Strongest recommendation to future cruisers: book the Rotterdam IMMEDIATELY if you’re looking for:
—LOUSY FOOD (except for the specialty dining rooms, which HAL surely is up-selling by downgrading everything and everywhere else). Dining room flavorless food is suited to senior living; much-touted “Dive-In” burgers are dry and flavorless.
—CREAKY SHIP which, in our case, included: 1) stinky sewage seeping into our suite from an adjoining pipe closet 2) leaking pipes above our verandah 3) a fire that resulted in an all-ship alarm awakening us in the middle of the night (reportedly TWO fires in the two weeks immediately preceding our trip.)
Never book a cabin or suite on an aging ship next to a pipe room unless you are ok with your cabin smelling like sewage and disinfectant.