ms Rotterdam
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ms Rotterdam
The MS Rotterdam is a Holland America Line Pinnacle Class ship offering a modern premium cruise experience. Its itineraries include Europe, the Mediterranean, Norway, and Alaska. The onboard experience centers on entertainment venues such as Rolling Stone Lounge, Billboard Onboard, B.B. King’s Blues Club, and the World Stage. Dining is diverse and high-end, featuring restaurants including Rudi’s Sel de Mer, Tamarind, Canaletto, and Grand Dutch Café. The ship also features exclusive stops such as Half Moon Cay private island. The MS Rotterdam is well suited for travelers seeking a contemporary cruise experience combining live entertainment, varied dining options, and destination-rich itineraries across multiple regions.
Itineraries of the ms Rotterdam
Price and Availability Notice
Prices displayed are provided for informational purposes only. They reflect the rates in effect at the time of their most recent update and are shown in Canadian dollars, per person, based on double occupancy, unless otherwise specified.
Supplier rates, exchange rates, taxes and fees, room or cabin categories, and promotions are subject to change at any time. The applicable price is the one confirmed by a travel advisor at the time of booking, subject to availability. Only the confirmed price shall be considered valid.
It is the traveler's responsibility to confirm the price, inclusions, and applicable terms and conditions before making a reservation. While every effort is made to keep our content up to date, transmission, display, or pricing errors may occur. In such cases, the correct price will be communicated to the traveler before any booking is confirmed. Certain terms, restrictions, and exclusions may apply.
decks plans
Deck - 14
Sky
Deck - 12
Observation
Deck - 11
Sun
Deck - 10
Panorama
Deck - 9
Lido
Deck - 8
Navigation
Deck - 7
Schubert
Deck - 6
Mozart
Deck - 5
Gershwin
Deck - 4
Beethoven
Deck - 3
Promenade
Deck - 2
Plaza
Deck - 1
Main
Ship's attributes
Services And Amenities
- Elevators
- Self-service laundry room
- Casino
- Jacuzzi
- Pool
- Beauty salon
- Spa & body care
Specific needs
- Wheelchair accessible staterooms
Technical specifications
- Classe: Pinnacle Class
- Tonnage: 99935
- Speed: 23.0 knots
- Passengers: 2668
- Decks: 13
- Length: 300 m
- Width: 35 m
History
- 15 décembre 1997: Voyage inaugural
Frequently Asked Questions
The register gives 99,935 gross tons, 299.79 m in length and 35 m in beam, over 12 guest decks. She carries 2,668 guests at double occupancy and about 3,200 once upper berths and sofa beds are in use, with a crew of roughly 1,050. Be wary of listings that give all three Pinnacle ships a round 99,500: the three tonnages differ, and Rotterdam's is the largest in the fleet.
No, and the mix-up is very common. This ship was delivered in 2021; the previous one, the 1997 Rotterdam VI, measured 61,849 gross tons and 237.95 m and was sold to Fred. Olsen in the summer of 2020. She has sailed as Borealis since July 2021 under the Bahamian flag. So a guest who sailed on "the Rotterdam" before 2020 is describing a different ship, close to half the size.
Rotterdam is the only one of the three designed around the Music Walk from the start: her three music rooms run into one another on deck 2 without crossing the casino, whereas the two older ships gained the concept in stages. She is 99 tons larger than Koningsdam and 33 larger than Nieuw Statendam, a gap nobody notices on board. She is also the line's flagship and the only one of the three combining Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean in a single year.
Summer 2026 runs in Northern Europe from Rotterdam towards Norway, Iceland and the Baltic, with some departures out of Reykjavik. She leaves Europe on 4 October on a 27-day crossing to Fort Lauderdale, or on 18 October from Amsterdam in 13 days. From 31 October 2026 the departures run out of Fort Lauderdale on 10- or 11-night formats towards the Southern and Western Caribbean.
