Live from the Eurodam - 11-8 through 11-22

[NRFBQN]

That was an exciting evening.

Glad the refugees are all safe.

Guess they will be dropped off in Grand Cayman??

 

While we were waiting for our tour onshore this morning, we saw a group of guys wearing blue pants and white t-shirts come off the boat - one of the gals next to us said they were the Cuban refugees. We didn't see where they went, but I would guess that the authorities on Grand Cayman were handling things.

Edited November 11, 2015 by NRFBQN

[hugger]

Well this was certainly more exciting then our situation KK. Do you remember when the eurodam circled back to check out a craft that may have been in trouble and it turned out to be a styrofoam boat.

 

We had a something like this happen last year on the Collector's Cruise the beginning of November. Were you on the same cruise?

[cruz chic]

We had a something like this happen last year on the Collector's Cruise the beginning of November. Were you on the same cruise?

 

This just happened on the eurodam cruise October 18 to November 1, 2015. Wouldn't it be strange if that thing was floating around for a year.

[hugger]

This just happened on the eurodam cruise October 18 to November 1, 2015. Wouldn't it be strange if that thing was floating around for a year.

 

I can't believe it would be the same thing! It was kind of grey and they never could actually find it again. However, several people saw it and didn't report it immediately.

If I remember correct the first person reported it like 45 minutes after seeing it. Then a few other people came forward saying they had seen it as well. They turned the ship around and we head back towards where we had come from. We were a LONG way's from land - we had left port the night prior. I believe it was about 3-4 hours later before they stopped looking for it. They did come across a very small fishing boat that was way out there. They asked if they were ok from what was announced and they declined needing any help. Supposedly they were from Caracas, VENZ. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be that far out in a SMALL boat fishing. They said they hadn't seen anything else.

 

I know I for one stayed out on our balcony for a couple of hour's with binocular's. I could see them doing the same thing from the bridge. I am sure they had a much better view than I did. Amazing how it would seem like you saw something then it would be gone. I was impressed that the captain and HAL for that matter made such an effort to locate whatever it was again. I never saw it myself and I don't think they ever found it again either. They said it was something grey and a small boat of some sort???

 

 

If it is the same thing - can you imagine how many times it's been sighted and searched for . . .

[Krazy Kruizers]

Well this was certainly more exciting then our situation KK. Do you remember when the eurodam circled back to check out a craft that may have been in trouble and it turned out to be a styrofoam boat.

 

 

Oh yes -- with the Mac Donald's logo on it -- complete with a sail.

[Krazy Kruizers]

While we were waiting for our tour onshore this morning, we saw a group of guys wearing blue pants and white t-shirts come off the boat - one of the gals next to us said they were the Cuban refugees. We didn't see where they went, but I would guess that the authorities on Grand Cayman were handling things.

 

 

I know that you wouldn't know, but I wonder if they will be sent back to Cuba or get to stay on Grand Cayman.

[Applescruff]

I know that you wouldn't know, but I wonder if they will be sent back to Cuba or get to stay on Grand Cayman.

 

 

If they can qualify for refugee status (very difficult to accomplish) they will be allowed to stay, but most likely they will be repatriated to Cuba.

[cruz chic]

I can't believe it would be the same thing! It was kind of grey and they never could actually find it again. However, several people saw it and didn't report it immediately.

If I remember correct the first person reported it like 45 minutes after seeing it. Then a few other people came forward saying they had seen it as well. They turned the ship around and we head back towards where we had come from. We were a LONG way's from land - we had left port the night prior. I believe it was about 3-4 hours later before they stopped looking for it. They did come across a very small fishing boat that was way out there. They asked if they were ok from what was announced and they declined needing any help. Supposedly they were from Caracas, VENZ. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be that far out in a SMALL boat fishing. They said they hadn't seen anything else.

