Rotterdam Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Background: After a 2017 made somewhat horrifying by having to confront a potentially life-threatening health crisis, I wanted to give myself something to look forward to, and planned it far enough in advance-- nearly a year out-- that even if I'd needed to endure a long operation to have the offending organ yanked out, I would still have had sufficient time to recover to make the trip. Fortunately, it didn't come to that, and the trip was fantastic-- real "bucket list" stuff, and all places I'd long wanted to visit but never had.
Two friends from my area-- the mother in her mid-eighties, and her daughter, mid-fifties-- joined me in this adventure. (Because they made their arrangements much later, they wound up at different hotels and on different flights than the ones I'd booked, but we made it work, and spent most of our time together.) I will get to the ship a bit later, and start with...
THE TRIP:
Cabin Review
Large Outside Stateroom (fully obstructed views)
Not quite as large as the balcony cabin (HAL has taken to calling all such cabins "suites" on this class of ship) shared by my friends, but plenty comfortable for me, and offering some view and natural light despite its "obstructed view" category designation. All cabins seem to come with tubs, not just shower-- but either way, I'd prefer a showerhead which you can slide up or down to suit your height, and can be taken off that mount altogether as needed.