Live from the Eurodam 10-10-09

[sldispatcher]

Pre-Cruise Arrival - FLL

 

Hello fellow CC'ers.

After a great time last year doing a "live from the Ryndam", I've decided to start a similar thread for the Eurodam.

 

There have been many other people talk about the Eurodam and details...I'm going to try to write this through the eyes of our group. So if anyone is still reading at this point, I'll continue with some details.

 

We are 7 persons.

 

Myself and my DW. 40 and 43

Our friends Paul and Angela 40's

My parents: 70

My brother: 48

 

From: Louisiana

 

Previous Cruises:

DW and I: Celebrity Infinity 14d alaska; Amsterdam 12 night Carib; Ryndam to Sea of Cortez

 

Paul/Angela: Carnival/RCCL/HAL (Oosterdam San Diego), Emerald Princess

 

Parents (see ours + Nowegian from Boston for a meeting)

 

Brother: Celebrity, Carnival, first time HAL cruiser

 

We traveled from our respective cities today. We did fine with our Houston Connection, my parents and brother got stuck with sets of delays due to weather, etc. (more on that later)

 

We arrived into FLL at 1030 am and checked into our hotel, the Hyatt Pier 66. We requested port views and got them. The Coral Princess is the only ship in port today. It is very hot and humid. Reminds me of Maracaibo Venezuela kind of hot...and I know humid being from NW Louisiana.

The hotel is a retro modern design. Cool colors, etc. It is obviously an older hotel, but the rooms are quite large and the Deluxe Tower Kings have a great balcony. The A/C works and there are nice sized bathrooms. The front desk is exceptional and concierge would knock the socks off of anyone at the Ritz Carlton, etc.

 

We went to the Galleria Mall for lunch. Was about a 10 minute $15 taxi ride one way. We had 4 choices of eateries and settled on the Capital Grille. Fantastic lunch. The ladies shared a crab and lobster burger...Paul had a Ribeye sandwich and I had a great cheeseburger with bacon..ground in the patty...with great truffle fries.

 

We walked the mall and did some shopping.

 

All the while, I'm checking my parent's/brother's flights and progress via my Windows phone. They are stuck in their originating airport for 3 hours....they would eventually wait some more time in Houston...but did make it here. I will NEVER fly in on the same day as the cruise departure. That is foolish.

 

I had been playing a game for a few weeks with my DW and Angela/Paul. I had arranged for a special dinner out on the town for all of us. We ate at Cafe Maxx in Pompano Beach. I would not tell them where we would eat...only drop some cryptic clues.

 

The flight mess made our plans very fluid throughout the evening, but with the help of the concierge (who gave me his home phone number) and great van driver, Alturo, our party of 7 was put together again and we had a nice night out.

 

I've arranged for a limo van to pick us up in the morning for the short trip to the pier...it is a bit of a splurge at $55, just to go a few blocks...but that is all part of the fun!~ It IS vacation...and my 40th bday to boot.

 

I'll be happy to fill in details of any of the above....but for now, I'm going to get to bed and get ready for tomorrow...

7 days is just too short of a cruise!

 

DC

[Jewel99]

Woohoo!

 

Can't wait to read more. Thanks so much for doing this.

 

We'll be on the Eurodam next Saturday and we arrive in FLL on the Thursday night. Can't wait to read all about your trip.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for checking in.

 

Glad you made it to Ft Lauderdale.

[Rowan813]

Thanks for the updates. I will be looking forwaard to your updates. Have a great cruise!

[sassy~one]

I will be reading daily! Im leaving on the 17th with my DH and my mom.

enjoy, sassy

[sassy~one]

A question if you can....

 

I would love to know if they still have activitys for DAM DOLLARS?

 

thanks sassy

[Solo Cruiser]

Thanks for starting a live from thread. For those of who are grounded for a while this is the next best thing to being on the ship. I look forward to the coming posts.

[IRL_Joanie]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

That said, I cannot wait to read more!!! Hurry and wake up so you can start living the cruise for us to read more of:D

 

Also want pictures of everything!!

