Dave's Live from Eurodam Trans-Atlantic, Aug. 27 - Sept. 12, 2013

[Thebes]

Hi Dave,

welcome home!! and thank you for your amazing work with the photos. I'm sure those cabanas are the retreat cabanas and they are on deck 11 not 10 as you mentioned , am I right ?

Also do you know if the cabana menu was the same as the lido menu ? Or is it different ?

[erewhon]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us, wonderful.

[RetiredMustang]

Hi Dave,

welcome home!! and thank you for your amazing work with the photos. I'm sure those cabanas are the retreat cabanas and they are on deck 11 not 10 as you mentioned , am I right ?

Also do you know if the cabana menu was the same as the lido menu ? Or is it different ?

 

You are right, I looked again and the cabanas I photographed are in the Retreat on deck 11. I knew I could see them from the Lido deck, and made a mistake thinking they were on deck 10.

 

I don't know if they had a different menu there than the one in the Lido cabanas -- they had a fence up to keep riff raff like me who had not paid for a cabana out of the Retreat :D, so I didn't see a menu card. I suspect it was probably the same.

 

Dave

[Yaya&Papu]

Thank you very much for taking us along on your cruise. We thoroughly enjoyed your photos of the scenery, as well as the menus and food. We have done a cruise to Norway and 2 TAs on the southern route. So your cruise was similar in some ways, yet different in a lot of ways. You have now tempted us to put this cruise on our bucket list.:)

[PatMc]

Dave, I really enjoyed your posts for this cruise. We may take it next year...

One thing I noticed - you didn't post a picture of your dinner yesterday. LOL

[cruz chic]

You are right, I looked again and the cabanas I photographed are in the Retreat on deck 11. I knew I could see them from the Lido deck, and made a mistake thinking they were on deck 10.

 

I don't know if they had a different menu there than the one in the Lido cabanas -- they had a fence up to keep riff raff like me who had not paid for a cabana out of the Retreat :D, so I didn't see a menu card. I suspect it was probably the same.

 

Dave

You should have gone right in there:D. I had a cabana on the NA last Nov. I took a lot of my junk (camera, computer etc) because I was about 5 feet away at all times. I got to know everyone up in that area and it was just like family:eek:. People that did not pay came walking thru and right into the private cabanas. I thought that was beyond rude. Before I had a cabana I respected the fact I shouldn't be in there. If no one was in there I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem.

[RetiredMustang]

Dave, I really enjoyed your posts for this cruise. We may take it next year...

One thing I noticed - you didn't post a picture of your dinner yesterday. LOL

 

Yes, I know. None of the main course (entrée ?) photos I took were in focus. A "give it a rest, dammit!" tended to make my hand a little less steady.:D And I forgot for the other courses.

 

We both had the antipasto (authentic -- we lived in Naples for 6 years, and know). I had the zuppa di pesce (also authentic). For main course/entrée, I had the linguini frutti di mare, which was not authentic. Italian restaurants do not put cream and cheese on seafood (and no self-respecting Italian over the age of 4 would ever use a spoon with pasta -- that is for infants, only.)

 

Dessert was the limoncello over panna cotta (or whatever they called it; that's what it was, and it was delicious!). This was probably authentic. I have never had it in Sorrento (home city of limoncello) or the area around it, but I bet that if they had thought of it, they would have had it on the menu; a special treat.

 

Dave

[sppunk]

Dave, did you ever go to the BB King Club show? Haven't read much about it, pretty excited to see it next weekend.

[lizzies_mom]

Dave, thank you for taking the time to do this. We were on this cruise as well, but it is always interesting to see it through another pair of eyes.

 

Plus you got better shots of the towel animal pool party.

[RetiredMustang]

Dave, did you ever go to the BB King Club show? Haven't read much about it, pretty excited to see it next weekend.

 

No, sorry, we never attended the BB King shows, and only went to the show lounge for the two comedians, not for any of the musical acts. That's not to say the BB King event was not a good show; it just did not appeal to us.

 

Be sure to come back to CC and let us know what you thought of it.

 

Dave

[ozcruizer]

Dave, thanks so much for sharing your cruise. We did the Baltic on the Eurodam immediately before your cruise, so it's been nice to go along with you on the Atlantic crossing, even if vicariously. Loved seeing the towel animals - so funny. Again, thanks.

 

Ozcruizer

Now 3 Star Mariner!

[Kay240]

WONDERFUL! Thanks for posting; I gained 5 lbs. just looking at your photos!

[ibfishing2]

Mon., Sept. 9, 2013, at sea (Cont.)

 

We had breakfast in the Lido this morning, and when we went forward to the elevator to the Explorations Café, we discovered a wild scene – the towel animals were having a pool party. It seems many of the room stewards (including ours we later learned) had gotten together at 5:30 this morning to put together a tour de force of their art. What fun!

 

Here are some shots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More later,

Dave

 

 

Thank you for the Pool Party Pics.

[maxie99]

i cant get enough of these little monsters

[goleta]

What a wonderful review of your cruise. I am on the Veendam July 12, 2014 from Boston to Amsterdam. We take a different route in Iceland ( around the northern part) but the rest is the same. I am so looking forward to this trip. I want to do a hot spring but won't be near the capital of Iceland ( easier to write it this way:D). Were there any offerings of hot springs visits when you stopped in Greenland?

[lizzies_mom]

What a wonderful review of your cruise. I am on the Veendam July 12, 2014 from Boston to Amsterdam. We take a different route in Iceland ( around the northern part) but the rest is the same. I am so looking forward to this trip. I want to do a hot spring but won't be near the capital of Iceland ( easier to write it this way:D). Were there any offerings of hot springs visits when you stopped in Greenland?