 

I know I for one stayed out on our balcony for a couple of hour's with binocular's. I could see them doing the same thing from the bridge. I am sure they had a much better view than I did. Amazing how it would seem like you saw something then it would be gone. I was impressed that the captain and HAL for that matter made such an effort to locate whatever it was again. I never saw it myself and I don't think they ever found it again either. They said it was something grey and a small boat of some sort???

 

 

If it is the same thing - can you imagine how many times it's been sighted and searched for . . .

 

Unfortunately I didn't see it but I would have liked to.

[Krazy Kruizers]

If they can qualify for refugee status (very difficult to accomplish) they will be allowed to stay, but most likely they will be repatriated to Cuba.

 

That's what I figured.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Krazy Kruizers

[NRFBQN]

Hi, all! Sorry it’s been a few days since I posted. I guess this is now a “Sort of Live” posting. We’ve just been enjoying the cruise and collapsing at the end of the day, so no time to post.

 

We left off as we were cruising to Grand Cayman. It was our first time at this port and we really enjoyed it. There were five ships in town - Caribbean Princess, Celebrity Equinox, Carnival Conquest

P & O Brittania, plus us. It was quite the sight seeing them all anchored in the harbor and watching the tenders going back and forth to shore. I was a little nervous about tendering here because I’d read some horror stories on CC about choppy water and people getting hurt trying to get on and off the tender. As it turned out, it was quite calm for us and we had no troubles.

 

Our first thing to do once on land was to take the Jolly Roger Trolley tour. My advice to you - don’t do it! It was perhaps the worst tour either of us have ever taken. We were driven out to a nice neighborhood, told how expensive the houses were, taken to a small cove with a pretty little beach, then back to town. Along the way there was a spotty recitation about the facts of the country with many stories started, but not finished. All in all, a very disappointing tour - $29.95 x 2 and an hour of each of our lives that we’ll never get back.

 

Shopping near the harbor, on the other hand, was wonderful! Lots of great shops, clean, bright, friendly, superb selection, and more. We browsed a lot, bought some rum cakes to take home for gifts (they had a convenient 6-pack), and went for lunch at Margaritaville, where we fell in love with the Lava Lava Shrimp. We bought a couple of magnets as souvenirs then made a quick stop at Diamonds International to pick up a free charm to add to the bracelet I started some years ago. The charm for the Cayman Islands is a sting ray.

 

Back to the ship on a smooth tender (so thankful for this!) and then we were off to the Hydro pool and heated lounges - we are definitely getting our money’s worth from the spa package we bought at the beginning of the cruise.

 

Dinner was very good - I think the food on this cruise has been better than most and we are really enjoying it. Our service has been great, too. It hasn’t had the rushed feeling you get on so many ships. Our server, Budi, has been great at knowing which things we really enjoy and he is always in good humor. That night, the wine steward stopped by and performed some magic for us - very fun!

 

We finished the day at the Silk Den for an after dinner drink. We are totally in love with this bar - it’s quiet and elegant with a pretty view over the Lido Pool.

 

A lovely and relaxing day!

[NRFBQN]

On to Jamaica! The port at Falmouth is lovely and has plenty of nice shops for everything from souvenirs to diamonds. Very clean and nice. The people in the shops are very friendly, too. Diamonds International is a two-story store and has a lounge and bar upstairs. I stopped there to get my free charm (a gecko) and they made a big production of taking me upstairs to get it. Of course, some of their most expensive items are upstairs.

 

Nice Dufry duty free shop for liquor and perfumes, a small craft market, lots of jewelry, lots of inexpensive gift shops, and Margaritaville - The Lava Lava Shrimp was just as good as in Grand Cayman and DH finished our meal with Key Lime Pie. They served ice cream on top of the pie and there was no cherry - otherwise the same as in Grand Cayman. Service was slow, but we are on island time and didn’t have anywhere to be!

