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

[Krazy Kruizers]

We would never ask the wait staff to run our lobster tails directly out to our table while others have theirs sitting under domes -- we do not ask for special treatment. The wait staff have more than enough to do than just pamper us -- for too often they have more tables than they should have.

[Chivalrygirl]

Kia Ora Lisa. Keep on having a wonderful time, how I wish I was there with you. I am now feeling for you preparing to change staterooms (cabins are yesteryear :)) Its a bit of a let down from my experience, even worse for you posh guys from suite to Main Deck, how the mighty fall :D Joey and Ruffles made me say that :p

Any news of my dear friend Angie, still no email from her, I wonder whats up.

Love from Val and the gang

(hugs, joyful barks and miaows) :)

[RevNeal]

I sure hope that Lisa was able to get ashore at HMC! What a WONDERFUL island! I'm not a beach bum, but it's a great place to visit when cruising the Caribbean. I'll be visiting there on my Noordam Cruise next month! Yippie!

 

Oh, and as an aside, for those of you who noticed the block on my site by google, it's been lifted. The attack my site suffered has been resolved, and the IP of the attacker is being traced. Thanks for the concern.

[RevNeal]

As for the Lobster tails being too small ... just do THIS! :D

 

 

They may be small, but four of them makes a nice feast!!!! :D

[RevNeal]

Good deal, Greg. I know it's been a bear having to deal with all this.

 

Lisa, are you SURE you're ready to give up your suite? ;) Have you heard what you're getting? At least you'll still be on the ship.

 

Thanks.

 

Lisa is stepping DOWN from a Suite to an inside cabin!!!??? Or, is it an outside? Inquiring minds want to know. :D

[Chivalrygirl]

Lisa said they had a cabin allocation and had been upgraded from an outside obstructed to a cabin very close to the office on Main Deck. Maybe she has been able to whisper in the Captain's ear since she boarded the ship ;)

Yeah still on the ship but from experience not having the balcony takes a bit of adjustment, but they both have positive minds, so will quickly move on to Christmas and the celebrations. I spent the Christmas of 1963 at Christmas it was such fun.

[shipcafe]

OK I know I mentioned this before but the announcement chimes are bugging the crap out of me. It is not the same sound as ALL the other HAL ship, it is not as loud and sometimes they only ring one chime. I cannot believe that no one has ever mentioned this before lol.

 

I definitely know what you mean. On the other HAL ships, the chimes seem to more "run together" smoothly whereas on the Eurodam the sound is of three distinct chime tones. It is noticeable.

Also, the single tone is when the announcement is made from the bridge and the three tones when it is made elsewhere.

[Sow There]

Lisa said they had a cabin allocation and had been upgraded from an outside obstructed to a cabin very close to the office on Main Deck. Maybe she has been able to whisper in the Captain's ear since she boarded the ship ;)

Yeah still on the ship but from experience not having the balcony takes a bit of adjustment, but they both have positive minds, so will quickly move on to Christmas and the celebrations. I spent the Christmas of 1963 at Christmas it was such fun.

 

Last time I whispered in the Captain's ear I almost made myself eligible for an early disembarkation; like maybe a week early! ;)

 

Not sure what your last sentence means. Can you translate?:confused:

[whenzuc]

I just saved it in my itunes

 

It's music to my ears.

 

 

I downloaded the ringtone last night- somehow my internet explorer and a few other things got fried.I am not making this up- it took a couple of hours to resolve all issues.

[docksider21]

They may be small, but four of them makes a nice feast!!!!

That what I say about those Lean Cuisines!

[SDHALFAN]

As for the Lobster tails being too small ... just do THIS! :D

 

 

They may be small, but four of them makes a nice feast!!!! :D

 

 

I'm guessing (educated guess?) that this depends on the ship and on the sailing though. Just a few weeks ago I was still on the Amsterdam's Grand Asia/Australia cruise (65 days of almost total joy) and one evening the very nice lady seated next to me at dinner asked if she could have two Lobster Tails instead of the Surf 'n Turf. Our Dining Room Steward, who obviously has a personality problem (or else doesn't like his job), replied "no, we have to make sure we have enough for everyone". I am, honestly, not one to put in my two cents worth, although I'm more ready to do it now than when I was younger, so I piped up with "well, I didn't order one so she can have mine". Our Steward didn't even acknowledge me but sure enough she did get her second one, albeit it about 15 minutes later.

