I'm a bit late with this review but here goes. I'd planned this trip for a long time but was concerned that I might miss the best of the fall colors. I needn't have worried. Fall was late, we had beautiful sunny weather and the colors were wonderful. I stayed for three nights in Quebec City before the cruise. It's such a beautiful city and I would recommend spending one or two days there beforehand. Several people on the cruise said they were sorry they hadn't done that.

While I checked out of my hotel, I met up with some Australians just off the Eurodam who told me about the bad weather they'd had which meant they'd missed Sydney. I took a taxi at 11.30am which got caught up in the queue of cars trying to reach the ship so cost $15 including tip. Although there was quite a line, boarding was relatively quick and by 12.30pm I'd dropped my carryon luggage in my cabin and was seated in the Rembrandt dining room (open to Mariners on the first day) enjoying a delicious lunch served to me while looking up at a wonderful view of the old city.

The Eurodam is very modern and sleek. I liked the warm earth colors of the decor and everything felt new and in good order. However the layout isn't as good as on older HAL ships that I've been on. Putting the Explorations Cafe up by the Crows Nest restricts space for both. And getting to the Crows Nest from the Lido involves going through the Spa. The cabanas seemed to be an unnecessary intrusion and take up too much space on the Lido deck. I missed the spacious feel of the Promenade deck on our last ship, the Volendam, which just wasn't there on the Eurodam. The Queens Lounge seemed to be used mostly for culinary demonstrations where you sit quite a distance from the cooking and broke up the space on the Lower Promenade as do the shops on the Promenade deck. But the area around the atrium is much better utilized than I've seen before and made a welcoming space. Read more