I would like to start out by saying that this was our 15th cruise but our 1st with HAL. We were celebrating our 40th anniversary and my DW's 60th birthday. We brought along my SIL, DD, and some close friends that have also done some extensive cruising. HAL is a lovely line and the Eurodam a beautiful ship. The service that we received from all of the crew was just what we were looking for. Everyone had a smile, a pleasant greeting, most remembered your name and all of that experience made you feel special. Because it was such a special occasion, we had bought an SB and SC category but got an upgrade for a small fee to the Penthouse, which was fabulous. Kept that a surprise from the DW until I actually took her to the cabin. HAL is a very nice venue but I am not sure that I will come back for "everyday" cruising but certainly will for special occasions.

EMBARKATION

Got to the pier about 11:15AM, dropped off the bags with the porters, (there were plenty of those guys by the way, with plenty of baggage tags), and waited in line for about 10 minutes until we got to the entry way to the building. Once there, we were escorted to the suite check-in, escorted past most of the lines and on to the ship. The whole process was very organized and only took about an additional 10 minutes to get on the ship. We went directly to the Neptune's Lounge to check in and then did a bit of exploring since we had not ever been on the ship or on HAL for that fact. Well done HAL. Read more