Three Days Was Not Enough! Eurodam Oct. 15 Review

[purplenorway]

Pre-Cruise, Embarkation & Cabin

 

We booked the Eurodam 3 day October 15 cruise about two weeks before the sailing because of the great price on an inside category N cabin! About a week later, we were upgraded to a VF verandah. We were extremely excited to get away for a few days and check out a new ship! I had read so much about Eurodam and followed the building process, so it almost seemed mythical. But no, the ship is very real and it was a great feeling to catch a glimpse of it for the first time as our plane landed in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

We took a taxi and got to the pier around 12:15. The check in line seemed long, but moved very quickly. The customary embarkation photo probably took the longest.

 

We were shown to an elevator and whisked to the Lido for lunch. The Lido is very pretty, (I love the carpet) but quite narrow between the tables and buffet line. This was better on days when it wasn’t so crowded. I liked the “Flavors of the World” sections. The meat sauce and pasta were excellent. The bread pudding was perfect.

 

It was announced that cabins were ready and we headed to VF 5059. The cabin was small, but nice. We usually get suites, so I definitely missed the space, but considering the low price we paid for this cruise, it was an excellent value. There were few drawers, but lots of closets. I had the sofa bed. It was very firm and didn’t creak; it was probably one of the better ones I’ve had. It took up a lot of room when it was out. It was best to crawl over it to get to the verandah.

The table also had to be moved against the wall and made it difficult to get through to the door and bathroom.

 

The bathroom had a shower/small tub. I liked that it had clear instructions posted of which way to turn the faucet for hot/cold and shower/bath. Genius! No more guesswork. The sink seemed backwards to me and I had to remember to turn the faucets the opposite way or spray water everywhere when I really meant to turn it off.

 

There were three small shelves on the side and one long one under the sink. The verandah had two chairs, footstools and an end table. It was very private and had an overhang above. It looked down on a lifeboat. Should there have been an evacuation, it would have been a good location.

 

 

The Ship & Staff

 

The Eurodam is gorgeous! Cool public rooms, interesting art, even the lighting and chairs are creative. The layout is very similar to the Vista class ships.

 

When we first boarded, I thought, “Everyone is so friendly.” Maybe because we were all so close in the Lido? But, really, even the staff vacuuming the carpets said hello.

 

The Captain was Jonathan Mercer, but we never saw him. He must have been there, because we heard his “voice from the bridge”. The Cruise Director, Shane Michaels, boarded the same day we did. Stan Kuppens was the Hotel Manger. He is very friendly and detail-oriented. We saw him stop just to straighten a vase in the atrium. When we had a question about a certain cabin category, he wanted to make sure he gave us the correct answer and made a phone call to double check.

 

 

Cruise Critic Events

 

HAL gave us a very nice Cruise Critic Meet & Greet in the Piano Bar at 5:30 on embarkation day. The Beverage Manager, Murat Kaya, called to let me know they were upgrading us to a cocktail party with drinks and appetizers compliments of himself and the Hotel Manager (the Upgrade Fairy even does Meet & Greets!). The Beverage Manager, Hotel Manager and Cruise Director joined us. Stan Kuppens, talked with us for an hour and a half. I was impressed.

 

The second night, we had a Cabin Crawl. All of the cabins we saw were basically the same verandah categories, except one was a spa category. Still, we had fun and it was interesting to notice how the motion changed as we got to higher decks or moved forward. It’s true that the middle, lower decks feel less movement.

 

After the Cabin Crawl, the Beverage Manager was really nice to invite us to join him in the Silk Den to try warm sake and specialty drinks. Most of the drinks came in martini glasses, but without the stem; they sat in a bowl of ice instead. My favorite drink was something that tasted like lime- very refreshing.

 

 

Entertainment & Activities

 

We saw two shows. One was the juggler/comedian Jeff Taveggia. He was okay, but it was a lot of juggling to sit through for one show. He was originally supposed to perform with a comedian, but due to sound problems with the “In Concert” production show the first night, he filled in then instead. The production show “Dream Park” was very good. Really creative!

 

The daily program seemed limited, but I didn’t care. It was a short cruise and I was more concerned with relaxing, seeing the ports and eating. Many events were around 8:00 pm and that was right before our dinner.

 

 

Dining

 

We had 8:15 traditional dining in the Rembrandt Dining Room at a table for four. It was located on the upper level, on the side, on a raised level. Our stewards were Henri and Andie. They were excellent! Every special request was met. They seemed very relaxed and were happy to chat.

 

I can’t think of anything I ordered at dinner that I didn’t like. I enjoyed the different sauces, especially from some beef entrée the second night and the Caribbean jerk chicken the last night.

