Dover, Rotterdam: Great Turnaround Ports for Repeat Visits

Days 28-29, 2025 European Odyssey

Saturday and Sunday, July 26-27, 2025; Dover, England, and Rotterdam, Netherlands.

When I say there are only a few repeat ports on my summer back-to-back cruises in Northern Europe, I’m not counting Dover and Rotterdam. We visit each city four times because they are the Nieuw Statendam’s embarkation and debarkation ports. In a deviation from standard practice, passengers can book round-trip cruises from either of two ports.

Like me, most passengers board in Rotterdam. But on Saturday, about 600 disembarked in Dover. Nearly three times as many left on Sunday in Rotterdam. The result of having two home ports was not as noticeable as I thought it would be. Those of us continuing on were free to come and go at each port as we wished.

Two years ago we stopped at Dover three times on the Zuiderdam. The first time I just admired the view from the ship while waiting for my fractured kneecap to heal. But five weeks later I climbed to the top of the Dover Castle, proving bones heal quickly. Two weeks after that, I explored Canterbury’s cathedral and town center.

My original plan for Saturday was a transfer to London, but I reconsidered when I realized I would spend five hours on the bus for four hours in the city. Instead, I joined my friend Celia to explore downtown Dover. A $10 (round trip) shuttle ran between the ship, Dover Castle and the city center. I had hoped to find favorite jeans at Marks & Spencer, but they have closed their clothing department here.

Our real goal was lunch, and we shared a large fish-and-chips platter at Wheeler’s on the waterfront. Neither of us like mushy peas, but one of the pigeons sure did.

Lynn, Celia and I enjoyed a final dinner in Tamarind before I said goodbye to them the next morning.

In Rotterdam I took down the wall map I used to track our 28-day cruise. I don’t have a suitable map until we get to the Mediterranean in September.

I stretched my legs walking the pier area, including the former Holland America headquarters building (now the Hotel New York), and returned to the terminal to find hundreds of people checking in. It’s nice to skip the lines and just board the ship.

I’m trying out something new – or something old that is new for me again – at dinner. I signed up for fixed dining at the 7:30 p.m. seating, joining frequent world-cruise friends Greg and Heo from Australia, who also are staying on for another cruise, as well as a couple from Canada and two friends from the Bahamas.

It’s been 20 years since I chose fixed seating, usually preferring to eat at a different shared table each night. On longer cruises I’ll join friends. The beauty of multiple cruises is that I can try out different options.

During my future stops at Dover, I’ve booked excursions to Rye and Sandwich. On past cruises to Rotterdam I took the waterbus to Kinderdijk windmills and the train to Delft. This summer I’ll probably explore the city.

When we left Rotterdam, the captain saluted the former flagship Rotterdam 5, now a permanently docked hotel, with the ship’s whistle. Speaking of which, we have a new captain, as Capt. Henk Draper left and Capt. Werner Timmers joined us in Rotterdam.

This 14-day cruise will be port-intensive, with only three sea days. We will circle Ireland – a route I’ve never before taken. I’m looking forward to new Irish ports as well as Douglas on the Isle of Man, home of the famous Tourist Trophy motorcycle race. Why is that of such interest to me? You’ll have to wait to find out.