LIVE from the EURODAM - CIRCLE HAWAII

[sansterre]

On 3/11/2020 at 8:14 AM, tommui987 said:

SANTERRE:

 

Missed a week or so looking at CruisedCriticf and your posts.

 

Would have enjoyed getting together with you and your DH.

Of course there would not be an opportunity to do trivia!

 

Next time?

Tom

 

 

Tom - wonderful to hear from you.  Are you on Oahu?  in Honolulu?I've forgotten what island you live on.  Yes, it would be wonderful to see you again.  We signed up for this cruise early in January,  before the virus started and I thought about you but didn't have your contact info.  Then it got a bit crazy - to go, or not to go.  I'm so glad we went because Hawaii was wonderful and so is the Eurodam.  

We hope you and your wife and son are doing well and that we will cruise and play trivia together again sometime soon.

Edited March 13, 2020 by sansterre

[sansterre]

Day 11 - Hilo

There is lots to see and do from the port of Hilo.  While the dock is not close enough to walk into town for most people, it is a friendly dock terminal and there are free shuttles into town, or to Walmart.  It is possible to walk to a 7-11 if that is all you are looking for.  There are also a few tours to Rainbow Falls, black beach, macadamia factory, etc. available from the dock area.  

We had been to those places during our previous two visits to Hilo.  This time we just wanted to wander downtown and visit the market so we waited a few minutes for the shuttle to the bus station in town.  It is about a 45 minute walk or 10 minute drive. Just across the street is the market and it was larger than we remembered.  (Later we learned that it is bigger on Wednesday and Saturday.).  I bought bracelets from a lovely woman who was making one right there.  She let me take photos of her and showed me how she used a needle and straw together to create the bracelets. Later, we selected some flowers to enjoy in our cabin during our return trip back to the mainland.  I have some wonderful photos of the marketplace but I forgot to download them from my phone before we lost ATT coverage.  So the end of this blog will have all the photos from whale watching in Maui and the Hilo marketplace....sorry I cannot post them here right now.

To return to the dock, we called Uber;  Stephanie was there in just 4 minutes with her white Caravan.  The Uber ride was about $10 and we found another couple who shared the cost.  It is also possible to take a public bus every 30 minutes for $2 or $1 for students and seniors.

Back on the ship, I enjoyed a hot dog from the Dive-In the Lido pool area.  DH and I decided to try the Tamarind Asian restaurant as we left Hilo before sunset.  Captain Eric said since there was no activity at the volcano and also because of the clouds and rain, we would not go South and West by the volcano.  Instead we followed the shoreline as we headed NE away from Hilo.  During dinner and just before dark, I saw a whale.  I thought it was a large dark rock awfully close to the ship until I watched it go below the surface

Later, we enjoyed the movie "Midway" in our cabin.

 

 

[sansterre]

Day 12 - at sea

Seas are quite calm and Eurodam cruises smoothly 70 degrees ENE at 16 knots.

Weather is nice, partly sunny with temperatures in the low 70's.

We attended a Mariner's Ceremony and Lunch today.  Captain Erica said he expected no problems as we all stay healthy.  There is another ceremony and lunch on Saturday which we are also invited to and will probably attend.  At this point we do not know what the difference is.  Today, may received their bronze, silver, and gold medallions.

Dinner - Gala night in the Main Dining Room.  Only a few tuxedo's seen this time, but many coats and some ties for men.  I always enjoy the shrimp cocktail on Gala night in the MDR - and the fillet with crab was very good too.

After dinner the Strings Alive played on the Mainstage.

I later fell asleep as DH and I watched Downton Abbey on our television in the cabin. 

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoying your reports.

 

Hopefully you be able to post pictures once you are home.

[erewhon]

Thanks for all your reports.

[sansterre]

At dinner last night there were a few changes made all in the effort to keep us healthy while on board.  The bread and butter was not on the table;  it was served by the waiter or assistant waiter.  Still, it puzzles me why the salt and pepper shakers remain on the table - they are always touched, while a bread and butter is used only by those at the table, then discarded.  I keep waiting for the salt and pepper packages to appear!

Me, after reading a menu or using the salt shaker/grinder, I get out my hand sanitizer.  It has become natural.  And this morning I noticed that I don't need the breakfast menu at all;  after 12 days, I have it pretty well memorized (the breakfast menu never changes).  Dinner menus are a different story;  they are a must read and study item.

This morning I passed the jigsaw puzzles in the Crows Nest area.  They are still out!  I love jigsaw puzzles and it has been difficult for me to ignore their presence for the past two weeks.  In passing, I placed one piece and forced myself to continue walking and then quickly spritzed my hands with my pocket size hand sanitizer.

The Captain made an announcement at 11:00 conveying the actions of Princess line (closing down for 60 days) and said HAL would continue operations.  Half of our trivia team is signed up for the back to back return to Hawaii and another cruise up to Vancouver.  They were happy to know the next cruise would continue but still unsure about getting to Vancouver now that Canada has closed all their ports to cruise ships.

