Advice Please.. Never Cruised Before

[LuckyPink50]

Hello Everyone! I am seriously thinking of booking a cruise on Eurodam for March. I want the experience to be the best it can be as it will be our 20th Anniversary so I want it to be special. My questions is Everything and Anything you can tell me:D The first being a room. I need to know the best place for us 1st timers picking from SB, SC or SA and on what deck? And, if there are any places you would not want a room i.e. by the elevator or the back of the ship? What is the best way to book a flight to Ft. Lauderdale, a recommendation for a hotel there and the best way to get to the ship? Any other tips and hints are greatly appreciated. I have been reading this forum and I will continue, but need this info if I am going to take the plunge :eek: Thanks for all your time

[6rugrats]

You may want to find a TA that can help you with this as you have many questions.

 

My tip? Book your own airfare.

[skippyy]

Hello Everyone! I am seriously thinking of booking a cruise on Eurodam for March. I want the experience to be the best it can be as it will be our 20th Anniversary so I want it to be special. My questions is Everything and Anything you can tell me:D The first being a room. I need to know the best place for us 1st timers picking from SB, SC or SA and on what deck? And, if there are any places you would not want a room i.e. by the elevator or the back of the ship? What is the best way to book a flight to Ft. Lauderdale, a recommendation for a hotel there and the best way to get to the ship? Any other tips and hints are greatly appreciated. I have been reading this forum and I will continue, but need this info if I am going to take the plunge :eek: Thanks for all your time

 

Mid-ship, from top to bottom, bow to stern always provides nice water.

Get balcony (watch for chance for up-grade, announced via travel

agent,as small suites on Eurodam are spectacular).Prefer near elevator

for convenience on larger ship, no trouble with noise or hall traffic on

your ship.Several nice hotels near port, most offering free transfer to

port with great restaurants nearby. Hampton especially nice with trendy

strip mall and drugstore (last minute stuff) nearby. Don't know where you're flying in from but Southwest has great deals into lauderdale.

Keep medicines, passports, toilet articles and casual change of clothes

in carry-on, you will get to your room before your bags.Bon Voyage

[seaproponent]

While I haven't sailed on the Eurodam, I've enjoyed "S" class suites on other HAL ships -- you won't be disappointed. I think you'll want to be near the Neptune Lounge, as access to it is one of the Major perks offered for this class of service. That would suggest an "SA" cabin on the Rotterdam deck. I was directly across the hall from the Neptune last year, and really enjoyed the proximity, albeit the noise of the lounge door opening and closing can be a bit of an annoyance in the morning if you're a light sleeper. On a port night, I suggest you have the concierge in the Neptune arrange for dinner being served on your balcony; they'll serve course by course off the main dining room menu -- quite a pleasant experience on a warm, calm evening with the ship at anchor.

[cmdchiefthom]

LuckyPink50,

 

First off, your room selection categories are all good, so now you have to decide on location. Most cruisers tend to book cabins as close to the middle of the ship, which many cruisers feel offer the least amount of movement in rough seas. Personally, I don't notice the movement, and now tend to book suites either facing the bow, on NCL ships, or the aft corner suites on HAL's Vista class ships, and the aft owners suite on the Tahitian Princess. These aft corner suites have much larger balconies that wrap around the side of the cabin offering a huge amount of space.

 

As for hotels, I love the Hyatt Pier 66 in Lauderdale, and have stayed there on all my cruises out of Lauderdale. It's five minutes, ten at most, from the pier, with a fantastic pool area, and tower rooms with views of the piers.

 

The Lauderdale airport is close to the pier, and 17th st. hotels, and I usually fly in there on Delta. Delta also services Miami, and you can taxi to MIA in around 45 minutes, for fifty dollars or so. HAL also offers a baggage transfer service from the ship to FLL so you only have to run your luggage through customs, and it is trucked directly to the airport and put on your flight.

 

Hopes this helps.:)

[niborHS]

I would agree that picking one of the suites near the Neptune Lounge is a great idea. Seeing as this is your first cruise, if you don't mind going for that price up-front, you will get a great room, and love the Neptune Lounge. We were on the Oosterdam 2 years ago and got a fantastic deal on a Deluxe Suite guarantee. We ended up a few doors from Neptune. It was our 13th or 14th cruise, so we could deal with it. My husband is so hooked on having the Neptune Lounge, that he won't book anything else now, so we have a guarantee on the Noordam for Feb 22nd, and are waiting for our assignment. We are keeping our fingers crossed, but we see on various websites that there are plenty left. Depending on when you are going in March, that could be spring break time, so you may want to check out if that is the case. You could always go to the roll call board and check the date you are looking into to see what others think. The other thing about having the Deluxe Suite is that even if the dining that you want is closed, you can get it. We prefer the set dining time at late seating, rather than the As You Wish, but you may feel differently. That is something you should think about before you go. That is a personal preference, and everyone will have their own opinion. We had a very good experience on the Oosterdam, although after the first 2 nights our dining companions were not at the table any more. We moved to sit with another CC couple and had a great time with them. We had excellent dining room service, and I prefer the set-up to my other favorite line, Celebrity, that has many more service stations that can be very noisy.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

You never mentioned if this is your first cruise.

If it is -- book a cabin Midships. If this is your first cruise -- do not book an aft cabin -- much motion there,

I noticed that you mentioned a few cabin choices -- SA on the Eurodam is Midships.