 

DH bought a fun watch - a Ferrari - which turned out to be right at market price in the U.S. That was fine with us - we think of these purchases as souvenirs and mementos of our trip. As long as we’re getting a fair value and authentic merchandise, we’re happy.

 

After our shopping, we headed back to the ship, jumped in the Hydro Pool and had another relaxing afternoon. Sorry we’re so boring, but we sure are relaxed!

 

On our way to dinner, we finally stopped to find all of our pictures that have been taken along the way. For the first time ever, we’re thinking of getting our pictures, since they are turning out well. Here are the packages:

 

Taste of candid moments - any five candid photos plus digital files $79.95 (I asked and “photo” means “sheet” - so when we have four sheets for one occasion, that’s four photos.)

 

Candid moments - all of the candid prints or digital files $139.95 (or $189.90 for both prints and digital files)

 

Portraiture - five portrait prints or digital files - $159.95 (or $239.90 for both prints and digital files)

 

All inclusive - all of your prints or digital files - $319.95 (or $369.60 for both prints and digitals)

 

I used to think they were too expensive, but since we are liking the pictures on this cruise, we might actually spring for one of the packages. We also have a free candid sheet coming to us that was part of our booking perks.

 

Dinner was amazing tonight - we went to De Librije at the Pinnacle and it measured up to the hype and more. Every course was incredible, every taste was special, and we were thrilled to get to enjoy such an amazing meal. We had also ordered the wine pairing, so that was a big step up from the Signature Beverage Package wines we had been drinking on other nights. There were some funny things - foam is a big thing in this dinner. There was fish foam, cheese foam, and some other foam that I’ve forgotten. Also, I had the deconstructed apple pie for dessert and it didn’t resemble apple pie at all - that said, it was delicious and beautiful. There was a vanilla bean on the plate, along with a stick of cinnamon. I hadn’t touched either, so the waiter pointed out that they were actually made of agar and marzipan - we tasted them and they were yummy!

 

Upon arrival back at a our room, there was a little tin from De Librije with two cookies in it. The cookies were gone in a hurry and now the tin is holding our collection of chocolates that are left in the room each night.

[NRFBQN]

Today was the Mariner’s brunch, which was really nice. We arrived quite early and got a table for two at the stern. We could actually see the program for a change. The cruise director on this ship, Sara, is really great and did a nice job welcoming all of us and making us feel special. Captain John Scott spoke next and then introduced the First Officer so that he could tell us more about the rescue of the Cubans. He piloted the rescue craft, so he was able to share quite a few details. The most amazing was the the Cubans had built a catamaran of sorts out of a couple of pieces of wood and a bunch of styrofoam block, held together with string. Their boat was starting to fall apart by the time we got to them and they were really hard to see in the dark, the rain, and the choppy water. He said that he circled several times to scope out the situation and it became pretty obvious that they were people who needed some help. He also said that if we hadn’t found them and rescued them, he did not think they would have survived the night. Many of us had tears in our eyes and everyone was so proud that our ship and crew had saved these people.

 

The Mariner’s brunch menu was nice - I had a seafood cocktail following by peppercorn-encrusted swai, then a strawberry millefuille desert. There were two glasses of champagne, too, and our waiter brought us our tiles with the new Eurodam design.

 

After brunch we stopped at the Photo Gallery to see about collecting our pictures for later selection. We were told that they wouldn’t hold them unless we paid up front for a package. We still want to buy some, but found the pre-pay arrangement off-putting, so we put the pictures back until we can decide what we want to get.

 

Another trip to the Spa, then off to the highlight of the afternoon - the Captain’s talk/Q & A. He’s a charming man with so many stories about his life on the sea. I always like to go to the Captain’s talks and we were really happy to have attended this one. When he took questions from the audience, he was asked about the refugees and shared even more details. There were two other ships in the neighborhood (Carnaval and Princess) and many people, including us, had wondered why they didn’t do anything. It turned out that our ship was closest and we waved off their offers of help because our crew had it covered. He was also asked how they were notified about the refugees. It turns out that one of the crew on watch noticed their light from a small flashlight. It was a strange light, so they called the Captain, so he went to the bridge and determined that they needed to look closer. Our ship then circled them a couple of times before deciding to send out a fast rescue boat. In answer to the another question, he said we could see the fast rescue boats in front of the lifeboats on each side of the ship.

