Today I’m talking about sea days, days where there are no port calls just a day spent travelling to the ship’s next destination. The 4th day of this 21-day cruise on Holland America’s Rotterdam is the second of two back-to-back sea days as we make our way to Aruba. The ship, the passengers, and how many of them are on board can make or break a sea day, so let’s discuss those things.
First, a bigger ship equals more people. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the way the ship is laid out and the amount of space for all those people to disperse is crucial. On a sea day, buffets, outdoor areas, bars, etc are going to be stress-tested. If the ship doesn’t have a whole lot of space around the pool area, finding a spot to lay out is going to be a challenge. If the buffet wasn’t designed for optimal traffic flow, bottlenecks are going to happen and people are going to get testy. I’ve seen and experienced many bad buffet layouts that make it someplace you don’t want to be anywhere near on a sea day due to the chaos.
Next, the passengers. One of the biggest cruise complaints is the notorious “chair hog” who gets up early in the morning to plop a towel on a lounge chair and leaves never to return for hours. While most cruise lines say unattended chairs will have items removed from them after 20 or 30 minutes, most don’t enforce this rule as the crew members simply don’t want any confrontation with guests. This bit of rudeness makes finding space to enjoy some sun challenging. Then you have the people who feel the need for entitlement based on their loyalty status or something in their minds that makes them believe they can cut in line, demean crew or other guests, or just downright horse’s asses.
The combination of a bad ship layout, limited space, and passengers with attitudes can make a sea day a living hell.
On the other hand, if you plan your sea day out more carefully to avoid the busy breakfast or lunch hours, find alternate activities indoors that are of interest, and not let the entitled get on your nerves, a sea day can be a great day to just relax and go with the flow.
Here on the Rotterdam, we’ve had beautiful weather which means there are a lot of people out around the pool and on the open decks. Finding a spot has not been an issue even with the ship sailing at capacity. However, if you’re looking for shade, there isn’t much. About 80% of all the outdoor space, whether set up with lounge chairs, or regular tables and chairs, is unshaded.
Side note, on some Holland America Line ships, the walkaround outdoor Promenade deck has steamer chairs where you can sit and watch the sea go by. There are none on the Rotterdam, nor is the deck wide enough to accommodate any. Plus, most of the view from the Promenade is either obstructed by a solid steel wall or the ship’s lifeboats.
Dinner in the main dining room tonight was the Culinary Council Dinner – celeb chefs who create the different dishes for Holland America picked their favorites to include in this special menu and their name is next to the item they created.
I started off with Andy Matsuda’s Sushi Trio which consisted of three pieces of sushi – spicy tuna, volcano asparagus, and avocado roll. All were average and what you would more than likely expect to get at just about any sushi place back home. There was nothing spectacular going on here.
The second starter was David Burke’s Crab Cake – which had a generous amount of crabmeat but was very dense. I prefer them to be a bit on the “loose” side, so this wasn’t my favorite.
For mains, I went with David Burke once again and asked for an end cut of the prime rib. What I got was not one, but two end cuts that were seasoned quite well, but even at a medium rare temperature both pieces were exceptionally dry. This could have been good.
Along with the prime rib, I wanted to try Ethan Stonewell’s Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and it did not disappoint. This was the star of the night. The Rigatoni was cooked a perfect al dente, the sausage was very flavorful with just the right amount of spice to give it a kick but not overwhelm, and the sauce was delicious.
For dessert, I went with the celebrity chef-less version of a hot fudge sundae. After all, it’s classic and can’t be beat.
The night’s entertainment was Ric Steel, a country singer/guitarist from Nashville who played at the Grand Ole Opry and wrote songs for many country artists. Throughout the 45-minute set, he told stories of his decades in the business, and the artists he got to work with, and played/sang classic country which resonated well with the audience. He also mingled with the crowd, before, during, and after the show adding a bit of a personal touch. He was a hit with the over-60s.
The 7:30 pm shows have been standing room only – again, older crowd, early dinner, early show. It is hard to find a seat for the first show of the night. For the 9:30 pm show you can sit just about anywhere as the theatre does not come anywhere near to being full.
Walking around the ship after 10 p.m. is much different – it’s pretty much empty. Being that Holland America attracts an older demographic, late-night entertainment isn’t a thing with the last of the music acts ending around 11 pm. Speaking of, B.B. King’s Blues Club is the best live act on the ship. They do a wide range of music that’s not just blues so there’s always something for everyone and during the band’s performance, it’s hard to find an empty seat.
The second best would be the Rolling Stone Rock Room which has a live band doing classic rock. I find it interesting every night to watch those over-60s I mentioned a minute ago dance and enjoy this type of music.
Then there’s the dueling pianos at Billboard On Board which is just awful. There isn’t any polite way to describe it. Take the absolute worst dueling piano bar you ever went to, add in two piano players who are as exciting as watching grass grow and don’t sing well or do anything “fun” as part of the show, and then multiply it all by 5. It simply sucks.
There you have it. Thanks for following along!
Links to Rotterdam Restaurant Menus
Restaurant menus for October 25, 2023, on Holland America Rotterdam:
- Lido Market – Breakfast Menu
- Lido Market – Lunch Menu
- Lido Market – Dinner Menu
- Main Dining Room – Breakfast Menu
- Main Dining Room – Lunch Menu
- Main Dining Room – Dinner Menu (Culinary Council Dinner)
- Club Orange – Breakfast Menu
- Club Orange – Dinner Menu
- Pinnacle Grill – Lunch Menu
- Pinnacle Grill – Dinner Menu
- Canaletto – Dinner Menu
- Nami Sushi – Dinner Menu
- Tamarind – Dinner Menu
- Tamarind Bar – Lite Bites Menu
- Rudi’s Sel de Mer – Dinner Menu
- Rotterdam Room Service Menu – All Day Menu
- New York Deli & Pizza – All Day Menu
- Dive In Burgers & Hot Dogs – All Day Menu
Daily Planner for Day 4:
