Yes, this was the most port intensive cruise we've taken and that
concerned us going in. We really wanted to take the Star Princess in
the Baltics as we had tried HAL before but the Rotterdam won out for 2
reasons. The Star Princess is rumoured to have over 500 children
booked on July dates and had NO sea days! That's why there wasn't a
big concern that we couldn't find a lot of interesting things to do on
the ship during sea days. A cocktail, some blackjack and lounging
around were just fine so that we could be ready for the next port.
Yes, both Jane and Jay were on the ship. I met Jane on the elevator
and complimented her on the Phantom Of The Opera song she sang. She
seemed genuinely thrilled to be complimented. I watched Jay's lectures
on the tv every night. He knows his Russian history! I really liked
the port lecturer. I can't remember her name, dark hair, east coast
accent...she seemed well informed though my wife found her accent and
pronunciation annoying. I only played blackjack on this trip..it
seemed to be the place where all the interesting passengers were
sitting. I guess we were spoiled with the laundry on the other ships.
I just got tired of heading down to the front desk all the time to get
a roll of quarters!.I have a diary but it's so long..I have to trim it
down before I post it..It's so important to do these trip reports so
that we don't forget a thing.
We felt too rushed on this itinerary...I really would have liked to
spend some more time in Germany and Sweden. This cruise basically gave
us a taste of each country but we didn't really have a good visit in
any of them. 7 hours is just not enough for Sweden and you can't do
Berlin in a day. I'd really like to do the Greek Islands but likely
we'll be doing a family thing next on Carnival, Royal Caribbean or
Disney. Whatever cruise it is, it won't be one where we have to worry
every minute whether or not we are maximizing our time. But I have to
go into withdrawal for now..I have no more holidays available til next
January!
Look forward to reading your port reports!
andrew
On Wed, 10 Aug 2005 21:49:03 -0500, "D Ball"
wrote:
>Hi, Andrew,
>
>Nice to hear from you. I had been wondering what your take on the cruise
>was...glad to know it wasn't just me! Of course, we had a great trip in any
>event, and like you said, I didn't mean we were up for an all out party
>boat. That was one exhausting trip. I thought it was more tiring than the
>Med, because at least there, we had a nice sprinkling of beach and other "no
>brainer" days. Here, there was something we felt compelled to "sightsee" in
>almost every port. I really do need to prepare our port reports. That
>wouldn't take too long...and I like to preserve those memories/data. As I
>asked Val Kraut, who sailed after us, were Dr. Jay Wolff (lecturer) and/or
>Jane Webster (vocalist) on your cruise? We thought they were extremely
>gifted people in their respective fields, were terrific at working with a
>crowd and overall added a lot to the cruise.
>
>Did you try that 3 card poker game? Never seen it before. We definitely
>spent more time (and money!) in the casino than usual because there wasn't
>much else to do.
>
>Well, I didn't know to be bothered by the laundry charge--I've never been on
>a ship where it was free! I loved the heck out of that laundry facility.
>I've never seen one so large and with so many machines (of decent quality,
>to boot).
>
>No, our steward was Ricardo. Definitely the best ever.
>
>So what's up next for you?
>
>Diana
>
> > Hi Diana,
>>
>> We were on the July 2nd sailing of the Rotterdam from Copenhagen to
>> Rotterdam. Your comments are right on the money!
>>
>> We found the cruise to be lacking in energy. The blackjack dealers
>> told me that the Rotterdam's Mediterranean sailings in June were
>> hopping til 4AM and that the atmosphere was more festive in general.
>> In the Baltics, the Rotterdam was like a cemetery at midnight. This
>> wasn't a problem for us though really because the ports were the focus
>> for this cruise. Interesting thing is that we found our Noordam Med
>> cruise last October had a much older demographic but the people were
>> in general more lively. I'm not so sure that age is the issue.
>>
>> We also loved the Signature Of Excellence enhancements and our steward
>> was the best we'd ever had. Yours wasn't Hermanto by chance was it?
>> But we have quibbles here and there...such as why did we have to pay
>> $4 for a load of laundry when it was complimentary on the NCL Dawn and
>> Noordam?
>>
>> andrew.
>> Rotterdam 2005
>
Carnival Tropicale 1982
NCL Dawn 2004
HAL Noordam 2004
Rotterdam 2005 |