The Baltic on the Eurodam

We just got back from the Eurodam and here are some of my thoughts from the cruise. Hopefully, this will help others decide about the ship/Baltic.

1. We sailed May 8th through May 20th. Sailing early gave us cool weather but we had limited crowds in most ports. It was especially wonderful in St. Petersburg where we were in the Hermitage in rooms with only our small group. We would do this time again.

2. Although certainly not a new ship the Eurodam is in great shape. We didn't see anything that stuck out that needed attention.

3. The crew was amazing. We were called by name starting the second day. They did everything they could to make us welcome. This is one of the main reasons we sail Holland America.

4. The food was better than our last cruise. There has been a lot of discussion on the food going downhill but we thought the opposite on this cruise. The main dining room food was very good. We also ate once in the Pinnacle (really good steak) and in Tamarind (high quality/nice break). We would have been happy eat in the main dining room every night.

5. We had a Neptune Suite for our family of four. It worked well to have the extra room and changing area. The concierge staff was helpful. The two things we really liked was the free laundry and getting to have breakfast in the Pinnacle (very relaxing).

6. The ship arrived late from the previous cruise into Copenhagen. Because of this we left late and arrived late in Kiel. We actually liked this better because it allowed up to see Copenhagen before we boarded. The actual boarding process was long and had some confusion. Once we were on the ship it all got better. :-)

7. Disembarkation went very smoothly until we went to get a taxi. The wait was VERY long. There were no taxis to be had. The port needs better public transportation since it is so remote (more frequent shuttle buses would help). I recommend planning something other than a taxi.

8. The ports were wonderful. We took a train (despite a strike) into Hamburg to see the Miniatur Wunderland and rented a car in Warnemunde (Sixt at the pier). Hamburg was having the port celebration and it was wonderful to be there that day (although so busy!). Driving to Schwerin and Wismar was very nice. We had wonderful crepes in Wismar for lunch. Driving was very easy in the area.

9. The entertainment was better than we have seen on HAL before. The production singer/dancer shows have been updated and were MUCH better than the last we saw. The BB King band was a nice addition for us. The piano bar (Greg) was excellent. However, he was leaving the ship on our last night. We didn't attend the magic, violin or piano acts.

10. We had a well attended CC Meet and Greet and it was nice to meet others there. Thanks to HAL for setting this up for us.

Jaye

We did the Baltic on the Eurodam a few years ago and also had a great experience. I love that ship. Thanks so much for sharing.

Thank you for posting your review.

Glad you had a good cruise.

Thank you for sharing your memories. :) You were smart to go early -- we took this cruise last summer and it was in the 90's everywhere, even in St. Petersburg. :eek: Loved the cruise though, glad you enjoyed it too.

Jmps-thank you for sharing your experience. we are sailing the eurodam with the same itnerary in mid june( 13th to 25th june) and so looking forward to it!

Cruising-along-how warm is it likely to be? will we need light jackets?

thanks in advance!

Jmps-thank you for sharing your experience. we are sailing the eurodam with the same itnerary in mid june( 13th to 25th june) and so looking forward to it!

Cruising-along-how warm is it likely to be? will we need light jackets?

thanks in advance!

It should be warmer for you than it was for us. It was in the 50s during the day. We could only really only use the verandah in port and even then in jackets/blankets. While in port we wore jackets. We did leave them on the bus or checked them (a requirement at Catherine's Palace) during tours.

Our weather was typical for the Baltic. Cool and rainy one minute then warm and sunny the next. We live in Chicago and are used to that in spring. :-)

We and others spent a lot of time in the Crow's Nest. It was especially nice during the sail out of St. Petersburg. The Aurora is at dock at the Navy base on the way out (not downtown). We watched the wonderful cruise in/out of Stockholm from our verandah and cabin. This is much like the inside passage for Alaska. Amazing scenery.

Enjoy your cruise!

Jmps-thank you for sharing your experience. we are sailing the eurodam with the same itnerary in mid june( 13th to 25th june) and so looking forward to it!

Cruising-along-how warm is it likely to be? will we need light jackets?

thanks in advance!

It should be nice while you're there! We went in late July-August and they were having freakishly unusual weather. Our guide in St. Petersburg said that just 2 weeks before that it had been 20-30 degrees cooler! I would bring a light jacket, but depending on you, you may not need it. :)

We took a northern European cruise immediately before our Baltic and it was hot everywhere too -- London, Ireland -- all around 90. So it was just our luck. :p

Thank you for your review. Booked 19 days on the Eurodam, in August, yesterday. Looking forward to it. Will keep in mind the taxi issue.

Thank you for your review! We board the Eurodam on June 1 and our itinerary is slightly different as it does not visit St. petersburg, so goes to some different ports and plus two days in Stockholm.

Glad to hear the BB King group is on board...that was our favorite entertainment the last time we sailed on the Eurodam.

Thank you for your review of your Baltic cruise on the Eurodam. We are sailing her this summer and I'm glad to hear that you found everything so good (except the taxi situation at the end of the cruise).

