'Twas the Week Before Christmas - Live from the Eurodam

[POA1]

One of the things people ask about the Retreat/Cabana Club cabanas is, "Will we hear a lot of noise from the pool?" The answer is generally no, but it depends on how far the Lido pool roof is open and how loud the crowd at the pool is. Normally, you won't hear much, but we had a lot of jubilant children on this cruise, so the sound did reach us occasionally. If you were in the common area of the Retreat, you didn't detect much noise at all. If you were in the cabana and sitting at the table by the railing, you could hear sounds from below - including the steel drum player.

 

 

In the photo above, the roof is fully open. Bigger opening = more sound. Below, it's mostly closed and you don't really hear anything from below (except this one girl who had quite the set of pipes. She could be heard from satellites in low earth orbits.)

 

 

 

Our cabana stewards made a little floral hat decoration for us. It actually says that it's for use from Brian & Rod "The Cabana Boys." I don't know about you guys, but we love our little crafty items. We have a full set of tiny bistro furniture made from Champagne cages, and a host of other knick-knacks. We even have some of the Dutch hats from the MDR Dutch nights in the '90s. It makes for nice memories when we come across them. (No, we're not hoarders. :D )

[POA1]

Thanks for this fantastic thread and review. It's worthy of the CC Hall Of Fame or a Noble Prize.:)

 

Hope your feeling better and wishes for a Happy and Healthier New Year!

 

Bruce

Thanks Chief! I see that you and your lovely bride are heading out again soon. That's the way to do it. Have a great trip.

[POA1]

And we're back to the menus! Here is:

 

Set B - Day 3 Consolidated Menus

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFimHIobk91NIq2zdBOAIwXBAZJ4Zhqad6E/

[POA1]

This will be all for tonight. I'll try to finish up the menus tomorrow so as to beat the end of year deadline. (I think I get a tax deduction if I do.)

Set B - Day 4 Menus

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFg8oz2z6a1B6qjWhWPaRT1PYceIAGIgZaY/

[canadarocks]

Not that I'm aware of. The brochure says: "Healthy breakfast and lunch choices available at the Cabana Club and Retreat." The Lido cabanas are just steps from the food in the Lido and they're right across from the Dive-In.

 

Thanks. Was your Retreat Cabana available to you on Embarkation Day? Did you ever order breakfast while you were there?

[POA1]

Thanks. Was your Retreat Cabana available to you on Embarkation Day? Did you ever order breakfast while you were there?

It was indeed. We were told that the front desk would have our assignment, but knew from experience that the cabana guys would have a list. If you are on a back to back, your cabana is available on the turn around day, too.

 

We did not order breakfast, but other people did. We either ordered room service breakfast or else we met my wife's dad. He's big on breakfast in the Lido.

 

The cabana stewards can handle almost all of your food and drink needs. On the Eurodam, the retreat area is located close to the Explorations Cafe and the Crow's Nest. Between those two venues, you're well covered drinkwise.

Edited December 31, 2016 by POA1

[Dogstar]

Do you know if the lunch delivery service is offered in the Lido Cabanas as well?

 

 

Lunch delivery service was offered to us in Nieuw Amsterdam's Lido cabana earlier this month.

[canadarocks]

It was indeed. We were told that the front desk would have our assignment, but knew from experience that the cabana guys would have a list. If you are on a back to back, your cabana is available on the turn around day, too.

 

We did not order breakfast, but other people did. We either ordered room service breakfast or else we met my wife's dad. He's big on breakfast in the Lido.

 

The cabana stewards can handle almost all of your food and drink needs. On the Eurodam, the retreat area is located close to the Explorations Cafe and the Crow's Nest. Between those two venues, you're well covered drinkwise.

 

Lunch delivery service was offered to us in Nieuw Amsterdam's Lido cabana earlier this month.

 

Thank you very much for the info. I'm going to see if one is available for our cruise this week. :)

[POA1]

Lunch delivery service was offered to us in Nieuw Amsterdam's Lido cabana earlier this month.

Thanks. That's good to know. The brochure only mentions breakfast and lunch for the retreat area. Always helpful to get first hand information from people who have real world experience.

[canadarocks]

A few last questions about the Retreat Cabanas please. On the Nieuw Amsterdam they're located near the Explorations Cafe as well. I was hoping they'd be near the aft pool, which obviously they are not.

 

How difficult is it to get to the Lido pool from there? Not a fan of getting in an elevator dripping wet. And from the deck plan it looks like the only staircase is indoors as well. :confused:

 

Is there perhaps a shower there to cool off?

[POA1]

A few last questions about the Retreat Cabanas please. On the Nieuw Amsterdam they're located near the Explorations Cafe as well. I was hoping they'd be near the aft pool, which obviously they are not.

 

How difficult is it to get to the Lido pool from there? Not a fan of getting in an elevator dripping wet. And from the deck plan it looks like the only staircase is indoors as well. :confused:

 

Is there perhaps a shower there to cool off?

