We are a married couple in our 60's. This was our 17th cruise overall, but our first on Holland America. We were cruising with our regular cruise companions, another couple in their 60's. We have cruised on Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Carnival in the past. We normally take cruises of 10-14 days so this 17 day cruise was our longest yet. Rating this cruise itself is difficult as it was a bust in that we only saw two of the five scheduled stops in Hawaii. This was mostly because of bad weather. So rather than focusing on the cruise we will provide our observations of Holland America in general. The Eurodam is a beautiful ship and the perfect size. The service was outstanding. The food was great. The entertainment was enjoyable. Embarkation and Debarkation were as easy as any ship on which we have traveled. Why then only three stars? Using a baseball analogy, it is widely accepted that many of the cruisers on Holland America recognize that they (we) are in at least the bottom half of the seventh inning in life. What we want to do with the last two innings is based on our individual prospective. The great majority of HA travelers are like travelers on the other lines we have been on only with a few more of life's scars. They want to have a good time, enjoy the scenery, the food, the drinks and everything else that can be found on a cruise ship. Life has been tougher on some than to others and HA seems to have experience dealing with those issues. This was scheduled to be a seventeen day round trip cruise from San Diego to the Hawaiian Islands with stops in Kona, Honolulu, Kauai, Maui and Hilo on the Big Island. Because of predicted bad weather the captain decided to by-pass Kona and head straight to Honolulu. When we arrived in Honolulu the wind was strong and all of the afternoon tours, including the luau's were cancelled. We were then told that because of bad weather predicted for Kauai (they suffered a severe storm) we would not go there. When the weather forecast did not improve we were told we would be staying in Honolulu an extra day and then return to Kona the following day. This meant that Lahaina, Maui would be taken off our schedule. No excursions were available through the ship for the second day in Honolulu so everyone was on their own. The following day we arrived in Kona, a port where the ship's tenders are needed to go ashore. We did not drop anchor. Even though the seas looked calm to most with no white-caps to be seen anywhere, the captain decided the harbor was too dangerous to transport people on the tenders. As fairly seasoned cruisers we realized that we had been in tenders in much worse than we were witnessing in Kona and that got us thinking as to why that decision was made. Our reasoning is that because we were traveling with so many people with considerable life issues it would be impractical, if not impossible, to transport all those people safely with the crew that was available to assist them. Therefore, we lost our third port and we headed back out for another sea day. We have been on cruises where ports were missed and we understand that is always a possibility. What made this tough for us this time was that in lieu of going to Kona or Maui as scheduled the cruise director suggested people could gather for a game of CHECKERS in one of the lounges! When we arrived in Hilo for a last possible Hawaiian stop the gangway was not put into position at the designated time. The captain advised us that because of rough water the gangway was not holding steady and a safe walk off the ship may not be possible. He was assessing the situation. I think he may have heard the mumblings of the several hundred of us who had gathered in the atrium and the gangway was opened shortly thereafter. We had a great day in Hilo doing a private tour with a company known as Big Island Aina Tours that we HIGHLY RECOMMEND. We spent the next six days sailing back to Ensenada, Mexico and then on to San Diego for debarkation. While the cruise was not what we had planned or hoped for, we still had a great time. (If you can't enjoy yourself on a cruise ship chances are pretty good that you can't enjoy yourself). Getting back to that baseball analogy: If you are a person who enjoys some of the finer things in life and just wants to live with grace and dignity during the last few innings you can have a really nice time on Holland America. You can't beat the service or the food. But, if you have the problem we have in that you still live with the allusion that there may be at least one more headfirst slide into home left in you (albeit in slow motion), HA may not be the place for you. Read Less

The Holland America Eurodam is as old-fashioned a cruise ship as they come--with 3 "gala" nights with quite a few tuxedos in evidence on a 17-night cruise, with the towel animals and the chocolate buffet if you want them, and with mostly senior cruisers at this time of year and on a cruise this length. But for those with a love of old-style cruising, the itineraries and the value really can't be beat. The Eurodam loses points for an interminably long line for check-in in San Diego (disembarkation was much more efficient) and for virtually no welcoming ritual (no champagne) but after that initial disappointment, what's not to like? Excellent food in the dining room and, for an extra price, at Tamarind, the Asian-fusion specialty restaurant--and good food, too, and lots of choices in the Lido buffet (once you figure out the times to come so you don't have to search relentlessly for an empty table). The staff is mostly Filipino and Indonesian and always smiling and eager to please; what pleased us most is that they truly seemed to be enjoying themselves and each other and took much pride in whatever task they took on. The public areas have recently been renovated are are quite glamorous--and we appreciated the vintage cruise ship photographs on the walls, the tasteful art (especially the stunning Bas Sebus print in our verandah cabin), and the many musical choices for listening. This wasn't a cruise of fervent dancers, but we could have danced every night ("Mustang Sally" to "Uptown Funk") at the fabulous BB King Blues Club. Our favorite things about this cruise were the two astonishing dance and light show performances by One Step Dance Company, truly, the most spectacular productions we've seen in more than 15 cruises and the superb culinary talks/demonstrations by the American Test Kitchen host Annette. No alcohol, or even bottled water, is included so bar tabs can quickly mount, but if you only want a glass or two of wine at dinner, drinks by the glass are probably the way to go. We signed up for free-style dining and, once we learned the right time to come, never had to wait for a table for two. This was a truly enjoyable, relaxing--and delicious--time. And we loved all those sea days! Read Less

