First time on HAL, sailing on Eurodam to Alaska

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am enjoying your reports.

We love the Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill for dinners as well.

[boze9999]

As to the internet....

 

They have 3 tiers of WiFi: social for $14.99 per day, surf for $24.99 per day and premium for $29.99 per day. That’s what was on the informational flier handed out.

 

 

You can have more than 1 account per stateroom but only one device at a time used on each account.

 

We Bought premium, and it was 7 days for $139.99 for each account. Once you go to the buy page, it gives you that “deal” of a price for the entire cruise. It seems better than the 1000minutes for $250, maybe?

 

 

Premium Allows for audio/video, calling and streaming. We bought 2 accounts for our room, so we could have flexibility on who would have access to WiFi.

 

 

It’s a bit quirky as it keeps logging us out, not sure about the timeframe, but it’s ok for speed.

 

At last! Glad to hear HAL is finally matching their competition and is offering three tiers/price points for unlimited internet!

[goose&mav]

Hi...glad you are enjoying the cruise. Question on the internet. The premium package at $29.99 a day, is that for unlimited internet? If so I think that is a very good value. Look forward to your next report. Maryjo

 

I believe it is unlimited internet! With the way my daughter watches those you tube kids videos I would have been afraid the 1000 minutes for the old package were not enough!

 

One quirk is that the internet will automatically log you off after an hour, even if you are using it. Also, only one device per account at a time.

 

Slow at times but I’m glad to have access.

[goose&mav]

We have not done any of the nightly shows as yet. We’re just enjoying the views from our room and relaxing.

 

We did go to the spa and did the fire and ice manicure for my daughter and myself. That was very nice. Warm stone massage on your arms and hands, followed by a very cooling gel placed on your arms and hands to relieve fatigue. Not much selection for colors, but overall a great experience. A lot of women were having blowouts for gala night when we went.

 

We did not do gala night but we did see a lot of passegengers very nicely dressed, sparkly dresses, cocktail dresses, and men in jackets. Photographers were there to take pictures.

 

Back to last night. We did room service which was excellent!! We ordered off the MDR menu and an item from the all day dining menu and from the kids menu. Very quick service and food was nice and hot. The prime rib was delicious!

[Rebecca.Claire]

We have not done any of the nightly shows as yet. We’re just enjoying the views from our room and relaxing.

 

We did go to the spa and did the fire and ice manicure for my daughter and myself. That was very nice. Warm stone massage on your arms and hands, followed by a very cooling gel placed on your arms and hands to relieve fatigue. Not much selection for colors, but overall a great experience. A lot of women were having blowouts for gala night when we went.

 

We did not do gala night but we did see a lot of passegengers very nicely dressed, sparkly dresses, cocktail dresses, and men in jackets. Photographers were there to take pictures.

 

Back to last night. We did room service which was excellent!! We ordered off the MDR menu and an item from the all day dining menu and from the kids menu. Very quick service and food was nice and hot. The prime rib was delicious!

Thank you for this info too! :)

[goose&mav]

Today we’re sailing glacier bay. We woke up to beautiful views again from the aft verandah. It’s much chillier than yesterday in Juneau! What a temperature difference. Definitely sunny though which is great so weather is excellent!

 

We ate at the pinnacle grill for breakfast and I must say, I am very happy here. The food is excellent and the service is superb. (I’m running out of adjectives....) It’s quiet, we don’t have to struggle to find a table and it’s more my speed. My husband likes the Lido more because he likes the choice of the buffet selection there. I really like the Swiss muesli — you get a nice big bowl at the pinnacle grill as well as the choice of a pan Asian breakfast with miso soup.

 

The Neptune suite passengers and whoever is allowed to go into the Neptune lounge were invited to a viewing at the Tamarind starting at 10 am today, hosted by our concierges. We were given pea soup at 10:30 as we crossed into glacier bay and were able to order from the bar. It was nice as the room was nice and warm and we were able to view the bay without any fuss while listening to the announcements.

 

We did go out to the observation area on deck and it was really great. The sheer scale of everything is incredible.

