'Twas the Week Before Christmas - Live from the Eurodam

[POA1]

Third courses:

 

Seared Bass with Speck Ham

 

Sweet Breads on a Red Beet, Raisin, Pistachio & Apple Risotto.

We preferred the bass.

 

Fourth course:

 

Baked Cod with North Sea Shrimps

 

Miso Glazed Duck Breast

The duck breast was a perfect medium rare, but we gave the nod to the cod.

 

Pre-Dessert:

 

Three kinds of hand made chocolates. The other stuff is the coffee set up.

[POA1]

Dessert course:

 

Deconstructed Apple Pie

 

Roasted White Chocolate with Lemon Grass, Blueberry and Chervil.

 

Upon returning to the room, we found "chocolate kisses" waiting for us. The lips are pink white chocolate. The centers are milk chocolate with crisps. (Think Nestlé Crunch.)

 

 

[sppunk]

Thanks for the Wang Wang love. ;)

[POA1]

B. B. King has been our favorite show for a few years. The B. B. King All Stars on the Eurodam were no exception. The female vocalist was from Jackson, Mississippi. The male vocalist hailed from Nashville, as did most of the band. The trumpeter and sax player were among the strongest we've seen. The male vocalist was extremely charismatic. His performance was reminiscent of Tom Jones or Englebert Humperdinck from the early 70s. All in all, we really enjoyed the shows. My cold cut into my dancing time toward the end of the cruise, but there was some dancing. Those who know me are well aware that this is a pretty rare sight. (Except when I am entered in my many international break dancing competitions under the moniker "Poppin' POA1.")

 

 

 

Henry, our awesome bartender from B. B. King

 

Light Up Shorts Guy

 

Why does this keep happening? I guess it's a signal that our cruise is coming to an end.

I wish I knew who was polishing off all the Maker's Mark.

[POA1]

Here's the wine list from the MDR. Inside you'll find the current wine package selection as well as the wines by the glass.

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/90a1bf7d-fabb-4940-914e-186a461f1911/c3d0e2692e99f533345b041c1d7c9089

[POA1]

Thanks for the Wang Wang love. ;)

Everything we do, we do for you. ;) I think that the Wang Wang is worth it for the labor cost alone. My drink is just ice and whiskey. The only way I could make it easier would be to drink bourbon neat.

[qsuzi]

Now that your cruise is over, will you please share with us your overall thoughts about the Eurodam. We will cruising on her late May 2017.

Edited December 25, 2016 by qsuzi

[ski ww]

Thank you for all that info. We'll be checking out some of venues that you pictured & wrote about.

Allan

[POA1]

Now that your cruise is over, will you please share with us your overall thoughts about the Eurodam. We will cruising on her late May 2017.

Sure. I have a bunch of photos to post, plus more sparkling commentary. Short version: We really liked the ship. The decor is pleasing and we really like the redesigned rooms, particularly the bathrooms. The staff was great as always.

[POA1]

Here is the Day 2 menu set from Set A. The Gala menus are in MS Publisher and are a non-standard paper size of 12"w x 6"h. Good thing that the Institute of Cheer has software licenses galore and a working knowledge of how to handle non-standard paper sizes, like the oddball panorama paer they use on formal nights. Oops. "Gala Evenings."

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFiAS9Vdd8VBzrfCrz3entM46gk7odPT3eg/

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for posting pictures of all the various courses for De Librije.

[NRFBQN]

Many thanks for your very thorough and equally entertaining "Live from." I've enjoyed every entry and it's been great reliving our Eurodam cruise from a few weeks ago. I hope your cold is getting better. I came down with one on the Saturday turnaround day, seven days into our 14-day cruise. If there were no cough drops left on the ship, you can blame me.

 

I'm especially appreciative of your coverage of De Librije. We enjoyed it very much on the ship and DH has been trying to recreate the Gin and Jonnie ever since!

[POA1]

As I mentioned earlier, this cruise was unlike any of our previous Holland America cruises. This is the first time we've been on a cruise while school was on break. That made for a whole lot more kids, teens, and families than usual. Here are a couple of shots of pictures in the photo gallery. Note all the large family groups.

