Eurodam Dec 11th Review

[skidawg71]

Good morning everyone. Here's a bit of a delayed review from our Eurodam Cruise last month. Its a bit long but hopefully it helps some. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer the best I can.

 

 

Background....

We are a male couple in our late thirties and forties celebrating our anniversary and my partner's birthday. We are not "cruise people". That is to say, we don't just go on cruises for all our vacations. We travel in many different ways throughout the world, staying in villas when we want to really experience a culture. I don't find cruising a good way to see the world or to really understand and absorb other cultures and people, but as a simple way to relax and unwind at a great value, it's hard to beat sometimes. This was one of those trips. Just to let go, unwind and do a little pampering.

 

We have had some good experience on Carnival before, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity. Each has it's own positives and also fair share of drawbacks also. We were looking for a little bit of a notch above than the typical cruise experience. Settling into our mid-lives and in a more secure place, we were ready to toss out the hairy chest contests, rock-climbing walls, ice rinks, families at the lido hog trough, ignorant stares at us holding hands, and constant hyperactive announcements reminding you of how much fun your having.

 

So when we read all the comments about Holland America being for a more mature group of people, much fewer kids, and that the ships close down at 11pm, we knew this was our type of cruise line!

 

On Celebrity, we loved the Art and music but thought the food was best suited to hospitals and retirement homes. On Carnival, we loved the spaciousness of the cabins but hated the party atmosphere. Unfortunately, we couldn't find much to love about Royal. Do I really need to surf on a ships deck surrounded by unmanaged kids, or would I rather have my own cabana and brought fresh fruit and champagne all day??? Call me crazy, but.....

 

Arrival and Check-in:

We arrived pretty early, about 11:15 and we were quickly able to get checked-in and had our number for boarding. They make this very smooth and easy. Anyone that complains about the process is being unreasonable.

 

OnBoard:

We boarded the ship and went to the lido aft pool where we had a few tasty beers and made use of the salad bar in the Lido restaurant. I have to say, I loved the Lido restaurant and the fact that people are served without trays. I know it's a bone of contention for people who enjoy "loadin up" at the trough. However, we were delighted in this and how it prevented the often gluttonous (spelling?) consumption and overeating of food often seen in other lido buffets.

 

Another refreshing difference to HAL was that they have no problem in us bringing a few bottles of our favorite wine on board with us.

 

After a few hours, we made our way to our balcony cabin 10011. It was smartly laid out and the decor was subdued and unadorned. Just Perfect. I have only one complaint about the cabin, and I'm sure it's just me. They have put in these plastic one-piece bathrooms for the floor and the tub. My problem is with the floor of the bathtub/shower combo. I hate it when the plastic mooshes and is spongy. For some reason it feels weird and dirty in some way. Again, I'm sure this is just me??

 

Ship Overall:

The Eurodam is an incredibly beautiful ship and very well laid out. There are no big areas of congregation on the sun decks or elsewhere. It had this great ability to prevent you from seeing a sea of bodies and people everywhere. At no time, did we feel like there were any more then a couple hundred people onboard. It seemed intimate, personable, and just the right scale. Our cabin stewards immediately remembered our names and there were constant smiles and hellos from this hard working group of employees throughout the ship.

 

We loved the mid ship promenade, teak wood details, and the understated elegance of the Eurodam. It seems the atrium light fixture is pretty controversial and subject to varying tastes, but I loved it. It could however be a bit smaller in scale?

 

Dining:

I know a lot of attention is made to this area so I won’t get into it too much, except to say that the main dining room food was consistently good. Not fantastic, but if you accept the fact that it is mass-produced food for 2000 people, it is amazing how good it is.

 

We ate twice at the Tamarind. This was our favorite place for dining. The food, service and selections are outstanding. We especially fell in love with the beautiful servers. These ladies are stunning and so friendly and accommodating. It was probably the most interesting flavors and non-cruise ship food we have ever had at sea.

