surfergirle
November 17th, 2011, 05:25 PM
We sailed the Eurodam Eastern Caribbean on Oct 29,
Our second cruise on her, the first one being great, with some major issues. So many things were good we gave her a second try and this is how it went.
A little about us: We are 30 and 32. We sail to eat and for the Sun. We are very active. We choose to sail the Eurodam because of Canaletto, Tamarind, Afternoon Tea, the wine policy, and the Retreat. We have been cruising since we met, 7 years ago.
This review is food based mostly. I have some very simple allergies: Cantaloupe, Honeydew, American Cheese, Fish and Walnuts. Pretty simple. Just dont order what you can't have.
FLL:
Upon embarkation, the suite line went very fast, 10 minutes unload to on ship. After a hold on our travel Amex for 2 weeks last year left us irritated, so we decided to purchase $1200 in SBC, and pre pay all cabanas, excursions etc. Check in told us that since we had so much SBC we did not need to leave a CC. This was the best and easiest thing we did for ourselves. We added money as needed. This way we could stay well within our means and not feel like after the trip we had to pay the bill. Also sometimes double the miles! :)
The SA suite was clean upon embarkation.
Sail away orders were intact with the exception of ice for the items pre ordered, (Beer, Champagne etc)
The cabin was as expected, with the exception with some major wear and tear in the carpet which is not a biggie, but surprised to see on such a new ship. tears breaking the carpet away from the wall and some major holes. I am sure it was guest damage and not wear and tear.
Cabin pristine otherwise.
Met with concierge to go over very simple allergies to make sure they had them noted. All was well. Made reservations for specialty restaurants, 3 Canaletto, 2 Tamarind Dinner, 2 Tamarind Lunch, 1 PG Lunch.
Attended Mariners lunch, was fantastic. Great food, fast service, no empty glasses of beverages, etc. Had the Fried Chicken.
Tamarind Dinner 8:30 was perfect. great service wonderful food, my drink was never empty,.
First Sea Day: (Formal Night 1)
Missed Breakfast, way too tired.
(I realized this day that sea days, the PG & MDR closed earlier than port days for breakfast) This I thought was odd. It was ok, Lunch was at 11:30.
Spent the AM in the Retreat, and all was as expected, and amazing "Cabana Boys" Sonny & Gilbert. These guys will wow you.
Went to lunch in MDR alone, was seated quickly at a table for one, (DH in retreat did not want to leave, as Sonny & Gilbert were feeding him).
I decided to go this day, because I heard a rumor that it was the only day that Mac & Cheese was served. If you are a fan, do not miss this.
This was amazing. It was worth going. Great service, fast, as good as could be expected.
Afternoon Tea Delivered was fantastic at 5:00
Dinner fantastic, order correct, quick and beverages always filled in MDR for formal night. This day was the "Land & Sea, & Crab Legs" night. Table for 2, 8 PM dining.
DH looking very handsome in his Tux that evening. I only saw 4 passengers on the ship whom did not dress accordingly. I saw them in the Explorers lounge. I also heard one gentleman them make a comment that the girls (meaning the ladies who play in the strings ensemble) could also play naked. Wow. Did I just hear that?
Adagio Strings were wonderful. They worked so very hard. We tried to see them every night. Such classy ladies. bravo.
Grand Turk:
Great weather, best day ever.
Used the Spa in the morning, the hair dresser Marcus did an amazing job, and at a very reasonable price.
Room Service Breakfast came incorrect but no time to fix it today.
Retreat today about 2PM amazing as always. Brought Nathan a whole "Rens Special" Pizza. I know some people say how bad the pizza is, but he likes this one, and so did I. Great service at the Retreat.
Afternoon Tea great around 5pm as requested.
Canaletto Dinner was great for me, but they delivered the wrong order to DH, which after I told the MGR was quickly remedied, and the chef came out to check on us. The food here does not disappoint. This is not the Lido food as others have thought. I always add chicken & extra garlic to my Penna Ala Vodka, we always order a side of meatballs, sometimes I get Lasagna/Penne combo plate with chicken. Beverages were always full. Very classy place.
