On Eurodam today....a few bits of info.

[MarkBearSF]

Just back from the 6/22 Eurodam Gems of the Baltic with some reactions:

What was maddening: we were instructed that we needed photocopies of our passports and tour contracts for Russian immigration - but the immigration officer didn't even look at the papers, much less hold on to them!

 

FYI - according to another poster, workers at the old port (which is still used for some arrivals) used the copies to enter the passport info into their computers after the rush of passengers was processed, but this is no longer necessary at the new cruise terminal, so they will not ask for the copies there. Because some ships may still use the old cargo port, the instructions remain.

[kelfad]

And what about the age breakdown? As a general rule HA cruises tend to have an older crowd, but our TA said that on the European cruises it tends to be a much broader mix? I realize this will vary cruise to cruise. Thanks again, Kelfad, you've been most helpful.

 

It was a good mix. Not as old as I thought it might be. I would guess the top of the bell curve would be 55-60. I only saw two men in wheel chairs. And there were about 15 teens or younger. Not a kid cruise.

 

 

We are 47 ish and felt right at home. There were plenty of late 20 and mid 30ish people. Like I said, it was not as old as I thought it would have been.

[onthegogirl]

Thanks Kalfad,

 

Since we will be boarding the Eurodam on 8/1, your posts were very very much appreciated. Did you dine at the Tamarind?. Hope we have your weather:). So glad you had a wonderful time.

 

Carole

[kelfad]

Thanks Kalfad,

 

Since we will be boarding the Eurodam on 8/1, your posts were very very much appreciated. Did you dine at the Tamarind?. Hope we have your weather:). So glad you had a wonderful time.

 

Carole

 

No, we did not try the Tamarind. We walked in and took a look around but the menus in the other restaurants were better suited for my in-laws.

 

On another note. The best place on the boat to relax and get away from people is in the Silk Den. Its the bar opposite the Tamarind. It is not a "bar" until night , so all day it is the best place to hang out. Quiet, fantastic views of the ocean and NO ONE to bother you. You just have to see it to understand how cool the place is. In fact one night at dinner, we were hosted By Ian Page. He is the cruise director on the eurodam. He sat at our table and we had a wonderful time. He gave us all sorts of info about the ports and shopping and the like..... He told us

" the silk den the the best kept secret on the ship". So now you all know. It is my favorite feature of the Eurodam or any other ship for that matter.

[GuideDiva]

FYI - according to another poster, workers at the old port (which is still used for some arrivals) used the copies to enter the passport info into their computers after the rush of passengers was processed, but this is no longer necessary at the new cruise terminal, so they will not ask for the copies there. Because some ships may still use the old cargo port, the instructions remain.

There are last minute changes of ports occassionally so the instructions are perfectly valid. Why was it maddening to be prepared for what is a real possibility? I don't understand. It might have been much more maddening to have to return to the ship to get a photocopy if you had none because you assumed you were going to dock at the passenger terminal and in fact ended up at the cargo port. As a result of having the photocopy, getting through passport control at the old cargo port would have been faster.

 

Holland America is a good cruise line, also, HAL passengers were spared the fiasco yesterday that the Emerald Princess passengers had to endure. The HAL shore excursion operator, Baltic Travel does not interfere with disembarkation but the Princess tour operator, Arctur, is very bad in that way. They sent false letters to the ships they contract for saying Russian immigration changed the rules and private tour passengers had to be detained until after 9:30, 3 hours after they arrived. Of course no changes to Immigration rules have been added but the ship had no choice but to go by what their shore provided said and physically detained passengers not on ship sold tours. Some private tours were cut short or missed because of this.

The other two shore operators, Baltic Travel and DenRus both had ships in port and their passengers had no problems and had not even heard of the fake rule change. Several passengers reported scuffles with Princess security who were rough with passengers during the chaos. Today, Jewel of the Seas who also uses Arctur tired to adhere to the "new rule" but passengers had used the internet and discovered the tour operator and ship were lying, or at least the tour operator was lying to both the passengers and ship. As a result the passengers pushed their way through security or went under them, and got off quickly and immigration which knew nothing of the new "rule" handled people normally without regard to what type of tour they had. Those who were intimidate or too frail to challenge the security were delayed about 1 hour longer before being allowed to exit. That is clearly against Russian law and common manners to treat passengers that way.

Ships that will NOT have this problem are P&O, HAL Cunard, NCL, and a few smaller ones, the rest will likely have problems. It is not Russian officials at all doing this, but the tour operator.

[mangotango8888]

kelfad, baggal, can you tell me when you had the formal nights? i'll be on eurodam on august 1 on a similar gems of the baltic cruise.

[dlr2]

There are last minute changes of ports occassionally so the instructions are perfectly valid. Why was it maddening to be prepared for what is a real possibility? I don't understand. It might have been much more maddening to have to return to the ship to get a photocopy if you had none because you assumed you were going to dock at the passenger terminal and in fact ended up at the cargo port. As a result of having the photocopy, getting through passport control at the old cargo port would have been faster.

 

Holland America is a good cruise line, also, HAL passengers were spared the fiasco yesterday that the Emerald Princess passengers had to endure. The HAL shore excursion operator, Baltic Travel does not interfere with disembarkation but the Princess tour operator, Arctur, is very bad in that way. They sent false letters to the ships they contract for saying Russian immigration changed the rules and private tour passengers had to be detained until after 9:30, 3 hours after they arrived. Of course no changes to Immigration rules have been added but the ship had no choice but to go by what their shore provided said and physically detained passengers not on ship sold tours. Some private tours were cut short or missed because of this.

The other two shore operators, Baltic Travel and DenRus both had ships in port and their passengers had no problems and had not even heard of the fake rule change. Several passengers reported scuffles with Princess security who were rough with passengers during the chaos. Today, Jewel of the Seas who also uses Arctur tired to adhere to the "new rule" but passengers had used the internet and discovered the tour operator and ship were lying, or at least the tour operator was lying to both the passengers and ship. As a result the passengers pushed their way through security or went under them, and got off quickly and immigration which knew nothing of the new "rule" handled people normally without regard to what type of tour they had. Those who were intimidate or too frail to challenge the security were delayed about 1 hour longer before being allowed to exit. That is clearly against Russian law and common manners to treat passengers that way.

Ships that will NOT have this problem are P&O, HAL Cunard, NCL, and a few smaller ones, the rest will likely have problems. It is not Russian officials at all doing this, but the tour operator.

Hi GuideDiva,

 

I'm sailing on Azamara soon and will have 3 days in St Petersburg. Does Azamara use Arctur?

[SF Cfan]

kelfad, baggal, can you tell me when you had the formal nights? i'll be on eurodam on august 1 on a similar gems of the baltic cruise.

 

The formal nights on Eurodam July 12 Gems of the Baltic were:

 

First 'at sea' day

Day two in St. Petersburg, noted as Formal (optional) on the daily activity notes

Second 'at sea' day

[mangotango8888]

The formal nights on Eurodam July 12 Gems of the Baltic were:

 

First 'at sea' day

Day two in St. Petersburg, noted as Formal (optional) on the daily activity notes

Second 'at sea' day

 

Thank you SF Cfan.:)

[LobstersLass]

The formal nights on Eurodam July 12 Gems of the Baltic were:

 

First 'at sea' day

Day two in St. Petersburg, noted as Formal (optional) on the daily activity notes

Second 'at sea' day

 

On the 22nd June sailing the formal nights were:

First 'at sea' day

Helsinki day

Second 'at sea' day

 

I was pleased it was the Helsinki day rather than the second day in St. Petersburg, as I was shattered after two days of exploring that fabulous city.