Eurodam Experience (longish)

[oldbluff]

We are Cliff and Shelley from Vancouver, Washington. The “other Vancouver” in southwest Washington State, just across the Mighty Columbia River from Portland, Oregon. We discovered cruising in 2008 and have enjoyed Holland America’s hospitality since 2010. We just disembarked from Eurodam’s 11 night Eastern Caribbean sailing. First time on Eurodam, but we have cruised on Nieuw Amsterdam several times and thus knew the layout. Some experiences and thoughts follow.

 

Embarkation / Lunch in the MDR
Embarkation was easy. First time boarding as 4 star. Very nice! We were onboard by 11:30, stopped by our cabin to get our key cards in the mail slot and drop off carry-ons. Then made our way to the Main Dining Room and had a satisfactory Welcome Back lunch. Next time I’m getting the cobb salad – as the passenger next to me did and I wished I had. 😊

 

Cabin
We were in 5051, a handicapped-accessible forward balcony on the starboard side. We appreciated the walk-in shower as my wife has difficulty stepping in and out of tubs. For the first time, there was no basket or paper to use in the closet to get shoes shined. I asked the room attendant and he said they no longer advertised the service, but it was available upon request. As instructed, I put my shoes on the floor near the door with a note requesting they be shined and a cash tip. As in the past, they were delivered the next day looking better than I could do.

 

Laundry Service
We always purchased the unlimited laundry, allowing us to cruise with one suitcase. We still travel light and take advantage of this, usually sending laundry every other day. The only time we did not receive it back the same evening was the morning we forgot to put the notice on our door for the rom to be serviced, so the laundry was picked up late.

 

Lido Buffet / Dive In / New York Pizza
We went to the Lido several times for each of the three major daily meals, and Dive In / NY Pizza once each. All were satisfactory and met expectations. The Vindaloo Pork and Potatoes in the Lido were exceptional one day.

 

PG Tips
I had a happy surprise when I saw PG Tips tea bags were available in the Lido, next to other offerings. This became one of my go-to teas at home about six months ago. Always good to encounter a familiar comfort.

 

Main Dining Room
We had breakfast twice and dinner once in the MDR. Dinner was a bit slow but the food and service were good.

 

Canaletto
I want to like Canaletto; I really do. The service is quite good which raises expectations. We had dinner there twice. Once with good food quality while another had us picking around our plate to salvage dinner. We are not looking for perfection.

 

Pinnacle Grill
For many years the PG provided a consistently good food and service experience. We went several times each cruise. Since Covid, it has been wildly inconsistent for dinner service, with more misses than hits. For us, the food quality has fared worse than the service. Although both are noticeably less. This may have begun the couple of years before Covid but I find it difficult to recall specifics before that blank spot in our history. We had dinner here once. The service was good but the food was underwhelming. Better than the neighborhood Golden Corral buffet, but not a special dinner out.

Lunch at Pinnacle Grill retains a consistently good food quality and service. I think it is one of the best bargains on the ship, along with laundry service. We had excellent meals there all three sea days.

 

Tamarind
Ah, Tamarind. We first discovered it many cruises ago on the Nieuw Amsterdam, back when lunch was also available there. Although the menu is a bit outside our normal dining, every meal has me amazed at rock solid food quality and impeccable service. We dined at Tamarind three nights out of eleven and each left us smiling. And full.

 

Crow’s Nest
We tend to book cabins aft of midship and thus do not visit the Crow’s Nest often, especially after the adjacent libraries were gutted. This sailing we had a forward cabin and a short walk and elevator trip to Deck Eleven. In addition to occasional morning coffees and salad-in-a-glass Bloody Mary’s, we enjoyed reading many books there. It was a smart move to combine the Explorations Café coffee service with the Crow’s Nest bar area, so the combined staff can better handle the mixed demand. Although the reduction in bar chairs to five limited the evening bar patron camaraderie that often occurs with more seats and participants.

A bonus for us was encountering our favorite lead bartender (Wanis!) in Crow’s Nest. We spent more time than I will admit with he and his staff in the Ocean Bar on Koningsdam late last year. Wonderful to see him again and see the latest pictures of his infant son.

 

Library
The Library is back! The Library is back! (channeling Steve Martin in “The Jerk” when the new phone books arrived) I had read where the new libraries had a lot of empty space between books and few chairs. Yes, the books are presented face-to and well spaced out which allows for fewer titles. However, there are multiple copies of each and many current book releases. My DW and I both found several titles of interest. We were happy to see a set of shelves chock-full of take-a-book/leave-a-book, as we brought a dozen paperbacks to read and leave for others.

