Eurodam: the good, not so goof, but nothing bad or ugly

[boom_boom]

Just off Eurodam from a short (4-day) cruise down the Pacific Coast. Loved the ship and the cruise.

This was my first HAL cruise in about 4 years, the last 3 were on Celebrity. I thought that. as usual, the crew did a magnificent job, but are hamper by HAL's staffing.

It was hard, sometimes impossible, to get a drink in a lounge or bar without stepping up to the bar yourself. Just no one taking orders. Nonetheless, the bar staff was always friendly and pleasant, ready to help.

The wine service in the MDR was terrible. With or without a drink package it took for ever to someone to take your wine order.  In Tamarind and the Pinnacle Grill, however it was no problem at all.

Outside of the specialty restaurants I felt the quality of the food had gone down since my last HAL cruise. Food quality and selection is an area I think Celebrity clearly outshines HAL.

The ship seemed in good condition, a few areas needed a bit more TLC, but overall she was clean and comfortable.

We were disappointed in the entertainment with the lack pf live music outside B.B. King's and the Lincoln Center Stage. Those venues were pretty much packed when anyine was playing. This indicate a desire by paying passengers to have live music. My last cruise on Celebrity wasn't much better, but there were a couple more options for live music.

I can't say enough about the good service from our cabin stewards and the Neptune Lounge staff, they really helped make this a great, if short, cruise.

Will  sail HAL again? Probably. I did 4 HAL cruises in 5 years before switching to Celebrity because of the itinerary. The itinerary, dates and price will drive my decision for the next cruise.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

 

Glad you enjoyed your short cruise in spite of the lack of entertainment.  We noticed several years ago that the food had gone downhill in the dining room and now we eat only in the specialty restaurants -- Pinnacle and Tamarind (on ships that have this restaurant).

[julia]

Dam. We'll be on the Eurodam in two weeks, and I'm sad to hear about the wine service in the MDR. That will NOT sit well with me.

[kazu]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.  

 

Sorry to hear that everything didn’t go as you would like.

 

@julia I haven’t been on the Eurodam but I have found on the first night if you make it clear to your wine steward that you will be drinking wine every night, they take very good care of us.  Mind you, we order wine packages and not individual glasses.  I don’t know if that makes the difference or not.

[sevenseasnomad]

Thanks for sharing your impressions.  Our last cruise on Oosterdam, the food was marvelous, but the servings were so small that we were all starving by 10 P.M. when we'd wander upstairs to the Lido.  We'd grab a snack, which would hold us until morning.  I'd never had that happen on a cruise before.  Normally, I'm so full I can hardly walk, and dinner certainly lasts.  Sometimes, I wouldn't have breakfast because I was still stuffed from dinner.  Not anymore.

 

I haven't noticed any downtrend in quality, although the tiny portions may not be giving me enough to sample where I can make a judgement.  LOL!

 

 

[SilvertoGold]

Interesting about the music.  Was Billboard not being presented on this ship?

[racergirl24]

I will also be "back" on the Euro in a week or so. Having been on her recently, as a suggestion, make sure you communicate with the bar staff in the dining room on the 1st night. They really appreciate knowing what you like, how many you need and they appreciate consistency. Learn their names (this really helps). I understand why people might think the service is slow......folks just can't seem to make up thier minds (delays thier work). If you know what you want...they will be quick and efficient from my experience. 

Can't wait to reconnect with my peeps. ("Drinks from the bar?").....

"Oh, hi Mr & Mrs B"

😊 11 days left! 

Great review BTW! 

Edited October 22, 2019 by racergirl24

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, racergirl24 said:

I will also be "back" on the Euro in a week or so. Having been on her recently, as a suggestion, make sure you communicate with the bar staff in the dining room on the 1st night. They really appreciate knowing what you like, how many you need and they appreciate consistency. Learn their names (this really helps). I understand why people might think the service is slow......folks just can't seem to make up thier minds (delays thier work). If you know what you want...they will be quick and efficient from my experience. 

Can't wait to reconnect with my peeps. ("Drinks from the bar?").....

"Oh, hi Mr & Mrs B"

😊 11 days left! 

Great review BTW! 

 

Well said and if may add, let them know if you are dining in another venue if possible.  

 

That way, they are not watching your table and know you respect their time, too.

