The nice thing about living near the coast in BC is the proximity to both the air and cruise ports, which is why next year our pied-à-terre will be near Vancouver International Airport and within a short SkyTrain ride of Canada Place Cruiseship Terminal.

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For now, though, it takes almost 2 hours by transit from Maple Ridge to the cruise port.

We’ve sailed with Holland America twice before, both times on the MS Koningsdam, a Pinnacle class ship launched in 2015, refurbished in 2023, and holding 2650 passengers. This time we’re on the older MS Eurodam, a Signature class ship launched in 2008, last refurbished in 2018, and able to carry just 2100 passengers (and it’s not at capacity this trip). In general, Ted and I prefer smaller ships, as long as there are still good amenities offered. The Eurodam has one less live music venue, and two fewer specialty restaurants, plus no Grand Dutch Café, which was our go-to specialty coffee spot, but still lots to do and see. And after all, it’s all about the itinerary, plus the bonus of being able to sail out of Vancouver.

I looked at Holland America’s official deck plans to highlight what we’d potentially notice as the biggest differences between the two ships, not bothering with the stateroom decks, where the only real difference is the larger number of staterooms on the Koningsdam.

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The biggest difference we found in our research was the theatre. In the newer Pinnacle class ships there is a spectacular, state-of-the-art main theatre with push-out stage enveloped by two-story, 270-degree wraparound LED screens. The Eurodam apparently has a more traditional theatre design. We’ll experience the actual difference once we’re en route.

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We start our trip with 2 sea days along the Pacific coast en route to our first port stop in Santa Barbara. That gives us lots of time to explore the ship’s venues.

For today, we have our safety drill muster, an afternoon sail-away, and our first dinner and evening entertainment options.

Since we booked this cruise somewhat “last minute”, we didn’t have the option for reserved dining room seating, so we joined the line for “open” seating. Our prior experience with that on the first night of a cruise involved long lines, so we were prepared for that this evening. If the process seems too disorganized, we can always see if the maître ‘d can arrange a fixed seating time for us for the remainder of the cruise; otherwise, it’s kind of nice simply being able to choose a dining time ad hoc each day. The evening main stage live shows are performed twice nightly, at 7:30 and 9:00 p.m., so by staying with open seating we can choose whether to indulge in afternoon tea, take in the early show, and eat late in the buffet, or skip tea, eat at 6:00 and take in the late show. It’s nice having options.

Lots of fun to come.

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POST-SCRIPT: Our first dinner on board was delightful. We were seated with three other couples: Joani & Vic, Theresa & Bert, and Mary & Wayne, and had a great time chatting over yummy food and drinks.

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