Eurodam : Fjords , Highlands and Ireland A Review

[brazilgirl]

More general cruise comments:

 

The Lido:

 

I really liked the Lido. Friendly staff , nice variety , pretty decor. The sandwich station was excellent for lunch. I felt the salad bar could have had more variety. Ex: on Celebrity , there is shrimp to put on the salads , which I like.

 

Good blueberry pancakes , nice pastries, good bacon.

 

One thing I liked on HAL food wise : the portion size. The desserts were dainty and the MDr portions were perfect. Nice.

 

Cleanliness: kudos... Impeccable ship , always cleaning!

 

Decor: the Eurodam is lovely , IMHO. Really loved the artwork , the chairs , the color scheme. Very pleasing , much more to my taste than RCI or Carnival . Celebrity is lovely as well , both get top marks in my book.

[gummi]

fantastic review, some gorgeous pics too. nice work.

[CruiserBruce]

More general cruise comments:

 

The Lido:

 

I really liked the Lido. Friendly staff , nice variety , pretty decor. The sandwich station was excellent for lunch. I felt the salad bar could have had more variety. Ex: on Celebrity , there is shrimp to put on the salads , which I like.

 

Good blueberry pancakes , nice pastries, good bacon.

 

One thing I liked on HAL food wise : the portion size. The desserts were dainty and the MDr portions were perfect. Nice.

 

Cleanliness: kudos... Impeccable ship , always cleaning!

 

Decor: the Eurodam is lovely , IMHO. Really loved the artwork , the chairs , the color scheme. Very pleasing , much more to my taste than RCI or Carnival . Celebrity is lovely as well , both get top marks in my book.

 

Agree totally. Eurodam is beautiful, well maintained, nicely designed and the artwork is particularly nice.

 

Did you get your pancakes at the Waffle Station? Aisa, the waffle maker made me wonderful waffles every morning for 22 days. She always has a great smile and a can do attitude. She recognized DW and I everywhere, and knew exactly what DW and I wanted every day.

 

We also like the portion size. Some will call it downsizing, but after 16 cruises, we don't need to be stuffing ourselves 3 meals+ each day. HAL makes prime rib, NY Steak, tenderloin and filet mignon perfectly. Each was absolutely melt in your mouth tender, and always cooked exactly the way we like it.

[cruz chic]

More general cruise comments:

 

The Lido:

 

I really liked the Lido. Friendly staff , nice variety , pretty decor. The sandwich station was excellent for lunch. I felt the salad bar could have had more variety. Ex: on Celebrity , there is shrimp to put on the salads , which I like.

 

Good blueberry pancakes , nice pastries, good bacon.

 

One thing I liked on HAL food wise : the portion size. The desserts were dainty and the MDr portions were perfect. Nice.

 

Cleanliness: kudos... Impeccable ship , always cleaning!

 

Decor: the Eurodam is lovely , IMHO. Really loved the artwork , the chairs , the color scheme. Very pleasing , much more to my taste than RCI or Carnival . Celebrity is lovely as well , both get top marks in my book.

How can bacon be bad:D?

[brazilgirl]

Lorekauf.....

 

So true , so true! But , I like my bacon crispy and HAL made it just right!! :)

 

CruiserBruce...

 

So agree about the meat. HAL did a magnificent job with meat , always getting the wellness spot on , very tender. The portion size issue is key. I feel the diiners progressed nicely with a feeling of satsfaction at the end rather than "roll me away!" . And yes , the waffles were great too!

 

One little tiff ... On all previous cruise lines , I would request a cherry Coke and I would get a lovely Coke with a cherry and a bit of juice for the price of a Coke. When I requested this on HAL , no go. They didn't have it , wasn't possible etc. then one day they offered a Roy Rogers to my son ..wahhla! A Cherry Coke! But for $4.25! So I bowed down and starting ordering Roy Rogers , even though it had too much grenadine. On all other cruises , they were quite nice and would bring me a nice cherry Coke whenever they would see me ( those who knew me) for the price of a Coke...just a dab of juice and a cherry was perferct.

 

Of course , this was not really a problem , but my review is full of details , so :)

[erin_cruisers]

How can bacon be bad:D?

 

Lorekauf.....

So true , so true! But , I like my bacon crispy and HAL made it just right!!...

 

Okay, here I have to repectfully disagree. L:DL

 

DW & I both like our bacon barely done - soft and chewy (if that makes sense).

and on all 14 of our cruises, including HAL, the bacon is always ridiculously crispy (and flat as glass). I realize that some like it like this, but not us.

So... on cruises, we typically order the sausages instead.

