Hello From Eurodam!

[sail7seas]

How is it possible your cruise is over. It went by sooo fast.

Thank you for the wonderful posts. They were great fun to read and I enjoyed them.

 

Travel home safely.

 

[SDHALFAN]

Thanks so much for taking time to report on all your adventures/misadventures. I have had a great time travelling vicariously with you.

 

I'm sorry that you did not enjoy my hometown (Edinburgh) but then you were in the touristsy part with all the other tourists;) . It really is a lovely city, expecially if you get lucky and experience one of the occasional sunny days we have.

 

Have a safe and comfortable trip home.

 

Valerie:)

[ger_77]

I've certainly enjoyed your posts - your descriptions of all the castle interiors made me feel like I've been there! I do have a question - you said you saw "seals, rabbits, sheep and hairy cows" in the fields ? ? ? ? Huh? I've only seen seals in the ocean. Maybe it was a typo, I don't know. Just made me laugh, that's all.

 

Have a safe trip home and thanks for taking us with you.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[bepsf]

July 15 - Copenhagen Airport

 

Gosh, I hate the end of the cruise.

I was up until Midnight doing the packing after our dinner in Canolletto which was OK - I guess I'm spoiled for Italian food in SF, but the others seemed to like it and M&D enjoyed a nice dinner in Pinnacle.

 

I could hardly sleep last nite - I always get "travel angst" before flying off somewhere, and Scotty's snoring didn't help any...

 

Morning came all too early and Breakfast was delivered at the end of the 30 minute window - unusual since every morning previous was incredibly prompt.

 

Scotty had some issues w/ his paid upgrade: Seattle apparently sold the VA stateroom that he was upgraded into (he was to move into Greg's Deck 4 obstructed outside) so now it's anyone's guess which room he and Greg will share for the Baltics, although the concierges have been incredibly courteous and professional even as their leader - Cindy - is leaving the ship next week to return home to care for her sick child and her elderly father who is also ailing.

 

One of the newer Carnival Destiny-Class ships was in port with us this am as well as Costa Marina, MSC Lyrica, the Oslo overnight ferry and finally Captain Card's Saga Rose.

 

Before leaving the ship, I called Captain Van Donsellaar to thank him for taking such good care of my family and I - Unfortunately, I interrupted his nap as he had been up since very early this am to bring us safely into port but he kindly took my call anyway.

 

The line for taxis was rather long but well organized, however since we were among the last to disembark, finding the luggage was no problem. As we waited for the car (which was on time and we had no problems getting into Kastrup) we saw Bill and Virginia, Jim and Donna and Jerry and Wilda - we were more or less the impromptu "Goodbye Committee" the drive to the airport was easy and check-in and security were not big lengthy ordeals like in the US with a number of helpful people stationed around the terminal to guide us into the correct lines. They even hand out ziplock bags before security in case anyone needs them!

 

After taking care of my tax refund, I had a nice lunch at the seafood bar "Caviar House" here in the Airport - enjoying a generous Crab Salad and now on my 2nd glass of Champagne and using the WiFi from the adjacent Wireless area. I don't have a seat assignment and only a general idea which gate area we're going out of, however I have 1st Class confirmed on the Chicago-SFO leg of my journey and they didn't charge extra for my excess luggage: Could this be a sign???

 

Thanks again for following along with our travels - When I get home I'll have a look back through the thread and attempt to address the questions that folks have posted. Some things I do know is that Wilda was named after an Aunt (who didn't have money and wasn't particularly nice - even she didn't know why she was named after her) and Yes Valerie, I expect Edinburgh would be much nicer away from the tourist areas, similar to the conditions out in the neighborhoods of San Francisco. I can honestly say that the folks we've encountered on our first European trip have been incredibly kind and very patient with us and our lack of language skills within the predominantly non-English speaking countries - one should never be afraid of traveling to this party of the world because there the language barrier is quite minimal.

 

I hope that everyone here has been well and I look forward to catching up w/ you further when I get home!

[innlady1]

Safe journey, Brian...and I hope you remembered to log out of Cruise Critic on the ship! ;)

You might recall someone logged in as "innlady1" long after I'd left the Noordam.

[fireman845]

Thanks Brian, have a safe flight home!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks Brian for a wonderful report.

 

Hope you have a safe flight home.

[Aussie Gal]

Brian,

 

I just want say a big thank you for such interesting reports of your first trip to Europe. I hope there will be many more. It was wonderful for you to have your parents along and I am sure they had a great time. Safe flying.

 

Jennie

[geocruiser]

Dear Brain,

Thank you for sharing your cruise with us. Happy Birthday and have a safe trip home.

Maria

[Taxguy77]

Thanks so much for taking time to report on all your adventures/misadventures. I have had a great time travelling vicariously with you.

 

I'm sorry that you did not enjoy my hometown (Edinburgh) but then you were in the touristsy part with all the other tourists;) . It really is a lovely city, expecially if you get lucky and experience one of the occasional sunny days we have.

 

Have a safe and comfortable trip home.

 

Valerie:)

I was there in 1957 with 4 friends, and again for 3 or 4 days with DW about 9 years ago. It is a great city.:)

Aside: Last time there I asked the hotel clerk how far it was to the shopping district and he said "it's only a 10 minute walk". So we walked in a misty 35F. After about 15 minutes I said "That guy was over 6' tall and used to walking to work":eek:

Learn something new every day!:cool:

[Susie51]

Thank you, Brian, for your entertaining and informative thread.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Brian -- Brian -- Where for art thou???

You haven't posted in days!!!

We just got a flyer from our TA showing a few pictures of the Eurodam. I know that these are not actual pictures taken of the ship because all the verandah furniture is of the light color that we have on the Vista class ships. Just the artist's rendition.

The pictures do show the Plexyglass on the verandahs -- which we are used to. But shows nothing on top of them like a wood rail? What is there? Anything?

[Bill S]

Brian---it was great meeting you, Scotty and your parents. We enjoyed getting to know all of you guys!

We arrived home Wednesday night, pretty much per the schedule and our luggage made the trip ok as well. I hope you had smooth flights home, too.

It's been fun going through all the pictures --- great memories! :) Hope to see you posting soon!