Hello HAL folks, A few questions on Eurodam

[skidawg71]

My partner and I are looking to jump ship from Carnival to Holland America for our next cruise. We've enjoyed our Carnival cruises but looking to move beyond the hairy chest contests and bad music. We're reaching well into our 40's and looking for a more relaxing type atmosphere with a crowd more our speed.

 

The thing we've always appreciated about Carnival however, is the great gyms, sauna's, steam, and how these are free in the Men's and Lady's locker rooms. Looking over the ships at HAL, it seems these are all unisex and I'm worried they require additional fees for features that are usually free on other lines. For instance, Eurodam is touting the therapy spa pools. Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of guy that likes to sit around in a warm puddle with a bunch of strangers, let alone pay for it every day. Happy to pay for great experiences but hate getting nickeled and dimed to death for things that used to be included.

 

Also, we are seriously looking at booking the VT Spa Cabins on the Observation deck. We enjoy being up high and far forward. I know it is only a standing balcony but thinking about purchasing a cabana in the retreat for the entire week so I can live fine with a small balcony. Has anyone stayed in one of these rooms? I'm looking at 11002 but worried about the proximity to the Crow's nest and Explorers, if there is a lot of noise from people coming and going.

 

Lastly, has anyone stayed in a VF or VH room on deck 4?? Is this bad location/noise from theater above? I know it has the steal rails but is that a real downer??

 

Anything else you can tell me about the Eurodam or Holland America in general would be helpful too.

 

Thank you!!

__________________

[RuthC]

My partner and I are looking to jump ship from Carnival to Holland I'm looking at 11002 but worried about the proximity to the Crow's nest and Explorers, if there is a lot of noise from people coming and going.

You really shouldn't have a noise problem coming from those rooms.

Your cabin is on port side, in a separate passageway from the entrance to the Crow's Nest. That room is basicly a quiet venue at night. There is a solo musician, playing more background music than to entertain. Explorations Cafe is on starboard. It's the combination library/Internet center, with a specialize coffee bar. Not a noise-maker, imo.

[janiceah]

We talked to people that had rented the cabana next to ours on our Eurodam cruise & they had a cabin on the 11th deck. They loved it there. They said they didn't mind the small balcony as they had a Retreat Cabana & loved being right next to the Exploration Cafe & the Cabanas. I'm positive they would have told us if it had been noisy.

 

I have to say that I loved that area also & would consider a cabin there ourselves the next time.

 

We had Cabin 5070 which we loved. Yes, it was over the lifeboats but you don't really pay much attention to it. We did not hear any extra noise & were very happy with our location.

 

Can't help with the Spa as we never used it. It sure looked beautiful though.

[Typhoon1]

Hi Boyz,

 

We've just completed the RSVP charter on board the Eurodam, if you love cruising and the finer things in life, you'll love the Eurodam.

[kent4489]

We had a Retreat cabana for the week. And we were booked in a VT cabin, but HAL upgraded us (although we requested no upgrade). The ship was full so we could not get it changed back. It didn't ruin our cruise, but would have been a prefect cabin location for us. It was quiet up there. We were in a VQ on Deck 10. We were disappointed about the upgrade.

 

We aren't really spa people either, but we received complimentary thermal passes and tried it out. Nice! It was quiet and only another couple in the hydrotherapy pool. We were the only ones in the dry sauna and the steam sauna. And the thermal loungers were fantastic. Later in the week, we bought a day pass... it is so relaxing!

 

The Retreat is fabulous!

[PattiG]

The thing that is all important to me is that the Eurodam had the best food of any ship I've been on -- and I've been on quite a few.

 

Enjoy!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Do try the Silk Dem for cocktails and the Tamarind for dinner.

[skidawg71]

Thank you everyone, for all our help. We are looking forward to our Holland America cruise. I think we are going for the Eurodam on December 11, 2010

[IRL_Joanie]

Thank you everyone, for all our help. We are looking forward to our Holland America cruise. I think we are going for the Eurodam on December 11, 2010

Hi and welcome skidawag and partner to Cruise Critic!!

