First time on HAL, sailing on Eurodam to Alaska

Here is a lovely thread detailing her experience traveling on HAL with her children:

 

http://https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2623040

Thank you so much!! I tried the link but it seems to not be working?

Thank you so much!! I tried the link but it seems to not be working?

Oh no! Try this:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2623040

Oh no! Try this:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2623040

That worked!! Thank you so much!

Thank you so much for your wonderful posts! We are *this close* to booking a couple Neptune Suites on the Eurodam in the end of Sept. Multigenerational cruise for us (myself, my husband, my 4yo daughter and my parents). You kept mentioning your daughter and she sounded about elementary school age? What was it like for her? Were passengers annoyed with you having a child around? Was she fully entertained? My daughter is quite mature and quiet. She likes to observe and watch things. I think she'll be fine and not a nuisance but just worried some folks could be annoyed at her presence (esp if she has some sudden burst of excitement). And esp in late Sept. there's likely to be VERY few children around so she'll stand out even more. Thank you!

My daughter is an only child aged 6 1/2 and she had a great time! The crew were so good to her, and she wanted to take pictures with them before we disembarked. No one seemed to be annoyed by her presence. I was also a bit worried about taking a cruise with a young child as there is sometimes a negative reaction to writing about taking a child on some of the boards on cruise critic (not the holland boards but on other cruise line’s boards). But it was absolutely fine and she had a blast!

The kids club on the eurodam was excellent and the crew staffing it were incredibly patient.

We bought 2 of the internet packages for our cabin so that she could have her iPad when she wanted. She and my husband shared that login and I had my own, it worked out well.

I think you’ll be fine. Four years old is old enough in my opinion, especially if she is mature for her age. My daughter being an only child is used to talking with adults and is very polite. She gets excited also but when people see that you are trying to keep a reign on the behavior, they tend to me more understanding.

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@lkturtle

I really do recommend the Neptune suite! I think you will be quite happy. Plus the movies on demand free in the room are entertaining for kids.

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Just wanted to comment on the luggage valet service from the port of Seattle. It was excellent! We put our luggage out the night prior to disembarkation and they were gone by the next morning.

We were a big nervous about our luggage making it, but it was great. We were able to spend a bit of time at Pike’s public market without the hassle of a whole bunch of luggage.

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As to the internet....

 

They have 3 tiers of WiFi: social for $14.99 per day, surf for $24.99 per day and premium for $29.99 per day. That’s what was on the informational flier handed out.

 

 

You can have more than 1 account per stateroom but only one device at a time used on each account.

 

We Bought premium, and it was 7 days for $139.99 for each account. Once you go to the buy page, it gives you that “deal” of a price for the entire cruise. It seems better than the 1000minutes for $250, maybe?

 

 

Premium Allows for audio/video, calling and streaming. We bought 2 accounts for our room, so we could have flexibility on who would have access to WiFi.

 

 

It’s a bit quirky as it keeps logging us out, not sure about the timeframe, but it’s ok for speed.

Hi just wondering what do you mean “once you go to buy page”? Sorry it will be our first time cruising with Holland and yes I am super excited. Me and my hubby would need internet. Thank you!

Hi just wondering what do you mean “once you go to buy page”? Sorry it will be our first time cruising with Holland and yes I am super excited. Me and my hubby would need internet. Thank you!

Don't forget there is free wifi in most ports plus comfortable places to access it, if you want to limit your internet time just to those locations and spend that money doing something else on this vacation..

We were also on this sailing and agree it was a wonderful cruise.

We, too, used the free luggage service and it worked out great. We took our grandson (12) to the Museum of Pop Culture for their Marvel Comics exhibit.There were plenty of other exhibits that we enjoyed. We spent a few hours there before heading to the airport. They even had a place to check our carry on items. It was so nice to enjoy another day in Seattle and I'm sure that is why they offer the free service. A win/win for everyone.

Don't forget there is free wifi in most ports plus comfortable places to access it, if you want to limit your internet time just to those locations and spend that money doing something else on this vacation..

Thanks for the advise!:D

Thanks for the advise!:D

Before most ports started providing free wi-fi set ups, the joke was to follow the crew once ashore because they knew were all the free wifi hot spots were and were lined up with their devices to call home anywhere in the world.

In remote Pago Pago, American Samoa crew members were lounging all over the outdoor stairs of the rickety Sadie Thompson Hotel -- of the former shady lady brothel fame in times of yore -- all intently glued to their devices. . We knew in one glance this was a wi-fi hot spot.

Thank you for the review. We'll be on the Eurodam for this itinerary next June, so this is very helpful. Did you enjoy your kayak tour in Ketchikan? Worth it for you even though you didn't see much wildlife? This was on my radar, as I'm trying to 'feel out' our excursions!

Hello,

sailing on the Eurodam this Saturday. When we originally booked the cruise, the HAL rep told us we could go down to the pier for like 11 to get on the boat early and relax, and have lunch. When I was speaking to another HAL rep a couple of weeks ago, I was advised we could get on at 1 pm. Were you able to board early because you had a Neptune Suite? We have a room on the Verandah deck.

Once we got to the Pier, it was very quick. I had already placed our luggage tags on our luggage at the hotel while we were checking out. We “laminated” our luggage tags with packing tape prior to our trip to Seattle and then attached it with a stapler at the hotel.

 

It was a very quick process to get our room keys and boarding designation and everyone was incredibly friendly!

 

Since we had booked a Neptune suite, we were placed in Boarding group A. There’s a common waiting area for everyone. The Ruby Princess was also at the Pier and was boarding ahead of us.

 

We entered the Eurodam at about 11:24 am and they told us the rooms would not be ready until 11:30am and directed us to the Lido for lunch. I think the MDR was closed. My key card was not working so we had to go the front desk to get replacements, no big deal. By that time, it was past 11:30 so we decided to drop our carryons in our room.

 

What a spacious room! Large TV facing the bed, tons of movies in the TV system, complimentary fruit basket, bottle of water and bottle of champagne I believe. Also a cute little flower arrangement. The outside is a very spacious deck wrapping around aft. There is lots of storage and the bathroom has both a walk-in small shower and a tub, and 2 sinks.

 

We then decided to stop by the Neptune lounge first to ask a question of the conceirge but there were some apps out but no conceirge yet. So we made our way down to the Lido to eat. What a madhouse in the Lido!

Hello,

 

sailing on the Eurodam this Saturday. When we originally booked the cruise, the HAL rep told us we could go down to the pier for like 11 to get on the boat early and relax, and have lunch. When I was speaking to another HAL rep a couple of weeks ago, I was advised we could get on at 1 pm. Were you able to board early because you had a Neptune Suite? We have a room on the Verandah deck.

I just got off th Eurodam on Saturday. They started boarding at 11:30. We were also in a verandah cabin. The cruise was great!

Hi just wondering what do you mean “once you go to buy page”? Sorry it will be our first time cruising with Holland and yes I am super excited. Me and my hubby would need internet. Thank you!

Sorry just saw this now. When I went to buy internet on the check out page, it gave a better price for the whole sailing. That price was a better deal.

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