 

Grand cruises are long and expensive and to deny someone a second Lobster Tail seems to me to be cutting corners just way too much.

 

Sorry to hijack this thread but that annoyed me and still does.

 

Lovely Lady Lisa and Tom: I hope that the weather has calmed down somewhat for you - I know how much you enjoy some motion in the ocean. All the reports you have heard about snow in Las Vegas are true - and then some. Enjoy all that sunshine and do have a stupendous Christmas aboard the ms Eurodam. I will be thinking about you, and heck yes I am truly green with envy but I can't think of any couple who deserves it more.

 

Valerie:)

[jhannah]

That what I say about those Lean Cuisines!

Good one, David! :D

[fireman845]

As for the Lobster tails being too small ... just do THIS! :D

 

 

They may be small, but four of them makes a nice feast!!!! :D

 

Now that's how you order Lobster tails on a cruise!!

[cruz chic]

I'm guessing (educated guess?) that this depends on the ship and on the sailing though. Just a few weeks ago I was still on the Amsterdam's Grand Asia/Australia cruise (65 days of almost total joy) and one evening the very nice lady seated next to me at dinner asked if she could have two Lobster Tails instead of the Surf 'n Turf. Our Dining Room Steward, who obviously has a personality problem (or else doesn't like his job), replied "no, we have to make sure we have enough for everyone". I am, honestly, not one to put in my two cents worth, although I'm more ready to do it now than when I was younger, so I piped up with "well, I didn't order one so she can have mine". Our Steward didn't even acknowledge me but sure enough she did get her second one, albeit it about 15 minutes later.

 

Grand cruises are long and expensive and to deny someone a second Lobster Tail seems to me to be cutting corners just way too much.

 

 

Valerie:)

This isn't the first time I've heard this. To say you can order 20 if you like is simply not true. Good luck to anyone that tries. In my opinion HAL is cutting way too many corners lately. I've noticed it more and more the last few cruises I've taken.

 

Excuse me too for the thread hijack.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Friday December 19,2008

We have just sailed away from Half Moon Cay. Today was one of those absolutely PERFECT Days at Half Moon Cay. Not too cool, not at all hot, not windy, sunny with a few clouds and the most pristine turquoise blue water that the Bahamas have to offer. Like when I last posted I truly questioned if we would make it today. Last night’s ride was truly the roughest of the week with the bed vibrating more than a Magic Fingers Bed. This morning when we dropped anchor it was very cloudy but showed signs of clearing and truly ended up being the perfect day. We had rented a Clam Shell and would definitely do it again. We were able to stay out of the sun yet enjoy going out and playing in the waves. We got over to HMC at about 10 AM and got a Clam Shell just below the Massage Hut. Because many from our Roll Call had gotten together to share the Grand Oasis we did take a walk over there to say “Hi” and take a peek. We then headed off to the BBQ which was just like it had been when we were last there in 2005 except we found there seems to be more eating Pavilions and another Bar I did not remember from last time.

After lunch we returned to our Clam Shell to enjoy the sounds of the waves and do some reading.

To my surprise by 2 PM the beach almost seemed deserted and they were already stacking up loungers so at about 2:40 we too packed it up and went and stood in line to get on the tenders back to the ship. It was about 3:15 when we got back to our cabin and in our mail box was an envelope with information about our turn around for our back to back as well as an immigration form and our new passenger/room key cards. In about 15 minutes we are going to meet with Amber the GRM and the others that are doing a B2B (we were told 17 total). It all looks pretty simple and we plan to just throw what is not on hangers in the suit cases in the morning to have one of the stewards take us to our new cabin.

Since we have to leave in 10 minutes I will wait to post this when I write more this evening.

OK we have returned from our evening out. Let me say that I am just so very thankful we get to do this all over again next week. Tonight was yet another great night. I was so thrilled that after not having it on the Oosterdam in October the “Good By” song has returned to the Eurodam. This week on the Eurodam had so many of the traditional and things that Tom and I have so grown to love about Holland America. Not sure if I mentioned previously but the Show Times are also back to what they use to be 8:00 PM after first seating and 10:00 PM show for 2nd seating.

Saying good by at dinner was not near as painful because we told many of them we would see them tomorrow night. We are moving tables though by our request. Rudy who has been a wonderful Wine Steward has to move down stairs next week so we requested to be in Ronald’s section. Ronald is so very special to us. We have had him on numerous occasions as our Wine Steward and it will feel so special having him be with us for Christmas week. Even this week numerous times thru the evening he stops at our table to talk so we will go from table 84 to table 90 which is just a few feet away.

