchy. But the funny thing is, the locals pretty much leave you alone. Yes, you get the usual barrage of taxi drivers, but outside of that, nobody bothers you — even when you cut through the market.

If you’re wondering what there is to actually do in Castries, there isn’t much: the city itself isn’t exactly overflowing with attractions, but there are a good number of excursions you can take. Most cruisers will visit the Pitons down south, Reduit Beach in Rodney Bay, Pigeon Island for hiking and great views, or one of the always-popular catamaran cruises that sail along the coastline to Soufrière.

But if you’re into staying close to the port and want something easy, Castries does have a legit walkable beach option. Vigie Beach sits just across the harbor from where we docked at Pointe Seraphine, and while it’s a solid 20–30 minute walk, it’s straight-forward enough: you head out of the terminal, follow the road along the water, and eventually it’s right there. It’s more of a locals’ spot, and while it won’t win any “best beach in the Caribbean” awards, it works if you’re craving sand and surf without dealing with taxis or excursions. There’s also La Toc Beach, but that one isn’t realistically walkable — you’ll need a quick cab ride for that.

If you just want an easy afternoon, you’ve got shops, bars, a waterfront walkway, and enough places to grab a drink without wandering too far. Castries may not look nice, but it gives you options.

Walking around here does require your full attention, though. Sidewalks are narrow, sometimes nonexistent, traffic is crazy, and crosswalks appear to be more of a suggestion than an actual rule. Most of the crosswalk buttons don’t work, so you basically wait for your moment and go for it. Oh, and remember: they drive on the opposite side of the road, so if you glance the wrong way, that’s on you. I swear every intersection is a “look left, look right, look left again, and then pray” situation.

One thing I noticed immediately was the sheer number of diesel cars — not trucks… actual cars. You just don’t see that in the U.S. anymore. Then there’s something else you definitely don’t see at home: the amount of trash people openly toss into the ocean. The waterfront area is beautiful, but the casual way bottles, cups, wrappers, and whatever else get chucked right into the water is honestly sad. We can’t even use a plastic straw at home without feeling like criminals, yet here you’ll see locals tossing trash right into the water.

As you walk around the city center, you’ll pass rows of small local bars and restaurants — and let’s just say none of them would ever pass a health inspection back home. Fresh fish? Sure, if you want it hacked apart right in front of you in 85-degree heat on a wooden table that has never seen sanitizer. The local marketplace itself is definitely more for residents than tourists — tons of fruits, vegetables, spices, and hot food.

There’s also an entire street that’s basically bar after bar after bar — none of which you’d want to eat at unless you like to live dangerously or have an iron stomach. I wrapped up my little urban adventure at a local park, grabbed a seat, and chilled for a bit as the sun started to set before heading back toward the ship. Trust me, Castries is not where you want to be wandering around after dark.

All aboard was at 5:30pm, and we did have a couple stragglers running back toward the gangway, but everyone made it onboard before Rotterdam pulled out.

New York Deli & Pizza on Rotterdam

Back on board, I needed a little something to hold me over until dinner, so I made my way to the pizza spot on Rotterdam: New York Deli & Pizza. It’s up on the Deck 10 overlooking the Lido Pool and has hot-and-ready thick, square slices that are great when they’ve just come out of the oven, or you can order a custom small round pie if you want something fresher to take back to your lounger or your stateroom. They’ve also got deli sandwiches, premade salads, and little desserts.

At night, they switch things up and offer wings and a few extra snacks — which is perfect for those “I’m having a pizza-and-wings night in my stateroom” evenings. And yes, I fully plan on having more than one of those over the next two weeks.

For what it is, the pizza here is solid. Fresh from the oven? Really good. Sitting under the heat lamp for a bit? It gets a little dry, but still hits the spot when you’re hungry.

Dinner at Rudi’s Sel de Mar on Rotterdam

Tonight’s dinner was at Rudi’s Sel de Mer, which is one of the specialty spots onboard Rotterdam — and at $55 per person plus 18%, it ties with the Morimoto by Sea pop-up (which I’ll be doing on Day 7) as the most expensive dining option on the ship.