Due to poor weather conditions the cruise missed 3 ports (Maui, Kona, Kuai) and left us onboard with no planned activities. No special rewards for our disappointment. The cabin was nice and the ship clean but due to the fact we were stuck onboard there was a lot of sickness and coughing. We made port in Honolulu but were there for 2 days. The service and food were very good but the entertainment was ok and the shows were only 45 minutes in length. Our shore excursions had to be canceled due to the fact that we never made it into the 3 (in my opinion) more important ports. The cruise line offerer a small refund of $100.00 per person for our trouble and disappointment. I would also recommend travel insurance for cases like this. The medical staff was good but the charges were extreme. We would NEVER sail for that long on open water with no ports for that long. Disembarking was chaotic and a possible dangerous situation. Read Less

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Embarkation and disembarkation were pretty much the same as the three prior cruises we have taken. Don't bother getting to the pier until after noon unless you are intent on having lunch aboard ship. The crew was outstanding. Always friendly, smiling, anxious to please. The language barrier was seldom a problem, and when it was, simply asking for a repeat solved it. This ship has a capacity of around 2,000 passengers. I bet there were no more than 100 under the age of 65. There were literally more mobility scooters and walkers than children on the ship. That's one reason we selected HAL--a quiet, peaceful environment in which to enjoy our days at sea and meals in the dining venues. A huge storm hit Hawaii the same time we did. That meant that three of the five port calls in Hawaii were canceled. We were disappointed, but not terrifically so; we have been to Hawaii enough times to have experienced it pretty thoroughly. If it had been our first trip to the islands, I would have been seriously bummed. The ship itself was in very good shape. The furniture, decor, and cabin amenities were in excellent condition. The big TV in our Verandah cabin had useful ship's info (menus, weather, etc.) as well as TV shows and movies. My wife discovered that closed caption can be turned on in all the movies, not just those under the Closed Caption menu. We had Open Seating dining. We traveled with another couple. We would show up at the Main Dining Room around six each evening that we ate there, telling the maitre d that we wanted a table for four, not shared with others. On one formal night we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table, but in every other case we were seated either immediately or within five minutes. One disadvantage to our method is that we usually ended up at a table in the back, right above the azipods, where there was significant engine noise. Speaking of engine noise, I explored the various decks to see whether there was a location to avoid to get a quiet cabin. Surprisingly, the only areas that I could hear mechanical noise (at least in the passageways) was on the lower decks (A and 1), midship. I believe it was exhaust noise from the diesel engines. I was surprised that there wasn't mechanical noise near the aft cabins, since there sure was a lot of it in the main dining room in the tables at the back. Our cabin was nice, although the cabin I selected (5039) had a substandard size balcony. Our friends on the fourth deck, in the same class of cabin, had a regular-depth balcony. Speaking of balconies, we noticed that when we took the glass elevators midship, we could see the entire balconies for the cabins adjacent to those elevators. I would have been very unhappy to have such a public balcony. Overall, a great cruise. The staff, the ship, and the food were outstanding. Read Less

We chose the Eurodam because of its destination. We left a chilly and windy San Diego CA on February 2 sailing to Hawaii and back. The weather did not cooperate as we encountered rough seas all the way. It was necessary to cancel three of our ports for safety concerns. The ship staff and crew made the trip very enjoyable anyway. Entertainment was very good. No food complaints about the main dining room. Service and food were were fine. Selection was amazing. The captain is to be commended for taking excellent care of his passengers in rough weather. Our cruise director came up with several on board activities when we were unable to go ashore. We learned a lot in the America’s Test Kitchen where Annnette cooked up some great dishes. I would not hesitate to take another cruise with Holland America. This was our third and longest. They are a cruise line serving seniors well. If you want water slides and rock walls you will need to look elsewhere but if you want excellent service, food, and a spotless ship consider them. Read Less

