Brief (not really) Eurodam Sea of Cortez trip report

[Crusinsusan2]

Will do a proper review when time allows but just a download of our Eurodam Nov 29th-Dec9th. Drove from Palm Springs (rare driving rain!) San Diego embarkation was a breeze. We had never been on Euro but can compare to Zandaam, Westerdam, Koningsdam, New Amsterdam, Osterdam, Volendam, Zuiderdam.  We are super active 50 somethings that have loved Holland for over 20 years. (still happily working and caring for aging family)  Can not report on the MDR this time, chose specialty, Lido, NY Pizza, Dive In or room service. (Active late itinerary's and an overnight had us dining off shore a lot too)   

 

THE GREAT:

Tamarind never fails us on any ship that offers it. 4 meals in 10 days. LOVED it again and our waitstaff Erika and Panatda. Wine Steward Carisma! We find the steak, seafood and soup offerings there more consistently delicious than Pinnacle.  New York Pizza only when Rico was on shift. Have craved his pizza since we were first on the inaugural Koningsdam and were so happy to see him again. Sea View Bar-Mark, Geoffry (Jeff), Kanlaynee are hospitality perfection. The itinerary. Have never been to Loreto or La Paz. Main reason for booking this cruise. Rare itinerary every few years or so. LOVED both (more in review) and will seek again soon for another cruise or land based vacation to get back to either in a heartbeat. Cellar Wine package & Soda card, best deal going with mariner discount. Unlimited Laundry-came back perfectly every time. The casino & staff. Won HUGE last day!! Every hardworking crew member we encountered in every dept.

 

THE GOOD:

Pinnacle for lunch/dinner (did both) lovely service and food. International station at Lido for the lunches when were on board. LOVED the Indian cuisine day. Lido breakfast offerings, those dang cinnamon rolls are dangerous! Eggs made to order, bacon crispy or not. Toast, bagel station and a super fast toaster. No self serve buffet! Cantellano always consistent and good throughout the fleet.

 

THE BAD:

Of all of our trips starting with embarkation we were disappointed with the upkeep of the ship. She is still lovely but tired and in need of TLC. Serious wear and tear on carpets, furniture both in stateroom and hallway carpets. Have not experienced this before on any Holland ship. Short staffed all the way around, cabin still had someone else's socks/tie in the back of the closet and breakfast goo on the coffee table. We loved our cabin stewards so no formal complaint made. As the trip progressed things got better. Too many hours for hard working crew to get the job done well in limited time, particularly on turn around day. Hire more/charge more? Delay embarkation until 3:00 so everything is fresh/wiped down and ready for the embarking guests? Missed the hand washing stations too!   

 

THE AWFUL:

HVAC system. No way to regulate the thermostat fan. Either HOT or COLD. Regardless the fan blew over the bed at high speed with no on/off. Day 6 major demographic of the ship sneezing, coughing with cruise crud simultaneously. (yes, we are the people that wipe the entire stateroom with hospital grade wipes and open every door with a tissue :)  Thankfully we ended this trip with the cough crud instead of beginning with it. Upper respiratory infection for both of us. Husband in construction concerned that air filters/sitting condensate need to be updated replaced to avoid in the future. First time it's happened for us. No fun coming home sick, and can't blame this on an air flight.  

 

THE WORST:

In all of our cruises with Holland this was indeed some of the worst behavior we have ever observed from a large handful of our fellow older passengers. Demanding, loud, finger snapping and disrespectful to the hard working crew and impacting other paying guests. Pushing, shoving, entitled. Behavior that would never be tolerated anywhere on land. This crew took it on the chin with a smile every time when these folks would have been asked the door at any establishment at home. Perhaps that's why they choose a cruise line that caters to an older demo? HAL crew deserves medals for what what we observed. Reminder to self: Never lose your sensor button when you get older (or any age for that matter) to be courteous, respectful, mindful, clean and RESPECTFUL to people around you!      

 

THE ABSOLUTE BEST:

HAL in general, for every treasured memory and adventure we have made starting with my Grandmother that introduced me. (yes many changes and cut-backs since I was a young lady but love it almost the same) The friends we have made along the way for a lifetime. 

