First time on HAL, sailing on Eurodam to Alaska

well, we are first timers on HAL and are currently on the Eurodam, sailing to Alaska out of Seattle. I must say, we are really impressed by everything! I wanted to write this review contemporaneous with our travels so I don’t forget anything. These boards have really been so incredibly helpful in planning our trip so I just wanted to give something back with information to the next person doing research! Not sure how to add pictures, but I will try later.

Firstly, we flew into Seattle on Thursday afternoon. We stayed at the Pan Pacific. We took the link train system from SeaTac to Westlake station and walked with our luggage about a half mile to the hotel. It was not a difficult trip but the entrance to the hotel is a bit hidden in the Whole Foods Plaza.

Side Note: the pan pacific is really awesome! We usually stay at four seasons properties, and I have to say, the service at the Pan Pacific is on par with service you would expect to find at a four seasons! They also gave our little girl a stuffed panda (mascot of the pan pacific hotel).

We had been to Seattle before, so friday was a relaxing day for us, and we went to the zoo using public transportation and also walked to Nordstrom. This Nordstrom is the best! Huge, and can find things you would normally see at a Neiman Marcus not a Nordstrom!!

Saturday, we wanted to get to the pier at around 10:30 am, so we placed ourselves in the queue for the complimentary car from the hotel to Pier 91. They were so nice to let us know that there was a couple of patrons ahead of us, so I put myself on the list for the car. ( if the complimentary car did not work out, we were going to get an Uber from the hotel). They called me in the room and we went down to checkout and get the ride to the pier, very easy!

Once we got to the Pier, it was very quick. I had already placed our luggage tags on our luggage at the hotel while we were checking out. We “laminated” our luggage tags with packing tape prior to our trip to Seattle and then attached it with a stapler at the hotel.

It was a very quick process to get our room keys and boarding designation and everyone was incredibly friendly!

Since we had booked a Neptune suite, we were placed in Boarding group A. There’s a common waiting area for everyone. The Ruby Princess was also at the Pier and was boarding ahead of us.

We entered the Eurodam at about 11:24 am and they told us the rooms would not be ready until 11:30am and directed us to the Lido for lunch. I think the MDR was closed. My key card was not working so we had to go the front desk to get replacements, no big deal. By that time, it was past 11:30 so we decided to drop our carryons in our room.

What a spacious room! Large TV facing the bed, tons of movies in the TV system, complimentary fruit basket, bottle of water and bottle of champagne I believe. Also a cute little flower arrangement. The outside is a very spacious deck wrapping around aft. There is lots of storage and the bathroom has both a walk-in small shower and a tub, and 2 sinks.

We then decided to stop by the Neptune lounge first to ask a question of the conceirge but there were some apps out but no conceirge yet. So we made our way down to the Lido to eat. What a madhouse in the Lido!

The food in the Lido was very good. The strip loin was delicious, my husband had the salad bar made to order, and we also had some California rolls. Something for everyone!

There was a sign that let us know the Tamarind was 25% off that first night. Which was great since we didn’t like any of the listed menu for the MDR.

After lunch, we made our way to the Neptune Lounge and met the conceirges Danika and Gabriella ? . They are both very nice. They helped me tweak our dinner reservations.

There will be 2 gala nights on this 7 day cruise. First one is tonight (at sea) and second one is for the ketchikan port.

Please feel free to ask questions and I will try to answer them!

As to the internet....

They have 3 tiers of WiFi: social for $14.99 per day, surf for $24.99 per day and premium for $29.99 per day. That’s what was on the informational flier handed out.

You can have more than 1 account per stateroom but only one device at a time used on each account.

We Bought premium, and it was 7 days for $139.99 for each account. Once you go to the buy page, it gives you that “deal” of a price for the entire cruise. It seems better than the 1000minutes for $250, maybe?

Premium Allows for audio/video, calling and streaming. We bought 2 accounts for our room, so we could have flexibility on who would have access to WiFi.

It’s a bit quirky as it keeps logging us out, not sure about the timeframe, but it’s ok for speed.

I am enjoying your Live reports.

Looking forward to following your cruise.

Will be following along - I miss Alaska but can't convince hubby to return, yet. Wonderful for you to be in a Neptune suite for your first HAL cruise.

Enjoy Alaska!

Thanks for your reports. Hope you have a great cruise.

Looking forward to your reports.

Thanks for taking us along.

It sounds like you are off to a great start.

Have a great cruise.

Looking forward to reading more.

Internet is a bit glitchy. I just lost my entire post...so I’ll try to recreate.