 

I will confess, I usually ordered two or three desserts. I had a fabulous dessert the first night. The name was something to do with chocolate, caramel and toffee. Really, it was the Warm Chocolate Truffle! It lives! How many identity crisis has that thing been through anyway? I ordered a second, a la mode.

 

For breakfast, I loved the chocolate croissants and the muesli was just the way I like it. Although, one day, there was a moldy raspberry on my muesli and my ham and cheese omelet didn’t have cheese. But I just picked off the raspberry and ate the omelet and life went on.

 

We saw more familiar dining staff members on this cruise than any other! Either we recognized them or they recognized us. The Dining Room Manager remembered our table number on the Noordam from over a year and a half ago, our assistant dining room steward was the same we had on the Noordam, a former yum-yum man was our lifeboat captain, I could go on…

 

We had lunch at Tamarind after we came back from a morning at Half Moon Cay. The view was great. Everything was so artfully presented. I am not a seafood person, but apparently my favorites on the main plate had crab and squid in them. I liked the different dipping sauces and my green tea tiramisu was yummy.

 

 

Our Cabin Steward

 

Our cabin steward deserves his own section. He was something else. He seemed like a nice guy, I didn’t meet him until the second day and I didn’t know his name, but he would wave from down the hallway whenever he saw me. His service on the other hand, needs some work. He must have shown he was good in the past though, because he was actually training another cabin steward!

 

The first night, we didn’t have new towels. They were just left in a pile on the floor. We called for some fresh ones. The same thing happened the second night. Each time they were brought by someone in housekeeping, not our steward. On Friday, the room steward knocked on the door at 7:45 am. My mom answered the door, half awake. We listened as he said, “Holland America has a new policy of only changing towels once a day”. He went on to say if we had a complaint, we could write it on a card and give it to the Front Office.

 

The third night, my mom called the Front Office and promised them it would be the last time she asked for towels. She also told them about the “new policy”. They apologized and said that what the steward said to us is not true. They said they would have the housekeeping manager talk with him after we left the ship (most likely so he could not sabotage our room).

 

Also on Friday morning, the steward took all of our toiletries (and we have a lot) off the bathroom shelves and left them all on the counter. I don’t know why he thought he needed to clean the shelves for a three day cruise on the last full day. Plus, he could have put them back.

 

We had tea with some ladies who had the same cabin steward. They said he gave them tote bags that smelled like exhaust, didn’t make the bed for the third person, and didn’t leave them pillow chocolates (the horror!). At least we got the pillow chocolates he left in a pile at the foot of the bed. The first night, I didn’t have a pillowcase on one of my pillows. Also, he always left the toilet seat up in the morning, but I guess that meant he cleaned it. We never had fresh fruit, flowers or towel animals, maybe because it was only a three day cruise?

 

After breakfast on disembarkation morning, we waited in our room for them to call our deck. We were close to falling asleep when he knocked on the door, opened it, propped it open and turned on all the lights. He asked if we would mind waiting in a lounge because he needed to make up the room right then. He said he would be back in five minutes. We then listened as two ladies in the hall told him what a wonderful job he had done keeping their room clean during the cruise. What?! Either they have some different standards or he only does a good job for a select few. We closed the cabin door and finished getting our stuff together.

 

There is one good thing to say about him, and that is that he does not clean the drawers. What should we find in a drawer, but two Mariner delft tiles! Yes!

 

This was just very unusual. We’ve never had a room steward like this on HAL before.

 

 

Ports

 

In Nassau, we went to Ardastra Gardens. We took a taxi that was $15 on the way over and $12 on the way back. I hear there is a bus that will take you there for $1. The gardens were very pleasant and not too crowded. There were exotic birds, animals and flowers. We saw the famous marching flamingos and helped feed the lory parrots. You just hold up an apple slice and they will fly over and land on your hand to eat. It was amazing and one of the highlights of the trip! We also went to the Straw Market, but it was very dull and crowded. Every booth had the same stuff.

 

It started as a cloudy day in Half Moon Cay. The island was deserted! I guess many people stayed on the ship. The water was warm and the sun came out later. We went pretty far down the beach, but there was certainly room closer to the dock as well. The sand was so soft and squishy. Beautiful island.

 

 

Some Random Memories

 

While walking on the Promenade one day, a beautiful rainbow appeared out of nowhere. It looked like it was out of the water. Of course, I didn’t have my camera.

 

The benches in the elevator lobbies are missing cushions because they are making some that are up to the fire code. They could remove the benches, but they are bolted down.

 

They had a party by the Lido Pool to celebrate the World’s Largest Cruise Night with chocolate fountains, cake and champagne. And of course, brochures and the Future Cruise Consultant were available to help you book your next cruise.

