Two Midwesterners escape winter on the Eurodam.

[ottahand7]

Tonight's MDR menu.  Pizza and football for us.  Go Ravens! 

[jjfarns]

Let’s roll!

[bandect]

4 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

We got a pop up notification that NFL games will be shown in the Gallery bar.  There are about 10 seats there.   I don't know if they will put chairs in the aisle between the slot machines that are in the former Gallery seating area. 

Just left the Gallery Bar… not much room or chairs!

[canadarocks]

sorry wrong thread

Edited January 28 by canadarocks

[0106]

@ottahand7 In Buenos Aires, boarding the Oosterdam tomorrow.  Can’t find a bar to watch the game.  Today is the first game of Argentine’s football season.  Hoping to watch on the hotel TV.  Didn’t bring my computer.  Only have my phone.

 

Only if you were a fan of The Wire will this meme make sense to you.Get ready!

Edited January 28 by 0106

[ottahand7]

@0106 Good luck finding the game. 🏈🤞

[ottahand7]

Good morning from Bonaire.  A beautiful morning here.  We will go ashore and seek out a golf cart rental otherwise a walk around town. We are here from 8am to 10:30 pm.  

[ottahand7]

Today's Daily Activities. 

[ottahand7]

Yesterday's Pinnacle Grill lunch.   Since I am still coughing I am not going to the gym yet.  A nice way to spend a sea day afternoon is a wonderful lunch. 

[ottahand7]

Tonight's MDR menu. 

[ottahand7]

The Rotterdam arriving in Curacao.  

[ottahand7]

Early start for us this morning. Meeting up for our shore excursion at 8:15.  We did a small group cooking class with chef Helmi Smuelders.  It was a HA Food and Wine magazine tour and it was excellent.  Our group of 12 cooked about 7 different dishes and then enjoyed them at a relaxing lunch.  Well worth the time and money.  We came home with new ideas and new recipes.   

[ottahand7]

Today's Daily Activities. 

[ottahand7]

Tonight's MDR menu.  

[ottahand7]

Today's shorex particulars. 

[bandect]

We did the Flavors of Curaçao tour. About 3 hours. The guide was VERY informative. Learned a lot about the island the people 9am to Noon. Went to the curaçao liquor factory, an Aloe farm and a store in a mall that had natural made lip balm and scrubs. Sounds boring but it really wasn’t and the free samples of booze were nice! Back in time to enjoy downtown and then get back on ship and play scrabble! Also signed up for a 5k walk supporting Ukraine refugees for this Thursday! $25 donation and a HAL t-shirt!

[QuattroRomeo]

 

 Early start for us this morning. Meeting up for our shore excursion at 8:15.  We did a small group cooking class with chef Helmi Smuelders.  It was a HA Food and Wine magazine tour and it was excellent.  Our group of 12 cooked about 7 different dishes and then enjoyed them at a relaxing lunch.  Well worth the time and money.  We came home with new ideas and new recipes.   

 

What an absolutely wonderful-looking spread! What kind of cake was it?

[NCTribeFan]

I haven't gotten caught up with the entire thread but wanted to post a few of my thoughts about our 1/13 sailing.

 

We disembarked Carnival Magic that morning, retrieved my travel companions' van and drove to Port Everglades.  Parked at an off-site lot that was great.  Got to the pier fairly early.  Went to check-in, and when she took my photo, I noticed my cabin number was NOT what I'd booked!  "Wait, that isn't my cabin!"  Oh, but it is.  I'd been "upgraded" from my wonderful Large interior on Main (that I'd selected when I booked last April while on Rotterdam) to an obstructed OV on Deck 4.  I was not happy.  Went directly to Guest Services and said I wanted my original cabin.  No can do.  Sold out!  I was sure my account was flagged as Do Not Upgrade since I have every profile on every line that way.  I'm very particular about my cabin selection.

 

The cabin itself was fine and I'm sure many people consider it to be an upgrade.  I never, ever book OV cabins.  On rare occasions, I'll book a balcony.  Otherwise, I want an inside.  On top of the dismal view of the side of a lifeboat, the curtains weren't true blackout curtains and there are lights along the bottom of the catwalks out there, so I wasn't sleeping well thanks to the big, grey rectangle in the wall all night.

 

Went to the Mariner party a couple of nights later and had a word with the Hotel Manager.  I was very pleasant but expressed how disappointing it was to book a specific cabin and then, surprise!  You've been moved to a cabin you would never book.  Also noted that I had to chase down my suitcase because, of course, you aren't even sent an email recommending that you may need to reprint your luggage tags because, surprise!  You've been upgraded!  He said he'd see what he could do.

 

Next night I had a VM from Daniel at GS.  He said he could move me to a regular interior on 6, but I declined since it was all the way forward and I was concerned with movement.  He called back later and said he had one aft on 7, so I agreed to move.  So, there I was, at 9:30 at night packing up my stuff.

 

Cabin was fine.  Nice and dark.  Small, but to be expected.  Great cabin stewards.  Still, I paid for a Large Interior and ended up in a lower category.  Yes, I asked to be moved, but I never wanted the Surprise!  Upgrade.

 

Talked to Daniel again and he said my account was not marked for Do Not Upgrade and that I should make sure that I request that for every booking going forward.

