Please tell me about the Eurodam, again :)

It's almost time for our cruise so please tell me again about the Eurodam. What do you love about the Eurodam or on the Eurodam. What do you like/love about HAL? I know I've asked before but someone may have something new to share. Super excited :)

Hi

I'm sure you will have a fabulous cruise. I love the Eurodam. Loved best in no particular order

quiet ship

service

staff

food (fussy eater, but don't eat meat)

sea days

Recently sailed on the Eurodam. The Tamarind is a must for great food and service. The staff was excellent. One thing they did in port was to open two places to leave the ship, this helped manage the rush of people getting to their excursions etc.

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Two years ago we did a family reunion cruise on Eurodam. Family came from all over the world: USA, Canada, Europe and Mexico! Twenty two of us in total! Ages ranged from 20 years to 80+ years! Every single one of us loved this ship! We were treated so well, especially in the MDR. The food was good enough to impress our family who lives in Britain and my cousins who live in Cancun. My DH and I did a sailing a few months later on our own and it was just as special. Highly recommend Eurodam.

Eurodam gets out of a wet-dock refurb this Tues (4/17/18)

Here's a summary of what banging and thumping is in progress...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=53879624&postcount=3

One of the two top cruise ships available at the momemt (with her sister ship Nieuw Amsterdam). Ideal for Caribbean cruises. A luxury resort ship in the true sense.

We like private feel of a large ship, spacious sun decks, opulent promenade deck, best spa at sea, live music, artwork and maritime theme in the interiors, afternoon tea, fresh flowers, Gala menus in MDR, the buffet, Tamarind is a must.... and the crew of course.

 

"Never say HAL". HAL has different ships that vary from 3*+ to 5*.

 

Good luck!

To think HAL management could have created a new identity for itself with a fleet of Eurodam/Nieuw Amsterdam class ships as it phases out its older smaller ships, and improves on its clunkier Vista class ships. But instead they tried to compete outside their weight class with the Konigsdam and Nieuw Statendam.

We are staunch R and S class HAL cruises with a very occasional Vista. We bit the bullet and tried the NA once to see what we might be in for in the future. It was as good as we would ever want a "larger" HAL ship to be. We were smitten. But only two of them? HAL, your are missing a good bet.

Create your new identity around the Eurodam/NA class ships. That is what I would tell management, if they wanted to know.

Thank you, everyone!

Eurodam gets out of a wet-dock refurb this Tues (4/17/18)

 

Here's a summary of what banging and thumping is in progress...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=53879624&postcount=3

Thank you! Not only will the ship be new to us, it sounds like quite a bit of it really will be new :)

We will also experience Eurodam soon,and I am looking forward to trying this class of ship, especially after seeing all the comments here. Thanks, everyone!

We are booked on a Christmas cruise this year on the Eurodam, our 43rd cruise. We are three star Mariners. After reading this thread we are so looking forward to experiencing this ship, we have never done a Christmas cruise. Thank you all for your shared impressions.

We've sailed the E'dam twice. Like all of HAL's ships she is gorgeous and was in good shape when we were last on her. Not to be missed: Tamarind - if you've never tried that, do so. I think I prefer to PG.

Hi

I'm sure you will have a fabulous cruise. I love the Eurodam. Loved best in no particular order

quiet ship

service

staff

food (fussy eater, but don't eat meat)

sea days

 

I agree with this review. I'm a fussy eater too but I do eat meat.

One of the reasons the ship is quiet is, unlike many ships, there is no amusement park on top. There is no forced 'fun'. There are activities on board though. It's a good size with between 2100 and 2500 passengers. There are few options for children and teens. Most families can find a cruise line that offers more for them. I

If you are lucky enough to have a Neptune Suite you get access to the Neptune lounge. It's a private lounge for suite passengers and there is a never ending stream of treats/hor d'oeuvres, tea's and coffee among other things. In general the service on HAL ships is above that of the other cruise lines we've been on. Also the suite passengers get free laundry service. That alone is worth getting a suite especially on a long transatlantic. The suites now have big screen TV's, don't know about the other cabins.

My wife and I have cruise on HAL quite a bit and the Eurodam four times. The last was an east to west transatlantic Nov 2016. On that cruise we liked that the discotheque was replace with a relaxing seating area called the "Gallery Bar". Why there was ever a discotheque on HAL is beyond me.

There was some construction in the lower promenade next to or close to the main dining room. I believe it was a piano bar but is now the 'Lincoln Center Stage'. From what I've read about it I will definitely like it.

HAL isn't 'for old people and their parents' and it's not a cruise line where 'the last walker goes into the last stateroom at 9:30. It's good food, good customer service, good itineraries and a relaxing cruise.

Mike

Thank you for all of your replies. It's nice to see how much you all love Holland America and the Eurodam. I am really looking forward to this cruise. Thanks again!

Dear Dad and I absolutely adored the Eurodam, excellent crew, very friendly, mdr service was very organized and synced well between open seating and fixed.

We loved the new Crows Nest and spent a lot of time there (we're books and puzzles people). Nothing against the bingo crowd but we were pleased this prime part of the ship was being put to better use.

Only area we didn't really like was the Lido buffet, carrying heavy trays was difficult and we could never find seats no matter how early we got there, nothing we blame the ship for, just mobility issues on our part I guess, the excellent mdr and room service selections solved that problem for us.

