adrift@sea

We were on the January 31st cruise on the Eurodam for 7 days...

 

Entertainment – probably the best I’ve experienced in my 5 cruises. The BB King Allstars were hands down, the best I’ve ever seen. The two lead singers, Ashley and Carlos were excellent and you could tell they really liked each other and had a ball performing. There was standing room only for pretty much all their performances and lots of regulars there each night up dancing. We tried to catch at least one set each night they were performing...

We absolutely agree with you regarding this B.B. King All Star group -- they are the best of the best. We have cruised with them a number of times aboard Eurodam. In fact, Ashley and Carlos are cousins (their mothers are twins). One of the guitar players is also a cousin. This band has great personality for sure.

We were on board over the Holidays and they were outstanding New Year's Eve -- even better than they were last year! They played by the Lido pool to a standing room audience and brought the down the house.

The Captain and his wife, as well as, Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp. and his family, spent more than a few nights listening and dancing to this band. Mr. Donald & his wife stayed every night until they finished playing. And as always, it was standing room only.

Eurodam, as well as the other HAL ships, have always had cranberry juice available in the Lido.

We are on the Eurodam for a 7-day cruise over the New Year. Trying to guess when the Formal Night is likely to be as we would like to avoid a Speciality Restaurant on that night.

 

First time HAL cruise so I can only assume that formal nights are normally on a sea-day.

Dec 28 is a sea-day

Jan 1 is a sea-day

 

Will Formal Night likely to take place on the first sea-day or will are they likely to defer it to Dec 31?

Last year on Eurodam, New Year's Eve was "Festive Attire/Smart Casual", not formal. I would imagine this was done because of the change in the New Year's Eve festivities. I believe it will be the same this year.

Formal nights were the first and last sea days.

Prior to last New Year's Eve, this evening was indeed "Formal" on Eurodam.

I'd put the "always available meals not available" not on the kitchen but on the waiter. I would put a small fortune on salmon and chicken being available, too bad your waiter didn't feel like doing his best. :(

I think you are right. We spent several weeks aboard Veendam this summer and were able to order from the "Always Available" items, although they were not listed on the menu.

Maybe the steward was not aware the "always available" items were actually available, or the steward simply could not be bothered. While we have found these instances rare, they do occur.

While we always try to give the benefit of the doubt to the steward, if we believe his information to be incorrect, we will ask to speak with someone else to confirm.

We have spent a number of New Year's on both the Westerdam and the Eurodam. Although, the Westerdam is our favorite Vista ship, we love the Eurodam and that's where we plan to spend New Year's again this year.

Yes, the B.B.King All Star Band plays on the Eurodam--we love these groups. Last year, HAL did something a little different for New Year's Eve, they had the B.B. King Band play out on the back of the ship (Lido Deck) for the evening, instead of the Lounge.

It looks to me like general storage space that would not generate much noise. However, that cabin is almost under the Queen's Lounge/CAC which could have loud activities and a lot of foot traffic at times.

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I agree, the Queen's Lounge is where the B.B. King Band plays most nights so there might be some noise. I am sure someone that has stayed in one of these cabins will come along and relate their experiences.

Yes, you can get cranberry juice in Lido, Dining Room & Room Service.

Dining Room usually open during embarkation but on occasion can be closed for a luncheon. Limited hours but I don't recall specifics as we don't go.

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Interesting to read these comments. It reflects some of the problems we saw a few years ago. We are just back from the Eurodam's New Year cruise and found quite the opposite (to our pleasant surprise).

 

Our cabin stewards were great and always had our cabin made up before noon - maybe because we are up and about relatively early, who knows for sure. For the first time we did open dining and made reservations for 5:45 pm. The dining room (deck 2) was only half full the five nights we ate there and the service was quick and efficient. We were always finished in an hour even though we had a multi-course dinner and dessert and coffee. The waiters were not busy at all. I did notice that the waiter did handle cocktails which surprised me.

 

The ship's log reported 2289 passengers (lots of kids!) and a crew of 889.

 

Best cruise we have had on HAL in several years. We go again in February aboard Noordam so it will be interesting to see what occurs.

We were also on board Eurodam for Christmas/New Year's, as well as, Thanksgiving and found the service to be exceptional. Our cabin was always made up well before 11 am. Our stewards checked in just about daily to see if everything was to our liking.