We always book an SA -- you will love it.

We spent 14 days on the Eurodam and loved it!!

We always book our own air (much cheaper) and our own hotel. We have used the Embassy Suites for years for both pre and post cruises. They have a complimentary cocktail time every evening from 5:30 - 7:30 PM. Also they have a free FULL breakast every morning. And the Embassy Suites is within walking distance of the Harbor Shops (right to the south of the hotel -- 5 minute walk) which has lots of restaurants, shops and Total Wine (lots of people buy wine to take on the ship there) and Publix where you can pick up those items you may have forgotten to bring.

Best way to get to the ship -- take a taxi.

[niborHS]

I think that never cruised before must mean it's their first cruise.

[COLLEYBERRY]

In my humble opinion, a corner aft suite would make this cruise everythng you hoped for .Happy Anniversary:)

[cccole]

You have received some very good suggestions from experienced cruisers. I have only been on 8 cruises and I differ with some because I think an aft balcony and especially an aft corner balcony (SC on HAL) is absolutely wonderful. These are my favorite cabins and when we invite guests for drinks they are always amazed and ask how we knew to reserve them. There is nothing like watching the moon, stars, and wake from your aft balcony. I have never really noticed any more motion but I am not sensitive to it.

 

The Hyatt Pier 66 is our favorite pre and post cruise hotel.

 

And...we always wait to board until about 1:30-2:00 when the crowds have disappeared, we are able to leave our carry-ons in the room and start enjoying the ship.

 

Having a room next to the Neptune is not really important to me but I'm sure there are others that feel differently.

 

I also seem to remember reviews of aft balconies on the Eurodam and if I remember correctly Deck 4 has the largest aft balconies. I could be wrong but this is what I remember.

 

Have fun planning. Cherie

[LuckyPink50]

Thank you ALL so much for your time. It has really helped with some of my decisions!!!:)

[InTheWASide]

 

In my humble opinion, a corner aft suite would make this cruise everythng you hoped for .Happy Anniversary:)

 

I agree entirely

[BoiseIdahoSpud]

With a deluxe suite you won't have to worry about lines at the pier. You'll have a dedicated lane and be on the ship in minutes. You can't go wrong with SA, SB, or SC. If you are feeling free-spirited, book the SC guarantee to save some money. You'll end up with a great room and maybe even an SA. I agree with the others - if motion is a problem stay away from the aft (all SC and some SB are aft).

 

The Neptune Lounge staff will take care of everything for you on board.

 

Have a wonderful voyage,

Pete:)

[LovetheFall]

 

In my humble opinion, a corner aft suite would make this cruise everythng you hoped for .Happy Anniversary:)

 

My DH and I were on the Westerdam in an SB aft corner suite in November for our 30th anniversary. It was his first cruise, and my first since I was a teen back in the 60's. I cannot recommend these suites highly enough. We had a couple of rough nights at sea and we didn't have any problems on the back of the ship. In fact, it felt as if we were being rocked to sleep. The balconies are unbelievable and the view from the back of the ship is priceless. The hike to the Neptune Lounge and back just meant we could have two desserts at dinner if we wanted to ;). Happy Anniversary!

[COLLEYBERRY]

Thank you ALL so much for your time. It has really helped with some of my decisions!!!:)

 

 

Please come back and tell us about your cruise.

What ever you decide ,cruising is a wonderful way to vacation

.H:)ppy Sailings.

[LuckyPink50]

Do a lot of people really get seasick or is this a myth? And, exactly what does aft mean? Thanks everyone!

[tomc]

"Aft" means: One step back and you are in the water watching the ship steam away.

 

Seasick: I don't think it's a big deal on the new ships. Get one of those anti-seasickness patches to put behind your ear. If anyone asks what they are, mumble something about it being a religious symbol.

[Boytjie]

Do a lot of people really get seasick or is this a myth? And, exactly what does aft mean? Thanks everyone!

 

What is 'a lot'? It is difficult to say how may people get seasick. I used to get sick when I was in the navy yet in February when we hit rough seas leaving Cozumel on the Zuiderdam I was fine while a lot of people got sick. You never know. My partner didn't make it through dinner yet I enjoyed the midnight dessert buffet. :)

[Boytjie]

"Aft" means: One step back and you are in the water watching the ship steam away.

 

Aft means 'towards the stern (a.k.a. the back end of the ship)'. You can be on the bow (a.k.a. the pointy front end of the ship) and take a step aft and you won't fall in the water. :D

[tomc]

The motto of my maritime family: "It's not rough until the engine bolts tear loose."

[tomc]

Boytjie --

Aft means 'towards the stern (a.k.a. the back end of the ship)'. You can be on the bow and take a step aft and you won't fall in the water.

LuckyPink50 mentioned having an aft cabin, which is why I made the sharp distinction. As in, "We had freezing rain here overnight and I had to walk carefully to the studio so I wouldn't fall on my aft." Or, "I was watching 'Blazing Saddles' on AMC last night and they had the campfire scene with all the aft-er burner noise."

[Boytjie]

Boytjie -- LuckyPink50 mentioned having an aft cabin, which is why I made the sharp distinction.

 

An aft cabin is anything closer to the stern that the reference point. ;)

 

The second cabin from the bow is aft of the first one, and so on and so on....

[HALFans]

Just remember... Aft comes AFTer something else. <GROAN>

[tomc]

It was just an afterthought.