Cruising Rob's Blog: Eurodam Coastal Trip Review

The Eurodam is an attractive ship, perhaps one of the most attractive sailing under the Carnival LLC’s “Worlds Leading Cruise Line” banner. Boasting a nice mix of the dark blue hull, white superstructure, and off black glass, she well represents a nice balance of shapes and colors that indicates she is a modern cruise liner with ocean liner roots. I initially didn’t know what to make of the tandem funnel approach of Holland America on her initial Vista class vessels; they weren’t necessary, stylistically they were a bit strange, and certainly not designed to the whimsy of the Disney vessels. I seem they seem more palatable now that there are 6 ships sporting the style. They are certainly more visually appealing than the Celebrity Solstice class ships with 2 small funnels, and only 1 with the logo.

Funnels? Or tailpipes? And why only one logo.

I will say that the new HAL logo on the funnels seem to be a size or two too large - and this is really evident on the MS Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Regardless, the twin funnels are functional and fit the character of the ship well. In my mind, the funnels create a nice fusion of pushing the limit of the stylistic norms of cruise ship design of the late 1990's (during the first Vista class ship’s design phase), and simultaneously giving a nod to the past. I’ve always thought the R class ships are perhaps the best looking in the HAL fleet, but their fore upper superstructure features several different sizes and shapes of windows which have been the Achilles heel of the design. Conversely, today the Vista and Signature class ships represent a nice compromise of current design trends, tastefully blended.

Dual funnels done right.

So many shapes on these windows! Still a great looking ship, except for the logo fitting the funnels.

The new logo BARELY fits the Zaandam/Volendam's funnels

Inside the Eurodam, the decor and style is a nice mix of contemporary, avante-garde, and classical in way that is slightly evocative of the ocean liner traditions of the past. Wood shades are varied based on the context with which they are used - darker for accents, lighter and muted where wood is needed, but should be forgotten. Carpets throughout are patterned with pleasing designs and changed up in large places so the design varies and gives some uniqueness; you wont look down in the Crows nest in one area and see the same carpet style as 20 feet away. It makes the large number of venues more unique and gives the impression the areas are larger than they are. The furniture upholstery is tasteful and a blend of patterned and solid colors.

Crow's Nest

Rooms that stand out:
The Crows Nest - a rich blend of pale blues, faded oranges, shades of cream, and dark brown colors make the palate of this venue comfortable and pleasing to the eye. The library area has a nice blend of dark wood floating bookshelves of different sizes and the lighting is pleasant and adjusted based on the time of day. The Crow’s nest features a series of large loungers looking out to the oceans ahead, some smaller sets of plush chairs with tables on the immediate edge of the venue, and some nice 4 seat table and chairs near the bar. The bar serves up specialty coffee’s and the usual bar assortment. Scattered around are some big tables for jigsaws and some larger tables with embedded touchscreens enabling passengers to interact with a somewhat limited system of port and sailing related information. At the center of the venue are 2 large screens with current navigational information that is updated and refreshed regularly and simply displayed, however the information is somewhat technical in nature. On the port side, there is a semi room (presumably for the EXC program) with 40-50 chairs in lecture layout. There are larger screens throughout sometimes showing extra information, and at other-times with a screen saver of sorts. The whole venue feels generally feels like a loud coffee shop or quieter bar and generally swings between these two based on the time of day. I rather enjoyed my time in this venue and spent most of the time writing this blog in the Crow's nest.

Paperback exchange

A side venue in the Crow's Nest for port lectures

The navigational info displays are front and center in the Crow's Nest

Navigational information

A nice touch screen map of Astoria - coffee cup for scale.

EXC Central

Where I wrote most of this trip report

The Gallery Bar - I’m not sure what HAL’s intent was with this venue, but located off the Casino and replacing a former nightclub, I feel like HAL really perfected this. It’s an intimate venue overloaded with framed photos and paintings accented by off black paint. The location includes several table games (shuffleboard for one), as well as a nice collection of board games secured in black cases. There are table top chess and checkers games as well as a table with Foosball inlaid in the center with a glass top. The venue has close access to the former nightclub’s bar and includes several TV’s with sports typically played. Since there is no designated sports bar onboard, this is probably the closest thing and it does well in that role.

Games in the Gallery Bar

What a great idea for foosball

Whimsical yet classy - the Gallery Bar was my favorite venue.

A very nice mini shuffleboard table flanked by a chess table.

Tamarind Bar - Tamarind is really a hidden gem with a pleasing color palate and a respectable amount of theme. I really liked it for it’s role as an unofficial stand in for when the Crow’s nest is crowded or noisy in the morning as it provides a comfortable and quite place to read or reflect on a semi unobstructed view of the ocean.

A semi-private seating area in Tamarind Bar

Tamarind Restaurant

Atrium - Although it’s not indicated on the deck plans, the Atrium no longer has the staircase throughout. Vertical circulation is maintained by the midship elevators and stairs and this actually improves the feel of the location. The bottom of the atrium no longer has a bar either which has provided the room for a good amount of seating that is probably better utilized with folks waiting for some of the various ship services on the bottom floor than it was before. This wasn’t a particularly notable venue, but it’s not updated on the deck plan so I figured it was worth pointing out.

Atrium from Deck 2

Atrium - Deck 1

America’s Test Kitchen - a nice and efficient venue, but its unfortunate it only seemed to be used once or twice a day during kitchen demos and occasionally for live musical performances. I give special credit to the creative use of old mixing bowls on lamps and colanders on the tops of sconces.

Creative use of colanders

Lincoln Center Stage - I really enjoyed Lincoln Center Stage on the Koningsdam, and it’s clear that it’s been a hit as HAL is trying to squeeze it in on all their ships. The location chosen on the Eurodam is unfortunate because it truly feels like a concert hall in the most literal sense, with the venue squeezed onto the starboard side just forward of the dining room on deck 2. This arrangement combined with some obstructive support columns give you 6 to 7 across in about 10 rows, so in a way it feels akin to a flight on a 737, granted with better entertainment. It didn’t keep me from enjoying the performances but it required some planning to get there for a good seat. From what I can tell this has taken over what was the Explorer's bar and lounge. There remains a remnant of the previous venue at the back that only occasionally hosts organized functions. I was one of the lectures on various acupuncture ointments in that area.

Lincoln Center Stage Venue

The Lido Pool - HAL really does a nice job with their Lido pool areas and taking them to a level beyond that of a pool, or overflow buffet seating. The exude a nice vibe and are on par with some of the nicer pool side day clubs of some hotels in Las Vegas.

The magrodome was opened in the afternoon of our last day.

The Tasman Room, formerly where movies were shown, seems to have been commandeered by Joe Craig and his colorless photo studio. These studios are all over Princess ships, although typically placed far off the beaten path. It’s disappointing to see this venue show up on HAL ships on a main entertainment deck, which also seems to replace the classic HAL movie theater venue. Of course, I’m sure the photo studio makes money otherwise it wouldn’t be on the ship. I saw no advertising for it on my voyage.

Generally speaking, I like how HAL provides several smaller, more intimate venues than Princess and other lines where there are really only a few larger venues. This provides nice intimate and quite areas when they are not in use rather than a large open cabaret style venue. On the original Grand class ships, it’s well known that the Wheelhouse bar is one of the best locations for a quiet few moments during a busy day at sea, which was expanded later on and now houses a for fee food venue.

The next post will come in a few days and discuss Astoria. But here are a few more photos around the ship. One thing I really enjoyed were all the historic photos and prints of HAL ships through the years in both the stairwells and in the companionways.