Eurodam Trip Report: Gems of Spain (April 2016)

Hi all,

I’ve just returned from my latest cruise (7 day Gems of Spain) and I’m writing up my daily report.

This was my second time sailing with Holland America, and my second time on the Eurodam. My first HAL cruise was in September 2015 on the Viking Passage from Copenhagen to New York (see photo report [thread=2265322]here[/thread]) which was an amazing 17 day voyage.

On this 7 day Gems of Spain voyage, I travelled with my family again. We had no intention of going on this particular cruise, until we saw a fantastic last minute bargain in February. We booked it as soon as we saw the price as it offered great value for money.

Here is the itinerary and map for this 7 day "Gems of Spain" voyage.

(Sun, 17th April 2016) Barcelona, Spain (Depart 16:00)

(Mon, 18th April 2016) Valencia, Spain (08:00-17:00)

(Tue, 19th April 2016) Cartagena, Spain (08:00-17:00)

(Wed, 20th April 2016) Malaga, Spain (08:00-23:00)

(Thu, 21st April 2016) Gibraltar, British Territory (08:00-13:00)

(Fri, 22nd April 2016) Cadiz, Spain (08:00-18:00)

(Sat, 23rd April 2016) ***Cruising at Sea***

(Sun, 24th April 2016) Barcelona, Spain (Arrive 07:00)

Three of the ports were new to us (Valencia, Cartagena and Cadiz). We visited Malaga and Gibraltar a number of years ago.

This trip report focuses primarily on the ports of call and not much is covered on the Eurodam itself.

Just a few notes:

For our dining arrangements, we ate every morning in the Lido Market, with the exception of one morning when we got breakfast room service. For lunch, some days, we went to Dive In and on other days, we just had a quick snack at the Lido Market. For our evening meals, we ate in the Dining Room on each of the 7 nights and we had anytime dining. Usually when we go with anytime dining, we like to dine sometime between 20:00 and 21:00. We prefer dining on our own and we don't make reservations. On our last Eurodam cruise in September, we normally showed up at this time and walked in with no delay and the dining room was always very quiet. However on this cruise, with the exception of one night, we were given buzzers and had to wait for 5-15 minutes for a table. We did not mind this. Every night, dinner took less than 1 hour.

We never ate in the speciality restaurants. The lido buffet and main dining room are just perfect for the three of us.

We also don’t drink, so we didn’t buy any drinks packages.

We are not hugely into entertainment so we didn't go to many of the shows or entertainment around the ship, nor did we partake in any activities.

We did not take any HAL excursions. In fact, we did not travel outside of any of the ports. Instead, we stayed in the ports where the ship docked.

Day 1: Leaving home

Weather: Mostly sunny. Max temperature 8C / 46F

We left home at 13:00 and 2.5 hours later, we arrived at Dublin Airport. Our flight wasn't until 18:45 so we had lots of free time at the airport. We were flying with Aer Lingus from Terminal 2 and the airport was very quiet. In fact, it was the quietest I have ever seen the airport. Boarding began at 18:10 and it was completed in about 15 minutes. It was announced that this flight was not full (less than 50% capacity), so almost everybody had a free seat to themselves. We took off from the runway a few minutes before our scheduled departure time and after a very smooth 2 hour flight, we landed into Barcelona Airport at 21:40 local time. Once the plane parked up and we disembarked, we noticed that Barcelona Airport was even quieter than Dublin Airport. We collected our checked in luggage a few minutes later and then we found ourselves in a taxi to our accommodation for the night - Novotel Sant Joan Despi.

The journey from the airport only took 15 minutes and the taxi fare cost €35. This hotel is located away from the centre of Barcelona...it’s more of an airport hotel and it is quite cheap. There is not much around it. If you plan on visiting Barcelona city itself, you would be better off staying nearer to the city. However, we did not plan on visiting Barcelona as we were there on many different occasions before. We were only on an overnight stop from the airport to the cruise port, so this hotel suited us perfect.

