Im now noticing my typos as well lol. I was considering the Rotterdam for an Eastern Caribbean cruise, along with the Enchanted Princess after that. I'll be moving to Florida just so I can cruise and vlog more! Thanks again! @@daradventures
Thank you. We'll be on Rotterdam 21 days over the holidays Dec 20. Was excited to learn about the deck 3 walking track but other reports didn't mention lack of view and limited space. Appreciate your mentioning.
Great Video I will be going on a 12 day cruise with a balcony stateroom on the 5th floor on this Sunday. This video has made me super excited and gave by far the most information out of any other youtube video I have watched with simple yet effective details. Thank you!
The way you went from deck to deck on the Rotterdam was one of the best and easiest to understand I has seen. My wife and I will be on that ship this year so thanks for making it easier to find my way around before boarding. I also love the picture of the Rotterdam you have as the lead to your TH-cam which I would love to use as my desktop background but I can't find it.
Happy to hear that you found this tour format useful. I think deck by deck is the easiest to follow as well. What photo do you mean? The thumbnail with the orange clouds in the background? All of the photos I use are my own work, so you won’t find them online. happy to share the photo with you if you’d like though!
@@daradventures What I liked most about your tour is how it brought us in like walking along side you throughout the ship. Great vib, well done. I would love to have a copy of your photo of the Rotterdam! For me it speaks like filling the dream of cruising on a ship. I know that may sound strange but it's a feeling it invokes like art does and not just another ship photo. Can you suggest a way I could perhaps get an autographed copy?.
@@markweaver2188 You're too kind! A photo evoking a strong emotion is the highest compliment. I'm not doing prints at this point, but I'd be happy to email you a copy of the photo. You can leave your email here, or if you'd prefer more privacy you can send me a direct message on instagram with the best email address to send it to. Compliments like these are great motivation for me to keep learning and improving!🙂 Hoping to have a full photography site one day in the future.
Loved the tour!Great job! Did you sail over actual Christmas holidays?We are looking to book this ship Dec 21-29 this year and wondering if you saw older kids/teens on board, do you know if club Hal had daily programming for them? We know these ships are not geared towards kids but hoping ours (older kid/teen) would have others on board with them with club Hal open.
Thank you! And yes, we were on a 14 night cruise that sailed over Christmas, we were on board that same week you are planning on. As you said, Holland America isn't geared toward kids but for the week you're planning on there will be plenty of kids on board. Non holiday times for Holland America there are few kids, but for Christmas and Spring Break holidays the ships have plenty of kids. The kids club will be open, although it isn't as robust and doesn't have the same lengthy operating hours that you might see on like Royal Caribbean or Norwegian, but it will be open for your kids to meet others their age. The kids also seemed to all find each other at the Lido pool! Some of the scheduled "adult" activities may also appeal to an older kid/teen, depending on what they like. But don't worry about your kid being the only child on board, there will be plenty of others! It's a lovely ship, if you book it I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas at sea!
@@daradventuresThank you! We are booked on the 9 night Christmas cruise on the Rotterdam & also eying Sun or Sky Princess (7 nights) same time. We’ll have to decide on one of them soon!
From what I’ve heard over the last few months the staff buffet service and the glass partitions has been a Holland America trend for a while. They were definitely ahead of their time for sure!
The glassed of food in the buffet is not unique to Rotterdam, or a post pandemic thing on Holland America. They have has it on all of their ships from before that. It might take a little longer, but I think it is really a better way. Today is the first time I’ve came across your material. I really liked your summary of Holland. It’s pretty accurate. We’ve cruised them 14 times and really enjoy the quieter vibe. And the older music! 😂
Oh didn’t know that about the glass, thanks for the info! Since this was my first sailing I just made the assumption that the glass was pandemic related. Glad you liked the video! Yea I love the quieter vibe… sometimes the pool music on other lines is too loud for me to concentrate on my books. I love reading by the pool and Holland America actually makes that possible!