This was our first cruise with HAL and we thought it was quite nice, the food was very good (average desserts notwithstanding) and the staff was friendly. We did not find too many of the activities that were offered piqued our interest enough to make the effort to go. The Mainstage shows were mostly good (loved Latin Dancing and BBC Earth w/ live music, but the magician, the comedian and the other dancing/singing show was just okay). I walked into B.B.King's but the singer's volume about broke my eardrums so I walked right back out. (On that line, take earplugs to the Mainstage shows when there is singing because it is ridiculously loud.) If you're a cold person, always keep a sweater or light jacket with you because many passageways throughout the ship have the A/C too cold. I couldn't find a good indoor spot to sit and read my book because it was so cold everywhere. But on the last day we discovered the library/reading room on the observation deck (10th or 11th floor), which was fantastic as there are floor to ceiling windows all the way around and lounge chairs on which to read. If they ask you to sit for a B&W photo shoot, don't do it unless you're willing to spend a shocking amount of $. The pictures are super good, but it costs $150 for an 8x10 print or $300 for a digital copy (per picture) (I'm not kidding). I ended up injuring my foot on the 2nd day (while rushing down the steps to try to get to the dining room before breakfast closed, I misjudged the final step - dang!) so I spent the rest of the cruise on crutches or with a cane, so I don't think I can be objective about judging everything on the ship since I was so limited. Couldn't even get off the ship in the first 2 ports. My husband really enjoyed walking the perimeter of the 3rd deck to get exercise. When we went outside on the upper decks, there was usually such a cold, stiff breeze that we didn't want to linger. Unless we were docked in port, then it's not breezy and cold like when the ship is sailing. Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze. Read Less

This was our first and most likely only HA cruise, only choosing this line as we wanted to sail out of San Diego. While we tend to sail Celebrity, we are open to trying new lines. What we found on HA was very friendly staff, a Lido buffet which is mindful of public health having servers give food to protect all our germs (yay) and no pushing of restaurants, beverage packages and photos which was a real treat and some great entertainment. However, we found the friendly staff didn't seem to go that extra mile, a dining room that had very boring meal options so we ended up eating in Tamarind once and Canaletto twice (both delish!, and activities, which to us focused way too much on learning computer skills and the Mexican culture and little of anything else. Speaking of food, all the breads were delicious but the desserts (other than gala night lemon meringue cheesecake) were not and would have been nice to have a build your own sandwich bar rather than taking pre packaged, overly buttered or too much mayo sandwiches. Not a big thing but struck us as a bit odd. They did go out of their way to assist my husband with GF options for each dinner and at lunch and breakfast. But all the ships are doing that now. Regarding the Eurodam itself. We found it a bit dated and dark and we missed having a grand centre area where people can hang out as in other ships we have been on. Seemed like very choppy hallways including a strange venue for a most entertaining Lincoln Centre classical group which were a treat. We did book a Retreat Cabana for the week which great except as mentioned earlier, the staff were nice but did not go that extra mile. You would think after 3 days of asking for ice, the cabana person would have figured out we like ICE!! Seems like two nice staff with little initiative and sometimes impossible to even find considering many of the cabanas had not been rented. A decent overall ship but not for us. Read Less

Really enjoyed this cruise - have travelled with HAL several times and am never disappointed. Inside cabin was small but adequate - Cabin 4165 Cabin steward kept the cabin clean and was very helpful if we needed anything. Ship is kept super clean - staff is very friendly and helpful. Activities vary and everyone can find something to do. Digital classes are good to either learn or learn something new on your computer. Test kitchen is fun and the receipes are some you can use at home. Lido Buffett is very good -I always enjoy that the food is hot and there is a great variety of food. I always enjoy the hard icecream for desert! Show are good - I'm not a big show person but did attend a couple. Casino - variety of games - some people win and some don't (I'm on of those that don't) but I enjoy playing. Great ship! Read Less

This was our 6th cruise with Holland, and we have only sailed with them. It was our first time on the Eurodam. This was a great cruise for us as it came at time when needed it most. For the most part Holland again came through with flying colours. Special thumbs up for the the dining room food quality, which was as good or better than any of our previous cruises. We are puzzled by some recent reviews that claim substandard food quality on the Eurodam. Service was top notch ( with a couple of exceptions hardly worth noting ) as always. ..but alas, there were a few niggly things that we feel worth noting: Internet service - it used to be that Holland had pay-as-go internet which was perfect for us because we only check our e-mails and send the odd one. Now that simple act costs $189 for 7 day trip. Decided to forgo internet and do it ashore for free...which leaves sea days as a dead zone. Reading lights - this admittedly a minor point, but the LED spot lights they installed in the cabins in place of the warm lamps they used to have, is an irritating step backward. Live music - on our first cruise back in 2008, there was a live band that played in various venues, including the Crownest, where there was a small dance floor. Holland has moved away from that...now they have the BB King Club and band, which while good, is in a dark venue that could be anywhere, and music gets repetitious after a few days. Used to be they also had a trio playing the Ocean Bar for dancing. Live music has definitely been on the downward trend over the years. Happy Hour - it used to be that most of the bars had happy hour from 4-5...including the Crownest. Back in 2008 when we started with Holland, you could go to the Crowsnest for 2for1 drinks, with a live band and watch sailaway! Now only the Ocean Bar has it from 4-5..it is crowded and noisy and we had to take our drinks elsewhere. That said, we will be sailing with Holland again without question! Read Less