 

To help you out here is a direct link to the HAL Staterooms/Cabins Eurodam Page that I have photos and descriptions of from Cruise Critic Members. There are some photos of VQ and VT staterooms along with descriptions of them and the verandah/Balconies. You will also find photos of the various areas of the ship, which I have enlarged for better viewing: http://joanjett2000.topcities.com/HAL/Eurodam/index.html

 

Joanie

[sail7seas]

Tamarind Restaurant is so over the top delicious it's a real treat. We dined there in March 2009 twice and enjoyed it. Lovely setting, great service and good food. We went back February 2010 and the food was incredible. If you liked it last year, you won't believe it this year. Really excellent and the service and setting remain as delightful as ever.

 

Tamarind was just voted the best alternative restaurant at sea by one of those groups who do those ratings.... I forget which one it is.

 

[jumelle]

I was just on the Eurodam and we had moderate(to the staff) rough seas on a sea day. The rocking is much worse in the bow, especially the higher up you go. My daughter and I tried to go to the gym and could not stay. We them found some chairs out on the promenade deck midship and were fine.

Which is by the way a great place to relax.

[skidawg71]

Thanks Joanie for all the photos. Wow, I can only imagine the amount of work and research for this site.

 

Thanks so much to everyone that replied, you were a great help. We've booked for the December 11th sailing on Eurodam and looking forward to our first experience on HAL!

[skidawg71]

Hi Boyz,

 

We've just completed the RSVP charter on board the Eurodam, if you love cruising and the finer things in life, you'll love the Eurodam.

 

Thanks Typhoon! I may be in contact to ask you a few questions about this ship.

 

Cheers!

[shelltherunner]

My partner and I did a R.S.V.P. cruise on the Eurodam last February with about 25 of our friends. This was my first cruise and her third. The Tamarind was wonderful! The spa is actually very nice. If you book on a port day then there are not many people there. A friend of ours booked one of the cabanas and loved it. Where is your cruise going?

[Typhoon1]

My partner and I did a R.S.V.P. cruise on the Eurodam last February with about 25 of our friends. This was my first cruise and her third. The Tamarind was wonderful! The spa is actually very nice. If you book on a port day then there are not many people there. A friend of ours booked one of the cabanas and loved it. Where is your cruise going?

 

Ports of Call: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.; Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

 

Similar to the 2009 RSVP, except we substituted St. John for St. Thomas.

[CruisinManiac]

Thanks Joanie for all the photos. Wow, I can only imagine the amount of work and research for this site.

 

Thanks so much to everyone that replied, you were a great help. We've booked for the December 11th sailing on Eurodam and looking forward to our first experience on HAL!

 

What did you end up booking? I have some photos of the VF if you ended up with that Cat. In fact, I think they are on Joanie's site under the Noordam. We loved the closed-in verandah.

 

I also have photos of the cabana's that I need to post and get to Joanie. :)

[kent4489]

My partner and I are looking to jump ship from Carnival to Holland America for our next cruise. We've enjoyed our Carnival cruises but looking to move beyond the hairy chest contests and bad music. We're reaching well into our 40's and looking for a more relaxing type atmosphere with a crowd more our speed.

 

The thing we've always appreciated about Carnival however, is the great gyms, sauna's, steam, and how these are free in the Men's and Lady's locker rooms. Looking over the ships at HAL, it seems these are all unisex and I'm worried they require additional fees for features that are usually free on other lines. For instance, Eurodam is touting the therapy spa pools. Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of guy that likes to sit around in a warm puddle with a bunch of strangers, let alone pay for it every day. Happy to pay for great experiences but hate getting nickeled and dimed to death for things that used to be included.

 

Also, we are seriously looking at booking the VT Spa Cabins on the Observation deck. We enjoy being up high and far forward. I know it is only a standing balcony but thinking about purchasing a cabana in the retreat for the entire week so I can live fine with a small balcony. Has anyone stayed in one of these rooms? I'm looking at 11002 but worried about the proximity to the Crow's nest and Explorers, if there is a lot of noise from people coming and going.

 

Lastly, has anyone stayed in a VF or VH room on deck 4?? Is this bad location/noise from theater above? I know it has the steal rails but is that a real downer??

 

Anything else you can tell me about the Eurodam or Holland America in general would be helpful too.

 

Thank you!!