 

I saw a man at this party wearing a vest made of HAL tote bags! The front had the older ones with the big logos and the back had the newer ones with the destinations.

 

 

Disembarkation

 

We didn’t get any comment cards or Mariner tiles (but we found some in our cabin drawer!). The bills didn’t arrive until the morning. Some people didn’t get them at all.

 

After being chased out of our cabin, we sat in the Atrium. What a great people watching spot! We watched the long Front Desk line. I liked that, as they did on the first day, they had a staff member walk the line. This way, if you have a quick question, they can answer it then and you don’t have to wait the whole time. One man was extremely rude to the staff member and we heard some not so nice words as he raised his voice. The staff member calmly stood there and then continued down the line. After this, the man lit up a cigarette and smoked right in line. No one seemed to care, probably because he seemed so much calmer.

 

 

Conclusion

 

It was an awesome cruise, but it was too short! I can’t wait to return to this beautiful ship for a week in December! We’ll have a suite then and most definitely a different cabin steward.

 

You can view my Eurodam photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/purplenorway/EurodamOct08#

[Travalerie]

Good reading, thanks for posting some more details on your cruise. I saw some on another thread. I am just baffled at the behavior of your room steward. How can he make you leave your room? What a hard position to be in as a passenger. On one hand, you want to be nice and give him time to get his work done, but on the other hand you want one of the perks of HAL-being able to stay in your room until you are called. I have two little ones, and I am looking forward to staying in my room until its time to go as opposed to running around trying to keep them still some place.:p You have an awesome attitude and that is why I think you had a great cruise.

[RicardoC]

Thanks for the awesome review! We are thinking about a 10 night Baltic on Eurodam next summer and I think we don't have to spend more time thinking and just book our first HAL cruise! After your review we could board that ship tomorrow! Thanks again!

[JimVrhovac]

We can remember when the Vista class ship came out and there were a lot of the same problems.

 

Give the ship a chance to get its act together. It takes time to learn to work together.

 

Ruth & Jim

[DizzyDallasDi]

That steward was a case! I'm hoping he doesn't get relocated to my area of the Eurodam on my upcoming cruise. :) All-in-all it sounds like you had an enjoyable cruise and that's the bottom line with any vacation. Sometimes, it's kinda fun to have weird things happen so you can laugh and joke about them after you get home. This has happened to me on many trips and, quite frankly, if everything was "perfect," I'd probably be disappointed. It's those things that are "off" that add extra personality to the trip.

 

Wishing you calm seas and happy sailing in your future cruises!

 

Diane

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for taking the time to write your review.

 

That cabin steward sounds awful!!! How did he get a job on HAL???

[mafig]

Hi, Becky!

 

All of us chocoholics on your roll call have been eagerly waiting your return. So glad you had a good cruise. Prepared to be peppered with questions.:D

 

Mary Ann

[Ben Kenobi]

Thanks for your review, I'm very much looking forward to sailing on the Eurodam next month. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes and take the good with the bad. As for Jim's comment isn't almost four months enough time for all the bugs to be worked out? The crew was supposed to be the cream of the crop hand picked from the fleet. Just asking...

[jtl513]

Hi Becky -

 

Thanks for your quick actions in getting the M&G set up. We've never been to one with free wine and munchies! We couldn't stay up for the cabin crawl, though, because we walked too much in Nassau.

 

We didn't have anywhere near the trouble you had with your cabin steward! Ours (Susanto) was possibly a little less attentive than our past couple, but not bad. We asked for fruit on the first day, and never got any, but that was no biggy. We did get one simple towel animal - a frog.

 

I did hear that the ship was short-handed, and some stewards had as many as 30 cabins, about double their norm. We would have given him a good word on the comment card, had we gotten one! I went to the Front Desk to get one Fri night, but the line was very long, and I thought they might come later on in the night.

 

We got to wait in our cabin for disembarkation, and in fact never saw Susanto that day.

[Jade13]

 

After breakfast on disembarkation morning, we waited in our room for them to call our deck. We were close to falling asleep when he knocked on the door, opened it, propped it open and turned on all the lights. He asked if we would mind waiting in a lounge because he needed to make up the room right then. He said he would be back in five minutes. We then listened as two ladies in the hall told him what a wonderful job he had done keeping their room clean during the cruise. What?! Either they have some different standards or he only does a good job for a select few. We closed the cabin door and finished getting our stuff together.

 

There is one good thing to say about him, and that is that he does not clean the drawers. What should we find in a drawer, but two Mariner delft tiles! Yes!

 

OMG. At least HAL reads these boards. You have posted your room number and they know where to find him!

[purplenorway]

Travalerie, Krazy Kruizers, Jade13, It sounded like they were going to talk with the cabin steward. Hopefully he will get some clarification on policies and not make up his own. He seemed like a nice guy, I just don't understand his reasoning.

