Holland America Rotterdam 9-Day Southern Caribbean Cruise Review – Day 9: December 6, 2025

Day 9 on Holland America’s Rotterdam and this marks the final day of my 21 days onboard. This 9 day segment, which wraps up today, was preceded by a 12 day cruise on the same ship, so if you’re just getting here and want the full experience, you can start with the Day 1 report from the first leg by clicking here.

Today we’re back at Holland America’s private island in The Bahamas, Half Moon Cay. We were here during the last segment and a week earlier when I was on Zuiderdam as well, so I’m not going to rehash every detail about the island in this report since it would be a copy and paste of what I already covered. You can read all Half Moon Cay and what’s going on there from my Zuiderdam visit a few weeks ago by clicking here.

In today’s recap I’m going to talk a bit about how the day played out, dinner, and then roll into an overall review of my 21 days onboard.

Rotterdam dropped anchor off Half Moon Cay a little after 7:00 am and, as usual, crew and provisions headed ashore first. This was another two ship day, with us sharing the island with Eurodam. During the previous cruise it was also a two ship day, that time with sister ship Koningsdam, so I already had a pretty good idea of what a “busy” Half Moon Cay day looks like. After experiencing that last time – long waits for tender boats, a lot of confusion at the Lobster Shack, and just general crowd chaos, I decided the night before that I was not signing up for a repeat performance.

What really sealed that decision was the schedule.

The last tender from the island today was at 2:30 pm. Yes, 2:30. For a private island stop, that is a very short day. On our previous visit, the last tender was 5:30 pm. I’ve been on cruises where the last tender was at 3:30 and even that feels early, but 2:30 is even more ridiculous, especially for people paying extra for things like cabanas. If you’re dropping serious money on a cabana, you want a full, relaxing beach day… not a half day with a built-in rush.

Tender operations kicked off at 8:00 am with guests required to get tender tickets if they wanted to go ashore early. The island’s big capacity tender boats were split between the two ships and both Rotterdam and Eurodam were also running some of their own lifeboats back and forth.

Not long after they started, the cruise director came on the PA with the announcement nobody wants to hear: tender operations were delayed. That dragged on for quite a while. It was not until more than three hours later, at 11:10 am, that the announcement finally came that we were in “open boarding” mode and tender tickets were no longer required.

To put that into perspective: if you didn’t want to bother with getting a tender ticket and sitting in a lounge waiting for your group to be called, you had to wait until after 11:00 am just to head ashore… on a day when the last tender is at 2:30. That is a tiny window of island time and kept a lot of people onboard, scratching their heads at how short and disjointed the whole thing felt. The crazy part is that, somehow, they still managed to get everyone rounded up and back on the ships on time. Eurodam pulled anchor first at around 2:45 pm, followed by us about fifteen minutes later.

Meanwhile there is still a ton of construction going on at Half Moon Cay as Carnival Corporation pours serious money into turning one half of the island into a dedicated private destination just for Carnival Cruise Line ships.

Right now Carnival ships are still using the Holland America side, but that will change once the new area opens. A brand new pier is being built that will be able to handle Carnival’s largest ships, along with a big new beach area and all the usual bells and whistles.

The HAL side is getting some love too.  New beach furniture, new bars, a refreshed BBQ buffet, and other enhancements have already started to appear, but there will be no pier built for Holland America. HAL ships will continue to rely on the familiar fleet of tender boats to shuttle guests back and forth, for better or worse.

Check out the photos below to see the current state of the construction zone and how things are shaping up.

Half Moon Cay Construction Photos

Dinner at Pinnacle Grill

Dinner on the last night of the cruise ended up being Pinnacle Grill. I literally flipped a coin to decide between Tamarind or Pinnacle, and Pinnacle won which honestly felt appropriate since it has been my most reliable dining option over the past 21 days.

Keep that in mind as this story unfolds.

Lido Market Dinner Menu

Main Dining Room Dinner Menu

Pinnacle Grill Dinner Menu

I did not even have to order one of the signature tableside De Lijn gin and tonics. The second I sat down it magically appeared!

