RevNeal's LIVE Eurodam Report

[shipcafe]

Loved sailing with you, and all the Cruise Critic folk! I am now home safe & sound and glad to see you are too!

For any that don't know, I quit HAL and came home, will add a new post on that later, but let's just say it wasn't my cup of tea!:rolleyes:

But Greg, Ruth, Scotty and so many others took me under their Cruise Critic Wings and protected me and made me feel safe in my journey out of there and home, and I thank everyone for that...I won't forget it!:D

Nathan

 

What happened!?! E-mail me! :)

[RevNeal]

1) I am a smoker and am aware that HAL has changed their policy regarding where you can smoke. Are there any bars where I can enjoy my pre-dinner martini AND a cigarette at the actual bar (not some table in a corner)? On Westerdam last December, we could actually sit at the Ocean Bar and smoke or at the Sports Bar.

 

My observation and experience (by eye and nose) was that the Ocean Bar on the port side was smoking. That's where the bar is actually located on the Eurodam (same as on the Noordam but unlike the Westerdam). People can sit at the bar, here, and smoke ... and they may smoke throughout the port side of the bar. The Starboard side is reserved for non-smoking.

 

Additionally, the entire Sports Bar is smoking. That's the bar just forward the Casino on the port side of the ship. One can sit at the bar here or in any of the couches or chairs in the Sports bar and smoke and enjoy a Martini.

 

There may be other smoking areas that include bars, but I'm not certain of that. Perhaps someone else, who was more aware of smoking issues, can tell us?

 

2) My mom and I are booked on Eurodam for this December. She walks very slowly and her concern is that, because of the size of the ship, she may not be able to walk great distances to various venues. Your thoughts on this, please? We may end up reconsidering Eurodam if this may be a problem for her.

 

The Vistas, and therefore the Signature class ship Eurodam, are larger than the S & Rs. This means that there will be more walking and there is very little that can be done about it. The best answer to the walking-distance issue is to obtain a midships cabin near the midships elevators. The Ocean bar is just abaft the midships elevators and, hence, the walk from there to the main dining room is about like walking on an S-class ship from the Piano Bar to the main dining room. If you have a midships cabin that also means that the walk forward to the show lounge or the crows nest is also not too difficult. However, nothing can help to shorten the distance from the main dining room to the show lounge.

[lettienets]

Hi Mary Ellen, Glad to hear your reports. I am looking forward to seeing all you tablemates from the Rotterdam SA/Ant trip on the Voyage of the Good Nuts. I was not able to get traditional seating so I will be floating around every night.:eek: I hope on the first leg (Jan 13) of my b2b I can see about an assigned table somewhere. Enjoyed ReNeal, Ruth C reports too. Maybe I will see you all in the bar before dinner.

[RevNeal]

Your obsession with the kids running around is baffling. Were you proactive and reported their behaviour? you are coming accross as a grumpy old man! "Suffer the little children" " Judge not neither will you be judged" appears not to be practiced in some of your posts. I have read about the ship being too crowded, being seated on the wrong table, problems on the flight over with the seat in front ect. ect. On a more positive note thank you for the great photos of the ship, it looks great!

 

Firstly, it wasn't an "obsession" but, rather, a continuing problem throughout the duration of the July 15-25 cruise. We had children aboard for the first 13 days ... not quite as many as later, but children and youth were among us. They were fabulous! They enjoyed the ship, enjoyed the trip, and appeared to enjoy being treated well and interacting well with adults and other like-minded youth and children. I'm reminded of a family ... 6 males and 2 females ... the father and his 4 sons (ranging in age from 5 to 18) all looked fabulous in tuxedos every formal night. The Mother and the daughter were radiant in lovely dresses. Their behavior was impeccable, they were polite and kind and interesting and intelligent. There was no running or roughhousing, other than where appropriate (i.e., sports deck) and there was no shouting nor the use of foul language, name calling, or stares. They were a delight. And they were not alone ... there were others just like them. The difference between these young people and the one large, extended family that came aboard for the July 15-25 cruise was amazing. Screaming babies at 4 am (unattended and apparently unsoothed, for the whailing went on and on and on!), elevators races after midnight, food fights with leftover room service food left in the corridors, running in the main dining room, the lido, lido pool deck and the aft pool area (where the deck is slippery with water and where several falls didn't stop the running), the ships corridors, etc. I don't know all that went on, but I know what I saw and what I have been told by eye-witnesses.