We would love to continue on the Eurodam for another cruise, but realistically know we should go home.   Hmmmmm.

More on Day 13 later!  and some photos of around the ship that I haven't shared yet.

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by sansterre

[rjbean4]

23 minutes ago, sansterre said:

At dinner last night there were a few changes made all in the effort to keep us healthy while on board.  The bread and butter was not on the table;  it was served by the waiter or assistant waiter.  Still, it puzzles me why the salt and pepper shakers remain on the table - they are always touched, while a bread and butter is used only by those at the table, then discarded.  I keep waiting for the salt and pepper packages to appear!

Me, after reading a menu or using the salt shaker/grinder, I get out my hand sanitizer.  It has become natural.  And this morning I noticed that I don't need the breakfast menu at all;  after 12 days, I have it pretty well memorized (the breakfast menu never changes).  Dinner menus are a different story;  they are a must read and study item.

This morning I passed the jigsaw puzzles in the Crows Nest area.  They are still out!  I love jigsaw puzzles and it has been difficult for me to ignore their presence for the past two weeks.  In passing, I placed one piece and forced myself to continue walking and then quickly spritzed my hands with my pocket size hand sanitizer.

The Captain made an announcement at 11:00 conveying the actions of Princess line (closing down for 60 days) and said HAL would continue operations.  Half of our trivia team is signed up for the back to back return to Hawaii and another cruise up to Vancouver.  They were happy to know the next cruise would continue but still unsure about getting to Vancouver now that Canada has closed all their ports to cruise ships.

We would love to continue on the Eurodam for another cruise, but realistically know we should go home.   Hmmmmm.

More on Day 13 later!  and some photos of around the ship that I haven't shared yet.

 

 

Hate to be the bearer of the news but it has since been announced from CLIA that all ocean going cruise lines will be voluntarily and temporarily suspending cruise ship operations from and to U.S. ports of call for 30 days effective 12:00 AM on March 14 Eastern time. Its all on the home page at cruising.org for CLIA. 

[sansterre]

5 hours ago, rjbean4 said:

 

Hate to be the bearer of the news but it has since been announced from CLIA that all ocean going cruise lines will be voluntarily and temporarily suspending cruise ship operations from and to U.S. ports of call for 30 days effective 12:00 AM on March 14 Eastern time. Its all on the home page at cruising.org for CLIA. 

Yes, we heard that tonight from the Captain in an announcement during dinner.  We understood there were only 1,033 expected on the next cruise, with two more days to cancel so we did wonder if the cruise on the 18th would be a "go".  

I am sorry for our trivia team and all our Cruise Critic friends who won't get to enjoy Hawaii later this month.

[Krazy Kruizers]

At least your cruise will end in San Diego and then you can safely go home.

[Caribbean Chris]

Although we were disappointed to not be able to sail to Hawaii for our 40th anniversary on the March 18 departure now cancelled, I’m very glad for you that your cruise turned out to be happy and uneventful. Enjoy the remaining days on board, and I hope your return to Florida will be equally uneventful.

[sansterre]

On 3/14/2020 at 12:11 AM, Caribbean Chris said:

Although we were disappointed to not be able to sail to Hawaii for our 40th anniversary on the March 18 departure now cancelled, I’m very glad for you that your cruise turned out to be happy and uneventful. Enjoy the remaining days on board, and I hope your return to Florida will be equally uneventful.

Thanks.  We are now realizing how fortunate we are not be left on Maui or Hawaii to find our own way back to Florida.  

[sansterre]

Day ?????, I've lost track!

There are more and more hand sanitizers around the ship.  They have even set up entrance and exit lanes at both entrances to the gift shop area with hand sanitizers at the entrance.  Hand sanitizer machines also appeared at the casino entrances.  All in an effort to keep us all healthy.

Mariner's lunch again today.  Still not sure why we (5 stars) were invited to both.  But this time some of us Platinum medalists were recognized for the number of days cruised which is a nice touch.  Only thing that would have improved the ceremony would be the accompaniment of the string trio.

The Dutch Tenors are still on board!  CD Valerie explained that last week HAL began  to further protect ships by not transferring entertainers from ship to ship in an effort to stop transferring coronovirus.  So lucky us, they stayed on instead of disembarking as planned in Honolulu.  They performed to a full house - such a friendly and talented group of young men!

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by sansterre

[sansterre]

4 minutes ago, sansterre said:

 

 

Sunday morning - 

Weather is pleasant, seas are quite calm.

More later,

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by sansterre

[zelker]

Captain announced at lunchtime that Ensenada has become a Service Call stop to satisfy the Jones Act but to remove the risk of exposure of anyone on the ship, we will not be allowed to go ashore.  Think that was a wise decision. 

[sansterre]

Day 15 (I checked the calendar!)

In general, people are glad we are not stopping in Ensenada, Mexico, (requirement to stop at a foreign port) other than for official ship business to address the Jones Act.  At the announcement just before noon, the Captain reiterated that no one has the coronavirus on this ship.  We all want the ship to stay that way.