I started with the classic shrimp cocktail before moving into what I thought would be a nice redemption surf and turf after last night’s fiasco at Rudi’s Sel de Mer. If you read yesterday’s report you know exactly what I’m talking about. The whole bait and switch routine with the bone-in strip that mysteriously appeared without a bone. But I digress.

Tonight’s order was simple. An 8 ounce filet cooked Pittsburgh rare with the same 12oz lobster tail ($19) that was excellent last night at Rudi’s.

Easy. Right?

My server brought the plate over, stopped halfway, stared at it, did a 180, and went straight back into the kitchen. Never a good sign. He returned a few moments later and asked, “You ordered the 12 ounce lobster right?” After I glanced at the plate I told him not to bother taking it back. I already knew I was staring at the smaller 5oz tail. At this point I did not have the strength to start Seafood Drama Part Two. He apologized, removed the lobster from the shell, and we carried on.

Then I looked at the steak. Something was definitely off. For the record, the steakhouse definition of Pittsburgh rare is “a steak cooked with intense high heat to create a charred, blackened crust while keeping the inside cool, red, and nearly raw.”  What I was served was… not that. Not even close. We are talking medium to medium-well territory.

At that point I just sucked it up, ordered another drink, and accepted defeat. The last two nights of specialty dining on this cruise were definitely off and not at all the standard I had previously. It happens, but still disappointing considering how consistently good Pinnacle had been.

After dinner, I wandered the shops for some last minute souvenirs and then stopped by Half Moon Bar to say goodbye to Reema and Junelle who have been absolutely fantastic hosts this entire time. Grabbed a photo with the regulars at the bar this segment and called it a night.

With all that, let’s jump right into my full review of 21 days onboard Holland America’s Rotterdam!

Holland America Line – Rotterdam

Dates: November 16–December 7, 2025
Homeport: Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Ship Facts: 2021 build • Pinnacle Class • 99,500 GT • ~2,668 passengers

Three weeks aboard HAL’s flagship Rotterdam with a rare overnight in Aruba, Thanksgiving at sea, and a casino tournament on the second leg. This one’s going to be special and hopefully I win something!

Date	Port	Country
Nov 16	Boarding Day – Port Everglades	USA
Nov 17	Half Moon Cay	The Bahamas
Nov 18	At Sea	–
Nov 19	At Sea	–
Nov 20	Philipsburg	St. Maarten
Nov 21	Castries	Saint Lucia
Nov 22	Scarborough	Trinidad & Tobago
Nov 23	Bridgetown	Barbados
Nov 24	Pointe-à-Pitre	Guadeloupe
Nov 25	San Juan	Puerto Rico
Nov 26	At Sea	–
Nov 27	At Sea (Thanksgiving)	–
Nov 28	Fort Lauderdale (Turnaround)	USA
Nov 29	At Sea	–
Nov 30	At Sea	–
Dec 1	Willemstad	Curaçao
Dec 2–3	Oranjestad (Overnight)	Aruba
Dec 4	At Sea	–
Dec 5	At Sea	–
Dec 6	Half Moon Cay	The Bahamas
Dec 7	Return to Port Everglades	USA

Holland America Rotterdam Review

Before getting into my overall review of the past 21 days onboard, the disclaimer:  For this segment, I was provided a free inside stateroom as part of a casino slot tournament promotion. I paid a $100 “room fee,” but that was immediately returned in the form of $100 onboard credit, plus I paid port fees and taxes. The casino also tossed in $200 in free play and entry into the slot tournament. And as always — comps or not — my reviews aren’t influenced by anything other than what I actually experience onboard.

Now that the FTC is happy, it’s on with the show, starting with…

Embarkation in Fort Lauderdale

I was thrilled to be back at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, and thank goodness for that, because as you probably know by now, PortMiami is still my least favorite port to sail from. Even with eight ships in port that day, the biggest headache was, as always, the notorious Security Gauntlet at the port entrance – every vehicle stops to show ID, which inevitably backs traffic up for what feels like a mile.

