Yesterday, the Rotterdam did a partial transit through the Panama Canal and immediately set our sights on the next port-of-call, Puerto Limon in Costa Rica. What can I say about Limon… not much. The ship docks at a spartan, run-down port that makes you instantly ask, “I thought Costa Rica was supposed to be beautiful.”
Well, it is. But not here.
Once you walk off the ship, you’re dumped into a parking lot where on this visit, a woman was near the front of the ship with a sign that says “Photos” and a box for tips. A local, she apparently will take your photo – using your camera or phone – in exchange for some money. It’s an honest profession, got to give her credit. A few steps away, a band is playing one song – and they played it ALL DAY LONG. Someone about “Welcome to Limon, the weather is hot, thank you for your visit.” They were set up inside a hollowed-out shipping container with an obligatory tip box.
In the parking lot were busses that I’d be afraid would break down (keep reading) leaving the parking lot, ready to take passengers on excursions.
That’s Puerto Limon. There’s nothing here. So what do you do here?
Well, if you want to zip line through the famous Costa Rican rain forest, go white water rafting, visit a beach, or any of the other available excursions, you have no choice but to hop on a bus for up to an hour to reach your destination. This area is not the Costa Rica you see in travel brochures.
Now, remember those buses I told you about? I ran into some folks who went on the white water rafting tour. To get there, it was an hour each way. On the way back, the transmission blew on their bus.
Surprise!
They had to wait a while for another bus to come get them and while they were made comfortable while waiting, they said it was unbearably hot. The weather was sunny, almost 100% humidity and just hanging out on the outside decks of the ship was brutal. I could not imagine being stuck on the side of the road in a broken-down bus in the heat.
However, they said the tour was great, the guide threw in some other stops after the rafting, and except for the bus breakdown, they had a great time.
This leads me to today’s topic, shore excursions. No matter what cruise line you go on, you have the opportunity to book excursions through the line itself. They are generally priced higher than you can get if you researched and booked them independently which sounds great, but there’s a catch.
Cruise ships run on tight schedules. They pay for every minute they are docked at a port so when they say they are leaving at 4 pm, unless there is an emergency, they are leaving at 4 pm – with or without you. If you booked an excursion, a taxi to take you around town, or are just out wandering around on your own and something comes up – like a broken-down bus, the ship doesn’t care. They’re leaving. However, using the broken-down bus incident again if that bus had a group of people on a cruise line booked excursion, the ship WILL wait for that bus to get back to port, even if it’s a few hours late.
So in the end, it may cost you a bit more to book an excursion via the cruise line, but doing so gives you peace of mind in case something happens. But if you’re at Senor Frogs downing drinks all day and you lose track of time and start running back to the ship only to see it pulling away from the dock, you’re out of luck. It would be up to you to arrange transportation to meet the ship at the next port of call.
Go on YouTube and search “pier runners” and let those videos serve as a reminder to not be one of them.
Quick update on the evening, I went to the most expensive specialty restaurant on board the Rotterdam, Rudi’s Sel de Mer. This French restaurant will set you back $55 pp + 18% and is Chef Rudi Sodamin’s outpost on Holland America Line’s Pinnacle-class ships that include the Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam, and the Rotterdam.
The restaurant itself is intimate, beautifully decorated with rich reds, and dark faux wood, and only has a few tables which makes it perfect for a special occasion. The menu features mostly seafood, but there are some meat options as well.
I started with the Marinated Lobster salad which featured a nice-sized lobster tail, served cold, on top of a bed of micro lettuce and a few slices of grapefruit. Both the presentation and flavor were fantastic.
Next, I went with their version of the Steak Tartare. Since they share a kitchen with the next-door Pinnacle Grill, I was expecting this to be pretty much the same as what I’ve had there, which it was with a few slight differences. This version came with a poached egg and caviar on top of the steak and was served with the usual accompaniments. The saltiness of the caviar gave the steak some great flavor, although you won’t find me eating eggs, so that was just pushed off to the side.
Like the tartare served at Pinnacle, it didn’t come with enough crostini to accommodate the large portion of steak, so I finished it up with some of the crusty, warm French baguette that was presented as part of the bread service, which was served with a range of toppings such as peppers, olives, tapenade and more.
For the main course, I didn’t go with seafood, I went with the rack of lamb. The rack consisted of two double-cut chops prepared medium rare on top of a potato gratin and served with a side of rosemary jus. The lamb was fork-tender and seasoned very well. I chose haricot verts (green beans) and the most delicious ratatouille that would make Chef Remy proud.
I asked my server to pair each course with his recommendation of wine and the selections did not disappoint.
Before dessert was served, a dessert “tree” was presented with some chocolates and chocolate-covered strawberries. These are the same happy endings that they bring out to you at Pinnacle Grill, just presented more creatively.
Speaking of dessert, you can’t end a French dinner without getting Crepes Suzettes which were simply delightful and accompanied with a dollop of homemade vanilla gelato.
Having dined at Rudi Sodamin’s restaurants on Carnival Celebration and Mardi Gras, I knew going in that the food was going to be spectacular, and this meal did not disappoint.
It’s important to note that Rudi’s Sel de Mer is not one of the specialty restaurants that are included in the Have it All package.
During the evening, a woman seated at a table across from me was one of those customers who make you never want to deal with the public ever again. Every interaction with the server was demeaning, she ordered multiple desserts and a bottle of wine that she wanted him to deliver to her stateroom for her because she told him, “You expect me to carry that back to my room?” She asked for her bottle of wine to be in an ice bucket and when he brought it to her, she told him to “take it away I changed my mind.”
After she left, I mentioned to the server that he handled himself way better than I ever would and he said, “Thank you, sir, it was a challenge.” I said, “Let me guess, she got a free meal here from the casino.” He nodded yes but said, “No comment, sir. No comment.”
I didn’t attend the night’s show which was another one of the dance productions, but I stuck my head into the theatre during the 9:30 pm show and saw a bit of the painfully choreographed performance before I called it a night. When it comes to the production shows, Holland America… you need to step up your game. They’re horrible.
On a side note, Holland America is rolling out Starlink Internet across its entire fleet. Work is currently going on here on the Rotterdam and Starlink is expected to be turned on around November 3 – 7, 2023.
Sea day tomorrow, thanks for following along.
Links to Rotterdam Restaurant Menus
Restaurant menus for October 30, 2023, on Holland America Rotterdam:
- Lido Market – Breakfast Menu
- Lido Market – Lunch Menu
- Lido Market – Dinner Menu (Caribbean Dinner)
- Main Dining Room – Breakfast Menu
- Main Dining Room – Lunch Menu
- Main Dining Room – Dinner Menu
- 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 9:
