New to HAL, a few questions...

[ChicagoCruisin]

In December my wife and I will be on the Eurodam out of Ft. Lauderdale. We are new to HAL any help would be much appreciated:

* on formal nights, do most men wear a Tux? Is suit and tie ok?
* is the culinary arts center worth the $30?
* is the bathtub usable when the ship is moving? can rough seas be a problem?

Thank you for any help you can give!!

[CruiserBruce]

In December my wife and I will be on the Eurodam out of Ft. Lauderdale. We are new to HAL any help would be much appreciated:

* on formal nights, do most men wear a Tux? Is suit and tie ok? Many might wear a tux. Suit and tie is fine.
* is the culinary arts center worth the $30? Only you can decide value to you.
* is the bathtub usable when the ship is moving? can rough seas be a problem? Rough seas are rarely a problem in the Caribbean. At that time, you probably don't want to use the tub.

Thank you for any help you can give!!

Enjoy your cruise.

[gregdude]

Welcome to HAL!
On formal nights most (80%) will wear suite/blazer and tie.
I have never used the culinary arts center, but those who have seem to enjoy the experience.
No problem with the tubs, they are high walled and would require a very rough sea to cause a problem.

Enjoy your cruise!!

[RuthC]

In December my wife and I will be on the Eurodam out of Ft. Lauderdale. We are new to HAL any help would be much appreciated:

* on formal nights, do most men wear a Tux? Is suit and tie ok?
A suit and tie meets the dress code, as does a sport jacket w/tie.
A tux/dinner jacket is much more formal.
* is the bathtub usable when the ship is moving? can rough seas be a problem?
Useable, yes, but it can be a problem in rough seas if you have any kind of mobility or balance problem.

You have to climb over the side of the tub both getting in, and out.
If you take a bath, you have to lower and raise yourself, and that can get tough. If you shower, it can get dangerous. I've had to hold on to the grab bars with one hand, and scrub down with the other. It's needing two hands soaping the washcloth that's tough!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

The cooking classes are $29 per person -- the majority of the people here who have done them have enjoyed them -- it is limited to 12 people and you are broken down into 3 groups - each group preparing an item -- then you get to eat what you all have prepared. Most people reported that unlimited wine was served. Sometimes they ate the prepared meal in the Culinary Arts Center and on some ships they went to the Pinnacle to eat their meal.

When the seas are really rough -- neither of us attempt to take a shower / bath. You can fall too quickly.

A suit and tie will be just fine on formal nights.

[kazu]

although all your questions have been answered I would just add if you want to do the culinary arts - get registered early. it always has sold out very quickly when we have sailed.

[ChicagoCruisin]

Thank you all very much!!
The culinary arts cooking class sounds fantastic, hope i can pick up a few things. :)

[catl331]

There are also Culinary Arts demos, which are free and limited in capacity only by the size of the room. Two recipes are usually done by a chef in one hour, and samples of one of them are passed out.

[CMYK_iNK]

How do you register once you are on the ship?

Also can you register before sailing?

[ceejay3377]

One thing to be aware of in the bath, is that there is an overflow outlet that is just over halfway up the wall of the bath. (My only HAL experience to date is on the Volendam so other ships may be different). So while the bath is nice and deep, you can only fill it to just over half way. I am not very big (quite short and within the healthy weight range) and I found that when I tried to have a bath half of me was out of the water! It wasn't the nice, soaking experience I was looking for.:)

Cheers,

Carina

[LADYLAYLA]

How do you register once you are on the ship?

Also can you register before sailing?


go to the Front Desk when you embark. I do not believe you can preregister.

[K&RCurt]

go to the Front Desk when you embark. I do not believe you can preregister.


You can't pre register. And make sure they actually register you for the class if you go to the front desk. Apparantly the computer screen for registration for the classes is confusing. We were onboard the Eurodam within 25 min. of the start of Embarcation and went to the front desk to register for a cooking class. The Front Desk attendant informed us we were the first people on the list. When we went to take the class 3 days later we were NOT on the list but were on the wait list. The person running the class had a printout of the list and the that also had registration dates/times. We were indeed the first to register TIME wise but the front desk person put us on the wait list instead of the class!

When we went to the front desk to try to get a refund for the class (which was handled VERY well) the Front Desk Manager explaind that there were a couple new crew tending the desk and the class registration system is cofusing.

Just be sure you really get on the class roster!

[Randyk47]

Just another endorsement of the Culinary Arts classes. We've done at least one class, sometimes two, on our last three cruises and obviously really enjoyed them as we keep going back. You do have to sign up at the front desk. What we do is ask for the menu that will be taught in each class and pick the one or ones we think we'd cook at home.

[CMYK_iNK]

Thanks for the info :)

[samnewbie]

Hi,

I'm also new to HAL, thanks to the OP for asking about the culinary arts classes, I too am interested, will register as soon as we embark.

Thanks

Sam :)

[brewersfan]

Just wondering if you have to sign up for the culinary demonstrations as well, or just the classes?

[K&RCurt]

Just wondering if you have to sign up for the culinary demonstrations as well, or just the classes?


Just the classes.

But show up early for the demos if you want a seat.

[kazu]

Just wondering if you have to sign up for the culinary demonstrations as well, or just the classes?

I don't remember having to sign up for those. They were posted in the daily Explorer and we just went. Do go early though for a good spot.:)

hope my memory isn't failing:eek:

[Cruising-along]

I don't remember having to sign up for those. They were posted in the daily Explorer and we just went. Do go early though for a good spot.:)

hope my memory isn't failing:eek:

No sign up for these. Do get there early for a good seat (although they're all good as there is a large screen showing everything).

Also some people tend to rush the server/servers when the samples are handed out instead of waiting patiently in their seats :rolleyes: The servers are too polite to stop them -- just a warning, if you don't get a sample when they're passed out row by row, make sure they know and you'll get one. ;)

[Himself]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and welcome to Holland America. You have chosen a wonderful ship and I hope you have a wonderful cruise under fair skies and a gentle sea. I had a wonderful time on the Eurodam last October and a friend of mine from Oak Lawn raved about his Eurodam cruise two years ago.

[sail7seas]

I agree Eurodam is a great ship.

We went on our first Eurodam cruise out of curiousity to see the new ship (when she was still very new :) ) but did not really expect to like the ship that much. We have now been on five Eurodam cruises. :)

[I_r_a]

Hi CC,

>on formal nights, do most men wear a Tux?

Depends on the cruise. On our last cruise on the Prinsendam to the Med it was about 40% formal.

>Is suit and tie ok?
Yes

>is the culinary arts center worth the $30?
Only you can tell.

>is the bathtub usable when the ship is moving?
Usually.

>can rough seas be a problem?
Yes

Enjoy your cruise

Ira