Simulations of a fluid rotating inside a partially open cylindrical cavity, performed by numerical solution of the unsteady axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations, are presented. The configuration consists of a cylindrical vessel holding the fluid, which is entrained into motion by a rotating lid. This one is a coaxial disk in contact with the fluid surface but without covering it entirely. The study focuses on the occurrence of time-dependent flow, more specifically, the first transition to unsteadiness, by considering cavity cases with different amounts of free surface, for a fixed aspect ratio. By following the time evolution of a few arbitrarily chosen dynamical variables as a function of the Reynolds number, the location of this first Hopf bifurcation is obtained for a collection of cavity cases. Results show a rather strong influence of the free surface both on the onset of the unsteadiness and on the dynamical features of the flow.