ottahand7

We dined in Canalletto last night. Just like our first impressions it was not worth returning to. I had pre booked it before boarding to avoid the final dressy night. It was meh to not good. I had the meatballs and calorically was splurging on the shrimp and clam pasta. No photos of our mains as we were preoccupied by the gorgeous sunset. The sun was glinting off from the buildings of Fort Lauderdale. John had the Tretelle which he had previously and the shrimp starter. He asked our wonderful waiter for 4 shrimp, not three and he got just that. He enjoyed the meal but wasn't wowed by it. The meatballs lacked flavor and the pasta was was rather curly, not the spaghetti I am familiar with. It had a lot of ooze around the edges and the oil had separated, not really pretty. The seafood on top was perfect. The menu is missing the old favorites like seafood soup, veal Parm and carpaccio. I doubt I will ever book us in there again. The sunset photos have light reflection since taken through the windows.

Final Daily Activities.

@RSWBADGER Do you have any comments on noise etc. from the interior of your suite? It is all subjective.

@GTVCRUISER and @ger_77 thanks for the Margarita Day reminder. Lunch in the PG on the casino may call for a couple. Cheers!

We have one more port so I am going to try to get some final thoughts shared. This is about our aft Neptune Suite 4181. Space wise the cabin is very comfortable. Compared to side Neptune Suite there is less space at the end of the bed but more space on the closet side of the bed. The row of closets next to the bed gave us more than ample space for clothes, let alone the cupboard space under the coffee bar and desk. The coffee maker works but it is not that hot heat wise. We were in an aft Neptune on deck 7 our first leg and the layout of the balcony on the 7 aft was superior. It has space at the back for the dining table and also space for 4 of the padded chairs that can recline. In 4181 our table is on the side, which can mean more trouble avoiding the wind which we were plagued with almost our entire 50 days so far. We had adequate charging places in this large cabin with 2 USB ports next to the bed on one side only. The carpet is tired but no worn bare spots. Ditto for the fabric desk chair has pilling at the top. The couch, leather side chairs and the mini chair in the make up area are all fine. Maintenance wise there are some small areas in the bath that are water compromised that need sanding and painting. The bath tub has crazing and during the cruise one small chip flaked off so it has a small black spot. I would imagine it will will be patched on Saturday before new guests. Our room stewards Wayan and Ricky are excellent and very efficient. They tidy up in the evening and replace towels and ice. One of us likes ice and ice water so they fill both the little bucket and the wine chiller. They work extremely hard and we appreciate them. Noise level in the cabin may be bothersome for some. There is always the gentle rumbling of the engines. We actually slept really well and became used to it very quickly. There is noticable changes in engine speed as we near a port which is in the pre dawn hours. When the Azipods is engaged that sounds right below us but it did not interfere with sleep. Being on deck 4 even though we had our share of rough seas the rocking never was bad except a few nights. Overall no creaking on rough days it can sound like small friction sound. Another nice thing is being all the way aft there is little hall noise during any time of the day. Wifi has been overall excellent having a router in our cabin. Very few times with slow service. We were pleased with our cabin but preferring deck 7 because of the balcony.

Today's Daily Activities.

@StLouisCruisers thanks for the update on Annie and Chuck and the photos of Helsinki.

Prayers this morning for Vanessa. 🙏 Good morning from the Gulf of Mexico. Heading towards HMC. Thanks @kazu and @rafinmd for the Daily Reports and maps. @JazzyV thanks for keeping our cares and celebrations reports each day, especially after you have been suffering for so long. Prayers for everyone needing them and the people of Ukraine. We have a busy day today. Packing as much as we can, Mariners reception at 11, Pinnacle Grill lunch, small cocktail party in our cabin with new friends we met at the cooking class yesterday and Canalletto. Fun to have sea days go quickly. Have a lovely day! Nancy

Tonight's MDR dinner. I had meatballs and prime rib. First time the meat was basically uncuttable at the edges. Thank goodness it was rare. John had Caesar, out of anchovies, so he requested capers and they brought them as a topping for him. He had lasagna with extra sauce and Parm. My baked potato was actually pretty decent but never hot enough.

I have heard Valerie our cruise director tout spa specials during her daily briefing but I tune it out. I will try to find something out on our Eurodam FB page.