 

We went to the Lido for lunch and it was again a madhouse! We could not find a table so we left to go to the MDR for lunch. The staff were very nice and the food was great. It was our first time in the MDR. The decor was quite nice, the flowers on some of the tables were quite lovely.

[goose&mav]

I am so excited to read your "live" trip report! My husband and I are sailing this cruise in two weeks and your posts have been great!

Have you experienced any of the nightly events yet? Shows, live music? The last time I sailed on the Eurodam was her inaugural year so I know many things have changed since then. Hoping to see some photos of the ship when you have a chance!

 

I’m so excited for you as I know you will have a great cruise! My experience on the eurodam is better than I could have even expected!

[emjayel56]

I am so excited to read your "live" trip report! My husband and I are sailing this cruise in two weeks and your posts have been great!

Have you experienced any of the nightly events yet? Shows, live music? The last time I sailed on the Eurodam was her inaugural year so I know many things have changed since then. Hoping to see some photos of the ship when you have a chance!

 

Looks like you will embark when I disembark.. I know how excited you are feeling. Can't wait to get there Saturday morning to start my journey. Hope you have a great cruise. Maryjo

[MsEuroDayum]

Thanks so much for this report! I'm taking the same cruise in July, and this is such a fantastic preview! I hope y'all are having a great day today!

[goose&mav]

 

Ok, just found out the best way to post pictures!

I did a search on cruise critic and found a thread that recommended Tapatalk.

I am trying it out right now. If I could only get my iCloud to work from my phone to my iPad, I can get scenic pictures!

 

Here’s a screenshot I took of the internet plans for those interested.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[emjayel56]

 

Ok, just found out the best way to post pictures!

I did a search on cruise critic and found a thread that recommended Tapatalk.

I am trying it out right now. If I could only get my iCloud to work from my phone to my iPad, I can get scenic pictures!

 

Here’s a screenshot I took of the internet plans for those interested.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Thank you for posting this and for taking the time to post daily updates. I read each one and am learning alot for my cruise on Saturday. Appreciate the updates! Enjoy your day. Maryjo

[Songs4Life]

I'm really enjoying reading your posts. We will be first time cruisers, going in August. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Caught up with your reports.

We love having breakfast in the Pinnacle. Nice and calm.

[MsEuroDayum]

I just thought of a question! As I plan ahead for packing - I've read that they offer laundry service on the ship, but any tips for traveling with a suit to prevent it from getting all wrinkly? Or is there an ironing/dry cleaning option on board? This is probably something I just should know as a relatively functional adult.

[dmg1956]

I just thought of a question! As I plan ahead for packing - I've read that they offer laundry service on the ship, but any tips for traveling with a suit to prevent it from getting all wrinkly? Or is there an ironing/dry cleaning option on board? This is probably something I just should know as a relatively functional adult.

There are no ironing/dry cleaning options on board the Eurodam save for your paying for ship services to do it for you. Unless you are in a Neptune Suite where laundry/dry cleaning/pressing is complimentary.

 

Enjoy your cruise. We are doing Eurodam/Alaska at the end of July.

[RuthC]

I just thought of a question! As I plan ahead for packing - I've read that they offer laundry service on the ship, but any tips for traveling with a suit to prevent it from getting all wrinkly? Or is there an ironing/dry cleaning option on board? This is probably something I just should know as a relatively functional adult.

Some of the smaller ships (R-class on down) still have laundry rooms with irons & ironing boards in them. All the ships have ironing and dry cleaning services.

 

To help prevent wrinkles in the first place, pack the garment in dry cleaner plastic bags. For whatever reason, it helps.

If there are some light wrinkles, the garment can be hung in the shower (after the shower has been taken!) and the steam will help release them.

There is also a product called Downey Wrinkle Release which can help get rid of them.

[MsEuroDayum]

Thanks everyone! Y'all are so helpful!

[Songs4Life]

Thanks so much for this report! I'm taking the same cruise in July, and this is such a fantastic preview! I hope y'all are having a great day today!

MsEuroDayum, nice username :)

Edited June 20, 2018 by Songs4Life
Edited to add smiley face

[Shebba]

Thank you for your nice report. We will be on the Eurodam June 23-30. We're excited to have an aft, wrap-around deck! 3 more days and we set sail!

