Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

LIVE From The Eurodam 2WK Holiday Cruise ...Brought To You By LAFFNVEGAS

LAFFNVEGAS

By LAFFNVEGAS,
in Holland America Line

Recommended Posts

LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thursday December 25, 2008

Christmas Day Evening

Has someone invented a way to turn back time? I just want to go back one week and relive this week all over again. I would not do it any differently and I just want to experience it once again.

These two weeks will definitely go down as very memorable. I am not sure how Holland America does it but it just seems like almost each cruise gets better. This week of course the crew has been amazing. I am not sure if I mentioned this but the two Room Stewards we have need to be working the S Suites. The service and attention to detail in this deck 8 verandah cabin has been wonderful. First off which ever one of the two is doing the towel animals is so very talented. The detailing on each animal is far more detailed down to tongues sticking out of the monkey hanging to a miniature elephant that has the bed vibrated his little head and trunk would shake up and down. In the morning we are only gone a few minutes and everything has been done instantly. And always greeting us by name and being close by the cabin. These guys are definitely the kind of cabins stewards I want to take home with me.

Of course the ship has the very very Best Bar Staff. Like I mentioned in earlier posts it worries me just a bit that we know a server in every bar venue and that was before the first night. I am going to feel so lost not to have this bar staff around. Of course I am going to stay in contact with several of them and make sure we know what ships they will be on next of if they are back here on the Eurodam of which case we will definitely return. Several were trying to get us to stay on for next week. I only wish we could.

Christmas Dinner this evening was fantastic. I am looking forward to posting all these great pictures we have taken but tonight the tables looked extra special they had red ribbons on them making them look like Christmas Presents. The menu was wonderful. I am not going to type out the whole things but I will tell you what Tom and I had. First I had the Hazelnut Crusted Camermbert which is very much like the Hazelnut Crusted Brie of several years ago on HAL, the absolutely best soup I have ever had was the Roasted Squash Bisque. OMG it was amazing and I would have been happy to have just a big bowl of that., then there was the Nutcracker Salad this too was very tasty. I chose to have the Slow Roasted Vermont Christmas Turkey with apple and chestnut stuffing and plenty of other things like yams, carrots and brussels sprouts. Tom had the Jumbo Prawns and the Nutcracker Salad then he had the Broiled Lobster Tail which was about double the size of the normal Formal night Lobsters along with a Filet Mignon that looked and tasted per Tom the same as what was served in the Pinnacle. The quality of the food items served this week was definitely several notches above. Now I know that food is very subjective but Tom and I have dined in some very nice 5 star restaurants over the years with living in Las Vegas and the quality of the food and service we have had this week has totally out shined all of them. Especially the service. We do not want to go home.

We are so very thankful that we had this chance to be part of this wonderful cruise. We have learned that 14 days cruising is still way too short and that in all honesty in does not matter what the size of the cabin is we still love being here on the ship. We thought there was a chance we could feel the difference from being a S Suite Passengers to not being one but we have felt even more pampered this week than last.

One other crew member I want to mention is the Guest Relations Manager Amber Coomer. She is another amazing Officer. We really like her a lot, HAL is very lucky to have her looking out for their guests.

We are retiring early tonight to just relax and read and enjoy the motion of the ocean that we are feeling this evening. We are truly going to hate being back on land.

Signing off from the Beautiful MS Eurodam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hulamoon

hulamoon

Posted
Posted

Aloha Lisa,

 

What an enchanting 14 day journey. I felt like I was there with you.

 

I understand the frustrations with 2 hour dinners when you hope to do something else in the evening. On our last cruise I wondered if they were trying to make it an experience and did not realize guests wanted to go catch shows or movies.

 

Mele Kalikimaka!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HeatherInFlorida

HeatherInFlorida

Posted
Posted
.......................

We are so very thankful that we had this chance to be part of this wonderful cruise. We have learned that 14 days cruising is still way too short and that in all honesty in does not matter what the size of the cabin is we still love being here on the ship. We thought there was a chance we could feel the difference from being a S Suite Passengers to not being one but we have felt even more pampered this week than last.

 

..................

.

 

And this just goes to show that it's not so much the cabin that matters, but the crew and the service throughout the ship. Having never experienced an "S" suite and probably never will, I'm always happy that you don't have to be in a top cabin category to enjoy amazing cabin stewards and feel pampered throughout the cruise.

 

So glad your Christmas cruise was so special. Safe trip home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
InTheWASide

InTheWASide

Posted
Posted

Hey Lisa,

 

Thanks for all the great updates! Amber IS fantastic! I mentioned in my review when she was just taking over the Westerdam from Marion Koopman that the ship was in fantastic hands.

 

Same goes for her on the Eurodam I'm sure! :)

 

And lobster tails twice the size huh? Does that mean it was 3-4 bites? :rolleyes: Sorry... had to get that in there...

 

I'm so happy to hear your Christmas was a memorable one!!! Get home safe tomorrow!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Friday December 26th, 2008

Good Afternoon from the MS Eurodam at Half Moon Cay Bahamas. What a difference a week makes.

Today both the Eurodam and the Noordam were here at HMC and it was crowded. We knew were not going to stay long and just wanted to go over to take some pictures. We actually left the ship relatively early and got over to HMC at 10 AM but it was already packed and I walked up the beach area attempting to find just one lounge chair to sit on. Tom had decided to stay up at the Bar in the shade. After spending what seemed like a long time and had walked quite far down the beach I could not find one single one that was not taken so gave up to join Tom at the Bar. I was able to find a wobbly bar stool with an even more wobbly table to read for about an hour. Tom brought me a Margarita. Finally at about 11:45 we decided to head back to the ship. It was already drastically hotter and more humid than last week.

