Eurodam impressions

[wbrumel]

Just back from my one week Eastern Carib trip on the Eurodam. Although I have been on over 25 cruises, this was our first HAL cruise. It did not start out well.

Had an issue when we checked in. They "upgraded" us ... changed our staterooms from the ones we selected and which were confirmed, to 2 others that are higher and further forward. I told them I didn't want their upgrade (it's the same exact cabin... just higher), esp since it's below public rooms. Too bad... they already moved others into our booked cabins.

 

I went to the front desk and spoke with the cust serv mgr, Eddie. The story kept changing as to why we were moved and what could be done about it. First he told me we were "guarantee" cabins... when I showed him my HAL confirmation from July, the story changed again. Anyway, turns out, purely coincidentally, that we meet the couple in our orig cabin... seems they were part of a large group all of whom are on the same deck/hall. That seemed to explain it to me, so I went to see my pal Eddie. He said he checked with Seattle and this change had nothing to do with the group... it was done .... (drumroll)... because of my travel agent! They were quick to throw him under the bus since he wasn't there. Said he told them to upgrade us. Problem is, I remember sitting with him in his office when we made this reservation... I wanted a cabin more midship but on that deck... he asked them to let him know if that becomes available.

 

I emailed my travel agent, who I have used to book many cruises and trust completely. He was furious and contacted his rep at HAL who immed had a $200 credit issued to us and a bottle of wine.

 

Eddie wouldn't even come out to the desk when I asked for him.

He should be re-trained or dismissed.

 

More bad news:

 

Our port call at Grand Turk was canceled due to gale force winds.

No prob for us tho, just meant another day in the private cabana, which is worth every

cent. We had rented the family cabana (Capri) for the week since we were travelling with another couple. These cabanas (Retreat, not to be confused with Lido), are the main reason we would return to Eurodam... that, and the wonderful crew (with the exception of Front Desk). Every waiter, steward, cleaner, bartender that you came in contact with greeted us with a smile. If they saw you a second time, they greeted you by name. I have never met a friendlier crew that aimed to please as much as possible.

 

Saw 2 humpback whales off the side of the ship... a first.

 

General impressions:

Ship: thought it was pretty, but no WOW factor... very subdued. Seemed dark and closed up. Lack of openness with many tight spaces, hallways to no-where and narrow passageways.

 

Cabin: very comfortable with the best bed and bathroom we ever experienced at sea.

 

Embarkation: go after 1:30 pm and you'll walk right on. If you arrive at 11 or before, be prepared to wait.

Disembarkation: went very quickly and smoothly. Got off the ship at 8:30, picked up our luggage, got help from a porter, quickly got a taxi ($12) and was checking in for our 11:50 flight by 9:00. Couldn't be better.

 

Food: among the best we've had at sea. Everything was tasty and beautifully presented. The menus were varied and imaginative. Tamarind and Pinnacle were highlights not to be missed. The porterhouse steak was great.

 

Passenger mix: I was prepared for a nursing home, given some of the comments on this board. Actually found the usual mixed bag, altho skewed on the higher side with very few kids, college age or honeymooners. But many 45-65 y/o.

 

Entertainment: very good. Don't miss the guitarist who is a surprisingly entertaining act. Glad I listened to the other CCers about him or I never would've gone.

 

Shore excursions: never, ever use them. Instead, did our own thing as usual. Rented a car at Hertz at the Sheraton and drove to Ponce. Hint: don't use Hertz.. while convenient to rent (across from the pier), they close at 4pm so you have to return the car to the airport at night. And, the car was falling apart.

 

HMC was everything CCers said it would be.... best island and our best weather day so it was a real 10. BBQ was good. Tender service efficient.

 

In St Thomas... we chartered a beautiful sailboat: High Pockets. It was the best day! Capt. Kathleen and her mate provide lunch, open bar, snorkeling, sailing and lots of good conversation and fun for 6 hrs for about the same cost pp as the ship 2 hr cattle drives. Had a great day.. mostly in a secluded cove.

 

Will be back on HAL again.

[hammybee]

Sounds like ole Eddie had a Pinocchio nose thing, going on there, eh?

 

How the heck would he know what your TA requested, or not?

 

Sounds like you got trumped by a group and a higer deck is not always a better cabin.

 

Glad you enjoyed the whales, food and private cabana.

[9876]

I can certainly understand why a change of cabins could miff you. I am glad that everything else went so well though!

[pipedreams62]

[jhannah]

I'm sorry you got moved. But I'm more sorry that they lied to you ... more than once. That's inexcuseable IMO. Glad you had a good trip overall.

