Nov. 2011 Eurodam E. Carib. Explorers (Daily Printed Programs)

[Flvirgo41]

Below you'll find a link to seven days of scanned Explorers from the November 19, 2011 sailing of the Eurodam. HAL Explorer is the daily printed program of events. Keep in mind everything is subject to change, but it gives you a good idea of the types of activities on the eastern Caribbean itinerary.

 

A couple of caveats.

 

We were not able to dock at Grand Turk, but I did keep the Explorer that was handed out before it was know that we would not be calling on that port. This meant that we arrived in San Juan early the next day, so that is why that day's Explorer lists a 10:30 a.m. arrival in Puerto Rico.

 

Also worth noting is that our second sea day, Day 6, was Thanksgiving, so some of the day's events are unique to the holiday.

 

Enjoy!

 

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByojsCYiBBKFNDRmNTYwNzYtOTA2MC00MTRmLWI4NTUtMzM3ZmU3NjlhNmY3

[WNcruiser]

Thanks so much for posting. I have heard of missing HMC before but not Grand Turk. I am guessing the seas were not cooperating??

 

I didn't see anything on day 1 about making dinner reservations for open seating. Do you remember seeing anything when you boarded? Thanks,

 

Steve

[cruz-ing]

Thanks a ton. We leave on our Eurodam cruise on December 3rd. These will help us plan..

[billathome]

Thanks for posting!

 

I noticed that there was a daily Cooking activity in the Queen's Lounge. Were these free, or the $29 classes you have to sign up for?

[judy3972]

Even though we are on the Southern route any information is Welcome.

[CCKelly]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post the daily programs. We don't leave on Eurodam until March, but that will help with the planning, dinner reservations, etc. Also, just exciting to see and anticipate!

[pjck71]

Below you'll find a link to seven days of scanned Explorers from the November 19, 2011 sailing of the Eurodam.

Enjoy!

 

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByojsCYiBBKFNDRmNTYwNzYtOTA2MC00MTRmLWI4NTUtMzM3ZmU3NjlhNmY3

 

Thank you!!

[English_in_Spain]

Thank you very much for posting these. We are doing this cruise next April just before our Transatlantic.

 

I noticed you still had the Master Chef's Dinner on the last night. Do you know what happened about the people with Open Seating? Did anyone mention any plans to stop this in the future?

 

Did you go to the Retreat Cabana area at all?

[Flvirgo41]

Thanks so much for posting. I have heard of missing HMC before but not Grand Turk. I am guessing the seas were not cooperating??

 

 

 

I didn't see anything on day 1 about making dinner reservations for open seating. Do you remember seeing anything when you boarded? Thanks,

 

Steve

 

Wind and seas were not cooperating that day. At the Captain Q&A a day or two later he mentioned that Grand Turk was somewhat challenging to dock at based on pier location and position and mentioned that one out of every 10 cruises are unable to dock there. It was a sunny day so we "parked' offshore for a bit and then sailed on as a sea day.

 

As for open seating, nothing in the Explorer mentions reservations for open seating, but I think it was addressed in the booklet kept in the stateroom. It was my impression this wasn't actively promoted. As you know being an avid CC reader, reservations for open seating dinner are available, but not during "rush hour" - I think that's from 6:30 to 7:30 or 8.

[Flvirgo41]

Thanks for posting!

 

I noticed that there was a daily Cooking activity in the Queen's Lounge. Were these free, or the $29 classes you have to sign up for?

 

On this particular sailing, there were only two limited cooking sessions for 12 people each - and those are NOT listed in the daily Explorer.

 

One was on the first sea day (Day 2) and the other was on Day 4 before docking in San Juan.

 

To participate in those sessions, you had to go to the Front Desk and register and prepay the $29 per person fee. On the first day before sailing away from Ft. Lauderdale, there is a representative in the Queen's Lounge who explains what is entailed, but you still need to go to Front Desk (or use concierge if suite guest) to sign-up. If this is something you are in to, I suggest doing this shortly after getting on the ship the first day.

 

Everything you see in Explorer for presentation in the Culinary Arts Center is open to anyone and is only limited by the number of people who can fit in the Queen's Lounge. Those are presentations and not the hands on, personal demonstrations that are limited.

[Alisamontreal]

Thank you soooo much - was extremely thoughful of you to scan and post all of them. I really appreciate it!

[cruiseapril]

Thanks for posting these. Very helpful.

