Just Off Eurodam Alaska-Never Again

Komingsdam

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Please clarify - so when one passenger reports that their passenger's plumbing was defective that starts a problem? And when someone else says theirs worked fine that's a reasonable report? Hmm.

 

 

I think we are all aware that on a ship passengers can have a totally opposite experience, as has been reported many times. The "problem" does not lie in the report of plumbing not working, but in the reaction of others who refuse to believe it and instantly assume they are lying. I do recall being called a :"petulant troll" once when I posted about non-working toilet. An amusing term, I must admit.

Don't EVER say you thought your HVAC was not working in your cabin and it seemed too hot to you on your cruise... I've learned that I must travel with a calibrated thermometer to prove actual cabin temperature ;)

There are indeed cheerleaders who will swear up and down that they aren't implying someone is less than truthful, but they are. I try to ignore them. Usually, I end up blocking them. I have more people from the HAL forum blocked than any other forum.

I am a LOT older than you and have no children. Just got off Koningsdam, and will never cruise HAL again. Way too boring. I want at least a little excitement and things to do that do not involve buying anything.

I am a LOT older than you and have no children. Just got off Koningsdam, and will never cruise HAL again. Way too boring. I want at least a little excitement and things to do that do not involve buying anything.

I don't know that there is much difference in cruise lines in terms of "excitement". Maybe you are just not a cruise person or maybe the ports were dull or something else. The nearest thing to "excitement" I found was a weekend Carnival cruise where each night I had to walk through a gauntlet of drunks slumped along the passageway as I made my way to my cabin.

I am not talking about drunks. I am talking about something interesting to do while on the ship. It is pretty insulting to infer someone is talking only about drinking when looking for excitement. Perhaps good shows, music that isn't too loud, a place where you can actually get a seat to watch the band. On this trip, they had a harpist in the main showroom one evening. There were about 10 people in there.

Interesting post...my mom (67) decided she wanted to take us to Alaska so I have just booked us onto Volendam next month- our party includes my family- husband and I in mid 30's, 13 year old and 11 month baby and my sister and her hubby and their 11 month old- we booked as I read that if going to Alaska should see Glacier bay, and then because of price as my mom is treating us...only my family has cruised before- once on the mega giant Oasis (loved it) and once on Disney's Fantasy (also loved it) I have prepared daughter that there will be less kids and less "things" to do but she is still very excited...I have told my family that this ship won't be massive and grand but I'm sure will still be enjoyable- we are bringing some games, but I'm sure we will still find stuff to do. Normally the hubby and I would be in the bars late, but with the baby, things have changed.

I am not talking about drunks. I am talking about something interesting to do while on the ship. It is pretty insulting to infer someone is talking only about drinking when looking for excitement. Perhaps good shows, music that isn't too loud, a place where you can actually get a seat to watch the band. On this trip, they had a harpist in the main showroom one evening. There were about 10 people in there.

How much homework did you do on the different brands before you chose HAL? There are brands known for what you are looking for. HAL does tend to be known more for their unique travel itineraries than investing a lot of money on ship board entertainment itself.

Good thing is there are plenty of other brands that will offer you what you want. Clue might be if they have fully staged ice-shows onboard - that means they care very much about the variety of entertainment onboard.

Here you go; CC lists the best ships for onboard entertainment. https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1442

There are indeed cheerleaders who will swear up and down that they aren't implying someone is less than truthful, but they are. I try to ignore them. Usually, I end up blocking them. I have more people from the HAL forum blocked than any other forum.

Testing-------

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I actually laughed out loud at that. :D

* Internet: Think 1990's 56k telephone modem speed.

I am not talking about drunks. I am talking about something interesting to do while on the ship. It is pretty insulting to infer someone is talking only about drinking when looking for excitement. Perhaps good shows, music that isn't too loud, a place where you can actually get a seat to watch the band. On this trip, they had a harpist in the main showroom one evening. There were about 10 people in there.

My response did not "imply" drinking which you apparently "inferred." What I was saying, maybe clumsily and based on my experience on many lines, K is fairly representative of most cruise lines in terms of things to do. Exceptions being Carnival weekend cruises which are known as being party ships. Sorry you took offense but maybe you should have been clearer in what you found K lacking in excitement in your original thread.

