On Location: Fire, ice and a fresh Rotterdam – cruising Iceland in style with Holland America

BY DIANE TIERNEY

Iceland’s gigantic waterfalls, black sand beaches, eerie volcanic deserts, dramatic glaciers and other-worldly landscapes make it a popular backdrop for action and sci-fi films such as Interstellar, Game of Thrones and a dozen other blockbuster hits.

However, your clients don’t have to be action heroes to explore this rugged island on Holland America Line’s refreshed flagship Rotterdam.

The ship’s renovations have turned it into a plush ride to a place that looks more like another planet and the shore excursions are carefully curated.

PAX was the only Canadian media on an international press cruise titled “Viking Trails and Celtic Origins” from July 19 to 26, 2026 from Reykjavik to Amsterdam.

The voyage included stops in Iceland, Faroe Islands and Scotland.

In an exclusive interview with Hotel General Manager Niek Van Der Kolk, we learned about valuable tips about cruising this region, as well as highlights of the ship’s enhancements, venues, activities, passenger demographics and more.

Shore tour tips

“Guests should investigate what they want to see and do before their Iceland cruise because the best tours are usually a one- to two-hour drive from the towns. Other than Reykjavik, the ports are small and may only take 10 minutes to walk around,” said Van Der Kolk.

Help your clients determine whether they want to see wildlife such as whales, puffins, sheep and horses, or landscapes like glaciers, geysers and waterfalls – or both.

Fortunately, daylight lasts until about 11 p.m. in summer so they can see a lot in a day.

HAL’s many soft-adventure tours receive rave reviews such as:

• Soaking in the famous 38C Blue Lagoon
• Standing beside 40-metre-high geysers and bubbling hot geothermal springs
• Being wowed by so many magnificent waterfalls
• Walking between narrow jagged cliffs where two tectonic plates meet
• Strolling along powdery black sand beaches
• Going for a glacier walk to an ice cave that’s 30 metres beneath the glacier
• Riding an ATV along lunar-like black volcanic trails

Once decided, encourage your clients to book tours pre-cruise because they sell out fast. They can cancel the tour three days prior to embarkation if they change their mind.

Prices range from about $75 U.S. for a panoramic two-hour bus tour to $500 U.S. for a glacier visit, whale watching or ATVing that could take nine hours.

“Guests also need to be prepared for cold, rainy and very windy weather even in summer. It may not even be nice enough to sit outside on the deck on some days,” said Van Der Kolk. “However, there are plenty of indoor lounges with panoramic views such as the Crow’s Nest.”

The pool has a retractable roof.

“Guests should also know that we tender to shore at least two times a week, as even the 2,800-passenger Rotterdam is too large for docking in many of these ports,” he said.

Enhanced ship features

Rotterdam emerged from drydock in April.

“There is more focus on live music now, so the renovations included two more bandstands at the Sea View pool on Deck 9 and another one at the Crow’s Nest on Deck 12. This makes for even more music variety,” said Van Der Kolk.

There’s also bright new carpeting, refinished wood floors, new and re-upholstered furniture, wall coverings and lighting that give a fresh and modern look. Other enhancements include:

• Billboard Onboard and the Rolling Stone Lounge have more seating
• The casino features about 20 more slot machines, new seats and TVs
• The Effy boutique store has new flooring, wall finishes and chandelier lighting
• Twenty-two Vista Suites have new sofa beds that offer more comfortable sleeping for up to four guests

Entertainment

The beating heart of the ship is the Music Walk.

This area includes the Rolling Stone Lounge showcasing bands playing the greatest hits of the last 60 years from rock and pop to country music.

Across the corridor is the Billboard piano lounge and further up the hall is B.B. King’s for classic blues.

The World Stage theatre has a 270-degree round LED screen providing fantastic virtual backdrops for dance and musical performers, as well as comedians and magicians.

Get active

“Trivia is the most popular game on board and it’s always a full house,” said Van Der Kolk. “I didn’t expect it to be so important, but sometimes we barely have enough space. We also have many board games and a Bridge instructor to teach guests how to play.”

There’s also a large library.

Ballroom and line dancing, including classes, is fun for guests who participate and those who just enjoy watching.

Orange Day is a vibrant, cruise-wide celebration honouring the company’s Dutch heritage.

There is music, dancing, themed menus, orange cocktails and snacks.

“Guests have fun and many wear orange shirts. But if they show up wearing their orange life jackets, we ask them to return them to their staterooms,” said Van Der Kolk.

Time to dine

Rotterdam’s numerous restaurants feature the most popular cuisines. The Main Dining room has classic and regional dishes.

Lido Market offers buffet fare. Dive-In is beside the pool for juicy burgers. The New York Pizza and Deli is always busy, as is the Dutch Cafe for beverages and snacks. Club Orange dining room is exclusively for high-tier member guests.

Specialty dining for a fee includes the Pinnacle Grill steakhouse that offers American Wagyu beef, Tamarind (Asian), Canaletto (Italian), Rudi’s Sel de Mer (Mediterranean) and Morimoto (Japanese) seafood and sushi.

“Menus are often customized to the region being visited,” said Van Der Kolk. “And our Fresh Fish program offers fish delivered from port to plate in 48 hours or less.”

Who’s on board?

Guest demographics vary based on the itinerary, time of year and cruise length. For this cruise, there were approximately 1,252 Americans, 683 Dutch, 208 guests from Belgium, 177 Canadians and about 12 guests from Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore.

The average age was about 55. There were about 21 children ages three to seven years; 60 children ages 13 to 17 years; and 53 young adults ages 18 to 21. HAL provides fun, age-appropriate spaces and programs for all kids.

Behind the scenes

For clients who are interested in ship operations, suggest the three-hour Behind the Scenes ship tour that takes 14 guests to crew-only locations such as the Captain’s bridge, engine control room, theatre dressing rooms, laundry facilities, kitchen and bakery.

This fascinating tour is sure to make your clients greatly appreciate the hardworking crew who ensure their cruise is special.

Rotterdam is cruising 7- to 14-day voyages across Northern Europe, Iceland, British Isles and the Mediterranean this summer/fall.

Diane Tierney has been on 105 cruises to 58 countries and has 275,000 social media followers as Cruiseguru.

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