San Juan:
PG grill breakfast was timely, but the scrambled eggs were off. They kind of looked like Tapioca, so DH learned to order a plain omelette.
Retreat was great today. Its great every day.
Lunch was in Tamarind, for sail in to San Juan. Utterly fantastic. The food was amazing if you like Pan Asian.
In OSJ we went rum tasting at Don Miguel's, and then took a cab to the Hilton Carribe. We got there about 2 PM, just enough time to enjoy the rest of the sun. Erik, the concierge was great. Decided not to rent a cabana, as they have so many lounge type beds. Sand was great, water was great. Check it out if you need a beach break.
Arrived to the ship about 5 PM. Stayed at the retreat until maybe 6. Sonny & Gilbert never kicked us out. They were very kind.
Dinner 8:30 Tamarind. Everything perfect.
St Thomas:
Second try at PG breakfast, order incomplete, & wrong but no time to fix it today- Told PG MGR Daniel to please check the notes for my allergy on the way out.
Met our friends from the roll call to leave for Water Island. This was an amazing day. Great to finally meet them after waiting so long. Took a 9:30 ferry to Water Island. Wendy at Heidi's grill did not disappoint. Finally met Heidi and her dog this AM. They are super nice. The minute DH said " wow I am getting toasty" and we decided to catch the next ferry back to the ship it was about 1 PM and then about 20 minutes later we lost the sun. So glad we made it over early and bypassed Allure! Honeymoon Beach had no more than 30 guests today. Then a excursion ship came as we were getting ready to go, with about 20 people.
Spent the rest of the day at the retreat just napping.
Tea arrived on time at 5PM, great as always.
Dinner at Canaletto again, was great as always.
Sea Day: (Formal Night 2)
Room service breakfast, only half of order arrived. When the second half arrived, we were already heading out to the Retreat.
Placed order with Concierge for room service tonight. Expressed concerns about PG & Room Service.
Lunch at PG, DH ordered Filet, I ordered the Cheddar Burger. I had DH's Shrimp Crostini, as well as my 5 onion soup. It was great. DH filet came out great, but with wrong side, my burger looked great but it had American Cheese instead of Cheddar. This was the same issue as our first PG breakfast. Noticing a trend. Discussed with Daniel, * ( think that is his name) PG MGR, and after his apologies, (he never really said how or why it happened) we enjoyed the sorbet with strawberries. I ended up eating more soup for lunch versus an entree. It really really bothers me to waste meat. I do not live a veggie only lifestyle, BUT I always finish my meat, I will not waste an animal.
Dinner via room service was a very elegant affair. Earlier in the day, I requested a white linen, and received it) and we were all set for dinner on the balcony, but it was too windy, so we ate at the coffee table inside. It is not adjustable, but it is the right height for eating in those chairs. The RS mgr, helped deliver the decadent meal that was perfect. He said he had been hearing about some RS issues. Everything was there, everything was right, and the food was amazing. I had 2 of the chocolate purses I had heard so much about. Next year we will order our lobster tails well done since we like them firmer. We slow danced in our pajamas. It was great. We watched a whole season of "Mad Men" on DVD.
HMC
Grabbed some items from the Lido this day and had a quick snack before tendering to HMC.
We had canceled our butler service in the Cabana for HMC that day because we were weary, as we had some issues dining there and the PG handles the butler service for the cabanas.
The BBQ lunch was great as always.
We took all of the items that the PG butlers pick up from the cabanas and placed them outside the cabana as to keep them from coming in a waking up DH at 1:30.. Thy still came in, making a lot of noise looking in every nook and cranny. I had to ask them to quiet down as DH was sleeping.
The PG manager came over and asked how things were going and I informed him that yet again, they (PG staff) had served me again something that I am allergic to. I am only allergic to like 6 things. They are really easy to avoid. He responded that maybe his staff would have liked to eat it". Very random.