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[PSDottie]

I think the Eurodam has dueling pianos rather than a regular piano bar which is on the Zuiderdam. Can you tell me who the entertainers are and a little about them? My daughter, two granddaughters and I will be sailing July 28. Six years ago we did Alaska on Disney and I know this will be completely different.

 

Thx

[emjayel56]

Thank you for your nice report. We will be on the Eurodam June 23-30. We're excited to have an aft, wrap-around deck! 3 more days and we set sail!

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

 

I'm on the same sailing as you! My friend surprised me last week with this cruise for my birthday. I leave for Seattle in the morning! Safe travels... SEA ya aboard!

 

Maryjo

[Shebba]

I'm on the same sailing as you! My friend surprised me last week with this cruise for my birthday. I leave for Seattle in the morning! Safe travels... SEA ya aboard!

 

Maryjo

 

That's a WONDERFUL surprise. We can hardly wait to set sail. Have safe travels. Sea you soon!! :)

[goose&mav]

I think the Eurodam has dueling pianos rather than a regular piano bar which is on the Zuiderdam. Can you tell me who the entertainers are and a little about them? My daughter, two granddaughters and I will be sailing July 28. Six years ago we did Alaska on Disney and I know this will be completely different.

 

Thx

 

 

 

Sorry, we haven’t been partaking of the evening entertainment!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[goose&mav]

Yesterday we arrived in Sitka. We were running a bit late and arrived at the port about a ?half hr past what we were expecting.

We booked another excursion through HAL called sea otters and wildlife quest.

 

We ate at the pinnacle grill for breakfast, again, a wonderful venue to eat!

 

We made our way off the ship and met the group. It was a bit disorganized to figure out which line to go to or which area, maybe due to the ship being late.

 

The tour was excellent! We saw a whole raft of sea otters, bald eagles, sea lions and humpback whales. The little kids on the boat got sea sick.

 

It was really nice weather!

 

A plus was that the boat we went out on took us to downtown Sitka where we had a chance to eat and shop for some souvenirs. There was a free shuttle bus from the downtown back to the ship, clearly marked.

 

We got back to the eurodam and got ready for our dinner at Sel de Mer. Sel de mer was only offered last night.

 

 

 

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[goose&mav]

FYI in Sitka, we ate at Ashmo’s food truck which was recommended by someone on the Alaska port of call board, and it was an excellent recommendation! Very tasty food, fish was excellent, but you had to wait about 25 min for the food, and there wasn’t a place to sit. We went back to the dock near the visitors center to eat.

 

The dessert at Sel de Mer was the best part of the meal! Crepes Suzette, soufflé and the apple tart. I liked the apple tart the best, there was some caramel and the apples were tart :-) which cut the sweetness of the dish.

 

Today, we had a very early start for docking in Ketchikan. We booked a kayaking excursion through a place that costco travel had recommended. We had to be on the pier by 7:50am so we ordered room service for breakfast. The weather was the chilliest it has been at upper 50’s that early in the AM so we dressed in layers.

 

Ultimately, there were a total of 5 ships in port today, the eurodam, the ruby princess, the star princess, the Nieuw Amsterdam and one of the Oceania vessels( which looked like it was tendering).

We were in cruise berth #1.

 

We met our guide, took a boat out to orcas cove, boarded the boat that had the kayaks, and then kayaked for about 1.5 hrs. It was gorgeous, very calm waters. We did not see any wildlife, but got to enjoy a nice leisurely kayak ride. It was our first time, and it was not difficult. The most difficult part was getting in and out of the different boats and kayak.

 

They served a nice snack of smoked salmon (from Ketchikan) and crackers. It was a nice end to the kayak trip. Then they boated us back to the pier where the ships were.

 

We ended up going to a few souvenir shops to get some last minute souvenirs. My tip is to get a coupon book at the visitors center right there by the ships as well as another different coupon book you would find at some of the shops. I scored a bunch of free items— tee shirt, tote Bag, fudge, shot glass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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