Eurodam Review
Rating by category
Additional details
We are a couple. This was our first cruise of any sort. We are about 70 and in fair shape. We are experienced independent travelers. We used a land tour only once (in China). We chose this cruise for its Eastern Mediterranean itinerary, its dates, its port of departure/return, and its discounted price. The ship's itinerary included Athens,Istanbul, and Venice, three cities we had previously explored and were happy to see again. We had not visited the other Greek ports or Ephesus. Our plan was to go ashore in all or most ports. We booked two archeologically-oriented excursions. We planned to eat breakfast and dinner on the ship, eat lunch ashore, use maximum shore time, and enjoy onboard entertainment in the evenings. We had traveled in Northern Italy for 10 days prior to our departure. We arrived at the port in Venice by bus from Padua and departed by train to Milan. In general, we stuck to our plan.
There were pleasant surprises. We enjoyed the two sea-days. We enjoyed the two Gala nights. We enjoyed most of the people we sat with in Open Seating for dinner. We enjoyed some great dinnertime conversation. We enjoyed making two new couple friends and spending some shore-time with them. We enjoyed the international mix of the passengers.
Embarkation: At the Venice Cruise Port there is a significant distance between the People-Mover station and the terminal entrance. This is a problem for all older passengers and all those with poor hips and knees. HAL should provide a shuttle, even an optional one for a small charge. Venice is a major port of departure for HAL. What do they do if it rains?
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
We had a Queen bed and a verandah. My wife, in particular, enjoyed the verandah. The cabin was very nice, seemed new, adequate room for two, all clothes and bag storage, more than enough hanging space and clothes selves, window and verandah made it visually larger, sitting area offered just enough room for breakfast (but would be tight if you wanted to spend time sitting in the cabin), bathroom was well-designed, we heard no noise from other passengers' cabins and almost no ship noise, felt very little motion, verandah was okay size for two, lighting was good and switches well-placed, just adequate outlets, we reserved an extension cord for CPAP machine, reading lights were not good for serious reading, pillows were our main problem with the cabin, the two large pillows were too large and hard and the two small pillows were too hard. HAL should give guests more choice.
Port Reviews
Athens (Piraeus)
Went ashore by ourselves. Easy to taxi in and out. Knew the city from previous trip. Adequate time to visit Plaka, see the new museum, and eat. Allow sufficient time for traffic.
Istanbul
We had visited Istanbul before. We went ashore twice by ourselves. Once for an afternoon and evening. Once for a morning and afternoon. Mostly revisited sites and neighborhoods we had seen before. Great city!
Santorini
Amazing island. Total eye candy. Went ashore alone. Used donkeys, local buses and cable car. No need to pay for an excursion.