Eurodam Review 03 January - 10 January E. Caribbean

[Lakookoo]

Well, we disembarked yesterday morning from our 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise aboard Eurodam, and here are some impressions.

 

We flew from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday 3 January -- sailing day -- and that did provoke some anxiety on my part. The air travel was booked through HAL, as I found their prices were the best when I originally enquired (had we waited till the eleventh hour, we might have found some steep discounts, but who knows.) We had no "real" plane tickets, nothing but a confirmation number, but logging on to the airline's website and using this number was enough to print our boarding passes the day before flying. I dreaded the possibility of a snowstorm that would delay or cancel our flight, but we took off on time and arrived in Fort Lauderdale early (amazing!)

 

A cab to the pier cost US$25 including tip; traffic was a little slow, especially entering Port Everglades, where there was quite a back-up going through the security gates. I believe that there were ten ships in port that day, which makes for a lot of cabs, limos, and busses to-ing and fro-ing over the course of the day. Our driver was cheerful and helpful. The cab could be paid for using a MasterCard (one of those tap-and-go screens) should you prefer (we used cash.)

 

At the terminal, we left our two large suitcases and two carry-ons at the curb with a porter (trusting, eh?) and made our way through the check-in process. Again, no one asked (ever) to see the check-book-like "tickets" issued in the blue folder; rather, we presented ourselves at the counter when our turn came and handed the lady our passports. She then retrieved the information from the computer and issued the key cards. All the terminal staff were charming and friendly. We then were ushered upstairs to the waiting lounge, and were almost immediately on the ship.

 

It was about noon when we boarded, and I had assumed that we would be told to make our way to the Lido for a buffet lunch. Instead, we were led to the main dining room, handed formal lunch menus, and welcomed to Eurodam. This was to be only the first in a mind-boggling series of wonderful meals delivered to us there.

 

After lunch, we made reservations for dinner that night and the following with the maitre d'. I should explain that we had somehow opted for "As You Wish" dining; my husband had furrowed his brow when he learned this, as he was a big fan of the two-seating method, but we found to our delight that the AYWD worked perfectly for us. Never once did we have a problem getting a table for two at a time that worked for us. The only disadvantage I could see was that of not having the same steward more than twice ... although we did try, we were placed in different spots around the dining room, and so had different dining stewards almost every night.

 

The cabin was ready almost as soon as lunch was finished. We were on Deck Four, starboard side, almost as far forward as one could be. I had worried that the ship's motion would be troublesome there (that see-saw effect) but despite some noticeable swells that caused many passengers some trouble throughout the first evening and the whole next day, it didn't feel too bad. The cabin -- a verandah -- was smallish but but intelligently laid out and perfectly adequate. The hairdryer was just as good as the one I had brought (I'd forgotten that they were supplied) and the bathrobes as comfy as had been advertised. The bed was huge and extremely comfortable.

 

I was surprised by how un-crowded the ship felt ... I don't know whether or not it was full, although no-one remarked on whether there had been any cancellations due to the economy or weather. The public areas of the ship never felt crowded to me, though: we never had a problem getting a seat for breakfast or lunch in the Lido (as opposed to my last cruise, on Carnival, where meals in the Lido were as crowded as rush-hour busses) nor did we ever need to search for deck-chairs, treadmills in the Fitness Room, or seats in the Explorations Cafe. Even the Casino seemed comparatively quiet (though my husband, who is a later-night person than I, said that it did appear to fill up as the night wore on.)

 

Eurodam's public spaces are extremely well-thought-out, I found. The chairs are designed to be comfortable, which is rarer than one might think. There are many vantage points, both inside and outside, around the ship that offer passengers a view of whatever scenery is passing. The only negative thing I can think of off-hand is that the ship is quite large, and so those passengers whose mobility is limited must find it a bit of a chore to get around, for even with numerous elevators there is still a lot of space and distance to cover between points.

 

The furnishings are understatedly elegant, with lots of warm colours, teak and brass accents. The stateroom hallways are decorated with reproductions of what I assume to be photographs from HAL's historic archives, all of which were fascinating in their own right. Everything was in good repair (with the exception of our bathroom sink, which was showing some purely cosmetic wear already.) Public restrooms were amazingly elegant and well-equipped, with full doors to the w/c's (none of those half-doors here with feet peeking out, no sir!), actual terry-cloth hand towels, and luxurious hand lotion.

