Eurodam 10/10/09 - detailed (and mostly good) review!

TMJplus1 · October 20, 2009

Well we are finally home from our amazing cruise on the Eurodam (followed by a couple of restful days in Key West). There is so much to share, but if I don't start writing it down now I will forget a lot. So here are the highlights, lowlights, foodlights, ports, and - for those who want to skip ahead for the truly scandalous stuff, a special category reserved for the Front Desk.

First, a tiny bit of background (this will seem more important later): I booked this cruise nearly a year ago specifically because it stopped at Half Moon Cay on our exact 10th wedding anniversary, and I wanted to renew our vows in the lovely little Bahamian Chapel. To save you any suspense, this ceremony ultimately went off beautifully and without a hitch, and I cannot say enough great things about the crew and staff members who ultimately made it happen. But if you want to hear the *whole* story, you will have to keep reading. ;)

HIGHLIGHTS:

- The ship is gorgeous! Everything is so sparkly and new. And the crew are constantly keeping it cleaner and shinier. There is artwork everywhere you look - in fact, it became kind of a game with hubby and me to notice art we hadn't previously seen. We also liked the historic photos that lined the hallways. I loved many of the changes they made from the Vista class design - most notably the large gift shop, the Library and Explorations being moved up to the Crow's Nest, and the large aft pool deck with its abundant covered areas. I still wish HAL would do something design-wise about their underwhelming main atriums, but this is a trivial matter.

- With the exception of the Front Desk (keep reading), the staff and crew of Eurodam were exceptional on every level. I cannot say enough about the friendliness we experienced - from our cabin stewards to the waiters to the bartenders and the drink servers and the casino and entertainment staff. Exceptional!

- I have never seen such a variety of activities on board a ship. There was always something to do - from games and classes (most free) to seminars and entertainment - there is no excuse to be bored on Eurodam. Or course, there are many opportunities for relaxing, too. I enjoyed the spacious aft pool deck the most, and the Crow's Nest with the brilliantly relocated Library and Explorations Cafe right next to it. (Honestly I could have spent most of the trip here...the proximity of the Library, and its wealth of games, books, and magazines, to the Crow's Nest kept the area lively and hopping rather than deader-than-a-doornail as I've observed on other cruises.) Oh, and the movie theater was really nice, too - although the sound system seemed quite antiquated considering this is a brand new ship.

- One thing that surprised me on both Oosterdam and Zuiderdam was that the much-hyped Culinary Arts Center was rarely used. Well, they have taken care of this on Eurodam. There were many live demonstrations, a couple of rounds of culinary trivia, and basically at least one activity a day (often more) that utilized the CAC in a variety of ways. I had wanted to take one of the private cooking classes, and had headed to the Front (grrrrrr) Desk immediately upon boarding to sign up, but the computers were down and the attendant said she would call me. She never did, and by the time I got back down there later in the afternoon the classes were already full!

- If you like Bloody Mary's, don't miss the Bloody Mary Buffet served at the mid-ship Lido pool from 10-1 (check your schedule) on sea days. They will make you a lovely Bloody Mary or a Caesar, and you can pick from a smorgasbord of garnishes - from HUGE prawns to spicy horseradish to jalapenos and an assortment of vegetables. Very good!

- Rent a cabana at Half Moon Cay. We rented the Sky Blue Cabana. It was $300 for the 4 of us. They have even upgraded the cabanas since our last cruise in 2007; the furniture is much nicer, the cabanas have been re-painted, and they have stepped up the selection and quality of the food. When we first arrived, there was a problem with our air conditioner but it was quickly repaired. Our "cabana boy" was Romeo, who was a waiter from the Lido assigned to service many of the cabanas. He ran himself ragged getting drinks and food for us, and took care of most every need. For an extra $270 you can upgrade to a private butler and "better" food but honestly I don't see the need for the extra expense unless money is no object.

- LOVED the casino! I won $250 - which, if you knew me, is a big deal. :) It was enough to put a deposit on our next cruise...BONUS! But more than that, I just liked the layout of the casino and the friendliness of the staff. They also offer 2-for-1 drinks on the first night of the cruise, starting at 10:30. (This special is also available daily in the Crow's Nest at 4 p.m.)

