New to HAL

[flying fingers]

I am planning my first cruise on HAL. Looking at either the Eurododam or Westerdam in January 2015. Almost identical itinerary (Eurodam - St Thomas; Westerdam - St. Maarten). Basically same price. Which ship would you choose and why? Looking forward to hearing about both!

 

PS: RD64 - You know what I like on a cruise - which would you choose?

Edited June 19, 2014 by flying fingers

[sail7seas]

All things being equal, my first choice likely would be Eurodam as I love Tamarind Restaurant and Silk Den Lounge. Only Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam have those two venues.

 

Having said that, I've sailed Westerdam three cruises and totally enjoyed it. She's a pretty ship. :)

[summersigh]

We love the Westerdam - haven't been on the Eurodam.

 

Have done both itineraries ..... We'd take the trip with St Maarten ... A day at the Sunset Bar & Grill followed up by a box of chocolate is heaven on earth!! :D

[Alberta Quilter]

All things being equal, my first choice likely would be Eurodam as I love Tamarind Restaurant and Silk Den Lounge. Only Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam have those two venues.

 

Having said that, I've sailed Westerdam three cruises and totally enjoyed it. She's a pretty ship. :)

 

I totally agree. All other things being equal, Tamarind tips the scale in favour of Eurodam.

[RuthC]

Westerdam. If I'm going to go to the Caribbean, I would much rather go to St. Maarten than St. Thomas. Both are too crowded, but St. Thomas is more too crowded.

The E-dam Tamarind Restaurant is nice, but so is the Pinnacle (which both ships have), so I can pass on the Tamarind.

[mhurdle127]

We are going on the identical cruise this fall on the Westerdam to what we did on the Eurodam three years ago (which happens to be the Eastern Caribbean cruise). Having started out on the Veendam (one of the smaller ships in the fleet), we thought the Eurodam was just too big. The Westerdam is closer in size to the Eurodam than it is to the Veendam, but we are looking forward to being on a slightly smaller ship. I agree with Ruth C about the St. Thomas crowd - there will be five ships in port when we are there in October and we don't even plan to get off the ship.

[flying fingers]

I don't care too much about the ports having been to all many times. Often I never go into the ports at all. (However, I love, love, love Half Moon Cay so I will be floating in the ocean that day!) I am just wondering which ship do you like better? I am getting tired of ships with 3000+ passengers and think the Westerdam would be a nice change.

 

I will be traveling solo and like to spend time quietly during the day and then have a few pre-dinner cocktails and conversation with fellow passengers followed by a nice leisurely dinner, then another cocktail or two, a show or a trip to the casino. I am opting not to get a balcony this time because I found it to be too isolating on my last couple of trips. I meet many more people when I out and about on deck.

[Susie51]

Westerdam because of St. Maarten. Lovely ship.

[Viesczy]

In my opinion St. Tommy is a dump compared to St. Marty (which just feels overly packed/commercialized).

 

That said, E-dam has the 2 unique venues to it.

 

If pressed, I'd bite the bullet and deal with the dump of St. Tommy, but you won't really "miss" out if you pick the Westy if you decide against St. Tommy.

 

Derek

[cbr663]

We have booked the Caribbean cruise on the Westerdam for Jan 2015. We traveled on the Eurodam a few years ago and it was the worst cruise we have ever taken. I have heard similar comments from other travelers as well.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Westerdam -- she goes to St Maarten.

Eurodam goes to St Thomas and docks at Crown Bay. JMO-- but we don't like it there.

[canadianbear]

We really enjoyed the Eurodam-I was worried about having only been on the smaller Ryndam before but did not find the Euordam overwhelming at all.

 

Love, love, loved the Tamarind (not so much the Pinnacle). Nice to have a tough decision about which ship! Enjoy your cruise whichever one you pick.:)

[sail7seas]

We have booked the Caribbean cruise on the Westerdam for Jan 2015. We traveled on the Eurodam a few years ago and it was the worst cruise we have ever taken. I have heard similar comments from other travelers as well.

 

 

I'm curious. What made it the worst cruise you ever took?

We sailed Eurodam five cruises and really enjoyed that ship.

When did you sail E'dam?

 

 

[cbr663]

I'm curious. What made it the worst cruise you ever took?

We sailed Eurodam five cruises and really enjoyed that ship.

When did you sail E'dam?

 

 

 

We sailed on the Eurodam in Jan 2012. You can read my review, which touched on some of the problems, here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=96447.

 

It was this cruise in which we swore we would never book another Neptune suite again.

[lazey1]

We do not care very much for either port and we love both ships.;)

If the only consideration was the ship we would choose the Eurodam because of the Tamarind Restaurant.:)

[Crazy For Cats]

I've sailed on both ships and have had good memories of both. I prefer the Westerdam over the Eurodam as the crew has been so much more attentive. I would also prefer to go to St Maarten over St Thomas.

[summersigh]

We don't eat in the specialty restaurants on a ship ... we live where there are a lot of restaurants of all sorts so if we're going to spend $$ we'd rather do it at home and enjoy the company in the MDR while crusing. (not a reflection on the specialty venues - just our preference) :)

Thus ... those specialty dining venues are not a consideration when we choose a ship or cruise.

