Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

as promised eurodam 22 nov - 7 dec notes

trub

By trub,
in Holland America Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

trub

trub

Posted
Posted

Pre night at westin fort lauerdale very comfy good crab cakes and beer

Pick up at 10:45 for the fairly short drive to the terminal, arrived at 11:30 and joined the short queue with boarding number of 10. After a short wait was called to the desk and had a small delay as the check in lady was new and not used to uk visitors, this was no problem to us at all and it still only took 10 minutes with the help of a more experienced check in person, and as we had to wait a small while, out boarding number of 10 was swapped for a 3 which meant we went straight onto the ship!!

 

 

We went to our room (8135) to drop off out hand luggage and it was only just turning noon, amazing! Then a quick look around the ship , we have been on the niew Amsterdam before , so was familiar with the layout, and the to the lido bar for a drink and burger. Back to our room and the luggage was there to unpack before the muster drill, which went pretty smoothly .

 

 

Slight delay in the sail away as there were 7 ships in port, but no problem as we had a bottle of fizz on the balcony.

 

 

Dining

MDR food good ,although choices seemed a bit limited than normal, however always found something!! service prompt and wine waiter on hand and knowledgeable, putting away any unfinished bottle for the next day.

Pinnacle Grill - wonderful service and one of the best steaks I have had (23oz porterhouse), DW had the filet and enjoyed it - they have lobster tail to add as a supplement and a presidents cut 36oz bone in rib-eye steak which can be shared , also for a supplement.

Tamarind - as wonderful as ever, DW had the new lobster dish and said it was excellent

De Librje - we had the pairing, very nice wines, and it was an enjoyable evening, although the portions were too large for an extended menu in our opinion, so desert was an effort!!

lido -for breakfast and lunch - large choice and the queues were never too large, we also enjoyed the burgers at the dive in.

 

 

entertainment

BB King - wonderful band and very popular , although always got a seat, generally 3 shows a night

adagio strings - 2 talented ladies played well

piano bar - player changed for the 2nd week and there were very few people in there for either week that I saw

shows were well attended , but cannot comment further as we did not go

casino - the busiest ever seen , sometimes no space at the tables (usual black jack, 3 card poker, let it ride, Caribbean poker, roulette and craps) and all slots full, quite smoky were smoking allowed but smoke free for 2 nights each week. dealers very friendly and efficient.

happy hour 4-5 crows nest/ocean bar - busy but served in a timely manner - oh those red stag derby's

internet - $55 for 100 minutes was enough for us and speed reasonable

 

 

 

There is a definite vibration felt throughout the ship (but not everywhere), we felt it a lot in the tamarind for example, it did not bother us too much tough, this is apparently going to be resolved with the dry dock.

 

 

the piano bar is going to be extended for duelling pianos eating into the casino, he manager not happy to lose 40 slots, the northern lights (always empty) is going and the casino bar will go there as the current one will be part of the new piano bar.

 

 

overall a wonderful cruise and met some great people , jan and scott from Sarasota and my craps buddy ralph from north Carolina to name a few and will be saving hard to book with HAL again

any questions please feel free to ask and thanks for reading

Link to comment
Share on other sites
InTheWASide

InTheWASide

Posted
Posted
Pinnacle Grill - wonderful service and one of the best steaks I have had (23oz porterhouse), DW had the filet and enjoyed it - they have lobster tail to add as a supplement and a presidents cut 36oz bone in rib-eye steak which can be shared , also for a supplement.

 

Just made a post. Found a pic of Micky Arison posing with this steak in March

Link to comment
Share on other sites
trub

trub

Posted
  • Author
Posted

hi Cat

 

Is a bottle of fizz - champagne?

 

YES it is

 

How did disembarkation go?

 

smoothly for us - we were grey2 due off between 715 and 730 and left at about 725, found our cases in the hall and waited in line - it was a fair wait - maybe 40 minutes, but we were in no rush

 

Was the Lido burger cooked to order?

 

yes it was - you place your order and they give you a pager - you cant move to far away ,but can sit at a table whilst waiting

 

I can not even wrap my head around a 36 oz. rib eye. Even if the bone was huge, that is one huge steak!

 

they said no-one had ordered it yet!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
trub

trub

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi susan,

 

we booked through HAL - the prices were pretty much the same - we flew BA but they also use Virgin if you prefer, flight home was not untill 9pm so we spent the day in a very wet Miami.

 

you can still check in online and choose seats as normal

Link to comment
Share on other sites
kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

Posted
Posted

Thanks so much for the review.

 

Loved how you covered a lot of things and sounds like service was good which is always a huge plus!

 

Really enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to share.

 

And of course, welcome home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
cat shepard

cat shepard

Posted
Posted

Thank you for answering all my questions.

 

As for that steak, I have now seen a picture of it, and it reminds me...

As a child, I watched a cartoon (The Flintstones) about the stone age, and in one of the scenes shown in the credits, the lead character was served an order of dinosaur ribs at a drive-in restaurant. His vehicle toppled to one side from the weight.

 

I have a vision of something similar happening to these ships, if all these steaks are stored on the same side of the ship. :D hopefully, the kitchen will distribute the weight appropriately!

 

Thank you again for your responses. I will be sure to use "fizz" the next time I serve champagne!;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
InTheWASide

InTheWASide

Posted
Posted
Thank you for answering all my questions.

 

As for that steak, I have now seen a picture of it, and it reminds me...

As a child, I watched a cartoon (The Flintstones) about the stone age, and in one of the scenes shown in the credits, the lead character was served an order of dinosaur ribs at a drive-in restaurant. His vehicle toppled to one side from the weight.

 

I have a vision of something similar happening to these ships, if all these steaks are stored on the same side of the ship. :D hopefully, the kitchen will distribute the weight appropriately!

 

Thank you again for your responses. I will be sure to use "fizz" the next time I serve champagne!;)

 

:D

 

I felt it was a hybrid of the brontosaurus ribs:

inspire-282.gif

 

 

and "lamb lollipops"

side-pom-lamb.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites
dancourt

dancourt

Posted
Posted
Hi susan,

 

we booked through HAL - the prices were pretty much the same - we flew BA but they also use Virgin if you prefer, flight home was not untill 9pm so we spent the day in a very wet Miami.

 

you can still check in online and choose seats as normal

 

Thank you trub that's very useful to know.

 

When it comes to booking the flights I am going to go through HAL.

 

Susan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...