Eurodam--Upside Down and Backwards Cruise!

My review in several parts of a lovely but crazy cruise on the Eurodam.

DAY ONE

Arrival at FLL was uneventful and the HAL agent was present at the luggage carousel. I was the only person going to the hotel so I was placed in a car and immediately sent on to the Marriot Harbour Beach. Check-in was a breeze and my room was ready. The room had a lovely view of the city and one end of the harbour. I enjoyed a walk to the beach followed by a sweet little nap. The only downside I could see to the hotel over the others I have stayed in near the port was the lack of nearby shopping. The rooms were tastefully decorated in neutral tones, great bath with a walk in shower, and very clean. I woke up happy and rested.

DAY TWO

Transfer to the port was slightly delayed at 11:30am or so but the port is 10 mins away so no big deal. I was super impressed with check-in. I filled out the health paper walked up to an agent, handed over my boarding pass and passport, had my pic taken, and the rest was a fast forward to the ship---I am telling you I never stopped walking! It was delightful. Some of the perks of a Neptune Suite cannot be beat. There was a suite lounge but I never saw it as I could go ahead and board.

As we checked in we were notified via letter that our itinerary was changed due to weather. First stop will be Half Moon Cay instead of Key West.

My first stop on the ship, as always, was the Neptune lounge to visit with the concierges Kim and Mary Ann. Both lovely, always smiling, and how to they know your name so fast! All specialty restaurant reservations were in order and Luggage Direct was available so I was off to my suite. I will send pics to our fav HAL website. I love the new décor with subtle shades of neutrals and “dusty blue”, dark woods, white counters. A calm space. The new look of the bathroom counter and tiled backsplash is fresh and bright. The LED lighting is wonderful and there is an LED night light in the ceiling!

Immediately I chose to explore the huge TV. There are numerous movies I had not seen,info about the ship, menus, and of course live TV, all with the push of a few buttons. My only hesitation is that you really can only view the TV from the bed. The tall padded headboard helped—super comfy to lean against. I eventually moved one of the chairs to the space beside the bed and that sort of solved the problem. Truly a first world problem don’t you think.

Dinner was at the Tamarind. Delicious meal, fab service, beautiful décor. A filet that was perfect. I very much enjoyed my first night.

DAY THREE Half MoonCay

The night was a rocking event! The glassware in the cabin was all stable but I gave up sleeping and investigated the menu of the huge TV. It was very user friendly, complete with lots of movies, live TV channels, ship info, bow and stern cameras, maps, menus,weather. I decided on a movie at 3am.

It was a gale at Half Moon Cay. The trip ashore was out for me but I have visited this delightful spot in the past. The captain made an announcement that the personnel that usually serviced the island could not be transported from a nearby island due to weather so most of the shore excursions were cancelled and food service was limited. The delicious soft sand was there, I’m sure—one of the best parts of the island!

Tea was served in the Ocean Bar this trip. I really enjoyed having a tea with a small sweet treat there watching the sea go by. This area is also great for people watching and at 4pm Happy Hour begins so just relax!

Tonight I dined at the Pinnacle Grill. It is always a pleasure. Once again the filet was perfectly cooked and the chocolate molten cake a thing of beauty. Service was superb.

More soon

please post more about your experience. we are also staying in a neptune suite so any information is welcomed. can't wait to read more!

Just a heads up: The majority of the island staff on Half Moon Cay is transported from nearby Eleuthera Island (about a 1 1/2 to 2-hr ride, weather permitting) via the Half Moon Clipper with an early morning arrival and a late afternoon/early evening departure back. There's a skeleton crew of about 15 that overnights on HMC

Great review; thanks for writing it!

Pictures of "Certificate" on our last day of the Crazy Upsidedown and Backwards Cruise

Hope I can get the pictures of the suite to download. I have sent them to the HAL ----- website

Here is another shot of the Suite. I am having problems downloading the pictures.

Hope this works. I moved one of the chairs to the big open space between the bed and closets.

Here is the fabulous veranda. The chair that reclined with an ottoman was more comfortable than the recliner around the corner to me.

I am enjoying your review.

We missed HMC many times because of rough seas and the fact the island workers were not able to make it from their main island which is larger than HMC.

Your videos didn't work for me.

DAY FOUR AT SEA

A word about the new Holland America Navigator site for phones, tablet, kindle, etc. It is fabulous. You keep your device in airplane mode and turn on wifi. Login the first time to set up an account and password---sooooo easy. Now you have every bit of info you need as you proceed with your day. You can choose from all the activities and make your own itinerary list of things you plan to do. As life changes you can return to the main list and revise your plans. Sitting at lunch I looked at the schedule of movie showings, happy hours, and my dinner reservations. A plan was made. For me this was superiorto the paper “When and Where”. You can access a few websites for free—like the NY Times, access your bill at any time,and make specialty restaurant and spa reservations.

Today was a meeting day for me. A grueling day of lectures from 6:30am until around 5pm with breaks for breakfast and lunch. The small in suite coffee maker came in handy this morning. It makes nice strong coffee and they provide little "half anf half creamers". Tonight was Gala night but I chose to eat in the Lido just to get a quick bite. It was fine. Lots of variety and excellent service. Before you get in line and start a plate, you really need to make the circuit to see where you want to be. You will see quickly that there are different types of foods in each area. I liked getting my own version of tapas going with small plates and I just kept going back. Many times I was asked if I required more water, tea, etc. As I sat eating I was not certain I had ever eaten dinner in the Lido before, so that was my new thing for today.

DAY FIVE Amber Cove

The weather this trip as been really unusual. The wind has been high so they have now switched Amber Cove and Grand Turks. The night was rocking, rolling, and hanger banging. Mind out of the gutter please!!! (Coathangers in the closet were banging against each other). It took three cappuccinos this morning. I did not get off the ship today due to wind,rain, and lack of desire. I area of Amber Cove looked nice from the balcony.

