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Just back from the Eurodam!

RADGIRL80

By RADGIRL80,
in Holland America Line

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RADGIRL80

RADGIRL80

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This is a short review of dh's and my cruise on the Eurodam 11/12-11/19. In general, we loved our vacation and had a wonderful time!

 

My husband and I are 37 and 31. We are not first time cruisers but are new to Holland. We were a little apprehensive about Holland considering the age demographics, but we have heard great things about Holland and were very interested in the itinerary so we decided to give it a go!

 

Previously we have cruised RCCL and NCL together. I also have experienced CCL as a kid. So I will include comparisions here and there. Overall, Holland was similar to RCCL and NCL (in our opinion) in quality. Based on our ages, we feel a little more comfortable with RCCL and NCL and will likely stick to those lines. But if the price and itinerary are right we would not hesitate to book Holland again.

 

On to specific categories:

 

DECOR: unlike many others here, we were not wowed by the Eurodam decor. It was ok, nothing special. We are more used to the grander Atriums of NCL and especially RCCL. The ship is definitely nice, but it did not exceed expectations.

 

CABIN: we had a balcony, starboard side. We liked it. It was clean and pleasant. The chairs on the balcony are wicker and not the most comfortable. On some cruises we have had loungers, but the balconies on the Eurodam aren't big enough for loungers. But we loved our balcony and spents lots of our time there.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: the singers/dancers were good. There was a magic show, which was great. We missed not having a comedian. We felt the shows were better, and there is more variety on the other lines.

 

FOOD: the food was good. We had high expectations since we kept hearing that the food was the best on Holland. We found it to be definitely better than CCL and RCCL. But we found it to be similar to NCL in quality. Again, I wasn't wowed, but it was adequate. Of the specialty restaurants we tried Tamarind and Canaletto. We both LOVED tamarind (dinner) and thought it was a must to try. we both didn't care for Canaletto and won't eat there again.

 

Staff: wonderful. Very friendly/courteous. Never experienced rudeness.

 

Itinerary: will cover port by port, but overall, this was the best Eastern Caribbean itinerary we went on!

 

Grand Turk: it was beautiful! We wanted to be away from the crowds so we walked to jack's shack. It seemed like a very quiet place which would be private, but since we weren't goingto eat there and it didn't seem like anything special we walked back to margaritaville, and we are so glad we did! It wasn't crowded at all!!! We found two lounge chairs under palms which provided plenty of shade. There were empty chairs all over the place so it was quiet. We actually really enjoyed the snorkeling. There are large rocks all over the place so lots of fish swim all around. If you go a little further into the water there are even larger fish to see! The water was warm! We didn't want to leave! I can't say anything about the pool because we didn't use it.

 

San Juan: we took the free trolley to El Moro and then walked back to the ship through the downtown.

 

St Thomas: beautiful place! We took a private sail boat tour to buck island. There we swam with turtles :D stingrays and plenty of fish.

 

Half moon cay: we absolutely loved this island!! It's definitely the best private island we have ever been on!!!! :) we walked beyond cabana 15 and lay under shade provided by trees. It was really private, not many people at all. It was only about a 10 min walk beyond the entrance. We were docked at hmc with the ryndam and there were many many many empty chairs! Not crowded at all! The water is crystal clear and the sand is very soft. It's simply paradise!!!!

 

Like I said, overall, we really enjoyed our cruise on the Eurodam! Holland is a very nice line. We have zero complaints. But we will most likely stick to NCL and RCCL just based on age demographics and the fact that holland didn't stand out to us more than the other lines. BUT what truly stands out about Holland above the rest are how much more civilized (no obnoxious drunk behavior, etc) the people are! There was no chair hogging anywhere (theater or decks)!!!! That meant a lot to us since we spend all of our days up on the decks and end our evenings in the theater.

 

If you are planning a vacation on the Eurodam, hopefully you will enjoy it just as much as we did!!!

 

Staff: very

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Coolcruise02

Coolcruise02

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We have zero complaints. But we will most likely stick to NCL and RCCL just based on age demographics and the fact that holland didn't stand out to us more than the other lines.

 

Thanks for an honest review! We are not loyal to any one line and find them all to have certain things we like or dislike. These boards can be a bit misleading as some posters would have you believe things are a whole lot better on one line or another and we have not found that to be the case. The only way to find out is try them for yourself!

 

But, when you do your research you know what to expect. So when we go on HAL we know that the average age of the cruisers is going to be older than us and the ship will be dead after 9:00. :) We can deal with that occasionally.

 

For us, it is all about price/value and the destination!

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innlady1

innlady1

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Thanks for your review...glad you enjoyed HAL!

