Eurodam, more or less live, November 9 to 20, 2022

[rafinmd]

Friday, November 11, 2022, Veterans Day, At Sea, MS Eurodam

I was up about 4:45 and headed upstairs for coffee about 5:30.  I also discovered my first major packing mishap.  I had packed a mini-cube if socks for use on the ship, but discovered it never made it into the big bag.  I actually had a few socks for the travel days but I thought I was well stocked and they are sitting in my car.  I tried the shops but no luck so that will be my mission when we arrive in Aruba.

 

I went out to the promenade deck about 5:45 and walked 4 laps, one and 1/3 miles.  It’s a far cry from what I was doing before my heart valve setback, but much better than I was doing on the streets of Fort Lauderdale.  The sun did not want to appear but finally peeked through the clouds in the final stages of my walk.

 

After the first stage of breakfast right after the Lido Marketplace opened I did some computer work and a bit more unpacking.  When services opened up at 9 I did a bit of checking with the Cruise Sales desk and a bit of shopping (striking out on socks),

 

Cruise and Travel Director Gage had his talk on Aruba in the Mainstage at 11.  I thought it was quite a comprehensive presentation although I’ve been to Aruba many times and there was not a lot new to me.  The one nugget I did get from the talk was good news; on Sunday we are the only ship in Aruba so we have easy access to the prime berth.  I am in cabin 1041 on the Main Deck so it is a very short walk to both Guest Services and the Mainstage.

I usually try to be out on deck when Captains give their daily updates but missed it today.  Captain Pieter Bant indicated we had sailed 300 miles with 798 to go to arrive in Aruba and that we need about 19 knots to be on time.  Sunset would be at 5:25 and Sunrise Saturday 7:04AM, since we will move our clocks forward overnight to be on Aruba time.  I do worry about covid but will not let it run my life.  I choose to cruise, but try to take advantage of the low hanging fruit, wearing a mask when I am near others indoors, and I get breakfast and dinner at the Lido Marketplace and try to eat it outdoors near the seaview pool. We had drizzle at midday and all the covered aft tables were in use, so this time I found a spot on the midship pool deck.

 

I was in my room most of the afternoon catching up on computer tasks.  I am very impressed with the Eurodam laundry services.  I sent a sport coat out for dry cleaning Thursday evening and it came back early Friday afternoon, and laundry I sent out early Friday morning came back about 4PM.

 

I did decide to do “one more lap” around the promenade deck Friday afternoon but it felt right and I kept going for a second; a total of about 2 miles for the day.

 

This was the first “Dressy” night of the cruise.  When I arrived there was a couple there who were attending a medical convention but they were soon moved to another table (I would guess they would be dining with others from their group).  The 2 ladies (just friends, not sisters) did show up a bit later, but still only 3 at our 6-top.  My choices for the evening were Salad of Arugula and Frisee, Rack of Lamb, and Strawberries Romanoff.

 

Captain Bant had his welcome toast on the Mainstage at 7.  I don’t drink but was able to toast with a Diet Coke.

 

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/bant.jpg

 

Before introducing his senior staff he gave a lengthy explanation and apology for the delay in boarding, which I thought was a bit un-necessary, but I think there may have been a lot of second guessing by disgruntled passengers.

The featured entertainment was Island Magic Steel Band.  They were very good, although I stayed for only 3 numbers because I wanted to be in bed early with the time change.  What I heard was Doe Rae Mi, Memory, and Don’t Cry for Me Argentina.

I was in bed a little after 9, which would have been 10 without the time change.  When I stepped out for coffee there was a nice little surprise in my mail slot.  I am now a 5-star Mariner with a pin although the benefits do not begin to my next cruise.

 

Near the end of my Saturday morning walk I caught a glimpse of the sun coming up between the forward port life rafts.

My parting shot is a sad one.  I have just been informed of the death of a life member of my local Fire Department.  Rest in Peace, Andy.

 

Note :Recently the Navigator App has not been posting menus.  I did a minimally readable version of last night’s menu but hoping for better in the future.

 

Roy

 

[puppycanducruise]

Congrats on 5 stars!

[Ellencruise]

Congrats on 5 star. Condolences on the passing of Andy

[BetsyS.]

Roy, I am sorry for your loss. RIP

            Thanks for your great reporting and beautiful pictures!

Have a good weekend.

[Ichiban Nekko]

@rafinmd Roy - Thanks so much for taking us along with you 😀. We enjoy your narrative & photos so much. Your COVID precautions are a good reminder for us when we embark in a couple of weeks. Congratulations on your 5-Star status; condolences on losing Andy.

 

Looking forward to your future posts.

