Live from the Eurodam - 11-8 through 11-22

[retiredkid]

so enjoying your posts! Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[hugger]

Thanks so much for doing this "live from" thread. We are boarding for 1 week on Sunday Nov. 22. I was excited before reading your thread but now I am bordering on crazy...and ready to go. Thanks again!!

 

Helen

 

MY DH and I are also sailing on Nov. 22nd for the 16 day cruise. We like you and your DH LOVED the Eurodam b2b last November so much that we are back on again this year. I see you and your DH cruised her in April 15.

 

Wonderful that you live so close to port. We drive in the night prior from Tampa Bay so that we can get onboard early and start enjoying the ship.

 

For me I don't really start to feel like I'm on vacation until our luggage all arrives and I can unpack and settle in . . . then I start to really get in cruise mode.

 

Having this live from thread has been so wonderful - maybe I will start relaxing on the drive to FLL.

 

See you onboard . . .

[Krazy Kruizers]

On the second week of our cruise on the Eurodam, we also had a medical emergency. This we thought was strange as we had to take the person to Princess Cay -- send them ashore via one of our tenders and there the Helicopter took them to a hospital.

Hope your wait in the show lounge on In Transit day wasn't as long as ours. We were called at 9:45 and because of 5 cabins not showing up and then finally down to 2 people, we sat there until 11:25.

[NRFBQN]

It’s so much fun being on a back-to-back! Last night as we walked back to our cabin, we saw all of the luggage waiting to be picked up and it was so nice to to have ours in the mix. I love that we have another week of cruising to look forward to!

 

We arrived on time this morning thanks to our Captain putting extra logs on the fire last night. We had a leisurely awakening after a night of gentle rocking and 20 knots speed to make up for our time lost at Half Moon Cay

 

Opened our curtains to find a gray, blustery day in Ft. Lauderdale, but no rain. Celebrity Silhouette was docked across from us and it was really apparent how big the ship was by how many people got off. We watched for quite a while and the crowd never diminished.

 

There were four other ships in the harbor, including Celebrity Silhouette, Nieuw Amsterdam, Regal Princess, and Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas. It was a beautiful sight and fun to see all of the different sizes, shapes, and configurations.

 

It turned out to be a day of massing and waiting. We were able to go through customs on the ship, but we sat and waited a long time for people who didn’t come to the Mainstage on time. In fairness, we never heard the announcement either —it was apparently tacked onto the end of one of the other announcements about which color and number group were disembarking. By 10 minutes after 10, we decided that we’d better head down there anyway, announcement or not. We were in the middle of those to arrive, so I think a lot of people were in the same position as we were. (I almost said that they were in the same boat, but duh! We are all in the same boat!)

 

They had coffee for us and showed BBC on the big screen on the stage. Later they changed it to ESPN. At one point we were down to about ten people they were searching for and it was noted that they were all men. Poetically, when it came down to just two, they were women! The sad thing was that people booed when the last people showed up. A couple of us, myself included, said, “that’s not nice” and the guy next to me said, “I didn’t mean it to be nice.” Boo, hiss to him! Would have I wanted to be out of there sooner than an hour and a half? Yes! But I an imagine that the two ladies already felt foolish and I didn’t think we needed to rub it in.

 

Once we were all assembled, it was easy getting through customs - they just looked at our passports and our ship cards and that was it. Since it was now 11:30, we headed to the Dive-In for lunch. I was delighted to see that they had bacon again! They had run out a couple days ago and we were hoping they would replenish the supply in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

We talked with a fellow passenger at lunch who said that something had happened with the last restocking in Ft. Lauderdale and then they tried again in Key West and that had problems, too. Perhaps that explains running out of so many kinds of beer! We ran across a poor fellow who was complaining (nicely) to his room steward that all of the light beers were gone (he itemized them each by name) and that he couldn’t drink the few other beers that were available.

 

All this talk of beer reminded me of something I hadn’t shared about the Captain’s talk. He was with Cunard during the first Gulf War and their ship was an R&R ship for the troops moored off of Kuwait. He said the the soldiers drank an average of 26 cans of beer per day per soldier! Yikes! We are consuming far less than that on our Signature Beverage Package and we already feel like our livers are getting pickled.

