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Excellent Eurodam Norse Legends 8-15 August


shrimp56
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My full report will come on our return home next week, so just a few comments.

Eurodam is a beautiful and beautifully maintained ship. The crew from the captain to the cabin stewards were helpful, positive and top notch all the way with only one exception noted below. Both embarkation and debarkation were well organized and swift. Tamarind was terrific. Canaletto not as good as Veendam. Food wasn't as well prepared and the service was not friendly or attentive.

 

Our cabin, VQ 10015, was just right. We loved the smaller balcony as it puts you closer to the water. We were right above the place that the water breaks under the bow. The sound was amazing. We were under Explorations Cafe, so no noise. Crows Nest was also just up one flight. Lido and breakfast one floor down as was the spa. Only hike was MDR and Mainstage. We could walk outside across to just under Tamarind. For us the location really rocked. Our Adagio Duo were concert caliber and one of our nightly musts.

 

More on our return.

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Thanks for the kind comments. One piece of info. Eurodam has day of the week rugs in elevators, including the glass side ones, which are odd shaped.

 

Sent from my LG-P769 using Forums mobile app

Edited by shrimp56
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  • 2 weeks later...

So much for good intentions!

 

As with any trip or cruise there always seem to be multiple interests that come together, sometimes at the last minute, to form a plan. DH enjoyed our Volendam Alaska cruise, but he also had an urge to visit the Norwegian fjords and, having been there on my first cruise, I thought he might like the fjords even more. Stars aligned for us to book the Aug. 8-15 Norse Legends cruise and the planning was on.

 

We decided to fly into Paris as American Airlines does not fly non-stop to Amsterdam. Since we were planning to end our trip with 3 days in Paris, using the Thalys fast train to get to and from A'dam seemed the way to go. We took a last minute deal for Business class on the way over, which was very helpful in getting us through our arrival day, with the transfer from the airport to Gare du Nord and then from A'dam Centraal Station to our hotel. Our cabin crew was mostly the same from our free upgrade from London to Chicago in March. So, for folks who don't usually indulge in business class travel, it was old home week! The only glitch in our arrival day was a long wait at Gare du Nord as I had booked our train perhaps too conservatively. Gare du Nord is not a very nice place to be stuck for a long time, but we did discover seating areas on the Thalys trackside, alas just as we were boarding. Next time.

 

In A'dam we stayed at Hotel Piet Hein near Vondelpark and the museums. We've stayed there before and like it very much. And its nautical theme seemed quite appropriate for the upcoming cruise. http://www.hotelpiethein.com/

 

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After a drink at the lobby bar and a failed attempt to find the little restaurant we had eaten at before, we ate two granola bars apiece and headed for bed. Lest you feel sorry for us, we do on occasion have a granola bar "dinner" if we've had a big lunch. But a drink IS required. We fell into bed like the exhausted folk we were, waking up barely in time for the hotel breakfast.

 

Our plan was to visit the newly renovated and reopened Rijksmuseum. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en We had bought tickets on line, but when we walked the two blocks iover there we learned that the two loooooooooong liiiiiiiiines were for people WITH tickets and that the lines would take 2 hours whichever one we chose. It was raining, so we bailed--so much for culture. We wandered down to the canal that borders the central area, saw the ticket booth for the HoHo Canal Bus, bought tickets and boarded minutes before it left. This gave us a dry way to see some of the city.

 

The whole circuit tooks 1 1/2 hrs. One highlight was seeing the funnel of the Carnival ship that was in port the day before us.

 

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This "old-style" bridge was also pointed out to us.

 

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After our canal trip we went back to the museum and the lines were even longer! So we atr lunch at Cobra Cafe on Museumplein. It's more of an evening bar with small plates, but also serves a nice light lunch. http://www.cobracafe.nl/ Then it was time for a nap.

 

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We finished the day at an old-style brasserie, Brasserie Keyzer, that is near the famous concert hall and the museums. We were joined by a dear friend, who insisted on treating us to dinner. We gave her our museum tickets LOL The food was exceptional. http://www.brasseriekeyzer.nl/

 

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Our friend ordered the steak tartare, which was prepared at the table to her specifications. The picture shows the dish before it was prepared.

 

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We all ate well. I had zucchini blossoms stuffed with ricotta, but the star was the tomato risotto underneath. Desserts were also consumed. In my case that was Scroppino, consisting of lemon sorbet, vodka and prosecco. I recommend drinking your desserts.

