Day 1 - Embark in Port Everglades
This morning, we checked out of The Dalmar hotel and ordered a Lyft to take us to Port Everglades to embark Holland America's newest Pinnacle-class ship, ms Rotterdam.
Our Lyft driver, Ragnus, loads our luggage into his SUV
We arrived at Port Everglades ahead of our scheduled boarding time of 11:30. After going through security and completing our check-in, we sat in the waiting area for nearly an hour before we were allowed to board.
As soon as we boarded the ship, we headed to Guest Services to get a couple of e-Gift cards transferred to our shipboard account and to check on some other items. The line was already forming at Guest Services when we arrived. Once we got our issues sorted out, we decided to drop our hand luggage at our stateroom before going to lunch. When we arrived at our stateroom, we were surprised to see that our stateroom keys were not waiting for us. Rather than issuing stateroom key cards prior to boarding, Holland America simply places the keys outside your stateroom, a common practice now on many cruise lines.
The line forms early at Guest Services
With no way to gain entry into the stateroom, I left Rickee with our luggage and walked back down to Guest Services on Deck 3. The line had grown considerably by now. It took me about 15 minutes to get to a representative who happily printed off two stateroom keys for me.
Once in our stateroom (#6138), we were impressed with the decor and amenities that we found waiting for us. Of course, we will do a thorough review video of the standard balcony stateroom after we have returned from this cruise, so make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Our standard balcony stateroom on deck 6
Before going to lunch, we did complete the request form that we found waiting on the bed. This is a really great way to inform the stateroom attendant of anything needed. Rickee usually requires additional hangers, but upon inspection, the closet had plenty of hangers. This is a first for us! We did request ice refills morning and evening and evening turn down service.
For lunch, RIckee could not pass up the Chicken Salad Sandwich at The Breadboard serving station at Lido Market, the ship’s buffet. I opted for a meatball sub sandwich from the New York Deli & Pizza on Deck 10. My meatball sub was delicious and Rickee raved about her chicken salad sandwich.
While we were enjoying our lunch, I asked one of the bar waitresses if we could upgrade our Quench package (which was pre-purchased) to the Signature Beverage Package (which includes alcoholic beverages). She took my room key to make the upgrade and this is when we noticed that we had been given room keys with SERVICE STAFF printed on them! The waitress asked me if we were service staff because that would give us a 50% discount on any purchases. I told here , “no, I think they may have printed the wrong cards for us”.
Once I learned of the SERVICE STAFF key card, that meant yet another trip to Guest Services to get new key cards printed. By now, the line was very long at Guest Services and getting the cards re-printed took me about 20 minutes total. When I returned to the stateroom, we were hoping to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the Chicago Bears, which was being broadcast on the ship’s TV system, but the video reception was so pixelated that it was impossible to watch.
TV reception in port is very poor
Interestingly, later in the day, after sailing away from Fort Lauderdale, the television reception improved greatly. We spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking until time for sail away at 4pm. There really was not any big sail away “party” like you see on many cruise ships, but many guests head to the outer decks to watch the ship sail out of port. One of the best spots is on Deck 10 midship, port side when sailing out of Fort Lauderdale.
Sail away on Deck 10 starboard
We arrived at Tamarind early for our dinner reservation, but were seated right away. We were seated at a table for two next to a window, very nice. The waitress brought some condiments and crispy shrimp crackers.
Condiments served at Tamarind
Rickee and I both ordered the Cucumber Mojito cocktail ($11) from the specialty cocktail menu. The drink was delicious but very sweet.
Cucumber Mojito served at Tamarind
Rickee ordered the Shrimp Tempura starter, which she devoured. She said it was the best shrimp tempura she has ever eaten. Now, in case you don’t know, that is VERY high praise coming from Rickee. She was disappointed, however, they only included two pieces of shrimp.
Shrimp Tempura starter at Tamarind
For my starter, I ordered the Satay Sampler which included grilled shrimp, beef, chicken and pork with a peanut dipping sauce. It was delicious. I would definitely order this again.
Satay Sampler starter served at Tamarind
I also decided to try the Tom Kha Gai soup, a coconut milk-flavored spicy soup with chicken, which was also excellent.
Tom Kha Gai soup at Tamarind
My main course was the Mongolian BBQ Lamb Chops and they were perfectly cooked medium rare, very tender and delicious. This is another dish I would not hesitate to order again.
Mongolian Barbeque Lamb Chops at Tamarind
Rickee’s Crispy Duck with Ginger Glaze had a great flavor, but the duck was overcooked and a bit dry. The accompanying Udon noodles, however, were excellent.
Crispy Duck with Ginger Chili Glaze
We decided to skip dessert tonight. As you can see below, the total bill for dining here (for 2) was $68.44. Rickee and I agree that the meal was well worth the cost.
After dinner, we decided to tempt fate and visit the ship’s casino. The casino is much smaller than on most cruise ships this size and we were not too fond of the slot machines they offered. Maybe if we had done a little better at the slots we would have liked them more?
We are pretty tired after losing our daily gambling budget so we are heading to bed. Tomorrow, we will be at Half Moon Cay, Holland America’s private island.