- LOVED the Piano Bar! I had read a review that the Piano Man on the Eurodam was awful, and I don't usually go to the Piano Bar anyway but poked my head in just to see how "bad" he was. Well, maybe this was a different Piano Man but this guy's name is Greg and 2 hours later hubby and I were still sitting there singing along and laughing with him and the big crowd that had gathered. We spent 2 additional evenings there, and enjoyed him immensely. Go see Greg, and order him a Vodka Tonic if you really like him. ;)

- The entertainment staff were wonderful. Cruise Director was Nancy and she seemed to be everywhere! On previous cruises there have been "assistant" cruise directors but evidently they are no more. Nancy did almost everything, often with the help of "DJ Casey" (cute/funny guy) and the amazingly sweet Party Planner, Sydney. I could devote an entire novel to the amazingness of dear Sydney, but let me just say that without her help (and that of her boss, Julie) we would not have had the amazing, perfect, beautiful vow renewal ceremony that we did on HMC.

LOWLIGHTS:

- There is simply not enough seating in the Lido. I don't really know how they can remedy this, but getting rid of the horribly-placed Lido pool cabanas *and* the gross aft-deck lido smoking area so that there are more places to sit would be helpful. Also, the Lido staff were friendly, but having some of them specifically there to help you find a table would be great. Other than that, it was pretty much a cattle call in there during the busy times. We avoided this by having most breakfasts in our cabin, and trying to hit lunch early. On a happy note, I did not notice the "infamous" Lido Step - perhaps it has been fixed. There was definitely an abundance of "caution tape" on other steps throughout the ship, though!

- The Retreat Cabanas looked nice but I only saw people using them once or twice. It doesn't make much sense to me that there is no stairway to get from these cabanas to the Lido pool. I'm not sure who their "target market" is for these cabanas, but this market was evidently not on our cruise. The Lido Cabanas definitely got more use, but they were not very private.

- The Northern Lights nightclub - why doesn't it work?! It's maddening to me, because I love to dance the night away, but something just doesn't work about this concept. The decor is lovely, but there isn't enough seating, and it is so far off the beaten path that nobody really goes in there. I went in a few times to dance but it was dead. How sad. I don't even know if this qualifies as a "lowlight" - more as a plea to HAL to figure out how to make this neat location work as it was intended!

- The Front Desk...see below.

FOODLIGHTS:

- We really came to enjoy the As-You-Wish dining. We ate in the main dining room three nights, the Tamarind one night, the Canaletto one night, the Pinnacle one night (see "lowlights"), and had dinner ashore one night. This doesn't count the multiple "snack runs" to the Lido between meals.

- Main Dining Room: I can't say enough great things about the MDR. The food was exceptional, in selection, presentation, and taste. I've heard comments about declining quality, but I did not see it here. With the exception of some fishy-tasting scallops in an appetizer one evening, the MDR served the best food on the entire ship.

- Tamarind: We had dinner here on the first formal night. The service was impeccable, so professional and yet so friendly. The decor was exquisite, and the menu appetizing. I found the food to be good, but not really exceptional. Perhaps we are spoiled by the fact we live in the Pacific Northwest and are within an hour's drive of some of the most amazing Asian food available. I do like the concept of the Tamarind, though. We never got to eat lunch there - by the time I called on Sunday to make reservations for later in the week, they were 100% booked for lunch. Oh well!

- Canaletto: We ate here on the second formal night. I am not a huge fan of Italian food, but WOW what an amazing meal! I had pasta with vodka sauce - so simple, but so delicious. The service in the Canaletto was absolutely outstanding.

- Lido: We ate most of our lunches, and some breakfasts, here. Oh, and of course those popular late-night snacks. The food was very good, and the service friendly. While there were not stacks of trays sitting around like I have seen on other ships, there were trays available to those who needed them. Honestly I felt this helped me from getting too much food (my eyes frequently being bigger than my stomach, so to speak).