I guess what we like the most about the Eurodam is we never felt crowded in, it's spacious enough that we would never know we were sharing it with 2500 other people.

We found the age range to be varied, not many children though, not once did club HAL appear to be in operation every time I passed by it, although most schools were still in session when we sailed.

We really liked Lincoln Center Stage, we're classical music folks and HAL provided us with several hundred dollars of free entertainment as far as we were concerned. The small orchestra was fantastic!

I think you'll be very happy on this ship as long as your not into belly flop contest type activities.

Dear Dad and I absolutely adored the Eurodam, excellent crew, very friendly, mdr service was very organized and synced well between open seating and fixed.

 

We loved the new Crows Nest and spent a lot of time there (we're books and puzzles people). Nothing against the bingo crowd but we were pleased this prime part of the ship was being put to better use.

 

Only area we didn't really like was the Lido buffet, carrying heavy trays was difficult and we could never find seats no matter how early we got there, nothing we blame the ship for, just mobility issues on our part I guess, the excellent mdr and room service selections solved that problem for us.

 

I guess what we like the most about the Eurodam is we never felt crowded in, it's spacious enough that we would never know we were sharing it with 2500 other people.

 

We found the age range to be varied, not many children though, not once did club HAL appear to be in operation every time I passed by it, although most schools were still in session when we sailed.

 

We really liked Lincoln Center Stage, we're classical music folks and HAL provided us with several hundred dollars of free entertainment as far as we were concerned. The small orchestra was fantastic!

 

I think you'll be very happy on this ship as long as your not into belly flop contest type activities.

Heavy trays?

Heavy trays?

Sorry, I should have said "awkward" as we have walking/balance issues and navigating a crowded eatery with a loaded tray searching desperately for a table was frustrating.....and yes, heavy too at least for my 80 year old Dad.

Sorry, I should have said "awkward" as we have walking/balance issues and navigating a crowded eatery with a loaded tray searching desperately for a table was frustrating.....and yes, heavy too at least for my 80 year old Dad.

Trays? Haven't seen them in years. Usually the staff is there ready to help those who have mobility issues in the Lido.

Sorry, I should have said "awkward" as we have walking/balance issues and navigating a crowded eatery with a loaded tray searching desperately for a table was frustrating.....and yes, heavy too at least for my 80 year old Dad.

I understand how difficult that can be. I just thought they weren't using trays anymore.

Last month we went on our very first cruise ever on the Eurodam. In about 18 months we will do out second cruise ever, on the Eurodam. :)

Dear Dad and I absolutely adored the Eurodam, excellent crew, very friendly, mdr service was very organized and synced well between open seating and fixed.

 

We loved the new Crows Nest and spent a lot of time there (we're books and puzzles people). Nothing against the bingo crowd but we were pleased this prime part of the ship was being put to better use.

 

Only area we didn't really like was the Lido buffet, carrying heavy trays was difficult and we could never find seats no matter how early we got there, nothing we blame the ship for, just mobility issues on our part I guess, the excellent mdr and room service selections solved that problem for us.

 

I guess what we like the most about the Eurodam is we never felt crowded in, it's spacious enough that we would never know we were sharing it with 2500 other people.

 

We found the age range to be varied, not many children though, not once did club HAL appear to be in operation every time I passed by it, although most schools were still in session when we sailed.

 

We really liked Lincoln Center Stage, we're classical music folks and HAL provided us with several hundred dollars of free entertainment as far as we were concerned. The small orchestra was fantastic!

 

I think you'll be very happy on this ship as long as your not into belly flop contest type activities.

Your review of the Eurodam sounds wonderful.

I understand about the heavy trays because I also have a problem with those especially if I also have a drink on the tray.

We definitely are not into bellyflop contests. I do like to attend the interactive games when I am on a princess cruise so I hope to find something like that on the Eurodam.

We are excited for this cruise and I'm sure we will love it.

Last month we went on our very first cruise ever on the Eurodam. In about 18 months we will do out second cruise ever, on the Eurodam. :)

Then it must be good :)

Then it must be good :)

I did a cruise on the Eurodam its inaugural year (2008) and then another one in 2013 and we have another booked in 2019. I would cruise on it every year, but itinerary is more important to me than ship. Other than the pre-remodeled S-Class, the Eurodam is my favorite ship. It's the perfect size for me. I would be completely happy if HAL kept the Eurodam base for all its ships from now on.

Your review of the Eurodam sounds wonderful.

 

I understand about the heavy trays because I also have a problem with those especially if I also have a drink on the tray.

 

We definitely are not into bellyflop contests. I do like to attend the interactive games when I am on a princess cruise so I hope to find something like that on the Eurodam.

 

We are excited for this cruise and I'm sure we will love it.

If I have a drink on a tray it will end up on the floor for sure.

One thing I have never understood in the restaurant is why people load up a plate of food and then desparately start looking for a table while their food is slowly going cold. We always find a table first and then make sure personal stuff is there sunglass case/glasses/cap/etc cutlery/napkin set out showing chairs are occupied. Then we go and get our drinks and then our food, and we never had anyone take our place.

Rosalyn

Sailed on the E-dam for the first time last September to Alaska - one word: awesome!

Tamarind is not to be missed, loved trivia in the Crow's Nest, service was outstanding and loved all the USB ports in the stateroom.