"Russian Rhapsody"-A fine cruise, with room for improvement.
Written: Sep 06 '00 (Updated Sep 13 '00)
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Pros: Diverse itinerary, including Russia. Some excellent and original shore excursions, worth their cost. Excellent food; a variety of good entertainment choices. A fine youth program.
Cons: Unreasonable "nickel-and-dime" charges; occasional lapses in customer service; frequent ports of call keep the passenger more busy than relaxed (your choice, of course!)
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| lsweet1's Full Review: Holland America Rotterdam |
My wife, our two daughters (12+ and 7+) and I recently returned (August 2000) from a 12 day cruise upon the MS Rotterdam, referred to as the "Russian Rhapsody" in Holland America's promotional literature. Although not a "family cruise" per se, we all had a fine time exploring Scandinavia and Russia in comfort and style. I would recommend this cruise to anyone who is interested in the itinerary, but critically speaking, I think there are some elements of the entire experience that could be improved upon.
I hope to inform you about the various ports of call, some of the more popular shore excursions, and information about the ship itself. In the interest of reducing the cost of what could blossom into a very expensive journey, some areas where one could economize will also be noted. Personal anecdotes will be slimmed to a minimum : ).
We arrived in Harwich, England by private car from London, approximately a 2 hour drive. Train service is available to Harwich from Liverpool Station in London, and the train stops reasonably close to the cruise ship terminal. The process of embarkation was painless and brief; our luggage was deposited on the dock and arrived in our cabin without incident or undue delay.
We all shared a "quad" outside cabin--one queen bed for the adults, a pullout bunk bed from the ceiling, and a small sofa made into a bed (that otherwise doubles as a small couch for those who don't need the extra sleeping space). Although I had some reservations about this living arrangement, there really were few disadvantages, especially considering the cost of a second cabin. Strategically placed curtains in the cabin provided enough privacy, and at bedtime, everyone was comfortable without being cramped.
A frequently stated adage about cruise cabins is "you don't spend that much time there anyway." I haven't always adhered to that when cruising in the past--it's nice to have a place to relax and unwind on board without the flurry of activity on deck or in public areas. Suffice it to say that when traveling as a foursome, it's probably better to spend more time outside the cabin than you might when traveling as a couple. Generally though, there were enough activities on board that all of us preferred to be out participating in them rather than hanging around in the cabin. The frequent port stops, in fact, nearly guarantee that your cabin will often be unoccupied. (Our cabin steward was superb, making the confinement to quarters when necessary that much more enjoyable.)
The Rotterdam initially cruises across the North Sea to Oslo as the first stop. Oslo has excellent public transportation, and visits to the Bygdoy Peninsula to see the various museums there can easily be negotiated by yourself without shore excursions. The weather was beautiful in our case...and a visit to Vigeland Park on a clear day is highly recommended.
Helsingborg, Sweden is the next stop. Realistically, Helsingborg only serves as an entry port to see Kronborg Castle (Elsinore) on the other side of the sound, in Danish territory. A public ferry leaves for there continuously, and on Sunday we traveled for half price. Again, a shore excursion to this location is not essential. (Don't forget to get some Danish kronor in Sweden before you go over--bureaux de change are frequently closed on the weekend in Elsinore.)
The next stop is Warnemunde, Germany....again, more of an entry point to Rostock or Berlin than a compelling stop in its own right. Although somewhat pricey, we did take a 1 day tour to Berlin, traveling to and from Berlin by train with a comprehensive coach tour (and lunch) in Berlin itself. This was enjoyable and interesting, and considerably less difficult than trying to visit (much less comprehend) the immensity of Berlin on your own in the space of a single day.
Unfortunately, our time in Stockholm (the next stop after a relaxing sea day) was impacted by failure of the starboard engines of the ship en route, requiring us to disembark south of Stockholm because of inadequate cruising speed. Although Holland America did provide buses to take passengers to and from Stockholm from the alternate port at no additional charge, the promised box lunches on shore to take with us into the city never materialized, adding insult to injury. No explanation for this oversight was ever acknowledged by anyone. The entire rhythm of the day both off and on ship was disrupted (poor restaurant service included), and generally made for an unsatisfying day overall.
Engines repaired, we sailed briskly to Helsinki. Again, good public transportation and close proximity to the city center from the cruise terminal allows you to avoid shore excursions that cover the same ground that you can on your own. Don't forget your umbrellas, though! The heavens opened in the morning, to evolve into an astonishingly beautiful day by early afternoon.
The primary attraction of this trip for me was the Russian portion of the itinerary, and it did not disappoint. We remained berthed in St. Petersburg for two days--and it is worth noting that in the case of the Rotterdam, in addition to other similarly sized cruise ships, that the port of call is a commercial shipyard/petroleum depot about 15 minutes (by car) from the city center, rather than at the passenger cruise terminal on the River Neva much closer to the city. (Radisson's Song of Flower [a much smaller, more intimate vessel] was docked at this considerably more convenient, but smaller port.)
Traveling by cab (rather than walking) into St. Petersburg from the commercial shipyard is virtually required, and also requires a Russian tourist visa (required for *each* person who disembarks) which is not included in the cruise cost. Despite my usual reluctance to abandon independent travel, in this case it proved to be a wise decision for our family to stick with the cruise line's shore programs (which do not require additional visas), both fiscally and logistically. Other travelers, especially singles or couples, might disagree.
On the first day in St. Petersburg, we traveled to Moscow by air, another one day round trip excursion that was extraordinary. Again, it was somewhat costly, but the experience of traveling to and seeing Moscow is well worth the investment of time and money when in St. Petersburg....unless you're very likely to return to Russia again in the future. A leap of faith in Russian air carriers has to made for this journey, but the chartered plane is overseen by an American company [AvSolutions] to insure that the highest safety standards are maintained....and that is as good of a guarantee as you are going to get!