I enjoyed a movie in the theater, a pizza from NY Pizza, and finished another book. The walk around the open deck on level 3 is such a pleasure. You see the view from the ship from every perspective. Firsts for today—NY pizza. You order how ever you want the pizza and they give you a buzzer that goes off when it is ready.

Note about the smoking area of the starboard side aft. I went in and out of that automatic door several times to get to the aft pool and NY Pizza and yes there was a brief smell of smoke but this is so much better than having smokers on the verandas,in bars, and in the casino. Thank you HAL

Note on the casino. It was packed all the time. Seemed smaller to me but I may be wrong about that. I did not remember a roulette wheel. The new Library Bar next door is quite nice. It would be a great place to sip a cocktail while your main man won enough at the craps table to take you on a world cruise.

i couldn't view the videos/pictures either.

coffee Machine

Room Pics

One more room pic with the flat screen TV.

FYI - None of your pics are visible

We were on that "rock and roll" adventure also

What struck me in a negative way after a dozen HAL cruises was the demise of the book exchange on the Eurodam.

I guess kindles and the like are in vogue.

My wife's mags flew off the shelf though!!

PS...kudos to the Pinnacle staff, real class act

bobpell

I'm enjoying your review, :) please continue.

But I can't see the pictures. :(

I'm enjoying your review, :) please continue.

But I can't see the pictures. :(

The pictures I cut and paste into the body of the posts are still not visible. How weird is that. I can see them when I bring up my posts. Anyone have a clue what I might have done to make the pictures private?

I was notified the cabin pics are up on HALXXXXX---the website we know and love but cannot mention.

I will try something else. So sorry

New Pic of SB suite attached. Hope this works

Great review and thanks for sending the pictures :)

And, welcome home :)

DAY SIX Grand Turk

Windy again. Grand Turk. Beach is beautiful. Once again I took in a movie in the theater and a serious nap on my veranda. As I recall today I attend a cooking class—cold soups. It was fun, easy, and something a non-cook like myself could do.

“Inside Planet Earth”—films about the making of the Planet Earth series showed several times in the Queen’s Lounge. This is also where the cooking demos were held. Watch for a time on the Navigator near the end of the cruise when they put out all the recipe cards on a table in the Queen's Lounge for anyone to pick up. You can skip the class but get the recipe.

The new Lincoln Center Stage is fabulous. I visited several times during the cruise—several different programs. I very much enjoyed this new venue. The same musicians accompanied the new Planet Earth show in the Main Stage. The film for our cruise was FrozenPlanet.

A word about my bar tabs. I have the same drink before dinner and I order it the exact same way EVERY time. “vodka martini up with a twist—Ketel One vodka no vermouth”. During the cruise I ordered this drink 4 times and I have four different bar tabs. They were all within $1 of each other but still thought that was strange. This will be important on my next cruise because I have the Explore Four and there price $8 limit per drink. None of my drinks were under 8 dollars so will have to consult the bartender and “No” I cannot go with the house vodka. It must be Ketel One! I will say the martinis were always perfectly prepared and presented.

Dinner tonight in the Pinnacle I deviated from the norm and ordered the lamb chops. Do not do this! You will want to pick up the bones and chew (read gnaw) on them in the middle of a fine dining room. Just warning you---the lamb chops are really tasty.

I agree with you on the PG lamb chops. Unfortunately, I did receive a stern look and a light tap on the table from my DW for doing just what you said! My DW told me next time I order them we will have to be either eating on our veranda or I will be eating alone :(.

I agree with you on the PG lamb chops. Unfortunately, I did receive a stern look and a light tap on the table from my DW for doing just what you said! My DW told me next time I order them we will have to be either eating on our veranda or I will be eating alone :(.

Maybe next time take a ziplock bag with you to dinner and throw them in your wife's purse for enjoyment later in the privacy of your room! I am so glad she was not sitting at my table!

....

A word about my bar tabs. I have the same drink before dinner and I order it the exact same way EVERY time. “vodka martini up with a twist—Ketel One vodka no vermouth”. During the cruise I ordered this drink 4 times and I have four different bar tabs. They were all within $1 of each other but still thought that was strange. This will be important on my next cruise because I have the Explore Four and there price $8 limit per drink. None of my drinks were under 8 dollars so will have to consult the bartender and “No” I cannot go with the house vodka. It must be Ketel One! I will say the martinis were always perfectly prepared and presented.

 

Thanks for the reports.

Are you sure on the Ketel One? My wife drinks Ketel and soda with lime and it's $6.95, well under the limit. (We were on in December.) You're basically drinking Ketel up with a twist, shaken to chill - in a martini glass.

The lack of vermouth means it's not really a martini. It also means that you can order it like I just said and it will be $6.95. The $6.95 is your cost basis for the SBP. The drink rings up as $7.99 once the service charge is included, but the SBP eligibility is pre-service charge.

If you order the drink my special and magical way, you can have Stoli, Ketel, Absolut, or Grey Goose. Only Chopin and Belvedere are over the SBP limit.

I order my Stoli on the rocks in a wine glass, no vermouth, with a twist. $6.95+. No problem.

Sent from my XT1064 using Forums mobile app

I order my Stoli on the rocks in a wine glass' date=' no vermouth, with a twist. $6.95+. No problem.

 

Sent from my XT1064 using Forums mobile app

The issue is that the employee rings up the martini, which starts at $7.50 with well liquor. As soon as you add the call liquor, you're over limit. That's why you want a Ketel or whatever up, shaken with a twist - served in a martini glass. It gets rung up as the liquor, which is under $8.