Eurodam - One Night Cruise / The good and not so good

[crusinthrough]

Recently back from my first HA cruise.  A one night cruise on the Eurodam.   It cost about $275 for an oceanview guarantee as a single.  In retrospect the price was a bit much for one night on an older and small ship.  The itinerary was Seattle to Vancouver.  Unfortunately, the ship never sailed into international water and the casino did not open.  This was a bummer for many.  A quite casino is never fun to see.  There isn't much you can experience in one night but here are my thoughts and a few pictures. 

 

Overall, the ship feels a bit dated especially the stateroom but it’s in good shape.  I'm not sure I would try a longer HA cruise.  There wasn't enough of a wow factor for me.  Perhaps I need to try a new ship.  Passengers were of all ages with few, if any kids.  For those of us on the one night, it was considered a party cruise.  The one night itinerary was a part of multiple other sailings through the month of October departing from either Seattle, Vancouver or San Diego.  

 

Pre check in was easy from my computer.  I did not try using the app.  Check in at the pier was simple if you had a passport.  Those without a passport had to go to a different line and talk with someone at the counter.  You did not have to walk up a winding gangway to get on the ship.  

 

My check in time was 12:30 pm.  I arrived around noon.  There was no line.  I was on the ship and eating lunch by 1:00 pm.  Rooms were ready when boarding.  I dropped my bag off in the room and headed to lunch. 

 

App - I had no problems with the app.  I wish there was a countdown clock like Princess and Carnival.  Only mentioning these two lines because it's the same parent company.  I could not figure out how to add my boarding pass to my Apple wallet.  I think this is always a convenient option and I like saving my expired passes in my wallet as a memory.

 

Kudos to the app feature of saving entertainment events pre cruise.  This has not been an option on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, 

 

Crew Appreciation - $16 a day.   I never saw my stateroom attendant.  I'm sure on a regular cruise this is not the case. 

 

Muster - You have to watch the safety briefing on your stateroom tv.  Should be an option to view on your cell phone.  Having to walk back to my room to watch the video wasted time.

 

 

[crusinthrough]

[crusinthrough]

Port of Seattle - Smith Cover Pier 91.  

 

I was told this wasn't a picture taking moment,. Good grief. I like the date in my pictures.  My memory isn't what it use to be.  lol

 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by crusinthrough

[crusinthrough]

You walk on the gangway turn left and then you are on the ship.  

[crusinthrough]

Stateroom - Oceanview (6004).  

Room keys are left outside of stateroom.  The room was spacious.  I was pleasantly surprised there was a bathtub in the bathroom.  There were two bathrobes in the closet nicely folded in a bag.  I'm accustomed to bathrobes only being in suites or for passengers with high tier loyalty.  Definitely a plus for the room.  I thought I did but I did not take any pictures of the bathroom.

 

The room is always forward.  It's the last room in the hallway.  The area outside of the window is only for crew.  A con was the long walk to the room and aft of the ship.  

Edited October 17, 2023 by crusinthrough

[crusinthrough]

Drinks - Disappointing that a one night drink package, wasn't offered.  The average cost for a cocktail is $13. 

 

Internet – Wasn’t worth the money for less than 24 hours.  Surf: $29 a day or Premium: $34.99 a day.  I suffered through no cell phone coverage for the few hours I was on onboard.. lol.  It was hard.  I had social media withdrawals.  I know I did not miss anything. 🙂

 

Photos - Photographers taking photos inside the terminal and around the ship.  Most were candid shots and not the standard cruise pictures and stale poses cruise photographers love.  

 

Only one size photos (5x7) for sale at $19.99 each.  The only digital option is a five picture package with digital prints for $99.  It's 2023 digital should be the main option.  I shouldn't have to search for pictures on a wall anymore.  Despite this inconvenience, I found my pictures and yes, I purchased some.  I know,  I could have saved my money but purchasing pictures feels like  a tradition on a cruise ship. 

[crusinthrough]

Elevators - The middle set of elevators has three different elevators banks.  You have to request each elevator bank separately, which is annoying.  There is no good place to stand to get to all elevators quickly.  Just be prepared to move quickly when the doors open.  

 

Elevators were small and could get cramped quickly.  The rug is pretty much the interior of the elevators.    

[crusinthrough]

Dining - hit and misses.  There was nothing memorable. Since it was only one night, I did not have the chance to try a lot.  

 

The MDR was opened for lunch on boarding day.  Princess also has this option, which I like.  It's a nice way to start a cruise.  Unfortunately, lunch service was slow and wasn’t satisfying.  The Beecher's Mac and Cheese was nothing short of awful.  I did not like the tomato aioli or bacon jam on the cheeseburger.  

 

I ventured up to the buffet.  It was crowded but because it was late seating was not a problem. had a made to order salad, which was good.    