Day 2: Barcelona, Spain - Embarking Eurodam (Departure at 16:00)

Weather: Sunny. Max temperature 21C / 70F

After a good sleep, we woke up at around 09:30AM on a lovely sunny morning and went for breakfast, which was included in our room rate. It was fairly good with a nice variety. Room check out wasn't until 12:00 noon, so after our breakfast, we sat outside by the swimming pool for about an hour. At just before 12:00 noon, we left our room, checked out and called for a taxi which arrived at the hotel in less than 2 minutes. We arrived at the port in about 15 minutes, at 12:15 and the taxi fare cost €35. Eurodam was docked at Moll Adossat Pier, Terminal D. It was very quiet around the cruise terminal. We walked straight through the security and check in. At check-in, we didn't have to get our photos taken as they were stored since our Eurodam cruise in September 2015. From the time we arrived at the port to the time we were onboard, it took less than 20 minutes, and we even stopped by a souvenir shop in the meantime.

Onboard Eurodam in Barcelona:

So here we are on the Eurodam again, 7 months later since we disembarked her in New York in September 2015. It had a dry-dock in December so there are a few upgrades. There is new carpeting, upholstery etc. All the rooms have new TVs and they are very interactive with lots of stored movies, TV shows, documentaries and even the main restaurant dinner menus for each night.

There are also new interactive TVs located around the ship. In general, the ship seems "fresh".

We had a large interior stateroom on Deck 6 - 6075 - and it was loads big for the three of us. Our bags were left in the room when we arrived, so we did our unpacking straight away.

The muster drill took place at 15:15 on the promenade deck and took about 25 minutes. Afterwards, we went to the Lido Buffet (which has been renamed to Lido Market) for a quick snack before sailaway. Eurodam left the dock at 16:15.

There were 5 big ships (including Eurodam) in Barcelona today:

Leaving Barcelona:

It got quite windy out on deck so we went indoors and wandered around the ship for the rest of the evening.

Day 3: Valencia, Spain (Docked: 08:00-17:00)

Weather: Mostly sunny, some clouds. Max temperature 19C / 66F

There was a delay with docking this morning. Seemingly, the port authorities changed our docking location at the last minute and there was a container ship in the way, so it took a little longer to dock. However, we were alongside at around 08:20AM and cleared shortly thereafter.

Looking towards Valencia city centre from the cruise terminal:

We took the HAL shuttle from the port to the city centre and it cost US$12 roundtrip per person. We got on the shuttle bus at 09:10AM and waited about 5 minutes for it to fill up. Our bus departed at 09:15AM and it was about a 10-15 minute drive to the drop off point. The shuttle bus stop in Valencia was located at the Pont de la Trinitat (which is very close by the Valencia Cathedral and Torres de Serrano). Yesterday evening, HAL were claiming that the Valencia city centre was located 9 miles / 12 km from the port. This is not true. It is only about 4 miles / 7km. We arrived at the drop off point shortly before 09:30AM and proceeded straight to Plaza de la Virgen.

Basilica:

We went inside the Basilica which had a beautiful ceiling:

Then we visited the Cathedral of Valencia.

Inside the Cathedral:

Just outside the Valencia Cathedral is Plaza de la Reina and also the Miguelete Tower.

Then we proceeded to the Mercat Central. This is a fruit/vegetable/meat market and it is really large. I think it is one of Europe’s largest market.

After this, we walked to Plaza del Ayuntamiento where the Town Hall is located. We sat down on a bench here for a while and had a brief picnic lunch.

Then we continued onto a pedestrianised shopping street – Carrer de Don Juan de Austria – and also El Corte Inglés.

We walked back along some back streets and finished at the Torres de Serrano.

In general, we thought Valencia was a very easy going city. All the main sights are close by and within walking distance.

We were finished by 15:00 and ready to go back to the ship. The shuttle bus was waiting at the same place it dropped us off. The bus left as soon as we got on it and in less than 15 minutes, we were back at the Valencia cruise terminal, where we soon got back onboard Eurodam.

A few minutes before 17:00, Eurodam's lines were dropped. The sailaway from Valencia wasn't particularly pretty this evening as the port of Valencia is quite industrial with lots of cargo ships and containers, etc.

It was very quiet outside this evening so we presumed that many people were getting ready for gala night, which was the first gala night for this 7 day voyage.

Also, today was Holland America Line’s 143rd birthday and there was a large cake in the Dining Room:

Thank you. I am looking toward to reading more, as we will be on this same cruise in October.

Thank you for posting your review.

