Europa 2 Singapore to Colombo

[tiggis]

Here are a few comments on a recent voyage on Europa 2 – Singapore to Colombo. By way of background, this was our second trip on this ship, which we take mainly because of the availability of dialysis required by my partner. (The dialysis was excellent and I won’t comment further on that.)

The immediate lead-up to the cruise was a fraught time for us because Hapag Lloyd persisted in sticking to the original itinerary, which involved three port stops in Sri Lanka, despite the security situation there.  As the UK Government had warned against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka (happily lifted on our last day there) travel insurance proved very difficult to secure. However, we did eventually get insurance and our time in Sri Lanka was uneventful in terms of safety.

The ship was only about two thirds full, with around twenty non-German speakers, mostly from Australia. The international hostess, Shereen, left the ship (and Hapag Lloyd) at the end of the cruise to pursue other opportunities.

Perhaps the biggest change from our previous voyage (several years ago) was that tap water is now freely available in all the restaurants.  Actually, I think it was bottled mineral water, but we weren’t charged for it.

Reservations in the speciality restaurants were easy to secure, perhaps because of the attraction of eating outside in the Yacht Club in such warm weather and also the under-capacity ship.  Indeed, on one evening we were walking towards the Weltmeere when a maitre d’ approached us and invited us to dine in either Elements or Serenissima.  We found the food to be uniformly excellent and the service, too.  In fact, on occasions the waiting staff were just a little too eager to find work to do, clearing plates the second we had finished.

We received 210 Euro from HL as OBC, but only usable on beverages – not a problem in our case! As well as the usual parties, a free cocktail (alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions) was offered each night on entering the Yacht Club. Sorbets - available in all the speciality restaurants as a palate cleanser - came with the offer of added champagne and/or vodka, liberally poured.

One other change from our last voyage is that morning coffee is no longer available in the Belvedere (which only opens at 3 pm).  This was a little disappointing as although coffee could be found elsewhere, Belvedere can be an attractive venue, away from the sun.

We were lucky enough to have a Penthouse Suite, having taking advantage of an offer of a Guarantee in Grades 6 to 8 (and getting 8).  However, I would not consider taking a penthouse at the regular price as the extra advantages are not worth that much (to me, anyway).  Probably my only grumble was that the previous occupant(s) of our suite had clearly been smokers, and had smoked inside (which is against the rules).  It took at least a week for the smell to fully disappear.

We did not take any HL excursions, partly because there are few in English but also because of my partner’s mobility issues.  However, we did get ashore in all ports and visited some unusual places, such as the Andaman Islands. Hapag Lloyd responded very quickly and efficiently to a couple of last-minute itinerary changes, enforced by poor weather that prevented Zodiacs (in one case) and tenders (in the other) from being used to take passengers ashore.

Happy to try to answer any questions.

John

 

 

 

[Catlover54]

Thank you for your review, Tiggis.

The loss of morning coffee in Belvedere is disappointing, though understandable as if was not used by many. Was the Belvedere then closed off, or could you still sit there, just without service?

 

Did you have opportunity to do afternoon tea with piano music? If  so, did they still offer the many loose leaf varieties, and a table with fresh cakes, with real whipping cream options?

 

What were the evening entertainment options?

 

Did the crew seem overworked, unhappy,  or understaffed, or just right?

 

Thank you in advance.

[English Voyager]

Tiggis,

 

Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts on the Europa 2.

 

I addition to the questions raised by Catlover54, how easy, or not, was it to obtain an evening reservation for, my favourite, the Tarragon restaurant?

If you dined there how was the cuisine?

 

 

[tiggis]

Catlover

In answer to your questions:

Belvedere is  open in the mornings and is probably open 24/7.  It now houses the library.

We did indeed go there for afternoon tea, which was as you describe it.  As well as cakes there are small savoury items such as open sandwiches with meat/fish/veg fillings.  We found these useful on days when we had been ashore but hadn't had lunch. Even on sea days there were not many people there for tea, but sitting on deck or around the pool was an attractive alternative for many on this cruise.

We only went to a few shows in the theatre.  There was a classical music group, an acrobatic-type show, 'songs from the shows' and probably others that I don't recall.  On evenings when the theatre show was aimed at German-speaking passengers, Shereen hosted drinks in Sansibar for the English-speakers.  As well as the theatre, there seemd to be live music in Club 2 most evenings, as well as in Sansibar. And on two evenings there were pool parties. 

As for the staff, they didn't to me look overstretched or overtired, though they do work long hours.  And this was despite a dozen or so apparently not turning up to join the ship in Singapore.  The fact that the ship was far from full must have helped. Most, if not all, seemed cheerful throughout the voyage. We heard good reports of a party thrown for the crew in Japan during the immediately preceding voyage.

Incidentally, the current cruise, which is non-stop from Colombo to Cyprus, is only about a third full, though there will have been some reduction in staff numbers to reflect this.

John

[tiggis]

6 minutes ago, English Voyager said:

Tiggis,

 

Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts on the Europa 2.

 

I addition to the questions raised by Catlover54, how easy, or not, was it to obtain an evening reservation for, my favourite, the Tarragon restaurant?

If you dined there how was the cuisine?

 

 

We only went to Tarragon once and had no difficulty getting a reservation.  We could have gone again but chose not to.  My partner found the sauces too rich for her taste but that was a personal thing and I myself much enjoyed our meal there. Tarragon did seem to be busier than the other speciality restaurants (Elements was barely a third full when we went late in the cruise) but it is larger now that it has spread into the space previously used for wine tasting etc.

As a general comment I think that getting restaurant reservations on a two-week cruise is probably a lot easier than for one week, especially when the ship is not full.

John

[Catlover54]

I have done 5 HL cruises ( 2 on the E2 and 3 on Europa), always with a full ship, as I have booked holiday or popular destinations. Open seating on E2 in the Weltmeere was difficult  during prime time at dinner with a full ship, so I preferred the Europa where I has an assigned table (now assigned tables are eliminated). 

It would be nice to travel with them on a ship that is not full, for ease of dining access wherever one wants at popular times, but I would have to 1) go on a less popular route and  2) if I went solo, would have to overcome the advance solo sales quota, or go with short notice booking when sales open up more.

 

I will be retiring soon, and that will  be a possibility, e.g., just cruising on this Berlitz ranked 6 star line for the sake of cruising  — I think I could manage!  🙂