There is a shower, but I didn't get a good picture of it. I need to crop a photo so you can see it. One moment please....

Edited December 31, 2016 by POA1

[POA1]

There is a shower, but I didn't get a good picture of it. I need to crop a photo so you can see it. One moment please....

 

 

The shower stall on the Eurodam is in the forward, starboard corner of the retreat cabana area, near the Sochi cabana. The regular sized corner cabanas, Sochi & Amalfi, were used as staging and storage areas by the cabana attendants on both the Eurodam and the Nieuw Amsterdam. I'm not sure if they rent them out, but we haven't seen them used for the public.

 

 

A couple of other points we might as well make in the name of being thorough and delivering the kind of quality reporting you expect from Poohby Joe's Guides:

 

• Retreat/Cabana Club guests have a dedicated retreat towel supply.
  
• Guests receive a waffle* robe embroidered with the Retreat logo.
  
• You will also get two pair of fleece Retreat slippers per regular cabana. Family cabanas get more robes and slippers.
  
• There are two dispensers filled with iced water. One is lemon infused and the other is orange infused. (By "infused" I mean that there are lemon slices in one and orange slices in the other.)
  
• There's a clock visible on the deck above. Helpful for those days when you're not 100% sure what ship's time is.
  
• There is a bathroom for the cabanas so you don't have to go and use the ones in the Crow's Nest. On the Eurodam, the cabana restroom is in the hallway by the rooms on the starboard side. On the Nieuw Amsterdam, the bathroom door opens onto the cabana deck. Our resident bathroom tester said that the Eurodam's restroom is nicer and the Nieuw Amsterdam's is more private, owing to the fact that it's only reachable from the cabanas.
  
• Your cabana attendants will fill your ice bucket each morning and will refill it any time you ask. They'll also fetch glasses of ice or ice water for you if you need some.
  

I think that about covers it. If you have any questions, please let me know.

 

* - The robes are not made from actual waffles, The term refers to the type of fabric, which is cotton. (I think real waffles are wool or rayon.)

 

 

[POA1]

And the countdown continues...

Day 5 - Set B - Consolidated Menus

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFiafR6SiG5OtIMVYWSHIdLFMzE7xA-6xl8/

[POA1]

Set B - Day 6 is the second gala night. I should note that our waiter informed us that the everyday selections were also available to order. So, if you wanted a Caesar Salad, French Onion Soup, Grilled Salmon, NY Strip Steak, or Oven Roasted Chicken, you can get them.

 

Consolidated Menus - Set B - Day 6

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjwarZBoFZP07fgF-s-DFWa2k1DPWiQZsk/

[nimiq]

From what I understand, the late night snack is pretty well attended. I do know that some of the staff eat there, in the Lido. Typically it's the American staff (entertainment) and some of the European staff. The Filipino and Indonesian crew have their own mess with menus that are more along the lines of what they'd normally eat.

 

To be honest, we almost never hit the late night buffet. And, while I'm being honest - we're at a bar during that time period. I've talked to a fair number of people who rave about the late night extra meal. I never really looked at the menus until today. You're right. They look pretty good. (Hey! I learned something from my own posts. Imagine that.)

 

 

Wow ! Going though this review and loving it as we might be sailing the Eurodam in March. I'm with on on the late snack never attended it as we enjoying eating dinner later and most of the time 10:30 to midnight is to early for a snack yet. I would love it if they had it until 01:30 with limited choices.

 

Thanks for sharing.

Sea ya

Eric

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[marycruz]

Thank you for the Review. We will be On the Eurodam in March of this year. Spring Break for Florida children, but as My daughter is a teacher, I won't gripe. We will have my six year old grandchild, so there will some in Children's program. Not that I expect her to go or Stay. She has 4 adults who are capable of entertaining her, and .that is not only her view of the world, we all dote on her & see it that way. She is well behaved. Our daughter is an . Only child. She is an. Only Grandchild. She does like to swim, & as she is a Florida baby, she is a good swimmer. The Pools looked lovely in your photos.

 

I LOVED your reflections. (when you were sitting on the bed taking photos of the TV..and wondering how pathetic that must sound.) I burst out laughing. WHO does not identify with that at some point in their life ?.

 

Actually.........the TV photos and information was very helpful. I am a news Junkie. Need to get my fix, even if only for a short time each day. LOVED that all of them are available. CNN.MSNBC. FOX.

LIKED the Movies on Demand. Hope they have children's movies. I watched the "Frozen" movie 8 times on the Princess Regal, and if time had permitted, I think Grandchild would have watched it more. She was in bliss when it was on!!

Now it is Trolls. Hope the Troll movie is old enough to be on demand when we sail.

 

The Detail you posted.......menus. Daily.........that took a lot of time. Thank you. We like Trivia and fancy ourselves quite good at it. We are usually humbled, but do enjoy it. I was glad to see several games a day. Thank you.

The Food In Lido Dinner Market looked very good. Double Thank You.