Agreed the Dining Room service was quick and efficient. Most nights, we were finished in a little over an hour or so (our choice). We also ate on the lower level, although we did tend to arrive quite a bit later than 5:45. There were nights that the DR became extremely busy but that never appeared to cause any delays with our dinner service.

Never had any problem ordering a drink or wine in the DR. Requests were handled quickly and efficiently. Also never encountered any delays ordering drinks in any of the bars or lounges.

We have found the Eurodam to be one of the best run ships in the HAL fleet.

I've read through this thread and may have missed the answer to my question.

 

How long will a band stay on a ship?

 

The band started on Zuiderdam in December...will they still be on when we board March 6th?

 

My husband says no; I say yes. He's the blues fan.

 

Any idea?

I would venture to guess YES, the BB King Group should still be aboard for your cruise March 6th (or a new group will be brought on). It is my understanding that their contracts are 4 months. When one group disembarks, a new BB King Group comes on board.

On Eurodam, the previous BB King Group came on board in early August and completed their contract disembarking on Nov. 30th. The current group came on board on Nov. 30th and their contract is up March 29th.

Where does the group perform when they are not on the Eurodam's Main Stage? Hard to get a seat? Really looking forward to hearing them!

Mary

We just spent a couple of weeks on Eurodam and saw The BB King group most nights. They usually play twice each evening in the Queens Lounge. The Lounge was packed every night but if you get there prior to them starting, you should be able to get a seat.

The current group will be on board until the end of March. They were outstanding.

We would give a slight edge to Eurodam. She seems to have a better 'feel'-- hard to explain. We are on board her now.

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We received the survey and have never purchased HAL's cancellation coverage. Have cruised recently and have several more booked.

Agreed that it is an interesting concept of getting more (%) back if you took it in credits instead of cash.

Is the BB Kings Blues Clubs currently on the Eurodam, If no, do you know when it will start?

Yes, BB King Group is on board Eurodam. A new group boarded yesterday to begin a 4 month contract.

Sailing next Sunday on the Eurodam...daughter's fiance is an officer on the ship..not sure if he was on the bridge for sailway. But I will try to find out why the Eurodam was so stingy with her toots!:p

New Captain boarded yesterday -- Capt. Scott.

BB King is presently on the Noordam.

As a rule their contracts are only for a few months. Doubt if they will still be on the ship next summer.

The BB King Group on board the Eurodam just ended their 4 month contract yesterday and disembarked; however, their was a new BB King Group in Ft. Lauderdale waiting to board to begin their contract.

I would guess that the group currently on board Noordam will be replaced when their contracts are up.

After a whole lot of calling around and a lot more confusion in trying to find a hotel in Fort Lauderdale where we can leave our car for ten days while we cruise, we have decided to park right at the pier. However, I have no idea how to find out where the Noordam will be docked on November 24th, or if we will be able to secure a parking spot on that day. The additional amount charged by the better hotels in FLL for parking for ten days was more than parking directly at the pier. Some were as high as $21.00 per day for leaving the car, and an additional cost for transports to the pier.

 

I don't know if others have experienced this problem or not but I am very frustrated. Can you please tell me if you have parked at the pier before and was it convenient and easy to do? I am thinking of staying outside of FLL the night before and just driving in the day of the cruise. Does this seem crazy?

We always use the midport parking lot in Port Everglades when sailing with HAL. We have never had any problem getting a parking space in this garage. We sail every year on the weekend before Christmas which is the busiest weekend of the year and have not had any problem.

If you are really concerned about getting a parking space in the garage, plan on arriving around 10 am or so, as passengers that are disembarking will be leaving the garage around that time (or just prior to).

This garage is used for all visitors to the ships, so there is constant movement within the garage. We always try to park second level or higher and in the interior of the garage. Every once in a while, storms will pass through that can produce flooding or strong winds. One year we returned from a Holiday cruise on Maasdam and were parked facing the water. We literally could see into the Dining Room of Maasdam from our car. When we returned 2 weeks later, we needed to clean the windshield (it was filthy) with paper towels and windex--windshield wipers and spray were not doing very much.

Toad,

 

We have parked at the Midport Parking Deck, Pier 26, many times and it is very conveinent, cost is $15/day. The last time we disembarked I asked the porter if he would take our luggage to the deck we were parked on and he did, for a tip of course. Load you luggage and you are on your way. On the front end drop your luggage off at the pier, along with the spouse, then go park your car. It is inside the port so security is great.