Ah interesting… wonder why they made the change. Must have had a reason for it. The lifeboats obviously obstruct the view, which stinks, but on the flip side I did like being able to see them up close.
funny you ask, have been working on a video with likes and dislikes of holland America and this is one of the topics. Short answer from my experience is no - a few will be under that mark, but you’re going to end up paying a lot of $1 or $2 charges for common drinks, and you have to sign for it each time. made the folio at the end of the cruise full with tiny charges that were impossible to check for accuracy. They raised the prices for drinks shortly before my December cruise and doesn’t appear that they’ve yet increased the limit on the beverage package to compensate. It wasn’t a deal breaker for us for cruising with them again, but it was annoying.
@@daradventures The buffet food was fresh but meant for a 70+ demographip. Lots of chicken or tuna salad sandwiches. Aside from breakfast, the food consisted of ramen noodles and bad sushi. Sliced pork, beef or lamb with cold sauce. The Lido buffet had a problem with keeping food hot or cold. The only good meal I had on this ship was the Pinnacle Grill. I also did not appreciate being served like a high school student.
@@denniscostabile4264 sorry to hear your experience with the food was disappointing! Pinnacle Grill was a very good meal indeed, I also think that was our best culinary experience onboard.
@@daradventures Loved your video. This was my 15th cruise and 1st on Holland America. I think my expectations were too high. As a solo traveler, I paid a premium price on a premium cruise line and was just unimpressed. Not angry or sending letters to the CEO, just don't see the value for the money.
@@denniscostabile4264 Thanks for the compliment on the video. And I hear you - if you spend a lot, especially as a solo traveler, and you don't have a good first experience, then you're not likely to return. Curious if you've ever tried one of the solo cabins on NCL? I enjoy traveling by myself, and have always been curious about those!
Nice tour and video. Bad thing is the ship reminds me of a miami retirement home. I'm not at that age yet. paused it when you showed the planner for the day and not a single thing looked interesting enough to do. Not booking this till i hit 90.
Well if the video helped you realize that this ship isn’t for you, then I’m glad it helped! Holland America does tend to skew to an older crowd, that is definitely true - my holiday time experience was a bit outside of what their demographic normally looks like. In any case hope you find the right ship for you for your next cruise! 😎
Hello Dara, I hope you are having a good time! Your TH-cam content is very good and you have a good amount of subscribers. But your video optimization section area is not correct, SEO score is low. That’s why your video is not reaching more and more people. I think your TH-cam channel will make your dream come true.
Your videos are shot very well and you're so detail. Can't wait for the others!
Oh thank you for those kind words! Always nice to hear positive feedback. Glad you enjoyed the video!
Im now noticing my typos as well lol. I was considering the Rotterdam for an Eastern Caribbean cruise, along with the Enchanted Princess after that. I'll be moving to Florida just so I can cruise and vlog more! Thanks again! @@daradventures
Great detail in this tour!
Thank you!
This video is one of the best on TH-cam for these types of content.
Oh wow, thank you! I appreciate your kind words, and thanks for taking the time to comment!
Thank you. We'll be on Rotterdam 21 days over the holidays Dec 20. Was excited to learn about the deck 3 walking track but other reports didn't mention lack of view and limited space. Appreciate your mentioning.
You're welcome! Hope you have a wonderful holiday cruise.
Great Video I will be going on a 12 day cruise with a balcony stateroom on the 5th floor on this Sunday. This video has made me super excited and gave by far the most information out of any other youtube video I have watched with simple yet effective details. Thank you!
Oh I’m glad to hear this was helpful! It’s a lovely ship, enjoy your vacation!
@@daradventures Thank you very much just fingers crossed the weather is nice
A very detailed and informative ship tour ! We 'll be boarding the Rotterdam next september on a trip to Norway .
