My favorite cruise ship recently emerged from drydock with some exciting changes.
The “Big E,” or Holland America Line’s ms Eurodam, spent 14-days in the Bahamas getting several new concepts that the Seattle-based cruise line announced earlier in the year as part of a $30M fleet renovation project. Many of the enhancements on Eurodam will be on the newest Holland America ship to hit the water, the ms Koningsdam, when she is launched in April of this year.
So what’s new on Eurodam?
Let’s start with the staterooms. Passengers staying in one of the ship’s suites will notice new furniture, carpeting, wall coverings and soft goods. USB outlets (long overdue on all ships) have been placed at the bed’s headboard along with bedside LED reading lights, upgraded electrical outlets, and a lighted closet rod.
Those who want to listen to their own tunes, can do so with a Bose Bluetooth speaker available in Neptune and Pinnacle Suites.
Suite bathrooms also got a facelift with new stone tops, faucets and sinks as well as new tile on the floor and a designer backsplash. Mirrors with LED lighting and nightlights round out the changes made in the bathrooms.
All staterooms onboard received new LED flat-screen TV’s with a new interactive television system complete with free on-demand movies and access to shipboard information including the daily program, dining info, spa services and the guest folio.
The ship’s disco, Northern Lights (not a very popular place on Holland America Line ships), has been transformed into the Gallery Bar featuring what the line calls an “exclusive cocktail menu” created by celebrity mixologist Dale DeGroff.
While Eurodam is the first to get this new watering hole, the ms Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Noordam, ms Westerdam, ms Oosterdam and ms Zuiderdam will receive it as well as they enter their scheduled drydocks through 2018.
The Slice pizza outlet has been replaced with a new pizza parlor which already made it’s debut on the Nieuw Amsterdam – New York Pizza. If you’re looking for a taste of the Big Apple, you can choose from five different thin-crust personal-size pizzas ready in 10 minutes or less, or you can customize one to your liking. You won’t have to stand around waiting for your pie to come out of the oven either. Once you place your order, you’ll be given a pager which will let you know to go pick up your pizza. New York Pizza also offers up salads and desserts.
Speaking of food, big changes have been made to the Lido Buffet. As those who will soon be sailing on the Koningsdam will see, the traditional buffet has been replaced with the Lido Market – a marketplace where diners can visit different themed stations were food is either made fresh to order or ready to “grab and go.”
Stations at the Lido Market include the Breadboard for baked goods; Wild Harvest for made-to-order salads; Homestead for home-style comfort foods; Distant Lands with a selection of dishes from around the world; Market Central where you can grab a continental breakfast or light meals to go; Perk for that morning or any time of day cup of freshly brewed coffee, hot or iced tea and juices; and Sweet Spot where naturally you would go to finish off your meal with dessert or ice cream.
While casual during the day, the Lido Market transforms at night where tables are set with placemats, glassware and cutlery.
If you’ve sailed on Eurodam before, you’re probably familiar with the wildly popular B.B. King Blues Club onboard where at night, the Culinary Arts Center is transformed into a venue featuring the sounds of Memphis. A few more, destined to be hits with cruisesr, have made their way onto Eurodam and will be part of Koningsdam as well.
New to the ship and the line itself is Lincoln Center Stage, the home of nightly chamber music performances and afternoon recitals on sea days. Also new is Billboard Online, a live music venue made up of two pianists, a guitarist and a DJ who take turns performing shows centered around “interesting facts and figures…as chronicled by Billboard.” I recognised these two pianists from the Pantages theater in Hollywood, which I usually visit at least a couple of times annually.
These two new venues will be added to Oosterdam in April and Vista- and Signature-class ships will get them over the next few years.
I haven’t been on the Eurodam lately, but after writing about these additions, it may be time to take a cruise on her and check them out for myself!
If you’ve been on the Eurodam and have experienced these enhancements, be sure to share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
I’ll be taking a Eurodam cruise in January, and most of the changes sound great, but I’m a bit disappointed at losing the Northern Lights. On my Alaska cruise, it was the only place still lively after most of the boat had closed down and gone to bed. Not sure it needed yet another quiet sit-down lounge.