Pickleball on the Eurodam?

[Playin Pickleball]

Heading out on the Eurodam from San Diego on Feb. 3. I think I heard there's pickleball on the ship. Anybody know for sure? 

[westcoastcruiser]

I know it was on the Oosterdam when we cruised last year.  Took my paddle and played a few games.

[doone]

I was on the Eurodam 2 years ago and yes, there was pickleball.  Enjoy the Eurodam, she's a great ship.

[Rob-Bob]

Westcoastcruiser - I am on the Oosterdam in May (Alaska) and am an avid Pickleball player.  Can you tell me more about the court on the ship?  Is it permanently set up?  Do they have paddles and ball available on the ship?  Were there any other passengers with gear and looking for a game?  Was the set up good for blocking the wind and could you play while ship was moving?  Did they offer any ship organized times/tournaments/events?

 

Any other info would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[westcoastcruiser]

Rob-Bob...it was set up on the sport deck and I do not recall the wind being an issue.  But I live in Las Vegas where the winter wind is something we contend with regularly as I play outdoors.  Paddles and balls are provided but they were "very used" so we were glad we had our own.  Pickleball play was scheduled for a certain time in the daily cruise news which enabled us to meet other players and then arrange play on our own.  There were some good players on our cruise!  The court is permanently set up.  I don't recall any tournaments being played...and we definitely played while cruising.  There is a net of sorts that tends to block the wind but, again, like I said I do not recall it impacting our play.

 

Hope this answers some of your questions.

[Rob-Bob]

Thanks Westcoast.  This helps.  We will definitely bring our own paddles.  It sounds like we will get playing time if there are other players on board.  You know how it is - it is an addicting game and it seems like you can't get enough. 

 

We are heading to Vegas in March and will be staying at Sam's Town.  We are there for a wedding.  Are there courts in that area (near Sam's Town).

[SFO Peter]

You should post on the Feb 3 Eurodam Roll Call to see if there are players on board.   I know there is a court...

See you on board.

 

Edited January 29, 2019 by SFO PETER
added

[Rob-Bob]

I posted on the Roll Call for the Oosterdam for may 26, 2019 and crickets.  Only a couple have signed on.  Very quiet compared to other cruises I have ben on.  This is my first HAL.

[Playin Pickleball]

Rob-Bob, not sure of the distances, but the Plaza in Vegas has a new giant pickleball facility on the roof. Also, if you go to the usapa.org site and click on Places2Play and choose vegas, you will find many other places in vegas. 

 

Pickle on.

Edited January 29, 2019 by Playin Pickleball

[westcoastcruiser]

https://www.places2play.org/city/henderson-nevada

 

this link lists places to play in Henderson (which is where you will be close to) and gives details on indoor/outdoor options.

 

yes, it is a fun and addicting sport!  

[Rob-Bob]

Thanks westcoast.  Very helpful.

[OlsSalt]

Rob-Bob - talk to the cruise director once you get on board and see what he/she might be able to arrange to find other players. I have seen "passenger request"  bulletin boards posted when people are looking for others to share a particular interest - card games, mahjongg, etc -- why not pickle ball, though this is a pretty hit and miss way to do this.  

 

However on recent cruises, we have seen pickle ball announcements in the daily schedule - often setting something up with one of the entertainment staff people. It is a great on board activity so I am sure they would like to develop more interest in it - so consider yourself a pioneer or ambassador for the sport and help build more enthusiasm for it.

[Rob-Bob]

Thanks OlsSalt.  I am trying not to get bitten again by the pickleball topic.  I went on a cruise last June to Burmuda on X.  There was a lot of activity on the Roll Call and I stirred up quite a bit of interest/excitement from the group to play pickleball.  I was assured there was a court on board.  We had 20+ players that toted paddles and got together the first day at an agreed upon time to meet each other and scope out the playing facility.  There was no court or net on board contrary to previous reports. 

 

I guess at least we met some neat folks that we were friendly with the balance of the cruise.  That is why I was really interested to hear from someone that actually saw first hand there was a court and it was set aside for pickleball.  It does look like this is the real deal.  It would be great if someone could post or send me to a site that had a photo of the court.  HAL website isn't the best.

[Playin Pickleball]

• If you look at this website, you can see the pickleball lines are evident on the basketball court. I don't know where the net is, but I hope it's on wheels and we can just move it into place. https://www.oyster.com/ships/225936-eurodam/photos/basketball-court/

.

I may have just found the net. If you look at this panorama view, I think you'll see the net in an odd configuration kind of standing up on edge. https://www.oyster.com/ships/225936-eurodam/panoramas/basketball-court--v27790/

Edited January 30, 2019 by Playin Pickleball
added another link to show the pickleball net

[Rob-Bob]

• Interesting - if this is the pickleball court it is missing a line.  The line that divides the court for serving purposes.  Serving crosscourt there is no line to indicate that the serve landed on the correct side.
•  
• Better than nothing. 

[Playin Pickleball]

Rob-Bob: 

 

My goodness, and I claim to be a pickleball player! Gasp, I hadn't noticed that but you're right, the center lines are missing. I will pack some chalk and a tape measure. We'll figure out a way to make it straight. I cannot believe I missed that.

[Playin Pickleball]

Rob Bob: turns out the Eurodam did have center line on both sides of the net. It was a tape line and wasn't one continuous line, but it sufficed to know where the service boxes were. On a 17-day cruise, I got to play only once because the weather permitted. And it felt happy and exotic to play on a ship. The people were as most pickleball people are: fun, happy, joyful. Most days it was way too windy, some days too cold, other days way too rocky. Our cruise was confronted by that monster storm in Hawaii and so in addition to having 3 out of 5 Hawaii port of calls cancelled, the navigator said the seas were the roughest he'd encountered save for a trip in South America one other time. Nevertheless, it was a cruise of a lifetime for me. I may write a review elsewhere, but I am here to tell you that the Eurodam was awesome. The crew were amazing, and the dining was a gourmet dinner every night. 

[daisy-mae]

For future reference, you may want to note that the Maasdam also has a pickleball court. We were able to play a couple of times on a trip from Montreal to Boston last June, most notably one glorious afternoon when we were docked at Bar Harbor.

We had our own paddles and balls; equipment is provided but the balls tend to disappear. At one point a couple of fellow passengers wandered up to the deck and played a few games with us; others walking on the deck would stop to watch.

 

There is time allotted for pickleball on the daily program, which makes it easier to "pull rank" and ask to use the court if there are kids just fooling around; or I suppose we could offer to teach them how to play -- as OlsSalt has suggested, we could act as real ambassadors for the sport.

 

I hope that HA will be encouraged to maintain and perhaps expand the pickleball facilities on board. It would certainly distinguish the cruise line from some of the others and would be a nice alternative to climbing walls, surfriders, go-carts, etc... for those of us who want to remain active while cruising.

[Playin Pickleball]

daisy-mae, good to know about other ships. The Eurodam had a scheduled time each day for play too. That made sense in case others wanted to play basketball on the same space.  I think it would be great if ships would make accommodations for indoor pickleball (say the main stage?) because there are way too many days when it's nearly impossible to play outside.

 

I had a SSIPA jacket with me that says "Pickleball Rocks" on the back. That was a great conversation starter and let people know I was a 'pickler'.

[FredT]

Just off the Volendam.   Yes they had a permanent court, yes they had a daily time listed in the daily agenda.  And yes, their paddles we "well worn".   (And yes it was very well attended)