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Help the Greyhounds!  Take a cruise!

It’s a very cheerful entry we were greeted with, the staff was friendly and the atrium lively.  The decor is a little dated though, some carpeting stains and worn spots.  The  staff was generally friendly and our cabin steward kept the room neat. 

The cabins are VERY small.  It’s an old ship, a lot of noise at night.  We had an oceanview on the 6th deck and found it to be still noisy as far as hearing the ship operations especially when docking.  Must be really loud down on the lower decks. 

The entertainment was good, the comedy show, definatley adult material, but entertaining along with a few entertaining games up in the night club.  Large nightclub with nightly DJ for the younger cruisers.  The casino did a booming business though and was adequately sized.

The dining room was okay, no great views though and the food was okay.  The casual dining area, the Windjammer cafe, was very crowded and often had to search for seating for a while before finding something.

We did the Segwey tour in Nassau and that was fun, and there are other excursions like the dolphin cove and stingray or other water tours, but Nassau itself has Atlantis as the best place to visit.

We also stopped at CoCo Cay, RCL’s private island, which is nice if you want some beach activities.

The pool areas on the ship are big enough with Jamaican music playing.  At night they offer a couple of options of a Latin band and a Jazz band.  They also had a street party playing 70′s music that was really fun, even if you didn’t dance, it was fun to watch as the RCL dancers put on an amusing show.  On the last night, the bartender crew performed a bar flar show (tossing the bottles around and juggling) that was really entertaining. 

Overall, the accomodations are not great, and no shampoo or lotions provided, only a bar of soap.  Cabins are small and bathrooms are small and very little storage space although enough for hanging up some clothes. Cabins would be really small for more than 2 people.  They were clean enough but you can tell it’s definately older equipment.  The toilets in some cabins were not working in some cabins and we saw maitenance personnel all over the deck working on the problem.  The food was adequate but not really good.  Just okay.  The dining rooms are crowded, we had to wait in line for the dining rooms to open and there is no alternative dining except for a Sushi restaurant or the casual dining cafe which is also crowded.  Drinks are expensive so plan accordingly.

It’s okay for a short 3 day cruise, especially for a quick getaway, but not for experienced cruisers who had traveled on other lines or even on RCL’s bigger ships.  It’s old and lacking in some amenitites and service that those cruisers would come to expect from a cruise.  I personally who have travelled on other lines, found those lines, exceptional in service, decor and amenties and this ship doesn’t compare.  But for first timers and if the price is right, it might be okay for short weekend, but not one that I’ll go on again.

My final review of the Eurodam…

It’s a beautiful ship.  Lovely to look at and walk around in.  Lots of balconies and the cabins are very nicely appointed.  Outslide elevators are fabulous!

The crew needs some more training though in customer service.  Some crew members were very nice, but the room stewards and dining waiters don’t seem to have it together yet.  I know its a new crew, but not up to other cruise line standards that’s for sure.

While the ship activities are interesting enough for an older crowd, I would not recommend for under 50.  Seriously, no real lively activities for nightclub activities and very little dance floor space.  So if you want a rocking time with nightlife activities, this isn’t the ship, and maybe isn’t the cruise line I’d recommend

The dining was good, but just that, good.  It wasn’t great.

Overall cruise experience, 5 out of 10.

Today is the Cayman Islands and my first visit.  It was nice shoping, clean areas and didn’t get bombarded by the local merchants. 

Went to the art gallery auction today and that was good if you like art.  HAL features Park West and they have some very good works of art. 

Public areas on the ship are very nice, but the staff is really not as friendly as I would expect.  I got a drink at the bar today and didn’t even get a smile from the bartender.  The casino is small.

Day 5, Day 6 and Day 7

The days are now jumbling together as you tend to lose track of the days so I’ll just post my general impressions and some events. 

• The shows are really okay, but that’s about it.  They are entertaining enough but nothing to write home about, hence no more needs to be said…
• The breakfast buffet is good and plenty of options
• The dining room food is good, but not as good as I would expect from a highly rated culinary line
• The desserts were disappointing
• No 24 hour food.  The biggest disappointment is they have one late night buffet available that lasts about an hour, and the pizzeria is open until about midnight but that’s it.  I had one friend who finished up in the nightclub at about 2:00 and wanted something to eat, but nothing was open.  The late night buffet only lasts from like 11:30 – 12:30, so don’t expect anything late night.  She probably could have ordered from room service (they say it’s 24 hour) but I didn’t test it.
• One cruiser I met at dinner had a run in with the main desk personnel to resolve an issue.  She told me she complained to the manager about poor public service.  I too noticed when I went to the main desk to get some change for tipping, the young lady behind the desk seemed somewhat aggravated by my request. 
• The night club is very small.  Hardly any dance space!
• Tried to make a reservation for the Pinnacle Grill for dinner and was told they were booked for the last two nights so we did lunch instead.  It was good and worth the price.  But, the next night I was walking by the restaurant at 6:15 and half the restaurant was empty!  When I checked, they said they were still booked.  So I’m not sure about the restaurant management, if they open at 5:30, could have had me in and out by then!