 

The Captain also talked about the upcoming dry dock in December. He said it would be thirteen days and that about 800 crew stay on board and they all work like crazy. They will be ripping out the showroom, casino, piano bar, and Explorer's Lounge, then creating a new dueling pianos lounge and a Live from Lincoln Center performance area, as well as a revamped casino and showroom. He also talked about taking several suites out so that they could put new equipment in the engine room. One the equipment is in place, they rebuild the suites. It sounds like it will be quite an upgrade overall.

 

The talk concluded with the Cruise Director giving a plug to a book that the Captain’s wife had written about life behind the scenes on the ship. It looks like a very good book with lots of photos, so we bought one and had both the Captain and his wife autograph it.

 

We finished the afternoon at Happy Hour in the Crow’s Nest - such a beautiful view from there and a lovely place for a margarita!

 

Dinner was festive, with surf and turf. Our table went crazy for lobster, with each of us having two tails. Everyone was very happy with their meals and the service, as always.

 

Following dinner, we stopped by the shops to pick up another watch for DH - a Lamborghini this time, again at a good price, a little below market. I am joking with him that he needs to build a garage for his new watches! He’s also adding a few Tommy Bahama shirts and we are so glad that the ship is carrying them.

 

Another good dinner, more after dinner drinks (I have three of the little souvenir glasses now - well on my way to a collection!), and then off to our very comfortable bed to get our rest. Are you sensing a pattern in our days?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful review.

[Lizzie68]

Thanks for the updates - I am really enjoying your cruise.:D

[POA1]

You pass it if you go into Mallory square. It's fairly close but you have to take a trolley to Mallory square. There is a reason you can't walk but I can't remember why :o.

It's a military base. That's why there's the extra security stop. (Sorry. I'm a little late to the party.)

[NRFBQN]

Thanks for the updates - I am really enjoying your cruise.:D

 

Wonderful review.

 

Hi, Krazy Cruisers and Lizzie 68! I appreciate your nice notes and I'm happy you're enjoying my posts.

[NRFBQN]

Man, this cruise is an exciting one. We are two and half hours late leaving Half Moon Cay due to a medical emergency. The last tender was at 2:30, then we just sat in the water, not moving. Around 4:30 or so, we saw a Coast Guard helicopter fly around the island, then around the ship. Finally, after quite a few more circles, the helicopter landed on the island, and a tender took off from the ship. The Captain came on with an announcement that there was a passenger who needed medical help and they were being transferred to the helicopter. Once the tender was back on Half Moon Cay, the ship started turning around and now we’re headed out. The Captain said we were going to go back to Ft. Lauderdale at high speed and try to arrive on schedule. I certainly hope the ill person will be okay - what a lousy way to end a cruise.

 

Now, back to our day on board. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, but we aren’t really beach people, so we use the Half Moon Cay day as another sea day. We slept in, had a yummy lunch at the Dive-In, then went to a special meeting for those passengers on the back-to-back. What a nice surprise to be greeted with a glass of bubbly as we entered the Mainstage! Cruise Director Sarah presented a short program about customs. For those of us staying on the ship tomorrow, all we have to do is go the MainStage at 10 or so (when called) and bring our ship card and passport. We will clear customs there and then can go about our day on the ship. For those who are getting off, they can get off at any time up until 10 and bring their passport, ship card, and customs form. They were told to fill out the customs form, but declare nothing since they are still in transit. Anyone who gets off can come back on after 11 or so.