For those that are interested in taking public transportation to/from Oceankaj for this cruise, look at entry #673 in the "Wonderful Copenhagen" thread in the European Ports of Call forum. Danish Viking, who is a treasure trove of information about Copenhagen, has provided a step-by-step plan (with photos!) of how to use public transportation to get to and from Oceankaj where the Eurodam is berthed in Copenhagen.

we too board on June 1 and are very excited

Thank you for your review! We board the Eurodam on June 1 and our itinerary is slightly different as it does not visit St. petersburg, so goes to some different ports and plus two days in Stockholm.

 

Glad to hear the BB King group is on board...that was our favorite entertainment the last time we sailed on the Eurodam.

Thank you for reviewing your Eurodam Baltic cruise.

jmps: Could you provide a little more information about the taxi situation?

Did you arrive in Copenhagen on the day of your departure or was there an overnight? Were there other ships at the terminal?

What time did you disembark? Was there an organized line for taxis and a dispatcher or was it disorganized chaos?

How long did you have to wait for a taxi and how much was the fare to the airport?

Thanks for your response and your review!

Thank you for posting your thoughts. I am starting to get excited as we leave for Copenhagen in 3-weeks for our Baltic cruise on the Eurodam. Once you got to Hamburg was it difficult to get to Miniatur Wunderlandlt? I think it might be a nice surprise to take my DH as he is being a great sport about all the castles we will go to, and the ballet.

We disembarked on the day jmps embarked. Our arrival to Copenhagen was 6 hours late as we were about 26 hours late leaving Cherbourg, France due to high winds. We missed our port of Belgium, but made good time getting to Copenhagen only 6 hours late.

Re: Cabs. When we disembarked, we waited in a line for a cab for almost an hour. We were a group of four so taking a cab was much more reasonable than the HAL transfer. Those on transfers left right away though. You can google taxi transfer costs (approx 312 Danish kroner). We took the taxi downtown to our hotel and it was about 250 Danish Kroners including tip.

We also found the crew to be outstanding and were very happy with our MDR meals, although the Tamarind was excellent and I highly recommend it.

We did overnight at the port. There was one other ship there. We got off at 8:30. We waited about 50 minutes for a taxi. The line was well organized with a dispatcher, just few taxis. The cost was under 400 Danish crowns to the airport.

We took the U3 ubahn to Baumhall. It is a short ride and then a short walk from there to the miniatur wunderland. The ubahn is included in the small group ticket for train. Very easy but crowded the day we went because of the harbor day.

Thank you for posting your thoughts. I am starting to get excited as we leave for Copenhagen in 3-weeks for our Baltic cruise on the Eurodam. Once you got to Hamburg was it difficult to get to Miniatur Wunderlandlt? I think it might be a nice surprise to take my DH as he is being a great sport about all the castles we will go to, and the ballet.

The miniature wonderland in Hamburg really is something not to be missed. It is an amazing experience even for somebody who is not as keen on miniature trains, landscapes etc. I really was surprised and found the visit worthwhile.

I would suggest and advise, though, to buy your tickets online before you go there. It is usually very crowded and a lot of time slots are fully booked because they only admit as many people to the exhibition as can see comfortably. There is a waiting-room with free drinks to wait in comfort until your time slot (number) is called.

Happy days in Hamburg!

This is good advice. That is way we did. If you buy the ticket in the gift shop section of the website you can pick a time slot. They were flexible with that since our ship was late. We just called and got ok to push the time.

We are so glad we went. I wish we had more time to see this amazing display. We aren't really into trains etc. but our whole family loved it.

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Thanks for the review! We are going on her on June 13th from Copenhagen. your review adds to the excitement!:D

I will be staying at the Crowne Plaza when disembarking in Copenhagen. I've thought about taking the HAL transfer to the airport then taking the hotel's shuttle to the hotel. Any thoughts about that?

I will be staying at the Crowne Plaza when disembarking in Copenhagen. I've thought about taking the HAL transfer to the airport then taking the hotel's shuttle to the hotel. Any thoughts about that?

We had planned on taking the public cruise shuttle bus then train to the airport. We didn't do that and wish we had. We had planned on checking that route out on embarc but our ship arrive late and we traveled after the shuttle stopped at 4PM.

I never usually take the cruise line transport because it is often a poor value (but easy!). If you didn't have to wait for a taxi I would say taxi is better since you could go directly to your hotel for the same or less cost. However, because of the taxi lines the shuttle is a viable option if you don't want to try the bus/train.

Check out the thread on Copenhagen. DanishViking has a lot about transport and how to use it.

Enjoy your cruise!

I will be staying at the Crowne Plaza when disembarking in Copenhagen. I've thought about taking the HAL transfer to the airport then taking the hotel's shuttle to the hotel. Any thoughts about that?

Well, you can pay $44 per person to take the HAL transfer from the ship to the airport or you can use public transportation (bus and train or Metro) to make the same trip at a cost of 36 DKK ($5.31 at today's exchange rate) per person. If you go to entry #673 on the "Wonderful Copenhagen" thread in the Europe forum, you will see step-by-step instructions and photos from Danish Viking on how to make this trip. That's how we are going to do it in July.