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Short Review-MS Eurodam Aug 27, 2014 Viking Passage Cruise

aliaschief

By aliaschief,
in Holland America Line

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aliaschief

aliaschief

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This was our 15th Holland America Cruise in a row. We feel at home on our Dam ships and see no reason to change.

 

We arrived via Iceland Air a couple of days prior to our cruise and stayed at the Marriott Copenhagen. Both the airline and hotel experience were excellent.

 

This cruise had a very active Roll Call and it certainly added to the experience. In Copenhagen we did a guided walking tour and the next day a private excursion of the area and around 40 of our Roll Call members met and enjoyed a pre cruise dinner together.

 

We arrived at the terminal around 11:00 AM and found a rather long slow moving line with the Suite and Four Star Check not even manned. Reason was computer issues effecting at least 5 check in stations. Tech folks were busy laying new cable and after some failed attempts the stations were operable and we still managed to be aboard at approximately 1135 AM. Our VA cabin on deck 5 was ready and after making some reservations decided on dining in MDR.

 

It was great being back on the Eurodam as we sailed on Her last October on the Repo from Canada to Florida. We immediately started to be reunited with crewmembers from past cruises. Always amazes us how the crew remembers us.

 

The MS Eurodam was looking new and was being run very efficiently. We had late dining upper and our servers Embar and Canyou were very efficient and we were usually finished by 9:30. Food was served warm and was very good. The only issue we are having is that we are cruising enough that the menu gets a little repetitive. Not a real problem as still many more options than HomeDam. We also had booked several nights in the Pinnacle, Tamarind, Canelleto and specialty dinners.

 

Entertainment: The Piano Bar became our favorite venue. The piano player/entertainer Stryker was on board. All I can say is wow! He had the piano bar packed and hopping every night. He disembarked with us and it was reported Barry from Boston would be the new Piano Bar entertainer. Stryker's next contract appears to be MS Oosterdam from October - December.

 

Explorers Lounge, the pianist and violenist had a packed crowd every night and I heard many folks raving about the male violinist being outstanding.

 

Seeing the Piano Bar was our regular venue we only attended a few of the show room acts. Basically, the regular entertainment we have grown accustomed too. BB King Blues Band had the place rocking on their nights.

 

One could say this cruise literally blew us away. We missed the Shetland Islands after our Faroe Island visit as the Captain made a fast dash to Iceland in order to miss the full force of Hurricane Cristibol. The seas on the way got to 15-20 feet but as soon as we arrived in Iceland the protective bay calmed the seas and we had three days in Iceland.

 

Iceland is a beautiful country and we enjoyed two private excursions, that gave us a whirlwind tour of the highlights.

 

Greenland and Prins Edward Sund Scenic cruising was just beautiful. Captain Krieger opened up the bow on deck five and we all enjoyed a beautiful sunshine day of scenic cruising. Glaciers, Icebergs and towering granite cliffs abounded. Pea Soup, Hot Cocoa available and at extra cost some cool weather libations were offered. Many experienced cruisers stated that this scenic fjords cruising was more spectacular than Norway or New Zealand.

 

Our two stops in Greenland were small villages but it was interesting to experience their cultures and in one port we had a private excursion to the oldest Norse Church ruins in North America.

 

Have to mention our surprise when tendering into our Greenland port that one of the tender driver was Captain Krieger. He ran the tender for two hours and later stated that "Captains love to drive boats of all sizes." We enjoyed his dry humor on his daily briefs. His wife was on-board as the Future Cruise Consultant.

 

With all of these ports of call we had great lecturers on-board who gave many lectures to SRO crowds prior to our arrival at the various ports.

 

The cruise had a knitting group, over a 200+ hundred Norweigins and +200 Austrailians/New Zealanders and many other nations represented. Just a handful of children were on board.

 

The Beverage Manager always seemed delighted as the bars were very active throughout the cruise.

 

Upon leaving Greenland the Captain informed us that in the Labrador Sea we would experience a low pressure system and to use caution while walking around the ship. Well, this storm turned out to be a lot stronger than forecasted. Winds up to 70 mph and some waves reported up to 43 feet. At around midnight we entered the eye of the storm and everything calmed for about an hour. Though rough at times I thought the Eurodam, with stablizers deployed, rode well and I did not see or hear many complaints of motion sickness from guest.

 

First time to Newfoundland and enjoyed visiting the remants of the Norse settlement and recreation of the Viking settlement in St Anthony and St John had some interesting sights to see.

 

We were invited to a Mariners Cocktail Reception in the Crows Nest. We were really surprised to find out that the reception was for four star and above and the newest Medallion Mariners only (167) of us! Drinks flowed heavily and folks had a good time staggering around as we were at the pinnacle of our low pressure system encounter.

 

So this is a quick poorly written rant and recap of our cruise as some folks have been asking and I had a few minutes before resuming a long list of chores.

