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

[seabourndt]

saw your started post on the VOLENDAM dec 2009 but since i juist booked the boarsd has gone completly quiet. ibn fact i'm sure some of the post were for 2008. as they said dec 5th. looking forward to getting a few more closer to the time.

see you are doing the OOSTERDAM next february

dave

[RuthC]

Hi, Lisa. Glad to see you're having a good time. I knew, from all you said about Tom's likes/dislikes in food, that he could still enjoy his time at Tamarind. I'm happy he did. Now he'll be more likely to go back!

And yes, it appears what John calls the "Rev step" (can't figure why he calls it that) is still there ready to attack unsuspecting diners.

Say, Lisa. If you're checking on things in the show lounge for others, could you also check on this---were the flickering lights on the staircase (starboard side) in front of the stage ever fixed?

IIRC, at one point someone figured out how to turn them off, so no one had to be afraid of seizures anymore.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sunday December 14th, 2008

Good Afternoon from somewhere in the Atlantic. I know that at the 1 PM report from the Bridge by Captain Mercer he said we had traveled 216 nautical miles since we left Ft Lauderdale. We are having gale force winds that are approx 45 miles per hour, seas are a bit rough and the sun is attempting to try to peak out of the heavy clouds and the temps are bout 74 degrees.

We had a CC Meet and Greet at 11 AM in the Silk Den and had said we would have a Chocolate Exchange because we had so many different people from all of the world and some how early on during the Roll Call many discovered that we all loved chocolate. Well let me say we had one heck of a big turn out, my guess would be some where close to 60 turn out. So we had lots of chocolate. In additional to the chocolate HAL took very good care of us. The spread they had for us was amazing including a chocolate fountain for dipping of fruit. Of course they had Bloody Marys, Champagne and Mimosas. Mark Pells the Hotel Manager along with several others from the Eurodam’s Management team were also there. Mark spoke about some things not to be missed in each of the ports.

I just remembered one of the things I wanted to mentioned that I cannot believe that no one else has reported on….the Announcement Chime. It is different that any of the other HAL ships, I am guessing HAL thinks it is less obtrusive but I really have grown fond of the HAL Announcement Chime, so much so that it is my ring tone on my cell phone.

Don’t you hate it when you are enjoying that first sea day and they had you of all things the Disembarkation form. One is just starting to relax and you have to think about leaving the ship….thankfully we were able to answer only item #8 that asked if you were staying on for the next voyage and what cabin number you would be in.

This afternoon is the Royal Dutch Tea and of course tonight is our first Formal night and our first time to go to the Main Dining Room and check out table 84. We are thinking of going to watch in the Screening Room this evening the movie Mama Mia since I have wanted to see that.

Tom is reading and I am thinking about reading out on the verandah if it is not too windy or I might just take a nap.;)

Carol and Ruth, yes let me check tonight after Dinner when we attentd the Captain's Toast about what you asked in the Show Lounge.:)

Signing off from somewhere in the Atlantic on the MS Eurodam

[mamaofami]

IIRC, at one point someone figured out how to turn them off, so no one had to be afraid of seizures anymore.

 

RUTH, what does IIRC stand for?

[Chivalrygirl]

Lisa, you will just love Mamma Mia, because I just loved it :) It will get you singing for days :)

BTW I am green with envy, but I need to tell you that Ruffles is starving :mad:

Love Val

[RuthC]

RUTH, what does IIRC stand for?

If I Recall/Remember Correctly.

You know at this stage of my game the memory has gone to .... Well, seems I can't remember where it's gone to. :D

 

On the E-dam's first two cruises the lights on the starboard staircase in front of the stage flickered terribly. Later in the second (I think it was the second) cruise, the lights on the starboard stairs from Deck 2 down to the level area on Deck 1 also started to flicker. It was, at best, distracting, and at worst, a potential killer for anyone with epilepsy.

I think the lights were turned off before my cruise ended.

[jhannah]

---were the flickering lights on the staircase (starboard side) in front of the stage ever fixed?