Good evening from the Gulf of Mexico. @JazzyV praying all goes great on your procedure tomorrow. @marshhawk I hope things will go well for Chuck. @seagarsmoker glad your new position is going well! @StLouisCruisers after replacing our double oven we know what you were going through, a major job. We had a great cooking class shore excursion today. There were only 6 of us from the Eurodam but 38 others from the Icon and a German group. The HIA beach resort was very nice and they had probably 20 two burner stations for us to spread out to cook. Caramelized plantains with fudge sauce, tilapia and veggies steamed in foil, shrimp in tomato sauce in sopapillas that we made from tortilla dough. It was a wonderful time. The cocktails started flowing at 10am. I paced myself well.

Last night's MDR dinner. Pork belly, Parmesan Crusted Veal and Catfish Escabeche. Our waiters take such good care of us. I got an extra pitcher of mushroom gravy and extra Parmesan.

Our shore excursion was wonderful. We went to an all inclusive beach park to take a hands on cooking class. Caramelized plantains with chocolate sauce. Tilapia and vegetables in a foil packet. Shrimp in tomato sauce sopapillas. If you like to cook this is terrific shore excursion. Then we had time for the pool or ocean and included cocktails. It looks like a crowd but there was a two burner station with so each couple cooked everything they would eat later. There was 6 from the Eurodam and others from the Icon and a German speaking group.

Sail in this morning. Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity in Puerto Maya.

Very late today we had an early shore excursion in Cozumel. Today's Daily Activities with the back page.

Good morning from Cozumel. We have a shore excursion so will leave shortly. The Icon blocked out sunrise. Have a lovely day!

We are sitting here in our Anchorage and we have been hearing bagpipes for 20 minutes. We can't tell if it coming from the Seaview pool or the Princess ship.

@grapau27 sympathy to you and Pauline in remembrance of her dear father. Thank you for sharing the lovely photo. @Sharon in AZ I am sorry to read your DH caught Covid. Even though my self test was negative they insisted on their PCR test. I wanted a flu test. Next cruise we will travel with both a flu and COVID test. @StLouisCruisers the submarine we saw had a black hull. No photos from the old days.

Sandi, thanks for the photos of Lahaina. I was there twice in 1986 and 1990 for company national meetings. So many happy memories of the small town. I went on a company sponsored deep sea fishing. I was the only one caught a fish, a Wahoo. I remember a small submarine was in the harbor. Such a beautiful place! 🏝️

Today's Daily Activities.

We had our final dinner in the PG last night. It was lovely and the service from Troy and Josephine our wine steward was spot on. We had lobster bisque and John had lamb chops. I had a pork chop that was massive and cooked perfectly. No desserts after.

Sunrise as we weave our way into our Belize anchorage. We are heading ashore after the excursion people leave for an over water lunch.

More on the bar closures in Grand Cayman. After we had gone ashore authorities came aboard and told our Captain that we cannot have any more than one bar open. This is the first time it has happened on a HA ship. I asked my friend where he enjoyed his happy hour and he said he remained in his cabin. He said the Lido pool was an absolute zoo with extra passengers and crew who needed to try to meet the passenger's needs. We had a Mariner Regional Wines event yesterday at 1:45 and unlike most it was elbow to elbow. Our cellar master Rodel did an excellent tasting event where we were not given the wine name or varietal, just distinguishing features and country. Much more interesting. For those boarding the Eurodam Rodel, and his assistants Charm (Tamarind) and Josephine ( PG) are very approachable and wonderful to talk with before or during a meal.

Bon voyage @USN59-79. Doubly so. CC acting up. Thanks for the Daily and Fleet reports and the maps. We are weaving our way into our anchorage in Belize. Rather cool this morning. We are here with a Princess ship. Thanks for our Cares and Celebrations list Vanessa. Prayers for everyone in our group that are going through trials and illnesses. Prayers for the people of Ukraine. We are heading ashore after the crush clears and have lunch at an over water restaurant. Our dinner last night in the Pinnacle Grill was lovely. I had been afraid to order pork chops because of the petrified ones I had to return on the Volendam. This chef pleasantly knows how to cook meat to the correct temperature. This time it was one pork chop almost like a mini tomahawk. It was perfect and John enjoyed his lamb chops. Never room for dessert. Have a lovely day! Nancy

Bon voyage @USN59-79! 🛳️🍾