 

Secondly, YES, statements were made to several staff members up to and including the Hotel Manager. I understand that some warnings to children and parents were issued, and it was evident that toward the end of the cruise the kids were trying to keep from running when moving through the dining room ... but what was the purpose in running???

 

Thirdly, do I really sound like a grumpy old man? I think not. Rather, I sound like someone who simply doesn't want to see a steward with a tray full of stacked plates be bumped into and loose his balance and fall over a running kid. I sound like someone who doesn't want to see a child hurt themselves by darting one way while the ship darts the other and, thereby, clobber themselves against a door. I sound like someone who doesn't want to see an 85 year old lady with a walker be tripped by a running youth and go down, breaking a hip in the process. If you think this makes me a grumpy old man, then perhaps you had better rethink your characterization.

 

And, finally, as "suffer the little children" and "Judge not neither will you be judged" ... pray tell, where have I passed judgement on the eternal soul or destination of anybody in my reports of their behavior? I have simply reported on the actions of some of the youth and children who were aboard the July 15-25th sailing, as well as on the failures of their parents to reign in their misdeeds. I'm sure those kids who were behaving so poorly, and their parents, are truly wonderful people. But, on this particularly cruise, they left a very bad impression and caused a great deal of trouble for the staff and for other passengers, while running the risk of being put off the ship for their behavior.

[RevNeal]

By the way there are also 2 steps at 2 different locations leading to the Explorers Lounge bar and I tripped and fell on one of them.... I just did not see it. None of the other Explorers' lounge on HAL have steps in that room so I was not looking...

 

On the advice of the staff, I went to the infirmary to report the incident, even if not seriously hurt. While in the infirmary, I saw another woman who had fell on another non evident steps in Lido and she had sprained her ankle. The big question we had : why did they put all these somewhat dangerous steps all over the ship ???

 

The report we filled out the nurse and I to be sent to Seattle might give results (ramps, better warning, etc.) We will see.

 

Hey, Louise ... yes ... that step leading up into the Explorer's Bar is really annoying. It's lit so that it's a little easier to see than the one in the Lido, and the one in the Lido is also poorly placed in that one is usually carrying a tray when one approaches it. At least one isn't doing that when entering the Explorer's Bar area. Still ... there's no step there on the other Vistas or any of the R or S class ships, so of course one isn't looking for it. And, Ruth pointed out that going down that step is more treacherous because one cannot see the light that supposedly alerts one to its presence.

[kenevenpar]

Greg:

 

I do not know you well enough to know if the "old" applies :), but from your wonderful reports and information, "grumpy" certainly does not apply. I thought your response was great.

 

Thank you for all the great information, and outstanding pictures! I can not wait until you have more posted!

 

Ken

[Susie51]

RevNeal, thank you for your well stated response to the "grumpy" post. I look forward to more of your live from threads. When is your next cruise? Will you be able to do a live post then also?

[RevNeal]

BTW, what kind of dog is Dorcas? Do I recall a Basset Hound? Don't know why I thought of that....but being a huge dog lover, it seems appropriate.

The 1st thing I did after booking the Good Nuts Cruise was to email our dog sitter to make sure she's available! ;)

 

:)

Dorcas is, indeed, a Basset Hound. And a VERY good, sweet, and naughty daughter she is! :D

 

Here's her photo:

 

[RevNeal]

Hey Rev, welkom thuis!;)

 

Thanks, Copper John! It was a pleasure getting to meet you and your "child bride." :D Would love to cruise with y'all again!

[RevNeal]

Well done Rev. on your considerable endeavour in holding this huge thread together over the past 20 plus days. Your descriptive narrative has been excellent and your observations enlightening. The pictures were icing on the cake.....so once again well done.