 

Cabanas:

Worth-every-penny. Each morning there was a large basket of fresh fruit, water bottles, a table for 2 and 2 lounge chairs with plenty of towels. The service from the attendants was so prompt and friendly. We felt compelled to give them a little extra when the cruise was over. I loved being able to go from the cabana to sun bathing area without having to search for an empty lounge chair. A constant supply of champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries accompanied every afternoon in our little oasis.

 

Culinary Art’s School:

I had a really hard time finding any information or reviews of this so we really didn’t know what to expect. The two of us, and 7 others spent one afternoon with the Pinnacle Grill Chef preparing and cooking a fantastic lunch in the demonstration kitchen. It was very fun, entertaining, and informative. We are both pretty good cooks so we didn’t really learn anything new, but the beautiful, tasty and fresh lunch was worth the price alone. As I recall, it was $20 per person. Lunch consisted of a trio of bruschetta, mushroom risotto, grilled lamb chops, and finally crème brulee. We started with Champagne then moved to white wine and finally a very nice red. We each got souvenir aprons and chef hats for the memories. I would highly recommend it.

 

Entertainment and Music:

My partner works in the stage theater industry so it’s always interesting for us to catch a bit of the “big shows”. These pretty much consist of amateurish music and dance reviews of popular songs that make us cringe after about 10 minutes or so. The shows on the Eurodam were no exception. However, the music in the lobby bar featured a jazz trio that was outstanding. This quickly become our favorite place to enjoy a scotch or glass of wine before heading into the main dining room. There were many couples that danced and one in particular that was very good and kept us all entertained. We poked our head into the “piano bar” once or twice but instantly gave up. Just once I’d like to go into a ships piano bar and not hear Billy Joel! Where has the great American song book gone? How many times can you hear someone trying to imitate “Piano Man”???!!

 

The Cruise Director, Jason was personable, professional, informative, yet never gave too many announcements. He was kind enough to include some LGBT get-togethers on the daily event schedule. Our group met in the Silk Den, a very relaxing bar with a great view and good drinks. It was fun meeting other gay and lesbian travelers and share a common thread and conversation. It was a very pleasant and grown-up group of people. We shared a lot of common interests in travel and experiences.

 

Best Port:

Without a doubt it is Half Moon Cay. Without going on and on, it is simply paradise.

 

Overall and last thoughts:

This was our best cruise experience ever. The relaxed pace, friendly and accommodating service, and classiness of the Eurodam was everything we were looking for and more. There were no constant P/A’s to sell things, harassing photographers or an annoying and hyper cruise director. If I had to gripe at anything, I would have love to have seen a bit more originally art on this elegant ship. Too often, the art onboard was “reproductions and replicas. I think this is a bit of a change for HAL. Without being on their other ships, I thought I heard they used to really spend some money including some originally art onboard. Oh well, perhaps it’s just a sign of the economic conditions now. In all, we had a wonderful first time with HAL and the Eurodam. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to those that are looking for a similar experience.

 

If I knew how to post photos, I’d to it. I have some great ones of the Culinary experience and the Cabanas. I’ll try to figure it out, but if I can’t….. Sorry ☺

[MovingForward]

Thank you for your very nice review. I was on the Eurodam 12/11 as well. A few things can definitley be better but I really enjoyed myself - and I sailed for the first time, and also solo. I can't wait to do it again!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Like you -- we also enjoy the Tamarind restaurant.

[Boytjie]

Thanks for your review; glad you enjoyed the Eurodam. :)

 

It is easier to upload pictures to something like Webshots and share the link than to post them here as you can only upload small versions of it.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[kazu]

Thanks for your review. Well done. We like the Tamarind too. It is fantastic. If you sail on HAL's older ships you will see the other art which is very beautiful.

 

Glad you liked your cruise. Thank you for sharing :)

[IRL_Joanie]

Absolutely awesome review of Eurodam!!