 

Meals were very good indeed: portion size in the Rembrandt dining room were -- for someone raised in the North American restaurant tradition of SuperSizing -- at first glance petite, but we never left the dining room hungry. In fact, I once or twice could not finish what I had ordered. Presentation of the food on the plate was artful but not silly ... menu offerings were traditional in nature but up-to-date in components and in the way they were combined. Nothing weird, everything lovely to look at, everything hot that was supposed to be, and cold when that was required. Service was professional and timely, and always offered with a smile.

 

That does bring me to my one single quibble with the whole cruise. We did find, when we fell into conversation with our various servers and stewards, that they were not shy about telling us that they felt overworked. We were surprised that they spoke that freely about their working conditions, and it made us a little uncomfortable (Western middle-class guilt, I guess.) My husband (the cynic) suggested that this might have been a pity ploy to ensure tips ... I am reserving judgement.

 

All in all, however, we had a terrific time -- and we did put down the $100 deposit on that as-yet-unspecified future cruise, too! I would like to thank my fellow CCers for all their posts, which certainly helped me as we planned this vacation, and which sharpened our anticipation of what was a fabulous trip.

 

And don't stop posting, because from today until our next trip I will be living vicariously through all your cruises!

[azkcruizers]

I was so happy to hear you had such a wonderful time. We will be sailing in 4 weeks on the Eurodam and can't wait. We booked almost a year in advance and are getting so anxious to go. Some health issues with my MIL who is going with us, so hoping to work that out soon so they will be able to come too:)

 

Thanks for posting

 

Karen

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Did not never try any of the speciality restaurants like the Tamarind or Pinnacle?

[odiesam]

Thanks for your review - we are sailing on the Eurodam in April.

 

A couple of questions if you don't mind:

 

- you said that your cabin was a deck 4 balcony starboard near the front - did you happen to have one of the balconies with the steel railing and if so - how was it? We have one of these.

 

- what time did you usually eat in the dining room?

 

Thanks and again thanks for the review!

[the_dylaness]

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you had a nice time. I would like to know more about being ushered to the main dining room for lunch on embarkation day- who did the ushering? I would really prefer an MDR lunch to the Lido.

[Lakookoo]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Did not never try any of the speciality restaurants like the Tamarind or Pinnacle?

 

Hi. Yes, I forgot to mention that we did eat in the Pinnacle Grill on the Monday (that was Grand Turk port day for us.) I kind of picked the day at random, but as we merely went ashore and splashed around at the beach right next to the cruise port that morning rather than go on an excursion, it worked out fine. I know that some posters try to fine-tune formal nights and these special meals so that they don't come back to the ship all worn out from zip-lining through the rainforest or what have you, only to fall asleep in their plates at dinner :D

 

Anyway, I had made reservations for six p.m., which I guess might be considered on the early side ... the restaurant was fairly empty for the first part of our meal, although it appeared to be filling up as we were finishing. The service was friendly and professional, the ambience was faultless -- quiet, with tastefully-low but artful lighting that showed off the spotless cutlery and china -- and the food was extremely good. We each had the prawn-and-filet combination billed as the chef's take on "surf and turf", and the chocolate volcano cake for afters.

 

We didn't make it to Tamarind on this trip, alas -- although all the people I spoke with who did gave it high marks for the quality and presentation. We're putting it on the to-do list for next time. We didn't get to Canaletto, either -- at least not for dinner. My husband indulged in the lasagne (which was on offer seemingly every day at lunch) more than once, and pronounced it superlative. He also tried the manicotti ... and the garlic bread ... and more.

 

Even the pizza at Slice (the 24-hour pizzeria located near the aft pool) was good, though I did hear some people complain that there was not enough sauce on the pizza. I found it just right, myself.

 

Postscript: my husband just weighed himself. Eeeekkkkk! Six pounds up from last week!

 

I'm not going near those scales, at least not yet.

[Lakookoo]

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you had a nice time. I would like to know more about being ushered to the main dining room for lunch on embarkation day- who did the ushering? I would really prefer an MDR lunch to the Lido.

 

I don't really know how we ended up in the dining room. It might have been a function of the time at which we arrived onboard -- maybe the Lido was filled to overflowing at that moment. We just followed the rest of herd as we got onboard, and we ended up in the dining room.

 

And it was great. Oh, and I forgot to mention that there is a tea everyday from 3 to 4 in the afternoon ... certainly seven days are not enough to sample all the things Eurodam (and doubtless all the other ships in the line) have to offer.

[Lakookoo]

Thanks for your review - we are sailing on the Eurodam in April.

