Eurodam 11/10/12 then Westerdam 11/18/12

[GRACECRUISE]

We just got back from a back to back of sorts. We did the Eurodam Nov 10 then the Westerdam Nov 18. Quite interesting doing the two ships back to back. This was our first trip on the Westerdam and marked our 300 days.

 

Our week on the Eurodam was great. We were in room 1001 right by the theatre and loved the location. The food was very good. We ate at both the Pinnacle and the Tamarind (lunch and dinner). The Tamarind was actually a better dinner than at the Pinnacle.

 

Entertainment was good. The singers and dancers did most of the shows. They had 4 singers and 10 dancers.

 

Turned out to be a Club 21 cruise which was a turnoff. The casino was packed and the smoking was out of control. Would try to avoid that in the future. We had never encounted that much activity in the casino before. We saved money since we had a hard time finding a machine to play.

 

We hit all the ports and had great weather. HMC was wonderful.

 

The Westerdam was another story. We were in 1018 which was a spacious L shaped room. One of our all time favorite rooms.

 

For us it was the Thefterdam. There seemed to be alot of kids on board being Thanksgiving. Lots running the halls and leaving pool towels all of the ship. The first night out someone stole our red and white mailbox monkey. It had sailed with us since day 1. We talked to front desk and security. They said no cameras in halls, it was gone.

 

The GRM left a message on our phone stating that she saw it, it was cute and we were enticing someone to steal it. I put a sign on our door asking for its return. That was then taken off and moved to the elevators by someone (we had quite a few teens on our hall). GRM called again and accused us of posting signs throughout the elevators. We told her we did not post anything in the elevators. She made a few more accusations. She is quite a bully. She made a bunch of excuses and was very mean. I really thought she was calling to say hey were are so sorry that happened, please don't let it spoil your cruise. Was I wrong.

 

The cruise director, Jason, did make an announcement at the end of cruise asking parents to see if their children picked up some things that did not belong to them. Seemed there were quite a few passengers with things missing and things broken on the Westerdam due to the children.

 

We missed the port of Grand Cayman. Two RCI ships in but they got the two good spots due to the wind. The food was ok. The had lobster tails 2 nights. The second night my dad for 2 lobster tails that were half raw. Soups were very salty. The Pinnacle Grill was fantastic.

 

We went to the cupcake tea on both ships. They were polar opposites. Eurodam cupcakes were fresh and the scones were hot and soft. We laughed at the one on the Westerdam. The lady next us tried to cut her cupcake with a knife and had a hard time. The scones were cold and hard as a hockey puck. The server dropped one and it landed on the plate with a loud thud.

 

Overall the Eurodam wins. This was the first time where they charged for cappicino and expresso in the MDR. The was a surprise. I do not think they were charging on the Westerdam since it was not on the menu.

 

I know many others love the Westerdam but I think this will be our one and only time on her.

[boze9999]

Thanks for your comparison review. Nice point of differentiation. I agree with you regarding Club 21. We were (unknowingly) on two Club 21 cruises and the world of HAL revolved around them. As you mentioned, not only was the casino impossible to get in to, we felt their presence beginning with the pre-boarding process (they had priority boarding ahead of everyone, including PH & SA guests). Next it was their invitations to all of the 3*/4* parties & PH/SA parties (whether they were appropriately starred or suite guests). And to really rub it in, many we met throughout the cruise bragged about their complimentary room bookings (for 2), including SA-B-C suite bookings....Guess we need to take some Club 21 lessons.....

[NoobCruise]

Aw, I'm sorry the Westerdam was such a disappointment. It sounds like the monkey business colored your whole cruise, especially with how the staff responded. There were hardley any kids on our cruise Sept 1st and service was excellent. I guess WHEN you cruise really matters for the kid population. I don't remember seeing any teens at all. Just a few little ones probably under 8. I agree about the desserts though. For us, the cakes had a soggy consistency the entire week. I stated so on our end of cruise survey, so it's kind of funny that yours ended up too hard. We were very disappointed in the desserts, but it was a minor issue for us.

 

 

The Eurodam sounds fabulous! I'm glad you had a great time on that one.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the comparison between the two ships. Do you think if there had not been all the kids and the theft, you might have enjoyed the Westerdam better? Just a thought.:)

[vicocala]

Thank you for sharing your report. It was very interesting, yet disturbing to me because I will be on the Westerdam in less than three weeks. It will also be the beginning of Christmas vacation so I would expect more school aged children on board. I don't mind children a bit if they are properly supervised and actually enjoy them.

 

I'm really sorry that you had such a bad time the second week.

[ellieanne]

Glad you had a good time on the Eurodam. 1001/1002 are my favourite cabins on the ship and the ones I always request -- even above balcony cabins. I cannot wait for my cruise on the Eurodam (in cabin 1001) next October.

 

Sorry your experience on the Westerdam was so bad. I did not like the layout of the Westerdam's sister ship Oosterdam, so I have not tried any other Vista class ships.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your review. Interesting differences between the two cruises. Makes me not want to go on a holiday cruise. I hope you would give the Westerdam another try as it sounds like the holiday (and the mean GRM) were the reason you did not enjoy it.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Thank your for your reviews and comparing your experiences on the 2 ships.

Sorry that you had problems on the Westerdam.

It seems to be hit and miss as to which ships are charging for espresso and cappucino in the dining room.

A couple of years we sailed over Thanksgiving. Lots of children -- many controlled by the parents. Many people had damage done to the scooters. Items were stollen as well. It wasn't too bas last year on the Noordam but the year before on the Nieuw Amsterdam - bad.