RevNeal's LIVE Eurodam Report

[RevNeal]

The Further inland we cruised the higher the mountains soared above us ... and, yet, the waters stayed very deep. Even the towns along the Fjord were dwarfed by the amazing mountains.

 

 

 

[RevNeal]

The Eurodam docked at Flam, I departed on a boat for a lovely Fjords cruise. But, at first I only had eyes for the elegant Eurodam.

 

 

 

 

 

[RevNeal]

Further inland from the Fjord waterways were amazing Fjord Valleys, complete with isolated villages and water falls.

 

 

[RevNeal]

I was asked, about a week ago, for some photos of the aft deck of the Eurodam from the very back of the aft pool deck. So, here they are.

 

 

 

 

 

In Stavanger we did the city tour, which included many nice sights ... however, I thought the Cathedral to be among the most lovely.

 

 

And, in Durham, England, I enjoyed an impressive visit to the Cathedral in Durham. Very nice indeed!!!!!! Why doesn't the Bishop ever appoint me to a church that looks like this? Not that I'm complaining, however the ultra-modern church I currently pastor just doesn't have the grandeur and charm of this ancient edifice:

 

[RevNeal]

I've also been asked for some photographs of the Caneletto. Here's a shot depicting the "divider" used to separate off the Italian Alternative Restaurant from the rest of the Lido. Not too impressive

 

 

And here's a shot of the restaurant in-action on the evening we ate there:

 

[Love the beach]

Thanks for the gorgeous pictures!!! Wow!

Enjoy the remainder of your cruise-- I've enjoyed reading about it!

[mamaofami]

Thanks for those great pictures, Greg. It's interesting that the ship feels so much more crowded than the vistas. I thought there were about 200 more passengers on this ship. Is that correct?

Enjoy the second half of your cruise.

[RevNeal]

What's wrong with the aft-end of the tender imaged in this picture?

 

 

Hint ... most of the tenders still have this error, but the ship doesn't.

 

And ... a shot of me at Edenburgh Castle, where I got to see the crown Jewels of Scottland and the famous, historic "Stone of Destiny" (a.k.a. "Jacob's Pillar.")

 

[RevNeal]

The evening we departed Edenburgh Mary Ellen, Karl, Christopher, and myself all had dinner at the Tamarined. Here's are photos:

 

 

The place settings are really very nice ... though not too practical. One doesn't eat anything on them ... they're or show. But, oh, they have a nice show.

 

I ate the Chicken Soup

 

The Rib Appetizer

 

And the Wasabi Filet Plank Steak with Onion Rings on top.

 

WOW ... it was a fabulous dinner....

 

Continued ....

[RevNeal]

Oh, and the Chocolate filled Fortune cookie for dessert.

 

 

I found dinner here to be a true delight. The service was fantastic, the atmosphere very pleasant, and the food was excellent.

 

I have also been asked to show a closer, more detailed photo of the tables in the Northern Lights ... so ... here goes!

 

[traveling g'ma]

Although I haven't posted anything, I've been reading and thoroughly enjoying your comments and pictures. The latest ones are completely WOW!!! Got the chills looking at them. Thank you so much for all your efforts. Keep enjoying your very special trip.

[mamaofami]

Greg, we have 100 people signed up on our roll call on the three day cruise out of NYC. Will we really all fit in the Crow's Nest?

Those pictures of the food at Tamarind look yummy.

[twinkletoes4445]

Although I haven't posted anything' date=' I've been reading and thoroughly enjoying your comments and pictures. The latest ones are completely WOW!!! Got the chills looking at them. Thank you so much for all your efforts. Keep enjoying your very special trip.[/quote']

 

Ditto!! :)

[Oceanwench]

The Eurodam absolutely feels more congested and more crowded than the Vistas. The dining rooms, the lounges, the passage ways, etc., all feel over-stuffed with people. This is true in the main dining room and it is true in the Lido and in the lounges. The Main Dining Room, especially, feels crammed, cramped, loud, and congested. It's hard to maneuver around in there; one feels shoved into too-small of space, and there are places that actually feel somewhat claustrophobic. I know that where we were sitting, on the aft-port side, it felt way too packed around us ... more-so than on the S and R ships and even more-so than on the Vistas.

 

In short, the Eurodam feels more crowded than the Vistas, and definitely more crowded than the S and Rs. For this reason, I may not be cruising on her again. I've learned to never say sever, so ... we'll see.

 

Ouch! Glad you said it and not I ... you are less likely to incur the wrath of those who deem HAL infallible! :rolleyes:

 

But for DH and me, "crammed, cramped, loud, and congested" is not ideal, nor is the inability to manuever around.

 

Spectacular pictures though ... what positively gorgeous sights!

 

Thanks so much for answering my question about the infamous "step," and let me join so many others in thanking you for your efforts to take us along on this long-awaited cruise of the Eurodam!

[RevNeal]

In Scotland we took the tour to Loch Ness to see Nessie. Here's the Loch:

 

... no Nessie.

 

The Castle ... no Nessie

 

The Loch from the Castle ... again, no Nessie.

 

The Loch in the background and the Castle in the foreground ... still no Nessie.

 

There she blows!!!!! Nessie ... captured in a pond!

[RevNeal]

Christopher captured Nessie ....

 

And then made Sushi out of her!!!!!!!!!

 

hehehe ... not really. :D That was his appetizer at the Tamarind.