-Cat & David

[puppycanducruise]

Sorry to hear about Andy.  Prayers for his family and friends.

[DeeniEncinitas]

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

@rafinmd

Roy, Good morning and first and foremost 

CONGRATULATIONS

5 ⭐️!!  
Loved your food porn.

Why I love your photo:

I love sunrises! They always signify something new and beautiful, a start of a new day where I have a canvas to paint my day

the way I want!

Thank you!

Relax and so enjoy your time! Glad you got your laps in too!!

🌺Denise☺️

 

[JazzyV]

So sorry to hear about the passing of Andy; my condolences.

Congrats on making 5-star !

[cunnorl]

Congratulations on 5 star! 
    We are following the same covid precautions as you and so far so good. 

[St Pete Cruiser]

Yeah for 5 star! As a loyal Crystal cruiser, I am only a little surprised you are now 5 star on Holland America as well. My favorite benefit is dining at Pinnacle and Tamarind. You will be able to do both each cruise booking number. Tamarind is especially nice on the Pinnacle class ships.

We like the oceanview rooms on deck 1 mid ship, too.

[erewhon]

@rafinmd  Roy, Thanks for your updates.  Congratulations on joining us 5 star mariners.

Condolences on the death of your friend.

[rafinmd]

Saturday, November 12, 2022, At Sea, MS Eurodam

In early February of 2021 a sudden heart valve issue gave me a pretty difficult 3 months of diagnosis leading to a mid-May surgery that restored much but not all of my former functionality.  Saturday was a good day.  Part of it may be called cheating but I have actually been doing it that way for years.  While I started Friday walking 200 feet to the lido for coffee and 200 feet back, Saturday I left my room, walked around the bow on the Promenade deck, all the way back on the port side, around the stern to the aft entrance, went up to the lido for coffee, and then back across the lido to midship, and back to my room.  While not technically a lap around the promenade deck it was the full third of a mile and I’ll take credit for it.  Between traditional laps and “Laps with a purpose, I had 10 laps today for 3 1/3 miles of walking.  I haven’t done that since leaving Queen Mary 2 in Perth back in 2020.

 

Somehow, it was a very busy day but I hardly took any photos.  I started the organized part of the day at 10 in BB Kings  with the talk on future cruises.  Lots of nice ideas including some very exotic things that I will no longer tackle, and a couple of nice reasonable options.

 

Off at 11 (with one lap around the promenade deck sandwiched in between) to Gage’s talk on Cartagena.  Again, a lot of nice choices but I will probably not leave the port complex with it’s de-facto wildlife park.

 

I was by the seaview pool at noon.  Unfortunately, Captain Band did not give his update until almost 12:15 and by then I was in line at Dive-In and did not hear a word he said.  By my gps we were 354 miles from Aruba.  The midship pool deck was a nice place to enjoy my fries.

 

The Documentary “American Experience:Panama Canal” was shown on the Mainstage at 1 (and 3).  The 80-minute film was very interesting.  I was surprised that even the successful builders had an extended struggle trying to build a sea level before determining that locks were needed.  I would have thought that would have been an early decision considering that the concept was implemented successfully on New York’s Erie Canal almost 100 years earlier. 

Unfortunately, I also discovered that the HAL provided mask put a lot of pressure on my nose and I could not wear it the full 80 minutes.  

 

I continued to the Lincoln Center Stage at 2:30 for a Mozart performance (with one of my own masks).  This group consists of piano, violin, viola, and cello.  I was a bit surprised that only the 3rd piece used the full ensemble.  The first piece was a piano solo, then a violin/viola duo, and finally a concerto featuring the whole group.

 

It is now clear that there will only be 3 of us at Table 30.  The others are Sharon from Naples, and Diane from Ft. Lauderdale.  My choices for the evening were Classic Caesar Salad, Rustic Lasagna, and Triple Berry Alaskan Tart a la mode,

Near the end of dinner I caught the last bit of sun for the day out the aft window.

I thought the entertainment on the main stage hit a new low.  I’ve felt in the past that the Step One Dance shows were essentially a one-dimensional program with only live dance but no live music or vocals.  If only “Humanity” rose even to that level.  Most of the show had perhaps one or 2 of them dealing with canned images and illusions that could just as well have been filmed as a movie, with only about 10 of the 45 minutes featuring real and talented dancers.  If other shows are similar I will not waste a lot of time there.

There was a question on Cruise Critic about availability of snacks in the shops.  On the way back from the show I stopped for a couple photos of the candy display.

As today’s parting shot, since my heart issues I have had reduced

stamina and started wondering if a decent promenade deck or at least a decent place to walk was necessary for a good cruise experience.  Saturday’s experience answers that with a resounding YES.