She returns to Northern Europe from Rotterdam and Reykjavik between April and October 2027, then opens an autumn Mediterranean season: five voyages of 10 and 11 days between 17 October and 28 November, from Rotterdam and then Barcelona. The homeward crossing leaves on 8 December 2027 for Fort Lauderdale over 14 days. In practice a Montreal client buys one flight into Barcelona and another home from Fort Lauderdale, two one-ways rather than a return, which changes both the air budget and the insurance.
The 748 verandah rooms of 21 to 38 m² cover most needs, and those on the side bulges on decks 5 and 6 have a noticeably deeper balcony within the same category. For families, the 32 family ocean-view rooms with two bathrooms are worth the search. The 12 single ocean-view rooms of 12 m² sell with no solo supplement, though they have no balcony. Neptune Suites of 43 to 47 m² unlock the private lounge and concierge.
For a fee: Pinnacle Grill and Rudi's Sel de Mer on deck 2, Tamarind on deck 10 with its twelve-seat Morimoto by Sea counter added in March 2025, and Canaletto inside the Lido. Included: the Dining Room, Lido Market, New York Deli & Pizza, Dive-In and the Grand Dutch Café for bitterballen. For rooms, the deck 2 Music Walk gathers Billboard Onboard, B.B. King's Blues Club and the Rolling Stone room, and the World Stage theatre projects onto a 270-degree screen. Crow's Nest and Explorations Café sit on deck 12.
Dining Room quality swings from night to night and plates sometimes arrive lukewarm, a recurring complaint. Forward deck 1 cabins hear the Music Walk late, and the furthest-aft rooms shudder in certain seas because of the sponson. The private island, RelaxAway, Half Moon Cay, is reachable only by launch, a real constraint for anyone with limited mobility. And the ship sits outside the Holland America Evolution programme: nothing new is announced on board before 2028.
It bundles four things: a shore excursion credit, the Signature beverage package, specialty dining nights and a Surf Wi-Fi package. The volume scales with length: one dining night on cruises of 4 to 9 days, two from 10 to 20 days, three beyond that. On Rotterdam those nights are used at Pinnacle Grill, Tamarind, Canaletto or Rudi's Sel de Mer subject to availability. Grand Voyages are excluded from the top tier.
It is a daily amount posted to each guest's onboard account, children included, rather than a tip handed over in person. The rate is higher for occupants of Neptune and Pinnacle suites than for other categories. You can prepay it on the booking before departure, which locks the amount and lightens the final bill. Beverage service charges are billed separately unless a package covers them.
The Signature package covers up to fifteen alcoholic drinks a day, with a per-drink value ceiling above which the difference is charged, and it includes service charges. Both adults in a stateroom must buy it. On a European sailing where evenings run at Billboard Onboard or B.B. King's Blues Club it pays for itself quickly; on an itinerary with long port days spent drinking ashore, much less so. Specialty coffees at the Grand Dutch Café and Explorations Café are included.
The ship runs Starlink satellite connectivity, and the difference from the old service is obvious. Two tiers exist: the Surf package, included in Have It All, handles browsing, email and messaging, while Premium targets video calls and streaming. Coverage holds up well in the Norwegian fjords and along the Icelandic coast, with short dropouts in the tightest waters. The service can be bought on board or before departure.
Yes. Children aged three to twelve are split between two groups, Littles and Middles, and teenagers have a room of their own. Registration is free and the club opens in three blocks on sea days, two on port days. That said, European summer itineraries carry few children and yours may be the only one of that age. Winter Caribbean sailings and school break weeks produce far larger groups.
It is the line's loyalty programme, in five tiers from Star Mariner to Five-Star Mariner. Credits accrue per cruise day and through onboard spending, and suite guests earn double days. Enrolment is automatic after a first completed cruise. Higher tiers unlock laundry benefits, priority access to specialty restaurants and members-only events, all useful on a 2,668-guest ship where Pinnacle Grill fills early.
At 299.79 m and with stabilisers, she is comfortable in most conditions. The demanding stretches of her programme are the North Sea in autumn and the December transatlantic, where swell is felt. Pick a midship cabin on decks 5, 6 or 7 and avoid the most forward or highest positions. The Caribbean from November to March, by contrast, is a very calm sea.
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