Anyway, we ate at the tamarind last night and it was delicious. We looked at the menu in the MDR and weren’t too keen on it, so decided to try the Tamarind. What a great decision! It was not crowded at all at 6:30 pm, excellent service and such great food. We liked it so much we booked again for our last night.

We had a soup, appetizer, main course and dessert. My hubby and daughter chose the jewel of the sea - basically a high end wonton soup, and it was yummy. I chose the Thai chicken soup, not as good, but still tasty.

For the apps, we could choose between the appetizers and the sushi. We got the spider roll, lobster roll and soft shell crab. Excellent rolls!

For main course, I got the steak which my daughter ate most of, my husband got the garlic lobster served in the tail, and we got the sea bass for the kid. All tasty, but the steak and the lobster were the best in my opinion.

Sides were also chosen and came in separate bowls so they could be shared. Jasmine rice, sautéed veggies and mushrooms.

Dessert was amazing, the trio of sorbets were the best— mango, Yuzu and green tea.

We didn’t have to dress up, but wore dark jeans and nice tops. We did not feel out of place at all.

After dinner, we went to the Neptune lounge, but there was no food. The concierges said it was because of embarkation night. No biggie, I’m sure we’ll be there enough the rest of the trip.

We went back to our room and ran into our stewards. They are so sweet and hardworking, I really feel for them— far from home and family and working such hours!

They took our dirty laundry for the complimentary laundry and dry cleaning service. FYI our laundry was back this morning after breakfast—folded and hung, whatever our preference was! This ship is amazing!!!

We had breakfast in the Lido since we got a really late start this morning. We were tired. We’ll probably try the pinnacle grill for breakfast tomorrow.

We’re in a neptune suite that’s aft. We’re sailing at sea at present and there is a lot of vibration, more than I expected. But it’s kind like white noise and the rocking actually helps get to sleep!

More than happy to answer any questions! Or post more details if there is interest....

.......

 

We entered the Eurodam at about 11:24 am and they told us the rooms would not be ready until 11:30am and directed us to the Lido for lunch. I think the MDR was closed. My key card was not working so we had to go the front desk to get replacements, no big deal. By that time, it was past 11:30 so we decided to drop our carryons in our room.

 

...........What a madhouse in the Lido!

Thanks for your very detailed report, and for taking the time to post. Just fyi, on embarkation day the crew always direct passengers to the Lido for lunch, even when the main dining room is open. We always go directly to the lower deck of the main dining room to check it out for ourselves, and almost always they are serving lunch there from noon to about 1:30pm. The only time they don't serve lunch in the main dining room on embarkation day is when there is a travel agent familiarization lunch, or an event for a local charity or organization, and those times are rare. We agree with you, the Lido IS a madhouse on embarkation day.

Thanks for your very detailed report, and for taking the time to post. Just fyi, on embarkation day the crew always direct passengers to the Lido for lunch, even when the main dining room is open. We always go directly to the lower deck of the main dining room to check it out for ourselves, and almost always they are serving lunch there from noon to about 1:30pm. The only time they don't serve lunch in the main dining room on embarkation day is when there is a travel agent familiarization lunch, or an event for a local charity or organization, and those times are rare. We agree with you, the Lido IS a madhouse on embarkation day.

Thanks for letting me know about the MDR, maybe nexr time! We swung by the MDR and it looked empty but we didn’t try to go in. Lido was a great start though.

Thanks for letting me know about the MDR, maybe nexr time! We swung by the MDR and it looked empty but we didn’t try to go in. Lido was a great start though.

Yes, definitely try next time:) Embarkation lunch is served on the lower deck of the main dining room, which on the Eurodam is deck 2, Lower Prom deck. Have a great rest of your cruise!(y)

Thank you for your review! We’re taking this trip in September, so I’ll be quite interested in your reports.

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Yes! Thanks so much...we sail July 7 and are getting excited. Loving all the details and tips you are offering.

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well, we are first timers on HAL and are currently on the Eurodam, sailing to Alaska out of Seattle. I must say, we are really impressed by everything! I wanted to write this review contemporaneous with our travels so I don’t forget anything. These boards have really been so incredibly helpful in planning our trip so I just wanted to give something back with information to the next person doing research! Not sure how to add pictures, but I will try later.

 

Firstly, we flew into Seattle on Thursday afternoon. We stayed at the Pan Pacific. We took the link train system from SeaTac to Westlake station and walked with our luggage about a half mile to the hotel. It was not a difficult trip but the entrance to the hotel is a bit hidden in the Whole Foods Plaza.