 

We chatted into the evening before returning to the hotel and saying goodbye. Tomorrow we board ms Eurodam.

Edited by shrimp56
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I was nervous about boarding the Eurodam. She was so much bigger than my previous 'dam ships and I wouldn't have our Veendam "family." Once inside my fears dissipated. It WAS bigger, but it was still a 'dam ship. Things were mostly where they ought to be.

 

Embarkation was a bit chaotic at the start. The cruise terminal in A'dam is hidden behind a lot of tallish buildings and the route to get there is not simple. The actual entrance wasn't clear as we got dropped off at the end of a long line of cars and taxis. Once inside the direction was pretty good. The only confusion was that the person helping the 4-5 star Mariners and suite passengers was also giving us our health form and directing the ordinary mortals in the right direction.

 

We had arrived around 11:30am, received a Group 10 boarding card and by the time we had checked in and headed towards the boarding area our group had been posted. We got the laundry package and dealt with dining before heading to our cabin to deposit our carryons. (See my first post on this thread for why we loved the cabin!)

 

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View from our balcony of the Amsterdam harbor. A lovely day to sail away!

 

Then we still had plenty of time before meeting folks from our rollcall for the Mariner lunch, including Travelnnana, our Meet & Greet "den mother."

 

After lunch we checked out the spa and hydropool which I wanted us to book. I made 2 acupuncture appointments with Dimitri and then wandered around taking a couple of pictures before muster drill and sailaway.

 

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The elevator doors were spectacular on the public decks.

 

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The artwork on Eurodam was very modern for the most part. I loved these "dioramas." This one felt very "Magritte."

Sail-away collected a few more of us, but the HALcats were playing on the rear pool deck so it was too loud much conversation. But we did make some nice connections. Now our Veendam "family" will want to know whether we found another family to supplant them. Rest assured folks, you remain first in our cruising hearts. We did meet a number of couples that we saw sometimes in our roll-call group, but more often separately. Yes we DID make some new wonderful friends, but they're not "family" in the same way you nuts are. LOL

 

 

We were doing "any 'dam time" dining and managed to get our table for two one off the window and finally ON the window for the 4 nights we ate in the MDR.

 

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The Eurodam in the big lock before the North Sea. The picture was taken by a kind cruiser at the window table.

 

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Modern Dutch "windmills." Just past the exit from the canal that led from A'dam to the North Sea.

 

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After unpacking we went to the Crow's Nest to watch the sun set. We had the place to ourselves. A lovely start indeed!

Edited by shrimp56
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According to the elevator mat it is Friday. I had to take their word for it until I defogged a bit. It was a rainy day, a good kind of day for a sea day, which being Friday (see above), it was.

 

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Sitting in the Lido I gazed at the beautiful orchid while my wonderful DH corraled breakfast for us. This cruise routine is a much appreciated expansion of the tea he brings me every morning at home!

 

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DH's pretty waffles.

 

After enough consciousness appeared it is off to Explorations Cafe to check email etc...

 

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I thought that the sculpture in the glass case was quite appropriate for the location. (Look closely...)

 

Next on our docket was our Cruise Critic Meet & Greet set up by Liz, aka Travelnnana. Here we put faces to names and learned that the pre-cruise substitution of Haugesund for Eidfjord was up in the air again. There was apparently a new bridge between us and Eidfjord and information was hard to come by as to whether our two funnels would fit under it. Captain De Vries was obviously loathe to have our funnels not make it. He wanted to hold off on the final decision as long as he could as he really wanted to get us into Hardangerfjord and through to Eidfjord.

 

This was of some interest to a number of us, especially Liz who had arranged a trip with a Fjord Tour outfit for a trip to Langfoss waterfall, myself who was helping with the communication with the outfit and those of us determined to make it at least part way into Hardangerfjord. So we were in a sort of port limbo, which wasn't really resolved until our day in Flam. I had been fielding emails and phone calls from interested parties (about 20 of us) once this uncertainty had arisen and the M&G was the first chance for Liz, myself to get almost everyone on the same up-in-the-air page. DH and I chatted with a lot of people and made plans to do Happy Hour in The Crow's Nest with a few hardy souls. Unfortunately the time for Happy Hour shifted around so much that it didn't become as regular as it had on the Veendam. But we did start getting to know folks, especially Mark and Clyde. More on them later...

 

Time for a couple of stateroom pictures, neither taken on the sea day.

 

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VQ 10015 with the luggage protectors down on the bed.