 

Roy

 

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I too have thought the Step One Dance shows were a low and not worth my time.  I think we are in the minority with that opinion. I wish HAL would bring back the singers and dancers, but I doubt that will ever happen.

[DeeniEncinitas]

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

@rafinmdRoy,

Loved your writings this am!

Since I have been one of your fans going so many places with you over the years with your writing, what I have loved is how you are so pro active with your walking every morning so early and to see the first glimpses of the our sunrises!

you are doing so well since your heart problems last May! CONGRATULATIONS AND YES, YES, YES TO YOUR SUCCESS IN YOUR 

ACHIEVEMENTS.

My coffee is waiting for me and David and I are going to take our walk on the beach to see our sunrise this am!

🌺Mahalo Roy

Denise☺️

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

Thanks for taking us along with you, Roy! I'll be on Eurodam this winter, my return to HAL after my last pre-covid cruise in early 2020. I'm enjoying all of your pictures, but what got me most excited was seeing the day of the week carpets. Love those!!

 

I agree with you about the dance programs. I find the electronic backdrops annoyingly bright. I sat with my eyes closed for a minute, and then it struck me that there was NO point in staying if I couldn't keep my eyes open to watch the dancers! As with many cruise ship shows, I think the talents of the performers were above what they were given to do. 

 

[rafinmd]

@Rowsby thank you for the comments on my blog.

 

Roy

[RuthC]

9 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Saturday was a good day.  Part of it may be called cheating but I have actually been doing it that way for years.  While I started Friday walking 200 feet to the lido for coffee and 200 feet back, Saturday I left my room, walked around the bow on the Promenade deck, all the way back on the port side, around the stern to the aft entrance, went up to the lido for coffee, and then back across the lido to midship, and back to my room.  While not technically a lap around the promenade deck it was the full third of a mile and I’ll take credit for it.  Between traditional laps and “Laps with a purpose, I had 10 laps today for 3 1/3 miles of walking.  I haven’t done that since leaving Queen Mary 2 in Perth back in 2020.

I don't know much about your heart problems, as I understand you related them in the Daily thread, which I don't read. 
However, I want to tell you I'm impressed at your determination to get better, and the progress you have made with your walks. Small increments are still improvements. Keep up the good work. 

[St Pete Cruiser]

The Eurodam's wide promenade deck, complete with "steamer chairs", is becoming a rarer design on cruise ships.  Enjoy them while we can.  

Enjoy Aruba.

[SKCruiser007]

On 11/13/2022 at 8:04 AM, rafinmd said:

 

I thought the entertainment on the main stage hit a new low.  I’ve felt in the past that the Step One Dance shows were essentially a one-dimensional program with only live dance but no live music or vocals.  If only “Humanity” rose even to that level.  Most of the show had perhaps one or 2 of them dealing with canned images and illusions that could just as well have been filmed as a movie, with only about 10 of the 45 minutes featuring real and talented dancers.  If other shows are similar I will not waste a lot of time there.

 

 

Roy

 

Sounds like I'm in the minority; I enjoyed Saturday's dance show, and thought Sunday's dance show was fantastic. I do miss a production show with vocals, but on this line and at this time, things are not as they were...still a most enjoyable experience.

[rafinmd]

Sunday, November 13, 2022, Orangestad, Aruba

I did not do a lot of walking on the promenade deck as I had planned on mostly walking in town.  I did do 2 “Laps with a purpose”, the first one just for morning coffee, and the second timed with sunrise, and my first bit of breakfast, most a ham and bacon omelet freshly prepared.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/omelet.jpg

I had thought that with leaving 1 day late and missing 2 ports we would have a lot of time to be early, but that’s not the case.  We only were due to spend about 6 to 8 hours in port, so that left a lot of travel to make up, and our originally planned 7AM arrival became 8AM.  We had expected to be the only cruise ship in port but as I expected that was not literally the case.  More often than not the MV Freewinds, some kind of training ship for the Church of Scientology was there as well.  Even though it appeared to be a turnaround day for the Freewinds it had no practical impact on our visit.

I normally worship with my church about half the time in person and half via the livestream broadcast.  The service is 10:30 which is 11:30 Aruba time, not the most convenient for a port visit.  I did go up to the lido for milk about 11 but lunch would wait until I returned from town.  With most of the other passengers off the ship the livestream went reasonably well.  