[GeriatricNurse]

Wind and seas were not cooperating that day. At the Captain Q&A a day or two later he mentioned that Grand Turk was somewhat challenging to dock at based on pier location and position and mentioned that one out of every 10 cruises are unable to dock there. It was a sunny day so we "parked' offshore for a bit and then sailed on as a sea day.

 

As for open seating, nothing in the Explorer mentions reservations for open seating, but I think it was addressed in the booklet kept in the stateroom. It was my impression this wasn't actively promoted. As you know being an avid CC reader, reservations for open seating dinner are available, but not during "rush hour" - I think that's from 6:30 to 7:30 or 8.

 

It is unfortunate that there are no allowances for tendering at Grand Turk in the event of the ship being unable to dock at the pier! :( It is a really nice of port of call & not to be missed! :)

[wolfatlga]

We are leaving on Dec. 3rd, so it was very nice of you to give us a preview of what to expect.

Your the best!

Roy

[aloisia]

The excitement built while reading!!!

Thanks for posting. :)

[Flvirgo41]

I also did a write up with photos of my stateroom for anyone who is interested: Eurodam 6084 Superior Verandah Suite Deck 6.

 

Hello fellow cruisers.

 

For a few weeks leading up to my Eurodam cruise, I poured over as much detail as I could get my hands on through CC. Now I'd like to return the favor with providing additional details and insight to assist others in their obsessive research prior to cruising with HAL and on the Eurodam.

 

There are volumes of photos and reviews on the public areas of this ship all over the Internet, so I'm going to go deep on the stateroom I stayed in. It was stateroom 6084 on Deck 6 which was a Superior Verandah Suite in an SS category (assigned as an upgrade from an SZ guarantee eight days from start of cruise).

 

This is the same stateroom and configuration as:

Eurodam 6087

Eurodam 5093

Nieuw Amsterdam 6084

Nieuw Amsterdam 6087

Nieuw Amsterdam 5093

 

Mirrored for:

Eurodam 6082

Eurodam 6089

Eurodam 5098

Nieuw Amsterdam 6082

Nieuw Amsterdam 6089

Nieuw Amsterdam 5098

 

There was MUCH handwringing over being next to the exterior glass elevators and just off the midship elevator lobby, but I have to tell you - we loved, loved, LOVED the location!

 

I was initially concerned about elevator lobby noise and some loss of privacy on the balcony, but neither were an issue - and I'm picky, picky on the noise thing. I have gone out of my way in hotels to be as faaaaar away as possible from the elevators.

 

As for noise, never heard people congregating and waiting for an elevator, nor did we hear ANY elevator chimes. Zip. Nada. Never. Day or night. Very, very quiet other than some hall noise of passengers passing that you'd get in any cabin on the ship. I thought the midship elevators were actually UNDERUSED by most on the ship and we rarely saw anyone waiting for one on our stateroom deck. I thought there was much more traffic on forward and aft elevator banks.

 

As for balcony privacy, well, yeah, sometimes they can see you and sometimes you can see them. But really, those things whizzed by so quick. It simply was not an issue for us. A stateroom balcony was a nice retreat every now and then, but we didn't spend every minute out there so it never "got" to us. Others will likely feel differently and want their own cocooned view of the world. In addition, there is NO WAY elevator riders can see into the cabin - even at night, with all the lights on and the all the curtains open.

 

The biggest advantage of this stateroom location is that it is exactly midship so all you have to do is go out of your stateroom, catch any of the elevators (we used the glass elevators always; loved the views out to sea) and get to any of the decks with a short walk either forward or aft. Plus, we embarked, gangwayed (real word?), tendered and disembarked off the midship elevator lobbies on Decks 3, 2 and "A," so it made it SUPER easy to get on and off the ship from the stateroom.

 

As for the stateroom highlights, here they are:

 

TONS of storage.

Good amount of electrical outlets (one at vanity, one at desk, one in bathroom).

Height adjustable and moveable coffee table.

Fridge that keeps things cool - NOT cold.

Great seating space (inside and outside).

Good lighting options to create mood and ambiance desired.

Sense of spaciousness.

Nice floor length mirror in entry.

Room key shelf on inside of stateroom room so you can always have a place to put it - and remember before leaving!

Closets with height adjustable shelving.

Excellent room temp control (cold and warm when you want it).

Illuminated bathroom light switch.

Soft throw blankets!

 

Some minor quirks:

 

Air runs constantly so there's a low-hum white noise all the time; there's no on/off, just variation between hot and cold.

