Eurodam

[cruisequeengoddess67]

Took my first Holland cruise on the 18th of April into the Eastern Caribbean. The Eurodam is a beautiful ship - new ships are ALWAYS nice. Although the ship has many nice features (loved the free ice cream) - there were a few others that turned my husband and I off a bit. One of the things we have enjoyed on other cruise lines is the poolside lounge chairs that are under cover. They usually line both sides of the pool area and are nice for folks such as ourselves who have skin cancer and have to be careful. There were no seats like this on this ship except we did discover the Promenade deck had deck chairs and that ended up being ok. Everything else was out in full sun except for the private cabanas which frankly I thought were a waste of space and ridiculously expensive. I have been told they are think of doing away with them on the main pool deck. Good idea!!! I don't need to sit surrounded by fabric while misting myself with water and munching on grapes. I just want to sit in a comfy old lounge chair and read my book. Other long time cruisers agreed with me about this. Then when you had to walk from one end of the pool area to the other you were really squeezed in wherever you walked. The same thing was true in the Lido dining area. Everything seemed squeezed tightly - walking from one end of the dining area to the other you were either bumping into someone sitting at the small tables for two they had lined along the walk way (really dumb in my opinion) or the people lined up to get their food. The public spacing here was cramped and poorly designed. Although the staff was very helpful and friendly - they seemed a bit on the stiff side - not the joking jovial folks we have had on say Princess and Celebrity. The movie theater was nice and the seats very comfy. The main dining room was nice and the food was good but nothing spectacular. The theater steps were a little misleading as they were not deep but the carpet made them look different than they were which made it ackward for walking. The shows were really good though. I thought the daily newsletters were laid out strangely and were hard to read and there was no daily tv list showing what was on your stateroom at any given time. You had to use the tv to figure it out and then it wasn't always right. Disembarkation was really top notch as you could remain in your stateroom until it was your scheduled time to disembark. Other lines need to follow this lead!!! Once we hit the customs area though the line was backed up something awful but that wasn't the cruise line's fault. Although we had a very nice time I am not sure I would go out of my way to cruise with them again any time soon. We booked a transatlantic for next year and my husband was very specific - lets go on Princess or Celebrity - I think we aren't ready for Holland until we are in our late 70s or 80s. :)

[Mr. Oregon]

There are some aspects of the Eurodam I did not like - the extra seating inside the privacy rail on the lido deck, the crowded main pool area as mentioned and the way the shops are designed were not what we are accustomed to on other HAL ships. On the other hand we loved the lounges and explorers lounge, the Tamarind... and that new ship smell:D

As for age, we started cruising HAL in our late 30's, and I hope we will still be in our late 70's:p I think the whole weddings and walkers thing is anywhere close to true anymore. We found plenty going on after dark, with lots of choices! In fact, you can end up doing the "Cabo Wabo" if you stay at the martini bar to long:eek:

[janiceah]

Thanks for your honest review. I found the same problem on the NCL Pearl as far as trying to find loungers in the shade. It was very hot poolside so we sat on the loungers up one level but once the sun moved around we were burning up. I did move to the Promenade deck but felt a little removed from everything. If they remove the cabanas poolside would there be shade in that area? WHat about up by the Seaview pool? Are there any loungers in the shade in that area? We are considering renting a Retreat Cabana just to have a place to go to out of the sun for our cruise next year but once again we'll be removed from things (which isn't always a bad thing) Sounds like you still had a good time but maybe HAL wasn't for you.

[jtl513]

If they remove the cabanas poolside would there be shade in that area?It depends on which way the ship is facing relative to the sun.

[eh2zed]

Cruising preferences are a very personal thing and sometimes what you are used to is important. We started with HAL in our 30's and now in our 50's we have never felt out of place. But thats just us. We tried Princess once and would go again if itinerary and price were good. Princess and HAL are both owned by Carnival Corp. The owner markets HAL one star higher than Princess but personal preferences can mitigate this. In the end they are both good lines to choose.