What Do You Want to Know About Eurodam -- Cruise Critic Onboard June 27th

[jtl513]

Hi Carolyn,

 

Could you please tell me what floors the laundries are situated on.

 

Many thanks for this.

 

Regards,

Heather

There no self-service laundries ... just like the Vistas. :(

[josephone]

Carolyn

Please continue to report on the service from the Pursers and Reservations folks. We are all getting nervous. However, when you said more than 35,000 people were on and off in a three day period I became less worried.

From the photos, the HAL Teen place looked great to me. I don't think their furniture needs are ours. But, of course, we all would like backs on our chairs and bar stools.

Thanks for all the reports

Josephone

[innlady1]

Hi Carolyn,

 

Could you please tell me what floors the laundries are situated on.

 

Many thanks for this.

 

Regards,

Heather

 

There aren't any self-service laundromats on the Vista's or the Signature Class (Eurodam) ships.

[mamaofami]

Hi Carolyn,

I can't believe the difficulty you had making a reservation at the Pinnacle Grill. I've made one on line for my short three day cruise out of NY.

What can you find out about Tamarind. Is it open for lunch on embarkation day? How is the food? The menu looks awesome.

[hulamoon]

I can't help but wonder if service is a little rough for VIP's how will it work for the rest of us?

 

I do hope the glitches in service are fixed soon, with more than strawberries and cookies.

 

On our past Zuiderdam the Pinnacle Grill was what we could count on being right.

[innlady1]

Carolyn,

 

You mentioned that the beds were slightly smaller than a US twin. Are you able to measure the width of two pushed together. It seems to vary widely in the U.S. - sometimes a Queen is 5ft and others bigger. Anxious to know. Hoping that they are bigger than 5ft! Otherwise I might have to trade in my husband for a smaller model. Sue

 

In the US, two 39" twins = a king bed. Two 30" "cot" sized beds = a queen bed. A full sized bed is 54" wide and shorter than the queen. To muddy the waters, a California king is longer than the standard sized king of two twins pushed together.

We've owned a 13 room B & B for 15 years so I'm pretty much in tune with beds and bed sizes.

IMHO, the beds on HAL are two standard twin beds (39" each) pushed together to = a king bed. NOT a queen. Don't know why they say that. Same on Princess. Not sure why.

[codyody]

Well, they both float.

 

/quote]

 

ROF...LOL...Thank you for ALL your insights! I hope you are having a little fun or relaxing in additition to your fine work.

[hulamoon]

I believe Brian may have brought a measuring tape.

[whenzuc]

Carolyn- How is the As you Wish Dining working out? Are there signficant wait times? Do you hear any real complaints? Have you tried it yet?

[editor@cruisecritic]

Now that you mention it -- and I've just swiveled my head to look around, LOL -- the bed is definitely a king. It's much bigger than our Queen at home. The beds by the way -- marvelous. I've slept so well, every night.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

Carolyn

 

In the US, two 39" twins = a king bed. Two 30" "cot" sized beds = a queen bed. A full sized bed is 54" wide and shorter than the queen. To muddy the waters, a California king is longer than the standard sized king of two twins pushed together.

 

We've owned a 13 room B & B for 15 years so I'm pretty much in tune with beds and bed sizes.

 

IMHO, the beds on HAL are two standard twin beds (39" each) pushed together to = a king bed. NOT a queen. Don't know why they say that. Same on Princess. Not sure why.

[editor@cruisecritic]

One thing that was definitely noticeable yesterday was how many places there were to go to make dinner reservations once you've boarded. Think it causes anxiety but of course you can make some reservations online (I just didn't know that before).

 

I will check out As You Wish tonight.

 

Last night at the Tamarind. It's lovely. It's going to be a blow-out success. Food is divine (except for my entree, the red snapper, which was dry as a plank). The beef tenderloin is especially recommended and there's also a good range for vegetarians. Service is charming. The Silk Den, the bar next door, has the best ambience on board, so exotic and Miami Beach-like.

 

I photographed a menu; not sure whether Dan was able to get it put up for me, I'll check with him today (Dan's our assistant editor).

 

Also sent forth a whole bunch of cabin photos.

 

Canaletto as I mentioned before looks nice -- it's no cover charge right now but there's feeling from execs that if it's too popular they're going to have to set one.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn- How is the As you Wish Dining working out? Are there signficant wait times? Do you hear any real complaints? Have you tried it yet?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Carolyn - where can I find the pictures that have been referenced here several times?