My only gripe is that I have booked the Eurodam for April 25th 2009 on an Atlantic crossing to take us back from my wintering sojourn in Florida to the UK. From reading your extensive reports I now have grave misgivings about the ship for this trip and may now look for alternative transport!! We love HAL but like Mary Ellen this might not be the ship for us with the possibility of overcrowding being the main issue..

 

Paul, I wouldn't let my report, alone, put you off the Eurodam for the cruise you're mentioning. By April 2009 I'm sure they'll have gotten most, if not all, of the bugs worked out and the crew will be well integrated and operational! I wouldn't change my plans.

[RevNeal]

Loved sailing with you, and all the Cruise Critic folk! I am now home safe & sound and glad to see you are too!

For any that don't know, I quit HAL and came home, will add a new post on that later, but let's just say it wasn't my cup of tea!:rolleyes:

But Greg, Ruth, Scotty and so many others took me under their Cruise Critic Wings and protected me and made me feel safe in my journey out of there and home, and I thank everyone for that...I won't forget it!:D

Nathan

 

Nathan, my friend, I'm so VERY happy that you made it home safe-and-sound. While I'm sorry that your service with HAL had to end so soon, I'm grateful that it gave us an opportunity to get to meet. And, I'm happy I was there to be of some help during the difficulties.

 

Take you time, get well, and report back when you feel like it.

[Coastalbreezes]

My observation and experience (by eye and nose) was that the Ocean Bar on the port side was smoking. That's where the bar is actually located on the Eurodam (same as on the Noordam but unlike the Westerdam). People can sit at the bar, here, and smoke ... and they may smoke throughout the port side of the bar. The Starboard side is reserved for non-smoking.

 

Additionally, the entire Sports Bar is smoking. That's the bar just forward the Casino on the port side of the ship. One can sit at the bar here or in any of the couches or chairs in the Sports bar and smoke and enjoy a Martini.

 

There may be other smoking areas that include bars, but I'm not certain of that. Perhaps someone else, who was more aware of smoking issues, can tell us?

 

 

 

The Vistas, and therefore the Signature class ship Eurodam, are larger than the S & Rs. This means that there will be more walking and there is very little that can be done about it. The best answer to the walking-distance issue is to obtain a midships cabin near the midships elevators. The Ocean bar is just abaft the midships elevators and, hence, the walk from there to the main dining room is about like walking on an S-class ship from the Piano Bar to the main dining room. If you have a midships cabin that also means that the walk forward to the show lounge or the crows nest is also not too difficult. However, nothing can help to shorten the distance from the main dining room to the show lounge.

 

Thank you for your prompt (and thorough!) responses. I really need to think seriously about whether my mom can handle this size ship. When I booked it, it was based on just cruising on this new ship without thought to size.

Welcome home and thank you again!

Tracy

[RevNeal]

RevNeal. Thanks for all your postings. I sure enjoyed reading all your postings. Since I"m not a regular part of this group of CC'rs, what are the "good nuts" and what is the voyage of the good nuts?

 

The "good nuts" are either (1) the mixed nuts they give you in the bars and lounges on Formal Nights and other special occasions, (2) US. :) The "Voyage of the Good Nuts" is a group cruise that a bunch of us (many of whom were aboard the Eurodam for the Inaugural) have planned for January 2009 aboard the Noordam. If you want more details, please feel free to e-mail me off the board.

[mchell810]

Greg:

 

I do not know you well enough to know if the "old" applies :), but from your wonderful reports and information, "grumpy" certainly does not apply. I thought your response was great.

 

Thank you for all the great information, and outstanding pictures! I can not wait until you have more posted!

 

Ken

 

RevNeal,

Ditto to the above post! :D

 

CS

[Aussie Gal]

Rev Neal,

 

Loved the photo of Dorcas. She had to be a Basset Hound with a name like that. Our Basset was called Humphrey and he was our "baby" until our own babies came along. He was a wonderful, gentle dog especially with our children when they were young. He lived until he was 13 years.

 

Jennie

[Love Cruises]

RevNeal ... just wanted to thank you so much for your posting of your trip on the EURODAM. I so looked foward to checking in each day to read your reports and can't wait until your complete photo album is posted. My husband and I love good photography work and yours tops the bill.