 

RicardoC, Enjoy your cruise! I think you will love it!

 

Ruth & Jim, Yes, it takes time, but I'm not sure why things aren't running smoothly yet. Still, I was happy to try out a such a new ship!

 

Diane, Well said! I agree. It is fun to look back on.

 

Mary Ann, I'll head over to the roll call next!

 

Ben, I had also heard that they hand-picked the staff. Probably all except our cabin steward. I recognized many crew members from the Noordam, Westerdam and Maasdam. They all did a good job, in my opinion. Have a great cruise!

 

John, I'm glad you enjoyed the Meet & Greet! I thought they did a really nice job. If the stewards had 30 cabins, maybe ours was trying to save some time, lol!

[shipcafe]

Thank you for posting your photos! I embark this Saturday and am more excited now from seeing your photos!

[puddles'n splashes]

Hi purplenorway;

there was a rumour on our Hawaiin cruise[we disembarked October 8th] that the cabin stewards would have 30 cabins with an assistant in the morning and no help in the evening and so there would be no turn down; ie;fresh towels at night. Perhaps that has happened and so less service and more work. Our steward on the Zaandam was excellent, but he seemed to be working all day even then, so if this is the policy his/their work load has increased dramatically.

[GeriatricNurse]

Pre-Cruise, Embarkation & Cabin

 

We booked the Eurodam 3 day October 15 cruise about two weeks before the sailing because of the great price on an inside category N cabin! About a week later, we were upgraded to a VF verandah. We were extremely excited to get away for a few days and check out a new ship! I had read so much about Eurodam and followed the building process, so it almost seemed mythical. But no, the ship is very real and it was a great feeling to catch a glimpse of it for the first time as our plane landed in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

We took a taxi and got to the pier around 12:15. The check in line seemed long, but moved very quickly. The customary embarkation photo probably took the longest.

 

We were shown to an elevator and whisked to the Lido for lunch. The Lido is very pretty, (I love the carpet) but quite narrow between the tables and buffet line. This was better on days when it wasn’t so crowded. I liked the “Flavors of the World” sections. The meat sauce and pasta were excellent. The bread pudding was perfect.

 

It was announced that cabins were ready and we headed to VF 5059. The cabin was small, but nice. We usually get suites, so I definitely missed the space, but considering the low price we paid for this cruise, it was an excellent value. There were few drawers, but lots of closets. I had the sofa bed. It was very firm and didn’t creak; it was probably one of the better ones I’ve had. It took up a lot of room when it was out. It was best to crawl over it to get to the verandah.

The table also had to be moved against the wall and made it difficult to get through to the door and bathroom.

 

The bathroom had a shower/small tub. I liked that it had clear instructions posted of which way to turn the faucet for hot/cold and shower/bath. Genius! No more guesswork. The sink seemed backwards to me and I had to remember to turn the faucets the opposite way or spray water everywhere when I really meant to turn it off.

 

There were three small shelves on the side and one long one under the sink. The verandah had two chairs, footstools and an end table. It was very private and had an overhang above. It looked down on a lifeboat. Should there have been an evacuation, it would have been a good location.

 

 

The Ship & Staff

 

The Eurodam is gorgeous! Cool public rooms, interesting art, even the lighting and chairs are creative. The layout is very similar to the Vista class ships.

 

When we first boarded, I thought, “Everyone is so friendly.” Maybe because we were all so close in the Lido? But, really, even the staff vacuuming the carpets said hello.

 

The Captain was Jonathan Mercer, but we never saw him. He must have been there, because we heard his “voice from the bridge”. The Cruise Director, Shane Michaels, boarded the same day we did. Stan Kuppens was the Hotel Manger. He is very friendly and detail-oriented. We saw him stop just to straighten a vase in the atrium. When we had a question about a certain cabin category, he wanted to make sure he gave us the correct answer and made a phone call to double check.

 

 

Cruise Critic Events

 

HAL gave us a very nice Cruise Critic Meet & Greet in the Piano Bar at 5:30 on embarkation day. The Beverage Manager, Murat Kaya, called to let me know they were upgrading us to a cocktail party with drinks and appetizers compliments of himself and the Hotel Manager (the Upgrade Fairy even does Meet & Greets!). The Beverage Manager, Hotel Manager and Cruise Director joined us. Stan Kuppens, talked with us for an hour and a half. I was impressed.

 

The second night, we had a Cabin Crawl. All of the cabins we saw were basically the same verandah categories, except one was a spa category. Still, we had fun and it was interesting to notice how the motion changed as we got to higher decks or moved forward. It’s true that the middle, lower decks feel less movement.