 

After lunch, I did some work in our room, then watched as the Celebrity guys wrestled with enormous masses of luggage in the middle of the parking lot. Eventually they got it all on their ship, but I can’t imagine how.

 

Muster drill went well - after that we went to Ocean Bar to wait out the elevator crowd, but we weren’t the only ones to have this idea! I started to wonder if we were ever going to get our drinks, but then remembered we had nowhere to go and didn’t need to be there at any specific time, so relax!

 

Once the elevator crowd cleared and we had enjoyed our pre-Happy Hour cocktails, we went back to the room and did more lazing around. We’re getting really good at this :).

 

We planned dinner at Tamarind tonight and it didn’t disappoint - everything was amazing! I can always tell when a meal is amazing because I completely forget about taking pictures. The satay was yummy, the Peking duck was perfect, the sashimi was fresh and tasty and then the wasabi-encrusted steak was great. It was done to perfection and just the right size after all of the appetizers. I tried to beg off from dessert, but our charming server Ara insisted that I have something. A few bites of delicious sorbets and we brought our dinner to an end.

 

Off to photo gallery to pick up our photos from the first half of the trip - they kept them a little longer than usual so that they could make us a digital disk. We’ve never bought the photos before, but I loved these. Could we be getting more photogenic as we get older? :)

 

Then to the shop to buy a birthday card for one of our shipmates - we’ll celebrate with them tomorrow night. at the Gala evening.

 

Only one more thing to complete our night - back up to the Silk Den for our nightcap. We are enjoying this routine way too much. I think I will need a detox when we get home!

 

Returned back to our room to find a lovely plate of chocolate treats with a thank you note from the Captain and Hotel Director for being on a Collectors’ Cruise. I have been impressed with how many times and ways they have thanked us.

 

Tonight the clock moves forward one hour as we sail to Turks and Caicos. Our plans for the day include lunch at the Pinnacle, a visit to the spa (we missed it today for the first time - we didn’t feel like being attractions on the spa tour parade) and more lazing around. Rough life! I’m also hoping to get to trivia tomorrow — I need more pins for my collection.

[Lizzie68]

Another great report - thank you. Too bad about the boors waiting in the lounge.

[cruz chic]

They seem to be having some trouble provisioning the ship. On my cruise on the eurodam in October they didn't have any romaine until San Juan. I love Caesar salad and generally have it every night. I'm glad I left the ship on turnaround day. It seems to take quite a while as KK has reported. Thank you for your reports.

[slabeaume]

We were on the first week of your cruise. Wish we were still on it! It certainly was interesting. We were in the balcony right above the rescue boat and had a great view as they left and came back. HOpe your 2nd week is as good as your first week!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Love your report.

Sounds like you went through the same thing we did on In Transit day.

We sure didn't get any extra treats from the captain and/or hotel manager for doing a Collectors Cruise.

[cruiserzoid]

Eurodam did NOTHING for a collector cruise last year. Not even the regular Mariner brunches or tiles. No Cruise Logs like HAL used to have. I asked at the front desk and they looked at me like I was from Mars. Never heard of them...

[NRFBQN]

Thanks, everyone, for enjoying my reports! I remember reading in someone else's "Live from" thread that posting these reports is a great way to document one's vacation and I agree completely. It's making me pay more attention to what we are doing and seeing.

 

Regarding the acknowledgement of Collectors Cruise and/or Mariner's level, we've had the following:

 

First day of first half of cruise - Mariner's reception in the Crow's Nest - champagne and passed hors d'oeuvres. There was a little speech by Sarah, the Cruise Director, and she introduced other officers. It was really crowded, so we couldn't see or hear much.

 

Second sea day of first half of cruise (Day 6?), Mariner's brunch in the Dining Room, 2nd deck - Champagne, appetizer, entree, dessert. Speech by Captain, Cruise Director, First Officer (because of the Cuban refugee rescue), and introduction of the Employee of the Month (a member of the kitchen staff.) They also awarded medals to two Mariners who didn't receive them at the medal ceremony that was held just prior to the brunch. We received our tiles at our table, delivered by our dining room steward. Previously we always picked up our tiles as we exited the dining room, so it was a nice touch to have them delivered.

