Eurodam Viking Passage September 2015 Review

[Aussie Jo]

Fantastic photos. We also hired a car from Star in Lerwick, but headed straight south. Didn't realise the great coastal scenery up north. Thanks for your review and for sharing your photos.

[TeDaKi]

Day 17: St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada (Docked 12:00-20:00 ship time / 11:30-19:30 local time)

Weather: Partly cloudy. Max temperature 22C / 71F

Free wifi: Various cafés around town

 

We were able to sleep a little longer this morning because of our noon arrival to St. John's. The breakfast at Lido buffet at 09:30AM was quiet busy. I'm guessing most people wanted to get a good breakfast before setting off for the day in St. John's. At around 10:15, we could see the coast of Newfoundland in the distance.

 

Approaching Newfoundland:

 

It was a beautiful day, only a few clouds, and warm at 20C, but a little cool in the wind.

 

We entered the Narrows at about 11:15, passing Signal Hill and the Battery houses on the right side.

 

The Narrows:

 

Signal Hill:

 

The Battery:

 

St. John's:

 

Colourful houses:

 

The ship docked at about 11:35 and was cleared by noon ship time.

[TeDaKi]

Day 17: St. John's, Newfoundland continued ...

 

We disembarked right away as we had a tour booked with Legend Tours. We couldn’t rent a car in St. John’s today because it was a Sunday and the car rental offices were closed. Our tour with Legend Tours was to start at 12:30, but this was 12:30 local time. So, in reality, we had disembarked at 11:30 local time, which meant we had to wait for less than an hour. We weren't complaining though, there were Newfoundland dogs at the pier and also Irish type music. Being from Ireland, it was interesting to hear the Irish music and even the Irish accents the Newfoundland people have. Last year, we spent 2 weeks touring Newfoundland and loved it so much. The people are so friendly and welcoming. St. John's is only a 4 hour flight from Dublin, and I notice that there are a lot of similarities between Ireland and Newfoundland. The accent is similar, and also the coastline scenery.

 

Our tour started at 13:00 ship time. The first stop was Cape Spear - the most easterly point in North America. We visited here last year so we knew what to expect. We spent about 30 minutes there.

 

Cape Spear Lighthouse:

 

 

The most easterly point:

 

Next stop was Petty Harbour which was pretty and we spent 15 minutes there.

 

Petty Harbour:

 

Our tour then drove through St. John's where the tour guide pointed out some sites. Next up was Quidi Vidi. This is a very picturesque harbour. We were also here last year. The tour only spent 10 minutes here but I think we should have spent longer there as it's very nice.

 

Quidi Vidi harbour:

 

Quidi Vidi:

[TeDaKi]

Day 17: St. John's, Newfoundland continued ...

 

The final stop was Signal Hill where you have a great panorama of St. John's. We spent about 30 minutes here.

 

View of St. John's from Signal Hill:

 

Cabot Tower:

 

The tour bus dropped us off at the pier at about 16:30 ship time.

 

We got on the ship for a quick snack at the Lido and went back out to the town for some shopping and a walk around.

 

St. John's is nice and very walkable. We walked along the main street, Water Street, and walked around the back streets where the colourful houses are located.

 

 

 

After our walk around the town, we got back on-board at about 19:00 ship time. The ship dropped lines at 19:45 ship time and we sailed back out through the Narrows. We went up to the top deck.

 

 

Sailing back out through The Narrows

 

While passing Signal Hill, a gun salute was given to the ship. Though, it was definitely nothing to write home about. The gun salute almost sounded like party poppers!!

 

After this, we were back out to open sea and went for dinner to the main dining room. Just like most other nights, it was easy to get a table and not busy at all.

[TeDaKi]

Day 18: Cruising at sea (SEA DAY 5)

Weather: Partly cloudy. Max temperature 20C / 68F

 

At 02:00AM, the clocks went back one hour. Not much to report of today. There weren't many interesting lectures today that I wanted to go to, nor was there lunch in the main dining room. Apart from walking 3 miles on the promenade deck, it was a very relaxing day.

[TeDaKi]

Day 19: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (Docked 08:00-16:00)

Weather: Partly cloudy. Max temperature 21C / 70F

Free wifi: there was supposed to be free wifi at the port, but I didn't have time to check.

 

I was in a deep sleep until I heard my phone's alarm clock ringing at 06:15AM - time to get up. We went to the Lido for breakfast at 06:30AM and it was quiet. There was a beautiful sunrise, so I went back down to our cabin to fetch my camera to take photos of it.

 

Sunrise:

 

We finished breakfast at about 07:15 and it was starting to get busy as we were leaving. We went out on the promenade deck to watch the ship pull into port. Nearing the dock, we could see and hear bagpipe players greeting the ship. It was lovely. It was now about 08:00 and the ship was just idling about, we were not moving, and only about 20 metres from the pier. I don't know what the delay was, but at 08:20, the ship was docked and the gangway loaded.