 

Disembarkation-super easy. Crazy unnecessary yelling traffic lady on disembark (proved to be comic relief with our fellow passengers to our parking shuttle) I'm certain someone else reading that was there will chime in!    

 

SUMMARY:

Our days in Loreto, La Paz were priceless. Not sure we will sail the Eurodam again unless the itinerary was perfect, and a retrofit/deep clean happens.  

Booked the future cruise deposit so the next adventure awaits!  

       

          

      

 

          

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review!

[kazu]

Thanks for the review.

 

Sorry to hear about the demanding passengers and the needed TLC.

 

Cruise crud is never fun but sadly, it just takes one person to start spreading it IME.

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting your review. Too bad about the bad behavior form some of the passengers.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

 

We have been to Loreto and La Paz a few times -- via cruise ship -- love those ports.

 

Sorry about the rudeness of some of the passengers -- starting to see it more and more on the ships.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for posting your comments.

[takemewithyou]

We were on the Eurodam 18 day roundtrip Hawaii, just prior yo your cruise.  We also hated the AC system pumping air furiously throughout the room.  We also got sick.  There was lots of coughing on the ship.  We also wondered if the air filtration system contributes to spreading the germs.  Have been home two weeks now and still sick.  

 

On the one hand, I loved that the AC actually kept the room cool, but the fact that you can’t adjust the fan speed was concerning.  Being sick certainly puts a damper on the vacation and makes us not want to book any future cruises!

Edited December 11, 2018 by takemewithyou

[canadianbear]

We were also on this 10 day Mexico cruise.  I am one that wipes down the cabin and careful.  I got the “cruise crud” as did many others like OP said.  Not sure if HVAC system (like OP said no way to regulate fan)-but we spent 21 days on the Kongingsdam last December with the a/c on and did not get sick.

 

We noticed the lack of cleanliness where we have breakfast & lunch at the aft SeaView pool area, non smoking side.   I’m female and don’t mean to be sexist but there was one particular female employee there who did next to nothing but stand there with her empty tray (and kept checking her watch) while passengers moved dirty dishes to another table so they could sit down.  I’ve never seen this as much as this cruise-usually the staff are right there clearing and cleaning the tables.  When someone approached her to clear the table for them she sauntered over, cleared it but never wiped it down.  Around day 7, after I guess several complaints, things improved.  

 

We loved this itinerary and had friends on board.  We ate at the Tamarind (Erikka is great!) and Pinnacle and found them both wonderful.

 

On Gala (lobster) night we dined in the MDR with another set of friends on board and no complaints at all.  Service and food delicious.

 

Our room stewards were excellent.  They introduced themselves right away and asked if we had special requests.  No wear and tear in our cabin-all looked good.

 

The bar at Tamarind is lovely and we enjoyed pre-dinner drinks there twice.  Went to happy hour at the Crow’s Nest at 9pm and it was dead.   It’s a shame as this used to be such a lively, fun place.  

 

The highlight of our cruise though was snorkeling with whale sharks in La Paz.  It was very rough seas that day where we had to go but 6 of us booked a private excursion and my husband & I had a fantastic time.  It was amazing to be so close to these beautiful creatures and our excursion included wet suits and photos and video after-bonus!  Our friends went on the HAL whale shark excursion and were told about the rough seas and if anyone wanted to cancel they could which I thought was very generous of HAL.  

 

Embarkation and disembarkation were a breeze this time in San Diego which was a pleasant surprise.

 

If it wasn’t for the dreaded cruise crud everything would have been great.  I have two upcoming cruises on the Koningsdam so looking forward to that ship again.  

 

 

[Heartgrove]

We were on the preceding 18-Day Hawaii cruise and can agree about demanding passengers. More than a few times in the Ledo , people would think nothing of cutting in the line for one item. "Excuse me, you just slowed down my time in line." There are small signs stating "The line starts here", but I believe that it was the Zuiderdam last year were they had 8" x 12" signs on the tray ledge at the end of the serving line. That helped with line cutting. Our demographics were, I would say older than most cruises. There was definitely set-times for crowding at the Ledo area. The Ledo staff seemed to take it in stride though. All seemed very happy.

 

The Hotel Director, Glenn Cowley, and his staff provided a very delicious Thanksgiving dinner. The Sous Chef came to every table (that I could see) to ask how the dinner was. At our table he took the time to expound about the preparation of the 250 turkeys! And the Chocolate Pecan pie was great.