 

It will be a long wait until your "Cruising of the Nuts" adventure updates but, in the meantime, we will enjoy your regular insightful postings on Cruise Critics.

 

Thanks again for letting many of us "live through you" on your EURODAM trip!

[Mary Ellen]

I've just now finished reading the thread. Some random comments and thoughts:

 

We were booked on the Eurodam for this fall, but ended up canceling it due to concerns about how accessible it would be. Just as well, I guess!

Since I have a family member who is in a power chair, I tend to look at accessibility. From what I observed, this isn’t a good ship for his needs.

 

The tables in the dining room seem crammed together. He would only be able to be seated at very few tables near the entrance. The center part of the lower level of the dining room is elevated 2 steps – NO ramp. I specifically asked the Dining Room Manager about this and accessibility. “We won’t seat them there”. So, certain parts of the ship are off limits to those in wheelchairs.

 

The Lido is too congested for my DB The walkway between the ‘line’ and seating areas is pretty narrow. In many places it is difficult/impossible for 2 people carrying trays to pass each other. Other than the seating area at one end that Greg has mentioned, the seating areas are ramped. However, it seemed to me that the ramps/entrances are further apart than on other HAL ships we’ve sailed. Given the narrow walkway in the dining area and that it winds as the table sizes vary, it isn’t HA friendly. You would have limited areas that would be suitable and since tables are often hard to come by….. Not a good situation.

 

As in other dining areas, there seems to be limited tables that are easily accessible in the PG.

 

We did look at one HA cabin on a turn-around day (deck 4 just forward of the mid-ship elevators). It would be too small for my brother’s situation. His power chair would take up just about all of the ‘free’ space. He also uses O2 and there wouldn’t be any room for canisters and/or concentrator. The bathroom did have a roll-in shower. I’m not remembering if there was a seat attached to the wall. I’ll have to check my pictures. There isn’t a sofa. That space has the closets (relocated from the entry area to make that wider).

 

The Crow’s Nest seems to have more seating packed in. I doubt if my brother could navigate there. The Silk Den is wide open and would be easily accessible. I did notice that there are a number of HA rest rooms around the ship.

 

 

:confused: You really think HAL just built this magnificent new ship and did not make it accessible?

 

Sure, they may have made an error in a spot of two that effects a very few tables but does that declare the ship to not be accessible? In this day and age ????

 

From the photo I saw, the step is a problem for everyone....not just those in wheelchairs but does not effect all of Lido seating by any means.

Sorry, there are far more accessible ships out there. It is a shame that HAL didn’t do better in designing the ‘signature’ class.

 

Greg, Thanks again for all of the wonderful feedback on this beautiful new ship. I' m sure you know how appreciative most on this board are of your posts. I might be way off on this, but I think that "step" might have been put there by HAL as a way to distinguish that area as an entrance to Canaletto for dinner. Bad idea! Hopefully it will be addressed in the near future to avoid what could be lots of accidents. Hope all CC'ers are enjoying their time on board the EDAM.

HAL has done some ‘interesting’ design, but making the Canaletto totally inaccessible isn’t one of them. Sorry, the seating area involved isn’t part of Canaletto. That is accessible by a ramp.

 

Greg Thanks for all the great posts. Sorry to hear about the "throngs" of "kids"! I doubt if I could be as patient as you!!!! Also, it seems that hot tea has always been a "drama". Hopefully, things will get better for the tea lovers! Enjoy the rest of your cruise & give our best wishes to all! .... L.B.

Without you onboard to make sure I had a supply of my favorite tea, Adele stepped up to the task. We’ve found it easiest if DH had a tea bag with him when we went to eat. That way I only needed a pot of hot water (hopefully clean).

 

I have the exact same problem:o I want to try everything on the Tamarind menu, where there really is not one thing on it that Tom would consider eating. He had seen where Greg mentioned a steak but once he heard it was a wasabi something, that eliminated thated. I really do not think there is anything for the person that is a plain meat and potatoes type. I wish they could order off the Pinnacle Menu while I ordered off the Tamarind.

Lisa – Scotty was able to order his steak without the wasibi coating without a problem. I really don’t think your DH will have a problem.