If you’re wondering who “Rudi” is, this isn’t some random made-up restaurant mascot. Rudi Sodamin is pretty much the culinary “head” of Holland America Line — the guy behind their menus, food concepts, and a ton of cookbooks. He’s a classically trained chef and has been shaping cruise-line cuisine longer than some passengers have been alive. And he doesn’t stop with HAL — his recipes and restaurant concepts also show up on Carnival Cruise Line and Princess Cruises, so his mark is basically all over Carnival Corporation’s ships.

Sel de Mer itself is pitched as a Mediterranean seafood bistro featuring flavors from France, Italy, Spain, and Greece — which sounds very “marketing department,” but in reality the place feels like a cozy little upscale restaurant you’d stumble upon in an out-of-the-way spot back home that everyone raves about, but nobody wants to spread the word about because it would become too popular! White tablecloths, excellent service, uniquely plated dishes… and a menu that has Rudi’s style of “simple food done extremely well, and artfully presented.”

The menu is full of classics: seafood cioppino, Dover sole done tableside, lamb chops, escargots, steak tartare, warm garlic shrimp, and plenty of sides you can pretend are healthy if you don’t read the ingredients too closely.

It’s one of my favorite specialty restaurants on HAL, and easily one of the most beautiful dining rooms on Rotterdam — so with the price tag being what it is, it’s definitely a “special night” meal.

But before diving in, let’s take a look at not only Rudi’s menu, but the menus for the Lido Market and Main Dining Room tonight:

Lido Market Menu

Main Dining Room Menu

Rudi’s Sel de Mer Menu

Dinner at Rudi’s kicks off with bread service, and let me just say… OMG.  They bring out a warm, French baguette that smells like it was baked five minutes ago, plus some insanely good fresh focaccia that I could honestly make a meal out of by itself. Alongside that, you get a different olive oils and sea salt to play with.  My goal to stop having bread, is not working out.

To start, I went with the burrata and prosciutto, and I’m very happy to report that — unlike the “Case of the Missing Burrata in the Burrata Salad” situation in the MDR earlier this week — this one actually had real, fresh, creamy burrata. Paired with the salty prosciutto, it was exactly what it should be: simple and delicious.

Next up was the bistro-style steak tartare, which was excellent… but served with potato chips. Apparently this is becoming a whole trend now, because I was served tartare with chips at Rojo by Razzle Dazzle on Virgin Voyages’ Brilliant Lady a few weeks ago. I get what they’re going for — crunchy, salty, easy to scoop — but personally? I’ll take toasted French bread any day. I’m actually going to ask for it that way next time.

That said, the tartare itself was really good and a huge portion. I actually left some behind because it was just that much food.

For my main course, I went with the duck breast à l’orange, which was cooked perfectly and came with potatoes — but because I’m me, I also ordered a side of pommes frites and ratatouille. The ratatouille would’ve made Little Chef himself proud. It was the kind of side dish that makes you wonder why you don’t eat vegetables more often… until you remember you also ordered fries. The duck, the sides, the whole thing just worked and made for a great entrée.

When it came time for dessert, there was absolutely no way I could order anything else — I was stuffed. And that was before they brought out the little plate of chocolates as a pre-dessert warmup. Between the bread, the apps, the duck, and the fries I absolutely didn’t need but obviously ordered anyway, I was done.

Service, as always at Rudi’s, was spot-on — attentive without hovering — and my wine glass never even had a chance to be empty. Another fantastic meal at Sel de Mer, which honestly seems to be the case no matter which ship I’m on. Whether it’s HAL, Carnival, or Princess, Rudi’s restaurants are consistently excellent, and tonight was no exception.

Evening Entertainment

After dinner, I made my way down to B.B. King’s Blues Club, and ended up staying for two full sets because the band was absolutely fantastic again tonight. With the Rolling Stone Rock Room band having the night off, B.B.’s was extra packed — standing room only. And honestly? For good reason. They’re one of the best live bands on a cruise ship.  It’s just so unfortunate that HAL removed B.B. King’s on other ships and just left it on the three Pinnacle-class vessels.  Fingers crossed they read the surveys and bring it back fleetwide.

Later in the evening, I took a walk through the casino and actually pulled off a small win. Nothing life-changing, but enough to cash out and walk away with a little extra gambling money for tomorrow night instead of blowing it all on one go — so I’m calling that a victory.

Rotterdam is now making her way toward our next port of call: Scarborough, Tobago. Not the most thrilling stop on the itinerary, but we’ll make the best of it. More on that tomorrow… and as always, thanks for following along!

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