Day 2 (a little late)

Stopped at Nassau today, and went into the town – port is absolutely forgettable, but take a trip to Atlantis hotel. It only costs $4.00 each way per person.  Very nice hotel/entertainment complex.  Lots to do, an aquarium, beach, lots of good shopping etc.  I lost my glasses there though so I’m walking the rest of the cruise through with my sunglasses on, and that’s been challenging. 

The dinner was good except Holland America I think is new to the “As You Wish” dining and don’t really seem to have it down yet.  It took a while to get seated.  We had wonderful dinner companions and good conversation.  My meal of the Jerk Chicken was excellent, the salad of California Greens good and was the Chocolate cake dessert.  Coffee is excellent on board. My companions had the daily available item of New York Steak and no matter how ordered, it seems to come cooked medium (one had ordered it rare, the other had ordered it medium rare). It was sent back to be cooked rare and the second delivery it was perfect.  The rest of the meal passed without incident.  Service was nice, but not outstanding, we did have to wait for our order to be taken.

Our room steward did forget to fill our ice bucket as requested and was a little late getting to straighten the room, although very apologetic.  He promised better attention tomorrow.

My traveling companion has not even met her steward yet, and that seems to be a bit unusual for cruise ships.  So I haven’t made my mind up on service. 

The rest of the day passed uneventfully but enjoyably.  Nice party on the Lido deck pool.  There are absolutely beautiful cabanas available for rent (pricey, pricey though). They have large outdoor loungers (very large, specialty service, curtains for privacy).Ship really has nice furnishings, balcony furniture etc.  Very impressed with the décor. 

The ship’s entertainment main stage is beautiful and very comfortable.  The show itself was mediocre.  The singing and dancing was good, but a little bit well…boring.  It was medley of tunes from the 50s – 80s I guess. 

Day 3

Today is a day at sea and a beautiful day too.  Weather is 80ish and perfect.

Breakfast is good, nice buffet, good selections and good food.  Get there early or go late.  It gets crowded.

The Exploration Café where I am typing this is very nice. It’s located, along with the Crow’s Nest Club, up at the very top of the ship with spectacular views. Great selection of DVDs, books, game tables, beautifully appointed.  Again, coffee is excellent, I’m enjoying my Latte as I write this.  Although I brought my own laptop, there are many computers available with printing capability.  There is a full time specialist available to help you get connected, email, get DVDs or whatever. Very nicely done.

Well the airport travel isn’t too bad, except we didn’t have the best experience.  My mother travelled here by air fromTampa and she had an uneventful and easy boarding process.  We, on the other hand, had a luggage problem.  Our luggage was sent on an earlier flight so we had to track it down.  Once we did, we finally got a cab to the port and all three port entrances were closed for some problem.  We saw police vehicles everywhere and we were at a standstill for about 45 minutes.  It cost us $40 dollars to go about 15 miles.

We got on the ship without difficulty once through though. If you print out your boarding pass initially, it went smoothly. 

Basics: Room nice, bed good, linens nice, clean, ice in the bucket, cold mini bar.  Lots of storage space, especially under the bed, drawers for extra storage and room to roll your empty luggage if you need to to get it out of the way.  Very nice.

We didn’t have our robes though and I havent’ seen our room steward today.  Our luggage was delivered about 2 hours after boarding.  I’ll have to speak to the steward about the missing robes, don’t want to be charged for taking them home.

Had dinner in the main dining room now that HAL offers As You Wish dining.  We were seated in a  great location, food was delicious.  Wait staff exceptional.  Made a fine recommendation for wine we thouroughly enjoyed.  Very nice company seated with us.  Everyone (staff) has been very polite and friendly.

Took a quick tour of the ship.  I will have to report more on this later.

The Internet package is expensive.   WIFI is nice, all over the ship so if you have your own laptop, very nice convenience.  I’m typing this from my cabin.

Once thing about the cabin, sitting out on the balcony on the Navigation deck, I can hear all the walking around above.  We are under the Lido deck where the pools etc. are and you can hear everyone walking and moving chairs etc. A nice though is that you can’t seeinto anyone elses balconies below, so that is good for anyone on lower balcony decks.  I would recommend a balcony below the Navigation deck.

As I’m typing this, more walking around above, I like the sound of the water and the peaceful calm and quite, noise is disturbing me a little bit. 

One thing I don’t like is the balcony doors on HAL ships.  They slam shut when you go in an out, I would prefer a sliding door that you can leave open to hear the water as you drift off to sleep.  These doors you would have to prop open somehow.  My next door neighbor just closed the balcony door, I heard it slam shut.

Ship decor is beautiful though, I will do a more thorough inspection tomorrow.

http://www.annwyntravel.com

The SPCA 10^th Annual Wiggle Waggle Walk is taking place this month and in support of their magnificent efforts in helping our homeless four legged friends, CharityCruising.com will be making a $30 donation to the SPCA for each booking made during October to December 2008 regardless of sailing date or cruise line.  So  take a short last minute cruise or plan a cruise a year away….the donation will still be made.  And, you’ll still get the most competitive cruise prices, any amenity offers, shipboard credits or cabin upgrades that apply to any of the cruises booked, this is a donation strictly made by our agency on your behalf. 

Visit http://www.charitycruising.com for more info or call me at 407-749-0308.

For more information on the SPCA Wiggle Waggle Walk visit http://www.ohs-spca.org/