 

After the Cabin Crawl, the Beverage Manager was really nice to invite us to join him in the Silk Den to try warm sake and specialty drinks. Most of the drinks came in martini glasses, but without the stem; they sat in a bowl of ice instead. My favorite drink was something that tasted like lime- very refreshing.

 

 

Entertainment & Activities

 

We saw two shows. One was the juggler/comedian Jeff Taveggia. He was okay, but it was a lot of juggling to sit through for one show. He was originally supposed to perform with a comedian, but due to sound problems with the “In Concert” production show the first night, he filled in then instead. The production show “Dream Park” was very good. Really creative!

 

The daily program seemed limited, but I didn’t care. It was a short cruise and I was more concerned with relaxing, seeing the ports and eating. Many events were around 8:00 pm and that was right before our dinner.

 

 

Dining

 

We had 8:15 traditional dining in the Rembrandt Dining Room at a table for four. It was located on the upper level, on the side, on a raised level. Our stewards were Henri and Andie. They were excellent! Every special request was met. They seemed very relaxed and were happy to chat.

 

I can’t think of anything I ordered at dinner that I didn’t like. I enjoyed the different sauces, especially from some beef entrée the second night and the Caribbean jerk chicken the last night.

 

I will confess, I usually ordered two or three desserts. I had a fabulous dessert the first night. The name was something to do with chocolate, caramel and toffee. Really, it was the Warm Chocolate Truffle! It lives! How many identity crisis has that thing been through anyway? I ordered a second, a la mode.

 

For breakfast, I loved the chocolate croissants and the muesli was just the way I like it. Although, one day, there was a moldy raspberry on my muesli and my ham and cheese omelet didn’t have cheese. But I just picked off the raspberry and ate the omelet and life went on.

 

We saw more familiar dining staff members on this cruise than any other! Either we recognized them or they recognized us. The Dining Room Manager remembered our table number on the Noordam from over a year and a half ago, our assistant dining room steward was the same we had on the Noordam, a former yum-yum man was our lifeboat captain, I could go on…

 

We had lunch at Tamarind after we came back from a morning at Half Moon Cay. The view was great. Everything was so artfully presented. I am not a seafood person, but apparently my favorites on the main plate had crab and squid in them. I liked the different dipping sauces and my green tea tiramisu was yummy.

 

 

Our Cabin Steward

 

Our cabin steward deserves his own section. He was something else. He seemed like a nice guy, I didn’t meet him until the second day and I didn’t know his name, but he would wave from down the hallway whenever he saw me. His service on the other hand, needs some work. He must have shown he was good in the past though, because he was actually training another cabin steward!

 

The first night, we didn’t have new towels. They were just left in a pile on the floor. We called for some fresh ones. The same thing happened the second night. Each time they were brought by someone in housekeeping, not our steward. On Friday, the room steward knocked on the door at 7:45 am. My mom answered the door, half awake. We listened as he said, “Holland America has a new policy of only changing towels once a day”. He went on to say if we had a complaint, we could write it on a card and give it to the Front Office.

 

The third night, my mom called the Front Office and promised them it would be the last time she asked for towels. She also told them about the “new policy”. They apologized and said that what the steward said to us is not true. They said they would have the housekeeping manager talk with him after we left the ship (most likely so he could not sabotage our room).

 

Also on Friday morning, the steward took all of our toiletries (and we have a lot) off the bathroom shelves and left them all on the counter. I don’t know why he thought he needed to clean the shelves for a three day cruise on the last full day. Plus, he could have put them back.

 

We had tea with some ladies who had the same cabin steward. They said he gave them tote bags that smelled like exhaust, didn’t make the bed for the third person, and didn’t leave them pillow chocolates (the horror!). At least we got the pillow chocolates he left in a pile at the foot of the bed. The first night, I didn’t have a pillowcase on one of my pillows. Also, he always left the toilet seat up in the morning, but I guess that meant he cleaned it. We never had fresh fruit, flowers or towel animals, maybe because it was only a three day cruise?

 

After breakfast on disembarkation morning, we waited in our room for them to call our deck. We were close to falling asleep when he knocked on the door, opened it, propped it open and turned on all the lights. He asked if we would mind waiting in a lounge because he needed to make up the room right then. He said he would be back in five minutes. We then listened as two ladies in the hall told him what a wonderful job he had done keeping their room clean during the cruise. What?! Either they have some different standards or he only does a good job for a select few. We closed the cabin door and finished getting our stuff together.

 

There is one good thing to say about him, and that is that he does not clean the drawers. What should we find in a drawer, but two Mariner delft tiles! Yes!

 

This was just very unusual. We’ve never had a room steward like this on HAL before.