 

A couple of questions if you don't mind:

 

- you said that your cabin was a deck 4 balcony starboard near the front - did you happen to have one of the balconies with the steel railing and if so - how was it? We have one of these.

 

- what time did you usually eat in the dining room?

 

Thanks and again thanks for the review!

 

Yes, we did have one of the cabins with a steel panel in the rail instead of a plexiglass, clear panel. It didn't bother us, really -- I suppose that it did block some of the light coming into the cabin, and it certainly blocked some of the view (especially if one were sitting down, of course) but it really wasn't a big deal.

 

You certainly felt safe behind that solid steel wall :D.

 

Our dining times varied between 5:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. If we were famished beforehand, we just slipped up to the Lido and had a salad, or some cheese and crackers. One day that we knew we'd be eating late, we pre-ordered a room service appetizer to tide us over.

 

My husband says that, given his druthers, next time he'd opt for fixed dining times. While the AYWD didn't bother me in terms of when we ate, we would have preferred to have the same dining room stewards for the duration, and this did not seem possible under this system. It seemed to us as though the maitre d' wanted to spread the passengers around the available stewards, perhaps to keep them all equally busy.

[frodo63]

Lakookoo,

 

Thanks for posting your review. I agree there is not enough time to do all the things you want to do while on the Eurodam. I was on the same cruise and will be posting my review when I shake off some of this lethargy. I'm sorry you were not at the Meet and Greet. Did you make it to the piano bar at anytime? I'm just curious to know if we met on board or not. I also agree with you about the crew having to work harder. It seemed to affect everyone. Waiters, stewards even the photographers. When I went to HMC in April, we had 2 butlers all to ourselves all day. This time we had 2 butlers part of the day and they had to service 3 cabanas instead of just us.

 

Donna

[SAMMYR]

Lakookoo,

 

Thanks for posting your review. I agree there is not enough time to do all the things you want to do while on the Eurodam. I was on the same cruise and will be posting my review when I shake off some of this lethargy. I'm sorry you were not at the Meet and Greet. Did you make it to the piano bar at anytime? I'm just curious to know if we met on board or not. I also agree with you about the crew having to work harder. It seemed to affect everyone. Waiters, stewards even the photographers. When I went to HMC in April, we had 2 butlers all to ourselves all day. This time we had 2 butlers part of the day and they had to service 3 cabanas instead of just us.

 

Donna

 

Thanks also for posting your review. My BW and I were also on the same cruise and agree with your review. I would like to add a few bits of info. We did find all personel to be friendly and polite. The food we found to be the best we've encountered on any line in a long time. The Pinnacle and Tammirid were terrific and with attentive service. We did the piano bar 3 times and thought Jimmy was the best piano man on any cruise. The shows were better than average. The casino was very crowded at night and a little smoky.

Eurodam provided all the football games and had tailgate parties.

We did rent a retreat cabana for the week and found it to be great, service there also very good. Plenty of chaise lounges on all levels.

I also will be happy to answer any questions anyone may have.

Alan

[RuthC]

We did the piano bar 3 times and thought Jimmy was the best piano man on any cruise.

He is pretty good. I think he's one of the best that HAL has under contract right now. And Piano Bars are a very important part of my cruises.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Welcome Home. Thanks for the review :)

I have to agree with you that the Eurodam just never really felt crowded. We were on for two weeks and especially Christmas week they were at Max pax and never once did we feel it crowded. It felt far less croded that the other ships. Oh Yes of course during PEAK times the Lido will be packed but but ship is not crowded in the Lido during Peak times.

Thanks again for your review glad you enjoyed your week and BTW don't worry about getting on the scale I waited a full week then screamed :D

[corvettewidow]

thank you soooo much for all of the great information! (btw this is my first post here...and I/we are going on our first cruise on the Eurodam on Feb.28th! I can't wait. I am soooooooooooo overwhelmed by everything. I am 41, my husband is 44 and we are taking our [almost] 12 year old son with us. I am picking through all of your great information seeing what questions I might have for you or others here. I am sure that I will have MANY! I just found this site today and I am looking forward to exploring and getting lots of info!

[debnjoe1438]

Thanks so much for the review. After reading a couple of the "not so good" :(reviews tonight, I was beginning to worry about my up coming cruise. I have never been on HAL and I'm not sure what to expect. However, I'll make the best of whatever.

[bunduo]

Great review! Your writing is excellent. It was long enough but not too long without missing any important information. It makes me want to go right now instead of April 11. Well done, my friend. :)

[eldercruser]

It is good to see some solid, positive comments.

 

Thank you