[SueOverend]

In the US, two 39" twins = a king bed. Two 30" "cot" sized beds = a queen bed. A full sized bed is 54" wide and shorter than the queen. To muddy the waters, a California king is longer than the standard sized king of two twins pushed together.

We've owned a 13 room B & B for 15 years so I'm pretty much in tune with beds and bed sizes.

IMHO, the beds on HAL are two standard twin beds (39" each) pushed together to = a king bed. NOT a queen. Don't know why they say that. Same on Princess. Not sure why.

 

Thanks for clarifying. I do wish the cruise lines would be a bit more specific with their descriptions. We have never sailed Princess because of this! On the Independence of the Seas recently we were surprised to find the Queen to be much bigger than 5ft wide and it sounds like the Eurodam may be similar. Looks like I can keep my current husband!

[editor@cruisecritic]

I haven't tried it yet -- but just read Rev Neal's last posting on his blog (page 9) and he offered quite a detailed rundown -- and unfortunately it sounded like a nightmare.

 

Check out his thread on this one.

 

I have tried to book Canaletto and it's full to the gils for this evening. Heard from someone who went last night that it was excellent. I'm betting that there's going to be a fee for dining there, more as crowd control than anything else.

 

Seems like a lot of confusion over dining. Yesterday I asked "reservations" whether the Pinnacle Grill would be open for lunch. The answer? "I don't know." End of commentary.

 

Turns out it is, or at least it says so in the program. I'll check it out on my way downstairs.

 

But I'm heading into Hamburg, anyway, working on our port profile so have lots to see!

 

Carolyn

 

 

 

.

Carolyn- How is the As you Wish Dining working out? Are there signficant wait times? Do you hear any real complaints? Have you tried it yet?

[editor@cruisecritic]

I have seen since I got onboard a certain disorganization with regard to dining and a lot of it can be put down to the fact that this is a new ship and there are always kinks to work out. I can understand that -- but what's troubling is the response Rev. Neal got when he tried to discuss it with someone.

 

I know for the "celebration gala" dinner some members of the press group couldn't find a seat at dinner. That's tacky and is the antithesis of hospitality. I mean, come on, you invite people to dinner but then say "sorry whoops can you go to the lido instead?"

 

Knowing that restaurant staff obviously must be overwhelmed, they'll do a lot to help themselves if they treat passengers with more respect than either of these two cases. I'm sure there are more....

 

And the attitude is what''s troubling. Mistakes happen but they need to get fixed correctly and cordially regardless of what cabin you're in (gotta read the thread to understand, I don't feel comfortable copying his whole post and pasting it here!).

 

Eurodam''s definitely in shakedown mode. I suspect much will smoothe out after this short cruise.

[Jade13]

One thing that was definitely noticeable yesterday was how many places there were to go to make dinner reservations once you've boarded. Think it causes anxiety but of course you can make some reservations online (I just didn't know that before).

 

I will check out As You Wish tonight.

 

Last night at the Tamarind. It's lovely. It's going to be a blow-out success. Food is divine (except for my entree, the red snapper, which was dry as a plank). The beef tenderloin is especially recommended and there's also a good range for vegetarians. Service is charming. The Silk Den, the bar next door, has the best ambience on board, so exotic and Miami Beach-like.

 

I photographed a menu; not sure whether Dan was able to get it put up for me, I'll check with him today (Dan's our assistant editor).

 

Also sent forth a whole bunch of cabin photos.

 

Canaletto as I mentioned before looks nice -- it's no cover charge right now but there's feeling from execs that if it's too popular they're going to have to set one.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn,

 

Is there a big difference between the Tamarind lunch and dinner menus? Can you post a copy of the lunch menu?

 

Thanks!

[Rosydee]

Did this question ever get an answer??

Hi, Carolyn:)

 

Are these balconies on deck four (VDs) larger (like Noordam)?

 

Also, are those two "special" balconies on the port side aft (4166 & 4168) longer because of the crew staircase between them? (fingers crossed ;) ).

[Jade13]

O2B@C -- cool moniker, didn't get it til I started typing it out, LOL -- I've done an extensive look-around of the spa cabins. They come in two main sizes: spa suites(category SZ, about 398 square ft.) and spa staterooms (VQ, VT, guessing about 215 sq. ft). All have the same color scheme -- green and taupe. They are located on decks 10 and (a handful only) on deck 11.

