We chose this cruise for the destinations, not the ship. Would we choose Holland America again? Sure, if it was going where we wanted to go.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was good, better than Carnival, but not quite as good as Royal Caribbean.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
For a small ship, the pools were nice.......and fresh water too! Unlike the cold ocean water on Carnival ships.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Really great stage shows. We expected less on a smaller ship and were pleasantly surprised. The performers put out great effort and it showed.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Staff and crew were very friendly and helpful........much more so than other cruise lines.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
It's a smaller ship and we've become pretty spoiled with the big opulent Royal Caribbean ships. The Eurodam was very clean and well kept.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Spotlessly clean. The cabin guys work hard to make it so.
Ship tip
We wanted a Panama Canal cruise and this ship fits the locks in the Panama Canal. Otherwise, we wouldn't pick this ship for a normal cruise. There are other nicer ships.
Our experience at Cartegena was not good. From the time we caught a taxi at the cruise port to our walk through the old city and then back to the port, we were constantly besieged by street vendors trying to sell us something. We're seasoned world travelers and have never seen anything like it. For two hours, we endured a gauntlet of almost constant harassment from these guys which ruined our visit. Like all tourists, we just wanted to be left alone to enjoy the sights and experience the culture, but all we could think about was escaping back to the ship. Haven't these guys ever heard of setting up markets or shops and letting the customers come to them? We heard many other passengers from our ship complain of the same experience. Word of advice to all cruise lines: Insist the authorities in Cartegena get control of their street vendors or stop sending cruise ships there. It's out of control.
There wasn't much "cruising" in Gatun Lake because there's too many ships sitting at anchor waiting for their turn in the locks. We spent 4 hours at anchor, but it was still cool watching all the activity.
There's not much to do there and you can see the poverty in the city and countryside, but they were friendly and didn't harass you to death to buy stuff. Would I want to go there again? Probably not.
Thanks for the review. I agree with you regarding Holland America. They have great itineraries, and we would consider them again if the itinerary was right, but they are lacking when it comes to food, entertainment and ship amenities compared to other lines.
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