oldbluff

We also were on this cruise and REALLY enjoyed it. As I mentioned, the band in The Rolling Stones Rock room were fabulous.

An amazing thing you all will appreciate is we encountered no complainers on this sailing. Might be a first for us. And it is not because we failed to interact with our fellow passengers. Plenty of that, especially at the Ocean Bar. 😎

We did share a MDR table with a fellow the morning of debarkation. He was quite picky but did not stay into complaint territory. Thank goodness. 

18 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yes, I agree it's a good move even though we didn't have one at our table. I don't recall seeing it before either. 

We didn’t have one either. But good to see.

10 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Thanks so much! The celebration on the ship continues with Mariner lunch today.

I know it's not for the holiday, but I like to think it's special. 😏

Good move to have a large number of officers and staff sit at tables with passengers at the Mariner lunch. I don’t recall seeing this before. It builds connections.

I don't recall seeing anything in this thread on The Rolling Stones Rock Room band. They are excellent on this sailing. Best of the handful of our cruises that had this venue. Their performance at the New Years Eve party was memorable.

3 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Last night's dinner in MDR

 

The rhubarb tart was too "tart" but the raspberry mousse was awesome!

 

Different preferences. My wife and I thought the rhubarb tart just right. The French vanilla ice cream on top provided a contrasting sweetness.

I usually avoid strawberry-rhubarb dishes because they are invariably sweet. This was a pleasant surprise. It reminded my DW of her grandmother's "spring tonic" served in her youth. 

On 11/28/2023 at 4:28 AM, CNSJ said:

On this cruise as well.  So,,,,I expect a full house.  Booked it a long time ago. 

 

Perhaps it is full because it is a bit longer (10 days) than the 7 day sailings, and is an Eastern Caribbean cruise.  Also, 13 Jan is far enough after the holidays for decent airfare/pre-cruise hotels.

 

Too many HAL cruises make the HMC, Jamaica, Caymans, Cozumel circuit.  Note:   I for one have been unimpressed by my visits to Mexico and Jamaica lately.  This cruise is different, as are the ABC island runs.

 

Just my thoughts.  

 

 

Yes, we enjoy Eastern and Southern Caribbean sailings much more than Western. Although we would return to Key West anytime. 😀

We are on this sailing and internet was wonky for a while last night. Seems to be OK now. 

1 hour ago, POA1 said:

Yes. There is a sink. There is also a shower if you want super hygiene.

 

At home, I always give my oranges a thorough rinse in the shower before squeezing. 😀

14 minutes ago, landlocked12 said:

This is good to know.  I had thought the opposite would be the case. I wonder what happens to the cash we give the folks who deliver our room service?

I also thought it would work the opposite way, when I first asked a year ago. I do not know about tip policy for other areas.

For those wanting a cash tip to go to a specific bar server or bartender, a reminder that cash tips to them are pooled. Extra tips written on receipts go to the person listed at the top.

I recently verified with a bar manager on Eurodam that this is still policy for the bar staff. 

On 12/19/2023 at 6:35 AM, vjblk said:

Heading to San Diego this afternoon.. See you on board! Looking forward to this cruise. 🌴🌴 Spent last New Years on the Koningsdam.

Yes we did.

Hip Hip Hooray!!

😀

On 12/18/2023 at 9:52 AM, Haljo1935 said:

Last time I was on K'dam was last Dec for Mexican Riviera - love the ship and Grand Dutch Cafe.

DH is working, so this will be interesting. 

We probably cruised with you and your husband as we were on all of December except the Christmas sailing. We are also joining you for this one. Disembarked Eurodam this morning and now flying to San Diego. First Hawaii and Christmas cruise for us. We are also winging the ports. Have been to them before.

This will be fun!

2 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

@oldbluff Can I ask, did you buy your premium internet pre-cruise to save the 20% or did you wait and get it onboard?

We had the Surf internet as part of the Have It All package. I looked for an upgrade pre-cruise but did not see one. I upgraded in the Navigator app when connecting. 

3 minutes ago, mame42 said:

For those who have used the service or are familiar with current operations:  How does wheelchair assisted boarding work at the Port of San Diego?  Thanks for any info.

You or your TA will want to let HAL know in advance that you want assistance. Then a wheelchair logo will print on your boarding pass. When you get to the port and they see the logo, you will be escorted to a sitting area. Then, first in - first out, you will be taken thru security and wait in another area for someone to take you on board.

1 minute ago, Benny42 said:

I am looking at adding an additional cruise to an already booked cruise.  It would require transferring from the Rotterdam to the New Statendam.  Does Holland offer a shuttle service when transferring to another ship? 

I doubt if there is anything formal. But others may know of an arrangement. 
 

We have done several B2B's on different ships, but they were different cruise lines so I knew it was on us. When you come out of customs with your luggage, get a taxi and let them know the ship (or even better, the terminal number) you are going to board the second ship. In Fort Lauderdale, there are posted signs at the taxi stand giving a $9 flat rate to another location within the port.