 

We have sailed on HAL 3 times, but it has been a while. We usually sail on Princess or Carnival (Carnival port is in our hometown and another 3 hours away.) Glad to be back on HAL, God Willing.

 

Thank you again. I learned so much about the ship. You and your wife sound delightful.

Happy Sails to you

 

Do you know which weeks kids are on spring break or is it all throughout March?

[POA1]

Wow ! Going though this review and loving it as we might be sailing the Eurodam in March. I'm with on on the late snack never attended it as we enjoying eating dinner later and most of the time 10:30 to midnight is to early for a snack yet. I would love it if they had it until 01:30 with limited choices.

 

We typically eat at the late, fixed seating. That means we're not usually done until 9:30 or so. That makes the late night snack time in the Lido too early for us.

 

We got "burned" early in the cruise when we decided to hit up New York Pizza at around 11:30. (I kind of remember that the old pizza window was open until midnight. The error was on me, because I didn't check the schedule. Speaking of which, we really do miss the old short-format tear off schedule. It was really handy. I realize that we could carry our phones and access the intraweb schedule -- but that seems like a pain in the tuchas. I'm tech savvy, but sometimes paper just gets the job done better.)

 

Anyway....

 

We bailed on our regular scheduled drinking and headed aft and up to the New York Pizza window as soon as the 10:45 PM B.B. King show ended at 11:30. We arrived just in time... to watch them cleaning up. I tried sad puppy dog eyes, but no luck. They were closed and washing everything down. So, DW and I sat at a table, enjoying the breeze as we finished our walktails. (The drink you take with you when you leave the bar. Feel free to use the word. It's my gift to you. Another good term is "road soda.")

 

We then decided to call it a night and went back to our room. Fortunately we pack some protein bars to take on excursions with us. You know what absolutely does not hit the spot after a night of drinking and dancing - when you've got a hankering for pizza? Protein bars.

 

The reason for bringing this up is that my wife came up with the Super Genius Fool Proof Late Snack Night Plan the next day. Each afternoon, we'd grab a pre-made sandwich in the Lido and stash it in our fridge. (Tip: Pick sandwiches on thicker bread or rolls. They'll keep much, much better.) While a pre-made sandwich isn't going to replace a piping hot personal pizza, it's not a terrible substitute. It lets you stay out later, because you know that there's a little snackaroo snuggled away in your fridge.

 

I will say that if you've ended your night with espresso martinis and you expect to be up a while once you get back to your stateroom, the HAL club sandwich from room service is a good way to go. It's just like the ones Santa brings.

 

Edited December 31, 2016 by POA1

[canadarocks]

Thanks for all the Cabana info and the shower photos. You've sold me! :) Unfortunately Ship Services is closed on weekends, and odds are they're booked already as we leave this week. But I'll try on Monday for sure.

 

Your whole review is a great supply of ship info presented in such an entertaining way. By far the best I've read in a very long time. Thank you! :cool:

[POA1]

Thanks for all the Cabana info and the shower photos. You've sold me! :) Unfortunately Ship Services is closed on weekends, and odds are they're booked already as we leave this week. But I'll try on Monday for sure.

 

Your whole review is a great supply of ship info presented in such an entertaining way. By far the best I've read in a very long time. Thank you! :cool:

My pleasure. Good luck with ships services. Call them as soon as they open on Monday.

 

I haven't even hit the ship photos part of my review. Clearly, I cannot get this kind of thing done in anywhere even approaching a week.

[POA1]

Menus? It's a wrap. Here's

Day 7 - Set B Menus

 

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFiVMv2HI_VGK4oaob8Uf62fqzUPnPJBWdA/

[POA1]

Now that the menus are out of the way, I can get to the photo part of the report. (At this rate, I'll probably get to the opinion part of the review just about the time we're ready to step onto our next HAL cruise in 2018.)

 

While I am going to try to convince you that I had a method and system to my photo essay, but truth be told I just wandered the ship with the goal being to finish by the time the cabana boys brought our lunch. So if it looks slapdash, it totally is.

 

We begin at the Tamarind, which is on the Observation deck level midships.

 

 

 

 

 

[POA1]

 

 

[POA1]

Tamarind has its own lounge, named "Tamarind Bar." (The Tamarind's bar on the Nieuw Amsterdam is called "Silk Den." On the Koningsdam, it's called "Kevin.")

 

 

 

 

 

[POA1]

For reasons unknown, there is a little poinsettia plantation on the window sill outside the glass elevators on the Lido deck. I'm not complaining or anything. I just don't understand the significance. (At this point, someone needs to fabricate a Dutch Christmas tradition involving elevators, windows, and poinsettias. Sinterklass and Zwarte Piet's Poinsettia Hoornblazen?)

 

 

Continuing with our Christmas theme, we move down to the lower lobby by the front desk.

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

The Christmas decorations look lovely POA1. Looks like the "elves" were hard at work.

 

Kevin seems like a strange name for the Tamarind bar on the Koningsdam.