Interestingly, in the past few days people have learned how to call for the elevator and indicate their floor by using their knuckle, or their elbow.  I think it is because many are flying home and we are seeing that airports are checking for coronovirus, and naturally we don't want to miss our flights.  Also, some are looking into avoiding airports and plan to drive home, even to distant places like Ottawa, Canada and Florida.  There is some concern about borders (both state and country) being closed.  

Me, I'm taking each day at a time.  We have flights (connecting in N.C.) on the 19th and plan to get on them.  Reports on television seem to change hour by hour.  If it is true that the worst is yet to come, then we should enjoy the next two day here on the Eurodam.  And most people are doing just that.  

Pop Quiz today was about New England and Canada.  Here are two questions we missed:  

1.  Did Canada boycott the 1980 Olympics?

2.  Was Maine once a part of the state of Massachusetts?

We tied with another team and here is the tie-breaker question with which we won:  

3.  How long can an ant live underwater?  

(Answers at bottom)

Re:  weather:  Outside temperatures are falling into the low sixties, but wind is just a 4 on the Beaufort scale and waves are less than 1 meter (no whitecaps) today.  There have been 3 cooking shows during this cruise.  I have not attended any of them but today is "how to cook Hawaiian classics".  It is Gala night tonight - yum!  The Mainstage entertainment will be "Strings Alive" (again).  In addition, there is also Schumann Masterworks in the Lincoln Stage (Piano Quintet), B.B.King's All Stars, and two very talented piano players at the dueling pianos in Billboard on Board.  

1. True.    2. True.    3. 48 hours or 2 days

 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by sansterre

[CB41]

I've enjoyed seeing Hawaii through your eyes!  Thank you for taking all of us who are watching the Eurodam leave us safely at home.  This is the 3rd time I have booked a cruise to Hawaii and for one reason or another I've not made it.  Who knows what the future holds for us.  I wish all on board safe travels back to your home and in a healthy state.  It might be hard to maintain that once off the ship.  

[Jeff_Lori]

2 hours ago, zelker said:

Captain announced at lunchtime that Ensenada has become a Service Call stop to satisfy the Jones Act

 

So you do a few cruises, and you think you're pretty savvy, and then people start talking about "Jones Act". That was completely new to me, although I had wondered why some itineraries seemed to include stops in foreign ports for no particular reason (Alaska cruises, for example). This is fascinating. Here's a pretty good article from CC in case anyone else is interested: https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3363

Edited March 16, 2020 by Jeff_Lori

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, Jeff_Lori said:

 

So you do a few cruises, and you think you're pretty savvy, and then people start talking about "Jones Act". That was completely new to me, although I had wondered why some itineraries seemed to include stops in foreign ports for no particular reason (Alaska cruises, for example). This is fascinating. Here's a pretty good article from CC in case anyone else is interested: https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3363

Its not the Jones Act. It is the PVSA. The "P" stands for "passenger". The Jones Act is about cargo.

[sansterre]

Found some photos downloaded a week ago of around the ship so will post some of them.

These two are from the Guest Services/Front Desk area.

I'm not real fond of the "test tube" flower arrangements.  But they seem to be the rage on HAL ships for the past year or two.

 

Edited March 16, 2020 by sansterre

[sansterre]

and this is the Hawaiian bracelet me made with Keoni.

I have not yet made it smaller

[Krazy Kruizers]

Appreciate you keeping us updated on what is happening on your cruise.  Glad things are still normal and no one is sick.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the update.

Stay healthy!

[tommui987]

On 3/12/2020 at 6:53 PM, sansterre said:

Tom - wonderful to hear from you.  Are you on Oahu?  in Honolulu?I've forgotten what island you live on. 

We hope you and your wife and son are doing well and that we will cruise and play trivia together again sometime soon.

 

Yes, live in Honolulu for about 81-years (I'm 87).

 

Unfortunately, Lois is in a care home at present.

[sansterre]

10 hours ago, tommui987 said:

 

Yes, live in Honolulu for about 81-years (I'm 87).

 

Unfortunately, Lois is in a care home at present.

I'm so sorry.  Please tell Lois the old trivia team members Jean and Ralph say Aloha.

We sure had a great team, almost undefeated as I recall.

We are on a good one this time too 🙂

 

[sansterre]

On 3/15/2020 at 1:35 PM, CB41 said:

I've enjoyed seeing Hawaii through your eyes!  Thank you for taking all of us who are watching the Eurodam leave us safely at home.  This is the 3rd time I have booked a cruise to Hawaii and for one reason or another I've not made it.  Who knows what the future holds for us.  I wish all on board safe travels back to your home and in a healthy state.  It might be hard to maintain that once off the ship.  

We talked to our waiter tonight about what is next for the Eurodam.  Right now, they think there will be one cruise in April to Hawaii and back, then to Seattle for the Alaska cruise season.  For the ship's staff sake, I do hope that will happen and I hope you will get to Hawaii.  Those islands create a pretty perfect vacation and we really enjoy the 5 sea days of anticipation, as well as the 5 sea days of rest and relaxation to complete the cruise.  Altogether, it is a great cruise vacation!