 

We never had an issue with the HVAC in our cabin. This time we had a VD Verandah on Deck 7. I believe that cruise-crud actually begins on the travel to the cruise. Or just inconsiderate passengers not paying attention to hygiene. 

 

I didn't find the ship to be worn, or any problem with clearing tables. One of our favorite areas to sit is at the port side Seaview Pool non-smoking tables. Perhaps the number of passengers on the Mexico cruise was higher than the 2,060 we had onboard.

 

And yes, San Diego seemed to have their act in gear this time.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Heartgrove

[OlsSalt]

="Wiping down a cabin" at worst can create a false sense of security, since this act is an exercise in futility in the first place.  (Strength and duration of contact chemicals to provide essential decontamination for specific, pathogenic micro-organisms,)

 

 It is the ongoing need to be aware of where one puts their own fingertips into eyes,  nose and mouth at all times that really counts. No "wipe down of a cabin" will make a difference if that act becomes a substitute for the necessary  ongoing vigilance required through out the entire cruise (on in any high contamination setting - day care centers, schools, retirement communities airplanes, etc). 

 

Also  being critically within the air-borne contamination zone triggered by other passengers, who refuse to control their own coughs and sneezes, is another the hard contamination route to control.

 

 I hope chengkp can bring us up to speed about this suspected role of A/C filter contamination. 

[canadianbear]

37 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

="Wiping down a cabin" at worst can create a false sense of security, since this act is an exercise in futility in the first place.  (Strength and duration of contact chemicals to provide essential decontamination for specific, pathogenic micro-organisms,)

 

 It is the ongoing need to be aware of where one puts their own fingertips into eyes,  nose and mouth at all times that really counts. No "wipe down of a cabin" will make a difference if that act becomes a substitute for the necessary  ongoing vigilance required through out the entire cruise (on in any high contamination setting - day care centers, schools, retirement communities airplanes, etc). 

 

Also  being critically within the air-borne contamination zone triggered by other passengers, who refuse to control their own coughs and sneezes, is another the hard contamination route to control.

 

 I hope chengkp can bring us up to speed about this suspected role of A/C filter contamination. 

Also those with a weakened immune system tend to get this cruise crud.  It’s certainly not pleasant no matter what.  

[Crusinsusan2]

I can't even imagine getting this with an already weakened immune system. We haven't had even a simple cold in the last 5 years and this bug whatever it is, wherever it came from hit us both very hard simultaneously.  We were just so grateful we did not have to fly to get home and were home in bed by noon on debark day. 

[OlsSalt]

CDC reports flu season starts in the Fall with the peak flu incidence month being October and then gradually tapers off by December. With that in mind, October would be a good month to avoid cruising if one wants to avoid exposure to the flu.  Flu "season" apparently is a factor of children going back to school and bringing home infections which then get spread to other family members. Or get brought on cruise ships. 

Edited December 11, 2018 by OlsSalt

[DeeniEncinitas]

Thank you for your review !!!

Denise😊

 

[dee2673]

We are embarking this Sunday and looking forward to the Eurodam. We, too, have noticed more older passengers that are just plain rude. The finger snapping!! Seriously! And the talking down to staff simply because they didn't take the time to LISTEN to what the crew member was telling them. We saw it on excursions, as well. I hope we don't see that on our vacation. I can take some worn carpet..and just Ok food..and many other things that can happen anywhere. But I found myself really upset by the behavior I witnessed..

[canadianbear]

5 minutes ago, dee2673 said:

We are embarking this Sunday and looking forward to the Eurodam. We, too, have noticed more older passengers that are just plain rude. The finger snapping!! Seriously! And the talking down to staff simply because they didn't take the time to LISTEN to what the crew member was telling them. We saw it on excursions, as well. I hope we don't see that on our vacation. I can take some worn carpet..and just Ok food..and many other things that can happen anywhere. But I found myself really upset by the behavior I witnessed..

 

Luckily we personally did not encounter any of the passengers being rude or any finger snapping.  Actually, just the opposite.  Maybe we were just lucky because I usually will say something if someone is downright rude to staff for no reason.