Left the island at 2:00, for the Retreat. Said goodbye to Sonny & Gilbert. they were the best money we spent on the entire trip. Left retreat at 6 or so.
Dinner 8:30 Canaletto great as always. I miss it already.
Day 8 FLL
Room service breakfast set up for 8 AM arrived at 6:40 before sun up. We had a late flight so we choose the latest disembarkation. The RS person walked in, at 6:40 am while we were in bed sleeping. He said "I'm early". Wow.
So, since our food was very cold from being delivered before dawn, later we went to PG breakfast, only to be told the kitchen was closed 20 minutes earlier than the Daily said it would be.
Disembarkation at 9:45 was easy, the lines for customs were non existent. Limo was prompt and we enjoyed the day in the everglades and lunch at PF Chang's before flying back to CA. We used SoFloLimo.com, and Mike was great to work with. Always returned emails quickly. Great service.
In Conclusion, things we did, my thoughts, random staff and funny matters:
So glad we gave HAL another chance.
What an amazing, romantic trip, full of great food (MDR, Tamarind, Canaletto) and wonderful service (MDR, Tamarind, Canaletto and esp the Retreat guys, Sonny & Gilbert). We have 2 more trips booked with HAL both on the Eurodam.
We did the Black Label photography, pricy but worth it by Miss Katie.
The Photographer manager Serhat did our other photos and he was just as amazing. We spent about 3 hours with him. His work is fantastic.
The Event Planner Megan was awesome as well. She was running around in her "Carrot" costume the last day in HMC just for fun.
I only saw one show (Crew) as Miss Jonah, my sweetheart concierge asked me to go, as she was singing. So I made her a bouquet of flowers ( I am a florist, I happened to have brought flowers onboard) and I asked Red the great Bar Mgr to give them to her after the show. Well, he decides, what a pretty bouquet, I will take it to her while she's singing. :) Huge smile from miss Jonah, but she keeps singing, which I am sure Red knew she would LOL. She was something like #8 on the show in the Philippines that's like American Idol. Needless to say she did so good.
I can never convey how great the concierges (Jonah & Gilbert) were, nor the Cabana Boys, Gilbert & Sonny. You just have to experience them. Even my hairdresser was great in the salon. Flawless service in MDR, Canaletto & Tamarind. I cannot say enough about how premium HAL is versus Carnival, NCL, or RCCL.
The issues we experienced in the PG during breakfast and 1 lunch as well as HMC Cabana:
We believe that are attributed to one bad apple, and a lax manager. Its very easy for me to avoid what I am allergic to, just order the right thing. The server just needs to check it.
The server in the PG, served us every time. I know what not to order, and its so easy. He also happened to be the relief butler in our friends cabana, so we were not the only ones who noticed. Maybe he was having a bad week.
Very glad we canceled the butler package for HMC, as I think better safe than sorry. That's a large expense for things to go wrong and we do love the BBQ. I had a bet going on with miss Jonah our Concierge that when we got to the cabana that what would be there was what I was allergic to. I won the bet. I am only allergic to like 6 things and they brought 3 of them. LOL. She tried to win the bet by calling, emailing, but they still did it.
Room Service: Many issues with room service, mostly wrong or incomplete orders or cold food. Never did they bring what I was allergic to on accident. They were very good about that.
What bothered me was the 6:40 AM RS delivery that was scheduled for 8 AM. This made me livid. I could have been naked, etc. This is not OK. 6:40 versus 8:00 is not OK. We had placed the order with Miss Jonah and when I told the they last morning what had happened she was not happy to say the least.
Also, a side note, that is you choose late disembarkation, the mini bar guy might feel like barging into your room, when it is locked, with the do not disturb sign up, and while you are naked. Yes, he got yelled at. I was not feeling very friendly while naked at 7:45. Now I can laugh about it, then I couldn't. LOL.
What a great and amazing trip. We are so very truly blessed to have found HAL and that we gave them another chance. Some TA's had said we were too young, but for us it feels just right. Thanks Eurodam crew for a great 7 days.