 

Joanie

[CasaSmith]

I hope you enjoy your cruise. Just got off this morning from the Eurodam after 14 wonderful days on her. Great Captain, Staff and ship. I hope you enjoy her as much as we did.

 

Have a great week, already miss her.

[sldispatcher]

Day 1

Our driver arrived at the hotel as scheduled at 11am. The Hyatt Pier 66 staff was superb from top to bottom.

Arriving at the pier is always an exciting and momentous time as you all know. At 1110, the doors had just been opened into the check in area. The warmth was almost unpleasant (dress appropriately if you are getting there early) but we were inside within 10 minutes.

The usual snaking around a few lines…10 minutes and we were at check in. We had been handed #11 boarding cards and told to board when that number was called. They started calling group #1 while we were still in line.

Up the escalator and into the holding area…by this time, they were at group 6. We waited another 15 minutes before our number was called. The line moved quite slowly up the gangway…almost impossibly slow. As you got to the top of the gangway, we then moved slowly another 20 yards until the doorway for entry. The security people were writing down names and numbers and not scanning cards. Not sure what that was about. Total time to get on was about 45 minutes.

Note to future cruisers, every person that greeted you encouraged you to go to the lido buffet. I finally asked someone if the dining room was open and they said “sure”. However, that is only from 12 – 1.

We zipped to the dining room and had a most pleasant and relaxed lunch by the windows in the aft. Bay shrimp cocktail, barley soup, chicken salad, and cookies and cream yogurt for me….other choices abounded as usual.

We toured the ship and looked at the casino, spa, etc. The ship is very much still “new”. In fact, the theater, with all of that leather seating, still smells new.

130 on the dot, the call went out that rooms were ready. We arrived to our door with a note taped requesting a room swap! Turns out we were between two rooms with family members that wanted to be together. I called them and although tired and ready to get settled in, we managed to make the luggage swap…but the front desk said we would have to come back after 430 to make the computer swap.

We exchanged keys for the time being so both parties affected could get settled in.

Our SS room would be more than ample. I really like the size of the balcony rooms on ships like the Amsterdam and Ryndam…I know they are a little smaller on this ship, so the SS is nice, but I’m just happy to be onboard. After spending a week in the Andes of Ecuador last month on a mission trip, we should all be thankful that we can do something like this. I get a little irritated when I see people complain that they saw a spot on the carpet in the corner of the piano bar, etc. It’s all about perspective.

The general mix of people on this ship probably puts the average age closer to 50.

Muster was hot and a necessary evil.

We then moved to my brother’s SB room on deck 5 for the sailaway. I love leaving and coming into ports…the ship always seems most graceful to me when it is tip-toeing into a port as opposed to barreling ahead on the open seas.

We met for a nice respite in the Silk Den….as always courteous service…wonderful drinks.

We then went to the Tamarind for our 7pm reservations. We had a great table setup and the wonderful service began. With only one other table occupied in the entire restaurant, we were treated like kings and queens. Others did eventually start coming in 30 minutes to an hour later.

The whole meal was a highlight. Flavors were well balanced from start to finish. We pigged out on the shrimp crackers and different sauces….some of the highlighted dishes were the sea bass, the satay sampler, the hoison ribs, the spring rolls and the tenderloin. All of the desserts were unique, but the tempura ice cream was the clear front runner.

We piddled (or waddled) after dinner into a very busy casino and not as busy shopping arcade. The shopping arcade is light and airy. I like that. The casino was not as smoke filled, but it was there.

1030pm and we are beat and headed for bed.

The ship cannot be moving. We have not felt a single bobble. We cannot even tell we are moving. We’ve not seen our cabin steward, but he was here while we were at dinner.

We are headed to the galley tour in the morning…dinner in the main dining room.

I love HAL.

David

room 8063

[sldispatcher]

Awoke at 730 am

Very quiet on board. Signed up for my internet minutes.

They had a sign up for internet and recieve 25% off a spa treatment this morning.

 

Lido was not as busy.

 

Took 3 phone calls for room service to get breakfast to my parents room (they are in 8069).