 

Your review should answer a worry that one of our newer CC members (a couple months ago) asked about how he and his partner would be looked at while on HAL. We all tried to reassure him that no one would look any differently at them and to go and enjoy!!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your review as a 1st time HAL cruiser. It was great, fair and quite well balanced!!

 

Joanie

[ironin]

Outstanding review, skidawg71! Yours is the second I've read in as many days that took a different tack than the norm, making it all the more interesting. Thanks especially for mentioning the Culinary Arts class. We overlooked those on our last cruise and, as you say, they aren't often mentioned here. Will definitely check into them on our next.

[babygirl722]

I thoroughly enjoyed your well thought out and beautifully written review. We sail on her in a few weeks and I am very excited about spending time in the cabana.

[m steve]

It was the first time in a deluxe suite and like the space and the Neptune. We did Tamarind2x and the chef's table in the theatre. Frank the wine steward was a trip. Reminded me of a character in a movie.

[skidawg71]

Thanks everyone, for taking time to read my review. I forgot to mention that we had a wonderful table with the perfect tablemates. I don't know how the Maitre d does it, but they matched us just right. One young couple from California and another couple from Maryland. They were a delight. Finally, they teamed us with another male couple from Vermont. We had great conversations and never a dull moment.

 

Lastly...

 

Thermo-suites:

We did this because we were a little disappointed that the only way to be in a sauna or steam room was to pay the $199 per cruise thermo-suite price. It was ok, but I really wish they would put a sauna in the locker rooms to enjoy complimentary. It's one movement in the cruise industry I'm noticing. I understand it's for more revenue, but it's something I miss from older ships. The thermo-pool was nice, but I'm not really the kind of guy that likes to sit around in a warm puddle with strangers :) I probably wouldn't do it again.

[tcook052]

Thermo-suites:

We did this because we were a little disappointed that the only way to be in a sauna or steam room was to pay the $199 per cruise thermo-suite price. It was ok, but I really wish they would put a sauna in the locker rooms to enjoy complimentary. It's one movement in the cruise industry I'm noticing. I understand it's for more revenue, but it's something I miss from older ships. The thermo-pool was nice, but I'm not really the kind of guy that likes to sit around in a warm puddle with strangers :) I probably wouldn't do it again.

 

Interesting. Had you heard about the day pass to the Thermal Suite? I wasn't ready to fork over the whole-long amount you mentioned but think I'll ask at boarding tomorrow whether I can buy a one day pass and give it a try. I understand they're first come, first served so will ask right at boarding and if it happens I think I'll try it but if they're gone I'll survive.

[skidawg71]

Yes, we did think about the day pass but decided to go ahead with the full deal. The mornings were the best time to go as most people tend to use it heavily in the afternoon. It was nice, no question, but I just don't think I'll be itching to do that on our next cruise. In my past experiences, ships would have a nice steam room in the mens and ladies locker rooms. A great place to relax after the gym. Now they are combining this with the whole Thermo thing. Like you, I probably should have tried it for just a day. Oh well, no regrets. It was still very nice :)

 

In thinking about the Eurodam a bit more.... There seems to be only one strange design problem in an otherwise gorgeous ship. In order to access the lido pool, the major entrance to the pool is actually through the lobby of the spa right past the front desk. It would often become a bottle neck when trying to get there. Other than that, the ship was very well organized and thought out.

 

The Captain was probably the youngest and most personable officer I have ever seen. Probably in his late forties. The crew was busy day and night polishing and cleaning every square inch of the Eurodam. We kept commenting on how clean and spotless everything was. Often we would see the captain going around the ship inspecting all areas and stopping to chat with people in the corridors. Very nice.

[RuthC]

Hi, neib. Thank you for your report. I enjoyed reading it, albeit probably not as much as you enjoyed taking the cruise.

I was wondering about this:

Entertainment and Music:

... We poked our head into the “piano bar” once or twice but instantly gave up. Just once I’d like to go into a ships piano bar and not hear Billy Joel! Where has the great American song book gone? How many times can you hear someone trying to imitate “Piano Man”???!!