- The Pinnacle was a big disappointment. I don't know if we went there on a bad night or what. Our waitress seemed shy and inexperienced - we received much better service from the waiters in the main dining room. The maitre d' and Wine Steward (Randy, great guy!) tried to step in and do what they could to help her out, but the service was slow, parts of the food were cold (cold scalloped potatoes, doesn't that sound yummy???), my lobster tail was pitifully small...it was just not the fine dining experience we had expected. On a nice note, hubby enjoyed his steak, and they did bring us a yummy anniversary cake. The Pinnacle wasn't bad per se, but I don't think I would spend the extra to eat there again. I expected to be WOWED.

- Slice and Terrace Grill: The pizza at Slice was MUCH better than I have experienced on other ships (where I found the pizza to be almost inedible); however, the cooking was a little inconsistent. Sometimes it had a nice, crunchy crust. Other times, the crust was not cooked enough. They offered 4 varieties: 4-Cheese and Double Pepperoni were served daily, plus a vegetarian option, then a "special" of the day. The Mediterranean White was heaven! Hubby ate once at the Terrace and enjoyed his lamb burger, but the wait was very long.

- Bars: We loved the Silk Den (ask for Lulu, she is so sweet and remembered our names from the moment we met her), especially their "$10 Sake & Sushi" specials which were offered frequently. That included 2 sake drinks and a variety of sushi appetizers. Drinks were strong and service was friendly (but not too pushy) at both Lido pools. Bong, the bartender at the mid-ship pool bar, is great - I got a fun video of him showing us how to make a Mango smoothie.

PORTS:

- Grand Turk: you've heard it before, but it bears repeating...if you don't book an excursion then there's really not much to do. We did the Dune Buggy's and loved it! Then we took sage CC advice and bypassed Margaritaville to head right next door to Pirate's Choice for some awesome conch bites and chowder, and a couple of yummy drinks. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming at their beach and enjoying the live music. Great place, super-easy to find (just walk down the beach about a hundred yards), and less crowded. Prices were very touristy, though.

- San Juan: LOVED this port! In fact, I'm considering booking our next cruise out of San Juan so we can spend more time there. Get up early and watch the approach from the Crow's Nest, or out on the bow (Deck 5). We didn't do any ship's tours, instead took the 50-cent ferry (followed by a $3 taxi ride) over to the Bacardi Factory tour, enjoyed our free tour and 2 free Bacardi drinks, did the same trip back, then wandered downtown for the rest of the day. There's a free trolley (get info at the green information booth directly across the street from the cruise terminal) that will take you all around town. We visited one of the amazing forts, then worked our way back downtown to a little outdoor market, had an amazing Puerto Rican dinner at a great restaurant, did some jewelry (love you honey!) shopping, and were back on board the ship by around 9 p.m.

- St. Thomas: We really wish we had booked a tour here. The non-negotiable cab fares were horrendous. They wanted $36 each way to take 4 of us to a beach. So we skipped the beach, did a little shopping at the pier, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on board - where it quickly started to rain very hard for several hours. So we made a good choice! If I go here again, I will go on a tour. It would have been cheaper than a taxi.

- Half Moon Cay: The only bad thing about HMC is that we don't spend more time there. I would truly take a cruise that spent a couple of days there! We also renewed our vows in the little Bahamian Chapel. It was beautiful. My hubby even cried. THAT'S how magical HMC is! :)

FRONT DESK (yes, they get their own category):

The Front Desk staff on this ship were awful. I have no other, more gracious way to describe them. I don't know if they are poorly managed, or undertrained, or simply adopting a mantra of "Signature of Anti-Excellence," but I have received better service from my local convenience store clerk. Before you think I am being harsh, you should know I was raised in a hotel family and worked many a front desk in my day. My husband has also worked in customer service for a major international corporation for the past 9 years. We believe that "you catch more flies with honey," and approached every dealing with the Front Desk in this manner. Well, let me tell you, on Eurodam you don't catch any flies at the front desk. You catch nothing but a migraine. I would not be surprised if they have daily meetings where their challenge for the day is to make as many passengers as upset as possible. Here is a brief synopsis of their horribleness.

