Wednesday 20th August 2008
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The Black Sea and More |
| Reviewed By: Fairbairn, Fleet on 10th Jun 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Holland America Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: MS Rotterdam |
Sailed:
May,
2008 |
| Destination: Mediterranean |
Age: 56-65 |
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Our cruise in May 2008 took us from Athens to Istanbul, then to the Black Sea ports of Varna (Bulgaria), Odessa (Ukraine) and Constanta (Romania). Then to the Med to visit Haifa (Israel), Limassol (Cyprus) and finally Alexandria (Egypt) and all in 12 nights.
Itinerary
It was a great itinerary, offering a wide range of sights and sounds.
The historic sights of Athens are of course famous and never disappoint. Travel within Athens has also vastly improved since our last visit – no doubt as a result of the 2004 Olympic Games.
Istanbul is another world with fantastic sights to see. On this occasion we took ‘the obligatory visit’ to the Grand Bazaar and generally ‘people watched’. Some passengers were somewhat intimidated by the aggressive sales techniques in the Bazaar, whereas we find it part of the excitement of experiencing these different world cultures.
From Varna we took an excellent ship excursion that firstly did a brief sight-seeing tour of Varna itself before heading off into the lovely Bulgarian countryside where we visited the home of a village family. It was very enjoyable and gave us a short insight into the local way of life.
Next stop was Odessa. For me this was one of the highlights of the cruise. We again took a ship’s excursion that showed us the highlights of this lovely town. We then visited an ancient castle and the home of a Ukrainian family. Our excellent guide helped us to understand the Ukrainian way of life and gave a thought provoking insight into life today as compared with life under the communist regime.
Constanta was the next port but, whilst we’re glad to have seen it, we have no great desire to go again as we didn’t feel it had much to offer.
After a day at sea, we reached Haifa. Whilst many people visited Jerusalem from here, we went to Nazareth and Galilee and saw the sites where Jesus performed many of his miracles. Everyone came back from their tours full of excitement at what they had seen and experienced.
In Cyprus we spent a leisurely day relaxing on this lovely holiday island-cruises-summer-holidays/'>island.
Finally it was that amazing country that is Egypt. Most people went to Cairo to see the Pyramids and other sites there. However, as we’ve done that before, we ‘did our own thing’ looking around Alexandria. This City is almost as chaotic as Cairo with a continual cacophony of noise as everyone sits in traffic jams with their hands on their car horns. We took a horse-drawn carriage ride through this traffic and can fully recommend that – provided you have the nerve!
The Ship
This was our second HollandAmerica cruise and in most respects we found everything to be first class.
Our cabin was comfortable and of reasonable size. It was well appointed and equipped and we were well looked-after by our cabin steward – Naih.
The ship was kept clean and in good repair and there were plenty of spaces to have your choice of quiet time or more lively fun. We also enjoyed the various 'objets d'art' that are liberally placed around the ship. There are some really interesting pieces.
There was plenty of space around the swimming pool and on the sun decks and at no time was there any shortage of chairs or beds.
We ate every night in the Main Dining Room as the quality of food and service (and the good company of our table colleagues) gave us no reason to pay the supplement to eat at the Pinnacle Grill. However, those people we spoke to who ate there, said the food was excellent.
Any criticisms?
Really only 3
- Our main criticism was in respect of the evening entertainment in the theatre. The main shows were probably the weakest we have seen on any cruise ship. They lacked scenery and originality and it was sad to see everyone except for the principal singers miming. In addition the visiting cabaret acts were generally poor to mediocre.
- We always choose Second Seating for Dinner as we like to have plenty of time after returning to the ship after a day in port before we have to get ready to eat. After a leisurely meal, exchanging stories of the day with our table companions, we then like to go to the show. On this cruise, for no obvious reason, HAL chose to move the show to ‘pre-dinner’ on most evenings. This was very disappointing.
- The third moan could easily have been avoided with a little bit of forethought. When in Haifa and Alexandria, ship excursions to Jerusalem and Cairo started very early. However, passengers who were not going on these trips were also awakened early by ship announcements designed for people on these trips. Announcements at that time of the morning should only have been transmitted on the in-cabin TV and/or Radio. HAL please take note.
Summary
Overall though this was an excellent cruise itinerary on a lovely ship and we wouldn’t hesitate to travel on it again.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| La Fontaine Restaurant | | Entertainment |  |
| Generally disappointed with the entire entertainment programme | | Shore Excursions |  |
| We enjoyed all the excursions we went on. However, the excursions in Odessa and Haifa were particularly memorable. | | Staff | |
| All staff were very attentive and efficient and we were especially delighted with the service from our cabin steward and table serving staff in the restaurant. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities |  |
| | Cabins | |
| Probably exceeded our expectations as we did not realise there would be a whirlpool bath. | | Overall Rating | |
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