Eurodam Feb 3, 2019 San Diego/Hawaii Live Thread

[skypig]

Just now, idiebabe said:

 

Thanks for all your Updates, Skypig!  Hope you all can get into Kona!  We board on the 20th and I'm really sorry that your Sailing hit such bad Weather!  

Unfortunately not happening. They just cancelled Kona. 😞

[cat shepard]

I am so sorry skypig & faerievert. 

 

I can not think of any words that would console you.

[SanDiegian]

I hope no one got off ship and are left behind

[idiebabe]

58 minutes ago, skypig said:

Unfortunately not happening. They just cancelled Kona. 😞

 

Oh no!  I'm so sorry!  We were all rooting for you to make it in today!  Everyone must be so disappointed!  🙁  I truly feel so bad for everyone!  

[faerievert]

Only the porting staff were tendered ashore. They have returned. So here we bob in beautifully-sunny, gently-rolling seas, just far enough off the shore for land cell service to not reliably connect. 

 

We are stuck aboard once again. That’s now half the ports of call canceled. 

 

On on the upside, i’m now grateful the airline said no to rescheduling today. And we’ve already seen one whale and one dolphin off the starboard. Glad our veranda is on that side. I suspect my husband will stay out there all day! 

 

As as for making up the money in onboard spend, I doubt it. The “new” shops have been extremely quiet and the casino is out of service in Hawaiian waters! They’ve had to refund all the EXC, on top of rescheduling all the Kona ones... twice. As disappointing as it is for us, I HAL absolutely wants us ported even more. 

 

They’re printing new programs as I type. The poor activities director having to stay super positive through all this!

[bennybear]

Sorry to hear this!  So disappointing!  

[faerievert]

I hope we have enough food for the return. Three extra sea days is a lot of mouths to feed! 

[cat shepard]

Ok, I do not want to make light of this situation, but if you see the crew out with fishing poles or nets, start hoarding your food.

 

Hope the marine life continues to visit. I never get tired of seeing them.

[bennybear]

Apparently a huge whale just slapped his tale in front of you!   Sorry to see you sail off into the distance!  

Are you stopping at Hilo?  

[Squire5000]

We are on this cruise. A few observations:

 

By all accounts, there was no way this ship was going to tender into Kona as the scheduled first port of call.  Once docked in Honolulu, we were going nowhere as the port was closed.

 

Arriving this morning at Kona, there were many small boats apparently searching for whales.  One reason I think that the captain canceled the port call is the ships demographics.  There are lot of elderly people on board.  Under the best of conditions, some people  experience difficulty in using a tender.  Imagine the outrage if someone had a serious accident utilizing the tender.   BTW, I’m in my 70’s.

 

Being cooped up on this ship for 10 days and only one port call will test any relationship.  LOL.

We all seem to be getting along fine.  However, the lack of shipboard activities is unconscionable on the part of HAL and the cruise director.  Your only options are to eat, sleep or drink.  Today they’ve come up with checkers, “The Story of Surfing”, a trivia challenge , flower arrangements, basketball shootout, (bet that will be something), etc.  In fact, shipboard actities from the first day at sea have been dismal.

 

We’ve been to Hawaii before.  We selected this cruise as we sought a break from the Caribbean for our February cruise.  I really feel sorry for those passengers who would be seeing Hawaii for the first time.  It’s a beautiful place and cruising is a great way to get around and see all Hawaii has to offer.  Just not this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ellieanne]

I'm so sorry you missed the Kona call. My parents text, usually quite wordy and bubbly, was just "Waves not right for tendering. At sea; turning phone off."

 

They've been enjoying the relaxing cruise, and had no real plans for this cruise other than to relax and enjoy the balcony, but I think they are frustrated by missing so many ports.

 

Fingers and toes crossed you can make the call at Hilo tomorrow.

[faerievert]

Took myself on a bit of an art tour to remind myself just how much I enjoy the ship. We came on this cruise primarily for the sea days, after all.

 

The decor on board is... eclectic. A mix of dull ship’s style as you might see on any passenger ferry, beautiful traditional art, and assorted modern touches. The inconsistency makes it difficult to appreciate as a whole. But check out these close-ups of the many, many special touches. 

[mcrcruiser]

Wonderful pictures of Eurodam  interior design & art works 

[Iris5383]

Great photos! How is the entertainment in the show room? Are the entertainers stuck on board or is it just the ship singers and dancers?

