Review of Eurodam Barcelona/Barcelona May 5-12

[tanyanubin]

I travelled with my husband, brother and sister in law. The 4 of us had never sailed Holland America before. We'd been on Royal Caribbean and Carnival, which were both fine. We book by itinerary. This trip was a make-up for one we had booked last year on Regent that was cancelled because of the volcano. We first did 4 wonderful days in Paris, then arrived a day early in Barcelona. Wonderful! I liked our room, which was a regular balcony room on deck 6 adjacent to my brother and his wife, who were in a larger one. Anyway, some real high points of this trip were: the food! it was magnificent! I had the absolute best surf and turf of my life in the main dining room. I have never had lobster that good. Ever. And my husband and sister in law went on and on about fish they had in the Lido...it was amazing, apparently. Very impressive! The beds were terrific! And another high point was Michael the piano guy. We had the absolute best time at the piano bar! What fun! He coaxed my husband up to sing a solo, and it was one of the highlights of our whole trip! The room cleaning was amazing---so fast, like ninjas, lol! Sadly though, there was mildew in our bathroom that was there when we got there and was still there when we left. Also, despite just having a ship makeover, our sink was full of cracks and chips. I dont think we'll cruise on HA again, because there simply isn't enough to do. It is a very quiet place to be, with a much older crowd of people than we're used to (although we'd fit into the lower part of the demographic just fine). They seem to aim their entertainment toward people in their 70's and 80's...the one show we stayed through was an eye-opener. Jimmy Durante and other 40's style songs?..wow. I think they need to drag themselves into at least the 60s, lol. We booked a family retreat cabana, and were very excited about it. Somehow though, our info got garbled, because when we went up the retreat the attendant up there would not serve us until he could find us in the records. That took hours. Mind you, we were the only ones booked into the retreat! But once we were proved to be actually booked there, it was lovely, especially on warmer, less windy days. One other wrinkle was that, before we sailed I had called Holland America to ask if they have non-dairy creamer on board. They assured me that they do. So I did not bother to pack any more than I needed for the land portion of our vacation, as we were already really tightly packed. But when it came time for coffe that first morning, the fun began. Each and every morning the staff came up with a different response to my request, from 'we don't have any' to 'we've never had that' to 'here is some skim milk' to 'stay right here, I'll get some' (and they never came back--that happened multiple times). I asked this simple thing of everyone up to the manager, as well as from room service. (please understand--I don't have a little lactose intolerance. Dairy causes a burning in the throat, which progresses to asthma. It's either go cold turkey off coffee and deal with day-long headaches, or drink it black. ugh! lol) Anyway, the main dining room was able to miraculously find the nonexistent creamer! So I asked for a number of packets to keep with me. Lo and behold, the room ninjas threw them out when they cleaned our room! lol...it became a running joke throughout the trip. I seriously worry for people with dietary needs more serious than mine! On one excursion, the one to Rome, our little tour speakers did not work properly, so we (and most others on our tour) could not hear our guide. Some mis-scheduling also occured that we were not privy to, and it caused us to miss time in the Coliseum and witness an epic screaming fight between our two female tour guides in Italian in the parking lot! None of the above issues ruined our trip. Nothing could have done that. We ALWAYS have a good time, no matter where we go! So please don't flame. This is for information only!

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review, not all lines work for everyone, HAL is not know for lots of activities, particularly late night.

 

Kirk

[Krazy Kruizers]

thank you for your review

 

sorry about that non-dairy problem

 

when you got the packets -- why didn't you put them away in a drawer so that they weren't accidently thrown out?

[erewhon]

Thank you for the review of your cruise.

[CtheW0rld]

hurt my eyes trying to read one long paragraph so i didn't make it through.

 

thanks for trying, though.

[kazu]

Thank you for your review. Glad you enjoyed the food.

 

Sorry you had issues with the milk and the entertainment. We love the Adagio strings and tend to spend a bit of time there.

 

each to their own. Have a great cruise whatever line you choose to sail on:)

[samnewbie]

Thanks for the review.

 

I'm particularly interested in all the Med reviews that are posted with ours being a Med cruise also.

 

Glad you enjoyed the food and the cruise overall. The food is one of the main things we are hoping will live up to expectations and reviews I have read :D

 

Shame about the creamer problem, we too will have a specific dietry need (gluten free) but fingers crossed that will all be plain sailing :)

 

Kazu we are looking forward to hearing the Adagio Strings, our 15 year old is very musical, plays violin, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, ukelele, keyboards and piano and she is looking forward to hearing the string quartet immensely :D

 

Thanks again for the review

 

Sam :)

[catl331]

I guess a new rule would be: if you have to have a certain product: soap, shampoo, creamer, nonsugar, or tea bags, bring your own.

 

We get so exhausted touring on European cruises that we have no idea what nightlife was offered!:p

[tanyanubin]

Yes, I'll never depend on a hotel or cruise line for creamer again. I'll just make room, lol. It became funny after a few days. It was REALLY funny when my husband threw the last of my creamer in my luggage in Paris before our flight down to Barcelona, and didn't snap it shut properly. It opened up and went all over the clothes. I was suprised that it got through airport security the way it looked....white powder all over everything! lol!

Krazy Kruizers-- I did squirrel away some packets once, which were thrown away. Unfortunately I was never able to get more than 2 or 3 of them to take away with me again.