The experience of seeing Moscow, the Kremlin (within which we ate lunch), and Red Square to a Westerner is incomparable, and I highly recommend that you go sometime in your lifetime if you can somehow manage it, even if only for a day. (A short coach tour of the city, including Sparrow Hill, was also included.)
Time spent in St. Petersburg is equally fascinating. The Hermitage Museum at the Winter Palace within the city is overwhelming, and although it is one of the most lavishly appointed museums in the world, with original art and sculpture found nowhere else, I would recommend venturing out to the summer palaces of the Romanov family *preferentially* if you only have one day to spend in St. Petersburg. (Unfortunately, the cruise line had no shore excursions that devoted themselves only to the summer palaces as a day excursion, probably due to distance and time factors as much as anything else.) Peterhof or Pushkin Palace should be included in any itinerary of St. Petersburg if possible; combining the views of the Russian countryside in addition to seeing where the czars and czarinas lived is an experience you'll never forget.
The final stop in this cruise before the terminus in Copenhagen (of which we only saw the airport) was Tallinn, Estonia. This is a charming town well worth a visit, and in many ways is more Scandinavian than Russian (despite a rather sizable Russian population). The town is easily negotiable by foot, and can be visited in an afternoon if that is all that is allotted.
Unfortunately, this stop also caused some consternation among the passengers. The actual port the ship stopped in was a dreary, commercial port in Muuga, Estonia--10 to 15 minutes away from Tallinn by car or bus. A passenger cruise ship terminal does exist in Tallinn, and in fact, the Celebrity Millenium was berthed there on that day. The Rotterdam passengers, however, were charged $12 round trip for bus service into town, which was impractical to walk to, given the distance. Since the advertised port was Tallinn, most everyone felt that bus service to that location should have been provided without charge, just as it was for Stockholm. The fact that it was not enhanced an already "nickel-and-dime" atmosphere about the ship that was distracting and unwarranted, especially given the cost of the cruise in the first place. In a word, it was abusive.
No itinerary, of course, means much without a quality vessel to spirit you between the ports of call. The Rotterdam will probably please most passengers, excepting those that require a much more personal level of service (e.g, Crystal, Seabourn). The level of service and quality is similar to the Princess line, as a comparative benchmark. The public areas are well appointed; lounges and bars were never overcrowded.
Specific overall highlights include the (warm!) Lido Pool and grill immediately next to it, perfect for pasta/hamburgers/tacos while reclining with your favorite book; the Lido Restaurant, which serves more casual (and generally tasty) fare than the primary dining room, and a well stocked and comfortable library, supplied with current newspapers and magazines at each stop. There is also Internet access by satellite, enabling you to stay in touch by email with the folks back home. (At 75 cents a minute; however, brevity and lots of forwarding is recommended.)
The main dining room (the La Fontaine) is a two story affair, attractive with large picture windows overlooking the sea. The chefs and staff consistently served a broad spectrum of excellent dishes the entire cruise, including the kids menu for my youngest daughter. Different tastes in food for so many passengers aboard will likely result in disappointments for one meal or another, but all in our party found the food to be excellent, course after course. (Fortunately, my kids are comfortable in more formal surroundings, enabling us to enjoy the main dining room--which we definitely preferred to the casual Lido--almost every night. I was very proud of them; their good behavior enhanced their parents' dining experience substantially.)
The only consistent complaint I have about the food service on this ship is this: charging for soft drinks with a primary meal. Children can't drink alcohol, and adults don't always want to drink tea, coffee, or water with lunch or dinner. To summon the bar or wine steward every time a passenger wants a soft drink with a meal is a pretentious exercise, primarily directed to generate more profit. I can understand cruise lines not wanting to supply endless rounds of Cokes for the never ending thirst of kids, but to incur a $3 charge to have a soft drink with a primary meal is, frankly, just a ripoff. (If Disney can keep self-serve soda fountains open 24 hours a day on their ships, especially given the insatiable needs of their young clientele, and still manage to turn a tidy profit on cruising, why can't the other lines do likewise? The answer is, they can, but they don't. It's just another way that some cruise lines exploit their customers, and I'm sad to say that Holland America doesn't always rise above that sub-standard.)
The entertainment was better than most other cruises I've been on, mostly because production shows (which I find laborious with the faux-Las Vegas atmosphere) were de-emphasized in favor of illusionists, comedians, jugglers, and cabaret entertainers that, at the end of their performances, made you wonder why they weren't better known. The Queen's Lounge, the primary theatre, is well designed and comfortable.
There is a movie theatre on board that had a variety of current movies playing at most times (though most were R rated), and a constant rotation of recent movies on the stateroom TV that kept us entertained while changing clothes for dinner or winding down at the end of the day.
Last, but not least, the youth program on the ship (Club HAL) was a godsend for my 7+ year old, and her parents : ). Although the hours are somewhat limited, she made friends her age and attended every session they had, when at sea or in the evening. (No youth programs are offered in port.) Holland America doesn't advertise this as much as they should. Expanding the program and enhancing the recognition of it by boomer parents could only increase their revenue.
(There were about 60 passengers on board below the age of 18; I think my kids met about all of them, thankfully. Having companions their age on excursions made what could have been seemingly endless coach trips more than tolerable for all concerned. Seeing my youngest run down to the Gulf of Finland through the gardens of Peterhof with her similarly young friend, disturbing nothing except the wind on an open path, will be an image I will cherish forever.)
Thank you for your interest. I hope I have provided a useful resource for those that might be considering this ship or its itinerary. Happy cruising!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lsweet1
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Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 6 members
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