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| Europa 2's guests enjoy the sailaway from Kavala, Greece, in September. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
Earlier this month, Travel Agent sailed on Hapag-Lloyd's Europa 2, the line's upscale ship designed to appeal to the U.S. luxury market. It's a dual language ship, with both English and German spoken onboard as official languages.
Agents can read our robust review of this upscale ship in the November 2 issue of Travel Agent magazine. We'll provide details of the onboard ship experience for English speaking guests, what spaces we liked, how luxurious the service was, what was included in the cruise fare and our overall impressions.
We also previously did a slideshow photo tour of some of the public spaces on the ship. Agents can read it here.
To whet your appetite further, here's a look at some of the features of Europa 2's Verandah Suite #701, in which we stayed for four nights.
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| The living room area of the Verandah Suite has a large flat-screen TV, two large drawers and a desk. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
Space, Glorious Space
Upon entering the Europa 2 Verandah Suite, guests will find themselves in a hallway. The first door on the right is the spacious bathroom, followed by another door to the large walk-in closet, and finally the open area -- with bedroom space and living room, separated by a slatted, yet open divider.
Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass windows lead to an oversized balcony with two chairs, a small table and one chaise lounge. All outdoor seating has cushions, which are safely stored inside at night by the cabin stewards.
The living room itself consists of a comfortable modern couch with throw pillows and a lounger section, perfect for watching the television, as well as a wooden and metal coffee table.
The robust entertainment center across from the couch has a separate keyboard for guest use. This credenza style area also boasts a desk with chair, dresser with two deep, large drawers, the large flatscreen TV and phone.
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| Living Room area of Europa 2's Verandah Suite, #701 // Photo by Susan J. Young |
Spaciousness is a hallmark of Europa 2. The Verandah Suite consists of 301 square feet of space plus a 75 square-foot balcony. It was far larger than many standard verandah stateroom cabins we've encountered on other lines. The soft modern decor was pleasing to the eye and relaxing for the spirit.
If your clients like high-tech, they'll appreciate the accommodations on Europa 2, which brim with techie features. I liked the en-suite entertainment system, which had English language news stations and English language movies in addition to the German and international offerings.
It was also great to check the bill daily on the entertainment system. That way I could check how much I was spending on purchases, drinks or Internet. The Wi-Fi connected easily and was reliable on our cruise.
The lights were very complex -- with a brochure to explain how to adjust them -- but the result was pretty impressive, with varying settings to provide just the lighting that client desires. The phone system included both a wired and a cell phone.
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| Here's what awaits Europa 2 guests as they enter their suite. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
Welcome Onboard
At right, agents can see what awaits guests as they arrive for the first time in their suite. The fresh fruit was refreshed daily, as needed.
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| This cabinet in the living room area of Suite #701 had myriad drawers with dishes and utensils, a Nespresso machine and a stocked minibar. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
Guests also receive a small bottle of champagne. We didn't open ours and it was nicely placed in our mini-fridge (shown at left) to stay cool.
Coincidentally, that mini-fridge is stocked with juices, bottled water, sodas and beer, and is restocked morning and night -- with no charge to guests.
Most appreciated was the suite's full set of silverware, glassware, cups, saucers and small plates, accessible from the in-suite credenza/entertainment center/cabinet.
Cork screws and other utensils were in small slide-out drawers (shown at left). Everything was at hand, and there was no need to call room service.
This furniture unit also had a Nespresso machine. One nice touch? A bottle of water was placed immediately next to it, making it easy and convenient to fill up the water reservoir. When we used the water, it was replaced.
Another nice touch? On the wall above the desk was a mirror that opened out with lighting, or closed when just a plain wall space was desired (with no mirror and light).
Luxurious Bedroom Area
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| Upscale bedding and high-quality linens ensure Europa 2 guests will get a good night's sleep. // Photo by Susan J. Young |
The bedroom was a luxuriating space with first-rate bedding. The mattress slept well and the sheets and duvet were high quality. Cabin stewards Lisa and Jessica cheerfully agreed to add a sheet under the duvet -- apparently something many Americans request.
The bedroom's two nightstands -- each with two small drawers -- held such items as a pen and paper, mints, a cell phone and a small Appointments sheet where guests could list their "appointments" such as spa treatments, drinks with friends in the lounge or shore excursions during the cruise.
We really liked the bedside jewelry-holding container, which was accompanied by jewelry cleaning pads and tissues.
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| The large, long tub on Europa 2 // Photo by Susan J. Young |
Spacious Bathroom
Perhaps the best feature of this Verandah Suite was the incredibly spacious bathroom, with a very long tub -- perfect for even the tallest guests.
The bathroom had a very roomy glass shower with a built-in bench for seating.
The vanity, while having only one sink, was large. Several drawers offered plenty of storage space and a hair dryer (a second hair dryer is located in the living area as well).
All luxury lines certainly have pampering bath amenities, but Europa 2 doesn’t miss a thing.
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| The bathroom vanity, large glass rainforest shower and toilet // Photo of Susan J. Young |
Have you ever had dental floss as part of the amenity kit? Europa 2 has it.
Let’s just say, they seemingly thought of everything -- from full-size tubes of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner to cotton balls, cotton tipped sticks, and myriad other things people always find they need on a cruise.
A Closet For All Your Stuff
You’ll find 10 drawers in this closet; two are oversized. We loved that both a husband and wife, or two friends, would each have five of their own drawers.
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| Closet for Verandah Suite #701 // Photo by Susan J. Young |
The closet had one rod for long clothes and two rods for shirts and shorter items. Plush robes, slippers, beach towels for use during the cruise, and other amenities were also provided.
We liked that the safe was spacious enough for many items including a decent sized laptop.
Again, stay tuned for our full review of Europa 2 in the November 2 edition of Travel Agent magazine.