Eurodam Review
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I chose this cruise because I wanted to sail with Holland America again--and I wanted to be in warm weather! My goals for the cruise were to: 1. spend time with my husband; 2. soak up the sun; 3. eat good, healthy food; 4. Relax and read out on the balcony; and 5. Excercise. In that regard, this cruise was perfect. We met all our goals. What was not perfect (and frankly, a little surprising) was how grumpy a number of the passengers were. I heard cranky people complaining about all sorts of things, including one woman who was upset that we saw the impact of the hurricane. "I saw all this on TV; why do I have to see this again?" (Seriously, I heard a person say this.)
Embarkation was a snap. We had to wait about 30 minutes, but that was not a problem at all. Once we got on the ship, we went directly to the dining room and had a lovely lunch. We had requested an early dinner seating at a table for 2 and had been told that we were waitlisted, so I was delighted to see that we were, indeed, at a set table for 2 for the early seating. We had a perfect table and our waiter was superb. Lunch in the Lido was generally fine, although sometimes a bit crowded. But we were always able to find a table and the service was excellent. Breakfast at the Lido was also excellent. We usually sat in Yuri's section and she was an amazing help, always ready with our coffee, juice, etc.
We loved our cabin (7115). On our previous cruise, we had been in a Signature Suite, so I wondered if we would be disappointed being in a standard balcony room, but it was lovely. The balcony served our needs and our cabin steward (Rony) was beyond exceptional. I thought the bed was quite comfortable and we loved the streaming media options and the location (and quality) of the TV. Most nights, we crawled into bed to watch a movie. So relaxing!
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
Loved this cabin. It was in a very quiet section of the ship since there were cabins above and below it. It was aft, starboard. We definitely felt the ship moving, but I think people did everywhere. (We heard a lot of people talk about the movement.) It's small (what cabin isn't?) but nicely organized. The balcony was great and the door opening to the balcony kept all the noise out. I don't know if all the TVs on the Eurodam have been upgraded to being on the wall at the foot of the bed (rather than in the corner at the desk as a lot of pictures online show). If you're planning to watch movies, make sure you have a TV at the foot of the bed. It was great. Lots of choices and the quality of the TV was great. Our cabin steward, Rony, was the best we have ever had. He went beyond the expected. He was so kind, upbeat, helpful, and non-intrusive. How he does this week after week is beyond me.
Port Reviews
Key West
It was easy walking around Key West and we were surprised how much we liked it.
Grand Turk
The first week, we got off the ship and walked to Governor's Beach. Not the prettiest walk, but we wanted to get away from the cruise port. GB is pretty, but not really anything unusual.
St. Maarten
Really enjoyed walking around Phillipsburg. It was a nice walk from the cruise port to the town and it was enjoyable looking around. The residents were extremely friendly, but not at all pushy.
San Juan
There were so many cruise ships in port that day that it was just wall-to-wall people walking along the roads. Horrible!
Half Moon Cay
We went there twice over the two weeks. The first week, we walked around. It was a little chilly, but we were impressed with the trails on the island and enjoyed walking around. We got back on the ship before lunch time though because we didn't want to stay for the barbecue. The second week, you had to take the small tenders and it was taking way too long to load people so we decided not to go at all, which was a little disappointing.