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Thanks for your review; enjoyed reading it.

 

I hope you did more than just ask about the classical music -- hope you expressed how much it is missed!  HAL has been promising some sort of return for the last 9 months but so far nada other than very rare reports of a single performance onboard. (Not on my TA on Nieuw Statendam, unfortunately....)

 

I did let her know we missed it. And both of us will mention it on the post-cruise survey. 

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Thank you for the concise but wide ranging review.

I do hope that I am misreading that you purchased the laundry package for this cruise?

After all the free laundry is the big benefit of reaching 4 star.

Yes, and we are enjoying it. I meant to say we always purchased it in the past, for convenience and lighter suitcases. 

We are Cliff and Shelley from Vancouver, Washington. The “other Vancouver” in southwest Washington State, just across the Mighty Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. We discovered cruising in 2008 and have enjoyed Holland America’s hospitality since 2010. We just disembarked from Eurodam’s 11 night Eastern Caribbean sailing. First time on Eurodam, but we have cruised on Nieuw Amsterdam several times and thus knew the layout. Some experiences and thoughts follow.

Embarkation / Lunch in the MDR
Embarkation was easy. First time boarding as 4 star. Very nice! We were onboard by 11:30, stopped by our cabin to get our key cards in the mail slot and drop off carry-ons. Then made our way to the Main Dining Room and had a satisfactory Welcome Back lunch. Next time I’m getting the cobb salad – as the passenger next to me did and I wished I had. 😊

Cabin
We were in 5051, a handicapped-accessible forward balcony on the starboard side. We appreciated the walk-in shower as my wife has difficulty stepping in and out of tubs. For the first time, there was no basket or paper to use in the closet to get shoes shined. I asked the room attendant and he said they no longer advertised the service, but it was available upon request. As instructed, I put my shoes on the floor near the door with a note requesting they be shined and a cash tip. As in the past, they were delivered the next day looking better than I could do.

Laundry Service
We always purchased the unlimited laundry, allowing us to cruise with one suitcase. We still travel light and take advantage of this, usually sending laundry every other day. The only time we did not receive it back the same evening was the morning we forgot to put the notice on our door for the rom to be serviced, so the laundry was picked up late.

Lido Buffet / Dive In / New York Pizza
We went to the Lido several times for each of the three major daily meals, and Dive In / NY Pizza once each. All were satisfactory and met expectations. The Vindaloo Pork and Potatoes in the Lido were exceptional one day.

PG Tips
I had a happy surprise when I saw PG Tips tea bags were available in the Lido, next to other offerings. This became one of my go-to teas at home about six months ago. Always good to encounter a familiar comfort.

Main Dining Room
We had breakfast twice and dinner once in the MDR. Dinner was a bit slow but the food and service were good.

Canaletto
I want to like Canaletto; I really do. The service is quite good which raises expectations. We had dinner there twice. Once with good food quality while another had us picking around our plate to salvage dinner. We are not looking for perfection.

Pinnacle Grill
For many years the PG provided a consistently good food and service experience. We went several times each cruise. Since Covid, it has been wildly inconsistent for dinner service, with more misses than hits. For us, the food quality has fared worse than the service. Although both are noticeably less. This may have begun the couple of years before Covid but I find it difficult to recall specifics before that blank spot in our history. We had dinner here once. The service was good but the food was underwhelming. Better than the neighborhood Golden Corral buffet, but not a special dinner out.

Lunch at Pinnacle Grill retains a consistently good food quality and service. I think it is one of the best bargains on the ship, along with laundry service. We had excellent meals there all three sea days.

Tamarind
Ah, Tamarind. We first discovered it many cruises ago on the Nieuw Amsterdam, back when lunch was also available there. Although the menu is a bit outside our normal dining, every meal has me amazed at rock solid food quality and impeccable service. We dined at Tamarind three nights out of eleven and each left us smiling. And full.

Crow’s Nest
We tend to book cabins aft of midship and thus do not visit the Crow’s Nest often, especially after the adjacent libraries were gutted. This sailing we had a forward cabin and a short walk and elevator trip to Deck Eleven. In addition to occasional morning coffees and salad-in-a-glass Bloody Mary’s, we enjoyed reading many books there. It was a smart move to combine the Explorations Café coffee service with the Crow’s Nest bar area, so the combined staff can better handle the mixed demand. Although the reduction in bar chairs to five limited the evening bar patron camaraderie that often occurs with more seats and participants.

A bonus for us was encountering our favorite lead bartender (Wanis!) in Crow’s Nest. We spent more time than I will admit with he and his staff in the Ocean Bar on Koningsdam late last year. Wonderful to see him again and see the latest pictures of his infant son.

