The Beautiful Eurodam and My Princess Comparison

[MsSoCalCruiser]

First, I want to thank everyone that answered the millions of questions I had prior to our cruise. I really appreciated your help. Here we go…

 

I stumbled on an itinerary that I thought would be perfect for my daughter and I. I have been to both Victoria and Vancouver but only for a few hours at each location. I have also been through the inside passage a few years ago when I did the Seattle round-trip to Alaska itinerary. My daughter on the other hand has only cruised twice and both times were the 3 day trips to Ensenada. This itinerary was a short and sweet 4 day cruise, round-trip from Seattle.

 

Lately, I have only been sailing with Princess. My last cruise was in February to Cabo on the Ruby Princess. I am approaching elite status so I started out looking for a Princess cruise. When I saw this Holland America itinerary, I knew that I could not pass it up and I immediately booked it.

 

We landed in Seattle and met at the airport. I had been asking a million questions on the Holland America boards so I knew that we wanted to have lunch at the Dive In. I created my own which was basically the High Dive, no cheese, with applewood smoked bacon and frizzled onions on a brioche bun. My daughter ordered the Free Style which is a grilled Portabella mushroom with cheddar and Gouda cheese, lettuce, avocado and sliced tomato on a toasted whole wheat bun. They both came with Dive In Sauce and both were fabulous! This turned into our lunch place for the entire trip. I also had the Portabella mushroom and it is fantastic. I will crave this.

 

I've tried the burgers on a few of my Princess cruises from the Trident Grill. I know that food is subjective and you might love them but I am not a fan of the Lido deck or the MDR burgers.

 

For me, the clear winner by a million miles is.... Holland America's Dive In.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Specialty Dining:

 

Twice we went to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner. We ordered shrimp cocktail (which were three of the largest shrimp that I have ever had), crabcakes, filet mignon, and lobster. We basically ordered the same thing both times. Everything was perfect.

 

We also went to Tamarind which was amazing. My daughter ordered the duck and I ordered lobster. We also had soup, the tastiest lobster rolls you can imagine and a few of the vegetable sides.

 

I always go to the Crown Grill every time that I am on a Princess cruise. I enjoy it each and every time. Sometimes my friend and I even go twice because we feel it is that good.

 

As much as I love the Crown Grill, for me, the specialty dining on Holland America was the clear winner.

 

MDR:

 

I have allergies so I always contact the cruise line in advance to make this known. Once I am at the MDR, I always make sure that they know about my allergies.

 

On the second night of the cruise we had dinner in the MDR. I discussed my allergies with my server and we ordered our dinner. When the appetizers arrived my appetizer contained one of the items that I am allergic to even though they were made aware of my allergy. I sent the appetizer back making sure that they knew of their error.

 

I ordered the chicken for my main course. When I was placing my order our server told me to order it without sauce because the sauce contained one of the items that I am allergic to. About 30 long minutes our main courses arrived and sure enough mine had sauce on it. The waiter then tried to convince me that it was OK to eat what I was served. I did not eat it and I ordered something else. I insisted that my daughter eat her dinner and not wait for me due to the extremely long wait. I finally received something that I could eat and it was pretty good. We were in the MDR for at least two hours.

 

On my Princess cruises, I always send an email in advance to report my allergies. When I arrive at the MDR, they talk to me about my allergies. I have never had a problem at the MDR on a Princess cruise. I want to add that we usually receive good service in the MDR when we sail with Princess.

 

Our experience in the MDR was not pleasant at all on the Eurodam and we did not return to the MDR. This is the reason why we spent 3 nights out of 4 at specialty dining venues, which is something that I normally would not do.

 

The winner here is most definitely Princess.

[KroozNut]

Sorry

[MsSoCalCruiser]

The Lido deck:

 

To me this area on the Eurodam feels closed in and really crowded. One of the reasons that it felt this way to me was that one side is lined with cabanas. I wasn't sure if I was a fan of the cabanas until the day arrived that we spent cruising the Inside Passage. For $50 I was able to book the Monte Carlo cabana for the entire day. We had our own dining table, a large lounger for two, and curtains that we could close while we stared out the windows at the stunningly beautiful inside passage. It was awesome and my daughter was in heaven. The cabana turned a very crowded Lido deck into the perfect space. Loved it.

 

To me the Princess Lido decks are wonderful open spaces and much more enjoyable. I know a lot of people don't care for it but I really like the Movies Under the Stars. Because of this I really prefer the Lido decks on Princess ships.

 

Shows and Activities:

 

I usually do not attend many shows in the main theater but I read on the HAL boards that the Eurodam had a Mainstage show called "Planet Earth II in Concert" that had rave reviews. The show was a combination of a planet earth film that was made for Holland America and live symphony music. On a scale of 1 to 10 we both rated the show a 20! We both said that we would pay to see this. If you ever get a chance to see this show, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

 

Unfortunately there were not many activities or interactive game shows on the Eurodam. Because of this I was bored on our sea day. As much as I loved lounging in the cabana after three or four hours, boredom hit me. On Princess my friends and I really like attending the shows and game shows in the Explorers and Vista lounges. Because of this Princess is the winner for me. If they would show the Planet Earth show on the Princess ships too, it would be perfect.