15 hours ago, faerievert said:

 

 

[palaemon]

Okay. All caught up. @faerievert just binged your entire thread. It’s been such a good read. So sorry about the ports like everyone said, but glad you turned lemons into so beautiful lemonade in the form of the great pictures! Thank you. 

 

I remember reading someone asked about internet pricing. 

 

I dont remember what your answer was. 

 

PS Thank SO much for the daily menus and activities!! We’re thinking of booking the ms Eurodam for the Panama Canal in November. This info will help convince the dh. 

[FetaCheese]

Fae, Thank you for the photos of artworks, and other areas of ship.  Will be on next voyage and all info is appreciated, including menus.

[Caribbean Chris]

16 hours ago, Squire5000 said:

....Being cooped up on this ship for 10 days and only one port call will test any relationship.  LOL. We all seem to be getting along fine.  However, the lack of shipboard activities is unconscionable on the part of HAL and the cruise director.  Your only options are to eat, sleep or drink.  Today they’ve come up with checkers, “The Story of Surfing”, a trivia challenge , flower arrangements, basketball shootout, (bet that will be something), etc.  In fact, shipboard actities from the first day at sea have been dismal....

 

I join everyone else who has expressed their sympathies on the rough weather that so badly affected the cruise itinerary for those of you who have been posting from the ship.

 

We’ll be on a Hawaii cruise on Eurodam next year, so appreciated faerievert’s numerous posts with the daily programs attached. The port ambassador’s talks about Hawaiian history and culture,  the related crafts like Lei making, the hula and ukulele lessons, Aloha Sunset Music Hour, all sound like destination-related theme activities I typically enjoy on ships that still offer them. There also seemed to be the typical range of options for cooking demos, digital workshops, sports like pickle ball, Trivia, bridge and other games, casino, recent movies, wine events, spa, the music walk venues, etc. that I expect to see on HAL.

 

So your last sentence (above) that the activities were dismal from the first day at sea was kind of puzzling. I’m not questioning your opinion, but I'm just genuinely curious to know what activities you felt were missing during the first five sea days.

[cat shepard]

@Squire5000, I am on a similar cruise, but on a Sister ship this October. I am a bit concerned about your comment about the activities.

 

What activities would you like to see on this cruise? Are you focused on “the cancelled port” days? Or does your comment include the “at sea” days?

 

I want to make sure we manage our expectations.

[SanDiegian]

Was anyone awake to see the Volcano sail-by?

[faerievert]

Just now, SanDiegian said:

Was anyone awake to see the Volcano sail-by?

I don't know what you mean? We were sailing around the big island all day yesterday after abandoning Kona, and it's all made of volcanos. We'll be leaving here shortly and should have a bit more scenic cruising before the sun sets. 

[faerievert]

19 hours ago, palaemon said:

remember reading someone asked about internet pricing. 

 

I dont remember what your answer was. 

1

Someone on FB posted this chart before our trip. Appears to be accurate based on what prices we had onboard. Note that you pay for the rest of your cruise or per day. If you can skip it for a few days at the beginning, you don't have to pay for those days. You can't buy for just a 5 day segment in the middle or anything like that unless you do day passes. I don't know how to buy day passes. I think it was an option when I first was buying, but it's not there now that I have a package.

[idiebabe]

33 minutes ago, faerievert said:

I don't know what you mean? We were sailing around the big island all day yesterday after abandoning Kona, and it's all made of volcanos. We'll be leaving here shortly and should have a bit more scenic cruising before the sun sets. 

 

Looking forward to hearing about your day in Hilo.  Hope you had great weather for your Tour!

[SanDiegian]

Approximentally @midnight you were close enough to smell the volcano’s sulfur and see the glow of it’s lava running down mountain to sea

[skypig]

Just now, SanDiegian said:

Approximentally @midnight you were close enough to smell the volcano’s sulfur and see the glow of it’s lava running down mountain to sea

Its not erupting at the moment. There isn’t any lava to see

Edited February 14, 2019 by skypig
Clarification

[JeanieCM]

Faerievert, I am so enjoying your posts.  We did this cruise two years ago & had a wonderful time.

I'm so sorry that the weather has precluded your visiting many of the ports.  I feel a little bad saying 

this, but the volcano to which others are referring was one of the top highlights of our trip.  The

Captain stopped the ship in front of the erupting volcano for an hour at midnight, under starry

skies, and we were able to watch all the orange lava streaming down the sides--amazing!   If

you all don't get to experience it this time, I do hope that you will be able to take this cruise again

in the future--with an erupting volcano and good weather visits in every single port!