 

For those who though Greg was being too harsh on the ‘little darlings’ who ran through the dining room, maybe you missed the comments on how we had broken glass around our table on two nights. At least one of the ‘little darlings’ would take off her shoes so she could run barefoot through the dining room. Good grief.

 

 

All in all, there are other ships that are a better fit for us. It will take extraordinary circumstances for us to sail on her again. Do I consider the E’dam a “disaster’? NO. Not all ships have to cater to our needs. This ship appears much more geared towards 'family' cruising. The one aspect that I would rate as outstanding from the get-go is the Tamarind. Definably a 'don't miss'. This being an Inaugural, we certainly expected that not everything would go smoothly. I do give kudos to the officers and crew (except the Front Desk) for trying to work the kinks out and identify changes that need to be made on the next Signature class ship.

[Cristiano]

Hi Greg,

 

I thought that there was only one "Grumpy1" on these boards :D and having met him and SL1 a few years ago can testify that he is no grump!!

 

I thought that your description of the children on board was well balanced and it would seem that a minority of the children were intent on causing havoc without concern of others.

 

At the end of the day I firmly believe that it is the responsibilty of the parents to ensure that their children behave in an appropriate manner.

 

We were all children at one time and I recall as a 11 year old sailing from Sydney to Genoa (Italy) and back and there were numerous children of all ages on board and we had a ball, but never unruly.

 

I believe that it all stems from the parents and the example that they set in their everyday lives, "unruly" parents set an example that children believe is acceptable in society and so on.

 

Anyway it's just my opinion, but welcome home and thank you once again for your posts and in particular your pictures and if you ever get to Sydney I would be happy to buy you a drink.

 

cheers,

 

Cristiano.

[cruiseluv]

I can't speak for Louise, but we did find the dining room crowded. One of my brothers uses a power wheelchair. He wouldn't be able to get to most of the tables in the dining room as the tables are so close together. On that same line, the center part of the lower level is elevated 2 steps - NO ramp. That area is out of bounds to anyone who can't do stairs.

 

You could very well have to also wait to be accommodated. Several times during each portion (we were on for 23 days) the CD made announcements that to avoid long waits to be seated at dinner, passengers should plan on dining before 7 (I believe - maybe 7:15).

 

We found the dining room to be VERY noisy. This appears to be a combination of acoustics and crowded conditions. We had tables of 8 and couldn't hear each other. We also had this problem in the PG as it is open to the atrium and noise (music???) from other levels was too loud to carry on conversation at our table. We've never experienced this on any other ship.

 

For the 3-day portion, our documents had 'confirmed main upper' seating. At check-in our room keys had 'open' seating. Obviously HAL has a different interpretation of confirmed than we do. :rolleyes: Since some of those we were to have been seated with had suites, they had the Neptune Lounge Concierge take care of getting us assigned together. However, this assigned table was on the lower (open) level. As we tried to get to our table that first night at 8, we thought it logical to enter the dining room on the lower level. Not so. There was a HUGE line for those trying to get 'open' tables. We witnessed passengers given pagers and told it would be about 45 minutes. :eek: We then decided to enter through the upper level. This worked - pretty much. The person seating us took us down to the lower level via the center staircase and then proceeded to wander around looking for our table number. It was finally located.

 

The next night we decided to start out on the upper level and again use the center dining room stairs. That worked well until some waiter demanded to see our "white slip"??? We didn't know what the heck he was talking about. Apparently, this is something the person who assigns tables to those in open seating gives to the person seating them. Well, we have an assigned table that happens to be on the lower level. Greg and I never bothered to get our room keys changed to the new table. Thankfully, the other couple with did have that table number on their room keys and was able to show the waiter we were at our assigned table. THANK YOU, Grumpy!!! Greg/Christopher and DH/I would NOT have been happy to have been thrown out of our assigned table. :eek:

 

We only had to put up with this arrangement for 3 nights. It did point out something we hadn't previously considered as a problem with open seating - With 'traditional' seating everyone comes in and is seated in the same time frame. Then it just the waiters moving around the dining room. With the 'open' seating, passengers were coming/going all the time. This added to the noise level and did NOT make for a relaxing dining experience.