 

 

 

It made for an interesting situation on Gala Nights. The women, particularly the young ones, were very well dressed. As I mentioned, there were more long gowns than we've seen in years. Guys weren't nearly as dressed up. However, considering the new dress code and the passenger age mix, "gala compliance" was pretty high. There were definitely some people who either didn't read the "Know Before You Go" or who don't own any long pants. They were a minority though. All in all, the women were dressier than the men; profoundly so. It's been two years since our last cruise. That could account for the change.

 

There were more tuxedos on the first gala night than the second. The upper dining room (fixed seating) was dressier than the lower dining room (open seating.) That's been our experience for years though.

 

One word of advice: If you are a large group, it's best to opt for fixed seating. It only takes a few groups of 10 waiting for a table in open seating to throw a monkey wrench into the works. We prefer fixed seating - late. As Huskerchick said when we were at Lincoln Center Stage on the second (lobster) formal night, and surrounded by people waiting for open seating tables, "You couldn't pay me enough to do open seating."

 

By the way, I think I figured out what was causing all the Maker's Mark bottles to empty.

Edited December 26, 2016 by POA1

[cruisingxpert]

Pleas don't wait another 2 years to take a cruise. I bet the folks here on Cruise Critic could do a "crowd funding website" to raise money to send you another "research cruise":) to keep us entertained.

 

Merry Christmas

[POA1]

In an effort to be as pathetic as possible, I took some time out of our vacation to take pictures of the television screen. Actually, DW was showering and I had time to to kill. It's still kind of sad that I could not find something better to do.

 

Before our trip, I read a lot about the new interactive TVs in the Eurodam. I figured that if I was interested in finding out more about them, other people might be too. (If not, skip this post.)

 

The new television sets look to be at least 46" units. (I didn't measure the TV, so I'm not totally pathetic. :) ) Most are mounted over the sofa. You can either use the chairs in your room or lean against pillows on the bed for support.

 

The main screen you'll see the splash screen, which on the Eurodam is a little video that starts with the "single orange button" shirt collar. You'll see the one orange button on most staff shirts. The right collar button is orange and oversized. The left button is missing. There's just a button hole. It's one of those designer touches that make the average person say, "Seriously? People get paid to come up with this? What were those meetings like? Can I get some of those drugs?"

 

 

From the home screen, you can access Movies on Demand, Live TV, TV On Demand, Radio, Dining, Ashore, and Info.

 

 

Our selection of movies had quite a few holiday selections. If you are used to the theater movies being rebroadcast on the room televisions, they're not with the On Demand films for the most part.

 

 

Live TV has 4 news channels: CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, and BBC. That should allow you to find news that won't raise your blood pressure to dangerous levels, regardless of your political leanings. You'll also find ESPN and ESPN2.

 

 

When you pick a channel, it will buffer for a second or two and then begin playing. You're watching a stream and not a channel feed.

 

 

The bow cam and stern cam can be found under Live TV.

Edited December 26, 2016 by POA1

[POA1]

The Radio channels offer several music genres.

 

 

Select a music channel to listen.

 

 

Under dining, you'll find video introductions to each of the restaurants and the day's menus. Previously, the only way to see the day's menus was to go to the restaurant or to book a Neptune Suite where you'd receive menu copies each day.

 

 

 

 

You can't make a reservation using your TV, so it's not full loop interactive.

[MisterBill99]

You couldn't pay me enough to do open seating."

Is that generally true for parties of 2 as well? My wife generally prefers early seating, but 5:30 is too early, even for her. 8:00 is typically too late, especially with Caribbean cruises with early departure ports. When we're on Royal or Celebrity where we can go to the Diamond/Elite lounge, it's not a big deal waiting around for late seating since we have something to do beforehand (and have some decent snacks and drinks). I do recall that the only time we were on HAL in Alaska with our 2 kids, we had anytime dining but ended up making reservations for the same table every night because we discovered that "anytime" wasn't as flexible as we had hoped. And of course if you eat at a time other than early or late, you end up not being in sync with show times. So I'll have to see what we should do.

[POA1]

The Ashore screens provide information on shore excursions, safety and shopping.

 

 

The Info screens provide location and weather information.

 

 

These screens didn't photograph well. They look much better in person.

 

 

 

Settings are accessed by selecting the gear icon. You can choose your language, change the font size, or access the parental control menu.

 

 

I'm not sure what the parental controls actually do. They didn't seem to have any effect on my wife's dad.