Oh, those were irritating. The lights on the port side were flickering at some point, too. Seems like Nathan mentioned that someone was having to come aboard to fix them.

 

RuthC, I love your avatar picture. Excellent!!!

[RuthC]

RuthC, I love your avatar picture. Excellent!!!

Thank you. It was Greg's idea. I have avatars turned off, so it never crossed my mind to have one.

 

Now, let us return to Lisa's cruise-----:D

[TMJplus1]

Lisa - I am really enjoying your review and I hope the weather/seas get better the farther south you travel. Have fun on formal night!

[sassyredhat]

Lisa I may never get to sail Eurodam (health/flight restrictions), but I can close my eyes and see everything you describe.

 

Thanks so much for letting me live vicariously. :D

 

Pat

[mamaofami]

If I Recall/Remember Correctly.

 

You know at this stage of my game the memory has gone to .... Well, seems I can't remember where it's gone to. :D

 

Thanks, I sure know that feeling. I don't recall any flickering lights in September when we were on the Eurodam. That would have made me nutty for sure. On the other hand, we stayed pretty close to the rear of the show lounge because of the steps and no railing. But, I'm sure if those lights were flickering I would have noticed.:eek:

[Copper10-8]

If I Recall/Remember Correctly.

 

You know at this stage of my game the memory has gone to .... Well, seems I can't remember where it's gone to. :D

 

On the E-dam's first two cruises the lights on the starboard staircase in front of the stage flickered terribly. Later in the second (I think it was the second) cruise, the lights on the starboard stairs from Deck 2 down to the level area on Deck 1 also started to flicker. It was, at best, distracting, and at worst, a potential killer for anyone with epilepsy.

I think the lights were turned off before my cruise ended.

 

Those showroom step lights from my IIRC, could only be fixed with parts from the yard in Marghera, Italy and there was some kind of major non-availability issue in the wherehouse which caused the delay in getting them out to Eurodam

[RevNeal]

And yes, it appears what John calls the "Rev step" (can't figure why he calls it that) is still there ready to attack unsuspecting diners.

 

Yeah ... why DOES John call it that when it was YOU who discovered it and were the first to take a trip on the dang thing!!!!! :D ;) It should be the "Ruth Step" and not the "Rev Step." All I did was report on it, for which I have been mercilessly ribbed by some precocious personages on this board :D ;).

[RevNeal]

Those showroom step lights from my IIRC, could only be fixed with parts from the yard in Marghera, Italy and there was some kind of major non-availability issue in the wherehouse which caused the delay in getting them out to Eurodam

 

According to Nathan the problem was that the lights were controlled by a power junction box and the box was no where on the ships plans and no one knew where it was! Perhaps Nathan can clarify?

 

Oh, and Ruthless ... that photo was taken of you in the Crows Nest aboard the Eurodam ... so it's apropos for the thread!!! :D

[Copper10-8]

Yeah ... why DOES John call it that when it was YOU who discovered it and were the first to take a trip on the dang thing!!!!! :D ;) It should be the "Ruth Step" and not the "Rev Step." All I did was report on it, for which I have been mercilessly ribbed by some precocious personages on this board :D ;).

 

Rev step sounds better than Ruth step. Heck, 'dam step' sounds good also!

[Copper10-8]

According to Nathan the problem was that the lights were controlled by a power junction box and the box was no where on the ships plans and no one knew where it was! Perhaps Nathan can clarify?

 

Oh, and Ruthless ... that photo was taken of you in the Crows Nest aboard the Eurodam ... so it's apropos for the thread!!! :D

 

Power junction box = parts, n'est pas?:)

[Chivalrygirl]

Power junction box = parts, n'est pas?:)

 

I just gotta do this! To be found in the wherehouse, which is the wherewithal of all :D

 

Long time, no see, and will disappear again in less than 2 weeks. :p

 

Love Val

[barbon2]

Lisa,

How ironic, you have "our" table for dinner. A fantastic table, against the rail overlooking the steps leading down to the lower dining room.