 

Downtown Halifax:

 

About 5 minutes later, the ship was cleared and we could disembark from deck 2. There was a mass of people waiting to get off. It was like the whole ship wanted to get off at the same time! We eventually got off and found ourselves walking outside to the Hertz Rental car office, which is conveniently located near the ship's terminal. We got to the office, filled out some paperwork, picked up the car and at about 09:00, we were on our way.

 

Our rented car for the day: A Jeep Patriot. We actually reserved a compact car, but this was an upgrade they gave us!

 

Our first stop was Peggy's Cove. Located about 50 minutes from the cruise port, Peggy's Cove is beautiful. The weather was perfect - partly cloudy and not foggy. I was here last year on two occasions - one time it was very foggy, and the other day, it was sunny and hot. The tour buses were there ahead of us though! We spent about one hour in Peggy's Cove, wandering around the fishing harbour, lighthouse and shops.

 

 

[TeDaKi]

Day 19: Halifax, Nova Scotia continued ...

 

More Peggy's Cove photos:

 

 

 

 

[TeDaKi]

Day 19: Halifax, Nova Scotia continued ...

 

We then drove back to Halifax, and we made a stop at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, which is where the Titanic grave site is located. We were also here last year, when we had the place to ourselves. But this time, it was busy. There were lots of bus groups coming and going. We spent about 15 minutes here.

 

 

 

Then it was off to a Walmart! We like Walmart because we can get things that we can't get in Ireland. We spent 1 hour in Walmart and then we headed back to the port. We dropped off the car at 14:20, and went back on-board to drop off our shopping. We then went back outside to have a quick walk around the boardwalk and farmers market. We only had a short while because all aboard was 15:30.

 

Boardwalk:

 

 

I think there was free wifi at the port but I didn't have time to check. At 15:20, we got back on-board, had a quick snack and headed outside for sailaway. A NCL ship left before us and we started to leave at 16:10.

 

 

Before we knew it, we were back out at open sea, so we went back to our room to get ready for dinner.

[Skipper's Mom]

Enjoying your review and photos. You should think about getting into the travel business in some capacity.

[TeDaKi]

Day 20: Cruising at sea (SEA DAY 6)

Weather: Sunny. Max temperature 21C / 70F

 

At 2am, the clocks went back one hour. Nothing much happened today.

 

The only thing I went to was a Q&A with the captain at the Mainstage at 2pm. Our captain, Captain Werner Timmers. At the end of the show, I got my photo taken with him and he was very friendly. We told him we were from Ireland, he told us that he honeymooned there and he spent quite a while chatting with us! He was the nicest and funniest captain we have ever had on a cruise ship.

 

It was nice and sunny outside today, so I sat out on the Promenade deck for a good while to get some sunshine.

 

I always find that the last sea day flies by so quickly and this one was no different. Before we knew it, we were getting back out our suitcases from under the bed and packing them!

 

Also, the captain announced our anticipated arrival time into New York tomorrow. He said that we expect to pass under the bridge at 04:30AM, the Statue of Liberty at 05:00AM, and alongside at 06:00AM. So, we'll have to be up early if we want to experience a sail in to New York!

 

Once again, we went to dinner to the Rembrandt Dining Room at around 20:20 and it was surprisingly busy, in fact, the busiest night of the cruise. We were in bed by 22:00 and set the alarm clock for 04:15AM.

[TeDaKi]

Day 21: New York, New York, United States (arrive 06:00)

Weather: Sunny. Max temperature 25C / 77F

 

I woke up to the sound of my alarm ringing at 04:15AM and immediately turned on the TV to check if the bridge was near. I could see it and it wasn't too far away. We all got up and went outside.

 

It was so early, and a good few people were out too. We passed under the bridge at exactly 04:30AM and then got a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline ahead.

 

The bridge:

 

 

We passed the Statue of Liberty at just before 05:00AM and cruised our way up the Hudson, admiring the skyline, before pulling into Pier 88 at about 05:50AM.

 

 

 

 

 

The sail into New York was a great end to the cruise and something I have always wanted to experience.

[TeDaKi]

Day 21: New York continued ...

 

Because our disembarkation time was 10:00AM, we had lots of time to spare, so we went to back to bed. I actually fell asleep for about an hour and was awoken by the first disembarkation group announcement at 07:00AM.

 

We went up to the Lido at 08:30AM and had a slow breakfast and it was nice and quiet...most people had already gotten off.

 

Breakfast, admiring the Manhattan skyline:

 

 

 

 

While going back to our room, we noticed that the majority of rooms were already vacated. We then got all of our belongings and left the room to go to the Queen’s Lounge to wait for our number to be called. There was a slight delay but we were eventually off by 10:20AM, saying goodbye to the Eurodam.

