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

[Goldygolfer]

Hi Dave - Really enjoying your reports. I have friends onboard.

Have you run into Ken & Lesley from Australia (shadow 10 on CC) ?

Sorry that the weather and the seas have not been "kind", but the food looks wonderful !! Greetings from "Downunder".

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hope your weather improves.

Looking forward to read about your excursion.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your live reports.

 

Keith

[sapper1]

Rick, I had it on the O and found it very ordinary. The fish was overlooked and there were no potatoes or starch on the plate. That's just wrong:D.

 

Lorene, you got autocorrected. :) That's a downright dangerous feature of the iPad. I remember looking at a collection of screen shots of autocorrections once and it was hilarious.

 

 

Just google "autocorrect fail"

Edited September 2, 2013 by sapper1

[lovetocruise2020]

Fantastic Dave!

Thanks so much for all of your effort...

Looking forward to stroopwaffles!

 

Any info on the new Tamarind Sushi lunch?

I wonder if it is replacing the old menu, or in addition to?

If there was a choice that would be great, because DH loves sushi, where i do not...

 

Dh is curious if you can choose the type you like or it is a set type...

 

Let us know if you partake or hear anything :)

 

I think it is a great new way to create revenue, where once the space was wasted!

 

Hopefully they offer both menus. We will see!

[sapper1]

I don't think their weather is going to improve. We're stuck with rain and dreariness until Thursday and our weather tends to sweep up over Newfoundland, Greenland etc.

[luvcruisn']

Iceland would never have been on our to do list but after our cruise stop we decided we could easily have spent some more time there. The scenery is amazing.

 

After my last cruise that ended in Civitavecchia, I flew to England to visit my nephew. The air was about the same cost to fly back to Vancouver via Air Transat or Icelandic Air. I took Icelandic Air and stayed two nights in Reykjavik. I really enjoyed my stay. I took the Golden Circle tour, and then swam in the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon can be done on the way to the airport if you have enough time. That swim in the geothermal pool was actually one of the highlights of my entire trip.

[sapper1]

After my last cruise that ended in Civitavecchia' date=' I flew to England to visit my nephew. The air was about the same cost to fly back to Vancouver via Air Transat or Icelandic Air. I took Icelandic Air and stayed two nights in Reykjavik. I really enjoyed my stay. I took the Golden Circle tour, and then swam in the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon can be done on the way to the airport if you have enough time. That swim in the geothermal pool was actually one of the highlights of my entire trip.[/quote']

 

I did dip my hand into the lagoon and was surprised to feel that it was bathtub warm. And that impossibly blue colour!!!!

 

We flew Icelandair home from Heathrow in June. Their economy plus was a thousand dollars cheaper than AC economy and to boot they offered free luggage for two bags each, free lounge access and for the segment from Iceland to Halifax we had the larger first class seats. The plane from Heathrow to Iceland was a three abreast configuration and with economy plus they don't sell the middle seat. There was also an amazing amount of legroom.

 

The stopover in Iceland on all flights might be a downside to some but for us it was a welcome break in a long overseas flight. It was a lovely airport and we had lounge access.

 

I am also given to understand that if you wish to stay over for a few days there is no extra air cost.

 

Next time we go back to Europe we will be looking at Icelandair as our first choice.

[innlady1]

I don't think their weather is going to improve. We're stuck with rain and dreariness until Thursday and our weather tends to sweep up over Newfoundland, Greenland etc.

 

It's miserable here as well. Rain off and on yesterday, and we woke up to rain again this morning...Thursday ours is predicted to improve as well.

When does Dave's cruise end in NYC? Anxious to see another sailaway!

[catl331]

Dave said back in NYC Sept 12.

 

Sister in Ct reported thunder this morning. She had a miserable day yesterday and used her sweatsuit and chenille throw!

 

Here along the central east coast of Florida we are dying for rain. Way behind this summer in our totals. BUT don't want it in the form of hurricane. Surfing contest in Cocoa Bch has teensy waves but they look like they are having a good time. Saw a pic in newspaper of a booth with Costa Rican beer being sold!

[cruz chic]

Lorene, you got autocorrected. :) That's a downright dangerous feature of the iPad. I remember looking at a collection of screen shots of autocorrections once and it was hilarious.

 

 

Just google "autocorrect fail"

 

I had to read the post 3 times to see what was wrong :D. Yes my fish was over cooked not over looked:D. That autocorrect drives me nuts but it does help on occasion since I can't spell properly.

[cruz chic]

Thankfully we are getting amazing summer weather. After the historic flooding in June it's great to feel some warmth. I hope the weather improves for everyone.

[sapper1]

I had to read the post 3 times to see what was wrong :D. Yes my fish was over cooked not over looked:D. That autocorrect drives me nuts but it does help on occasion since I can't spell properly.

 

If only it dealt with context as well as spelling. I've had some close calls with it.

Edited September 2, 2013 by sapper1

[lastlook]

I did dip my hand into the lagoon and was surprised to feel that it was bathtub warm. And that impossibly blue colour!!!!

 

We flew Icelandair home from Heathrow in June. Their economy plus was a thousand dollars cheaper than AC economy and to boot they offered free luggage for two bags each, free lounge access and for the segment from Iceland to Halifax we had the larger first class seats. The plane from Heathrow to Iceland was a three abreast configuration and with economy plus they don't sell the middle seat. There was also an amazing amount of legroom.