 

I would highly recommend that folks add this cruise to their bucket list. Now that we have experienced the Viking Passage it is very easy to see why it is one the most popular Hal offered cruises.

 

As I previously mentioned this cruise had one of the largest Roll Calls ever on the Eurodam. The cruise was fantastic and the fellow CC members we met was priceless.

 

Ask away and as we get unpacked (not yet):( I can probably be more specific and answer questions.

 

For anyone scheduled to cruise the MS Eurodam you will be sailing on a great ship with an outstanding crew.

Edited by aliaschief
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Vict0riann "Live from...." Rare

Vict0riann

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Glad you enjoyed your cruise, Chief and DWAliaschief, I really would like to do this next year, although the itinerary is slightly different. Hoping to sign up while we're on the Maasdam in November. We had Captain Keijer (I think, not Kreiger?) last year, too, and Alexis, his wife, as our FCC on Eurodam. We enjoyed visiting with them both. I had heard somewhere that he was moving to the Westerdam, but I guess not!

 

I'd like to hear more about all the shore excursions you organized, and if they were successful.

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rkacruiser

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Many thanks for taking the time to write your report, Chief! Greatly appreciated by this cruiser who sailed this voyage in 2013.

 

Always interesting to get into a discussion with experienced cruisers about which fjords are the best: Norway, New Zealand, Alaska, and now Greenland. Everyone has their favorite, it seems. While we were in Prins Christian Sund, I needed to visit the Crow's Nest for a Captain's Coffee to warm me up. The bartender had been on the Prinsendam in Antartica and around the Horn. I asked him how what we were seeing compared to that area. He said that Prins Christian Sund reminded him of that same area, except there was more snow and ice.

 

Welcome Home! And, thanks again for your report.

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aliaschief

aliaschief

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Hi, Bruce and Susan!

We were on the transatlantic Rotterdam with you a couple of years ago. We will be on the Eurodam for a pre-holiday cruise in December.

Susan aka/Florida suz

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Nice hearing from. That was a great cruise and a memorable Roll Call.:)

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aliaschief

aliaschief

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Welcome home Chief! I was looking forward to your review and hope for another with more detail and pictures. The videos I received were wonderful.

 

My dear sister-in-law full review on your December visit. Tomorrow after final unpacking will get the excursion book out and provide detailed comments on our tours.

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aliaschief

aliaschief

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Tours/Excursion/Happenings/Comments

 

Pre Cruise-Copenhagen

 

Tours By Locals.Com We pre booked a walking tour of Copenhagen. Our guide Christian met us promptly in our hotel lobby. Keep in mind that we had flown all night and arrived at 6:00 AM!:eek: Fortunately Marriott had a waterfront facing room for us upon arrival.

 

Christian guided us all over town (close to 4 miles by days end) showing us the main sites in center Copenhagen. Royal Stables, Stock Exchange, Amalienberg Castle, Marble Church, The Kings Garden and we watched the changing of the guard at the Queens Residence etc. A lovely lunch (not included) concluded with a Ferry ride by the Royal Yacht, Little Mermaid, Maersk Hdqs and return to our hotel.

 

The tour was interesting and gave us an idea of Denmarks and Copenhagen's history.

 

Of course we were tired and trying to put off sleep to 8 PM. The history of each site was really in-depth and I found myself having a hard time absorbing it all.

 

Good tour- Must be in good physical condition as a lot of walking,

 

2nd day Copenhagen we took a tour with some of our CC friends that CJCruzer-Carol arranged.

 

http://WWW.granddaytrip.dx/48-2/

 

This all day tour took us to two UNESCO sites, Viking ships and up to 4 castles a classic Danish lunch ($-not incl) and amazing Oresund coastline. The tour included Frederiksborg Castle and Kronberg Castle (sailed by on sail-away). Roskidle Cathedral where kings and queens from the past 500 hundred years are buried.

 

Great tour and upon completion we all went to dinner and were joined by more of our Roll Call. Dinner was at Axelborg's Bodega where we all had a fantastic time and a very delicous dinner.

 

Bergen Norway. Tour: http://www.bergenguideservice.no/

 

More walking. Some steep inclines. Our knowledgible guide Brit walked us around pointing out the highlights and history. The walk ended with a ride up the Funicular to the top of Mount Floyen for a breathtaking panoramic view of Bergen the Eurodam and Cunards Queen Victoria. Afterwards we walked through the fish market where prices seemed jacked up for cruise ship in port day. Some interesting samples of different food was tasted.

 

We had a lovely lunch and walked back to the ship ready for a break and nap!

 

Faroe Islands-Torshaven- Varga Tour Hal Excursion. What a beautiful place. The tour was interesting. We had a very knowledgible and talented guide with us who sang, played the piano in a church and you could feel the pride he had in his country and it's history. Beautiful scenery and we did get a little bit of sunshine.

 

Reykjavik, Iceland- Scheduled for two days but ended up three due to avoiding Hurricane Cristobol.