 

We picked up our luggage, went through customs and immigration and were out on the street at around 11:10AM waiting for a taxi to JFK. We got to JFK, but our flight wasn't leaving until 18:35 with British Airways, so we just waited around for the flight. The time went quickly as we were all reminiscing about our fantastic time on the Eurodam and looking back at our photos. After a quick 6 hour flight to London, we arrived there the next morning and connected for our 50 minute flight to Dublin. We were home by midday, tired from all the travelling.

 

We are home now, feeling sorry for ourselves, having to make the bed and cook our own meals! Oh well, time to go cruise shopping and look forward to another cruise!

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

That's it! My first trip report completed. I hope you enjoyed it.

 

See you all again very soon!

 

John

[Herkimer18]

Rick and I were also on this cruise with you, John. I believe your cabin was near ours. I recognized you and your family from your picture. We also shared the same bus tour in St. John's. Your review is just wonderful. I have looked at it several times and forwarded it on to my daughters so they could see what you captured so beautifully. I agree that this cruise was special, the captain, staff, CC members, weather, ports, all combined to make it exceptional.

[StartrainDD]

John, thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us. This is a cruise I would love to do but can't take three weeks off at that time of year, so it has to wait.

 

A couple of comments: Captain Timmers is the best captain we've ever sailed with. He was captain of Ryndam when we cruised to the North Cape. And yes, we loved his "Grandma's Dutch Apple Pie" session! Very friendly and willing to interact with passengers.

 

Panasonic Lumix: I am on my third one. Great camera! I still use the first one I bought (DMC-FH27) as it fits in my pocket and takes great photos. Before our Alaska cruise I bought a DMC-FZ70 (60x optical zoom) and got incredible Eagle and Bear photos in Alaska! Great choice.

 

High on our cruise "Wish list" is Ireland! But cruises only go there mid-summer and that is not a time I can take enough time off. Hope to make it there in a few years.

[Barrheadlass]

Loved, loved your pictures and comments. Absolutely fabulous. I'm doing the Voyage of the Vikings next summer so many of your ports were particularly interesting. Thanks for sharing with us!

[rguy123]

Nice review

[dzmom]

This was a great review with awesome pix. Thanks so much for sharing! I felt like I was there! :)

[sammiedawg]

Your photos and narrative are terrific. You certainly had great luck with weather. We were on an Iceland Greenland sailing in late June and the weather was bad. We missed Prince Christian sound and four ports.

I enjoyed your mention of Captain Timmers, the only captain that really made an impression on me. He is a gem of a man and we loved his cooking and lecture events.

[Vict0riann]

I understand the "cruise withdrawal" thing. I'm feeling it too, vicariously, as I almost feel I went along on this cruise with you. Thanks so much!:D

[hugger]

I understand the "cruise withdrawal" thing. I'm feeling it too, vicariously, as I almost feel I went along on this cruise with you. Thanks so much!:D

 

I could feel the sadness begin as you wrote about pulling out the luggage - THANK YOU for taking the time to share your journey with us here on CC.

 

What an incredible young man you are - I can tell from your writing and the pictures you take that you truly ENJOY seeing the world and telling about it.

 

THANKS once again!

[Laurino]

Thank you for a great review with amazing photos.

It was also a fun touch in the beginning with photos from Malmö (where I work) and Helsingborg (where I live).

[scluvsrain]

Yes, we noticed this as well. It's not a HAL thing as we've been on 2 other HAL cruises. On the Eurodam our stateroom attendants were friendly but distant and didn't introduce themselves when we arrived.

 

I've only sailed on HAL and most of the time the room stewards come by and introduce themselves. On the Eurodam last year (we did this same cruise) our stewards fell all over themselves to say hello nearly every day and always asked if we needed or wanted anything etc.

 

On a prior cruise, they even left cards in the cabin so we wouldn't forget their names.

 

I've also been on a few where you just don't see them all that often, but you know they're there since your beds are freshly made in the mornings and then you come back from dinner/the show to see your towel animals and your beds turned down.

[marthastella]

We had a different experience with the attendants. The first day they introduced themselves to us and called us by name throughout the cruise.

 

Fabulous trip report.

[scluvsrain]

John,

 

What a great review of your cruise! I was on the Eurodam last year for this nearly identical itinerary and your review plus photos really brought back the lovely memories.

 

I agree, the day spent sailing through Prince Christian Sund was probably the highlight, although we got to spend 3 full days in Reyjkavik (sp) so we got to see lots of that beautiful area. But we missed Lerwick, and so seeing your photos - especially that one of the pony - helped me see what I missed!

 

Thanks so much for your wonderful posts!

[aliaschief]

Just want to say thanks for all the time spent in providing us a virtual tour of your cruise. Brought back great memories.

 

Having done this cruise last year it reminded us of how much we loved this very special itininary.

 

For all who spend all day here on Cruise Critic voicing dissatisfaction and speculating how bad Holland America is. They should call their TA and book this cruise.

 

Thanks again. Fantastic job.