[Estelle]

Thanks for the review - we just booked our first HAL cruise and I am curious to see how other cruisers experience their ships for the first time.

 

On our most recent cruise (RCCL) we had some confusion with onboard credits and had to make a few trips to the front desk and be told all kinds of nonsense - at one point our TA was also blamed - which I knew was not true. The situation was finally explained by a manager (had to do with switching from a 7 day to a 6 day cruise - so the credits were less than we had expected - and made sense) - it would have been nice to have the first person say I don't know and we will contact you when we figure it out rather than insult and annoy us. I commend your patience and I'm happy to hear that you didn't allow it to ruin your trip.

 

BTW - pipedreams62:

 

Since I've started reading the HAL boards - I notice your responses and love them! Thanks for the laughs

[mafig]

Welcome home!

 

We were on Eurodam in December.

 

We also rented a car from Hertz and would be hesitant to do it again but for a different reason. We had reserved a car and when we got to the desk we were third in line behind two other people who had also reserved a car. It took us over an hour to get our car. the Hertz rep. was so disorganized, and so slow (also taking personal phone calls while we all listened:eek:). He'd do the paperwork (slooowly), get the car, come back to the office because he forgot something, and repeat it again. When you're on vacation, time is precious. I posted on the PR board and it seems that getting efficient service is luck of the draw, so we were unlucky.

 

However, our car was fine.

 

Also, we were able to drop it off in their lot after 4 PM. Left the car and they had a key drop off in the hotel lobby. I wonder if this has changed.

[wbrumel]

Esp liked the pic of everyone's favorite Eddie. The real Eddie was just as obnoxious and conniving.

[onthegogirl]

"On our most recent cruise (RCCL) we had some confusion with onboard credits and had to make a few trips to the front desk and be told all kinds of nonsense - at one point our TA was also blamed - which I knew was not true. The situation was finally explained by a manager (had to do with switching from a 7 day to a 6 day cruise - so the credits were less than we had expected - and made sense) - it would have been nice to have the first person say I don't know and we will contact you when we figure it out rather than insult and annoy us. I commend your patience and I'm happy to hear that you didn't allow it to ruin your trip."

 

The Front Desk operation on HAL's ships is inexcusable. They stonewall, outright lie, and make you feel as though you are being unreasonable. I have had this experience on two voyages and recently sailed with Princess for the first time. The difference could not have been more dramatic. The Princess front desk staff bent over backwards to solve a problem, even to the point of calling me to say that they didn't have an answer yet but were still working on it.

 

I wish whoever trains these folks would emphasize "customer service" but it seems unlikely. I have heard complaints about the Front Desk operations for years now and nothing changes. I keep sailing with HAL despite the Front Deck operation and keep my fingers crossed that I won't have to deal with them. It is the only negative that I have encountered with HAL personnel.

[wbrumel]

It really is a shame that the front desk personnel seem to be trained in "avoid and deflect" tactics. My dealings with them were the only negative issue, esp with respect to the crew which, overally, could not be better.

[cruiser3568]

I was also on that cruise-think we were cabana neighbors. I agree that the cabanas were the best part of that cruise. The service was incredible at the retreat cabanas and it was perfect to have on those windy days. We found the service in the dining room very inconsistent. As far as renting a car--we had trouble at the Sheraton across the street in Puerto Rico--we left after 30 minutes and took a cab to the airport and rented a car there. The cost--including taxi fare-was cheaper than renting from the hotel.

[azkcruizers]

I was on the same cruise as well and am glad to hear that I wasn't the only one with issues in the dining room. We also had trouble at the sheraton car rental. I was told online and over the phone that you could drop the car off after 4 pm for an $18 fee, but they told me they never heard of such a thing when I got there. After a phone call he apologized that whoever I talked to was mistaken. A few minutes later he acknowledged that he knew there would be problems when they took the dropbox away. I just looked online and the dropoff for $18 is still offered. We didn't end up renting a car at all and were very disappointed. I'm glad you made out ok in the end.

 

Karen

[wbrumel]

I think I beat everyone to the car at the Sheraton. I didn't have any trouble renting except that I was never told about the need to return the car to the airport until I was at the rental counter. It was really no big deal, tho. The car started falling apart on our ride back from Ponce .... something fell down below the front bumper and fluttered in the wind. It was clearly previously rigged up with some wire. When I returned the car, I mentioned it ... as soon as I started describing the issue the guy behind the counter said all the Camrys had that problem. He called over a manager (I am a Hertz #1 Gold Club member and pushed that button)... they gave me a credit voucher for $30 (which was half the cost of the rental), so I was satisfied, altho I really wasn't planning on the cost of the taxi back to the ship. Since we were 2 couples sharing these costs, it really didn't amount to much and our excursion to Ponce worked out great bec it was sunny there as opposed to the full day of rain in San Juan. We visited the Castillo Serralles, a beautiful home (now museum) owned by the family that owns the rum production on P.R.