 

 

Ports

 

In Nassau, we went to Ardastra Gardens. We took a taxi that was $15 on the way over and $12 on the way back. I hear there is a bus that will take you there for $1. The gardens were very pleasant and not too crowded. There were exotic birds, animals and flowers. We saw the famous marching flamingos and helped feed the lory parrots. You just hold up an apple slice and they will fly over and land on your hand to eat. It was amazing and one of the highlights of the trip! We also went to the Straw Market, but it was very dull and crowded. Every booth had the same stuff.

 

It started as a cloudy day in Half Moon Cay. The island was deserted! I guess many people stayed on the ship. The water was warm and the sun came out later. We went pretty far down the beach, but there was certainly room closer to the dock as well. The sand was so soft and squishy. Beautiful island.

 

 

Some Random Memories

 

While walking on the Promenade one day, a beautiful rainbow appeared out of nowhere. It looked like it was out of the water. Of course, I didn’t have my camera.

 

The benches in the elevator lobbies are missing cushions because they are making some that are up to the fire code. They could remove the benches, but they are bolted down.

 

They had a party by the Lido Pool to celebrate the World’s Largest Cruise Night with chocolate fountains, cake and champagne. And of course, brochures and the Future Cruise Consultant were available to help you book your next cruise.

 

I saw a man at this party wearing a vest made of HAL tote bags! The front had the older ones with the big logos and the back had the newer ones with the destinations.

 

 

Disembarkation

 

We didn’t get any comment cards or Mariner tiles (but we found some in our cabin drawer!). The bills didn’t arrive until the morning. Some people didn’t get them at all.

 

After being chased out of our cabin, we sat in the Atrium. What a great people watching spot! We watched the long Front Desk line. I liked that, as they did on the first day, they had a staff member walk the line. This way, if you have a quick question, they can answer it then and you don’t have to wait the whole time. One man was extremely rude to the staff member and we heard some not so nice words as he raised his voice. The staff member calmly stood there and then continued down the line. After this, the man lit up a cigarette and smoked right in line. No one seemed to care, probably because he seemed so much calmer.

 

 

Conclusion

 

It was an awesome cruise, but it was too short! I can’t wait to return to this beautiful ship for a week in December! We’ll have a suite then and most definitely a different cabin steward.

 

You can view my Eurodam photos at:

 

 

 

Neither did DW & I EVER have fresh fruit, flowers or towel animals placed in our stateroom by our steward during our entire 10-Day Canada/New England cruise from September 1 to 10!!!

[GeriatricNurse]

Pre-Cruise, Embarkation & Cabin

 

We booked the Eurodam 3 day October 15 cruise about two weeks before the sailing because of the great price on an inside category N cabin! About a week later, we were upgraded to a VF verandah. We were extremely excited to get away for a few days and check out a new ship! I had read so much about Eurodam and followed the building process, so it almost seemed mythical. But no, the ship is very real and it was a great feeling to catch a glimpse of it for the first time as our plane landed in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

We took a taxi and got to the pier around 12:15. The check in line seemed long, but moved very quickly. The customary embarkation photo probably took the longest.

 

We were shown to an elevator and whisked to the Lido for lunch. The Lido is very pretty, (I love the carpet) but quite narrow between the tables and buffet line. This was better on days when it wasn’t so crowded. I liked the “Flavors of the World” sections. The meat sauce and pasta were excellent. The bread pudding was perfect.

 

It was announced that cabins were ready and we headed to VF 5059. The cabin was small, but nice. We usually get suites, so I definitely missed the space, but considering the low price we paid for this cruise, it was an excellent value. There were few drawers, but lots of closets. I had the sofa bed. It was very firm and didn’t creak; it was probably one of the better ones I’ve had. It took up a lot of room when it was out. It was best to crawl over it to get to the verandah.

The table also had to be moved against the wall and made it difficult to get through to the door and bathroom.

 

The bathroom had a shower/small tub. I liked that it had clear instructions posted of which way to turn the faucet for hot/cold and shower/bath. Genius! No more guesswork. The sink seemed backwards to me and I had to remember to turn the faucets the opposite way or spray water everywhere when I really meant to turn it off.

 

There were three small shelves on the side and one long one under the sink. The verandah had two chairs, footstools and an end table. It was very private and had an overhang above. It looked down on a lifeboat. Should there have been an evacuation, it would have been a good location.

 

 

The Ship & Staff

 

The Eurodam is gorgeous! Cool public rooms, interesting art, even the lighting and chairs are creative. The layout is very similar to the Vista class ships.

 

When we first boarded, I thought, “Everyone is so friendly.” Maybe because we were all so close in the Lido? But, really, even the staff vacuuming the carpets said hello.