Library
The Library is back! The Library is back! (channeling Steve Martin in “The Jerk” when the new phone books arrived) I had read where the new libraries had a lot of empty space between books and few chairs. Yes, the books are presented face-to and well spaced out which allows for fewer titles. However, there are multiple copies of each and many current book releases. My DW and I both found several titles of interest. We were happy to see a set of shelves chock-full of take-a-book/leave-a-book, as we brought a dozen paperbacks to read and leave for others.

There are fewer chairs than the older combined library/internet computers/Explorations Café seating. They are comfortable and the quiet space is conducive to browsing and reading pleasures.

Raisin Buns
Shelley and I first cruised with Holland in 2010. We happened across the raisin buns available at breakfast in the Lido. A wee bit of butter, more than that for Shelley, and it makes great few bites. Since then, we often get them with butter along with first-light coffee delivered to our cabin. Although not on the breakfast room service menu, we write them in without a problem. Sometimes we will only have these delivered and then fetch Americano coffees from the Crow’s Nest or Dutch Café, depending on the ship. This is a trivial joy but one we anticipate before each cruise.

Tiles
We received our tiles in our stateroom “mail slot” the last full day of the cruise. They are 150th Anniversary tiles instead of those linked to our specific ship. Easier to manage inventory across the fleet as well as commemorating the accomplishment.

Bronze Medallions
We hit 100 days one the water with HAL on our last cruise early this year. The medallions were delivered to our stateroom on this sailing. A nice touch. Our granddaughters will be excited to play with them.

Internet
Wow. Moving the ships to Starlink and paying the extra $5/day for the Premium Internet made a huge difference in the user experience. We were able to FaceTime without our daughter and granddaughter without a problem. I even connected to a co-worker via Zoom once. Well played.

Cruise Director
Valerie was one of the best CD’s we have experienced to date, on any line we have sailed. Possessing the expected enthusiasm without being overbearing, she provided all necessary information in a very pleasant, understandable fashion. No extraneous announcements, leading numerous events well, she was a joy to encounter.

Wine Tastings
We did the first wine tasting (complimentary) and the signed up for the premium tasting. Both were enjoyable, due more to tablemates than the sommelier’s banter. He did say the James Suckling wine partnership has ended and this was the last affiliated tasting event on this ship and soon across the fleet. Eurodam does not do the Blend wine-blending event. I believe this is linked to St Michelle winery and not James Suckling. I hope so as we did that on Koningsdam last year and would do it again.

Farewell Lincoln Center Stage
As others have reported, LCS is not more. I asked the cruise director about future opportunities for classical music aboard. She indicated the longer (25+ day) sailing will soon have a formal offering. Nothing concrete for shorter voyages. I do hope something for this is resurrected in the future. We were lucky to enjoy the string quartets (Adagio Strings?) the first few years with HAL. Then four became three and three became two (violin and piano). I can play all the classical I wa t in our cabin on the Bluetooth speaker we carry with, but there is something about live performances incorporating violins .. sigh.

Summary and Looking Ahead
This was a very enjoyable cruise and we will not hesitate to sail Eurodam again. Next up is a homemade B2B. We disembarked Fort Lauderdale this morning. Tonight we fly to San Diego. Then board Koningsdam tomorrow for the 16 night Hawaii cruise. We like sea days, Hawaii and Koningsdam, so all should be good.

Cliff

13 hours ago, ShipWalker said:

This because you haven't boarded the ship yet.

 

Just show up. When you add events they are basically a reminder for you of what is happening during the day you are interested in attending.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

If the app supported adding custom events such as Meet & Greets, custom Sailaways, private events and independent excursions, we could have all planned events in one place. 

… and we will be boarding. Whoop, whoop!

Good for you! You will both enjoy this sailing. Make those memories.

22 minutes ago, wesport said:

Every time I have been to Sel De Mer it was a great experience. 

Our experience as well. We’ll check it out again next month on Koningsdam.

16 minutes ago, Bruinboy said:

Having had a wine store for a few years featuring regular tastings, one gets accustomed to eyeing a five ounce pour. Of course, some establishments have a subtle, almost undetectable mark on each glass that marks a five ounce pour. I've only cruised with HAL three times and never thought to look if their wine glasses have a little mark on them. My wife is a wine glass snob. She keeps Riedel in business. I'm not as particular. We have a 35 day cruise coming up in February so I'll have plenty of days to do some sleuthing. 

 

 

 

Research is important for insight, as is evidenced by POA1. Happy sleuthing!

1 minute ago, KAKcruiser said:

Did you book directly with HAL or through a travel agent?

My example is for a cruise booked thru our TA. I have also seen this when booked direct.

7 minutes ago, Trish Traveler said:

The list is there but does not show the included crew appreciation 😒

Go into your booking and call up the Itinerary. Just under the Promotional Credit section in the middle, there is a statement that you have prepaid gratuities. I believe this shows whether you get this as a promotion or elect to prepay before sailing. Example below.