This was all very interesting. I have never cruised HAL, only Cunard & Disney. We are younger than the average Cunarder - and have no children. I get why people would say "enjoy Disney", but there are always people on board without young kids. When my mom & I do DCL we only see kids at the shows and meet and greets with characters. We stick to adult restaurants, adult lounges & the adult pools. They have fabulous service on board, but their concierge suites to AK are double the cost of HAL.

As for the Lido - I love the idea of them serving. Noro. Blech. I wish QM2 did this! I have been on board twice during code reds, but never caught it then.

As for the Neptune - I have not boarded yet but I can tell you the Grills on Cunard have several exclusive lounges - and not a single one offers free alcohol. The appetizers in the Grills Lounge & the Concierge lounge on QM2 are the same as the rest of the ship, though evening canapes are brought to your room. The only Concierge Lounge I have seen provide free drinks was Disney - evenings only during the dinner hours. The Grills concierge lounge sounds akin to Neptune. Our Neptune description says nothing about free drinks & I don't expect it.

The one gangway - I have seen the same on QM2 (except tendering) and that ship is huge.

I have not boarded HAL yet but the things you mentioned seem normal. I regard Cunard as a pretty nice line and they seem to have similar characteristics. It isn't a "party" ship either, but we drank after 9 in multiple bars. I guess I will see all of this for myself when we board Eurodam Labor Day weekend. I didn't know that HAL was marketing as family friendly - the people in their brochures look pretty um, mature, which is one reason we booked. My mom and I like Disney fine, but when my husband and I travel we love Cunard because there is almost always a lack of children. Cunard doesn't do Alaska, so we chose the other line (HAL) we could think of where we would be least likely to see tons of kids & had some semblance of history, then chose a time (Labor Day) they would be back in school : )

To each their own. But luckily you have found the right line for you, NCL.

I actually laughed out loud at that. :D

I fell out of my chair and spilled my coffee 😙

I actually laughed out loud at that. :D

Me too! Awesome start to my morning!

I actually laughed out loud at that. :D

Me too - thankfully, I did not have coffee in my mouth when I read that post :D

Please clarify - so when one passenger reports that their passenger's plumbing was defective that starts a problem? And when someone else says theirs worked fine that's a reasonable report? Hmm.

I'm not sure how you could have gotten that from the post that you quoted. He said quite clearly that when a passenger complains that the plumbing was defective, the passenger was referring to his cabin's plumbing, not the entire ship's plumbing. He never said that the passenger's defective problem starts a problem.

Check the post I was responding to.

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I think that only applies if one is paying for the meals and wants a child discount. Still, there must be something on the main menu that a 10-year old wants to eat, or do they just eat mac and cheese or french fries nowadays?

I as a child would have been thrilled to order fancy food from an adult menu!!!! I fail to appreciate the complaint from the original poster regarding this topic.

igraf

Checking the net for cut off ages for "children's menus" is all over the place, but often anyone over 10 is often no longer considered a child for restaurant children menu purposes.

 

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I think that only applies if one is paying for the meals and wants a child discount. Still, there must be something on the main menu that a 10-year old wants to eat, or do they just eat mac and cheese or french fries nowadays?

 

I as a child would have been thrilled to order fancy food from an adult menu!!!! I fail to appreciate the complaint from the original poster regarding this topic.

 

igraf

If I'm reading this right, the complaint is that there was no children's menu in the Lido.

I don't know what poster's children want but I just minded my 5 and 6 year old grand-nephews and all they wanted was pizza and hot dogs. So I guess kids would love a diet of mac and cheese and french fries without parents' intervention.

I once noticed a mother somewhat in despair in the Lido as her son filled his plate with french fries, passing on all the available entrees.

igraf

If the children's menu isn't too nutritious, better off without it. If nothing else, at least an opportunity to expand Johnny's palate.

That's partially due to the latitude. In the Caribbean we've tested the Eurodam internet download speed at close to 3 Mbps. Not as good as home, but not terrible.

I didn't do a speed test but it was MUCH improved this summer in AK over the same ship 2 years ago in Caribbean.