 

But I do have to agree with you about the overall quality and variety of the food / meals on HAL - far superior to what we've experienced on RCI, Princess and Celebrity. ;)

 

...and the coffee is drinkable!!!! OMG - first cruise line I have been able to drink the coffee. :)

 

~~~~

Glenn

[RuthC]

Okay, here I have to repectfully disagree. L:DL

 

DW & I both like our bacon barely done - soft and chewy (if that makes sense).

Makes sense to me, 'cause that's how I like mine (the little bit I allow myself to eat of it :rolleyes:). Tastes less salty that way, too.

Sometimes in the Lido you can get it that way. Keep looking, and if you don't find it cooked the way you like, then you can use the fallback sausages.

[brazilgirl]

Okay, here I have to repectfully disagree. L:DL

 

DW & I both like our bacon barely done - soft and chewy (if that makes sense).

and on all 14 of our cruises, including HAL, the bacon is always ridiculously crispy (and flat as glass). I realize that some like it like this, but not us.

So... on cruises, we typically order the sausages instead.

 

But I do have to agree with you about the overall quality and variety of the food / meals on HAL - far superior to what we've experienced on RCI, Princess and Celebrity. ;)

 

...and the coffee is drinkable!!!! OMG - first cruise line I have been able to drink the coffee. :)

 

~~~~

Glenn

 

Soft and chewy... Well , that would be good too! I like bacon no matter what! But crispy is my fav!

[cruz chic]

Soft and chewy... Well , that would be good too! I like bacon no matter what! But crispy is my fav!

 

I'm with you. It has to be crispy. It's the bacon wars:D;).

[brazilgirl]

Dunmore East/ Waterford :

 

Our last port before disembarkation. It was a tender port. Short day , arriving at 8 , needed to be back on ship at 3:30!

 

I had arranged a private tour for the 10 of us with Ireland Chauffeur . I went down early to try and wrangle tender tickets for our group as our tour was at 8:00 and they said only HAL tour passengers could leave before 8:30. A friend who also had a group of 16 went with me to ask. We ended up getting good rickets and eere off the ship around 8:15.

 

Our driver Shane was excellent. Smart , witty , professional. The van was vey nice , bottles of water for all , brand new.

 

I had asked to be taken to the Rock of Cashel and was flexible about the rest.

 

Our first stop was at this incredible Castle perches beautifully over a river. Castle Cahir , considered the best castle in Ireland by Lonely Planet. Nobody was there and you are allowed to traipse about , climb walls , explore every nook. Really neat!.

[brazilgirl]

 

Castle Cahill from the top

 

Next we headed for the Rock of Cashel , a spectacular group of Medieval buildings perched atop a limestone outcropping.....wow is all can say , sooooo beautiful!!!

 

Hore Abbey ( below the Rock of Cashel)

 

 

Rock of Cashel

[brazilgirl]

 

Rock of Cashel

 

This place really touched me.....very spiritual no matter what your faith.

 

After exploring , our guide had made reservations for lunch at the charming Guinness Pub , where reportedly the first pint of Guiness was ever served! It was on the lower level of a stately Georgian mansion converted into a hotel. The food was wonderful and fresh.

 

We had to be back at the ship early , so we got on the rode. Our driver took us through Irish horse country and we saw Andrew Lloyd Weber's vast estate from afar. A magical area.

 

On our drive back , we stopped briefly for a picof this example of a Tudor castle. The light was stunning.

 

 

We arrived with little time to spare ( 3:15!) and got one of the last tenders back to the ship , with the big waves I mentioned before....

 

 

A really nice day..

[brazilgirl]

After Dunmore East, we had a sea day which we used for packing and relaxing before our 3 days in Amsterdam.

 

Comment: the last formal night served the traditional Surf & Turf. People seemed to respect the dress code...when they did not want to dress up , they would head for the Lido.

 

The family ( minus one...at Club HAL)

 

 

Disembarkation was swift and very well organized ( we were among the last to get off around 9:30).

 

Beautiful cruise!

[CruiserBruce]

I agree, the dress code was well followed. We have gotten into the habit of walking thru the Lido on formal nights to see what is offered. It has become far less than what is available in the MDR. Certainly no lobster, nor any filet mignon. New York steak is usually the top item.

 

The number in the Lido was pretty small. A totally unscientific analysis says 10-15% didn't meet the dress code.

 

Disembarkation was pretty smooth, given there were only 2 Dutch immigration officers checking everyone! Our group was called at 8:10. Sten was at the choke point into the immigration area cheering people on.