Glad it was helpful! I hope you have an amazing cruise 😊
Wow! Such a comprehensive tour of the ship! Thank you so much!
Glad you enjoyed it!
😃My wife is on the Rotterdam right now and it was good to see where she is. You video was very informative. Thanks.
Glad you liked the video, and I hope your wife is having a lovely trip! 🙂
Thumbs up given the second you used an overview of the video. Informative too
Thank you! Glad you found it useful!
The way you went from deck to deck on the Rotterdam was one of the best and easiest to understand I has seen. My wife and I will be on that ship this year so thanks for making it easier to find my way around before boarding. I also love the picture of the Rotterdam you have as the lead to your TH-cam which I would love to use as my desktop background but I can't find it.
Happy to hear that you found this tour format useful. I think deck by deck is the easiest to follow as well. What photo do you mean? The thumbnail with the orange clouds in the background? All of the photos I use are my own work, so you won’t find them online. happy to share the photo with you if you’d like though!
@@daradventures What I liked most about your tour is how it brought us in like walking along side you throughout the ship. Great vib, well done. I would love to have a copy of your photo of the Rotterdam! For me it speaks like filling the dream of cruising on a ship. I know that may sound strange but it's a feeling it invokes like art does and not just another ship photo. Can you suggest a way I could perhaps get an autographed copy?.
@@markweaver2188 You're too kind! A photo evoking a strong emotion is the highest compliment. I'm not doing prints at this point, but I'd be happy to email you a copy of the photo. You can leave your email here, or if you'd prefer more privacy you can send me a direct message on instagram with the best email address to send it to. Compliments like these are great motivation for me to keep learning and improving!🙂 Hoping to have a full photography site one day in the future.
Loved the tour!Great job! Did you sail over actual Christmas holidays?We are looking to book this ship Dec 21-29 this year and wondering if you saw older kids/teens on board, do you know if club Hal had daily programming for them? We know these ships are not geared towards kids but hoping ours (older kid/teen) would have others on board with them with club Hal open.
Thank you! And yes, we were on a 14 night cruise that sailed over Christmas, we were on board that same week you are planning on. As you said, Holland America isn't geared toward kids but for the week you're planning on there will be plenty of kids on board. Non holiday times for Holland America there are few kids, but for Christmas and Spring Break holidays the ships have plenty of kids. The kids club will be open, although it isn't as robust and doesn't have the same lengthy operating hours that you might see on like Royal Caribbean or Norwegian, but it will be open for your kids to meet others their age. The kids also seemed to all find each other at the Lido pool! Some of the scheduled "adult" activities may also appeal to an older kid/teen, depending on what they like. But don't worry about your kid being the only child on board, there will be plenty of others! It's a lovely ship, if you book it I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas at sea!
@@daradventuresThank you! We are booked on the 9 night Christmas cruise on the Rotterdam & also eying Sun or Sky Princess (7 nights) same time. We’ll have to decide on one of them soon!
Good luck making the choice! I haven't tried Princess yet, thought they do sail out of my home port so hoping to try them out soon.
@@daradventuresIt would be first Princess for us too! We have only cruised with Royal & Disney and once on Carnival.
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment.
Very informative. Thank you. Trying to compare the Oosterdam and Rotterdam.
Glad it was helpful!
Great video but the koningsdam Had staff buffet service in 2019 they were ahead of their time!
From what I’ve heard over the last few months the staff buffet service and the glass partitions has been a Holland America trend for a while. They were definitely ahead of their time for sure!
Rudi's Sel de Mer looks like it's being replaced by Morimoto by Sea. also looks interesting.
Agreed! I just took a look at what’s offered on Nieuw Amsterdam for it. Looking forward to trying this in the future. Thanks for the info!
The glassed of food in the buffet is not unique to Rotterdam, or a post pandemic thing on Holland America. They have has it on all of their ships from before that. It might take a little longer, but I think it is really a better way.