Hope I didnt forget anything or anyone! :)
Our second cruise on her, the first one being great, with some major issues. So many things were good we gave her a second try and this is how it went.
A little about us: We are 30 and 32. We sail to eat and for the Sun. We are very active. We choose to sail the Eurodam because of Canaletto, Tamarind, Afternoon Tea, the wine policy, and the Retreat. We have been cruising since we met, 7 years ago.
This review is food based mostly. I have some very simple allergies: Cantaloupe, Honeydew, American Cheese, Fish and Walnuts. Pretty simple. Just dont order what you can't have.
FLL:
Upon embarkation, the suite line went very fast, 10 minutes unload to on ship. After a hold on our travel Amex for 2 weeks last year left us irritated, so we decided to purchase $1200 in SBC, and pre pay all cabanas, excursions etc. Check in told us that since we had so much SBC we did not need to leave a CC. This was the best and easiest thing we did for ourselves. We added money as needed. This way we could stay well within our means and not feel like after the trip we had to pay the bill. Also sometimes double the miles! :)
The SA suite was clean upon embarkation.
Sail away orders were intact with the exception of ice for the items pre ordered, (Beer, Champagne etc)
The cabin was as expected, with the exception with some major wear and tear in the carpet which is not a biggie, but surprised to see on such a new ship. tears breaking the carpet away from the wall and some major holes. I am sure it was guest damage and not wear and tear.
Cabin pristine otherwise.
Met with concierge to go over very simple allergies to make sure they had them noted. All was well. Made reservations for specialty restaurants, 3 Canaletto, 2 Tamarind Dinner, 2 Tamarind Lunch, 1 PG Lunch.
Attended Mariners lunch, was fantastic. Great food, fast service, no empty glasses of beverages, etc. Had the Fried Chicken.
Tamarind Dinner 8:30 was perfect. great service wonderful food, my drink was never empty,.
First Sea Day: (Formal Night 1)
Missed Breakfast, way too tired.
(I realized this day that sea days, the PG & MDR closed earlier than port days for breakfast) This I thought was odd. It was ok, Lunch was at 11:30.
Spent the AM in the Retreat, and all was as expected, and amazing "Cabana Boys" Sonny & Gilbert. These guys will wow you.
Went to lunch in MDR alone, was seated quickly at a table for one, (DH in retreat did not want to leave, as Sonny & Gilbert were feeding him).
I decided to go this day, because I heard a rumor that it was the only day that Mac & Cheese was served. If you are a fan, do not miss this.
This was amazing. It was worth going. Great service, fast, as good as could be expected.
Afternoon Tea Delivered was fantastic at 5:00
Dinner fantastic, order correct, quick and beverages always filled in MDR for formal night. This day was the "Land & Sea, & Crab Legs" night. Table for 2, 8 PM dining.
DH looking very handsome in his Tux that evening. I only saw 4 passengers on the ship whom did not dress accordingly. I saw them in the Explorers lounge. I also heard one gentleman them make a comment that the girls (meaning the ladies who play in the strings ensemble) could also play naked. Wow. Did I just hear that?
Adagio Strings were wonderful. They worked so very hard. We tried to see them every night. Such classy ladies. bravo.
Grand Turk:
Great weather, best day ever.
Used the Spa in the morning, the hair dresser Marcus did an amazing job, and at a very reasonable price.
Room Service Breakfast came incorrect but no time to fix it today.
Retreat today about 2PM amazing as always. Brought Nathan a whole "Rens Special" Pizza. I know some people say how bad the pizza is, but he likes this one, and so did I. Great service at the Retreat.
Afternoon Tea great around 5pm as requested.
Canaletto Dinner was great for me, but they delivered the wrong order to DH, which after I told the MGR was quickly remedied, and the chef came out to check on us. The food here does not disappoint. This is not the Lido food as others have thought. I always add chicken & extra garlic to my Penna Ala Vodka, we always order a side of meatballs, sometimes I get Lasagna/Penne combo plate with chicken. Beverages were always full. Very classy place.