 

The benefits of decks are that those on deck 10 have full balconies (if slightly smaller than on lower decks). On deck 11, they're more like French verandahs. You step outside onto a crescent shaped platform but there's no room for a chair. Deck 10 has a corkscrew staircase that leads right into the spa. Deck 11 -- you just have to walk down the regular stairs with the rest of commoners, LOL.

 

Extras include a water fountain (nice), free bottles of Vitamin water, a minibar with for-charge stuff that ranges from beer to healthy drinks. There's a yoga mat, a Bose iPod, a teak bathmat, a spa concierge for booking appointments, and what I think is the best feature: the option to order a healthy breakfast for in-cabin dining. Items on what's called the Greenhouse Spa menu include turkey bacon, Kashi granola, egg white omelets and soy meatless patties.

 

It's said that there are special spa-cabin-only spa treatments and that's not actually true at least in one case. Anyone who wants a couples (or singles) massage in a cabana at the Retreat outdoor facility (more on that later) can book one. But if you're not in the spa cabin category you'll have to first reserve the cabana (by calling the info desk, price I don't know yet) and then book the massage. By the way, prices are the same whether you're in cabana…or in spa (at least after you've rented your cabana).

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn, this is really interesting. We booked a "T" ocean view cabin the day my cruise came out and it turned into a "VT" with the juliet balcony. That is fine since we really only use the balcony to check out the view and take pictures. Now it seems our stateroom has turned into a "Spa" category. The Green and taupe decor sounds nice. Green is our favorite color, get it "Jade13"?

 

So, it sounds like we get a free bottle of water in this category, brown bathrobes, a yoga mat, teak bathmat (have one at home), bose ipod and special breakfast menu and a water fountain (is that on the deck on in the staterooms)? So, is this for the Suites or also those VT cabins? Also, I am unclear about the for-pay cabanas past these staterooms. I thought it would be a quiet area but it sounds like foot traffic by these staterooms to get to the cabanas. Is there any "public" space past these staterooms and outside, or will those booked into a VT not be able to use the space as the area is only for the cabana users?

 

Thanks you much for your reports!

[tsd1]

Yes, Rev. Neal's posts indicate that there is much to be worked out - especially his comments about the lack of space to eat on the Lido deck because of all the room the cabanas are taking up. What is your impression about that particular problem?

[Dan Askin]

Hey everyone,

 

We've just added some photos to several of Carolyn's posts. They're located on page 7 of the thread.

 

Enjoy,

 

Dan

[mafig]

Did this question ever get an answer??

 

No....

 

There are so many questions going back and forth, mine seems to have gotten lost.....

[Rosydee]

If anyone can answer this it would be nice to know;)

[joandaz]

My wife, my kid and I, reserved cruise voyage on Eurodam for a Eastern Caribbean on november 15th, from Ft. Lauderdale. Our kid have a 1 year old, and we need information about the babysitter services on board, because we enjoy cruise night lifestile.:cool:

 

We can order specially baby food? for example: soup whitout seasoning?

 

It´s permitted baby in pool?

 

Where we can make a reservation for a lido cabanas? whit my travel agent or on board? how much the Lido Cabanas? :cool:

 

We are a begiing on HAL, we have 3 other cruise voyage experience whit Royal Caribbean, on board of Adventure (Eastern Caribbean 2002), Voyager (Western Caribbean 2004) and Navigator of the Seas (Eastern Caribbean 2006), and we have a fear because this line is new and unknown for us, and the more comments are orient to "line for Older People" are these true?:(

 

is WI-Fi accesible in all ships? it´s Free? if no how much cost these facility?

 

We are very excite because this ships is all brand new, and those photos and publicity provide a lot information, we´ll waiting for a nice vacation abord EURODAM!

[dogsambam]

Have you seen any of the outside stateroom with the floor to ceiling window. We are going to be travelling with our 3 year old and thought this would be a great idea. No balcony but a huge window.

[Oceanwench]

My wife, my kid and I, reserved cruise voyage on Eurodam for a Eastern Caribbean on november 15th, from Ft. Lauderdale. Our kid have a 1 year old, and we need information about the babysitter services on board, because we enjoy cruise night lifestile.:cool:

 

We can order specially baby food? for example: soup whitout seasoning?

 

It´s permitted baby in pool?

 

No babies in pools!!! Not on any HAL ships!!!