[Sea42]

20 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

Early start for us this morning. Meeting up for our shore excursion at 8:15.  We did a small group cooking class with chef Helmi Smuelders.  It was a HA Food and Wine magazine tour and it was excellent.  Our group of 12 cooked about 7 different dishes and then enjoyed them at a relaxing lunch.  Well worth the time and money.  We came home with new ideas and new recipes.   

That all looks wonderful! I hope it is offered on our cruise next year🤞

[NCTribeFan]

Other thoughts...

 

Not great bar service at times.  Not at all impressed with the vocalists in the Rolling Stones lounge.  I really missed having a BB Kings band.

 

Freezing cold in places (including the casino).  The piano bar guys weren't awful, like I feel most are, but I just don't like trying to play roulette and having the pounding piano and bellowing vocals right there.  Wish they'd at least put up a plexiglass wall along that walkway.

 

Didn't do anything in the casino until the last few attempts.  Think I maybe left with a little more than I started but not sure.

 

Missed my port day in St Lucia because I went to the infirmary that morning with a UTI infection.  Not fun.

 

Ship excursion in Dominica (it's one of my favorites) was a bit disappointing.  The one from St Thomas to St John was good (just an island tour), but I was having a rapid heartbeat with palpitations (probably due to what I'll described in a minute).

 

Absurdly long dinner in both Pinnacle and Tamarind.  Food was good but just took way too long.  Both places, those who ordered multiple appetizers had them delivered at the same time.  Never had that happen before.  Doesn't happen in the MDR.  Then 2 of us were charged for our Pinnacle meals; 2 were not.  We all had HIA.  I was also charged for a drink at the Ocean Bar the next night.  So, another visit to GS.

 

Debarkation morning, I looked at my statement and discovered that I'd been double-charged for drinks and food on HMC the day before.  We were trying to disembark early because we had lots of driving to do.  But, hey, let's go do the CS one more time!  At least they had it fully-manned and the person I dealt with was efficient, getting both my account and my friend's straightened out quickly.

 

During the night between Sunday and Monday (21st & 22nd), I woke with burning, draining sinuses.  Had that all day Monday.  Thought it might be allergies since didn't develop any other cold symptoms.  After we disembarked on Wednesday, we drove up to W Palm Beach to drop a friend, then we were heading down to Key West.  We were having brunch in WPB and I was feeling really rough.  Probably feverish, but just not feeling well.  Felt so bad I went online and booked a flight home from FLL.  We headed south and I started feeling much better and decided to continue on to KW.  I'd never been and had tried several times to get there and it just never worked out.  After we checked into our AirBnb, I pulled out a home Covid test.  Uh oh.  It was positive.  I felt pretty rough on Thursday, but had nothing but a mild cough on Friday.  We were supposed to stay with some Canadian friends near Port Charlotte on Saturday, but didn't want to expose them, so we rented a house in Cape Coral and just relaxed for a couple of day.  I flew home from Ft Myers yesterday.  Tested again this morning and I'm clear.  None of my travel companions, or anyone I interacted with fairly closely, has had any symptoms and those that tested were all negative.  I suspect that being on antibiotics for the UTI lowered my resistance.  At least the symptoms were mild and it progressed very quickly.  Just hoping that when I resume work tomorrow that I won't encounter the brain fog that was the biggest problem when I caught Covid at the end of my Zuiderdam Alaska sailing in June 2022.

 

Despite the illnesses and the unwanted upgrade, it was a good cruise.  There were just a lot of little things that weren't typical of my prior HAL sailings.  And I think the whole business with the cabin change just made the other little things more noticeable.

 

Going to catch up with the rest of OP's comments now.

[ottahand7]

20 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

 

 Early start for us this morning. Meeting up for our shore excursion at 8:15.  We did a small group cooking class with chef Helmi Smuelders.  It was a HA Food and Wine magazine tour and it was excellent.  Our group of 12 cooked about 7 different dishes and then enjoyed them at a relaxing lunch.  Well worth the time and money.  We came home with new ideas and new recipes.   

 

What an absolutely wonderful-looking spread! What kind of cake was it?

It was a papaya coconut cake.  I will photo the recipe later and share.  Dense and heavenly. 😋

[ottahand7]

@NCTribeFan. Thanks for your comments on the 1/13 sailing.   It makes these threads more valuable when people add their experiences.   I am sorry you had to go to the medical department.  Sadly I did too with poor and pesky follow up.  

 

I wonder if when you moved to your final deck 7 cabin aft if you had Fermin for your steward.  We had him January 3 - 10 and he was a joy. 

We have had a lot of gripes about bar service being slow.   Two nights ago I ordered a double Pusser's rum lime Daiquiri and got this dreadful drink in a handle mug that looked like Long Island ice tea.  I will only fetch my own drinks from now on.  At least they have stepped up bar service in the casino.  Tonight is Orange Party and we find they pay better on orange and last night.  

 

Seems like sickness abounds on the ship.  I am still coughing from the illness I came down with January 13, not COVID. Sorry you missed your Key West trip.  

 

[ottahand7]

Today's Daily Activities. 

[ottahand7]

View of the Eurodam from the Renaissance pool today. 

[ottahand7]

Papaya cake with Lime Cream recipe. 🎂