Cruise ships offer many different complimentary food options for passengers to enjoy.
However, it’s not always obvious which options are included in your fare.
In this video, we’ll provide an overview of all of the venues that served complimentary food
aboard the Holland America Rotterdam during our cruise in December 2022.
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Please keep in mind that hours may vary due to itineraries, days at sea, and port days.
If you’re an early riser, the Rotterdam’s 24-hour Room Service
offered a complimentary breakfast menu with hot and cold items from 6 AM until 11 AM.
The menu was available on both our stateroom TV and the Holland America App.
Orders could be placed using our stateroom phone.
The Grand Dutch Cafe opened at 6:30 AM and offered a variety of complimentary baked goods.
The cafe was located on Deck 3 midship, near the midship elevators.
Breakfast in the Rotterdam’s Lido Market buffet started at 7 AM.
The buffet was located on Deck 9 midship and served a full complimentary breakfast,
including made-to-order eggs, omelets, and crepes, until 10:30 AM.
On the Port side – or left side – of Deck 10 Midship,
New York Deli and Pizza served a breakfast menu from 7:30 to 11 AM.
The venue offered a variety of bagels – including a breakfast
bagel sandwich – as well as cereals, pastries, and a few hot breakfast items.
If you prefer waiter service for your morning meal,
The Dining Room on Deck 2 Aft of the Rotterdam was also available.
Complimentary breakfast was served from 7:30 to 9 AM on most port days
and from 8 to 9:30 AM on days at sea.
Finally, if you just want a quick bite for breakfast, the Explorations Cafe had plain
and chocolate croissants available on Deck 12 Forward starting at 8 AM.
Starting at 11, complimentary Room Service switched over to
an All Day menu which was available until 11 PM.
Offerings included appetizers, entrees, sandwiches, and desserts.
At 11:30 AM, even more complimentary food options became available on the Rotterdam.
The Lido Market buffet served a full selection of lunch from 11:30 AM until 2 PM.
The buffet included a salad bar, a variety of hot and cold options – including sushi
and made-to-order stir fry – and a variety of desserts.
Just a bit forward of the buffet, Dive-In served burgers, hot dogs,
and fries on the Starboard side – or right side – of Deck 9 Midship.
The venue was typically open from 11:30 AM until 6 PM.
One deck up, on Deck 10, New York Deli and Pizza re-opened at 11:30
AM and served sandwiches, salads, pizzas, and desserts until 8:30 PM.
And the Rotterdam’s Grand Dutch Cafe offered complimentary Dutch specialties including
Dutch pancakes, fries with dipping sauces, sandwiches, and desserts from 11:30 AM until 8 PM.
On days at sea, The Dining Room was open from noon
until 1 PM for guests preferring a more leisurely lunch served by wait staff.
The venue served the same menu each day and was not open for lunch on port days.
The Lido Market buffet shut down a majority of its lunch selection at 2 PM and only a
few select stations remained open for afternoon snacks until 4 PM.
The Grand Dutch Cafe added a few complimentary fried Dutch snacks to its menu at 4:30 PM.
The bitterballen, cheese souffles, and mini spring rolls were available until 8 PM.
The Dining Room at the back of the Rotterdam served dinner from 5 to 9 PM.
During our cruise, the lower Deck 2 section of the restaurant was used for flexible time
dining and the upper Deck 3 section of the restaurant was used for fixed time dining.
The dinner menu changed each night and included a variety of soups,
salads, appetizers, main entrees, and desserts.
A menu featuring Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-Free options was available upon request.
A kids menu was also available upon request.
In addition to the normal offerings,
the Rotterdam’s Room Service had a kids menu available from 5:30 to 9:30 PM each night.
The menu included a sampling of The Dining Room’s kids menu.
The Lido Market buffet served dinner from 5:30 to 8:30 PM each night.
The food available was typically a sampling of the main dining room menu, plus additional offerings.
At 8:30 PM, New York Pizza and Deli stopped serving their Lunch and Dinner menu,
but continued serving pizza, salads, and desserts.
The restaurant also added a Movie Night Snacks menu that featured flavored pretzels,
popcorn, nachos, sliders, chicken wings, and more.
All of the late-night food was available until the restaurant closed at midnight.
The Lido Market buffet offered a late-night menu from 10:30
to 11:30 PM with just a few stations available.
Starting at 11 PM, Room Service offered late-night options until 6 AM,
including quesadillas, salads, sandwiches, and desserts.
And now, a few more complimentary options.
Complimentary non-bottled water, lemonade, unsweetened iced tea, hot chocolate and
non-specialty coffee and tea were available in The Dining Room and the Lido Market buffet.
Additionally, complimentary juices were available during breakfast hours.
Finally, complimentary bites were served at two events listed in the Rotterdam’s daily schedule.
The “Chocolate Surprise” was held at 10 PM on the seventh evening of our cruise.
Servers roamed the Forward area of Deck 2 – near BB King’s Blues Club and Billboard
Onboard – with trays full of bite-sized chocolate desserts for guests to enjoy.
And the “Orange Party” was held at 10:15 PM on the ninth evening of our cruise.
Servers roamed the BB King’s Blues Club area of Deck 2 with trays full
of Dutch-inspired bites for guests to try.