 

The Captain was Jonathan Mercer, but we never saw him. He must have been there, because we heard his “voice from the bridge”. The Cruise Director, Shane Michaels, boarded the same day we did. Stan Kuppens was the Hotel Manger. He is very friendly and detail-oriented. We saw him stop just to straighten a vase in the atrium. When we had a question about a certain cabin category, he wanted to make sure he gave us the correct answer and made a phone call to double check.

 

 

Cruise Critic Events

 

HAL gave us a very nice Cruise Critic Meet & Greet in the Piano Bar at 5:30 on embarkation day. The Beverage Manager, Murat Kaya, called to let me know they were upgrading us to a cocktail party with drinks and appetizers compliments of himself and the Hotel Manager (the Upgrade Fairy even does Meet & Greets!). The Beverage Manager, Hotel Manager and Cruise Director joined us. Stan Kuppens, talked with us for an hour and a half. I was impressed.

 

The second night, we had a Cabin Crawl. All of the cabins we saw were basically the same verandah categories, except one was a spa category. Still, we had fun and it was interesting to notice how the motion changed as we got to higher decks or moved forward. It’s true that the middle, lower decks feel less movement.

 

After the Cabin Crawl, the Beverage Manager was really nice to invite us to join him in the Silk Den to try warm sake and specialty drinks. Most of the drinks came in martini glasses, but without the stem; they sat in a bowl of ice instead. My favorite drink was something that tasted like lime- very refreshing.

 

 

Entertainment & Activities

 

We saw two shows. One was the juggler/comedian Jeff Taveggia. He was okay, but it was a lot of juggling to sit through for one show. He was originally supposed to perform with a comedian, but due to sound problems with the “In Concert” production show the first night, he filled in then instead. The production show “Dream Park” was very good. Really creative!

 

The daily program seemed limited, but I didn’t care. It was a short cruise and I was more concerned with relaxing, seeing the ports and eating. Many events were around 8:00 pm and that was right before our dinner.

 

 

Dining

 

We had 8:15 traditional dining in the Rembrandt Dining Room at a table for four. It was located on the upper level, on the side, on a raised level. Our stewards were Henri and Andie. They were excellent! Every special request was met. They seemed very relaxed and were happy to chat.

 

I can’t think of anything I ordered at dinner that I didn’t like. I enjoyed the different sauces, especially from some beef entrée the second night and the Caribbean jerk chicken the last night.

 

I will confess, I usually ordered two or three desserts. I had a fabulous dessert the first night. The name was something to do with chocolate, caramel and toffee. Really, it was the Warm Chocolate Truffle! It lives! How many identity crisis has that thing been through anyway? I ordered a second, a la mode.

 

For breakfast, I loved the chocolate croissants and the muesli was just the way I like it. Although, one day, there was a moldy raspberry on my muesli and my ham and cheese omelet didn’t have cheese. But I just picked off the raspberry and ate the omelet and life went on.

 

We saw more familiar dining staff members on this cruise than any other! Either we recognized them or they recognized us. The Dining Room Manager remembered our table number on the Noordam from over a year and a half ago, our assistant dining room steward was the same we had on the Noordam, a former yum-yum man was our lifeboat captain, I could go on…

 

We had lunch at Tamarind after we came back from a morning at Half Moon Cay. The view was great. Everything was so artfully presented. I am not a seafood person, but apparently my favorites on the main plate had crab and squid in them. I liked the different dipping sauces and my green tea tiramisu was yummy.

 

 

Our Cabin Steward

 

Our cabin steward deserves his own section. He was something else. He seemed like a nice guy, I didn’t meet him until the second day and I didn’t know his name, but he would wave from down the hallway whenever he saw me. His service on the other hand, needs some work. He must have shown he was good in the past though, because he was actually training another cabin steward!

 

The first night, we didn’t have new towels. They were just left in a pile on the floor. We called for some fresh ones. The same thing happened the second night. Each time they were brought by someone in housekeeping, not our steward. On Friday, the room steward knocked on the door at 7:45 am. My mom answered the door, half awake. We listened as he said, “Holland America has a new policy of only changing towels once a day”. He went on to say if we had a complaint, we could write it on a card and give it to the Front Office.

 

The third night, my mom called the Front Office and promised them it would be the last time she asked for towels. She also told them about the “new policy”. They apologized and said that what the steward said to us is not true. They said they would have the housekeeping manager talk with him after we left the ship (most likely so he could not sabotage our room).

 

Also on Friday morning, the steward took all of our toiletries (and we have a lot) off the bathroom shelves and left them all on the counter. I don’t know why he thought he needed to clean the shelves for a three day cruise on the last full day. Plus, he could have put them back.