 

We used http://www.geoiceland.com/ One day we did their South Tour where we learned the geology, history and folklore of Iceland, while we stopped at magnificant waterfalls Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss.We stopped in the town of Vik for lunch ($not incl.) and followed the coastline to a beautiful beach called Reynisfjara. Able to walk close to the basaltic rock pillars and witness the power of the sea which was still showing Cristobol's passing. Puffin sightings were few as it was a little late in season. However, our guide had picked up a weather beaten Puffin the day prior cared for it overnight fed it fish from the local fish market and released it on our tour. Flew off and was seen diving into and out of ocean.

 

2nd day Iceland tour again geoicland. We took the GeoIceland Golden Circle Tour. We saw the famous Gullfoss waterfall (beautiful), the Thingvellier Valley and the Geysir. His neighbor, Strokkur, will blow 5 to 10 minutes. Waterfall at Faxi and detailed lectures on the Divides and Volcanoes.

 

Both were good tours. Other CC members enjoyed a day of soaking in the Blue Lagoon. We preferred to see as much as we could of beautiful Iceland.

 

Nanortalik, Greenland There were no organized tours available. Like others we walked around looking at items from Intuit Culture, the Norse settlements.

 

Open Air museum cost $10:00 each.

 

Qaqortoq. Greenland Very few tours offered. One of our CC groups took a private tour to the Icecap. Timing to get back to ship was close but they made it back with time to spare.

 

For our private excursion we used. htpp://www.wildernesstours.com/cruisedaytrips

 

We took a boat to Hvalsy Church Ruins. We sailed past the island of Arpatsivik, Whale Island and into Hvalseyfjordur where the church ruins stand in a quiet and peaceful setting. Our guide was very knowledgible and informed us of Norse history. We also stopped at an agriculture experimenal farm where they are raising sheep and growing many different types of vegatables. Several stayed on the boat as it was low tide and a difficult climb up a steep ladder to the dock.

 

This tour originally had two more boats available. Earlier on the cruise we learned one of the boats broke so that scrubbed some folks. On the day of our arrival there was supposed to be two boats and one had broken over night. Yes, some disappointed folks. The first folks who had signed up for this tour got to go. Moral. Stuff happens and always doesn't go as planned.

 

St. Anthony, Newfoundland we choice Holland America's Tour l'Anse aux Meadows. Went to this World Heritage Site and a National Historic Site operated by Parks Canada. First Norse/Viking ruins and a interpretive park and how life may have been. Think Williamsburg/Shelburne Museum type place.

 

St. Johns, Newfoundland-Tour http://wwwnewfoundlandtours.ca

 

Tour took us to Quidi Vidi Village a quaint historic fishing village, Signal Hill (Marconi), Basiica of St John The Baptist, Lower Battery, and Cape Spear which is the most easterly point in North America. Cost extra to enter Lighthouse and houses at Cape Spear. Nice overview tour of Saint John's.

 

Halifax. We have been to Halifax many times and we took the Hop On Hop Off Bus. We were not impressed with this service. Over thirty minute waits of standing in our opinion is not acceptable or worth it.

 

That's enough for today. Back to backlog of chores.

Edited by aliaschief
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aliaschief

aliaschief

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Welcome Home

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

What specialty dinners were there? Do you have the menus?

 

We did Chefs Table-Menu the same but still good. I did mention it was a time for change. De Librijie was good but again our second time and time for some changes or new offerings.

 

Sommeliers Dinner was good and we thought the wine pairing was fine. Do not have the menu but that meal usually varies.

 

We signed up and attended Fernando the Cellermaster's Premium Wine Tasting. It was very good and all those who attended received a 10% discount on all seperate wine/champagne bottle purchases for the rest of the trip.

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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

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We did Chefs Table-Menu the same but still good. I did mention it was a time for change. De Librijie was good but again our second time and time for some changes or new offerings.

 

Sommeliers Dinner was good and we thought the wine pairing was fine. Do not have the menu but that meal usually varies.

 

We signed up and attended Fernando the Cellermaster's Premium Wine Tasting. It was very good and all those who attended received a 10% discount on all seperate wine/champagne bottle purchases for the rest of the trip.

 

 

Thank you

I keep hoping that Chef Rudi's menu will change.

We attended one Premium wine tasting a couple of years ago -- very disappointing. Only tasted 4 wines and no discounts.

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aliaschief

aliaschief

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Thanks, Chief. Interesting reading about your tours. I guess in that part of the world, things are always iffy!:D Did you have everything waterproof?

 

Ann. We were prepared for weather. It was nice to have gloves, layered clothing and rain jackets. In Iceland one of the falls you could walk behind and if we didn't have them we would have been soaked. We did bring our rain pants that we used in Antarctica but we didn't need them.

 

Our Columbia waterproof walking shoes are a must when travelling in areas with lots of rain and puddles.

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