Your pictures are wonderful.

Looking forward to reading more.

Wonderful review. Great pictures.

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Wonderful pictures!!!!

Brings back memories from 3 years ago!

Will be on her in Oct. for our Med Cruise!

Denise:)

Thank you for posting your review.

Your pictures are wonderful.

Looking forward to reading more.

The cake looks awesome! :)

Thank you for your report and wonderful pictures! A friend and her family were on the ship with you but continued onto the next leg, where they are now.

Spain looks beautiful!

Beautiful photos!

Enjoyed the review and the photos.

Keith

Awesome pictures. Waiting for more!

Thanks for all the nice comments so far :)

Day 4: Cartagena, Spain (Docked: 08:00-17:00)

Weather: Mostly cloudy and windy. Max temperature 17C / 63F

Due to high winds this morning, Eurodam was a little late docking, however we were docked and cleared by 08:30AM.

We had a late breakfast this morning as we had not much planned for the day. Our only plan was to stroll around town. We went to the Lido Market for breakfast at 09:30AM and the place was swinging busy. Though, it quietened down after a while. We went outside to check out the weather and it was very windy outside.

Looking at Cartagena from the ship:

We got off the ship at around 10:30AM and there was a nice marina area close by. It was a very relaxing place to walk around, despite the windy weather.

The beautiful Eurodam docked in Cartagena:

There is a main shopping street (Calle Mayor, which leads onto Calle Puertas de Murcia and Calle Carmen/Calle Jabonerias) which is about 800m in length. The start of this street (Plaza Ayuntamiento) is not too far away from the ship, less than 500m.

Plaza Ayuntamiento and the City Hall:

Strolling along Calle Mayor:

We went into a church – Iglesia Castrense de Santo Domingo:

We also went into another church – Iglesia del Carmen:

We spent the rest of the time shopping and strolling around this pretty and laid-back town.

Plaza Icue:

Back near Plaza Ayuntamiento, there is a square called Plaza de los Héroes de Cavite:

We got back onboard at around 13:45 for a light lunch at Dive In and then headed back out again around the marina to sit outside (and to admire the beautiful Eurodam!). It was windy and very blustery the whole day.

We got back onboard at 16:20, 10 minutes before the all aboard time of 16:30.

Eurodam left the dock at 16:50.

Leaving Cartagena:

Because of the high winds, two tugs were needed to help Eurodam navigate out of the port - one tug pulling the ship and one tug pushing the ship, both at forward. We watched it from the outside deck and it was an interesting sight. After careful navigating out of the port, the tugs left and we were out at open sea. We later learned from our captain, John Scott from New Zealand, that it was the first time he ever had to use two tugs to leave a berth. He said that if the tugs weren’t used, Eurodam would have had to stay in Cartagena overnight!

One of the tugs pulling the ship:

Another tug pushing the ship:

Coastline:

After a while, the winds calmed down and a hazy sunshine developed, so we sat on the promenade deck for about an hour in the nice sunshine before getting ready for dinner.

The promenade deck was deserted by the way, as it was on many times:

Day 5: Malaga, Spain (Docked 08:00-23:00)

Weather: AM = Raining. PM = Mostly cloudy with sunny intervals. Max temperature 17C / 63F

This morning, I woke up at 07:50AM to the cruise director’s announcement stating the location of the gangway and that the ship was cleared. Again this morning, we had a late breakfast. It was raining quite a bit in the morning so we decided to let it rain for a while and it might clear up.

A rainy morning in Malaga:

At about 11:15AM, we decided to go to the cruise terminal to check if there was free Wi-Fi. There was Wi-Fi but there was a charge to use it. There were a lot of shops in the terminal. While we were in the cruise terminal, the rain started to clear outside so we decided to head into town.

Eurodam docked in Malaga:

The port provided a shuttle service into the city centre. This shuttle service cost €5 per person and you can use it as much as you like throughout the whole day, to and from the ship. The shuttle drop off point is at Plaza de la Marina which is close by the cathedral. It is less than 2 km from the cruise terminal to Plaza de la Marina. We left the terminal at 11:55AM and got there just before noon.

When we got to the city centre, the sky had cleared and the sun was shining. However it was still quite cool but perfect weather for sightseeing.