The Rotterdam Seven is silky smooth and it has a sneaky kick. It’s also got a way of enticing you to order another. What better way to wind down from a day at Holland America’ Lines’ private island Half Moon Cay than to enjoy an exclusive drink at the Half Moon Bar, that you’ll only find on the new Rotterdam.
In its 149 years, Holland America Lines has had many claims to fame and you can discover them in the menu of this inventive new bar. It can get busy, but it feels good to get back to a bustling bar scene after so many months of social distancing.
I start out with a Three Mile highball, one of the bar’s exclusive concoctions made with gin, rum or bourbon named for milestones in the line’s remarkable history. It’s named for the exploits of one of Rotterdam’s predecessors that Holland America pressed into service in the 1930s as party boat for the alcohol-deprived during America’s Prohibition.
There was a rule that the alcohol ban only applied until you were three miles from shore. Once outside the prohibited Three Mile Limit, let the party begin. And the price for those all-you-can-drink overnight booze cruises from New York might sound cheap at $10, but it’s the equivalent of $200 today.
An interesting twist that harkens back to the Prohibition days of nothing to see here is that there’s no drinks menu. You scan the QR code on the bar and it revels a whimsical list complete with the histories that inspired the drinks. The top favorite is the Rotterdam Seven, in homage to the fact that the new Rotterdam is the seventh ship in the HAL dynasty to have taken the name of the Dutch home port.
I love it that the bartenders who are known for their ability to remember your name have added a twist, and I’m addressed not just by my first name, but as Sir Wallace. It’s not old school deference; it’s just friendly familiarity, and of course it made me eager to make a repeat appearance.
The bar’s name Half Moon comes from the crescent-shaped island where we’ve just enjoyed a relaxing day of beachcombing on sand as fine as flour and bobbing in the gentle surf. Holland America scored a gem when it arranged a long-term lease to the uninhabited cay in the Bahamas. Half Moon Cay is a feature of at least one day on every Holland America cruise in the Caribbean.
The beach is so long you can set up on beach chairs at the far end and never see anyone all day, although most folks like to mingle closer to the beach bars and barbecue area. You can rent a pop-up clamshell for two for shade or splurge for one of the tropical cabanas that can accommodate parties of different sizes. The two-story Beach Villas even include a hot tub on the second floor.
There are activities galore, including horseback riding by land and sea, personal watercraft adventures on the interior lagoon and a stingray adventure, as well as catch-and-release deep-sea fishing trips, eco-tours by glass-bottom boat, parasailing, guided kayak trips and guided bike rides around the island.
Of course there are bars on Half Moon beach as well, including one that’s in the shape of a wrecked pirate ship. A favorite is the Lobster Shack whose menu includes barbecued lobster and conch chowder.
Back on the ship, the Half Moon Bar that’s unique to Rotterdam wasn’t all that busy early on in our Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale, but as the evenings roll on, it became the must-do hangout for a pre-dinner tipple. It’s located along a corridor on the way to the main Dining Room and right across from Club Orange.
Half Moon Cay by day and Half Moon Bar by night are experiences not to be forgotten, unless of course, you indulge in one too many of those cocktails from outside the Three Mile Limit.
Story by Wallace Immen