After the dinner this evening they held a Cocktail Party for Suite Passengers in the Pinnacle Bar. (Instead of a Suite Lunch) It was a big turnout and as always great to talk with the Captain, H/M and CD.

Tonight we went to our third show of the week which was Dream Park. Yes we were impressed. The costumes and stage was definitely more impressive than many productions shows that are seen on HAL, plus I did really enjoy the music selections to the show.

OK I have been reporting all week about how wonderful everything is here on the Eurodam and let me say that if I could pick a Dream Team of Crew, almost everyone is here. The Bar Staff is definitely the best they are only missing one of our favorites Bede who was actually part of this team that had been on the Noordam and was actually scheduled to come on board the Eurodam but I had heard from her just before we left on this cruise that she is approx. 18 weeks pregnant and home in the Philippines. Many of the crew that all worked with her were so happy to hear this. I have never met Mark Pells before but we love him he is great and of course many of you know how I feel about Jonathan Mercer. It is such a thrill to get to sail with him for two weeks in a row. But there is one area of the ship that yes I will not give a raving review about. It is not that it is terrible it is just not the level of the rest of the Eurodam and that is….The Pinnacle. We had one dinner and two breakfasts in the Pinnacle and all three times you almost felt as though you were on a different ship. There is a rather Cold attitude and it was not just us, we would watch how many of those that worked in the Pinnacle treated other passengers. Now I am not saying it is terrible but it is definitely just a notch or two below the standard of the rest of the ship. Now if we were a Suite Passenger that only sailed once every two or three years we probably would not know or notice some of the small differences but one prime example is the offering of daily breakfast specials that I know they have but either they are too lazy to offer or do not want to be bothered with it. But they do not offer them, the first morning we went we explained that we knew there was usually a breakfast special and the server acted like she had never heard of it, she returned to our table and told us what it was and I ordered it. This morning I asked about the special and the gentleman was adamant that the Pinnacle never offered any breakfast specials. Maybe we have been spoiled between the last 6 cruises that were on the Noordam, Oosterdam and Amsterdam but the crew of those Pinnacles made everyone feel extra special.

Like I said the general attitude of the Pinnacle is just a minor thing and hopefully they can correct in time but other wise this ship’s Management and Crew are basically the Dream Team of Holland America and I am so thrilled to be able to give you my version of Holiday Week on the Eurodam, so stay tuned the 2nd half is about here.

Signing off from the Beautiful MS Eurodam.:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa said they had a cabin allocation and had been upgraded from an outside obstructed to a cabin very close to the office on Main Deck. Maybe she has been able to whisper in the Captain's ear since she boarded the ship ;)

Yeah still on the ship but from experience not having the balcony takes a bit of adjustment, but they both have positive minds, so will quickly move on to Christmas and the celebrations. I spent the Christmas of 1963 at Christmas it was such fun.

 

Thanks.

 

Lisa is stepping DOWN from a Suite to an inside cabin!!!??? Or, is it an outside? Inquiring minds want to know. :D

 

 

OK when we booked this 2nd half on the 5th of December were able to grab a HH Guarantee, just before we left we were assigned a D which is a good upgrade to 1084 on Main Deck, then to our surprise the Up Grade Fairy decided to work over time and the cabin assignment changed to a VA of 8160:) So while we still do not have a posh S Suite we are still here on the Beautiful Eurodam, with a wonderful crew and a verandah for Christmas week. Now if there was a miracle opening of a S Suite tomorrow I certainly would not mind moving to that either ;) :D But other wise we are very happy cruisers and so very thrilled that we finally get to enjoy 14 days on a HAL ship.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

On previous Holland America cruises I have bought a package of three diff't Lancaster suntan lotions. they are in a tangerine colored orangish box. Can you tell me if they still sell it? It should be about $19. All three pieces retail in Europe Duty free for about $75. Can you please let me know if they still sell it. This way, I can buy it on board, instead of packing it. Thanks!!! Great lotion.