I arrived at Terminal 19 around 1:30 pm, but the parking garage was already completely full. I was directed to a surface lot, and here’s where it got strange: no ticket, no gate, no little slip of paper. I just drove in and parked.  Fortunately, waiting until my assigned boarding time of 2:00 pm absolutely paid off inside the terminal.

There was zero check-in line. I walked right up to an iPad-style kiosk, a staff member scanned my passport, and it was straight through a completely empty security line and directly onto the Rotterdam. Even getting on and off the ship is streamlined now, with the Rotterdam using facial recognition instead of keycard tapping at the gangway. It was a quick line-free transition once I made it past the gate.

Family Oceanview Stateroom 1028

For the first 12-day segment, I was pixie-dusted from my booked interior room into Family Oceanview Stateroom 1028. Located on Deck 1 forward, it’s designed to accommodate up to five people. The setup includes two twin beds that convert to a queen, a sleeper sofa for two, and an upper pullman berth for the fifth guest.  Storage is plentiful with an entire wall of closets and shelves right when you walk in, plus plenty of drawers, so space was definitely not an issue here.

The one part of the design that makes sense for a “sleeps five” cabin? Two bathrooms. The main bathroom has a tub/shower combo, and the smaller one has a walk-in shower and sink.

Overall, the room was comfortable, well-laid out, and if I didn’t have to move, I would have been perfectly happy staying put.

Video Tour of a Family Ocean View Stateroom on Rotterdam

Aft-Facing Verandah Stateroom 8188

Of course, the upgrade only applied to the first cruise, so on turnaround day, I was set to move back to the originally assigned interior room. However, I snagged a late upgrade offer: an Aft-Facing Verandah Stateroom 8188 on Deck 8 for just $360. Considering I had to pack up and move anyway, the choice was obvious. Why move back to an inside room when I could upgrade to this?

This stateroom sleeps up to three, with the two twins converting to a king and a sofa that pulls out for a third guest. The closet space is noticeably tighter than the family oceanview I just came from, but for one person, everything fit just fine.

The bathroom is standard HAL: compact but functional with a glass-door shower and excellent water pressure.

But the main attraction? The balcony. This thing is deep, furnished with two adjustable loungers and footrests, and it offers those spectacular wake views off the back of the ship. The views alone made this stateroom worth every penny of that upgrade. The only minor quirk of aft life is being directly under the Lido Deck, meaning you heard deck chairs being dragged and clunked into place around 7 a.m. that didn’t last more than 20 minutes each day.

Video Tour of an Aft View Balcony Stateroom on Rotterdam

Dining on Holland America Line’s Rotterdam

Over the course of 21 days, I sampled every dining venue on the Rotterdam, and the experience was a true mix of hits and misses. While some of Holland America Line’s core venues remained reliable standouts, others, including the Main Dining Room, were a complete 360-degree turn from the exceptional service and quality I’ve come to expect from the brand.