I often ask them to send a bottle to our alternate dining venue.  Never a problem 😄 

[Gigi1977]

Of all HAL ships I’ve been on (8),  the Eurodam is my least favorite.  Not sure why, but just found it ‘lacking’ when compared to the other 7.   Love HAL.  

[taxmantoo]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 I haven’t been on the Eurodam but I have found on the first night if you make it clear to your wine steward that you will be drinking wine every night, they take very good care of us.  Mind you, we order wine packages and not individual glasses.  I don’t know if that makes the difference or not.

Jacqui's suggestion is certainly a good one and we go one step further.  We bring our own wine quite often but also order packages to supplement.  When sitting down on our first night in the MDR, when the food waiter introduces himself we immediately let him know that we are not in a hurry and that we will never order food until the wine attendant has poured our first glass.  The wine attendant usually shows up a minute or two after that and they are trained for the rest of the cruise. 😉

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for posting your comments.

Glad you (mostly) enjoyed your cruise.

Hope the next one is great.

[Sue from Canada]

I was on the Rotterdam this past summer.  I agree with you about trying to get a drink in the Ocean Bar or Lido Deck.  You would think HAL would have more servers = more revenue.  Guess not.  Very frustrating.

[dot73]

Does HAL allow you to bring a drink or glass of wine purchased  in a bar into the dining room?

[kazu]

31 minutes ago, dot73 said:

Does HAL allow you to bring a drink or glass of wine purchased  in a bar into the dining room?

 

Absolutely.  I see lots of people carrying glasses. 😉 

[ski ww]

31 minutes ago, dot73 said:

Does HAL allow you to bring a drink or glass of wine purchased  in a bar into the dining room?

Yes.

[erewhon]

Thank you for  reviewing your short cruise.

[dot73]

3 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Absolutely.  I see lots of people carrying glasses. 😉 

Thank you. I love to have a gin and tonic before I start with dinner. On the Eurodam last December, by the time I ordered and received my drink, the main course was being served and I had no time to order a glass of wine to go with the main course. On my next cruise, I will pick up my drink from a bar on my way to dinner.🍸🍷

[atexsix]

Great review, always like to hear how our favorite ship is doing.  We sailed on her to Alaska a few years back and haven't looked back; but we only sail west coast ports so maybe we'd change our mind if the newer bigger ships ever make it out this way.

 

We're pretty vanilla foodies when at home so even the MDR is specialty dining for us, our trip last year to Hawaii was excellent, the service and the food; once in a while the menu would be a bit meh but overall we couldn't say enough about it and took every meal there with the exception of a lunch in the Pinnacle.  I know people rave about that place but I've always found the atmosphere to be lacking the warmth of the MDR; even the suite passengers always look like their half asleep when we walk past in the morning, we're not exactly doing back-flips at that hour but the MDR mood is elevated enough to remind everybody how lucky we are to be waking up on that beautiful ship, the smiles and laughter confirmed it, even at 7am.

 

Anyway, can't wait to see her again in 6 months. 

[dobiemom]

On 10/22/2019 at 12:33 PM, julia said:

Dam. We'll be on the Eurodam in two weeks, and I'm sad to hear about the wine service in the MDR. That will NOT sit well with me.

Are you still sailing Nov 2nd? Come back to the roll call. 🙂https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2669764-eurodam-november-2-2019/

[julia]

1 hour ago, dobiemom said:

Are you still sailing Nov 2nd? Come back to the roll call. 🙂https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2669764-eurodam-november-2-2019/

 

Oh jeeeeeezz.....  I totally forgot to check in with the roll call (too many cruises!)  Thank you so much for the reminder!

[cruisepoor]

Just to set the record straight, we were also on the 4 day and the additional 7 day to Mexico run. A thousand people got off and a thousand people got on. Those original thousand were mostly travel agents! It was a totally different ship on the second segment. Everything was packed the first four days. We gave up on the main dinning room on the second night; it was chaotic. The funny thing was to go into any of the small bars, which would be packed, order drinks, and two minutes later the bar would be empty (I know i took a shower) This was primarily a group situation in all the bars and specialty restaurants . Had we not booked ahead of time, on line for these different venues, we would have been out of luck, the first four days. Having a PS suite didn't hurt either. The next seven days was a different story. You could literally walk into any restaurant without a reservation and be seated. Hope this alleviates some fears of the ship. Jeff

[woody14h]

We have found that on the first night we will order a drink package from the wine steward.  He has never let us down after that. 