 

We have the same room attendant, Erwin and his helper Madi. They are very gracious and very helpful.

 

We're going on the galley tour this morning. Wanted to eat lunch at the Pinnacle Grill but they were already booked for lunch! Yikes. I knew I liked the smaller ships for a reason. That shouldn't be a problem the rest of the week, though.

 

Partly cloudy skies, blue water, calm seas...

 

Check you later.

 

David

[sassy~one]

Thank You very much please keep them coming.

I have never had to have a number to board, that must be new.

sassy

[Justy]

Is it worth it to bring my laptop? How are the hot spots? Is there a setup fee? Or should I just use the internet cafe? Thanks for the great info. I'll be on the Eurodam on 10/24. I can't wait?

[LorraineP]

Thank you for taking the time to clue us in on what to expect. Leaving Thursday for FLL then beginning our cruise 10/17. Are there any specials for the spa for the week? We already booked it for $250 a couple but wondering if that was a mistake. Did you sign up for any culinary classes? Thanks once again and enjoy the rest of your trip and wishing you continued smooth sailing and great weather.

[floralscent]

I'm getting that relaxed vacation feeling just by reading your posts and can nearly hear the waves...then I realized that I was at home! :)

 

Please keep the posts coming. We are boarding the Eurodam in December and it will be our 1st HAL cruise. It's good to hear the ropes 1st hand as you live out your vacation.

[clayb]

Thanks for reporting from the Eurodam. We'll be sailing 10/17 so we appreciate your insight. !!!

[catl331]

Maybe the Pinnacle was booked by a group or people were using a free lunch from a travel agency. We were told by HAL not to book dinner the first night because that is when the free travel agency diners used their freebies. or not!!

[sldispatcher]

Is it worth it to bring my laptop? How are the hot spots? Is there a setup fee? Or should I just use the internet cafe? Thanks for the great info. I'll be on the Eurodam on 10/24. I can't wait?

 

 

3.95 setup charge...on the first day at sea they offered 25% off a deluxe spa treatment for signing up for more than 100 minutes...plus 10 free minutes.

 

The whole ship is basically a hot spot.

 

(The lido is just a zoo compared to the other HAL ships)

[sldispatcher]

Thank you for taking the time to clue us in on what to expect. Leaving Thursday for FLL then beginning our cruise 10/17. Are there any specials for the spa for the week? We already booked it for $250 a couple but wondering if that was a mistake. Did you sign up for any culinary classes? Thanks once again and enjoy the rest of your trip and wishing you continued smooth sailing and great weather.

 

Other than what I mentioned above, I haven't seen any spa specials. They WERE VERY busy booking spa services, but my experience has been that port days have the specials.

 

I think if it something you really want you should book ahead...otherwise, you are taking a chance..PLUS you can always ask for the discount once you are onboard.

There is a 24 hour cancellation policy...50% is charged to your stateroom for the value of the service if you don't cancel ahead of time.

 

David

[Rowan813]

Thank you again for all of the info. I was wondering who the Captain and Hotel Manager are. If you get a chance to check out the piano bar I would like to know about the quality of the entertainment. The piano bar sounds fun if the piano player is good. I'm counting down the days until our cruise. Thanks!

[LolaWiz]

I am loving every post of this thread... David, when you are disembarking, my family and I will be embarking.

 

I am also curious about the piano bar and who the player is. Last year (in Dec on the E) he was awesome! We spent every evening there!

[K&RCurt]

Thanks so much for your posts. We will be on the Eurodam in just under two weeks.

 

Would you mind reporting what time the shows are scheduled for? I have eard several different times and would like to be able to plan or evenings.

[sldispatcher]

Day 2 – Late Report

Lunch in the dining room. Various tasty dishes, but service is more spread out on this ship than the S and R class ships. I can’t tell if there are one too many tables per serving section or if the whole As You Wish program may not work so well on a ship this size. Time will tell.