 

Tonight is the last night for the first 10-day Inaugural. For some awful reason they're having the Mater Chef Disaster ... I mean "Dinner" ... tonight, so we're going to the Caneletto again. The menu looks fabulous, so I'm happy. But ... I don't normally like skipping out on the main dining room on the last night of a cruise. :(

[usha]

RevNeal, thanks so much for your "live from..." reporting, and the great pics!

[RevNeal]

As the 10-day Inaugural sailing draws to a close I find myself looking back over the past days and thinking that it's been a mixture of good and unfortunate, frustrating and annoying. What it's NOT been is "bad." I'm aboard ship, in Europe, having a wonderful time. I don't think "bad" is in my vocabulary at this point. Even with the mishaps, the plumbing problems, the front-desk problems ... and, sister, we've had those in multiples ... the rain in Oslow, the cold in Scotch-land ... even despite all of this, it's not been bad. What's kinda sad, however, is that a bunch of us are leaving us tomorrow ... including Christopher. :( I don't enjoy saying goodbye to friends ... and, so, tonight will be filled with a large portion of melancholy. And, yes, I know I'm being a bit self-centered when I say that I'm happy that I'm staying and not leaving. And it's true ... I suppose I could disembark today and be ok with leaving, but I'm so looking forward to the Baltic portion of the cruise, and the wonderful things we'll see and experience there. It should be a great deal of fun. Still, I'm going to miss Brian, John and Susan, Liz, Brian's parents, Copper John and Maria (what a GREAT pair they are!!!!!!), Bill S and Virginia, Jim H and Donna, Christopher, General and Mrs. Max ... and all our many other fellow CCers who are disembarking tomorrow. :( It's a bittersweet prospect, staying aboard while our friends leave ... and I'd almost rather be going with them than being left behind on this beautiful ship. Almost. ALMOST. But not quite.

 

It's been a wonderful 13 days, and I pray God's blessings on my dear CC friends as they fly home, or continue on their Holiday trips! As for those of us still aboard the Eurodam, and for those who will be joining us tomorrow in Copenhagen ... we've still got 10 busy days ahead of us!!!!! :D

 

I'm going to have photos of the ship to share ... lounges, cabins, etc. I hadn't planned on doing it, but I'm going to try and put those together over the course of the next 10 days and have some of them up on this board for people to see. The good, the great, and the ... "What the heck was HAL thinking!!??" aspects of this ship. You've already seen some of them, I hope to have more to share.

 

Until tomorrow, and the Baltic continuation of the Inaugural, blessings be on you all!

[Boytjie]

What's wrong with the aft-end of the tender imaged in this picture?

 

 

Hint ... most of the tenders still have this error, but the ship doesn't.

 

 

Tenders are registred separately from the ship? :confused:

[Sue's Mom]

When the Eurodam was in Newcastle/Durham I really wanted to jump into the car and drive the 300 odd miles to wave to you. But then commonsense took over. ;)

 

Thank you again for the great reports.

[twinkletoes4445]

Christopher captured Nessie ....

 

And then made Sushi out of her!!!!!!!!!

 

hehehe ... not really. :D That was his appetizer at the Tamarind.

 

 

You're a hoot! :)

[Ine]

Thanks for posting the lovely photos Greg. Even though we were on board just a few days, we enjoyed Eurodam and it passengers very much

We sailed the Fjord one year ago and made more or less the same photos. It really is so beautiful over there.

I can imagine you will feel kind of lonely after all those people flying back home.

But I hope you will continue your daily reports. Have again a great cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Greg

Wonderful report!!

Love the pictures.

What about the Mariner's Party/Brunch?

What are the Mariner Tiles like??

[robsta]

I tried to post a quick response to this, it turned long, and then I lost it -- wasting 10 minutes. So, you'll now get the short version:

 

The Eurodam absolutely feels more congested and more crowded than the Vistas. The dining rooms, the lounges, the passage ways, etc., all feel over-stuffed with people. This is true in the main dining room and it is true in the Lido and in the lounges. The Main Dining Room, especially, feels crammed, cramped, loud, and congested. It's hard to maneuver around in there; one feels shoved into too-small of space, and there are places that actually feel somewhat claustrophobic. I know that where we were sitting, on the aft-port side, it felt way too packed around us ... more-so than on the S and R ships and even more-so than on the Vistas.

 

In short, the Eurodam feels more crowded than the Vistas, and definitely more crowded than the S and Rs. For this reason, I may not be cruising on her again. I've learned to never say sever, so ... we'll see.

 

Thanks for the response. We may reconsider our booking now. Although, I would think that it would be very difficult to get any more congested than RCI, Carnival, or any of the other popular cruise lines.

 

We have enjoyed cruising on HAL in the past primarily because of the space that is available. If we want to go for food we choose X, or adventure RCI, or fun at a low price Carnival. But HAL has always been pure relaxation and feeling of spaciousness. It is disappointing to hear that they made some of the public spaces smaller while adding 250 passengers to the ship. :(

 

I hope the rest of your cruise is enjoyable. Thanks. :)

[maizy123]

Rev Neal,

I am one of those that has followed your posts for months -- no, I am not a stalker I am wife, mom and teacher waiting to board a plane in a few hours to go to Denmark and hopefully get on the ship that you are on! As said before I am going to meet my MIL on board so I am nervous for the cruise as well as other things.... I hope that I can get a chance to meet you during the cruise - thank you so much for sending us your wisdom, pictures and comedy in your posts.

Nervous to go,

Lisa (Maizy123)