Would you pay $100 to attend the inaugural ceremony for Eurodam?

Holland America is charging passengers on Eurodam's first sailing $100 per person for tickets to the ship's christening on July 1. Would you shell out $100 to attend the inaugural ceremony for Eurodam?

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Holland America is charging passengers on Eurodam's first sailing $100 per person for tickets to Eurodam's christening on July 1. Would you shell out $100 to attend the inaugural ceremony for Eurodam?

Yup, it's something that doesn't happen all the time and you don't get the chance to go very often. Also, it would be really neat since I'm sailing on Eurodam over New Years this year!! :D It's a huge part of the ship's history and since I love ships and cruising so much, I would love to go and $100 isn't that bad. :D

You tell me one other event you can go to, possibly meet and mingle with celebs and royalty, and it's only going to cost $100.00. It's set as a shore excursion. What better way to see the best of a country than to maybe meet its reigning monarch!

My feeling is that an innaugural event is much like a wedding or a cocktail party or an open house; WHOever is GIVING the party gets to select the guests AND make all the rules! IF the "rules" say you wear black tie -OR you pay $100 OR you have a certain cabin OR you sit in a certain place; OK -you NOW know "The Rules". Ball is in YOUR court!

The "celebrity or Royalty" thing wouldn't even interest me.

We paid more than that for hamburgers and fries in Johnny Rockets in Tokyo - and don't even ask about Tony Romas. :eek:

It was not a bad lunch, but we weren't exactly witnessing a part of history. If we could be there we would. It still may be possible to do the 10 day maiden cruise.

Keep your fingers crossed for us. :)

Smooth sailing to you...

DH and I wish to attend....and sincerely hope we get to be there.

It's a free choice. If someone doesn't like the arrangement, they don't have to participate IMO

DH and I wish to attend....and sincerely hope we get to be there.

 

It's a free choice. If someone doesn't like the arrangement, they don't have to participate IMO

You sound like you are in the same boat as we are. Lets hope we find ourselves on the same ship in July.

Smooth sailing always...

We are booked for the Prelude Cruise and the Inaugural. Have you visited the HAL Eurodam Roll Call Board? There is a very large group of CC'ers on those cruises.

Yes I have - but...

I don't want to jinx anything by participating in it until we are sure we can go.

We are booked for the first 10 day maiden cruise only.

Smooth sailing...

Hope to see you aboard. Keep reading the Roll Call as I am sure there will be posts about a meet and greet for people boarding after the three day prelude cruise.

We have paid the $100 pp to attend, but I didn't vote. I can't really say with assurance that it's worth it from a monetary standpoint. I don't know what all is included. But I agree with others that it's a one-time affair for us.

duplicate!

We had planned to attend before we had to cancel the cruise - I would do it if I were going, as it is a "once in a lifetime" event.

But then, we're also the folks who spend the $$$ for the Grand Oasis at HMC as we think it worth every last penny.

If I am there anyway, I might in the same sense that I have paid similar amounts for a shore excursion under the heading; "I shall not pass this way again!"

I remember seeing pictures and articles about Beatrix and her sisters in magazines when I was growing up and we all sort of felt that we knew them. I'm not usually a fan of royalty, but those three girls just seemed very likeable.

I'm sure my husband wouldn't be interested in paying to see her, but I think I would.

If I were going on the cruise, I'd do it in a heartbeat, just to be part of a once in a lifetime event.:D

I would pay that in a heartbeat also .. it is a once-in-a-lifetime and they didn't price it out of line at all.

If we were going on the Eurodam Inaugural, we'd pay $100 each without question.

We own an inn in a seasonal resort area, so summers are out of the question...if we didn't, I'd be on this cruise in a heartbeat. :(

...possibly meet and mingle with celebs and royalty...

I don't think there will be much mingling going on - the VIP's are generally kept at arms length from the rest of us.

I wouldn't have been going because I find HAL's $100/pp surcharge insulting - particularly considering what we're paying for the cruise itself...

...but my best friend insisted and paid for us, so I'm going.

I suspect one needs to be a "HAL-ophile" to be willing to spend the money on the ceremony ;) , but if I was sailing on the 3 day intro cruise, I'd do it in a heartbeat !! :D :D :D

I wouldn't pay to see the christening of a cruise ship any more than I would pay money to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony of another luxury hotel.

If I had been able to book the Prelude cruise in addition to the inaugural 20 days (bad timing prevent it), then the express purpose would have been to attend the christening ceremonies.

At that point refusing to pay an extra $100 would have been cutting off my nose to spite my face. :rolleyes:

I'd have paid it.

Yes, I've paid and I'm going.

I don't, however, consider it "fair" ... I consider it ridiculous. If I were not already going to be in Rotterdam for the Prelude Cruise and the first two Inaugural cruises, I wouldn't have paid to go. But, being there, I would kick myself if I didn't go. So, I paid and I'm going.

. . . . . we're going to attend. We are on the Prelude and Inaugural cruises and decided to pay the $100pp fee because we felt it was a once in a lifetime event for us, to attend a cruise ship's christening ceremonies, with or without royalty.

Would we rather have not had to pay to attend? You betcha, but that's the way it is. And, we sure don't get to see a real queen everyday! :)

I would. They have to limit the number of people out of the 2,000 or so passengers who attend somehow, and this is in manyw ways a fairer way of doing it than limiting it to people who are "important" (been on a lot of HAL cruises, or whatever).

I might not pay for it not for any ship, mind you, but a HAL ship in Rotterdam being named by the Queen of the Netherlands... I'd definitely pay $100 to see that. It isn't an opportunity you get every day - in fact, for those of us born after 1959, it's the first time it's happened in our lifetimes!