Overall Alaska was incredible but this particular Holland America Cruise left much to be desired. Service on the ship was well below expectations. There was a very large conference group on this cruise, at the same time as we were, and they were given priority while the rest of us passengers (not part of that group) were not treated as well. Alaska was a beautiful as expected!! We had terrific weather (high 50's to 70's - varied in each port) but no rain!! We loved seeing Alaska but the cruise, itself, was very disappointing.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was so simple and easy with using the Holland America Cruise app (Navigator) and VeriFly. We were given priority status and boarded as soon as we arrived. Truly a great experience!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Buffet and Main dining room food was just "ok". The choices were exactly the same every day for breakfast and lunch at the buffet. AND service was terrible at both the Lido buffet as well as the Main Dining Room. Very slow and inconsistent. Very long lines everyday for each meal at the buffet and every time we were seated (had open seating option) in the main dining room we were seated either near the dirty dishes station or near the kitchen entrance. Terrible experience!
Pinnacle Grill however, was fantastic! Felt like royalty there with the superb service and absolutely best food on the entire ship!
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Very limited choices but for an older group that was just fine.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
Only a few shows and those were on par with what one would expect at a high-school type performance. Entertaining was not spectacular.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
Service was very poor. Slow and unreliable throughout cruise.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The Eurodam would benefit from a refresh. Many areas show the wear and tear including several broken windows throughout the ship. A positive was that the water pressure was very good in the shower.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Size and comfort of the stateroom was perfect for our needs.
Ship tip
I would suggest that they choose another ship .... one that is a bit newer....and one that does not have a large group attending at the same time!
Awesome town! We took the general Mendenhall Glacier Explorer tour and it was just right. We had enough time to walk around the area and "hike" to the Nugget Falls (very short and easy hike - 1 mile each way). Even got to see salmon spawning at the stream across from the bus depot. Short film, provided at the visitor center, was interesting as well. Bring your own water as the visitor center does not sell any food or drink.
Breathtaking!!! We were able to witness the glacier calving! Incredible view. Captain kept the ship facing the glacier for an hour each side! It was awesome!! Standing at the bow gave a perfect view!
Sitka is a cute town. The Historic tour was just right for us. Short and sweet yet informative. The town itself had several shops and restaurants but not an overabundance.
Fantastic and beautiful town! Wish our stay was longer as we were only there for a few hours! Terrific port and people were so very, very friendly! The lumberjack show was cute and entertaining. Overall Ketchikan was our favorite port! Lovely place!
Got into port very late and too short a period of time to truly enjoy this port stop. It was a legal need (maritime law - Jones Act) for the ship to go into this port BUT it truly was a waste of time for passengers.
Thanks for sharing, my family will be on Eurodam on Sept. 17th also. My wife and I were on Eurodam in Sept 2018 and had a great experience. I have a question about ArriveCan App, I read you did the Navigator and Verfly app, did you also do the ArriveCan as well.
Glad you mostly enjoyed the ports of call. I understand your frustration with the conference group. It has happened to us on Carnival. I appreciate the cruise lines wanting to help the conference groups. But it shouldn’t be at the expense of the rest of the ship. Appreciate your feedback!
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