 

After the program about customs, we went to the spa and enjoyed the warm bubbles and comfy lounges yet again. We asked at the spa if we could use the thermal suite tomorrow and they said we could, but there would be people walking by. Apparently we will be on the tour of the spa facilities! I’m not sure if we will be encouraging for people checking it out or if we will scare them away :).

 

Finally, back to the room to relax some more and await all aboard. And then, the delay, the helicopter, and the unfortunate need for the evacuation.

 

Now we’re headed off to decide whether to buy some of our pictures before they all get recycled at the end of the night. The pictures are the only things that don’t seem to carry over. Internet minutes carry over, casino bank balances carry over (except if you’re playing Texas Hold’em, for some unknown reason), we keep the same ship card, etc. So, we’re off to rescue our pictures.

 

I’m planning a quick stop at the shops, too. We passed by earlier today and I saw some new merchandise laid out for tonight’s last minute shoppers. I always look for fun cosmetics collections that you don’t normally see outside of duty free shops and they just put out some collections from Yves St. Laurent. Yay!

 

For tonight’s dinner, we’ll be at the Pinnacle - it’s our “last night” tradition, even though this is only the last night of the first half of our cruise. Tomorrow we’re planning to go to Tamarind for the first time, so we’ve got some great meals ahead!

[hugger]

Live from thread for us we are in the midst of packing to board the ship on the 22nd.

I believe Captain Scott is the same captain we had last year - can't seem to find my log of the cruise - I know I filed it somewhere ;)

 

If you are disembarking tomorrow - have a safe and smooth trip home. If not enjoy the upcoming leg of your cruise.

[cruz chic]

It's a military base. That's why there's the extra security stop. (Sorry. I'm a little late to the party.)

 

That's what I was thinking but I wasn't 100% sure. Thx for the confirmation.

 

Op, thx for the update.

Edited November 14, 2015 by cruz chic

[chefestelle]

This has been a great thread and I'm excited for part 2! Thanks for sparing us the time!

[HELENPSL]

Thanks so much for doing this "live from" thread. We are boarding for 1 week on Sunday Nov. 22. I was excited before reading your thread but now I am bordering on crazy...and ready to go. Thanks again!!

 

Helen

[NRFBQN]

Hi, Krazy Cruisers and Lizzie 68! I appreciate your nice notes and I'm happy you're enjoying my posts.

 

Sorry, Krazy -- autocorrect messed up your name!

[hugger]

And, I see you are on for another week YEAH! You will have been able to enjoy this evening onboard. As opposed to spending the afternoon and evening packing and saying goodbye.

 

One of the most Incredible part's of doing a B2B or Collector's Voyage is the feeling you get when YOU GET TO STAY ON THE SHIP for the 2nd part of the cruise.

We had always been so envious of the people that we saw lounging by the pool on our last morning. Or, enjoying their balconies. . .

 

NOW for the 2nd time since DH retired last year. WE GET TO STAY ON THE SHIP TOO! Can't wait for next SUNDAY when we board. It was such a cool experience last November when we were enjoying our breakfast on the balcony viewing the other ships in port. And, hearing the other passenger's bustling about in the hallways as they departed the ship.

Of course, the one thing we had yet to learn at that point is the maintenance crew comes through and unlocks all the balcony door's to wash everything down with hoses :-) Not only were we startled the poor guy was too :confused:

 

It was great to see how the ship does their turn around day. We stolled down to the embarkation luncheon and enjoyed meeting new people as they were embarking.

 

AH, nothing like the feeling of it NOT BEING OVER just yet! Of course, then the day does arrive when you MUST disembark :(

 

I truly think I could live on a ship or at least cruise for several weeks at a time.

If only the stock market and DH would agree with me.

