RevNeal's LIVE Eurodam Report

[Himself]

Greg:

Thanks for sharing your pictures and have a great cruise

[jtl513]

By the time I got the "fire" put out, the dedication was long over. I can't wait until they put up the "rerun."

It's available now at

 

http://www.visualwebcaster.com/EurodamDedication?WT.mc_id+eudedication_june_08

 

but unfortunately it still contains an awful lot of the "elevator door" picture. :(

[hulamoon]

Aloha Greg,

 

Excellent pictures. They were worth the wait!

[SDHALFAN]

Thanks so much Greg for sharing your day with us, and especially for the photos. I was up with the birds this morning to watch the festivities and really enjoyed them, and your "live" report and photographs have made the day even better. I love the reference to The Queen "B" - priceless:D ! I'm so sorry that the dinner did not live up to your expectations but I'm sure that the wonderful company of your/our CC friends made up for that.

 

Have a fantastic cruise. Bon Voyage mon ami and fair winds and following seas.

 

Valerie:)

[twinkletoes4445]

Greg, thanks for sharing your pictures! Wow, loved Brian's jacket! :)

[jhannah]

I'll just chime in for a moment to second what Greg has said. The ceremony was wonderful, and the dinner (blazing heat aside) was fun. So glad I could finally meet John, Maria, Mary Ellen, Silverwing, Grumpy and Slinkie. Great folks!

 

Now I just try to contain myself until we can journey back down to the pier and board the lovely Eurodam.

 

Stay tuned!

[Susie51]

Thank you for posting live. You pics are always so good. I'm so excited to be able to follow your cruise for 23 days.

 

I'll be gone for a short trip. I hope I can borrow my daughters laptop, so I don't miss out on anything. I enjoy your point of view. How nice you for you to be able to meet Copper John.

[RevNeal]

Just back from breakfast (yes, a late one). I slept in until about 9:30, which means that we only just barely bade it before the closed the doors. But, I got some bread, some eggs, some ham, fresh squeezed OJ, and "Holy Water" (Coffee), so I'm going ok. :D

 

Thinking back over last night, I think the most annoying thing about the dinner was that (1) the arrangements had been made for us to sit on the side facing the ship and, yet, they put us on the other side of the resturant; and (2) the staff's utter intransigence in dealing with the matter. The heat and the oppressive sun was really quite bad, and I'm from Texas so I'm sure that some of the others found it much worse. However, it was the staff's attitude that just soured the whole deal for me. It's not as if there were no tables on the other side of the dining room ... there were plenty of empty tables far away from the direct sunlight, and there were even quite a few empty tables with a view of the ship. It's just that they didn't care. We had people who are far more sun-sensitive than I am -- people with skin cancer conditions, people with sun sensitivities due to medications, etc. The staff didn't care, didn't offer any kind of alternative when I and several others complained and explained why it was an issue ... even though there were plenty of tables not being used far away from the direct onslaught of the sun, that didn't matter. Or group was in its place, and it is impossible to move you. We were in our place and that was that. Endure it. When I responded, at one point with, "then I think we'll leave," the staff person got this shocked look on his face and said "I'll get the manager." The manager's response was "fine, sir ... you will still owe us the agreed-upon price for the evening." In short, we were stuck. I considered taking off the clerical collar and telling him precisely what I thought of him and his establishment, but then I thought better of it and decided that a well-written letter to the ownership with a copy of my review, which will be posted on travel advisor, would be a much better course of action.

 

<Sigh> It's over and, as I said, once the sunburn subsides on my face the memory will fade entirely as only the good time with my friends remains. And, truly, the blazing sun and heat aside, it was a very good time.

 

Well ... I've got to close this down and head off to the ship. We're going to transfer there in just a little under an hour and check in. :) So, the next time I post it will be from the lovely new Eurodam!

[thomasale]

i must tell you how much I am enjoying this thread. I imagine you are almost on board now and I cannot imagine how excited you must be to finally be aboard the new ship with such a great voyage in front of you. It really is nice to see and hear about all those that we only read about here on the board.

 

Keep up the great work it is helping me through some slow times here!!! :)

[calm_seas]

Greg.... Fantastic work. Keep it up! We want to hear more..... more... more!!! Enjoy the next 23 onboard!! ..... L.B.

 

P.S. ----- Brian showed is usual great abililty to "dress royally";)

[Rebecca33]

Sorry to hear about your difficult time at dinner. It is hard to believe that no one would have the sense to move you to another table. However, customer service is an art and at times is not as great we hope it will be.

 

But now you are on to bigger and better things such as the Eurodam... I hope you have a swift embarkation and a lovely afternoon.

 

Wendy:)

[mamaofami]

By now you're on the lovely Eurodam, exploring every nook and crany, and I'm green with envy.