No room clock.

No bathroom nightlight (bring one if needed)

None of the lighting has dimmers (option is either on or off)

 

Below you'll find a link with multiple photos of the stateroom I stayed in from11/19/11-11/26/11.

 

Enjoy!

 

https://picasaweb.google.com/106999692323749088281/EurodamStateroomSS6084UpperVerandahDeckPortSide?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJ_nyvavyLD9iAE&feat=directlink

[taxmantoo]

Thank you for posting the daiy schedules. I noticed that the piano player in the the Piano Bar was named "Eric". Would you know if that was "Eric Fischer"?

[excruisestaff]

Thanks so much for posting these! It looks like there was no comedian on your cruise. Someone else mentioned none was on theirs either. What a shame. We always look forward to (and enjoy) the comedy shows.

We also hope we don't miss Grand Turk as we are meeting friends who live there! Fingers crossed we'll be able to dock when we go!

Maxine

[slabeaume]

We were on the EUrodam the week of Nov. 5th. We were able to dock at Grand Turk, but all the snorkel/dive excursions were cancelled due to high seas. Last year we went in Nov. and weren't able to port in Grand Turk. I've wanted to snorkel there for years---looks like it'll be years more before I get to!

[Flvirgo41]

Thank you very much for posting these. We are doing this cruise next April just before our Transatlantic.

 

I noticed you still had the Master Chef's Dinner on the last night. Do you know what happened about the people with Open Seating? Did anyone mention any plans to stop this in the future?

 

Did you go to the Retreat Cabana area at all?

 

We did not eat in the MDR for Master Chef's Dinner and we had open seating. Opted to eat in Canaletto that night instead. I didn't hear any buzz buzz about whether they were continuing Master Chef's Dinner or not.

 

We actually didn't use the MDR much except for lunch and dinner on Day One in FLL. The one time we ate dinner in MDR, Open Seating worked fine by just showing up. Got a table right by rear window looking over the ship's wake.

 

For dinner, ate once in MDR, once in Pinnacle, once at Pinnacle/Le Cirque, once at Tamarind, twice in Lido, and once Lido/Canaletto.

 

As for Retreat Cabanas, they were sold out for the week before we even set sail (same for Lido cabanas). Looked nice, but I personally could have done without a cabana in either area as we had a comfortable balcony and preferred time by the aft/Seaview pool (adults area). This was a Thanksgiving cruise, so many kids onboard and families really did keep to the the Lido pool area during the day. It was fun to go in there every now and then and watch the kids in the pool. The Retreat Cabanas are just that, away from all the noise and activity with a bit of solitude.

[Flvirgo41]

Thank you for posting the daiy schedules. I noticed that the piano player in the the Piano Bar was named "Eric". Would you know if that was "Eric Fischer"?

 

Hmmm. I don't know the answer to that question. Maybe someone else on here knows.

[Flvirgo41]

Thanks so much for posting these! It looks like there was no comedian on your cruise. Someone else mentioned none was on theirs either. What a shame. We always look forward to (and enjoy) the comedy shows.

We also hope we don't miss Grand Turk as we are meeting friends who live there! Fingers crossed we'll be able to dock when we go!

Maxine

 

Nope, no comedian on this cruise. It's entirely possible though that HAL shakes things up every now and then. I can easily see them trading out the magician for a comedian as the headliner. When we came back onboard in San Juan, there was a gentleman getting on for the first time ahead of us. I thought he might have been entertainment - maybe even the magician. We didn't see that show.

[English_in_Spain]

Thank you for posting the daiy schedules. I noticed that the piano player in the the Piano Bar was named "Eric". Would you know if that was "Eric Fischer"?

 

Are you getting confused with Jim Fischer. He was in the piano bar on the Noordam last year. He was excellent.

 

http://www.jimfischer.net

 

He is due to be on the Zuiderdam in January

[SparklingBlonde]

Thank you! Much appreciated.

[taxmantoo]

Are you getting confused with Jim Fischer. He was in the piano bar on the Noordam last year. He was excellent.

 

http://www.jimfischer.net

 

He is due to be on the Zuiderdam in January

 

No...We were on Eurodam in the Mediterranean last year with "Eric Fischer". He was relatively new and had come from Carnival. Probably the worst we have ever had, to the point we actually wrote to HAL to complain. Later heard from some staff on other ships that he had been let go at the end of his contract.