• Main Dining Room (MDR) – ★☆☆☆☆ – I sailed onto the Rotterdam with high expectations for the MDR, especially after the exceptional service and food I had just experienced on the Zuiderdam. Sadly, I was disappointed. Overall, the experience was sterile. The dining room staff were not overly friendly, service often felt rushed, and the food was consistently average, and sometimes even cold.  After a particularly disastrous Thanksgiving dinner where my server clearly wanted to be anywhere but where he was, I decided that was the end of the MDR for me. For this entire nine-day segment, I didn’t set foot in the dining room again. This was a shocking and frustrating contrast to the fantastic experience I’d had just days before.
• Lido Market – ★★★☆☆ – The Lido Market remains a solid hit on HAL ships. There was plenty of variety, the food was generally fresh, and the staff were outstanding. The fact that not everything is self-service is still a huge plus in my book.  My one major critique concerns sanitation and consistency. During the first 12-day segment, there was never anyone at the entrances asking guests to wash their hands, but during the second nine-day cruise, they were there all the time. Consistency is key for warding off illnesses! The biggest issue I encountered was the cleanliness of the self-service tongs. On one visit, I went to grab meats and cheeses for a DIY charcuterie and found the tongs were covered in a pink, slime-like food. When I asked the server what was up, she just said, “Oh, we had some meat pie there earlier and they were used for that, we didn’t change them out.” She then wiped a dirty tong with a napkin and handed it back to me. I immediately left. Besides that lapse in hygiene, everything at the Lido flowed well, except for the occasional guest who thinks they have the right to cut in line.
• Canaletto – ★★★★☆ – Canaletto remains a great value at $25 per person. Ann and Jimmy were fantastic each time I went, and the food was consistently good. My only complaint is a plea to the culinary team: bring back the Osso Bucco! The new veal scaloppine that replaced this beloved HAL favorite is not a worthy replacement.
• Pinnacle Grill – ★★★★☆ – This should have been a five-star review, as I had fantastic food and service every other time I visited. However, tonight’s meal had me drop that last star. To not know how to execute a Pittsburgh rare steak in a signature steakhouse is a crime, and one worthy of a star being taken away. Despite that oversight, the Pinnacle Grill remains a must-visit dining spot for its excellent food and service that usually matches.
• Rudi’s Sel de Mer – ★★★☆☆ – (Sorry Rudi) I have to apologize to Rudi, but this spot only earned three stars this time, mainly due to a classic case of bait and switch. I had a whole disaster with them passing off a sub-standard piece of meat for the advertised 14-ounce bone-in rib eye. While it’s a beautiful restaurant with generally good service, sometimes the servers come off a little pretentious, which isn’t something you’d expect. If it weren’t for the steak disaster, this would have been a solid four stars. A fifth star would require the staff to be a bit friendlier and, you know, not hide menu changes and product availability from guests.
• Morimoto at Sea – ★★★★☆ – This was a definite improvement over the disaster I experienced on the previous cruise on the Zuiderdam. The food was great, the service was fantastic, and the whole evening flowed perfectly. It makes so much more sense to have this elevated Asian dinner inside the Asian-themed Tamarind restaurant with chefs who know how to cook the cuisine, unlike having the pop-up inside Pinnacle Grill on other ships. The only drawback? Sushi from the adjacent sushi bar was not available the night I dined here, which was a bit of a disappointment.
• Tamarind – ★★★★☆ – Tamarind is another great value in specialty dining at $35 per person. The food was great and the service was friendly and on-point. My main note here is that the menu is getting a bit tiring. The Tamarind menu has pretty much been left unchanged for more years than I can count. A creative refresh is definitely needed.
• Dive-In – ★☆☆☆☆ – It’s painful to give this spot one star, as Dive-In has always been a standout of quick-service offerings on HAL ships. While the hot dogs were fine (it’s hard to mess up a hot dog), the issue was with the burgers, which have always been superb. This time, I was served cold, unseasoned burgers that did not live up to expectations. I hope this was a fluke, as Dive-In has always been my superior burger spot compared to Guy’s Burger Joint on Carnival, but on this trip, Guy’s won.
• New York Deli and Pizza – ★★★☆☆ – This spot is a hidden gem for quick eats. For breakfast, they serve scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon, where there’s never a line, and they usually stay open a half-hour longer than the Lido. When it comes to the pizza, the fresh-made round pies are great – thin, New York-style that you can customize. However, the square, ready-made slices were often inconsistent and sometimes left out longer than they should have been. I’ve noted that when they’re fresh out of the oven, the square slices are great – but after sitting around, forget it. With salads, desserts, and small bites late at night, this spot is a good place to hit when the munchies strike.

Rotterdam’s Fellow Passengers

The demographic profile on the Rotterdam for this combined 21-day journey was a contrast to the slightly younger crowd I saw on the recent seven-day Zuiderdam cruise. With this trip being a back-to-back 12-day and 9-day itinerary, the average age definitely skewed back up, resting in that 65+ demographic that Holland America Line traditionally owns.

This older crowd was noticible simply by the number of scooters and walkers lined up outside the Main Dining Room each evening.  However, that is 100%  typical for longer cruises. However, that didn’t detract from the fun; these passengers were out and about each evening until things pretty much shut down.