[brazilgirl]

I agree, the dress code was well followed. We have gotten into the habit of walking thru the Lido on formal nights to see what is offered. It has become far less than what is available in the MDR. Certainly no lobster, nor any filet mignon. New York steak is usually the top item.

 

The number in the Lido was pretty small. A totally unscientific analysis says 10-15% didn't meet the dress code.

 

Disembarkation was pretty smooth, given there were only 2 Dutch immigration officers checking everyone! Our group was called at 8:10. Sten was at the choke point into the immigration area cheering people on.

 

The 2 immigrations officers were so pleasant and cheery. They made us feel very welcome ( maybe the lines had dwindled and they were almost off work!)

[mamaofami]

I've really enjoyed your review, but for some reason the only pictures that showed on my screen were two on page 6. I don't know why and wish I could see them.

 

I like my bacon barely cooked also. I never eat it at home, but when on a cruise I allow myself a few slices. It's hard to find it cooked the way I like it.

Edited August 9, 2013 by mamaofami

[brazilgirl]

I've really enjoyed your review, but for some reason the only pictures that showed on my screen were two on page 6. I don't know why and wish I could see them.

 

I like my bacon barely cooked also. I never eat it at home, but when on a cruise I allow myself a few slices. It's hard to find it cooked the way I like it.

 

What a pity! Not sure what is going on with the photos? Anyone have any ideas?

 

I almost never eat bacon at home , but on vacation , I eat it every day!! :)

[erin_cruisers]

Great review, Kim.

LOVED the pics. (especially your Castle pics, since I only got to see one - Shetland Islands).

 

Great formal family pic too. ;)

 

Anyway, I think its the picture-server at tapatalk (img.tapatalk.com).

My browser (Opera) tells me what is happening during a page load, and now when I try to load Page One, it says its waiting for more pics to load, and from where, then finally gives up.

But the pictures on this and previous page show up.

 

~~~~

Glenn

Edited August 9, 2013 by erin_cruisers

[JamesEM]

I was unable to view your last batch of photos.

[PSR]

I saw all of your pictures, including yesterday's (8/8), but I was online earlier than usual, about 12 noon PDT. When I saw the comments tonight about the latest pictures, I tried to relook at the tapatalk ones I had seen earlier, and again they were not loading. I think if those that cannot see the newest pictures will check back later on 8/9, they might be able to see them. I am not familiar with tapatalk at all, but the site seems to having some problems.

Edited August 9, 2013 by PSR

[brazilgirl]

I wanted to wrap this up with a comment about our 3 days post cruise in Amsterdam.

 

We'd been there before , briefly , on a Baltic cruise. We visited the Anne Frank House and did a nice canal tour on our previous stop.

 

When we arrived at the cruise terminal , we took a big van ( 25 Euros) to our hotel , The Toren. The Toren is an incredible place , which I highly recommend. The staff is incredible , as is the location , right on a canal near the Jordaan ( right around the block from the Jordaan area).

 

Amstedam was bustling , vibrant and hot! We had Amsterdam Cards which included public transport , good option.

 

We visited the Van Gogh Museum , the Diamond Museum ( the only disappointing place on our entire trip...not worth visiting) Madame Tussuad's ( daughter loves it! ) . We walked all over the city , explored the shops , had ice cream and watched the Gay Pride Parade Saturday. Such color and energy.

 

The kids loved Amsterdam , as did we....then back home to real life!

 

Bikers , bikers everywhere!

 

Van Gogh

 

Gay Pride Canal Parade

[brazilgirl]

Final thoughts:

 

HAL ...i really enjoyed sailing HAL and would not hesitate to sail again on her ships. Nice crew , good food , clean , excellent room service ,beautiful ship.

 

Itinerary: Amazing , perfect . Where I think HAL really excels is the creative and different itineraries. This was a winner.

 

Negatives: hard to find fault in such a lovely trip. If I had to nitpick , the embarkation process was a bit slow , the immigration process in Shetland was not cool and they could have made me my cherry Cokes , lol. I rwally loved everything.

 

I liked Celebrity and HAL about equally as far as service , food etc. Celebrity wins in the entertainment department , HAL has a nicer library area . I would say HAL wins in the itinerary dept. , which is what is most important to me .

 

Thanks for reading!

[cruz chic]

Loved your review. Thanks so much.

[cccole]

What a great review. I was like AlohaPride and thought, I'm not going to read this because I'll be so jealous. You did such a great job with your written review and pictures, and it is always fun for me to see reviews from families. We have also traveled internationally with our 3 children since they were 6 weeks old and think the experiences are incredible. Thank you so much for the review, it was just fabulous!!!!! Cherie

[brazilgirl]

I really appreciate it!! It is always fun to relive the trip. :)