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Eurodam Sept 1 Our Story

COLLEYBERRY

By COLLEYBERRY,
in Holland America Line

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COLLEYBERRY

COLLEYBERRY

Posted
Posted

I have never posted a review before,I am not sure if there ia a format I should be following ,so i will simply tell our story.

Eurodam NewEngland/Canada Sept 1.

Flight to New York:

Our journey began in the wee hours of Labor Day morning.As we drove away in the cool darkeness from our sleeping neighbourhood,I was filled with happiness,after all the planning and waiting, it was finally Cruise Day.

We arrived at the airport in good time. Check in was a breeze .Our flight was on time and scheduled to leave at 8.am.

I had been very concerned about flying on the day the ship sailed. ( I have made a vow never to be in this position again) It all worked out in the end, but not without a few heart flips ,just to teach us a lesson.

The plane began boarding at about 7.45 am.

I was sitting in my seat ,feeing quite smug, secure in the knowledge that all was going as planned ,when it happened ,that ominous bong/chime that sounds just before the Captain speaks.

" Ladies and gentleman ,I am afraid we have discovered some mechanical difficulties.It will require more than a few hours to fix.........YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ! ( I almost shouted out loud ,but did mange to restrain myself) ... the emergency floor lighting is not working as it should be.... PLEASE, THIS CAN"T BE HAPPENING!

However 'Captain Cautious' ( as I affectionaly call him) went on to say " We are going to bring up another plane for you. It will mean you will have to stand on the tarmac for about 15 minutes ,while we do our pre flight check ,but we will have you on your way very soon.

I was breathing once again.

So off the plane we all trundled. Huddled on the tarmac (it al felt very 1960) we watched as they transfered our luggage from one plane to the other.

It was then that I noticed Capt.C. (who by the way looked twelve)

bent on one knee inspecting a back wheel.

The Captain beckoned to "mechanic man' and both knelt at the wheel.

Mechanic man stood ,said something into a walkie talkie, then resumed his wheel study.

Before long a pickup pulled up and out jumped whom I can only assume was 'head mechanic man'and all three were now staring intently at said wheel.

Just as I turned to DH and said "I don't think the Captain is too happy with that back wheel" we were asked to board the plane.

The second plane was just as cozy as the first had been.

I obviously could no longer see the back wheel from my window seat, but I did however notice 'head mechanic man' bound up the stairs and enter our orginal plane.

DH and I were discussing how unusal this was all becoming,when..... bong/chime.... it was Capt.Cautious again (bless his safety minded little heart)

"Well folks it seems as if the original problem has indeed been fixed.( probably by 'head mechanic man') However ,there is an issue with one of the wheels on this plane. There appears to be some oil leakage and we have to determine exactly where it is coming from.(do they always give passengers this much information??)

So if you will just bear with us for a few more minutes .

Please, take all the time you need was my first thought. I personally wanted to return to plane # 1 .I felt a wonky, tempermental,

emergency lighting system (which in all probability we wouldn't need) was a safer bet than a questionable back wheel (which I was pretty sure needed to be in good working order for a safe landing)

Minutes passed. I was thinking about starting a petition amongst my fellow passengers about switching back, when.... bong/chime.....

 

"Well folks ,we have done a close inspection of our wheel ,it shows no evidence of leakage and we are certain the oil in question is not from us. It was probably left there by another plane. We will be preparing for take off in a few minutes.Sorry about the delay and thankyou for your patience."

Capt C., for all his youth did take his job seriously and looked out for us very well. I was happy we would arrive in New York only 3/4 hour behind schedule.

Lesson well learned , I will never fly on cruise day again, it just too hard on the nerves.

I often wonder though about that oil and just which plane it did come from:confused:

The flight from Toronto to New York is only 1 hour flying time .

It didn't seem long before we could see" the city that never sleeps" "

beneath us"

I was delighted with our view from the plane. I was able to spot many of the landmarks that were familiar only because of T.V(yea Law and Order) movies and books. I easily saw the Empire State Building ,sans King Kong, but I reconized it all the same.

Suddenly ,there she was , the Eurodam ! Docked at the Manhattan Pier A tiny, perfect, toy ship from that height, but clearly one of Holland Americas'own. I so was excited , I hadn't even thought of the possibility of seeing her from the air.

The Big Apple lay beneath us, the Eurodam was waiting, our cruise was about to begin........ to be con'd.

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jhannah

jhannah

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Yes, travel the day ahead is a wise suggestion. There's another thread that is dealing with this, too. There's just not enough reliability with the airlines any more to allow us to count on getting anywhere within the timeframe we need. Best to cough up the extra night's hotel stay and be there ready for the ship when she comes into port.

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TCF

TCF

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Great start! You're doing just fine so far!

We decided to leave home the day we depart...mind you...we are only 20 minutes from the pier so leaving the traditional day or two early seemed like a touch over-kill this time.

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Sea Island Lady

Sea Island Lady

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I am very much enjoying reading your review. However, could I please ask a favor? I am having trouble reading the small bright blue font. It is really hard on the eyes. :( Could you please either make the font larger, or change the color? Thank you...can't wait for more.

 

Could someone tell me about the size of the Eurodam? Is it like the Noordam and Oosterdam class? We found a good price for February.

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RuthC

RuthC

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Could someone tell me about the size of the Eurodam? Is it like the Noordam and Oosterdam class? We found a good price for February.

Essentially, yes. The Signature class is Vista v2.0. ;) The additional area is up---there's a Panorama Deck, and there's also the Tamarind Restaurant. The stern is more straight up and down, too.

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