__________________

 

The Eurodam is wonderful. Yes, do it. And the best is the Retreat... don't even hesitate. You will love it. I think the VT would be perfect. We booked a VT (specific cabin) and requested no upgrade. However, we were upgraded to a VQ on deck 10. I would rather we had remained in the VT (I'm not sure if it was HAL or TA that was to blame). Anyway, the VQ was fine, but being on deck 11 right outside the Retreat would have been perfect. And I'm sure noise would not be a problem... very quiet up there. We are not "spa people", especially DH, but included in our cabin was a complimentary day pass for the thermal spa... we REALLY enjoyed it. So much so that we booked another day and it was DH's idea. (I had a manicure, so mine was half price.) The hydropool was really nice and not crowded at all. We were alone most of the time. We liked both the dry and steam saunas, but preferred the steam and amazing aroma. I could have spent the day on the stone (ceramic?) chairs... OMG! So relaxing. Regardless, if you use the thermal suite or not, the Retreat is fantastic and I really think it would be ideal in conjunction with a VT cabin.

[CruisinManiac]

 

 

 

[Willsot]

On our spring Eurodam cruise friends invited us to spend the afternoon with them in their retreat cabana and we loved it. I would also recommend getting a cabana on Half Moon Cay. As others have said, the Tamarind is another wonderful dining option on the Eurodam. You can pre-book a dinner online and I recommend making a Tamrarind lunch reservation as soon as you board.

[CruisinManiac]

I guess it is just us, but DH and I were not impressed with the HMC cabanas. We checked one out before the "renters" arrived. They are pretty enough, but what we found was a tight space with bird(seagull) poop all over the deck, and birds jumping around in the fresh fruit basket.:eek: I suppose had the day been extremely hot, an air-conditioner and fan would have been nice, but we just don't see paying for one. ;)

 

Here is a close-up of the first cabana on the beach:

 

 

[Grandma Gilly]

Just to re-iterate what everyone else has said - book a retreat cabana. It is definitely the best money spent. I don't think you can specify which one but we were lucky and had one overlooking the deck below - these have open fronts. The cabanas on the side have plexiglass from floor to ceiling so although there are wonderful seaviews they can be quite stifling. Of course the ideal are the corner family ones which have the best of both worlds. Enjoy!

[shelltherunner]

Ports of Call: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; San Juan, Puerto Rico; St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.; Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

 

Similar to the 2009 RSVP, except we substituted St. John for St. Thomas.

 

 

 

It is a fun itenry. Since there was a large group of us, we reserved three of the cabanas on Half Moon Cay. I think that was my favorite part since shade was scarce and I managed an odd shaped sunburn the day before! I know someone else posted a complaint about the sea gull droppings but at least in the cabanas you can SEE the droppings. Can't see it in the sand! :D You will have a blast!

[CruisinManiac]

I know someone else posted a complaint about the sea gull droppings but at least in the cabanas you can SEE the droppings. Can't see it in the sand! :D

 

Wasn't complaining, just observing, because we didn't rent one. :D You do have a good point, but the deck should have been cleaned. Actually, the decks could use a refurbishing. It's the birds all over the fruit basket that really got me. One was pecking the bananas. :eek:

 

I think that was my favorite part since shade was scarce and I managed an odd shaped sunburn the day before!

 

If it were hot and sunny, and you didn't want sun, I could also see where the cabana would come in handy. We happened to be there when it was cool. Since the cabana was in the shade, it was even cooler there. I commented to my DH that I was glad we had not wasted money booking the cabana because we would have been really cold. :eek: As it was, we had rented a clam shell which we didn't use for anything other than our stuff. Instead, we used loungers that were out in the sun to keep us warm.

 

I'm just cautioning that the cabanas are not always that awesome, depending on the weather. What if you booked a cabana and it rained? The ship still stops in the rain (as it was when we first arrived) so you still pay. :rolleyes:

[Typhoon1]

Thanks Typhoon! I may be in contact to ask you a few questions about this ship.

Cheers!

 

Leave some contact info in your profile or in a post and I will drop you a note. We can then address your specific questions.

[Typhoon1]

I guess it is just us, but DH and I were not impressed with the HMC cabanas. We checked one out before the "renters" arrived.

 

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but don't bash the HMC cabanas if you have'nt tried one.

 

Personally, a visit to HMC is incomplete without a cabana.