[julia]

Well, just wrapping up day 6 onboard the Eurodam. 2nd time sailing this ship, but it will definitely be the last time. We are not hard to please, but the negatives just keep adding up.

 

Good:  SS suite is very comfortable, nice beds, good cabin steward(s), Elemis products, fresh & tasty Lido food, fun piano bar, Explorations cafe coffees, full promenade deck, BB Kings is great, Tamarind wonderful, Dive-in hot dogs tasty.

Bad: Smoking on pool deck, slow bar service, no energy in most bars, crowded MDR, no sailaway entertainment, clocks throughout ship incorrect. Mediocre entertainment.

Ugly:  very few wines included with the SBP,  always "out" of shiraz or cab sauv on SBP, overcharges on SBP, crappy wine pours on SBP. Sigh...  not a good experience if you enjoy a variety of wines.

[cruisehome]

following

[MISTER 67]

On 10/22/2019 at 2:12 PM, boom_boom said:

Just off Eurodam from a short (4-day) cruise down the Pacific Coast. Loved the ship and the cruise.

This was my first HAL cruise in about 4 years, the last 3 were on Celebrity. I thought that. as usual, the crew did a magnificent job, but are hamper by HAL's staffing.

It was hard, sometimes impossible, to get a drink in a lounge or bar without stepping up to the bar yourself. Just no one taking orders. Nonetheless, the bar staff was always friendly and pleasant, ready to help.

The wine service in the MDR was terrible. With or without a drink package it took for ever to someone to take your wine order.  In Tamarind and the Pinnacle Grill, however it was no problem at all.

Outside of the specialty restaurants I felt the quality of the food had gone down since my last HAL cruise. Food quality and selection is an area I think Celebrity clearly outshines HAL.

The ship seemed in good condition, a few areas needed a bit more TLC, but overall she was clean and comfortable.

We were disappointed in the entertainment with the lack pf live music outside B.B. King's and the Lincoln Center Stage. Those venues were pretty much packed when anyine was playing. This indicate a desire by paying passengers to have live music. My last cruise on Celebrity wasn't much better, but there were a couple more options for live music.

I can't say enough about the good service from our cabin stewards and the Neptune Lounge staff, they really helped make this a great, if short, cruise.

Will  sail HAL again? Probably. I did 4 HAL cruises in 5 years before switching to Celebrity because of the itinerary. The itinerary, dates and price will drive my decision for the next cruise.

 

On 10/22/2019 at 2:12 PM, boom_boom said:

Just off Eurodam from a short (4-day) cruise down the Pacific Coast. Loved the ship and the cruise.

This was my first HAL cruise in about 4 years, the last 3 were on Celebrity. I thought that. as usual, the crew did a magnificent job, but are hamper by HAL's staffing.

It was hard, sometimes impossible, to get a drink in a lounge or bar without stepping up to the bar yourself. Just no one taking orders. Nonetheless, the bar staff was always friendly and pleasant, ready to help.

The wine service in the MDR was terrible. With or without a drink package it took for ever to someone to take your wine order.  In Tamarind and the Pinnacle Grill, however it was no problem at all.

Outside of the specialty restaurants I felt the quality of the food had gone down since my last HAL cruise. Food quality and selection is an area I think Celebrity clearly outshines HAL.

The ship seemed in good condition, a few areas needed a bit more TLC, but overall she was clean and comfortable.

We were disappointed in the entertainment with the lack pf live music outside B.B. King's and the Lincoln Center Stage. Those venues were pretty much packed when anyine was playing. This indicate a desire by paying passengers to have live music. My last cruise on Celebrity wasn't much better, but there were a couple more options for live music.

I can't say enough about the good service from our cabin stewards and the Neptune Lounge staff, they really helped make this a great, if short, cruise.

Will  sail HAL again? Probably. I did 4 HAL cruises in 5 years before switching to Celebrity because of the itinerary. The itinerary, dates and price will drive my decision for the next cruise.

 

Agree with you on how hard it is to get a drink in a lounge, we have found this to not only be a HAL problem but also with the 3 other lines we sail with on a rotating basis. It's like pulling teeth to try to get a drink from the wait staff on Celebrity, Princess and MSC. Dont know what the problem is but it's very annoying.