 

We had tea with some ladies who had the same cabin steward. They said he gave them tote bags that smelled like exhaust, didn’t make the bed for the third person, and didn’t leave them pillow chocolates (the horror!). At least we got the pillow chocolates he left in a pile at the foot of the bed. The first night, I didn’t have a pillowcase on one of my pillows. Also, he always left the toilet seat up in the morning, but I guess that meant he cleaned it. We never had fresh fruit, flowers or towel animals, maybe because it was only a three day cruise?

 

After breakfast on disembarkation morning, we waited in our room for them to call our deck. We were close to falling asleep when he knocked on the door, opened it, propped it open and turned on all the lights. He asked if we would mind waiting in a lounge because he needed to make up the room right then. He said he would be back in five minutes. We then listened as two ladies in the hall told him what a wonderful job he had done keeping their room clean during the cruise. What?! Either they have some different standards or he only does a good job for a select few. We closed the cabin door and finished getting our stuff together.

 

There is one good thing to say about him, and that is that he does not clean the drawers. What should we find in a drawer, but two Mariner delft tiles! Yes!

 

This was just very unusual. We’ve never had a room steward like this on HAL before.

 

 

Ports

 

In Nassau, we went to Ardastra Gardens. We took a taxi that was $15 on the way over and $12 on the way back. I hear there is a bus that will take you there for $1. The gardens were very pleasant and not too crowded. There were exotic birds, animals and flowers. We saw the famous marching flamingos and helped feed the lory parrots. You just hold up an apple slice and they will fly over and land on your hand to eat. It was amazing and one of the highlights of the trip! We also went to the Straw Market, but it was very dull and crowded. Every booth had the same stuff.

 

It started as a cloudy day in Half Moon Cay. The island was deserted! I guess many people stayed on the ship. The water was warm and the sun came out later. We went pretty far down the beach, but there was certainly room closer to the dock as well. The sand was so soft and squishy. Beautiful island.

 

 

Some Random Memories

 

While walking on the Promenade one day, a beautiful rainbow appeared out of nowhere. It looked like it was out of the water. Of course, I didn’t have my camera.

 

The benches in the elevator lobbies are missing cushions because they are making some that are up to the fire code. They could remove the benches, but they are bolted down.

 

They had a party by the Lido Pool to celebrate the World’s Largest Cruise Night with chocolate fountains, cake and champagne. And of course, brochures and the Future Cruise Consultant were available to help you book your next cruise.

 

I saw a man at this party wearing a vest made of HAL tote bags! The front had the older ones with the big logos and the back had the newer ones with the destinations.

 

 

Disembarkation

 

We didn’t get any comment cards or Mariner tiles (but we found some in our cabin drawer!). The bills didn’t arrive until the morning. Some people didn’t get them at all.

 

After being chased out of our cabin, we sat in the Atrium. What a great people watching spot! We watched the long Front Desk line. I liked that, as they did on the first day, they had a staff member walk the line. This way, if you have a quick question, they can answer it then and you don’t have to wait the whole time. One man was extremely rude to the staff member and we heard some not so nice words as he raised his voice. The staff member calmly stood there and then continued down the line. After this, the man lit up a cigarette and smoked right in line. No one seemed to care, probably because he seemed so much calmer.

 

 

Conclusion

 

It was an awesome cruise, but it was too short! I can’t wait to return to this beautiful ship for a week in December! We’ll have a suite then and most definitely a different cabin steward.

 

You can view my Eurodam photos at:

 

 

 

You should have directed your cabin steward to go for an extended walk around the Promenade Deck so that you could continue to enjoy your stateroom, as you are permitted to do, up until it was your turn to disembark the ship! How ignorant of him!!!

[purplenorway]

shipcafe, Have fun! Can't wait to see your photos!

 

puddles'n splashes, That sounds like it might have been our cabin steward's schedule. I also heard they had 30 cabins.

 

GeriatricNurse, I know some cabins got towel animals. My mom said she saw our steward carrying a bunch of monkeys down the hall, lol. We never got any, though. The towel animals are always kind of fun to find fruit and flowers would have been nice.

 

I bet he was rushed because the disembarkation process was taking longer than usual. We didn't get off until around 10:00. I should also mention that we walked right off the ship when our deck was called. No line. Likely because we were sitting right in the atrium

[Pompein]

Thanks for posting pictures. We were on this cruise also. We had a suite got fruit on second day and never any towel animals even though I mentioned to the steward that it was my friend's first cruise and she wanted to see them.

Never saw him after the first day.

It was a fun cruise, but way too short.

[seabourndt]

thanks for your lovely review when i get interneyt access i will post one. i still have a job went to disaplinary yesterday to explain myself. had a great time with you all. no flowels, had fruit one day no comment forms either. looking forward to trying the rotterdam mnext year.

dave