 

Last day of first half - Meeting in the Mainstage to discuss the turnaround process for those staying on board in Ft. Lauderdale. Champagne was served as we entered the room.

 

Turnaround day - Meeting in the Mainstage to go through customs. Coffee was served as we entered the room.

 

Turnaround day - Received a plate of sweets in the room along with a card from the Captain and Hotel Director thanking us for continuing our voyage with them.

 

We did not receive an invitation to the Mariner's reception on the first day of the second half of the trip and I'm guessing we won't receive an invitation to the Mariner's brunch later this week.

 

That's all I can remember at this point, but it is quite a lot and we do feel well appreciated.

 

Edited: One more thing - we did receive a Cruise Log in our mailbox either on the last night or on the morning of departure.

Edited November 17, 2015 by NRFBQN

[NRFBQN]

A lazy sea day for us today. We had lunch at the Pinnacle (always wonderful!) and then browsed the shops. They have restocked the jewelry and have a new trunk show of beautiful diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. They also restocked the watches (danger, Will Robinson, danger!) Nothing new in Tommy Bahama, which is good because I’m not sure DH’s suitcase will close after his purchases from the first half of the trip.

 

At 3, we went to Team Trivia for the first time this cruise. We met two lovely ladies from Florida, Pat and Caroline, and became a team. We thought we did poorly, but it turns out that we were only two points away from winning, so I guess it wasn’t too bad. Here are some of the questions:

 

What is the name of the largest sapphire in the world?

How many seconds are on the shot clock in an Olympic Basketball game?

What is the chemical symbol for silver?

What color are cranberries before they turn red?

Who put Humpty Dumpty back together again?

How many points is a Jack worth in Blackjack?

 

Let me know if you want the answers :).

 

Next up, we were off to the spa for a bit of time in the hydro pool and on the heated loungers. Always relaxing, even though it was quite crowded. There were ten of us in the pool the whole time we were there, with people leaving just as new people came in.

 

After that, we rested a bit (as if we weren’t relaxed enough!) and pretty soon it was time for dinner. It was Gala night and the menu looked familiar from the first half of the trip, but it was a good menu that included a shrimp cocktail and a steak with peppercorn sauce. One of our friends at our table was celebrating his birthday, so there was lively signing by a group of stewards and a delicious strawberry cake to add to the celebration. Our steward, Budi, remembered my standing order for berries for dessert and brought me a lovely assortment. After collecting a couple more of the souvenir cordial glasses, we called it a night.

 

Tomorrow, we dock at 8 in Grand Turk. Since we’ve already toured the island on a cruise last year, we’re going to do a little shopping and visit Margaritaville, then hopefully back to trivia again in the afternoon.

[cruz chic]

Love your report.

Sounds like you went through the same thing we did on In Transit day.

We sure didn't get any extra treats from the captain and/or hotel manager for doing a Collectors Cruise.

 

Well that's odd. I got a small plate with some chocolate things on it. You didn't get that? It wasn't large.

[cruz chic]

Eurodam did NOTHING for a collector cruise last year. Not even the regular Mariner brunches or tiles. No Cruise Logs like HAL used to have. I asked at the front desk and they looked at me like I was from Mars. Never heard of them...

 

They had the brunches and I got the cruise log for both. That said I didn't get the logs on the Veendam. I guess it happens.

 

OP, I did get an invite to both Mariners lunches. Good to hear they did the collectors party in the crows nest. We had ours in the lido pool area. It was really to hot in there but there was 600 of us so it was hard to accomodate.

Edited November 17, 2015 by cruz chic

[NRFBQN]

Rain threatened as we disembarked in Grand Turk. It’s a fun place to get off the ship because the pier is very long and overlooks a lovely beach full of blue and white striped chairs from Margaritaville. The water is a beautiful Caribbean blue and really makes you feel you’ve arrived someplace special.