[POA1]

Is that generally true for parties of 2 as well? My wife generally prefers early seating, but 5:30 is too early, even for her. 8:00 is typically too late, especially with Caribbean cruises with early departure ports.

 

You'll have better luck if you don't mind sharing a table. If you want a two top, a lot will depend on how many other couples want a table for two at the same time, or slightly earlier than you. It's really a supply and demand problem. If you think of 7:00 as the pivot point, or point of peak demand, the further you are from the pivot point, the better your odds of getting seated right away.

 

We like to know exactly what time we're eating, which table we'll be at, and who are servers will be. We also like to limit our table to our own party. Just us and our travel companions. It's not that we don't like to meet new people, it's just that we like to have dinner with our own group. We're fine meeting people in the lounges, in the cabanas, by the pool, or around the ship. Heck, I'll even meet people in the elevators. Just not at dinner. (Or in the public restrooms. That creeps me out.)

[MisterBill99]

We like to know exactly what time we're eating, which table we'll be at, and who are servers will be. We also like to limit our table to our own party. Just us and our travel companions. It's not that we don't like to meet new people, it's just that we like to have dinner with our own group. We're fine meeting people in the lounges, in the cabanas, by the pool, or around the ship. Heck, I'll even meet people in the elevators. Just not at dinner. (Or in the public restrooms. That creeps me out.)

When we traveled with our kids, then didn't like eating with other people. They thought I would embarrass them with stuff I said. So getting a table for 4 by ourselves was problematic with flexible dining. With just me and my wife traveling, we're OK sharing a table with other people (so long as they talk to us since being ignored isn't fun). I'm not going to see these people after the cruise (maybe even after the meal) so I don't care what they think of me :).

 

That said, there is something to be said for having the same service team every night, so they know to put iced tea on the table before you get there. But having been on Anthem OTS this year for 21 days with dynamic dining, and rarely seeing the same server twice (except for the rare case where I remembered the name and asked for them on a return visit), I can go either way. The best solution for me is to be able to make a reservation for the same table (or at least server) every night, at a time of my liking. I can try to do that right after the first dinner if we like the server. I'm not sure if they'll be able to guarantee the same table/server each night but will say that they'll try.

Edited December 26, 2016 by MisterBill99

[POA1]

The best solution for me is to be able to make a reservation for the same table (or at least server) every night, at a time of my liking. I can try to do that right after the first dinner if we like the server. I'm not sure if they'll be able to guarantee the same table/server each night but will say that they'll try.

 

In our one and only experience with HAL open seating, we really liked our waiter on night #1. We asked to be seated in his section each night that we ate in the MDR. We weren't in the exact same table every night, but they managed to get us into his section all the time. We were on the cruise with another CC member, who, much like your wife, found 5:30 to be too early and 8:00 to be too late. We settled on 6:15/6:30 and were able to make an advance reservation for that time. Normally though, if it's just us, we choose late fixed.

 

As I said, this was a unique cruise. You normally won't find as many large groups.

[POA1]

A word about bread - Since our last cruise in 2014, Holland America really seems to have stepped up its bread game. The selection of breads, the quality, and the taste have improved dramatically. The bread wasn't bad before, but it's excellent now.

 

DW also stumbled across the Ensaïmada (spelled Ensay Mada on the sign using the Filipino spelling.) Originally from Mallorca, Spain, it's a pastry like bread made from flour, eggs, water, sugar, butter and starter dough. It's popular in the Philippines and would have been extremely popular on my plate. Luckily for me, we didn't find it until the last morning of the trip.

 

If you are a bread fan, make a lap around the Lido and see what's available.

[kazu]

Fabulous pictures POA1 and a fabulous thread.

 

Your De Librije dinner looks scrumptious :)

[POA1]

Fabulous pictures POA1 and a fabulous thread.

 

Your De Librije dinner looks scrumptious :)

Thanks. Hopefully we took enough pictures so that it's helpful for people trying to make a decision as to whether whether or not it's a worthwhile investment of $69. My understanding is that you can get the meal without wine for $20 less. I will say that you get a generous amount of wine for the price though.

[POA1]

Day 3 - Set A - Consolidated 7 Day Caribbean Menus

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFgo_96dW9JHdaUXx8Tb6YMWnv4_AqY2tf0/

 

Don't worry if you don't get all of these as I post them. I'll put up a consolidated post with all the links when I'm done/