 

Mary Ellen, Thank you for your further details. It sounds like the dining experience left a lot to be desired. It's unfortunate. We have open seating , which actually we prefer. We have had that kind of dining in other cruise lines like Regent and Princess. But in those lines they knew what they were doing , and very seldom you had to wait for a table.

 

I am not happy to hear about tables being so crowded . Your description reminds me of the dining room on a RCCL ship, Vision of the Seas, where there was barely space between tables and it made for a substandard experience.

 

It is what it is and we'll try to make the best of it. At least I will not be cleaning and cooking!

 

Thanks again!

[Mary Ellen]

Mary Ellen, Thank you for your further details. It sounds like the dining experience left a lot to be desired. It's unfortunate. We have open seating , which actually we prefer. We have had that kind of dining in other cruise lines like Regent and Princess. But in those lines they knew what they were doing , and very seldom you had to wait for a table.

 

I am not happy to hear about tables being so crowded . Your description reminds me of the dining room on a RCCL ship, Vision of the Seas, where there was barely space between tables and it made for a substandard experience.

 

It is what it is and we'll try to make the best of it. At least I will not be cleaning and cooking!

 

Thanks again!

It appeared to me that HAL has more 2-top tables, probably trying to accommodate those who don't want to be seated with "strangers". They would have 3-4 of them in a row, taking up more space than a 6-8 top table would occupy. Oddly, we often noticed those seated at the 2-tops talking to each other. So much for 'alone time' at dinner.

 

The dining room staff IS trying to get the kinks worked out. We noticed the service improving throughout the 23-days. I don't know what can be done about the acoustics. Maybe if the curtains were closed during dinner, replacing a hard surface with a soft one should help. However, people like to sit by the windows.....

[innlady1]

It appeared to me that HAL has more 2-top tables, probably trying to accommodate those who don't want to be seated with "strangers". They would have 3-4 of them in a row, taking up more space than a 6-8 top table would occupy. Oddly, we often noticed those seated at the 2-tops talking to each other. So much for 'alone time' at dinner.

 

The dining room staff IS trying to get the kinks worked out. We noticed the service improving throughout the 23-days. I don't know what can be done about the acoustics. Maybe if the curtains were closed during dinner, replacing a hard surface with a soft one should help. However, people like to sit by the windows.....

 

Interestingly, MaryEllen, we sailed on the Noordam in February, and the only thing available to us was Open Seating. We decided to make lemonade out of lemons, so to speak!

 

Our first night, we made a reservation at a table for two by the windows on the starboard side. Loved it. Great view as we sailed by Lady Liberty.

 

Booked it thereafter, every night of our 10 day cruise. Most nights, the same people booked the tables around us...so we chatted with all of them each night. My DH is hearing impaired, so it was great that we were at a two-top, but could still chat with those to the tables on our left or right.

 

It worked perfectly for us.

[jankn]

Dear Rev. Neal, I am another of those who has read every word of your posts, always anxious to read more...especially of details of your time in Norway ! I visit there fairly often and have been to the places that you toured also and always have trouble finding adequate words to describe the beauty of Norway. I am going again in September, my 7th trip to visit an "adopted" exchange student.....and I can hardly wait .... We have visited all over the country as well as in Sweden and Denmark when I have been over there and Norway has beauty beyond description. I would like to do a cruise of the area tho, but will wait until the the Eurodom becomes more "experienced " I think, no doubt they will get many of the issues worked out. I have never met you but we were on a cruise together to the Western Caribbean in November of 2005, I realized who you were after returning home and getting hooked on the CC reviews.....Maybe someday our paths will cross again and I will, for sure, make sure we meet as I feel I already know you. Take care and have a safe trip home and God Bless.....

[Copper10-8]

Thanks, Copper John! It was a pleasure getting to meet you and your "child bride." :D Would love to cruise with y'all again!

 

Likewise and Deal! Spaarndam inaugural JUL 2010

(or before-you never know);)

[Sir PMP]

RCCL ... here I come!!!

 

 

Are you sure?? RCCL will be your worst experience, keep me posted:cool:

[Susie51]

Spaarndam? Is this true?