 

BONVOYAGE and ENJOY

Edited November 15, 2015 by hugger

[turtleash]

Today was the Mariner’s brunch, which was really nice. We arrived quite early and got a table for two at the stern. We could actually see the program for a change. The cruise director on this ship, Sara, is really great and did a nice job welcoming all of us and making us feel special. Captain John Scott spoke next and then introduced the First Officer so that he could tell us more about the rescue of the Cubans. He piloted the rescue craft, so he was able to share quite a few details. The most amazing was the the Cubans had built a catamaran of sorts out of a couple of pieces of wood and a bunch of styrofoam block, held together with string. Their boat was starting to fall apart by the time we got to them and they were really hard to see in the dark, the rain, and the choppy water. He said that he circled several times to scope out the situation and it became pretty obvious that they were people who needed some help. He also said that if we hadn’t found them and rescued them, he did not think they would have survived the night. Many of us had tears in our eyes and everyone was so proud that our ship and crew had saved these people.

 

The Mariner’s brunch menu was nice - I had a seafood cocktail following by peppercorn-encrusted swai, then a strawberry millefuille desert. There were two glasses of champagne, too, and our waiter brought us our tiles with the new Eurodam design.

 

After brunch we stopped at the Photo Gallery to see about collecting our pictures for later selection. We were told that they wouldn’t hold them unless we paid up front for a package. We still want to buy some, but found the pre-pay arrangement off-putting, so we put the pictures back until we can decide what we want to get.

 

Another trip to the Spa, then off to the highlight of the afternoon - the Captain’s talk/Q & A. He’s a charming man with so many stories about his life on the sea. I always like to go to the Captain’s talks and we were really happy to have attended this one. When he took questions from the audience, he was asked about the refugees and shared even more details. There were two other ships in the neighborhood (Carnaval and Princess) and many people, including us, had wondered why they didn’t do anything. It turned out that our ship was closest and we waved off their offers of help because our crew had it covered. He was also asked how they were notified about the refugees. It turns out that one of the crew on watch noticed their light from a small flashlight. It was a strange light, so they called the Captain, so he went to the bridge and determined that they needed to look closer. Our ship then circled them a couple of times before deciding to send out a fast rescue boat. In answer to the another question, he said we could see the fast rescue boats in front of the lifeboats on each side of the ship.

 

The Captain also talked about the upcoming dry dock in December. He said it would be thirteen days and that about 800 crew stay on board and they all work like crazy. They will be ripping out the showroom, casino, piano bar, and Explorer's Lounge, then creating a new dueling pianos lounge and a Live from Lincoln Center performance area, as well as a revamped casino and showroom. He also talked about taking several suites out so that they could put new equipment in the engine room. One the equipment is in place, they rebuild the suites. It sounds like it will be quite an upgrade overall.

 

The talk concluded with the Cruise Director giving a plug to a book that the Captain’s wife had written about life behind the scenes on the ship. It looks like a very good book with lots of photos, so we bought one and had both the Captain and his wife autograph it.

 

We finished the afternoon at Happy Hour in the Crow’s Nest - such a beautiful view from there and a lovely place for a margarita!

 

Dinner was festive, with surf and turf. Our table went crazy for lobster, with each of us having two tails. Everyone was very happy with their meals and the service, as always.

 

Following dinner, we stopped by the shops to pick up another watch for DH - a Lamborghini this time, again at a good price, a little below market. I am joking with him that he needs to build a garage for his new watches! He’s also adding a few Tommy Bahama shirts and we are so glad that the ship is carrying them.

 

Another good dinner, more after dinner drinks (I have three of the little souvenir glasses now - well on my way to a collection!), and then off to our very comfortable bed to get our rest. Are you sensing a pattern in our days?

 

Do you know the title of the book that was written by the captains wife?

[NRFBQN]

Do you know the title of the book that was written by the captains wife?

 

Hi, Ashlee! The book is called 'Driving the hotel' 'Behind the Scenes' with the Deck and Technical Departments. It's by Susan Smith and was published by Cruise Products Limited.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Best regards,

Priscilla