Today is the first time I’ve came across your material. I really liked your summary of Holland. It’s pretty accurate. We’ve cruised them 14 times and really enjoy the quieter vibe. And the older music! 😂
Oh didn’t know that about the glass, thanks for the info! Since this was my first sailing I just made the assumption that the glass was pandemic related. Glad you liked the video! Yea I love the quieter vibe… sometimes the pool music on other lines is too loud for me to concentrate on my books. I love reading by the pool and Holland America actually makes that possible!
It used to be that the promenade deck was below the lifeboats (lifeboats were on a boat deck, above the promenade) and you had a view out to sea.
Ah interesting… wonder why they made the change. Must have had a reason for it. The lifeboats obviously obstruct the view, which stinks, but on the flip side I did like being able to see them up close.
That pool deck looks very tight will little room to traverse
Inside the rows of chairs it’s a bit tight, but walking around the perimeters was fine, never felt crowded or narrow.
I see the drink package is for all drinks $11 an under. Does that cover most of the menu?
funny you ask, have been working on a video with likes and dislikes of holland America and this is one of the topics. Short answer from my experience is no - a few will be under that mark, but you’re going to end up paying a lot of $1 or $2 charges for common drinks, and you have to sign for it each time. made the folio at the end of the cruise full with tiny charges that were impossible to check for accuracy. They raised the prices for drinks shortly before my December cruise and doesn’t appear that they’ve yet increased the limit on the beverage package to compensate. It wasn’t a deal breaker for us for cruising with them again, but it was annoying.
Oh my goodness! Just disembarked on 4/13/24. This is nothing as you described!
What was different about your experience?
@@daradventures The buffet food was fresh but meant for a 70+ demographip. Lots of chicken or tuna salad sandwiches. Aside from breakfast, the food consisted of ramen noodles and bad sushi. Sliced pork, beef or lamb with cold sauce. The Lido buffet had a problem with keeping food hot or cold. The only good meal I had on this ship was the Pinnacle Grill. I also did not appreciate being served like a high school student.
@@denniscostabile4264 sorry to hear your experience with the food was disappointing! Pinnacle Grill was a very good meal indeed, I also think that was our best culinary experience onboard.
@@daradventures Loved your video. This was my 15th cruise and 1st on Holland America. I think my expectations were too high. As a solo traveler, I paid a premium price on a premium cruise line and was just unimpressed. Not angry or sending letters to the CEO, just don't see the value for the money.
@@denniscostabile4264 Thanks for the compliment on the video. And I hear you - if you spend a lot, especially as a solo traveler, and you don't have a good first experience, then you're not likely to return. Curious if you've ever tried one of the solo cabins on NCL? I enjoy traveling by myself, and have always been curious about those!
Nice tour and video. Bad thing is the ship reminds me of a miami retirement home. I'm not at that age yet. paused it when you showed the planner for the day and not a single thing looked interesting enough to do. Not booking this till i hit 90.
Well if the video helped you realize that this ship isn’t for you, then I’m glad it helped! Holland America does tend to skew to an older crowd, that is definitely true - my holiday time experience was a bit outside of what their demographic normally looks like. In any case hope you find the right ship for you for your next cruise! 😎
@@daradventures Thank you for not taking the comment the wrong way. The video was very informational and helped a lot.
@@Yeppersss thanks for the compliment! Happy cruising!
Geesh we just booked! Im 62
@@LynnB61 we had a great time - hoping you will too!
Hello Dara,
I hope you are having a good time!
Your TH-cam content is very good and you have a good amount of subscribers. But your video optimization section area is not correct, SEO score is low. That’s why your video is not reaching more and more people. I think your TH-cam channel will make your dream come true.
you do a very good job, however that gravelly sound in your voice sometimes is, well, annoying.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it- thanks for taking the time to comment!
I didn’t find that, I found her voice rather upbeat!
Gravelly? C'mon she's not Marianne Faithful.