Today, Rotterdam is docked in Kralendijk, Bonaire, one of the Dutch islands in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean. We disembarked this morning and got this beautiful shot of Rotterdam docked.

*ms Rotterdam docked in Kralendijk, Bonaire*

A short walk from the ship brings us to a local market with vendors selling souvenirs, trinkets and even salt from the island.

As we continue our walk, we come to the “downtown” area of Kralendijk, or so I assume. There are more local shops, restaurants, banks and pharmacies along this street. There is a great walking tour of Kralendijk with maps along the way. I shot some good video of the map, but then stupidly deleted all of my video files before transferring them to my laptop.

Kralendijk is a very easy town to walk around on your own and feels very safe. Also, they use the US dollar here as their currency, so if you make a purchase at a shop, you will get US dollars in change. Not so in Curacao, where they will accept US Dollars, but will give you change in Dutch Guilders.

We spent about an hour walking through the downtown area before heading back toward the ship. You do not have to worry about getting lost here, because you are never more than 1 block from the waterfront. From the waterfront, you can see the ship and can easily find your way back.

Once we are back on board Rotterdam, I decide to give Dive-In a try for lunch. Dive-In is Rotterdam’s Lido burger joint and can be found on all (I think) Holland America ships. The restaurant prepares burgers to order and all burgers are served with French Fries. I ordered the High-Dive Burger and asked for raw onions on the burger and a side of the fried onion strings. I am not sure what the Dive-In Sauce is, but it resembles French dressing.

They have many burger choices here including a vegan option and a low-carb burger served in lettuce instead of a bun. Nathan’s hot dogs are also available as well as milk shakes. The burgers and dogs are complimentary, but the milk shakes are $4.50. I will be trying one on Sunday (my “cheat” day) just for journalistic integrity purposes.

So what was my burger like? Well I would say it is pretty good. While not the best burger I have had on a cruise ship, it is far from the worst. I would say better than average. The bun was good and fresh. The burger was served hot. The French Fries were fresh and hot and crispy. The side order of onion strings was not worth it. They are better as a burger condiment than a side item.

This afternoon, we are back at Billboard Onboard where Samantha is conducting Team Trivia today. We did not do well again today.

Before dinner this evening, we chose to try the Crow’s Nest for a pre-dinner cocktail. We love the wrap around view here and the comfortable seating. Bar service was very good also. This is a great observation lounge.

For dinner this evening we dined in the Dining Room on Deck 2 aft (MDR). The menu had more choices than we have seen recently and I will just say that we were pleasantly surprised with the experience. For a full, detailed review of all of our dining experiences on Holland America Rotterdam, subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch for our upcoming video review.