[the_dylaness]

Glad to hear you (mostly) enjoyed your cruise... Ponce is quite a trip from OSJ!

 

We sailed with Kathleen on Highpockets last month for my birthday--- truly a wonderful excursion and worth every penny. I am happy to hear she's treating others just as fabulously and hope her business is booming!

[wbrumel]

Actually, it only took about 1.5 hrs to Ponce and it was a beautiful ride (the middle 45 mins, anyway) over the mountains, with gorgeous vistas. Unfortunately, there isn't much to the town once you get there.

[DizzyDallasDi]

I'm glad to hear your cruise on the beautiful Eurodam turned out to be enjoyable despite the front desk craziness. I have a question about the benches in the elevator lobbies. When I was on her in Nov., there weren't any cushions on them, just bare metal frames. Presumably due to not being compliant with fire regulations. Were there cushions on the benches during your cruise?

 

Diane

[djhsolara]

I have a question about the benches in the elevator lobbies. When I was on her in Nov., there weren't any cushions on them, just bare metal frames. Presumably due to not being compliant with fire regulations. Were there cushions on the benches during your cruise?

 

Diane

 

Funny you brought this up...There were cushions on these benches.

 

My question is, however, how the heck do these benches fit in with the decor of the ship? They look like something that came from someone's patio set...the paint was peeling off of many of them and they didn't look comfortable at all or look like they belonged at all. I know on Westerdam they seem to have "funky" seating in the elevator lobbies, so I was really shocked to see something that looked as though they were brought in from the local k-mart patio section. They were the only thing that I saw onboard that just didn't seem to fit in.

[DizzyDallasDi]

Funny you brought this up...There were cushions on these benches.

 

My question is, however, how the heck do these benches fit in with the decor of the ship? They look like something that came from someone's patio set...the paint was peeling off of many of them and they didn't look comfortable at all or look like they belonged at all. I know on Westerdam they seem to have "funky" seating in the elevator lobbies, so I was really shocked to see something that looked as though they were brought in from the local k-mart patio section. They were the only thing that I saw onboard that just didn't seem to fit in.

 

If you thought they looked strange with cushions, you should have seen them without. :eek::D Oh well...it didn't detract from the rest of the ship's ambience for me. I spent only a few seconds each day in the elevator lobbies as opposed to hours in the other lovely areas of the ship.

 

Maybe HAL is trending toward a more funky seating decor...I found the chairs in the Pinnacle Bar to be a tad futuristic.

 

Diane

[TMJplus1]

Thanks for all the great info! Do you have a link to more info about High Pockets? I definitely want to look into that.

[anbland]

How do you book one of the Retreat cabanas? I take it those are way better than the lido cabanas.

 

My wife and I are on Eurodam in a couple weeks. We really want to book these. I don't want to miss out but I bet they fill up quickly... Sounds like the perfect way to relax.

[Sundagger]

The Front Desk operation on HAL's ships is inexcusable. They stonewall, outright lie, and make you feel as though you are being unreasonable. I have had this experience on two voyages and recently sailed with Princess for the first time. The difference could not have been more dramatic. The Princess front desk staff bent over backwards to solve a problem, even to the point of calling me to say that they didn't have an answer yet but were still working on it.

 

I wish whoever trains these folks would emphasize "customer service" but it seems unlikely. I have heard complaints about the Front Desk operations for years now and nothing changes. I keep sailing with HAL despite the Front Deck operation and keep my fingers crossed that I won't have to deal with them. It is the only negative that I have encountered with HAL personnel.

 

Apparently they should use the Guest Relations Manager that I met on my Jan 2008 Oosterdam cruise as a trainer (Ms Maybelle Lim). She and her staff turned what was a very unpleasant beginning to my cruise into a very enjoyable one. I've thanked Seattle for having her available on the Oosterdam. I usually don't have much contact with the Front Desk, but on this cruise, it turned out very well.:)

[wbrumel]

Thanks for all the great info! Do you have a link to more info about High Pockets? I definitely want to look into that.

 

You'll find a link to contact Kathleen at sailhighpockets.com

You'll love it. Was the highlight of our week.

[wbrumel]

How do you book one of the Retreat cabanas? I take it those are way better than the lido cabanas.

 

You can call ship services directly or just call your travel agent and have him/her book it for you. You prepay for the week. Well worth it to have your own personal space.