This was our seventh cruise. My first cruise was a Bay of Fundy crossing to Nova Scotia in the 70's when I was a teenager. First cruise as an adult was RCI's Song of America NY to Bermuda 7/98. Second was Carnival's Sensation Western Caribbean, 2/99. Third was the Regal Empress, NY to nowhere, also Labor Day, 8/99. Fourth was the Enchanted Isle, Western Caribbean, 4/00. Fifth was the Carnival's Victory, New York to Canada. Sixth was the Norway, Eastern Caribbean, July 2002.
I loved the Norway, the Regal Empress so I am a fan of older, more traditional ships. When I drove up to the Eurodam, I was so impressed. The Victory was also in town, but the look of the Eurodam was so much classier.
Embarkation was fine. I picked my husband up on 55th Street, we drove to the pier, he dropped me off with the luggage and went to park the car. We were docked at Pier 88 and according to my husband, got one of the last spots in that parking lot (our embarkation started at 1PM, last call 5PM, the Victory was earlier, they left at 5PM, we left at PM) because Pier 92, where the Victory was docked, was overbooked and those cars were sent to Pier 88. Apparently, Carnival has refurbished one or more of the piers in New York. Airconditioned, very comfortable. Embarkation took about 20 minutes. We were not escorted to our cabin. We wheeled our luggage on, so the luggage was not an issue.