 

The Ship:

 

The Eurodam is beautiful! We both really loved this ship. Our obstructed Oceanview cabin had a great view. If you are ever going to sail on the Eurodam and want an obstructed Oceanview, the view in cabin 4127 is perfect. The Crow's Nest is a lovely space where we spent time each evening.

 

The Cruiseline:

 

I would definitely sail again with Holland America again but only on short 3 or 4 day cruises. I'm afraid that I would be bored with anything longer than that due to the lack of the type of activities I enjoy.

 

Again, thank you all for your helpful replies prior to our cruise. I'm sorry this turned out a lot longer than I had planned. Please let me know if you have any questions and will do my best to answer them for you.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Sorry

KroozNut, why are you sorry? :)

[Himself]

Thank you for your candid report.

[erewhon]

Thank you for the comparison.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

How was your itinerary? Did you do any scenic cruising? Thanks!

[MsSoCalCruiser]

How was your itinerary? Did you do any scenic cruising? Thanks!

 

We LOVED the itinerary! Round trip Seattle with port stops for the entire day in both Victoria and Vancouver. We had a full day of scenic cruising in the Inside Passage. Fabulous!

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Thank you for your candid report.

You're welcome and thank you too :)

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Thank you for the comparison.

You're welcome and thank you too!

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review and comparisons!

[Water Log]

In January we were on the Regal Princess for one week in the Caribbean and the next week on the Eurodam. Although we are 3 star on HAL, we have not sailed on a HAL ship since 2014. I was so looking forward to the Eurodam and was sorely disappointed. The ship felt tired and run down. I hated the decor and felt that furniture in both the public areas and cabins were overdue for replacement. We were frankly bored. The best parts was the dive in and the spa. Food was bland and the only decent meal I had was the repeat luncheon where you pick up your tiles. Unless something remarkable happens we will not be booking HAL again. In fact when we returned we booked an upcoming cruise to Alaska.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

In January we were on the Regal Princess for one week in the Caribbean and the next week on the Eurodam. Although we are 3 star on HAL, we have not sailed on a HAL ship since 2014. I was so looking forward to the Eurodam and was sorely disappointed. The ship felt tired and run down. I hated the decor and felt that furniture in both the public areas and cabins were overdue for replacement. We were frankly bored. The best parts was the dive in and the spa. Food was bland and the only decent meal I had was the repeat luncheon where you pick up your tiles. Unless something remarkable happens we will not be booking HAL again. In fact when we returned we booked an upcoming cruise to Alaska.

I have not had the opportunity to sail on either the regal princess or the royal princess. Next year I do have three cruises booked for the royal princess when she arrives in SoCal. I will be on the Star Princess this Saturday so like you I will be comparing ships.

 

What ship did you book for your Alaska cruise?

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Thanks for your review and comparisons!

Thank you, too!

[Water Log]

I have not had the opportunity to sail on either the regal princess or the royal princess. Next year I do have three cruises booked for the royal princess when she arrives in SoCal. I will be on the Star Princess this Saturday so like you I will be comparing ships.

 

What ship did you book for your Alaska cruise?

We booked Emerald for Alaska in September and booked her again in January for Hawaii. We had las been on the Emerald for a transatlantic back in 2014 and found it enjoyable.

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to do a comparison between HAL and Princess.

We prefer the food in the Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill over the main dining room.

[Lady Arwen]

Thank you for sharing your experience on Eurodam. We really like this ship, too. We are Elite with Princess and to be honest we're mostly HAL cruisers now. We find the food much better on HAL as are their itineraries. We would sail Princess again for the right price and the right itinerary.

[cvpends]

In January we were on the Regal Princess for one week in the Caribbean and the next week on the Eurodam. Although we are 3 star on HAL, we have not sailed on a HAL ship since 2014. I was so looking forward to the Eurodam and was sorely disappointed. The ship felt tired and run down. I hated the decor and felt that furniture in both the public areas and cabins were overdue for replacement. We were frankly bored. The best parts was the dive in and the spa. Food was bland and the only decent meal I had was the repeat luncheon where you pick up your tiles. Unless something remarkable happens we will not be booking HAL again. In fact when we returned we booked an upcoming cruise to Alaska.

 

 

 

I would be interested to see your comparison if you cruise Eurodam again post dry dock. She was stunningly beautiful and in excellent condition when I sailed her last week.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[Cruizer Bill]

Thanks for your review. We try other cruise lines every few years but keep coming back to HAL.

[KroozNut]

KroozNut, why are you sorry? :)

 

My mistake. Tried to make a correction and messed it up. Nothing at all about your review. Really enjoyed the comparison. Although we haven't yet sailed Princess, we love HAL, and are sailing Eurodam later this year. Thanks for posting your insightful comments!

[OlsSalt]

At-sea day "boredom" on HAL ships seems to be the repeated negative theme. And a desire for "game show" type daytime entertainment.

[KroozNut]

At-sea day "boredom" on HAL ships seems to be the repeated negative theme. And a desire for "game show" type daytime entertainment.

 

Yes, and my response to that is I've never been bored on a HAL ship. As for 'game show' type entertainment, definitely not for me or my DW.. which is one of the reasons we like HAL so much! :)