 

We have looked at hotels but their cost is as high if not higher even if you stay prior to a cruise. I don't want to leave my car in the open in a lot outside the port, just my opinion. In the deck is is away from any possibility of nasty weather.

 

Good Luck

I agree that Midport Parking garage is very convenient. And yes, porters will take your luggage to your car at your request. No need to schlep it if you do not wish to. You can also have your spouse wait with the luggage in front of the terminal while you get your car.

Your car is safe within the port as there is security. I also like the idea of parking in a garage rather than a lot.

I was able to complete Part 1 with no problems. In Part 2, I am only able to respond to the first two questions and then receive an error message. I sent an email last night reporting the problem.

I initially opened in IE, then tried chrome and firefox. Also tried to open in safari.

 

In your letter you should get new ID cards. On the Intransit morning you can take the second set of boarding passes to the front desk and drop them off there.

 

You will use your old ID cards to get off the ship and the new ID cards to get back onto the ship.

It really is not necessary to turn in your boarding passes to the Front Office for the second cruise. You only need to check in once---when you initially board. The Front Office will be aware that you are remaining on board.

It is important that when you get off the ship, you have your old ID cards to scan "OFF" the ship and your new cards to scan "ON" again. You MUST have the Intransit card with you before you leave the ship as you will need this to present to Officials with your passport, and it will allow you to bypass the check-in lines when reboarding. You should receive the new ID cards and Intransit card(s) the day before you dock.

If you look on HAL facts and go to Ryndam cabin 179, you can see the parking area in the balcony pics. I flew in so don't know cost but it couldn't be closer.

That is how close we remember the parking lot to be. We could see the frost on the cars as we docked, it was one of those chilly winter mornings.

I think they print the stars on your card along with your name. I don't think the cards have stars on them prior to that.

You are correct, the cards are printed with the stars along with your name, mariner #, cruise dates, etc., at the same time.

We had stars on our cards on our recent Eurodam cruise.

My question is, if it was spring break, why did your daughter have to do school work? My son has never had school work over spring break. IMO I think it was a matter of she could not get on facebook or Instagram. Again, JMO. Kids have a hard time letting go of their social media these day. Pretty sad. And if my son ever told me he would never sail HAL again, I would say "OK, then you can stay with your grandparents while I enjoy my vacation on a wonderful ship"

These are assumptions on your part. Over the years, our children had many assignments that needed to be completed during school breaks whether we were traveling or not.

I'm not sure I'm the only one but I'm one of those who have seen, with my own eyes, a list of names posted in the cabin stewards' work room. By the way I wasn't snooping, I was looking for a steward to get ice for our cabin and the room's door was open so I stepped in to see if anybody was in there or get ice myself. And no, I didn't read the list of names, but it was clearly labeled as a list of passengers by cabin number who had left or removed their HSC. As for what the Front Desk said or didn't say....beats me. Maybe they were factually reporting a different or new policy, maybe they were just being polite and didn't want to make the passenger feel like he/she was doing something "wrong", or maybe they were just plain mistaken.

Yes, we have also seen the list. There are additional lists in the kitchens, DR Mgrs./Housekeeping Offices, etc.

Perhaps the misunderstanding is not in the answer, but in the question. How did the passenger phrase his question? Was it a direct question or was it basically a statement (of his understanding and/or belief) seeking some sort of confirmation from the Front Office.

Again, same thoughts regarding the conversation with the steward--question or confirmation of a statement? Really, what was he supposed to say? We have all encountered stewards that were more forward and direct but the majority are not. I think many would be uncomfortable in participating in a conversation of this nature and would agree pretty much with whatever a passenger said.

Maybe the Front Office did get it wrong, it certainly wouldn't be the first time that erroneous information was given. Based on HAL's current policy, it stands to reason that if the HSC is reduced, any additional monies received by the stewards would have to be turned in.

I agree that "acceptable" does not mean that the steward can keep the money.

Jaded here too, but I always figured the mini bar could be raided, rather than the bathrobe taken.

I was actually thinking more along someone helping themselves to the mini bar than the bathrobes. Either way.....

Just a quick question, as I don't see this specifically mentioned. Are the towels distributed to the cabins just for shore days or are they basically your towels for the cruise? Specifically, does this mean we need to bring our own towels from the cabin when we go to the pool / hot tub or are the dark blue towels still there?

Yes, the striped blue towels distributed early in the cruise are intended for your use for shore days, however, you can use them as you please for the duration of the cruise. The solid blue towels are still available around the Lido pools as they have always been.