- First, I mentioned above that they never called me back about booking my private cooking class. So, I have now been on 3 of these HAL "culinary cruises" and have yet to take the private cooking class. Sigh.

- They *refused* to help me book our HMC vow renewal (which Ship's Services in Seattle had said I should go to them to do once aboard). They simply said it wasn't available and they knew nothing about it. Then, when we asked to speak to a manager, they said she didn't have regular office hours. We tried to implore to them the significance of this occasion, and how we had specifically booked this cruise to have our vows renewed on our anniversary on HMC. They told us they'd "look into it" and get back to us by 1 p.m. (this was on Sunday). When we hadn't heard from them by 1:30, we went back. The woman told us, with no compassion, no emotion, no understanding..."We aren't doing those on this cruise." It was at this point I (inadvertently!) started crying and left DH to handle it. He got no farther, and we retreated to our stateroom with the gravity of the situation hanging heavy in the air.

- Also on Sunday morning, we had inquired about the pre-ordered (online) alcohol not being delivered to our room and the Front Desk attendant treated us very skeptically, like we were trying to pull a fast one. She said she would check with the beverage manager. Later, the alcohol still hadn't been delivered, so I called again. No response. Finally, on Sunday night I went down there in person. The alcohol was delivered Monday.

- A similar situation occurred when we inquired about the free Pinnacle Grill lunch that was supposed to be included as a booking incentive. She said that this had been replaced by the "bon voyage" bottle of champagne we received in our cabin. Two things: a "boy voyage" bottle of champagne is NOT the same as lunch in the Pinnacle. And second, we never received the champagne to begin with! This went on the entire week, until we finally gave up on the chances of a Pinnacle Lunch (yes, we had WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION from our travel agent but the Front Desk still refused) and, on THURSDAY, received the "bon freakin' voyage" bottle of champagne.

- Before you think we just got extremely unlucky, I heard many stories from complete strangers about how horribly they were treated at the Front Desk. One couple down the hall from us had a malfunctioning air conditioning in their room and the woman was reduced to tears by the front desk telling them they were "leaving too many lights on" and "there was nothing they could do." Another, similar story, was heard at dinner one night by a couple who was supposed to receive gifts in their cabin that hadn't been delivered. They, too, said the Front Desk attendant had been very skeptical, continually quizzing them as to whether they had actually received the gifts or not. When I was down at the Front Desk on the last day to ask a debarkation question, I was in line behind a passenger who was upset that her husband had not received any birthday acknowledgement on the ship despite the fact she had let HAL know it was his b-day. Now, could it be argued that letting HAL know doesn't really necessarily translate into a b-day acknowlegement being received? Yes. But the way the Front Desk attendant treated her, the attitude she gave her, it was simply inexcusable. If she had worked for me I would have fired her on the spot. Then again, I would have had to fire all of them.

- So my sage advice is: avoid the Front Desk. If you MUST deal with them, bring written documentation of everything. Even then, they will argue with you and treat you like a criminal. Do not expect to be given the benefit of the doubt, or to have your situation treated with kindness and compassion (even if, perhaps, there truly is nothing they can do about it). And if you don't get answers from them, go over to the Shore Excursions desk (as my hubby finally did out of desperation) and ask them to get you in touch with Julie, one of the managers on the ship who - with the help of Sydney the Party Planner, Father Peter the onboard Priest, Randy the Wine Steward from the Pinnacle, and the fantastic ship's photographer, gave us the vow renewal ceremony of our dreams.

Well, if you have made it this far then thank you for reading about our adventures. In synopsis, this was the trip of a lifetime (and with three kids at home, it may truly be a lifetime before we go on another one without them)! We will be back to HAL, and would happily book the Eurodam again with only a little trepidation about the Front Desk. Even despite the hassles, the cruise turned out wonderfully, and HAL delivered their "Signature of Excellence" on nearly every level.

TMJplus1 · October 20, 2009