[cruz chic]

We sailed on the Eurodam in Jan 2012. You can read my review, which touched on some of the problems, here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=96447.

 

It was this cruise in which we swore we would never book another Neptune suite again.

 

Except for the dirty room this was some of the things I experienced on the Westerdam to be basically called a liar by a few on this board. I hope you have a better time on the Westy than I did. I sailed on the Eurodam in Oct 2013 and I have to say it was probably my best cruise. I hope you'll try the Eurodam again but I don't blame you if you don't. After 2 not great cruises on the Westy its going to take a lot to get me back.

 

OP, obviously I pick the Eurodam:D.

[kjw869]

We've been on both and either would be fine. We looked at the Eastern Caribbean for January 2015 and chose the Westerdam because we like St Maarten much than St. Thomas.

 

We have visited St. Thomas three times and it's just become too crowded for us.

 

Last year we visited St Maarten on our 11-day Noordam cruise and loved Marigot, our second trip to that island.

 

We've been on the Westerdam three times and it's one of our favorite HAL ships. We do like the Tamarind, but choose the itinerary over one of the dining venues.

[DaveOKC]

I am planning my first cruise on HAL. Looking at either the Eurododam or Westerdam in January 2015. Almost identical itinerary (Eurodam - St Thomas; Westerdam - St. Maarten). Basically same price. Which ship would you choose and why? Looking forward to hearing about both!

 

PS: RD64 - You know what I like on a cruise - which would you choose?

 

Shipwise I like the Eurodam better - more options, as others have mentioned.

 

As far as ports, I agree with St Martin over St Thomas, but one option is to do St Thomas and take the excursion to St John (they leave right from the dock area).

 

DaveOKC

Edited June 19, 2014 by DaveOKC

[Boytjie]

For me:

 

• Ships: Eurodam over Westerdam
  - newer ship, has Tamarind and Silk Den.
  
• Ports: Toss-up
  - St. Maarten has Sunset Beach with planes landing almost on top of you and Orient beach
  - St. Thomas has good scuba diving and St. John is a ferry ride away.
  

[cbr663]

Except for the dirty room this was some of the things I experienced on the Westerdam to be basically called a liar by a few on this board. I hope you have a better time on the Westy than I did. I sailed on the Eurodam in Oct 2013 and I have to say it was probably my best cruise. I hope you'll try the Eurodam again but I don't blame you if you don't. After 2 not great cruises on the Westy its going to take a lot to get me back.

 

OP, obviously I pick the Eurodam:D.

 

I don't understand why someone would call you a liar. Your experiences are just that - they are your experiences. Whether they are good, bad, exceptional... it doesn't matter. It is still your experience.

 

It's amusing yet frustrating sometimes also how it appears that some posters have this need to immediately post an opposing viewpoint. It's like I state that our meal in the MDR was cold, someone has to immediately post that their meal wasn't cold. So what? It doesn't erase my cold meal and it doesn't take away from the fact that my meal was cold.

 

I am happy to hear that you had a wonderful cruise on the Eurodam. She is a beautiful ship with lots to offer. I have taken several more cruises since our Eurodam cruise and have learned a lot more about HAL and the service that it offers. That is why I am still confident booking a cruise with HAL.

[Typhoon1]

You will be well satisfied with either ship. Personally, we would choose Eurodam. The additional amenities aboard the Signature ships tips the scale in Eurodams favor.

[summersigh]

I don't understand why someone would call you a liar. Your experiences are just that - they are your experiences. Whether they are good, bad, exceptional... it doesn't matter. It is still your experience.

 

It's amusing yet frustrating sometimes also how it appears that some posters have this need to immediately post an opposing viewpoint. It's like I state that our meal in the MDR was cold, someone has to immediately post that their meal wasn't cold. So what? It doesn't erase my cold meal and it doesn't take away from the fact that my meal was cold.

.

 

I don't think the intent of most posters who offer differing experiences is to call the OP a liar but rather to show that whatever the problem was is not a systemic problem in their experience.:cool:

[cruz chic]

I don't understand why someone would call you a liar. Your experiences are just that - they are your experiences. Whether they are good, bad, exceptional... it doesn't matter. It is still your experience.

 

It's amusing yet frustrating sometimes also how it appears that some posters have this need to immediately post an opposing viewpoint. It's like I state that our meal in the MDR was cold, someone has to immediately post that their meal wasn't cold. So what? It doesn't erase my cold meal and it doesn't take away from the fact that my meal was cold.

 

I am happy to hear that you had a wonderful cruise on the Eurodam. She is a beautiful ship with lots to offer. I have taken several more cruises since our Eurodam cruise and have learned a lot more about HAL and the service that it offers. That is why I am still confident booking a cruise with HAL.

Yeah, I remember posting that food is rarely hot to be told by many posters that it is. I don't see how it can be. Glad you are sticking with HAL. I love the newer ships but I've had both good and bad experiences on the NA in the same year! I'm very tempted to switch my cruise to the Eurodam because the price is better but I guess I'll stick with the NA. It seems that some folks take it as a personal insult when you say anything negative about "their" ship.