 

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Our little balcony on a better day for sure! We actually liked the size, as well as the proportions of the stateroom as a whole.

Edited by shrimp56
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I was REALLY ready for our first port, Bergen. It had been my favorite lo those many years ago. This time I was looking forward to exploring Bryggen (the old Hanseastic warehouse district) AND we were taking the same shorex I had done in the late 70s to the Fantoft stave church and the composer Edvard Grieg's house, Troldhaugen. Despite several major changes over the intervening years, this excursion was even better than I remembered.

 

We were docked about a 15 minute walk (through a city park) from Bryggen. Our shorex was set for 12:45, so we decided to go out early, wander around and then have an early lunch before returning to the ship for our trip. It was a lovely plan. See Bergen before the hordes descend. Have a lovely open-faced sandwich and then saunter back to the ship. We did explore the old warehouse area and do some shopping, mostly of the window variety, but the rest was not to be. We arrived at the restaurant only to find that the chef hadn't shown up. So we hustled back to the ship, ate lunch in the Lido, then joined our bus.

 

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Bergen, in fact all Norway, is an expensive place to live. We were told that these 2 bedroom apartments near the bridge (with the colorful facades) were over 1 million USD to buy!

 

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From our balcony, The Dance of the Early Tour Buses

 

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The seats at the Lido Bar. They do NOT look comfortable.

 

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Our 'dam ship docked in Bergen.

 

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Beautiful, peaceful Bryggen, one of the old Hanseatic ports.

 

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The back alleys of Bryggen.

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Two more images of Bergen.

 

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You know there had to be a McDonalds right?

 

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The Hanseatic Museum. We only had time to read the info in the lobby/shop and purchase a few gifts, but we heard from others that it was well worth the time.

 

The original Fantoft Stave Church was built in 1150 in Sogne and moved to Fantoft in the late 1800s. This was the church I saw in the late 70s. In 1992 the church was destroyed by an arsonist. What you see now is a well-done reconstruction. It is privately owned so the easiest way to see it is on a scheduled tour. Obviously it wasn't as weather-beaten or dark as the original. The biggest surprise was the interior. I remember it being as dark as the outside. I imagine we saw it without the lights they have now, but the interior just looked much lighter than my memory.. And it is still an amazing church to see. It blends both pagan traditions with Christianity, hence the dragons on the roofline. There is a bit of an uphill walk to the church, but one man in a wheelchair made it with the help of the tour guide and some other passengers. Well done!

 

 

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Fantoft Stave Church-exterior

 

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Fantoft Stave Church-interior

 

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Fantoft Stave Church-interior. We think the window may have been used for confessions.

 

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Fantoft Stave Church-exterior with a clearer view of the roof.

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I'm betting that your memory is right, and the interior of the old church was darker. All those years of candles giving off smoke, and people breathing out moist exhalations would have seeped into the wood.

Where is the Hanseatic Museum located? In Bryggen, I expect? In all my trips to Bergen I have never been, and I would like to visit it sometime. But can't walk too far; I could maybe get to Bryggen and back.

If it's a long distance, I could take a taxi. :)

I am enjoying your pics. I rarely open pics in a thread, but I do want to see yours as I am so familiar with this area.

Thanks for the memories!

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I'm betting that your memory is right, and the interior of the old church was darker. All those years of candles giving off smoke, and people breathing out moist exhalations would have seeped into the wood.

Where is the Hanseatic Museum located? In Bryggen, I expect? In all my trips to Bergen I have never been, and I would like to visit it sometime. But can't walk too far; I could maybe get to Bryggen and back.

If it's a long distance, I could take a taxi. :)

I am enjoying your pics. I rarely open pics in a thread, but I do want to see yours as I am so familiar with this area.

Thanks for the memories!

 

RuthC...

 

I am not the OP , but we visited the Hanseatic Museum in July. It is located in Bryggen , on a corner , about a 15 minute from the ship.

 

It is an interesting stop... Gives a more in depth glimpse into the lives of members of the Hanseatic League. The rules , regulations , living conditions ... There is a short film , a beautiful collection of seals ( not the animals!) , living quarters ( the beds didn't look very comfortable!

 

We enjoyed our stop there.azaba3ed.jpg

 

The Hanseatic Sealsu5ydu9ys.jpg

 

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Decorative Detail

 

Sorry , no flash allowed - and iphone pics , so not too great! But it gives you an idea of the museum's content.

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