It was very exciting to get on board Holland America Line’s brand new cruise ship the MS Rotterdam. It’s only been sailing for a couple of months so I considered myself one of its first guests when I boarded in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Everything smelled and looked brand new and this whole ship review video explores every inch of Rotterdam, top to toe, and believe me, there was a lot of toe…as in toe-tapping. Music is BIG on MS Rotterdam. It’s the only ship in Holland America Line’s fleet to have the Rolling Stone Rock Room in its Music Walk as well as BB King’s Blue’s Club, Lincoln Centre Stage (for classical music) and Billboard Onboard for chart hits. There’s a music venue for every taste on the ship and I explore them all. Honestly, the music was brilliant and all the guests just loved it, as did I. And they were all dancing, every night. Holland America prides itself on offering more space per passenger than any other similarly sized mid-size liner and that is captured in this film. There are two swimming pools – one with a retractable roof like Wimbledon’s which can open or close if the weather needs it to and one at the back of the ship. There’s always lots of sun beds well-spaced and well, just lots of space in general. I think the film shows how uncrowded the ship is, whether I’m working out in the outdoor gym or on the Promenade Deck or playing Pickleball. Have you heard of the game Pickleball? I hadn’t! It’s like tennis, ping-pong and badminton rolled into one and the ship has a HUGE court to play it on. It was quite an impressive amenity on board, although it was pretty hot to play it while on a Southern Caribbean voyage! Art lovers will also love MS Rotterdam as will food lovers. Food was excellent on board and this video offers a flavor of that too, from the Dutch specialties you can enjoy in the Grand Dutch Cafe (all served on beautiful Royal Delft Dutch pottery) to the buffet to the main dining room. The pay-for specialty restaurant French Brasserie Rudi’s Sel de Mer is definitely worth paying the extra for. All in all this was an extremely classy, arty ship and I loved every second of my time on board. Watch the video and you’ll see why!