San Juan:
PG grill breakfast was timely, but the scrambled eggs were off. They kind of looked like Tapioca, so DH learned to order a plain omelette.
Retreat was great today. Its great every day.
Lunch was in Tamarind, for sail in to San Juan. Utterly fantastic. The food was amazing if you like Pan Asian.
In OSJ we went rum tasting at Don Miguel's, and then took a cab to the Hilton Carribe. We got there about 2 PM, just enough time to enjoy the rest of the sun. Erik, the concierge was great. Decided not to rent a cabana, as they have so many lounge type beds. Sand was great, water was great. Check it out if you need a beach break.
Arrived to the ship about 5 PM. Stayed at the retreat until maybe 6. Sonny & Gilbert never kicked us out. They were very kind.
Dinner 8:30 Tamarind. Everything perfect.
St Thomas:
Second try at PG breakfast, order incomplete, & wrong but no time to fix it today- Told PG MGR Daniel to please check the notes for my allergy on the way out.
Met our friends from the roll call to leave for Water Island. This was an amazing day. Great to finally meet them after waiting so long. Took a 9:30 ferry to Water Island. Wendy at Heidi's grill did not disappoint. Finally met Heidi and her dog this AM. They are super nice. The minute DH said " wow I am getting toasty" and we decided to catch the next ferry back to the ship it was about 1 PM and then about 20 minutes later we lost the sun. So glad we made it over early and bypassed Allure! Honeymoon Beach had no more than 30 guests today. Then a excursion ship came as we were getting ready to go, with about 20 people.
Spent the rest of the day at the retreat just napping.
Tea arrived on time at 5PM, great as always.
Dinner at Canaletto again, was great as always.
Sea Day: (Formal Night 2)
Room service breakfast, only half of order arrived. When the second half arrived, we were already heading out to the Retreat.
Placed order with Concierge for room service tonight. Expressed concerns about PG & Room Service.
Lunch at PG, DH ordered Filet, I ordered the Cheddar Burger. I had DH's Shrimp Crostini, as well as my 5 onion soup. It was great. DH filet came out great, but with wrong side, my burger looked great but it had American Cheese instead of Cheddar. This was the same issue as our first PG breakfast. Noticing a trend. Discussed with Daniel, * ( think that is his name) PG MGR, and after his apologies, (he never really said how or why it happened) we enjoyed the sorbet with strawberries. I ended up eating more soup for lunch versus an entree. It really really bothers me to waste meat. I do not live a veggie only lifestyle, BUT I always finish my meat, I will not waste an animal.
Dinner via room service was a very elegant affair. Earlier in the day, I requested a white linen, and received it) and we were all set for dinner on the balcony, but it was too windy, so we ate at the coffee table inside. It is not adjustable, but it is the right height for eating in those chairs. The RS mgr, helped deliver the decadent meal that was perfect. He said he had been hearing about some RS issues. Everything was there, everything was right, and the food was amazing. I had 2 of the chocolate purses I had heard so much about. Next year we will order our lobster tails well done since we like them firmer. We slow danced in our pajamas. It was great. We watched a whole season of "Mad Men" on DVD.
HMC
Grabbed some items from the Lido this day and had a quick snack before tendering to HMC.
We had canceled our butler service in the Cabana for HMC that day because we were weary, as we had some issues dining there and the PG handles the butler service for the cabanas.
The BBQ lunch was great as always.
We took all of the items that the PG butlers pick up from the cabanas and placed them outside the cabana as to keep them from coming in a waking up DH at 1:30.. Thy still came in, making a lot of noise looking in every nook and cranny. I had to ask them to quiet down as DH was sleeping.
The PG manager came over and asked how things were going and I informed him that yet again, they (PG staff) had served me again something that I am allergic to. I am only allergic to like 6 things. They are really easy to avoid. He responded that maybe his staff would have liked to eat it". Very random.
Left the island at 2:00, for the Retreat. Said goodbye to Sonny & Gilbert. they were the best money we spent on the entire trip. Left retreat at 6 or so.