[Desdemona01]

Greg, thank you so much for taking time out of your wonderful trip to share your experiences with all of us not-so-fortunate people. :D

 

Des

[babyher]

Ok Finally caught up with this thread. :)

 

I was out of town a few days and this is my first chance to get on the computer.

 

RevNeal,

 

Glad you are having such a great time . The pics are beautiful Thank you for posting them.

 

Sorry for the annoyance over dinner, but hopefully that will be the only snag in a long beautiful trip. :)

 

ENJOY:)

 

Looking forward to future reviews and pics

[rebeljohn]

Enjoying your review and pics, Greg. Thanks for taking us along with you...............

[Atomica]

Fantastic photos, Greg! It looks like you & the other CC'ers there are having a great time (and no doubt will have a great time today when you get to actually board the ship!)

[Cruzin Terri]

I have never met you or any of the group on board. However, I feel I know you all. I will be on the "Good Nuts" voyage where I will have the privilege of meeting all of you.

In the meanwhile I am enjoying the posts and the pictures. Keep them coming.

Thank you for the time you are taking from your vacation to do this.

Terri

[teachergal29]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post pictures and text to "bring us along" on this fantastic cruise with you. I have just spent the morning reading the entire thread. Enjoyed it and look forward to "sailing" with all of you for the next few weeks.

 

Bon Voyage to all the CCers on the inaugural cruise!!:)

[General Max]

Reverend Neal, outstanding report and photos of the ceremonies. I need to borrow Brian's jacket for one night on the cruise. Peggy and I look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

[Oceanwench]

Wonderful thread, Greg!

Excellent pictures. Love the nighttime shots of the ship.

The dinner memories will fade and be replaced with wonderful times on the Eurodam!

[Juanita462]

Have enjoyed your pictures and accounts of events very much - almost as good as being there!

 

When I was reading your description of your restaurant disaster a bell rang. When we were travelling in England we went to a cafe for lunch - only had an hour - we sat for half an hour as everyone else was served - even people coming in the door long after we had. The waitresses completely ignored us. We finally had to leave to get back to the bus - no lunch that day. It was prejudice pure and simple. there was a lot of feeling in Britain about that time about North American tourists overrunning the country in the summer.

 

I wonder if that was the case with your restaurant - since they could have moved you out of the sun since there were empty tables available.

It is unbelievable that didn't seat you in the area that you requested and then they insisted that you stay in your discomfort.

what would they have done if you had just moved anyway and settled into another area? Refused to serve you I guess.

 

You were very gracious in the circumstances - I bet they have the tip added automatically so you couldn't even show your displeasure by not tipping!

[PathfinderEss]

Greg, thanks for taking the time to post those great pictures, makes it almost seem like we're there with you. We're truly green with envy, your live reports are superb!

[Copper10-8]

Hi ya'll; it's 6:54 PM local (Netherlands) time and Eurodam left Hoek van Holland about 40 min ago. We just dropped the pilot in the North Sea (jk;) ) and we're off to Hamburg, Germany! Lots of Dutchies lining the sides of the "Nieuwe Waterweg" (New Waterway) out of Rotterdam today; lots of "honking the horn" by Capt. Jeroen and lots of water being shot into the air by the Rotterdam Port Authority's fireboats. Great to watch!

I don't want to hijack the Rev's thread (I'll start my own soon) but just wanted to add that Maria and I really enjoyed meeting the CC group both in the stands during the ceremony yesterday and at the Euromast's dinner. Finally meeting all these folks you've "talked to" or whose exploits you've read about on CC was a nice experience (the Rev, Christopher, Brian, Scotty, Brian's parents, Bill & Virginia, Jim & Donna, Mary Ellen & Karl, ofcourse the one and only Grumpy & Slinkie, "Silver Wing" (Cheryl & DH) all very nice folks - looking forward to getting to know them better in the next 15 days.

We, also, are sorry about the less than great experience in the Euromast last night but I do want to give Cheryl a big thumbs up for making the arrangements. She did everything right (from another country) and it's never a day at the beach trying to make reservations for eighteen.

Thanks for traveling along with us! More to come!

[Estelle]

Also want to add my thanks to Rev. Neal and all the other on-board posters. I have not yet cruised on HAL but Eurodam has definitely caught my interest and I am eager to hear about your cruise and see your pictures.

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi ya'll; it's 6:54 PM local (Netherlands) time and Eurodam left Hoek van Holland about 40 min ago. We just dropped the pilot in the North Sea (jk;) ) and we're off to Hamburg, Germany!

 

John, It is so great to hear from you:) Glad to hear you and Maria are doing great. I am so looking forward to your reports.

Have a wonderful 15 days:D