[cat shepard]

Thank you for your review! My first HAL Cruise was on Eurodam, and I have great memories of the ship and her crew.

[WeLoveCruising]

We were also on this cruise.  We were with friends, and had a great time.  Still, my review of this particular cruise is mixed.  There were a number of things that weren't up to usual HAL standards.  I think this speaks to a management problem on this ship - while many individual crew members were fantastic, there was an overall lack of training or attention to detail noticed.

 

As an example, our breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill had some of the worst service, ever.  Getting a cup of Earl Gray tea was difficult, more times than not on 10 different days I was brought black or green tea.  Our food was wrong nearly every time (something missing, something other than we ordered).  The server that always comes around with the pastry tray only came to us a few days.  The butter on our table was used with toast crumbs in it (just plain gross).

 

The bartenders also seemed to have issues.  My favorite drink is a Coral Drop - it's on the HAL menu and I've ordered it in every bar for at least 10 years.  No one knew how to make it - not in the Ocean Bar, Crows Nest, or Pinnacle Bar.  And speaking of the Pinnacle Bar - one night we were served drinks in plastic martini glasses.  I asked if they had real ones, and was told they were out.  For a restaurant that used to pride themselves on the Riedel stemware, it's a shame to serve a $12 drink in plastic.

 

These things were glaringly wrong to me - but there was a lot that was right.  The food, even in the Pinnacle, was excellent.  Most of the staff was, as well.   Our cabana, and cabana attendants Marco and Alvin were top notch.  

 

None of these issues ruined our good time.  We noticed because we know how good things can usually be.  Still, something felt "off" on this particular cruise.  I was with a group of 4 people, and 3/4 of us left sick as well.

[takemewithyou]

We had the same types of issues with PG breakfast that you mention on 18 day Hawaii cruise 11/11 to 11/29 and DH had problems with getting drinks made properly, as well.  There were big inconsistencies from bar to bar.

So there are similar problems being described over last few cruises.

[kevingastreich]

14 hours ago, ski ww said:

Thanks for posting your review. Too bad about the bad behavior form some of the passengers.

We noticed MUCH more of this kind of behavior on our last cruise  (Viking Passage on Zuiderdam) than ever before also.  I hope it's not a trend? P.S.  it was was the OLDER folks (65-70+)...not kids.

[Heartgrove]

The Pinnacle Grill doesn't hold the attraction for us that it used to, so did not plan to have dinner there on our recent Hawaii Circle cruise. Better to have dinners in Tamarind and Canaletto. But do to the many sea days, decided to try the lunch at PG. Very disappointing service and so-so food. So poor it was told in detail on my HAL survey.

[Despegue]

On our October. Ruise on Westerdam,  we saw one senior passenger shout to the Dive In staff that they were all retarded...

That was after he shoved me aside while waiting in line ( yes, there were some issues with Dive-in this particular sailing) while barging in to insult the hard working but overloaded crewmembers.

If I was working, and a crewmember would be treated that way, that passenger would be finding an alternative way of transportation, as I would bloody kick him off.

 

[Crusinsusan2]

OP here. Husband and I have had more than a few conversations over this since home. We are also hoping that something (policy) could be implemented when horrible behavior occurs that the crew member being berated or disrespected has the right to walk away, call a supervisor and not have to suffer the fear of the"bad review" repercussion which is a huge hammer over the crew members heads to retain their jobs or ability to move up. I swear some of these folks do it because they simply can, almost for sport and how far they can push. HAL is so well known for taking such great care of the elderly cruiser it just grates me to the core to see it being taken advantage of.  Clarifying again we are currently caring for aging & ALZ, and have the utmost respect for the elderly (we will be there soon too) but for goodness sake when your kids, grand kids or caretakers wouldn't put up with this behavior why should any crew member have to endure it?        

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

I always feel very sorry for crew having to tolerate rude behaviour from passengers.  One day after witnessing the passenger ahead  of  me, I told the crew member that  I was sorry he  had to tolerate such rudeness, he thanked me, but he looked very sad telling me that they get used to it.  

[57redbird]

We, too, witnessed the rude, demanding passengers & it made us want to go out of our way to apologize to the recipients of such behavior & wish there was a way to report the offenders to management..... if anybody has a solution, please share it.