Have a wonderful cruise.

Barbara

[kryos]

Like a trunk fee:rolleyes:

Yeah, I was wondering about that. What the h*ll is a trunk fee?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[fireman845]

Yeah, I was wondering about that. What the h*ll is a trunk fee?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

 

The Son of a Guns charge you a fee if you put anything into the trunk of the taxi...

[docksider21]

Hello Lisa! Glad to see the scramble of plans worked out better than well. Love reading your report. Gale force winds? Yikes. Have a Fab-o time!

[RuthC]

Oh, and Ruthless ... that photo was taken of you in the Crows Nest aboard the Eurodam ... so it's apropos for the thread!!! :D

Really? :D I don't even remember you taking the picture.

 

Can't remember where I left my memory. It was around here someplace....:confused:

[cruisinjudy]

That's right , a trunk fee. In FLL we got tip requests three or four times just getting to our hotel after the cruise. One of those was for putting our luggage in the trunk. We thought he was the driver, but no when we go to the destination we were asked for a tip again!!!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Sunday Evening October 14th 2008

Good Evening from a slightly rocking MS Eurodam.

After that nap I mentioned I might take I awoke about the time to start getting ready for our first Formal night. We have early dining and we just prefer it. We have tried in recent cruises to have the late seating and just found we did not care for it so returned to having early.

Tonight was our first night in the Rembrandt Dining Room and we quickly found our table since we already had a good idea where it was. To our surprise our Wine Steward was Rudy who we have had twice on the Oosterdam. Rudy is very good and of course never let our champagne class go empty except for when he emptied the bottle. Rudy had even been our Wine Steward for the Yum Yum Man cruise and remember it fondly. Then within minutes of walking in we found Ronald. We had spoke with some of the Bar Staff we knew yesterday and asked if Ronald was with them and they all said yes. We just were unsure if it was the Ronald we knew, sure enough it was. It was so good to see him as well that I had to give him a big hug. See we have see Ronald on at least 5 cruises now. I said to Tom this evening to you think we having a problem here…. Why is it the crew we know so well and they know us so well is the Bar Staff??? :D I have to say I honestly do not think I have been on a cruise that I have known this many crew. For several years now we have always run into crew that have known and remembered us but not like this cruise. I feel like old home week and hanging out at Cheers Where everyone knows your name. But you know that is probably the number one reason why we keep returning to Holland America and that is her crew. It just makes for such a special cruise.:)

Dinner was excellent tonight and Tom and I both had the Beef Wellington and it was so tender you could cut it with a fork. So far I have been extremely impressed with the food.

After dinner Tom and I decided to go to the Captain’s Toast, since it was one of my favorite Captains, Captain Mercer doing this I thought we should attend and then stay for the show. I am happy to report that there are unique railings for the steps in the showroom and they look very nice. They have also fixed the flashing lights on the steps in the Showroom. I really love the new showroom, those seats are so much more comfortable and my back was not hurting when the show ended. I think the new arrangement just makes it look a lot classier. All seemed to be working well in all aspects for the show room. It was a bit refreshing seeing the newer stage set and costumes. We immediately recognized 3 of the Lead Singers from previous Cast shows. Over all it was very nice. We have come back to the room to change and get more comfortable because we are going down at 10 to the Screening Room to watch Mama Mia. I know it is formal night and we should stay dressed but with early dining and having been dressed up for several hours it is just a bit more comfortable to enjoy a movie when not in Formal wear. For the most part I would say that everyone followed the dress code especially in the dining room.

Tomorrow we are in Grand Turk which is a brand new port for us, looking forward to a little relaxation, beach time and maybe a margarita or two at Margaritaville.

Signing off from the Beautiful MS Eurodam in the Caribbean Atlantic.

[matondo]

I am really enjoying your posts. How did you like Mama Mia? I just couldn't get past 007 singing and dancing and I'm not really sure if what he did you would call singing and Mr. Darcy is gay what is Elizabeth Bennett going to do?