 

The port takes you directly through the Dufry duty free shop and deposits you in a plaza lined with shops. The usual suspects are there - Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, and Effy. Each shop is full of lovely things and pleasant sales people. We did find a souvenir shop where I could add to our magnet collection.

 

An aside: One of the best things I’ve read on the internet (probably on CC) is that the stateroom walls will hold magnets! This is generally true based on our experience. There have been spots on Signature Suite walls that won’t hold them, but there’s always a spot that will. Once we start a cruise, we buy magnets of the ship in the ship’s shop, then add magnets at each port. They are fun to look at, plus they are very useful for holding all of the invitation cards for receptions, dinners, etc.

 

Back to Grand Turk - once we perused the shops (running through a light shower as we made our progress around the plaza), we landed at Margaritaville. There we were seated upstairs at corner table with a lovely open-air view of the beach, the palm trees, and our ship. We ordered Lava Lava Shrimp (big surprise!) and a cheeseburger, plus margaritas. Everything was delicious and we settled in for a while. While we relaxed and enjoyed the beach ambience, the Regal Princess arrived and moored on the other side of the dock. It looks like a beautiful, huge ship.

 

We bid goodbye to our excellent server, Ornella, and headed back to the ship to relax a bit more and then go to afternoon trivia. Our new team came in second - our second time to be on a second-place team.

 

Here are some of the questions:

 

1. Who was the butler on the Addams Family tv show?

2. Who was the father of Western Philosophy?

3. What Central American country has a flag with one red star and one blue star?

4. What act of affection was banned during the Plague?

5. What is the chemical in turkey that makes you sleepy?

6. What sea is the Great Barrier Reef located in?

7. Bonus question - if you swam due east from St. Augustine, FL, what country would you reach?

 

Again, let me know if you’d like the answers :).

 

After the hard work of trivia, we went to the spa only to find out what it means that they were having a Ladies’ Pamper Party - yikes! The hydro pool was full and stayed full - it was not too tranquil, but people were having fun, so we enjoyed the smiles and laughter.

 

Dinner was at Canaletto - we received it as part of our booking package. We started with Carpaccio, followed by pasta with seafood and veal piccata. Service was great and the stewards were all charming. We had a nice wine that fit into the Signature Beverage Package. We decided we probably wouldn’t do again, only because there are so many other options that we enjoy, but we had a good time and felt it was well worth trying. The location is a little weird being part of the Lido and they serve from a closed section of the buffet, but it works and it was nice.

 

I think you can predict what comes next - we had after dinner drinks in the Silk Den! And so another beautiful day on the Eurodam came to a close.

[crusinpsychRN]

Thank you for taking the time to do the review.

 

At the Hemingway house did you see a small Picasso sculpted cat on a dresser in a bedroom? I always wondered how in the world it stayed put as it was so out in the open.

 

In GC once I took an island tour which was also horrible. He drove us around the parking lot of the Holiday Day showing us how beautiful it is!! Stopped at Hell, finished up quickly and tried to get going again. "No, I'm eating my porridge." Geesh!

[serendipity1499]

NRFBQN..I've enjoyed reading your report..:):)

 

We are boarding the Eurodam for one week this Sunday.. We were scheduled to go out last Sunday, for two weeks but DH was ill & had to have him checked out first.. Dr. tells us it's OK to go.. Have spent this past week un-packing & reducing our suitcases from 14 days to 7 days..LOL

 

Our Friends are on board with their Son & DIL now...We'll be joining them just for the one week..

 

Hope you have a safe trip home & thanks for taking us along on your cruise....:)

 

P.S. It's starting to cool down here in FL & we may have rain on Sunday.. It might be wise to have enough plastic covering clothes in your packed suitcases..

Edited November 20, 2015 by serendipity1499

[NRFBQN]

We arrived at 12 noon and docked next to the Carnival Glory. It was a lovely cruise in with a beautiful view of El Morro, the iconic and historic fort that guards the entrance to the harbor.