Dinner 8:30 Canaletto great as always. I miss it already.
Day 8 FLL
Room service breakfast set up for 8 AM arrived at 6:40 before sun up. We had a late flight so we choose the latest disembarkation. The RS person walked in, at 6:40 am while we were in bed sleeping. He said "I'm early". Wow.
So, since our food was very cold from being delivered before dawn, later we went to PG breakfast, only to be told the kitchen was closed 20 minutes earlier than the Daily said it would be.
Disembarkation at 9:45 was easy, the lines for customs were non existent. Limo was prompt and we enjoyed the day in the everglades and lunch at PF Chang's before flying back to CA. We used SoFloLimo.com, and Mike was great to work with. Always returned emails quickly. Great service.
In Conclusion, things we did, my thoughts, random staff and funny matters:
So glad we gave HAL another chance.
What an amazing, romantic trip, full of great food (MDR, Tamarind, Canaletto) and wonderful service (MDR, Tamarind, Canaletto and esp the Retreat guys, Sonny & Gilbert). We have 2 more trips booked with HAL both on the Eurodam.
We did the Black Label photography, pricy but worth it by Miss Katie.
The Photographer manager Serhat did our other photos and he was just as amazing. We spent about 3 hours with him. His work is fantastic.
The Event Planner Megan was awesome as well. She was running around in her "Carrot" costume the last day in HMC just for fun.
I only saw one show (Crew) as Miss Jonah, my sweetheart concierge asked me to go, as she was singing. So I made her a bouquet of flowers ( I am a florist, I happened to have brought flowers onboard) and I asked Red the great Bar Mgr to give them to her after the show. Well, he decides, what a pretty bouquet, I will take it to her while she's singing. :) Huge smile from miss Jonah, but she keeps singing, which I am sure Red knew she would LOL. She was something like #8 on the show in the Philippines that's like American Idol. Needless to say she did so good.
I can never convey how great the concierges (Jonah & Gilbert) were, nor the Cabana Boys, Gilbert & Sonny. You just have to experience them. Even my hairdresser was great in the salon. Flawless service in MDR, Canaletto & Tamarind. I cannot say enough about how premium HAL is versus Carnival, NCL, or RCCL.
The issues we experienced in the PG during breakfast and 1 lunch as well as HMC Cabana:
We believe that are attributed to one bad apple, and a lax manager. Its very easy for me to avoid what I am allergic to, just order the right thing. The server just needs to check it.
The server in the PG, served us every time. I know what not to order, and its so easy. He also happened to be the relief butler in our friends cabana, so we were not the only ones who noticed. Maybe he was having a bad week.
Very glad we canceled the butler package for HMC, as I think better safe than sorry. That's a large expense for things to go wrong and we do love the BBQ. I had a bet going on with miss Jonah our Concierge that when we got to the cabana that what would be there was what I was allergic to. I won the bet. I am only allergic to like 6 things and they brought 3 of them. LOL. She tried to win the bet by calling, emailing, but they still did it.
Room Service: Many issues with room service, mostly wrong or incomplete orders or cold food. Never did they bring what I was allergic to on accident. They were very good about that.
What bothered me was the 6:40 AM RS delivery that was scheduled for 8 AM. This made me livid. I could have been naked, etc. This is not OK. 6:40 versus 8:00 is not OK. We had placed the order with Miss Jonah and when I told the they last morning what had happened she was not happy to say the least.
Also, a side note, that is you choose late disembarkation, the mini bar guy might feel like barging into your room, when it is locked, with the do not disturb sign up, and while you are naked. Yes, he got yelled at. I was not feeling very friendly while naked at 7:45. Now I can laugh about it, then I couldn't. LOL.
What a great and amazing trip. We are so very truly blessed to have found HAL and that we gave them another chance. Some TA's had said we were too young, but for us it feels just right. Thanks Eurodam crew for a great 7 days.
Hope I didnt forget anything or anyone! :)