I, too, get so sick of hearing "Piano Man" that I could scream. Don't any of the current crop of musicians know any other song to identify that they are playing piano?

Tell me, please, who was singing it on this cruise?

[ironin]

Ruth, when we sailed to Alaska last year, someone tipped the piano player to play "Piano Man" what seemd like almost every hour on the hour every single night. A waiter told us it was the same woman almost every time. We didn't scream (we wanted to) but we did head for the exit.

[coka]

Great review Skidawg71! I enjoyed it and found it useful as a newbie here. Thank you for the suggestion in the other thread.

 

RuthC, you are funny as I just read your post below this one!

 

coka

[RuthC]

Ruth, when we sailed to Alaska last year, someone tipped the piano player to play "Piano Man" what seemd like almost every hour on the hour every single night. A waiter told us it was the same woman almost every time. We didn't scream (we wanted to) but we did head for the exit.

Would you please tell me which ship, and who the piano player was?

That way, if the same thing ever happens to me, I'll know I can up the ante to get him not to play it. ;)

[ironin]

LOL! It was aboard the Celebrity Mercury, so I think you're safe ;-).

[erewhon]

skidawg,

 

Thank you for your positive review.

 

You state that when using your cabana, that there was a constant supply of champagne.

Was this champagne or sparkling wine?

[boaterette]

Thank you for the review. Glad you had a good time.

[skidawg71]

Hi Ruth! Is the snow at your place as bad as ours in Pawtucket?? We really got hammered yesterday morning.

 

The Piano Bar performer was called Michael, I think? Can't be totally sure. He was a large man, seemed to be of Asian or polynesian decent, if that helps at all.

[skidawg71]

skidawg,

 

Thank you for your positive review.

 

You state that when using your cabana, that there was a constant supply of champagne.

Was this champagne or sparkling wine?

 

Hmmm... I'm pretty sure it was actual champagne. I know it was french, but possibly not from Champagne region, so there's a chance it was sparkling wine. It was actually quite good and dry. A bit yeasty though and acidic. I have acid problems with sparklers so I can only partake in small amounts or I'm up all night with heartburn :(

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

 

They have put in these plastic one-piece bathrooms for the floor and the tub. My problem is with the floor of the bathtub/shower combo. I hate it when the plastic mooshes and is spongy. For some reason it feels weird and dirty in some way. Again, I'm sure this is just me??

I also hated this. Actually our entire bathroom floor had that mooshy/spongy feeling. We were on the E'dam for 23-days. It took about 2-weeks for me stop automatically cringing each time I stepped on that floor.

[skidawg71]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

 

I also hated this. Actually our entire bathroom floor had that mooshy/spongy feeling. We were on the E'dam for 23-days. It took about 2-weeks for me stop automatically cringing each time I stepped on that floor.

 

LOL, I'm so glad I'm not the only one that's grossed out by this. It's also this sorta sickly yellowish cream color, stamped to look like tile or stone (I'm not fooled). Very oogie. Whenever I'm in a shower that has a spongy floor I get the feeling that it's all rotten beneath and I'm going to break through, plunging into the room below :eek:

 

Other than that, our room was beautiful, plenty of storage. The wall behind the bed was all mirrors, so it helped in adding a sense of space.

[RuthC]

Hi Ruth! Is the snow at your place as bad as ours in Pawtucket?? We really got hammered yesterday morning.

LOL! We've had enough snow since the day after Christmas, that I could be buried in it standing up. :eek:

What's this I heard this morning about flurries this afternoon, and tomorrow afternoon??? :rolleyes:

The Piano Bar performer was called Michael, I think? Can't be totally sure. He was a large man, seemed to be of Asian or polynesian decent, if that helps at all.

Thanks for the information you did share. I like to keep track of these important matters. After all, the musicians move from ship to ship, and there's no telling when I'll meet up with one mentioned here.