 

When we were in Nanortalik, there were no tours offered. We were given information about a museum relating to life in the area (I think) and a "coffee party" where we saw young people dancing traditional dances and heard a choir of some of the adults.

[Southern Spirit]

Dave,

 

Your pictures are really professional. What type camera(s) did you use on your Eurodam Norway/Artic trip? I plan a similar cruise next summer and wonder what lenses and equipment would be best to take? I'd appreciate any any tips you can give me.

 

Also, I am debating whether to take an August 8-27 cruise or one from May 10-31. Is the rain you experienced typical for August? Do you know if the May date would have less clouds and rain?

Edited November 14, 2013 by Southern Spirit

[RetiredMustang]

Dave,

 

Your pictures are really professional. What type camera(s) did you use on your Eurodam Norway/Artic trip? I plan a similar cruise next summer and wonder what lenses and equipment would be best to take? I'd appreciate any any tips you can give me.

 

Also, I am debating whether to take an August 8-27 cruise or one from May 10-31. Is the rain you experienced typical for August? Do you know if the May date would have less clouds and rain?

 

Southern Spirit,

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Thanks for the compliment about the photos. I use a small Fuji point-and-shoot digital camera. Other people I've seen have digital SLRs with detachable lenses, and can zoom in closer than my small camera.

 

So far as the weather goes, we have done the northern crossing three times, each time in late August/early September, and on each, it has rained in at least one of the ports. The sailing in Prins Christian Sund has been crystal clean and sunny one time, changeable another, and mostly cloudy/rainy this last time. It is always a chance you take in the northern latitudes. I have not been in May, but suspect that it may be the same then, too. You could have fabulous weather, or lots of rain, or a mix.

 

Hope whichever cruise you take is one you really enjoy.

 

Dave

[andeesue]

So loved your wonderful review! I am also impressed with your quick disembarkation and trip home. You and your DW certainly know how to travel well.

[Southern Spirit]

Thank you for the quick reply and information. Who knew a point and shoot camera could take such good pictures; guess you are just skilled. As they say, "Its not the arrow, its the Indian. I'm new to Cruise Critic, so didn't know how to respond directly to your reply. Hope you get this.

 

One other question. Do you have a preference between the Eurodam and the Ryndam?

[RetiredMustang]

Thank you for the quick reply and information. Who knew a point and shoot camera could take such good pictures; guess you are just skilled. As they say, "Its not the arrow, its the Indian. I'm new to Cruise Critic, so didn't know how to respond directly to your reply. Hope you get this.

 

One other question. Do you have a preference between the Eurodam and the Ryndam?

 

Cruise Critic (CC to most of us) is not that hard to get used to ... just jump right in! I knew you were new, because at the upper right of your post was the count of posts you had made on CC -- at the time, ... um, 1!

 

We are an occasionally irascible and contentious crowd, but mostly we love cruising, especially on HAL (Holland America Line), and many of us try to answer questions new posters/cruisers may have. Browse around the threads here, and learn what you can. If you have a specific question, start a thread of your own, and ask! -- my first thread I started asked about meatloaf, of all things! Many of us will answer (if you hang here often, you will encounter sail7seas, RuthC, krazykrusiers, innlady1, gmapajama, sapper1, lorekauf, startwin, RevNeal, Copper 10-8, jtl513, Ine, and many, many others willing to help.)

 

Comparing Eurodam to Ryndam is like comparing Snickers to Milky Way bars (hi, Ruth)! Eurodam is one of the two largest of HAL's fleet, and has things like the Silk Den bar and Tamarind pan-Asian restaurant, and larger public spaces. But, it also has more passengers than Ryndam, which is an S-class (named for Statendam, first of the class) HAL ship. It is smaller, and older, but more intimate, and you have more opportunity to learn your fellow passengers and crew members who seem so happy to serve you.

 

We have sailed both, most recently Eurodam, but in about 13 and a half weeks will be on board Ryndam again. (But who's counting?).

 

Basic answer: do I want to sail on any HAL ship? Yes! Very much!

 

Dave

Edited November 15, 2013 by RetiredMustang

[DanishBeauty]

Can anyone tell me if the drink prices have gone up since the bar menu was posted on this forum? They are from September 2013 and I will traveling in February 2014. Most of the drinks and liquors are listed at $6.95 or below. The prepaid drink card covers drinks up to $7.00. Do not want to purchase it and

then get a big surprise upon embarcation and find out the drinks are now above $7.00

Thanks so much

[Beagleman]

We were wondering how do you book a cabana and how much does it cost per day? Can you book before going on the cruise?

 

Now, I am clearing up some files. I took a great many shots of the ship and things that I did not post. I won’t post them all now, but do have a few you might be interested in. We were in an SS cabin on the 6th deck, and Joanie has lots of shots of those cabins and other areas of the ship for those interested. (Joanie, grab all you want, and if you want slightly higher-res, let me know.)

But here are a few that may interest you:

The atrium bar:

A spa room I found open one day while wandering:

Two shots of the cabanas on deck 10, above the Lido pool:

A shot of the menu sheet they had in a Lido-deck cabana:

And the Explorations Café:

More in the next post,

Dave

[jtl513]

We were wondering how do you book a cabana and how much does it cost per day? Can you book before going on the cruise?

I gave you an answer on your Roll Call: you can only pre-book for the full cruise. The most recent prices I have for daily rentals (IF available): Lido port day 30, sea day 50, Retreat port day 45, sea day 75.

:)

Edited July 25, 2014 by jtl513

[RetiredMustang]

I gave you an answer on your Roll Call: you can only pre-book for the full cruise. The most recent prices I have for daily rentals (IF available): Lido port day 30, sea day 60, Retreat port day 45, sea day 75. :)

 

Thanks! I had just searched the board and found a thread that also talks to the Retreat cabanas: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2056644

 

Dave