We came back to the ship and I showered and we headed up to the Lido for a nice quiet lunch. I enjoyed a nice big salad and a cup of potato soup that was delicious. Of course Burt Reynolds was there entertaining us with his corny jokes. He is one crew member that so loves his job and he loves entertaining the passengers.

I tend to become a bit saddened the last day on the ship and it is no different today. We ran into some fellow passengers that we met last week that also did the B2B and they were looking forward to getting home and said they were ready a day or two ago. For Tom and I it is not that way at all. Ye, we do very much miss our son and our animals at home and I am more than ready to start a new job but there is just a belonging here on the ship. Yes, we love being waited on and the dining and entertainment but I just have a feeling I could feel right at home working and living here without all the good stuff but I could also keep cruising as a passengers with no problems either.

With doing HMC the last day and not being a Sea Day everything is delayed and that includes getting your debarkation tags and the survey. Last week we did not get the surveys till about 9 PM at night on Friday. I am guessing they do not hand any of this stuff out till after they do the Debarkation talk which I believe is at 4 PM.

It is going to be very sad in the Dining Room tonight having to say our Farewells to Ronald and the rest of the crew. I need to write some more Thank You notes so I will stop writing for now.

OK I must add in here that we are about to leave the there was a bit of horn blowing between Noordam and the Eurodam. Although I was hoping there would have been more. Wednesday before leaving St Maarten we had a little dueling horn thing going between the Crown Princess and the Eurodam and it was quite fun.

Not sure if I will post again tonight or not but we do have one night in FLL staying at the Hampton Inn with free WiFi so I am sure will post again tomorrow. Then we must get up very very early Sunday morning with having a 7 AM flight but the good news is we will be home at 9:40 AM Las Vegas time. Yes, that means it is over a 5 hour flight non stop :eek: It will be a very long morning.

I want to thank all of you for following along on our wonderful 2 week Eurodam cruise. It has been fun to share with you my opinions and feelings and happenings here on the ship.

I also want to Thank Captain Jonathan Mercer, Hotel Manager Mark Pells and Guest Relations Manager Amber Coomer for helping to make this the most wonderful two weeks on a DAM Ship.

Signing off from the Beautiful MS Eurodam at Half Moon Cay. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chivalrygirl

Chivalrygirl

Posted
Posted

OMG Lisa, I am almost in tears for you guys.....I know the feeling of leaving ships that has been your home for awhile. I have so enjoyed your posts, I am going to miss them so much.

Will look forward to seeing you back on FB :-)

I am off to spend the night north of here at my brothers beach house, so by the time I get home again I guess you will be back in Florida.

Take care and have a safe disembarkation.

Love the gang at home on shore :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
brucory

brucory

Posted
Posted

It has been wonderful to read your updates Lisa and hear about your many adventures. It has also been lovely to hear how you have seen so many crew that have become friends from your past. We know how wonderful it feels to see those hardworking people again and how lovely it is to see those familiar smiles. No doubt you will be aboard a HAL ship again very soon. Have a safe trip home and we lookforward to hearing about the controversial topic of what will now be your favourite ship.

 

Your posts have been very much appreciated.

 

Bruce and Cory...

 

:D:D:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
LAFFNVEGAS "Live from...." Rare

LAFFNVEGAS

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Friday December 26th, 2008

Well actually it is Saturday December 27th because it is about 12:30 and we just got our luggage out in the hall. We are pretty much packed up and sadly know that the cruise is about to end. Tonight we had a wonderful dinner in the Rembrandt Dining Room but it was a bit sad because we knew this was the last evening. But of course I started to cry when they sang the Good Bye Song.

After dinner we were able to give our last Good Byes to Captain Mercer and several other Officers. I also had one last Spanish Coffee in the Explorer’s Lounge, then later in the evening we met with Wessel the Assist Culinary Mgr up in the Crow’s Nest for drinks which made for a very nice end to two wonderful weeks.

This has been an amazing 2 weeks, in all honesty I would have never guessed that our first Back to Back could be this wonderful.

Thanks so very much to all of you for your kind words. I have loved sharing with you how wonderful these two weeks have been and who else can understand how we are feeling than all my friends here on the HAL board at CC.

Now....If you hear on the news tomorrow that they had to take off two passengers kicking and screaming in Fort Lauderdale that they did not want to leave the ship it could very well be Tom and I.:D

One last time……

Signing off from the Beautiful and Elegant MS Eurodam.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ine

Ine

Posted
Posted

Thanks Lisa (and Tom) for the great reports of your B2B.

We have again enjoyed it very much.

Have a safe trip home.

Sorry to know we will not meet in P. Vallarta this winter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
matondo

matondo

Posted
Posted

Thank you for sharing you trip with us. It is now Saturday morning and I know a lot of us are feeling your sadness as you do everything for the last time. It's been almost three weeks since we stepped off the Westerdam with the only regret being not being able to spend more time on any dam ship no matter what the destination. DH always says, "They can take the ship out 5 miles from the port and just sit there for all I care."

 

Safe travels home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GmaPajama

GmaPajama

Posted
Posted

Well, Lisa, according to my clock it's 9:25 in Ft. Lauderdale right now. I expect that means you are leaving the ship, and I wanted you to know I'm thinking of you. I loved sailing along with you through this thread, and thank you for posting so faithfully. Such an adventure - I'm just thrilled you finally got to do 2 weeks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...