Holland America Eurodam Sets Sail in the Netherlands

Bowden Sarrett is a luxury travel advisor for Brownell. She shares below about an incredible experience she and her husband had aboard the Holland America Eurodam for its christining and maiden voyage. Read on to learn more about her Holland America cruise experience.

One of the most memorable occasions in all of my 48 years was the christening of the new Holland America Eurodam this summer. She is a beautiful midsized ship built in the Netherlands, home of a great cruising tradition. Docked next to the original headquarters building of Holland America Lines, she was sleek and sparkling but still very much a part of their history with a traditional shape, dark hull and smokestack. Onboard there were literally thousands of journalists, travel professionals, and all sorts of others with vested interest in seeing this grand new venture come to life. One night we had dinner with a Dutchman who had printed the menus for Holland America for many years. We spent the night in port in Rotterdam the first night and the next day they had the ceremony to officially name the ship. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands had the honor. Grandstands were set up portside and entertainment ranged from mimes, jugglers, and gymnasts who were just milling about to the Opera Babes and Four Tenors from London with a full Dutch youth orchestra. The gorgeous sunny day made for pomp and circumstance at its very best. That night Holland America put on a fireworks show that lasted almost an hour and was orchestrated from a barge just off the stern of the ship. All of Rotterdam celebrated the happy occasion. As we sailed the next day people lined the shores and waved. Fireboats sprayed us and escorted us out to sea. Onboard, the Eurodam is lovely. She has all of the bells and whistles of any modern new ship but the atmosphere is one of taste, culture, and tradition. New to Holland America are spa cabins with special amenities, a Pan Asian restaurant named Tamarind, private cabanas on a quiet adult deck available for rent, a special Italian restaurant set up at night in the casual dining area, a special spa therapy pool, a new photo imaging center, and more. I loved the champagne cocktail menu in Silk, an Asian themed bar high atop the ship that looks out over the front of the ship and decks. The facial and massage that I had in the spa were heavenly and the gym is on the bow of the ship with windows--so while you're working off the eight course dinner you can watch the world sail by. I didn't get to any classes, but the list was impressive. The unobtrusive but highly professional service staff was everywhere, so the cruise was the same Holland America luxurious experience, only with spiffier options and surroundings. We were only five days on this Inaugural but the stops in Hamburg and Copenhagen were great. Hamburg is obviously enjoying economic prosperity as evidenced by lots of downtown construction, but has still preserved much in its historical downtown. We took a boat ride on "Inner" and "Outer" Lake Alster which house sailing and rowing clubs, waterfront restaurants, and summer homes vacation. We then continued on to BallinStadt Emigration City, a museum commemorating Hamburg as a processing point for more than 5 million emigrants who left Europe between 1850 and 1939 seeking religious freedom, escape from famine, war or persecution, or looking to find riches and the opportunity for something better. They had computers where you could look up your own family's genealogy and many interactive displays and exhibits depicting the horrendous process that so many of our American ancestors endured.

Copenhagen's port is too far to walk to the center of town so we hopped a taxi to the Sankt Petri (St Peter), our hotel named for the church just across the street. In summer, the Danes are outside on bikes and walking everywhere. There was a jazz festival with venues all over the center city. We like to be outdoors too so had booked a bicycle tour in advance. We met our guide and covered most of the city easily in a half day. First we rode through Christiania which is land owned by the city and set aside for some 60's hippie types to live communally. It used to be a mecca for drugs which were legal on the 60's. It later got pretty seedy, so the city has tightened up the laws and cleaned up the setting a bit. There is still a lot of local color, such as graffiti covered little huts that some people actually still call home. We saw a famous bike shop where locals get amazing custom models built---almost all with baskets or boxes on the front or back.

We saw the opera house, which is huge and round and the wood inside is beautiful and made to look like a shop. We saw Copenhagen's famous Little Mermaid statue, which is suprisingly small, located in a waterfront park beside the harbor. We also witnessed the changing of the guard at the official palaces, the university, beautiful architecture, both old and very new, and lots and lots of water. It's expensive to eat and drink and we didn't really shop, but we loved our quick visit to Copenhagen.

The inagural sailing of the Eurodam was an experience of a lifetime. We loved the ship itself and are thrilled with the itineraries it is sailing!

To learn more about sailing with the Holland America Line or on the Eurodam, contact Bowden by clicking here. To learn more about the incredible experiences available through Brownell Travel, click here.