There are fewer chairs than the older combined library/internet computers/Explorations Café seating. They are comfortable and the quiet space is conducive to browsing and reading pleasures.

 

Raisin Buns
Shelley and I first cruised with Holland in 2010. We happened across the raisin buns available at breakfast in the Lido. A wee bit of butter, more than that for Shelley, and it makes great few bites. Since then, we often get them with butter along with first-light coffee delivered to our cabin. Although not on the breakfast room service menu, we write them in without a problem. Sometimes we will only have these delivered and then fetch Americano coffees from the Crow’s Nest or Dutch Café, depending on the ship. This is a trivial joy but one we anticipate before each cruise.

 

Tiles
We received our tiles in our stateroom “mail slot” the last full day of the cruise. They are 150th Anniversary tiles instead of those linked to our specific ship. Easier to manage inventory across the fleet as well as commemorating the accomplishment.

 

Bronze Medallions
We hit 100 days one the water with HAL on our last cruise early this year. The medallions were delivered to our stateroom on this sailing. A nice touch. Our granddaughters will be excited to play with them.

 

Internet
Wow. Moving the ships to Starlink and paying the extra $5/day for the Premium Internet made a huge difference in the user experience. We were able to FaceTime without our daughter and granddaughter without a problem. I even connected to a co-worker via Zoom once. Well played.

 

Cruise Director
Valerie was one of the best CD’s we have experienced to date, on any line we have sailed. Possessing the expected enthusiasm without being overbearing, she provided all necessary information in a very pleasant, understandable fashion. No extraneous announcements, leading numerous events well, she was a joy to encounter.

 

Wine Tastings
We did the first wine tasting (complimentary) and the signed up for the premium tasting. Both were enjoyable, due more to tablemates than the sommelier’s banter. He did say the James Suckling wine partnership has ended and this was the last affiliated tasting event on this ship and soon across the fleet. Eurodam does not do the Blend wine-blending event. I believe this is linked to St Michelle winery and not James Suckling. I hope so as we did that on Koningsdam last year and would do it again.

 

Farewell Lincoln Center Stage
As others have reported, LCS is not more. I asked the cruise director about future opportunities for classical music aboard. She indicated the longer (25+ day) sailing will soon have a formal offering. Nothing concrete for shorter voyages. I do hope something for this is resurrected in the future. We were lucky to enjoy the string quartets (Adagio Strings?) the first few years with HAL. Then four became three and three became two (violin and piano). I can play all the classical I wa t in our cabin on the Bluetooth speaker we carry with, but there is something about live performances incorporating violins .. sigh.

 

Summary and Looking Ahead
This was a very enjoyable cruise and we will not hesitate to sail Eurodam again. Next up is a homemade B2B. We disembarked Fort Lauderdale this morning. Tonight we fly to San Diego. Then board Koningsdam tomorrow for the 16 night Hawaii cruise. We like sea days, Hawaii and Koningsdam, so all should be good.

 

Cliff

[FlaMariner]

Great review!  Thanks for sharing.  Congrats on 4* and 100 days sailing!

[julia]

We also enjoyed Wanis on the Koningsdam last year!!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing ..

[VMax1700]

Thank you for the concise but wide ranging review.

I do hope that I am misreading that you purchased the laundry package for this cruise?

After all the free laundry is the big benefit of reaching 4 star.

[cruisemom42]

Thanks for your review; enjoyed reading it.

 

I hope you did more than just ask about the classical music -- hope you expressed how much it is missed!  HAL has been promising some sort of return for the last 9 months but so far nada other than very rare reports of a single performance onboard. (Not on my TA on Nieuw Statendam, unfortunately....)

 

[cbr663]

Wonderful.

 

I really don't understand HAL's game plan when offering services like the show shine and yet not advertising them.  I can't fathom how this improves customer service at all.  I did notice last night when pursuing future cruises that the updated web site provides a much more comprehensive listing of the amenities available onboard and I thought, "About time."  My only hope is that this transpires on the ship also.  

Edited December 20, 2023 by cbr663

[oldbluff]

2 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Thank you for the concise but wide ranging review.

I do hope that I am misreading that you purchased the laundry package for this cruise?

After all the free laundry is the big benefit of reaching 4 star.

Yes, and we are enjoying it. I meant to say we always purchased it in the past, for convenience and lighter suitcases. 

[oldbluff]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Thanks for your review; enjoyed reading it.

