A transatlantic cruise with Holland America Line’s Rotterdam | part 1

Willemstad – Antony Heil takes us on a fascinating transatlantic cruise aboard the Holland America Line (HAL) ship Rotterdam in his cruise section. After a gap of almost four years, he is back to share his experiences. In this series, which is the first part, he focuses on the preparation of the trip. He describes the logistical challenges of arranging round-trip flights, the pleasant experience of traveling on the Brightline train from Miami to Fort Lauderdale, and exploring this vibrant city. Check-in in Rotterdam is described in detail, where he gives useful tips about luggage tags and taking a stapler with you. His detailed descriptions provide a valuable guide for future travelers considering a trip.

Door | Anthony Hile

We decide to sail from Fort Lauderdale to Europe on the Holland America Line (HAL) ship Rotterdam, which will last 14 days. A “one-way ticket” must be purchased to get to Fort Lauderdale, and another for a return trip from Europe is usually more expensive, but there is no other option.

We try to get to Fort Lauderdale a couple of days early so that we can get on time in Rotterdam if the flight is delayed. There is a train in Miami, Brightline, which goes to Fort Lauderdale, and you can book your ticket through their website. The Brightline station is very nice, there is a VIP section where you can buy food and drinks. When you arrive at the Miami airport, you will need to take a shuttle to the train station. The train departs Orlando and continues to Fort Lauderdale. You can be in Fort Lauderdale in 45 minutes and it’s the easiest way to travel from Miami to Fort Lauderdale. Once in Fort Lauderdale, you can take a taxi or Uber to your hotel.

Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale is a nice place with many shopping centers. We visit the Galleria, a modern shopping center with a wide range of products. We use it for transportation Uber Because you know what you have to pay in advance and don’t have to do any financial transactions with the driver.

There are many places to eat especially for seafood lovers. Enjoy a delicious breakfast at the Village Cafe near our hotel and enjoy the beautiful buildings in Fort Lauderdale. Not having much time, one can’t eat at one of the many in the evening Seafood restaurants.

Checking in Rotterdam

Nowadays, checking-in on a cruise ship is very easy as you fill all the documents through the ship’s website. When you are done, the system will generate a Boarding pass and labels for your luggage. At the terminal, hand in your luggage with attached tags and proceed to the check-in desk.

For the Rotterdam cruise, check-in starts at 12 noon. We take one from 9 am Uber to the shipping terminal. When you arrive at the cruise terminal, depending on where your cruise is docked, there are several signs indicating which ferry to take.

In our case, Rotterdam is located on pier 26. When we arrive, we take suitcases out of the car with attached labels indicating your room number and deck number. When these labels are printed, we ensure that all relevant information is included. All you need to do is attach the tags to your luggage.

It’s always useful to have a stapler on hand to attach the labels, as your luggage has to go on the plane first and you can only attach the labels in Miami. I say this because if the hotel doesn’t have a stapler, you’ll need to find tape to properly secure the labels.

At the terminal you hand over your luggage to the staff responsible for it. It’s a good idea to have some loose dollars with you to tip. A guideline is two dollars per suitcase. It is better not to put drinks in your suitcase because during baggage screening they will put your suitcase on the board and ask you to open your suitcase. They will confiscate the drink and you can get it back when you reach your final destination.

When we arrive, there are already a lot of people and we have to wait for the check-in to start. Like I said, it’s relatively simple. They scan your hand luggage, then you go to check your boarding pass and if this is correct, you can sit and wait until boarding begins.

You need an ESTA for the US. I notice people at cruise terminals often ask if you have a copy of your ESTA. Actually, this is an irrelevant question because you cannot enter the US without an ESTA. I always carry a copy of my ESTA to show if requested. As far as I could guess, they ask for a copy of the ESTA at check-in.

on board

After checking the boarding pass, we board the plane, but we can’t go straight to our room because the staff is preparing it. We are going to eat on the ‘Lido Deck’. It is the largest restaurant on the highest deck where all passengers come to have breakfast, lunch or dinner.

By 1 pm all the rooms will be ready and we can go to them. Baggage arrives very late, so we focus on different decks of the ship.

They explain that in the event of an emergency the alarm will sound and you must go on deck with a life jacket, passport and medication as per the instructions on your room key. It is the muster station and every passenger knows where their muster station is.

When you register, your name will be verified. Before the ship departs, all absent passengers are called through the audio system because it is very important that every passenger knows where to go in case of an emergency. In the past you had to stand in line for an elaborate demonstration. Nowadays you have to know where your muster station is and you have to physically go there and detailed instructions are given on the television in the booths. In an emergency, you are not allowed to use the elevator and the ship’s staff must assist passengers in wheelchairs to their muster stations.

The ship has a list of names of all passengers who have difficulty walking and immediate steps can be taken to help them. Considering that some passengers in wheelchairs are sometimes overweight, I assume that this area is mostly practiced by the relevant staff as it is a difficult task.

Follow up

In Part 2 of this travelogue, we’ll delve deeper into the activities aboard the cruise ship Rotterdam and her 6-day experience at sea while crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

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