We did one Princess cruise; it was OK but the ship was a little glitzy for our taste. We next tried HAL and have done that every year...we much prefer the understated elegance of the HAL ships...with so many cruise lines to choose from, there's something for everyone!

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RADGIRL80

RADGIRL80

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Can you tell me where you caught the free trolley to El Morro? We are planning on doing the same thing:). Thanks!

 

It's just a block away from where the ship docks. If you turn left and walk approx a block you will see a sign with the number 14. That's the closest stop. We walked across the street first and got a map of all the trolley stops at the visitor center. I would recommend doing that before getting on. The trolley is really easy, and there are a bunch of stops! Only downside is the horrible traffic and the trolley only comes every 20 min or so. Have fun on your trip!

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slabeaume

slabeaume

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It's just a block away from where the ship docks. If you turn left and walk approx a block you will see a sign with the number 14. That's the closest stop. We walked across the street first and got a map of all the trolley stops at the visitor center. I would recommend doing that before getting on. The trolley is really easy, and there are a bunch of stops! Only downside is the horrible traffic and the trolley only comes every 20 min or so. Have fun on your trip!

 

And don't be surprised if you get stuck on one of the narrow roads when another bus comes from the other direction! That happened to us a couple weeks ago and both bus drivers refused to back up. So they sat there glaring at each other for about 30 minutes until a policeman showed up. We found it rather amusing, but did get out and started walking after about 20 minutes. We did see the police come about 10 minutes later and then "our" bus backed up. It was a nice walk back to the ship, though.

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cruiseapril

cruiseapril

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Interesting review. So many people enjoy Half Moon Cay- we love to swim there and also at Magen's Bay Beach in St. Thomas.

 

We have been on many of the other cruise lines, but prefer the relaxed atmosphere on HAL - oh- and the food.

 

Our next cruise is the Eurodam Eastern Caribbean- so appreciated your comments.

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cpayne

cpayne

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WE too were on this cruise. We were the couple that won the Love and Marriage Game Show!

 

I would agree 100% w/ almost everything the original poster said. We are 40 and 51 and have sailed CCL, RCL, NCL, Celebrity, Princess and Holland. There is a very noticeable difference in the clientele and "attitude" on the HAL ships and that is a definite plus! We also like all the extra amenities on HAL such as unlimited wine allowed on board, free shoe shines, movies delivered to your room, ordering room service from the dining room menu, etc...

 

Food was fair. Not bad, not good. Just typical cruise food.

 

Drinks: HAL seems to have the fairest alcohol prices. They offer the discount card for $45 which provides you $50 worth of beverages (including non alcohol). They also offer excellent happy hour specials, but you have to watch your daily program to know when and where. $10 for 2 long island iced teas is a very good price even on land!

 

Service was good. Ship was clean and nice, but we too prefer the more "grand" atmospheres with the atriums, etc. However, everyone has a different preference and there is NO right or wrong.

 

We also missed having a comedian. We felt the daily and evening entertainment was lacking on this ship. Numerous times we found ourselves looking for things to do and this typically does not happen on other ships. HAL is definitely a slower pace atmosphere which again there is NO right or wrong. Just personal preferences.

 

As for ports of call:

 

Turks and Caicos: We spent the day diving. This is supposed to be one of the top rated dive sites in the world. The 4 in our group are all experienced divers and none were impressed. Not a bad dive, but not what they had anticipated.

 

San Juan: We rented a car from Charlies Car Rental and drove to the El Yunque Rain Forest. This is an excursion easily done on your own. However, the down pour impacted our hiking. Was still a really neat drive all the way to the top. On the way back we took the "road less traveled" instead of the highway and followed the northern coast. Anyone looking for a very private beach day I would HIGHLY recommend grabbing a car and heading that direction. What a great suprise we found by accident all b/c we got rained out in the rainforest! :) Back at the terminal we found our favorite liquor store of many islands we have ever visited. 6 L bottles of liquor for $9. Yes, you read this correctly! Rum was $4/bottle and buy one get one free. Bourbon was $1 and Amaretto was $1. When you first walk back in to the SJ terminal they are in the corner up front on your right.

 

St Thomas: We chartered The Winifred and sailed for the day. This is rated the #1 activity for St Thomas on trip advisor for a reason. We had done this before and well worth the extra money. A 47 ft sail boat that only takes 6 and sails you to St John. Includes a very nice lunch and open bar. $350/couple for the day after tips, taxi, etc. Worth every penny!

 

Half Moon Caye: Agree w/ the original poster that this is by far the best private island we have been to. Our only complaint that day was the food. It was terrible!

 

All in all, a very "nice" cruise. Not our favorite cruise, but certainly a good time had by all!

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