 

I headed out in search of socks about 12:40.  My last 2 visits to Aruba have been emergency shopping expeditions that became very frustrating but eventually had a happy ending.  The last time was at the end of the 2019 Prinsendam Grand South America voyage where I was starting to pack and decided I needed more luggage straps.  I checked all the possible stores and most had bags but not the smaller items like straps.  I left Aruba completely disappointed, but happily 2 nice luggage straps showed up as “pillow gifts” the last formal night.  This time between google maps and my IPAD app there were a few promising stores for socks.  There was one store (Polo Ralph Loren) that Google Maps indicated would be open but it was not. 

 

By this time I was near the old Protestant church and I dropped by for a look.  I have never seen it open but a sign said there was a service there at 8:30 Sundays.  That’s an interesting possibility if I ever return on a Sunday.

The other stores I had in mind were either closed Sundays or boarded up with for rent signs.  As I returned to the ship I checked one of the souvenir stalls and got a blank stare; frustrated and exhausted from the 91-degree heat index I was about to give up.  I did step into the “I love Aruba” shop which was on my way, and amazingly the guy took me right to a bucket of socks and showed me one that would work.  My only remaining stops getting back to the ship were a pause for a photo of the Eurodam and a cup of water at the gangway.

I was back onboard about 1:40, just in time to get up to the lido for a light lunch before it started closing.  On the back deck I paused for an overview photo of Orangestad from the back deck before heading back down to my cabin and air conditioning.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/aruba.jpg

I had booked Canaletto Italian restaurant because Sunday is the day that Chicken Parmesan is the specialty.  For those not familiar with Holland America it is an enclosed section of the Lido Marketplace that is used in the evenings as a specialty restaurant.

In addition to the Chicken my choices were Canaletto Salad, Pasta Genovese, and Pistachio Gelato.

At the end of the meal I stepped out on the aft deck as the sun was disappearing behind the clouds for the day.

https://morethangetaways.files.wordpress.com/2022/11/dusk1113.jpg

 

I did not really do a lot in the evening but did accomplish some computer work and join in my church’s “Sundays at Seven” fellowship time on Zoom, of course that was 8 Aruba time.

 

We gained an hour overnight returning to the same time zone as Fort Lauderdale (I don’t think there are any remaining time changes).  All Aboard was 10:30.  I had just gone to bed then but it felt like we started moving just about that time.

 

As a parting shot, I have heard that one of the most requested items in homeless shelters is socks.  After the last few days I have a new understanding for that need.

 

Roy

 

[rafinmd]

Monday, November 14, 2022, At Sea, MS Eurodam

I was up about 4:45 and took my first “Lap with a purpose (coffee) about 5:30 as we were about 25 miles off the Colombia coast.  It was only about 20 minutes until sunrise and I waited but the sun did really not appear through the clouds, and decided to walk one additional lap, catching a nice view near the end of that extra lap.

Once the sun was up the heat became quite brutal and I only walked a total of about 6 laps in the morning.

 

Gage had his presentation on the canal at 10.  He talked a lot about the canal history, not much about our transit but did say he would provide commentary as we went through.  I asked a couple of questions at his 11AM Q&A in the Crow’s Nest and now have a preliminary plan for the transit.

 

In his noon update Captain Bant indicated we have sailed 232 miles since leaving Aruba with 167 remaining.  

 

I’m finding it hard to account for my afternoon but it was mostly computer work.  I had reserved the 4PM hour for a church finance meeting but it ended up being cancelled.  It was also the night of the Master Chef’s dinner but I missed it because I had reservations at the Pinnacle Grill.

My choices for the evening were the Heart of Romaine Caesar Salad, Filet Mignon, and Key Lime Pie.

The show on the Mainstage was the BBC Earth Film Seven Worlds One Planet in Concert, a stunning display of wildlife in all it’s variations with live accompaniment of 3 of the Lincoln Center musicians.  While it had some things in common with the Step One show the visuals were stunning and the musician’s talents were fully utilized.  I enjoyed the show immensely.

 

My parting shot is something of a throwback.  While I blame some of my difficulties on my advancing age I remember finding the heat and humidity when I was in Southeast Asia on the Zaandam in 2012 overwhelming even then.  Some things do not really change.

 

Roy

 

[BetsyS.]

Roy - Thanks for all your excellent reports and great pictures. I'm glad you are doing walks in the morning. Have a wonderful week.

 

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Curious as to size of the filet - is that the 7". It looks so alone on the plate with only 2 onion rings.

[rafinmd]

It's supposed to be 8 oz and it was quite thick.

 

Roy

[Sea42]

19 hours ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

Curious as to size of the filet - is that the 7". It looks so alone on the plate with only 2 onion rings.

I agree. Not a great presentation, that plate is way too big for the food. And what's with only 2 onion rings?