I also pay close attention to the keycards, and I noticed a distinct split in loyalty: the 12-day segment skewed toward experienced Four and Five-Star Mariners, but the subsequent 9-day cruise saw a lot of first-time HAL cruisers – their keycards lacking any Mariner Society star level. Most of the passengers were from the United States, with a good number from across Europe here on holiday. I met some wonderful people during these 21 days who I’m sure I’ll run into again on a future HAL cruise, as we’re all pretty loyal to the brand.

Entertainment on Rotterdam

Holland America Line’s entertainment lineup has always been a bit uneven, but where the Rotterdam truly shines is in its musical venues, which far outshine the main stage productions.

• Main Stage Productions: I’ve come to realize that the main production shows on HAL are ones to generally avoid, although they are finally starting to step up their game and roll out some new main stage entertainment, which is long overdue. Frankly, the Step One Dance Company that handles the production shows isn’t that great. Other cruise lines, even MSC, who didn’t have a strong entertainment lineup until recently are offering main theater shows that are of much better quality.
• B.B. King’s Blues Club (The Best Show): This is where entertainment on the Rotterdam truly shines. The venue is fantastic, with outstanding performers who always pack the house and the dancefloor, making the Orange Party an absolute riotous time. Hats off to them!  It’s a shame this crowd-pleaser has been removed from other ships.
• Rolling Stone Rock Room: Hats off also go out to the Rolling Stone Rock Room band who packed the house each evening. However, their performances are now being limited as they are pulled to be the “HAL Cats Band” that backs up the main stage production shows – a definite disappointment as their dedicated Rock Room times are now cut.
• Classical and Solo Performers: The classical Vivace Strings drew a bigger crowd this time than they did on the Zuiderdam, mainly due to the older audience demographic. Derrick the Steel Pan Player also worked his butt off, entertaining everywhere from the Lido to the Mariner Society reception and the Atrium – the guy was everywhere and always drew a crowd.
• Billboard Onboard (The Dual Piano Experience): Let’s get one thing straight: people need to stop calling this a “dueling piano bar” experience. There is a huge difference between “dueling” and “dual.” This is a dual piano bar – meaning there are two pianos and two players who play and sing. There is no wild, all-out dueling like you will see at places like Howl at the Moon. While the players are great, it’s not a spot I frequent as it’s rather, may I say… dull. There’s no life here; it’s just a bunch of people sitting around listening to piano players. This is a sharp contrast to the dancing and rock music directly across the hall at the Rolling Stone Rock Room.
• Fly-on Performers: You also have the standard fly-on performances, like the comedians who all run with the same sanitized script so nobody is offended, and we had a Celtic performer who appealed to a very small portion of the passengers and I found to be an odd choice. These fly-on acts were a bit weak, if we’re being honest. Ultimately, the best show on the ship was hands-down the B.B. King’s Blues Club.

Rotterdam Service and Ship Upkeep

Holland America Line is known for its service, and for the most part, the Rotterdam lived up to that high standard. Crew members are generally always there to answer questions, help you get somewhere, engage in friendly banter, and be that welcoming beacon behind the bar!

I found the bartenders to be very friendly – a huge shout out to Reema, Junelle, and Liam. The staff at the Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto were great. And at Guest Services, Albert (who is also the Mariner Society Rep onboard) worked tirelessly with me on my Four Star status and benefits for the second leg of the voyage, jumping through hoops to make it happen. However, the experience was mixed in the dining venues: the Main Dining Room staff were pretty much indifferent, seeming to be just there to “do their jobs,” and the host at Rudi’s was not so welcoming, with the staff there being a bit pretentious, as I mentioned earlier. All in all, about 95% of the staff was fantastic and lived up to the service standard one would expect from HAL, but there’s that 5% who definitely need improvement.

As the flagship of the fleet, the Rotterdam absolutely lives up to the title when it comes to maintenance. Launched in 2021, she’s quickly approaching her first drydock overhaul scheduled for April 2026, but honestly, she’s showing no signs of visible wear and tear whatsoever – she is a beautiful vessel! The crew does a truly fantastic job keeping both the interior spaces, her hull, and the outside decks in pristine condition. They are seemingly always cleaning, polishing, and painting to keep this beauty looking great. Across my entire 21-day journey, I didn’t encounter any areas of the ship that were in need of noticeable painting or repair, and nothing was shut down for maintenance. She looks every bit as new as the day she was delivered.

