I have always liked Holland America
Line's Eurodam and so I was quite pleased to find the ship performing
so well when I cruised on her recently.
Eurodam is a mid-sized ship. She is
bigger than any of the other Holland America Line ships with the
exception of her sister Nieu Amsterdam. However, at less than 90,000
gross tons, she is far smaller than most ships being built today.
But that is how Holland America and
its fans like it. They prefer the relative intimacy of smaller
ships. The ships are refined with museum quality art and thoughtful
décor. The atmosphere is sophisticated, reflecting the fact that
the line attracts more educated passengers.
This is not to say that Eurodam is
tiny. She is large enough to have several specialty restaurants, a
theater, a nightclub, a secondary entertainment lounge as well as two
pools and a sizeable spa. What she does not have is things like a
water park. Her guests prefer things like the digital workshop or
the culinary arts center.
What really struck me about Eurodam,
however, was the friendliness of the staff. This was not the type of
friendliness that is part of an effort to get an extra tip. Rather,
the people seemed to genuinely want the passengers to have a good
time.
In order to find out more about what
Eurodam is all about, I spoke with Captain Jeron van Donselaar and
Hotel Director Stan Kuppens. Both of these individuals were key
players in bringing Eurodam into service in 2008. They have
continued on with the ship subsequently although Mr. Kuppens left for
awhile to bring Nieu Amsterdam into service. Thus, not only are they
in a position to speak knowledgeably about the ship but they also yed
key roles in forming the ship's personality.
My interview with Captain van
Donselaar is at
http://www.beyondships2.com/eurodam-captain-interview.html
and my interview with Stan Kuppens is at
http://www.beyondships2.com/eurodam-hotel-director-interview.html
Eurodam offers guests a variety of
dining choices. Accordingly, I also asked Mr. Kuppens to discuss the
various dining options on Eurodam. They are presented along with my
own observations in our dining guide to Eurodam.
http://www.beyondships2.com/eurodam-dining-guide.html
Along the same lines, we have added a
Eurodam menus page. http://www.beyondships2.com/eurodam-menus.html
Also, as a result of this cruise, I
have enough material for a new photo essay of Eurodam in various
ports. http://www.beyondships2.com/eurodam-photo-essay-2.html
Finally, our photo tour of Eurodam has
been expanded and updated with new photos of the ship's interior.
http://beyondships.com/HAL-Eurodam-Tour1.html
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