 

Last time we were in San Juan, we were traveling with friends and did not do any touring. This time, we grabbed a taxi to El Morro for $12 and headed to the fort. Once the cab lets you off, it’s a beautiful walk up the pathway flanked with lawn. We were happy to have our Golden Age pass for the National Parks with us, so we saved the $5 per adult admission fee. The displays were interesting, things were well-marked and we enjoyed walking around levels 5 and 6 of the Fort, taking turns stepping into the turrets and imagining what sights this fort has seen. The park service has a nice bookstore where we bought two magnets and some “gold doubloons.”

 

There were lots of school groups visiting El Morro while we were there, so the air was full of chatter and laughter. Many of the kids were flying kites on the grounds, adding to the festivity of the occasion.

 

We waited a bit and then were able to catch a taxi to the cathedral for $7 (a special price, per our driver,) including a brief narration by our driver who was charming and very proud of her city. Once at the cathedral, we were able to walk around and enjoy its beauty. The big draw beyond the architecture and artwork is that Ponce de Leon’s final resting place is here.

 

Walked down Calle del Cristo and came upon El Galpon, a wonderful hat place full of authentic Panama hats. Betsy, the proprietress, was a kick! DH found a great hat and then she informed us that there are rules for the hat - For instance, don’t roll it! The biggest rule is don’t pinch it. That will cause it to break. Betsy had two dogs - we could see the quiet big one lazily resting by the front counter, but we could hear the unseen little one yapping up a storm. Turned out it was a tiny chihuahua behind the counter - Betsy made it sound like she is a devil dog, but she sure was cute.

 

Then we walked to Calle Fortaleza and passed by Barranchina where we had appetizers and drinks last time (home of the Pina Colada), stopped in Blue Diamond to visit my money (I bought earrings last time) and found they had a great sale on watches including 50% off a selection of Tissots and others. Apparently DH is happy with the two watches he has bought so far, so no purchases today.

 

Along Calle Fortaleza, we found a great art gallery/shop and bought a small piece of metalwork on glass featuring the turrets of El Morro. They had some amazing paper art pieces framed under glass - doorways of San Juan, El Morro, and other beautiful scenes. If I could possibly get them home unscathed, we might have bought a couple of them.

 

We also stopped in a souvenir shop and bought a cute coin purse of purple leather featuring a butterfly.

 

Finally, we dragged our hot, weary selves back to the ship and checked out the price of Veuve Clicquot in the terminal - In Jamaica it was $60/bottle, including a cute custom carrying bag; in Grand Turk it was $75 for the same thing; in PR it was $43 and change, but no cute custom carrying bag. So, back on the ship without any champagne.

 

After we reboarded, we went to the spa and vegged out. Since we still had hours to go before leaving San Juan, the spa was really quiet and there was nobody else in the hydro pool for quite a while. It was a far cry from the ladies’ Pamper Party!

 

Later we went back to Tamarind for dinner for the second time this cruise - it was excellent again! We’re so glad we went a second time. I ordered the wasabi-encrusted filet again and DH ordered it this time, too. Sheer perfection. We’re glad that Tamarind will be on the Koningsdam for our cruise next year - we will definitely be spending some time there.

 

After dinner, guess what? Yes, we went for after dinner drinks in the Silk Den!

[NRFBQN]

St. Maarten is one of our favorite islands, so we were very excited to arrive there. There were two ships already in port (Norwegian Gem and Celebrity Summit), then the Oosterdam pulled up beside us, then two more ships came after we disembarked (Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas.) Wow - lots of ships and lots of people for a small island.

 

Last time we were here on a Sunday and nothing was open on the French side, plus the stores had short hours on the Dutch side. That time we went to the bar on the beach by the airport and watched the big airplanes land. I’d love to do that again, but for this trip we chose an excursion tour around the island so we would get more of an overview. Called “Under Two Flags” it was a nice tour on a newish big bus with good narration. We got to stop in Marigot long enough for a quick lunch and more souvenir shopping. There was a ferry terminal close to where we stopped and it was so tempting to jump on a ferry to St. Barts, but there was no time. I was surprised to realize that you can see Anguilla and St. Barts from St. Maarten.

 

The bus dropped us off in Phillipsburg, where we dipped into more French culture by visiting Cartier and Longchamp, two of my favorite stores there. There are lots of other nice stores, but we’re about shopped out (never thought I’d say that), so we took the water taxi back to the ship.