 

The stopover in Iceland on all flights might be a downside to some but for us it was a welcome break in a long overseas flight. It was a lovely airport and we had lounge access.

 

I am also given to understand that if you wish to stay over for a few days there is no extra air cost.

 

Next time we go back to Europe we will be looking at Icelandair as our first choice.

 

We did this in June/July of this year - stopped over for 4 nights on our way to Helsinki from Boston. No additional airline charges for the stopover. We also purchased the Economy Comfort Seats and they were definitely the way to go (we were also fortunate to find ourselves upgraded to even better seats on all of our flight segments.) Will definitely do this again, and I understand that you can now stop over for up to 7 nights.

[Copper10-8]

Icelandair is a great way to fly over the pond if you have some extra time:)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Have a great cruise...

[Vict0riann]

Lorene, you got autocorrected. :) That's a downright dangerous feature of the iPad. I remember looking at a collection of screen shots of autocorrections once and it was hilarious.

 

 

Just google "autocorrect fail"

 

Or "Damn you, Autocorrect". So funny!

[dfish]

Thank you, Dave, for reporting in daily about this cruise. It is one that is on my bucket list for sure. Iceland and Greenland are a draw for me, but after reading about Iceland Air and stopping over in Iceland, I may just have to do that as well.

 

Debbie

[RetiredMustang]

Mon., Sept. 2, 2013, Reykjavik (Cont.)

We took the Reykjavik Highlights tour this morning. It did some window sightseeing around the city, and made three stops. The weather was … changeable. There were patches of sun, patches of cloud, sudden quick showers, but an ever-present wind of about 20 mph.

The first was the Open-Air Musuem, a few miles outside of the downtown. The concept of this museum is similar to Zanse Schans in the Netherlands, where they have taken authentic windmills from around the Netherlands and located them in the same place as a museum. In Reykjavik, they have taken the same approach to various buildings, mostly houses. They are all authentic but most not from the current location. The museum has a couple of dozen buildings, including a farmhouse and a turf-roofed Lutheran church:

We then went to the Pearl, a thermopower production facility on a hilltop that has a cafeteria, a revolving restaurant, shops, etc., and a walkway around the 4th floor with views of the city. We went up, but a sudden squall had hit, sp while I waited it out, I consumed some local culture:

The rain passed, and I was able to go outside to get a shot of the city skyline, dominated by the Hallgrimskirkja Church, which was our next stop:

We drove from the pearl to the church and went inside. It was an impressive building, with a magnificent organ; while we were there, the organist played hymns. Here is a picture of the organ’s pipes:

The excursion continued on, to do a bit more windshield touring en route back to the ship, but we checked out with the tour guide and left, walking down one of the shopping street from the church to the old center of town. We had a light lunch at a restaurant downtown, and decided to walk the path along the harbor back to the ship, about 2.5 to 3 miles. We started off down another shopping street and then turned to get to the path along the harbor. We started out with a few sun breaks but mostly overcast. As we went on, though, we encountered more and more intermittent malicious showers, and by the time we made it to the ship, it was a pretty steady rain. The rain was not that heavy, but the wind had increased so it seemed heavier. Luckily, the wind was at our backs as we headed east to the ship. We were glad to get aboard, however, and get hot showers and change to dry clothes.

More later,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

Mon., Sept. 2, 2013, Reykjavik (Cont.)

We showered and changed, and went to the Ocean Bar for a pre-dinner drink as usual. It was OK, but DW went back for a sweater, as the brow was located on deck 1 amidships, next to the front office. That meant the door there was open, and cold air was rushing in and up the atrium to the Ocean Bar. I was OK in a short-sleeve shirt, but if we had stayed longer, I probably also have gotten a sweater.

There was a German barbeque going on the Lido, but we decided to do the MDR, which turned out to be not very crowded. We were the only ones from our small section until they started seating diners from open seating at a few of the tables around us. Here are the main and dessert menus:

I started with the antipasti:

Then I had the prime rib again. I seem to become even more carnivorous on cruise, and favor the beef dishes:

And, for dessert, the Chocolate Decadence (a photo for Ruth):

More later,

Dave

[RuthC]

And, for dessert, the Chocolate Decadence (a photo for Ruth):

 

Ruth appreciates it. :D The prime rib, too. All of a sudden, I'm ready for supper.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Except for the weather, sounds like you enjoyed your excursion.

Food looks great -- especially the dessert -- one of my favorites.

[Copper10-8]

Mon., Sept. 2, 2013, Reykjavik (Cont.)

 

.................., as the brow was located on deck 1 amidships, next to the front office. That meant the door there was open, and cold air was rushing in and up the atrium to the Ocean Bar ..................More later,

Dave

 

The "Brow" - Love it!;) Go Navy, Beat Army!

[cruz chic]

Ruth appreciates it. :D The prime rib, too. All of a sudden, I'm ready for supper.

 

Lorene likes it too:D. Guaranteed its going to be better then my dinner tonight. Thanks for the update Dave.

[JamesEM]

Hopefully the weather will get better, enjoying your reports.