 

 

[crusinthrough]

I heard good things about HA pizza.  I tried a piece after my salad.  It wasn't the best or worst cruise pizza I had.  Princess is still my favorite. 

[crusinthrough]

Since I am on dining, I’ll mention breakfast. It was better but the service was as slow as lunch.  People were getting agitated waiting.  I saw a few people walk out because they only received a cup of coffee in an hour.  I ordered OJ and never received it.  

 

I was surprised by the one piece of bacon. 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by crusinthrough

[crusinthrough]

The weather was nice and people were sitting outside on deck 9 in the Seaview pool area.  

These non dishwasher safe cups were around $13 without alcohol or it could be filled with a pre made alcoholic beverage for $17. 

[crusinthrough]

Nice view of Seattle from deck 9

[crusinthrough]

Casino notice 

[crusinthrough]

I took a nap and missed anything that happened before 8:30 pm.  I ate dinner in Tamarind (Pan Asian cuisine).  I noticed the pre cruise price for the restaurant increased by $10 in the cruise planner.  I'm not sure if the increase is permanent or because pricing is dynamic and increased closer to sailing. 

[crusinthrough]

For dinner I ordered shrimp tempura, lobster shrimp potstickers and panning red curry coconut chicken.  I enjoyed all the dishes.  The cucumber mojito cocktail was excellent. 

 

[rodndonna]

Thanks for posting this as I have always wondered logistically how a 1 night cruise unfolds and whether it would be a good trial for someone to try cruising.

 

Small point with regards to Pizza - was that from the Lido or NY Pizza and Deli? It looked maybe from the Lido, which would not be the Pizza people on HAL would rave about. 

[Cruise Suzy]

16 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

Small point with regards to Pizza - was that from the Lido or NY Pizza and Deli? It looked maybe from the Lido, which would not be the Pizza people on HAL would rave about. 

On the Eurodam the pizza venue is New York Pizza, near the Sea View Pool - just aft of the buffet. NY Pizza and Deli is on Pinnacle-class ships.

 

Agree there is a BIG difference between the Lido pizza and pizza from New York Pizza.

[Haljo1935]

10 hours ago, crusinthrough said:

 

Elevators - The middle set of elevators has three different elevators banks.  You have to request each elevator bank separately, which is annoying.  There is no good place to stand to get to all elevators quickly.  Just be prepared to move quickly when the doors open.  

 

Elevators were small and could get cramped quickly.  The rug is pretty much the interior of the elevators.    

We laughed on our first HAL cruise when we saw those elevator rugs.

I love the Day of the Week rugs and find I miss them on other cruise lines.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[Haljo1935]

Thanks for doing this review. We have toyed with the idea of doing the 1 night Sea->VCR cruise as an alternative to flying into VCR. The itineraries from VCR are sometimes better than from Sea and cruise fares are crazy cheap, but international flights are outrageous vs SeaTac.

Would you consider this a viable option to avoid international flights?

[Sir PMP]

One night is not a cruise.

[SilvertoGold]

Thanks for this review.  We were on the 14 days before this one nighter and loved the ship.  In such good shape and nicely updated (I make my comparsion with the Noordam). Great that you tried Tamarind, much better than the other Tamarinds we have dined in over the past 2 years.

[dawnvip]

Thank you for this review. Living in Vancouver, DH and I have considered this overnight to/from Seattle but have never taken the plunge!

[Mary229]

You sure got around for a 24 hour ride.  It is worth noting that a flight from Vancouver would have been no less than $200 and the ferry around $125.  Cruising sounds like a better option😉

[WannaSea]

6 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

On the Eurodam the pizza venue is New York Pizza, near the Sea View Pool - just aft of the buffet. NY Pizza and Deli is on Pinnacle-class ships.

 

Agree there is a BIG difference between the Lido pizza and pizza from New York Pizza.

 

I embarked Eurodam in Vancouver for the next leg of this trip, 4 days to San Diego. The NY Pizza didn't look appealing but had been completely different/much better the previous week at Koningsdam NY Pizza. On Koningsdam it was a whole personal pizza with a thick crispy crust and stacked with toppings. On Eurodam it was sheetpan pizza cut in single servings set under a heat lamp with soft crust and skimpy toppings. I was so surprised at the difference ship to ship. I'd order the K version again but not the E version.

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, WannaSea said:

 

I embarked Eurodam in Vancouver for the next leg of this trip, 4 days to San Diego. The NY Pizza didn't look appealing but had been completely different/much better the previous week at Koningsdam NY Pizza. On Koningsdam it was a whole personal pizza with a thick crispy crust and stacked with toppings. On Eurodam it was sheetpan pizza cut in single servings set under a heat lamp with soft crust and skimpy toppings. I was so surprised at the difference ship to ship. I'd order the K version again but not the E version.

I agree.  The pinnacle class ships’ pizza is more to my liking plus it is customizable.  On the other ships it is just buffet style pizza 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Mary229