SunniLicious

We got off the Eurodam three days ago, and the fixed-time dinner seatings were at 5 PM and 7:30 PM. We really enjoyed the 7:30!

We did a week-long Western Caribbean itinerary starting 12/27. We're a family of four and had two aft balcony cabins (6170 and 6181). It was my ninth cruise, but first on HAL, with prior sailings on Carnival, NCL and Royal. I benefited from so many posts choosing that trip that I thought I would share some impressions. EMBARKATION: - no one cares what your boarding time on your pass is, which is good, as HAL issued us three different boarding passes in the week prior to embarkation (first: boarding time TBD, second: boarding time 11 AM, third: boarding time 11:20 AM). - smooth process with minimal waiting in the terminal. We were on board at 11:10 - the announcement that all cabins were ready came at 11:30 AM! WOW! - all our luggage was delivered to our cabins BEFORE sailaway; given how early sailaway was (2:30 PM) this was especially impressive SHIP (and its population): - first impression was very positive. I loved the game room and the library, having never seen rooms quite like this on other ships, even the gigantic Allure of the Seas. - the Eurodam is showing her age. Still lovely, but expect to see wear and tear regularly. There are regular maintenance issues - buckets in hallways for leaking ceilings when it is not raining, for example, and it is very unusual to go into a restroom in a public space and NOT see an out of order sign on at least one sink and/or stall. Those issues may be related. - noticeably fewer Americans on board vs other lines, and fewer defaults to American preferences and appetites as a result (which is fine, and was actually neat to get to experience at least in the short-term) - fellow cruisers definitely skewed older even on a holiday sailing (12/27-1/3) - if you have mobility issues, these will be well accommodated. The 5 PM dinner is popular and evening entertainment seems to center around it (though there is a late show at 9:30 PM). The ship goes to bed early. There's nothing open past 11:30 PM except the casino. We were out once at 10:30 PM and an officer in an elevator asked us what was keeping us up at this late hour 🙂 CABIN: - also impressed here. Every cabin has bathrobes and deck blankets (and beach towels, but that's pretty standard). I had the impression thought and care went into planning out the cabin - for example, the bathroom has a built-in nightlight, which I've not seen on other ships, and our ordinary balcony cabin had a bathtub (I wasn't crazy about the shower curtain instead of a door though, as the curtain did not look especially clean). There's also a motion-sensor light at the bottom of the closet that was helpful. - beds are firm, pillows are soft. Hard to please thousands of people though! DINING: - overall a weak point. They make their own pasta on board and it is delicious, as is the bolognese. On the downside, two in our family have celiac disease and I did not think this was well accommodated. Even in the MDR, one night they had no bread at all, and two nights they were served sliced sandwich bread (we had done all the paperwork and phone calls weeks ahead re special dietary needs, and met with the maitre d' on embarkation day). There are plenty of GF rolls and dough in the world, so sliced sandwich bread in the MDR was really surprising. Outside the MDR, HAL does not do a good job with gluten-free food. - I was at the HMC BBQ half an hour before it closed, and was really disappointed. From discussions onboard it wasn't much better if you got there earlier. - the Lido buffet always feels the same level of crowded (medium to high) regardless of when you go, as significantly fewer stations are open during off-peak times so when it feels like everyone curretnly in the room is also in the line with you - they really are. Staff here is just not able to keep up with demand - they were completely out of coffee at one point on disembarkation morning, for example! ENTERTAINMENT: - this is a real weak point IMO. I generally find the shows to be a highlight of the cruise but that was definitely not true this time. The first night, there wasn't even a main evening show, just a film shown in the theatre about the 150 year history of HAL. A steel drum band played two nights on the main stage - on other lines, that's the pool deck entertainment. There were two nights with a dance troupe that were enjoyable. Rounding it out was one night with a comedian who was ok, and on the final night a cheesy magician who dragged four tricks out to fill a 45 minute show. SERVICE: - very good! Comparable to other lines IMO. RETREAT CABANA: - we rented the Capri cabana for the week and loved having this space available. You can enjoy breakfast and lunch, as well as morning and afternoon snacks, in the cabana and skip the Lido buffet madness. It's quiet and relaxed, as the cabana staff does shoo out lookie-loos (of whom there were many). Very comfortable seating, quick friendly service, and just a nice respite. What you're really getting with a cabana rental is a lower population density space to enjoy, and compared to the crowding on the pool deck it was heavenly. If you don't have a cabana, the top deck (deck 12 forward) is always sparsely populated (and only reached via outdoor stairs). - if you're interested in a cabana, the pool deck cabanas are going to be a very different experience from the retreat cabanas. Choose carefully. - if you rent a retreat cabana, be aware of a tradeoff: side cabanas have tall plexiglas windows facing the sea - great view, ok airflow. The cabanas overlooking the pool deck have open air railings - ok view, great airflow. The corner cabanas, for four people, get one of each which is awesome, but there are only two of those and they book fast. All cabanas have a clever roof that does let in air (and some rain) as well. DISEMBARKATION: - very smooth and easy. I love that you can choose your own disembarkation time, even if you use luggage assist. We carried all our own luggage off at 9:15, and went from walking off the ship to sitting at our gate at FLL in one hour flat (your mileage may vary, as I hear taxis and airport security lines can really get bogged down when multiple ships come into port). Hope that helps anyone considering Eurodam. Happy travels!

Love getting to see your journey! We got off the Eurodam the morning of Jan 3. Have a great trip!

We are sailing on HAL for the first time this winter. Both my husband and son have celiac disease, so avoiding all gluten is not optional for them. Those with celiac disease, how has the on-board dining experience been? Did you contact HAL's special needs desk in advance of your sailing? Did that seem to help? Any info you could share would be great, they were both just diagnosed earlier this year so we're still adjusting to all this. TIA!