Debarkation at Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) – A Chaotic End

All good things must come to an end, and after 21 days, it was time to bid farewell to the Rotterdam – for now! Having brought a lot of luggage during this extended trip, I opted for the traditional method of leaving my bags out the night before, rather than the self-debark option.

Debarkation began with self-assist starting around 7:00 AM, and my luggage tag colors were called at 8:00 AM. I headed down to Deck 1 and found not a single person ahead of me to get off the ship. With one more smile in front of the facial-recognition iPad, I was officially off. My luggage was easily found in the terminal, and once again, customs was a breeze – a quick smile at the iPad and a green light gave me clearance to head out.

Here’s where things got frustrating. While we embarked at Terminal 19, we returned to Terminal 26, which shares a parking garage and a surface lot with Terminal 19. You may recall from my Day 1 report that the garage was full, and I was led to the surface lot with no ticket or receipt given. Keep that in mind.

Once I was officially off the ship, I could physically see my car right across the street, definitely close enough to walk to… but no. They had all the pedestrian entrances to the parking lot CLOSED except for one, which was located all the way up at Terminal 19. Security made us – including people in wheelchairs being pushed by porters and me lugging multiple bags – walk all the way north to the end of the terminal and the parking garage, only to have to walk all the way back down the other side of the street in the southern direction, essentially back where we started.

This completely unnecessary detour could have been easily avoided by simply opening the gates.

Having had enough, I finally said, “F-it.” I stopped and started walking directly across the street, despite security guards blowing their whistles and yelling at me to follow the sidewalk. Others followed, and we had a bit of a revolt, cutting out about a quarter-mile walk.

But the idiocy didn’t end there. The sidewalks leading to the one open pedestrian entrance were being used as parking spots by Broward County Sheriff’s deputies. Real nice, right? So, everyone trying to enter the lot couldn’t use the sidewalk and was forced to walk in the street while the Sheriffs directing traffic just looked at us, knowing damn well why we couldn’t use the sidewalks. The entitlement is rich, isn’t it?

After loading my bags, I headed to the exit. When I got there, two guys with iPhone-like devices asked: “How many days?” Seriously? Well, let’s just say I took advantage of a self-imposed discount for the inconvenience this surface lot disaster provided at the end of the cruise. The Facebook group was going wild with people complaining about this exact same thing, with a lot of blame being incorrectly placed on HAL. This is purely a Port Everglades issue, and one that could have been easily avoided by allowing people to cross the street and opening the pedestrian entrances.

Huge fail on Port Everglades.

Huge.

Final Thoughts and What’s Next

It’s hard to believe that 21 days have gone by. The combined 12-day and 9-day voyage on the Rotterdam was truly an enjoyable experience. The ship called on some great ports, we had great weather (for the most part), and I was happy with the time I spent onboard with old and new friends over the last three weeks. The Rotterdam is a great ship and one you have to experience at least once! While my cruise schedule for 2026 isn’t finalized yet, I am already considering coming back in a few weeks for a Panama Canal cruise to kick off the new year.

But another trip is about to begin!

On December 12th, I’ll be boarding the Explora I from Explora Journeys, MSC Cruises’ luxury division. This is a line with a growing fleet of small vessels that carry around 925 passengers. For this trip, I’ll be spending Christmas at sea and will be visiting some places in the Caribbean I’ve been to before and some new spots only small vessels like Explora I can access.

This will be my first time on the line, as Explora Journeys was just launched in August of 2023 with their first ship, Explora I. Explora II followed exactly a year later, and three more ships are slated to arrive in 2026, 2027, and 2028. I’m definitely looking forward to this next trip and experiencing a bit of pampering, so be sure to follow along beginning Friday.

In the meantime, thank you for following along and being a part of all my journeys at sea!

Daily Schedule

Personal Day-By-Day Rotterdam Cruise Review: