Eurodam Review
First cruise on HAL Eurodam mostly enjoyable
Rating by category
Additional details
We decided to try two things we have not yet done before, and that is a Panama itinerary and sail on Holland America. We are in our late 60's and have cruised on Carnival, RCCL, Celebrity & NCL. We have heard HAL caters to the more senior cruisers (like us). That is evident in their not including a lot of the activities such as water slides, rock climbing, laser tag, etc. I think most people who sail with them know this and are happy to do without such things. But if you are younger with children you might want to consider if this is the cruiseline for you.
The Eurodam was very clean and pretty ship even after 14 years. We noticed the crew was always busy cleaning. We absolutely love the wide promenade deck 3 walking/jogging track that wraps completely around the ship, 3 laps for a mile. This is apparently common on all HAL ships and something I miss on other cruiselines.
The food in main dining room was excellent in our opinion. Especially the entrees and desserts. We had great table near window and waiters Dolly and Asep were excellent. Buffet was good, if not great. Gets a little repetitive on an 11 day cruise. We enjoyed the Asian noodles/rice section a lot. Went to Tamarand Asian restaurant, and thought the presentation was excellent, food good, not great. A minor complaint is that I love soft serve ice cream and the only place to get it is in buffet. There were several times they weren't functioning properly. Wish there was another place on ship with the soft serve ice cream.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Spa Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
Cabin was clean and mostly functional. Space was a little tight. Seems like we needed more drawers or shelves to put our folding clothes. Bathroom was decent size with a bathtub/shower combo. Balcony kind of small but we enjoyed having it on our day in Panama canal. Room attendants (Tri and Tamas) were very hard working and friendly.
A negative I wish to report is on the booking of this cabin, not the cabin itself. I believed when I was booking this cabin, called 'Spa' Veranda, that I was getting a cabin on deck 10 that granted complimentary access to the Thermal Suite area. Other cruiselines like NCL and Celebrity have so-called 'Spa' Cabins that actually do give you access to their thermal suites. This cabin cost about $300 more per person than the exact same cabin on deck 7 or 8, and I 'assumed' we were getting unlimited access to Thermal Suite for that extra $. We were greatly disappointed when we got onboard and found out otherwise. Would have got the cheaper cabin on deck 7 and saved $600 if I had known. Probably mostly my fault for not reading fine print, but the HA agent who I talked to on phone never clarified this. I felt a little misled.