 

I hope you did more than just ask about the classical music -- hope you expressed how much it is missed!  HAL has been promising some sort of return for the last 9 months but so far nada other than very rare reports of a single performance onboard. (Not on my TA on Nieuw Statendam, unfortunately....)

 

I did let her know we missed it. And both of us will mention it on the post-cruise survey. 

[ski ww]

Well written review, I think you covered all areas of the cruise/ship.

[nutensteve]

Very good review. Thank you for sharing.

[NCTribeFan]

Thanks for sharing. 

 

I was on Eurodam in November 2021, just after she returned from Europe.  It was my first post-Covid sailing and there were only about 500 passengers.  It was fantastic!  Loved the ship.

 

I'll be on her again in just under a month.  So glad to hear about the library!

 

I also miss Lincoln Center Stage.  I was so looking forward to that when I was on the Rotterdam TA  last April (plus the 10 nights following) and was very disappointed that it had been discontinued.

 

Also looking forward to Tamarind.  I'd happily give up my Pinnacle dining that's included in HIA for a 2nd Tamarind.  I may ask if that's possible when I board on 1/13.

[Mary229]

Good review.  Thanks for sharing 

[SeaCapt]

I was on this cruise with you, and agree with pretty much everything, including declining Pinnacle Grill, great Tamarind, and addictive raisin buns (which I add cream cheese and lox to). All the breads and pastries were fantastic as always, and the fish dishes, including in the MDR, were perfectly undercooked every time. As for the wine tasting, I am ready for them to move on from the Northwest, as it seems we've been tasting the same wines for a few years, now. And yeah, we miss the classical music, too.

[canadianbear]

We were on the Eurodam November 8-18th and had excellent meals in all the speciality restaurants.  We are usually underwhelmed by the Pinnacle Grill but this time it was fantastic.  We had an excellent waiter & food was delicious.  The Tamarind is always a favourite & it didn’t disappoint this time either.  The Canaletto was also very good although I did learn if I order the chicken Parmesan to only ask for one.  It came with 2 & was way too much for me to finish.  
 

Congratulations on reaching 4*, we love the laundry perk! 
 

Your review was great, I forgot to do one when we got back but we had a wonderful time.  
 

Have fun on the Koningsdam, we enjoy the Dutch Cafe on her!  
 

 

 

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for the great review! I never would have thought to write in "raisin buns" on a room service order. Thanks for the tip!!

[canadarocks]

@oldbluff Can I ask, did you buy your premium internet pre-cruise to save the 20% or did you wait and get it onboard?

[oldbluff]

2 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

@oldbluff Can I ask, did you buy your premium internet pre-cruise to save the 20% or did you wait and get it onboard?

We had the Surf internet as part of the Have It All package. I looked for an upgrade pre-cruise but did not see one. I upgraded in the Navigator app when connecting. 

[canadarocks]

Thanks. We don't have the HIA for our upcoming Emerald cruise, but your experience with the Premier internet is making me think I should take advantage of the pre-cruise discount. 

[canadianbear]

We had whatever internet came with HIA and it worked fine.  Because of the time difference we could video call our grandkids with no problem. We didn’t upgrade it. 

[canadarocks]

13 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

We had whatever internet came with HIA and it worked fine.  Because of the time difference we could video call our grandkids with no problem. We didn’t upgrade it. 

Interesting. I thought the basic surf didn’t allow for FaceTime?

[canadianbear]

36 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

Interesting. I thought the basic surf didn’t allow for FaceTime?

If basic surf was the HIA (🤷‍♀️) it worked great.  Maybe because of the Starlink?  Maybe location of our cabin?  Not sure. 

[canadarocks]

9 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

If basic surf was the HIA (🤷‍♀️) it worked great.  Maybe because of the Starlink?  Maybe location of our cabin?  Not sure. 

Thanks. I don’t want to hijack @oldbluff’s thread, so I’ve started my own. 

[isosika]

Thank you for the great review.  I've been looking for something like this for a while now as we are doing an Eastern/Western B2B in less than 2 weeks.  We are Elite on Princess but have never sailed HAL before so this review helps a lot.

 

[DaveOKC]

I cannot believe that they just sent your bronze medallion to your cabin!  We were on the Eurodam right after Thanksgiving and were invited to a special event where we (and others) got their Silver and Gold medallions.  Not much of a ceremony, but we did get nice photo with the Captain.  

I do now recall that no bronze medallions were handed out, which I thought to be a bit unusual, so perhaps this is the new program.

Edited December 21, 2023 by DaveOKC