Travel Agent Honolulu

The Eurodam was christened in early July, and I boarded later in the month in Copenhagen for a ten-day cruise to Norway and Scotland. The ship was brand new and I expected the usual shakedown cruise problems but I might have saved myself the trouble as there were none that I could detect as much as I looked for them. In a few words, the shipboard experience was excellent in almost every respect.
The Eurodam was moored at the Cruise Terminal which is about two miles north of the downtown area. It reminded me in many ways of the QM2 in its overall feeling. I give it a five-star rating with a few shortcomings, almost too few to mention.

The food was very good. Overall service that I experienced was excellent and the restaurant waiting staff, composed almost entirely of Filipinos and Indonesians, were consistently outstanding. Production shows are among the best we have seen, if not the very best. The caliber of the singers and dancers was high, as were the sets and effects. Other entertainers varied in their overall appeal.

The décor of the ship was appealing and in spite of its size and the number of passengers it never seemed to be over-crowded. Thought had been given to breaking up the floor space into smaller areas without making it seem confined, as one public space led easily into the next.
A particular highlight for me was the complimentary computer classes - an especially pleasant surprise as Microsoft has arranged to have an expert instructor named Trish on the Eurodam who instructed on a variety of popular computer topics. I understand there are three other HAL ships which also have this instructional program.
The 10-day itinerary that we had chosen featured the Norwegian ports of Oslo, Flam, Alesund and Stavanger and the British ports of Newcastle, Edinburgh and Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands. The selection of ports was a good one and fortunately the weather was for the most part very enjoyable which is not always the case especially when one considers the abominable summer the British Isles have experienced this summer.
OSLO. A great port to visit with its many attractions, not the least is Nansen’s famous Fram which was the first ship to be designed to be locked in the polar ice and get relatively close to the North Pole before drifting with the moving ice pack to open waters in the North Atlantic.
FLAM. The tiny port town of Flam is the terminus of an exceedingly steep rail line that climbs up the valley to the juncture with the main east-west Bergen-Oslo railroad. It is at the head of a picturesque fiord and is extremely popular.
ALESUND. The picture perfect port of Alesund is surrounded by islands and peninsulas and an exceptionally pleasant place to visit.
STAVANGER. Known for its resupply capabilities in servicing the Norwegian North Sea oilfields, Stavanger is a large port but has its small boat facilities as well.
NEWCASTLE. A workman’s city, Newcastle has built a reputation on its coal industry which is now a thing of the past. It has developed into a commercial center with heavy port activity both for exports and imports.
EDINBURGH. The renowned city of Edinburgh was on the eve of its famous festival and the streets were filled with all manner of visitors and local young people who were advertising their counter festival productions.
KIRKWALL. The Orkneys are an island group just to the north of the Scottish mainland and they retain much of their ancient charm to include many stone circles, much on the order of Stonehenge, as is evident in the Stromness circle remnants.

The Eurodam can easily be recommended for a satisfying voyage experience. I had a marvelous time and would go again in a heartbeat.

Aloha