We rested for the most part this afternoon. We did book my parents on a 24 day British Isles/Norway sailing (actually a back-to-back 12 day sailing combo) on the Westerdam next August. We’ll catch them on the Norway segment. We did away with As You Wish and went back to set dining times for that cruise. Although we had not problems on the R or S class ship, this Signature class doesn’t seem to handle to problems as well. It just takes a little patience and you will be fine. The food tastes the same!

We planned to do Bingo at 4, but the ship staff decided to start selling cards at 4 on the floor of the Main Stage instead of pre-selling as people walked in. After waiting 10 minutes on the steps in a line that was adding on faster to the rear than people were being processed, we decided to call it an afternoon and get ready for dinner.

It’s formal night tonight. After bathing and dressing we met in the Explorer’s lounge for what has become our standard HAL process of a cocktail and string music prior to dinner. My brother had a 2 hour spa appt and was to meet us at 645 for As You Wish seating. I had the Blue Cocoa Mojito (recommended) and others had wine, Coral Lemon Drop, etc.

At 645, the line was already getting 20 deep, so I decided we should get in the queue. After about 10 minutes we were seated just as brother arrived from his seaweed/body float treatment.

Because of a larger number of passengers, the usual open space in the middle of the dining room has a large upper level seating nook and lower level bus station. It is all quite elegant, but it definitely closes up the room quite a bit as compared to the R and S class ships (haven’t been on Vista). It is by no means claustrophobic.

Dinner was a leisurely 2 hour affair. In part, due to the fact that the waiter and assistant waiter simply were serving 4 tables at different points in the dining process. I used to be a big fan of As You Wish….I think now that it is too much work on the staff. How many people are sailing HAL because of AYWD now anyway?

We actually started with a round of cheese plates (off of the dessert menu) then came some great fish cakes and shrimp cocktails, salads, 4 mushroom soup, filets, quail, lamb chops, etc.

After dinner, we retired (again a habit for us) to the Explorer’s lounge for more strings and the traditional Spanish Coffee made here. If you like coffee..and you like it loaded..this is the place to enjoy it! It is a nightly tradition for some in our group.

As others have commented, the ship is a bit more crowded than our Amsterdam and Ryndam experiences. We made our way to the theater. The casino was hopping.

By the way, the casino should have a big red “X” on your itinerary..as in stay away from any slot machines. My rather experienced brother and parents are familiar with quite a few of the machines from Vegas trips. They have been completely turned off by the very low payback rate. May I suggest you upgrade your room with the money that you would have put in those machines? You’ll enjoy it far longer and have a much greater return on your investment. Besides, we are told that a more traditional (and not over rigged) casino is near the San Juan port at the Sheraton. We’ll try our luck there.

HAL should be just a little ashamed at running a casino operation like that.

The culinary arts center is being used much more frequently now. I like that as I thought it was underutilized on the previous 2 sailings.

Nancy is the cruise director and she just got in from covering Alaska sailings.

The show tonight was what I consider up to the usual high standards of HAL. Young dancers and singers (and the singers have great voices) in a stage that is much more theatrical than on the R & S lounges. I’ll not tell everything, but I think you will like it.

At 11pm, the boat is still rocking. I can tell you from the previous 2 sailings, that at 11pm, the place was getting very quiet, so if night life is your thing, these 7 day Caribbean turns may be just for you.

We are having a great time. Snorkel for some tomorrow morning at Grand Turk while the rest go to lunch at Tamarind ….dinner tomorrow night is in the Pinnacle Grill.

For now, have a good evening……and I’m not happy that this is not a 14 day cruise.

BTW, the onboard count is 2,169 passengers.

David

[sldispatcher]

Thanks so much for your posts. We will be on the Eurodam in just under two weeks.

 

Would you mind reporting what time the shows are scheduled for? I have eard several different times and would like to be able to plan or evenings.

 

Probably depends on the day, but today was 8 and 10pm.

I know you want to "plan the day", but you might also like to just go with the flow!

[sldispatcher]

 

I am also curious about the piano bar and who the player is. Last year (in Dec on the E) he was awesome! We spent every evening there!

 

I have no idea. I'll try and find out.