Checking out the M.S. Eurodam
Flynn Marr                                       23 December 2025
Ships have no straight lines. They are all curves which makes them so beautiful. And they can be big, very big. As a tourist you will need a wide angle lens to get a picture of the whole ship. Such pictures can be very dramatic.
Our first day out on the North Sea is a day to explore our ship. This is always fun to do on any cruise. The Eurodam was built in 2007 and on our cruise in 2012 it was still a relatively new ship. And it was beautiful.
When introduced she was the largest ship in the Holland America fleet. At almost 1000 feet long and over 100 feet wide she accomodates 2120 passengers. While not the largest in the world but she is certainly one of the most luxurious.
I have never been on one of the really large cruise ships and I am not in a hurry to experience them. I find that the Eurodam is sufficient in size to ride well in the ocean swells and small enough to feel intimate and comfortable. We haveÂ
sailed on the Volendam and the Zuiderdam and this ship is very much in the same class: big enough to feel secure but small enough to be intimate. So lets put our running shoes on and go exploring.
Let’s start outside on the promenade deck. I spend time here just walking. It is possible to walk all around the ship outside thus the name. It is the only deck that allows for that and is thus a good place for a long walk. Once around is about 2100 feet which is just under a half mile. On a beautiful day the view is wonderful and the exercise is excellent.
The Promenade Deck allows one to walk all the way around the ship on the outside. Besides being great exercise after over indulging in the cafeteria. Of course, in bad weather it can be a bit nasty. It is covered but the wind can often be blowing the rain sideways.
The Eurodam has a beautifully equipped gym at the front end of the Lido Deck. What is lovely about this gym is that a row of treadmill machines is facing towards the bow where you can jog along looking out of the ship over the bow. Susan likes to work out every morning for a couple of hours when we are cruising and I get to sleep in and then go for my morning capuccino. We then meet up at noon for lunch. Occasionally we have breakfast together before exercise.
The fitness center at the forward end of the Lido Deck looks out over the bow.
This is how I usually find Susan when I pick her up for lunch.
On the Lido Deck, in the middle of the ship, is the main swimming pool which is under a retractible roof allowing the pool to be used even in poor weather. It is actually a brilliant arrangement. Personally, I am not a swimming pool fan but I will admit that, on a warm day with the roof open, it is a delightful place to sit and read a book. At either end of the pool are hot tubs for soaking in the warm water. Susan actually enjoys the water but not me.Â
Keeping with the exercise theme, on the Lido deck amidships is the Lido Pool. This is the main pool on the ship, there is a smaller pool on the Lido deck at the stern. In this picture you can see the roof over the pool is closed but when the weather is fine this opens up and the pool is open to the sun and sky.
At the end of the Lido pool are hot tubs which Susan enjoys. I agree they are nice but just not my thing.
Susan never looks better than when she travels; relaxed away from the stress of daily life. Vacation is when I get the best images of her.
From the Lido pool, if you walk further aft, you pass through the buffet/cafeteria and out onto the deck at the back of the ship where you will find another smaller pool that Holland America calls the Seaview Pool. This is a lovely place to sit and you can bring your breakfast or lunch out here to eat. It is surrounded by glass so that the wind is not annoying and that works really well. Of course there is a bar and as an added feature there is a pizza oven where pizza is available pretty well all day. For non-Italian pizza it is not bad but after having pizza in Napoli it does leave something to be desired.
The buffet is available all day but the selection of food varies depending on the time. At meal times all sections are open and the array of meal items is truly impressive but at other times it becomes more of a coffee and snack bar. Considering the number of people being served while floating in the ocean the kitchen is really impressive.
Susan is sitting beside the Seaview Pool. In the background is the Bar and over to the left of the bar is a pizza oven which is turning out pizza pretty well all day.
We had some serious rain on our cruise and then the outdoor areas are to be avoided. But that is no reason not to keep taking pictures. The weather is part of the trip.
Susan has brought our lunch out onto the deck by the Seaview Pool. Behind her she is shielded from the wind by large glass panels.
On the Lido Deck between the two swimming pools is the cafeteria which is a buffet style dining room. It has a wide selection of almost anything you coould want and the seating is delightful. Susan is sitting by the windows in the “Lido Market”, the cafeteria, and we are having lunch. Generally we ate breakfast or lunch here and dinner in the Rembrant Room, the main dining room.
One afternoon I went to the Rembrant Room, the main dining room, to take pictures in the daylight.
Without patrons and only the staff setting up for the evening meal one can see the elegance of the setting.
Just left of center Susan is sitting at our table in the Rembrant Room waiting for our diner.
The interior of the ship is beautifully appointed. With 11 decks the ship obviously has elevators and this is a foyer outside one of the elevator bays.
Throughout the ship one can see that every effort has been made to make the decorating interesting and beautiful. Great for taking pictures.
Every foyer or alcove had flowers or art or both creating beautiful still lifes. This creates hundreds of photographs just waiting to be made.
The hallway to our cabin demonstrates just how big the Eurodam is. One end to the other is a long walk!
Our cabin looks a bit lived in. It is actually small and that makes it difficult to keep things tidy. However, this picture does show the importance of wide angle lenses.
Our cabin on the Eurodam had a balcony which is nice because you have a floor to ceiling sliding door which gives a great deal of light and makes the cabin look bigger. The picture above is taken with a very wide angle lens which makes the room look much bigger than it really is.
Small it may have been but we spent very little time in our room and so it was ample for our needs. We did not use the balcony that much. It only had a couple of chairs and they were not very comfortable. And there was no bar service. As a result it was more pleasant to to go up to the Lido deck and find a lounge chair, stretch out and order a pina colada. Much more pleasant!
Througout the ship there were cosy little bars tucked here and there where one couild have a drink and read a book or chat with fellow passengers. If you were of a mind to this made it very easy to be sociable.
One use for the balcony on our cabin was to take photographs, especially of clouds. On this trip the sky seemed to be very dramatic, if it was not raining.
Clouds in the day were beautiful but in the evenings we had many magnificent sunsets. And in the mornings, if you got up really early, sunrises were amazing.
I am always looking for titles I can use later. This life preserver ring has the name of our ship and home port.
On the very back of the Lido deck is the Dutch flag representing the ships home port of Rotterdam in Holland.
Patterns and lines can make for interesting photographs as this image of our wake demonstrates.
There was entertainment for every taste. In the evenings in one of the salons one could sip a late night scotch and listen to a chamber quartet.
Every evening Susan and I would dance after dinner for as long as the band played, Then we would go down to the caffeteria which, at that hour was closed, but we could get a tea or coffee and a donut or a bit of fruit to take back to our cabin. By then the ship’s hallways and common areas were empty of people and it felt like time to sleep.
In our room we would find the bed turned down and on the foot of the mattress a small animal had been fashioned out of a wash cloth and the itinerary for the next day was beside it.
The cabin was cozy. It had its own thermostat and the air was always fresh. It was easy to fall asleep after a day of exploring.
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