 

Side Note: the pan pacific is really awesome! We usually stay at four seasons properties, and I have to say, the service at the Pan Pacific is on par with service you would expect to find at a four seasons! They also gave our little girl a stuffed panda (mascot of the pan pacific hotel).

 

We had been to Seattle before, so friday was a relaxing day for us, and we went to the zoo using public transportation and also walked to Nordstrom. This Nordstrom is the best! Huge, and can find things you would normally see at a Neiman Marcus not a Nordstrom!!

 

Saturday, we wanted to get to the pier at around 10:30 am, so we placed ourselves in the queue for the complimentary car from the hotel to Pier 91. They were so nice to let us know that there was a couple of patrons ahead of us, so I put myself on the list for the car. ( if the complimentary car did not work out, we were going to get an Uber from the hotel). They called me in the room and we went down to checkout and get the ride to the pier, very easy!

Thank you for taking the time to post this information; I am on the Eurodam this Saturday from Seattle and I also have a Neptune Suite. I am reading all your updates and enjoying it. Have fun and enjoy!!

Maryjo

Thank you for taking the time to post this information; I am on the Eurodam this Saturday from Seattle and I also have a Neptune Suite. I am reading all your updates and enjoying it. Have fun and enjoy!!

Maryjo

Thank you and I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

We love the Neptune suite, it’s very spacious and since we have an aft wrap around, the views thus far have been amazing. Something I didn’t expect was that we are smelling some cigarette smoke in our verandah. The sea view area for smoking is aft on deck 9 and I wonder if it’s that drifting down but it is very strong at times and seems closer.

We ate at the pinnacle grill last night. We get a free dinner at pinnacle grill. It was excellent. The food was amazing again. They offered an amuse bouche which was like a small mushroom soup in a tiny cup. For appetizers we ordered lobster bisque which was very rich, shrimp cocktail—the hugest shrimp I’ve ever seen, and crab cakes.

For the main course, steak, ordered the 12oz lobster tail for a $20 extra charge and the king crab legs. They were really all yummy and far too much for us to finish! We were stuffed.

One negative was that the dinner took 2 plus hours. They were very busy and everything took a really long time. I was exhausted and fell into bed at 8:30 pm, not a usual thing for me.

They reminded us to turn our clocks back by one hour, for the time change as we sailed toward Juneau.

Sailing toward Juneau this morning was incredible. The vistas from our aft verandah were gorgeous. I woke up to seeing snow covered mountain vistas on either side. It was another affirmation that we made the right decision to book this type of room.

Since the weather in Juneau was supposed to be warm, we debated what to wear for the helicopter dog sledding tour we had booked for the afternoon. In the end, we wore wind pants and our wind jackets. It was hot in Juneau, especially in the sun! The glacier trip was beautiful. We booked through HAL and were not disappointed. They use Temsco helicopters and it was incredibly safe, professional and well done.

The dog musher camp on the Mendenhall glacier was great. We got a chance to ride on the dog sled, take lots of pictures, and just enjoy the beautiful views. We also got a chance to hold the puppies! So cute!

More later as room service has just come....

These reports are great. Thank you!

Thank you for live commentary. We were on the Eurodam for our first (and only) cruise and we would love to sail on her again to Alaska.

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As to the internet....

 

They have 3 tiers of WiFi: social for $14.99 per day, surf for $24.99 per day and premium for $29.99 per day. That’s what was on the informational flier handed out.

 

 

You can have more than 1 account per stateroom but only one device at a time used on each account.

 

We Bought premium, and it was 7 days for $139.99 for each account. Once you go to the buy page, it gives you that “deal” of a price for the entire cruise. It seems better than the 1000minutes for $250, maybe?

 

 

Premium Allows for audio/video, calling and streaming. We bought 2 accounts for our room, so we could have flexibility on who would have access to WiFi.

 

 

It’s a bit quirky as it keeps logging us out, not sure about the timeframe, but it’s ok for speed.

Hi...glad you are enjoying the cruise. Question on the internet. The premium package at $29.99 a day, is that for unlimited internet? If so I think that is a very good value. Look forward to your next report. Maryjo

Enjoying your live reporting. I’m going next month although on a different ship and your reports are getting me in the right frame of mind for Alaska, one of my favorite destinations.

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I am so excited to read your "live" trip report! My husband and I are sailing this cruise in two weeks and your posts have been great!

Have you experienced any of the nightly events yet? Shows, live music? The last time I sailed on the Eurodam was her inaugural year so I know many things have changed since then. Hoping to see some photos of the ship when you have a chance!