 

The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting by the windows in the Lido pool area, having drinks and chatting with a lovely couple. We watched the Oosterdam leave, then realized we needed to get going and head up to the Crow’s Nest for trivia. Before we left the Lido, I told DH that all that we had left to do was to win trivia - then my cruise would be complete. It turned out that we had the time wrong and we arrived a couple of questions late, but a lovely team adopted us and we enjoyed playing with them. And would you believe, our team won?! We didn’t even get the 5-point bonus question right, but we did really well on the regular questions.

 

Here are a few of the trivia questions:

 

What did Naismith invent?

Who was the Beatles’ drummer before Ringo?

What is the largest whale with teeth? (this was the bonus question)

How many official languages does Switzerland have?

 

After trivia, we spent quite a bit of time talking with an interesting fellow passenger about our mutual travels. He highly recommended the South American cruise we have planned for next year, which was great to hear. It’s a real joy of HAL to meet so many nice people.

 

For dinner we enjoyed going to the Pinnacle for La Cirque. It was magnificent as always. Lobster salad, green pea soup, chateaubriand, pineapple dessert (DH had creme brûlée) - yum! We took the wine pairing this time - sparkling wine, a pinot grigio, and a merlot - all wonderful. Jude, the wine steward is so helpful and we love his choices.

 

Yet again, we had after dinner drinks in the Silk Den. As always, quiet and lovely.

[NRFBQN]

Thank you for taking the time to do the review.

 

At the Hemingway house did you see a small Picasso sculpted cat on a dresser in a bedroom? I always wondered how in the world it stayed put as it was so out in the open.

 

In GC once I took an island tour which was also horrible. He drove us around the parking lot of the Holiday Day showing us how beautiful it is!! Stopped at Hell, finished up quickly and tried to get going again. "No, I'm eating my porridge." Geesh!

 

Hi, CruisinPsychRN,

 

Thanks for reading my posts! We didn't see the Picasso sculpture at the Hemingway house, but I guess I just didn't notice it.

 

Interesting to hear that your Grand Cayman tour was lousy, too. We didn't even make it to Hell, but the houses they showed us were better than driving around a parking lot!

[crusinpsychRN]

Great trivia questions! I only know 2 answers!

[NRFBQN]

NRFBQN..I've enjoyed reading your report..:):)

 

We are boarding the Eurodam for one week this Sunday.. We were scheduled to go out last Sunday, for two weeks but DH was ill & had to have him checked out first.. Dr. tells us it's OK to go.. Have spent this past week un-packing & reducing our suitcases from 14 days to 7 days..LOL

 

Our Friends are on board with their Son & DIL now...We'll be joining them just for the one week..

 

Hope you have a safe trip home & thanks for taking us along on your cruise....:)

 

P.S. It's starting to cool down here in FL & we may have rain on Sunday.. It might be wise to have enough plastic covering clothes in your packed suitcases..

 

Hi, Serendipity1499! I'm so glad you're enjoying my reports. It's too bad that your DH has been ill, but great that you can enjoy 7 days on the ship rather than none. We will try to leave the Eurodam in good shape for you. :)

 

Thanks for the warning about cooler weather and rain in Florida. We are flying out just after noon, so we won't spend much time there on this end of the trip.

 

Have a great cruise!

[expectGREATthings]

I'm really enjoying your ongoing review and truly appreciate you sharing your adventure and time with us all. We're departing on a collectors B2B February 7th 2016 and you have been giving us a great preview. We also have the SBP and will surley be closing out some of our days at the Silk Den as you seem to enjoy it so much. I hope the rest of your cruise is as wonderful as it has been so far.

 

Thanks,

Michael

[chefestelle]

Sigh. Another cruise pretty much over! I have really enjoyed the thread. Thanks for all your time and effort!

[hugger]

Happy to hear DH is ok though.

 

You will be boarding with us on Sunday then - we are heading to FLL later this morning. Time for bed I guess

 

See onboard - I'll be looking for shoe's :p

 

I ended up with 10 pair - they're small :rolleyes:

[Krazy Kruizers]

NRFBQN

Loving your review.