I just now saw your request and we are in for the evening but I have taken note of this and will check tomorrow night and try to report back.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa, at the suggestion of Carol (mamaofami) I thought I should post this picture of my friend. This was taken in Las Vegas today, it should make your cruise all the more sweeter!:D

 

Dianne

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ATTACH]99275[/ATTACH]

Diane, thanks WOW, that is totally amazing. We have livedin Las Vegas since 1978 and have seen it snow but never ever that much snow. I am glad that we missed it :D

[RevNeal]

OK when we booked this 2nd half on the 5th of December were able to grab a HH Guarantee, just before we left we were assigned a D which is a good upgrade to 1084 on Main Deck, then to our surprise the Up Grade Fairy decided to work over time and the cabin assignment changed to a VA of 8160:) So while we still do not have a posh S Suite we are still here on the Beautiful Eurodam, with a wonderful crew and a verandah for Christmas week. Now if there was a miracle opening of a S Suite tomorrow I certainly would not mind moving to that either ;) :D But other wise we are very happy cruisers and so very thrilled that we finally get to enjoy 14 days on a HAL ship.

 

Firstly, Lisa, congratulations on getting the upgrades into a VA! That's just fabulous! It will take a little getting used to ... coming down from a Deluxe Suite ... but it's still a VERY nice accomodation.

 

Secondly, congratulations on getting into HMC! Ah, what a wonderful day it must have been for you! And ... thus closes the end of a wonderful week aboard the Eurodam. Enjoy the turn-around and your second week! I LOVE staying aboard ship for a second round ... not having to get off is a blast. :D

 

Blessings, and Merry Christmas to you and Tom on the lovely Eurodam. Remember us, back on land, freezing our rear ends off ... and those of us who wear basic black, having to do multiple services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. :D Oh, don't shed a tear for me ... I truly do love the Christmas Eve services, and especially seeing the children all excited dring the midnight service.

[RevNeal]

I downloaded the ringtone last night- somehow my internet explorer and a few other things got fried.I am not making this up- it took a couple of hours to resolve all issues.

 

I'm very sorry about that. As I reported, my site was attacked with malicious spy/ad/maulwear. It had been cleaned, but apparently it was hit again day before yesterday. Macs were not affected, but some Windows machines were. And I known the infection was back I woudln't have posted that link when I did.

 

Again, I'm sorry. The server has been cleaned by the Host Admins, scanned by my Host and by Google, and proclaimed clean. They also closed the routes that were used to access and attack my domain and the domains of several other clients on the server. And, I understand that the Authorities are tracking the perpetrators IP.

 

And, before anybody else asks and gets their posts pulled, I do NOT know who did it so don't ask.

[RevNeal]

I'm guessing (educated guess?) that this depends on the ship and on the sailing though. Just a few weeks ago I was still on the Amsterdam's Grand Asia/Australia cruise (65 days of almost total joy) and one evening the very nice lady seated next to me at dinner asked if she could have two Lobster Tails instead of the Surf 'n Turf. Our Dining Room Steward, who obviously has a personality problem (or else doesn't like his job), replied "no, we have to make sure we have enough for everyone". I am, honestly, not one to put in my two cents worth, although I'm more ready to do it now than when I was younger, so I piped up with "well, I didn't order one so she can have mine". Our Steward didn't even acknowledge me but sure enough she did get her second one, albeit it about 15 minutes later.

 

It may also depend upon the dining time. I always have late seating, and -- If I remember correctly -- Christopher ordered this AFTER he'd finished Surf and Turf ... so ... in other words ... it was after all principle orders had been put in. :) And, no, he didn't eat these alone ... he shared these with his sister (well, he shared ONE with his sister).

[RevNeal]

This isn't the first time I've heard this. To say you can order 20 if you like is simply not true. Good luck to anyone that tries.

 

Perhaps not 20, but I've seen -- and have posted photographic documentation -- that one can get 4 at one time. :D

[jhannah]

Wow! From an HH to a VA. That's a FANTASTIC upgrade. Good for you and Tom!

[GmaPajama]

Wow! From an HH to a VA. That's a FANTASTIC upgrade. Good for you and Tom!

Amen to that! I'm anxious to hear your comparison, Lisa, and all the little details. We realize we could cruise much more often if we'd give up those gorgeous S Suites - so are really interested in your observations. Photos too, after you get home and have good internet of course.

 

Glad you're having such a great time!

[cruz chic]

Perhaps not 20, but I've seen -- and have posted photographic documentation -- that one can get 4 at one time. :D

I think it is a little easier to get more lobster at the late seating once they know how much of the supply they have gone through. It was actually another posters remark that I was replying to that said you could order 20. I just wished the tails were a little bigger. I think we could get bigger lobsters in the water around Calgary :D:D.