Help me with my decision of Eurodam over X Eclipse

[Alisamontreal]

We are a blended family with 5 teens. We have been on RCCI cruises during the New Years week a couple of times in the last few years, most recently the MOS from LA in Dec 2010/Jan 2011. The kids have always had tons of other teens to hang out with.

 

We are a bit tired of RCCI and wanted to try something different. My parents will also be joining us this time (they are 79 and 84) and so we looked at something more upscale - the HAL Eurodam. We are booked on the December 31st - January 7th sailing.

 

Our kids will be 12, 14, 15, 16 and 16 in December. I am worried that HAL skews older than RCCI, and that our kids won't have other teens to hang out with. Has anyone been on a HAL cruise during the school break? Do you think that there will be other teens for them??

 

Our other alternative is Celebrity Eclipse on December 31st. I'm sure that there would be more teens on it, but we (the adults) are not too keen on such a large ship, and to get equivalent accomodations on the Eclipse as we have on the Eurodam (suites/verandas) would be considerably more expensive. I have also heard that the quality of service on HAL is better than X...

 

Can anyone help to either assuage my concerns about HAL :p or convince me that I should change to X :mad:

 

THANKS!!!!

[RuthC]

If it's still school vacation time, then there will be other teens for your kids to hang out with.

In New England, schools generally return a day or two after New Years, so there wouldn't be many teens. Other parts of the country may follow a different schedule.

But if the E-dam is smaller, your parents will appreciate that there's less walking. It's plenty big enough for my legs.

[Alisamontreal]

We are in Montreal, and high school resumes on January 9th or 10th. Our RCCI cruises were always during the 1st week of January, and there were many teens from the US. I guess from areas other than New England where school begins later :confused:

 

Yes, the Eurodam will be far easire for my parents than the Eclipse, and I`m happy for them to have an easier time. I just hope the kids will have fun too....

[eh2zed]

I would be very surprised if there were not a number of teens on board a New Years cruise. Maybe not as many as X but enough. We had our 5 teens on a New Years HAL cruise a number of years ago and there was no shortage. I checked your Roll Call and noticed you were already there but pretty light activity at this point.

[iancal]

They are both great ships and I am certain that there will be lots of teens on board. We have found that both HAL and Celebrity have great service-not a lot of difference between these lines (for our preferences) but there are differences of course between ships.

 

If everthing was equal, we would always opt for the Eclipse, a Solstice class ship. Although larger, we find them to be much brighter and the better laid out than many smaller ships. They feel much less crowded to us.

 

But, since HAL is considerably less money then I would opt for Eurodam as the differences may not be enough to make up for the dollar difference.

 

I would book, get my cabins and then watch pricing on both lines-especially close to final payment date. The pricing could be very different in a month or so-either way. If you see price decreases, jump on them because often they only last a short time.

[Alisamontreal]

Thanks eh2zed - I am definitely comforted knowing that you had teens on your new Year's cruise.

 

Iancal - it really is a significant price difference unless we switch a couple of staterooms from suites to balconies - and have much smaller rooms (with no bathtub - my pet peeve!) But your point is a good one, I will keep my eye on the prices - at least until Sept. 29th when our payment is due and the deposits become non-refundable.

[Islandbuoy]

Been on both classes several times. Both are fine ships--service is similar. Customer demographics-similar. If you're a drinker and can get Elite status on X due to your RCCL status, the nitely "party" is good.

 

As for size: the X is a lot wider , as a result better laid out and probably easier to get around.

[world~citizen]

Can anyone help to either assuage my concerns about HAL :p or convince me that I should change to X. THANKS!!!!

 

Take a look at the reviews of the Eclipse. HALs approach to newbuilds is evolutionary. To me the Eurodam is an oversized Maasdam with two new alternate dining rooms, both executed well. Its conservative. If you like the formula it fits like a glove.

 

The approach of X is more revolutionary. Its changes are more bold, more risky - but potentially more exciting. If you like it you love it. If you don't, well, those are the chances you take.

 

I would go for Eclipse. I prefer the big ship experience of X over HAL. No one beats HAL with its smaller ships though.

 

Just an opinion.:)

 

Smooth sailing...

[andrek]

The last 3 years we have gone on X solstice class ships. Last December we took our 5 kids(17-27 years) on the Eclipse and they loved the ship. They were disappointed that there were not that many kids (2nd week December), but they still managed to meet people and have fun.

 

The Eclipse is elegant and great for adults, as it has the sanctuary area pool for adults only that is easily navigated and never crowded. The food was delicious, the cabins beautiful, and entertainment was good. There is no smoking in cabins, balconies and most places on the ship. I loved it!

 

That being said, we decided to try the Eurodam this holiday. We are going just before Christmas so hope there will be more kids, but my kids are almost adults and love the adult atmosphere. They love to dine and the ports are probably the most important part for them. The price was very good compared to X and we rented a family retreat cabana for the week.

 

So I guess I would say, what is the most important thing to you? Price, Ports, Kids activities? Eclipse dropped their price to under $600 for balcony cabins before our cruise and we all upgraded. So keep checking the prices and get upgraded if you can.

 

Once you figure it out, it sounds like both ships will be good choices.

Good luck with your cruise!

[gelo7]

Wow, great question. Hard for me to answer. We are 50 and 48 years old and our kids are 16, 13, and 10. We have gone on the Eurodam and Eclipse over spring break and our kids found plenty of companionship. We loved both ships and found everything similar. We will be back on the Eurodam next spring.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I love the Solstice Class ships and of course am a big HAL fan but I am going to be truthful you will see far more families with teens on HAL than you will see on Celebrity. The big reason is the 3rd and 4th passenger pricing. HAL does this to encourage families.

While both Celebrity and HAL are premium lines X tends to be a bit more formal over all where HAL is more relaxed elegant. I know of families that have returned from the Solstice Class ships that the teens were a bit dissappointed so my opinion is that HAL may be a better fit for the family.

[SBAnt]

DW and I loved the Eclipse last December. While it had ~2800 people, we never felt like it was crowded. Even on Formal Night we were able to get a table for two with MTD in the MDR with no wait. Also, the hot glass show was a source of endless entertainment for us. In fact, we liked it so much we took a glass blowing class a few months ago.

As for teens, it depends on what they like. If they're just looking for some other teens to hang out with, X or HAL are probably about even. During school time there will not be very many kids/teens on board either ship, but during the Winter Break, there may be dozens. When we were on the Eclipse, I could count the kids on one hand that I ever saw, although they may have been in the kid/teen areas of the ship. If they're looking for active recreation, neither ship has the active pursuits (mini-golf, rock wall) of an RCL ship. The Eclipse reminded me of a really large boutique hotel, with beautiful decor. We really liked our Eclipse cruise, but it was much less active than our cruise on the MOS from LA 8 months before, and we found ourselves missing the active stuff, even if we only did it once or twice.

[Alisamontreal]

Thanks everyone. I think we will stay on the Eurodam, unless X really drops the price of their suites. It doesn't seem as though there is a huge difference in the likelihood of teens on either, and I am hard pressed to give up our reasonably priced accomodations on HAL for either smaller rooms or more expensive similar sized ones on X.

 

Appreciate all the feedback :)

[fgc15527]

Sailed Eclipse last year with my teenage grandaughter. She is a foodie so enjoyed cooking demonstrations and dance classes. Haven't saile HAL yet. Scheduled for March 2012. HAL has cooking classes. If she enjoys we might make the switch to HAL.