Two Midwesterners escape winter on the Eurodam.

[ottahand7]

Today's sea day MDR lunch menu. 

[ottahand7]

Last night's dressy dinner.  The menu was the 150th anniversary menu. Potato dumpling soup, flounder, tenderloin with shrimp and lemon cheesecake torte. All were excellent. 

[ottahand7]

@canadarocks I was going to search today's lunch menu, it is brunch today. Same menu I posted several days ago.  I am fairly sure the lunch menu will be a repeat.  

[ottahand7]

The rest of the Daily. 

[ottahand7]

Yesterday the weather was windy and rainy.  With a full ship and the Seaview pool basically unusable every public area was packed.  For our meet and greet we had to be shoehorned into a small space on the port side of Explorers Lounge.  HA provided coffee and it was near impossible to get any beverage at the bar there.  Multiple coffee orders bogged down the service.  As far as we have observed other than dining areas this is the only area to purchase specialty coffees.  A long walk for us at the aft of the ship.  We are fortunate to have the Neptune for our coffees but the machine is broken down a lot because people will put their travel mugs under the spout and run 4 drinks in a row into them.  We talked to the repair man in from the port and he said that doesn't allow the machine a chance to cool and it caused malfunction.  

Here we are leaving Fort Lauderdale on Saturday waving from our cabin.  Facebook photos were taken by Bill Raffel as the ship leaves the port.  He shares them on one of the HA Facebook pages. 

[wdw1972]

I believe the Pinnacle Bar is open for specialty coffees each morning - that's much closer to your stateroom. If I remember correctly, they may not open until 7am, while up on deck 12 Explorations Cafe opened earlier.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[ottahand7]

Thanks @wdw1972.  Much closer for us and they make a good one.  I had a decaf cappuccino this morning in the Pinnacle Grill for breakfast.  Our shorex was cancelled and I ate my first breakfast of the cruise. 

[ottahand7]

Good morning from windy Phillipsburg.  We were warned that we may not be able to port by the captain last night.  We made it into port but our chef's table excursion was cancelled due to having to ride a chair lift up the mountain.   We will walk to the port area to seek out some salty snacks.  HA potato chips are a little sad, better in room service than the Lido. 

Today's Daily Activities and upcoming events invite from the casino.  We are not big gamblers.  Our first 10 day cruise I was $200 ahead.  Last one about - $50.  There is a Players Club group on onboard.

[ottahand7]

Food porn from last night in the MDR last night. Two absolute favorites so I had chilli rellenos as a starter and pork belly for the main. John had the bean and pasta soup and lasagna with requested meatballs.  Our waiter Allan takes great care of us. 

[Duane S.]

Is the cig smoke bad in the casino ? We are cruising on the Eurodam in November 24

 

[ottahand7]

No smoking in Eurodam casino. 😄 The only place where it is noticable is the Seaview bar and waiting at NY Pizza.   Today's 15+ mph winds there probably would be no smell there either.  

The ship is shuddering from the waves smashing into the port side. 

[Duane S.]

thanks ottahand7, that is great news I feel much better about the music venues now!!

 

[ottahand7]

Varying weather today.  We had hoped for lunch at Big Bastaards after our shorex was cancelled but it is basically open air on the beach.  Probably lunch with a lot of sand added.  I think we are passing. Big Bastaards photo is a Facebook shared photo.  I have read their food is really good.  

[mightycruisequeen]

On 2/5/2024 at 5:56 AM, ottahand7 said:

The rest of the Daily. 

We just got off Saturday.  I'm missing game night.  😕  

[bandect]

We are having a great lunch at Holland House with an incredible Pouilly Fumé! 
love St Maarten! 

[KenveeB]

We recently finished the 1/24 10-day on Eurodam and overall enjoyed it very much. We definitely noticed that it was hard to flag down a server for a drink in many bars and in Lido. I was very much underwhelmed by the service in MDR. We were seated quickly enough but then would sit at our table for up to 15 minutes before anyone even spoke to us! My husband had to wait half an hour plus two reminders to get an iced tea! We both made minor customization requests a few times (sauce on the side, leave off one thing) that were completely ignored. 

[ottahand7]

13 hours ago, KenveeB said:

We recently finished the 1/24 10-day on Eurodam and overall enjoyed it very much. We definitely noticed that it was hard to flag down a server for a drink in many bars and in Lido. I was very much underwhelmed by the service in MDR. We were seated quickly enough but then would sit at our table for up to 15 minutes before anyone even spoke to us! My husband had to wait half an hour plus two reminders to get an iced tea! We both made minor customization requests a few times (sauce on the side, leave off one thing) that were completely ignored. 

Thanks for your comments. We dine at 5, not for everyone and that is how our service is fast and complete.  We are 4 star and in a Neptune so we requested an assigned table for 5 o'clock. We walk in right to our table at opening.  We have requested going forward on our reservations early dining table for 2.  As the ships continue to sail at capacity eating very early or late is going to be the way to go for speedy are attentive service.  Last evening it seemed that everyone came early and our waiter was extremely busy but his assistant took care of our needs. 

 

Last night's chefs dinner items we ordered. Sushi, crab cake, tempura udon and prime rib. Prime rib wasn't the beautiful cut I had the last time and I thought the mushroom topping added nothing.  John liked his udon but wished for more traditional sized udon noodles. 

[ottahand7]

Today's Daily Activities and our planned stop for today, a large grocery store 1.5 miles from the port.  A beautiful day with a light breeze, such a nice change from the high winds of yesterday.  

Pinnacle bar is now open at 4. I may have missed this change but all last cruise is was 5.  It was a busy spot yesterday. 

[ottahand7]

Arriving this morning.  Antigua, St. John's plus the shopping map. 

[ottahand7]

Lots to find on this main street near the port in Antigua.  No need to go to the distant grocery. 

[kb4683]

1 hour ago, ottahand7 said:

Lots to find on this main street near the port in Antigua.  No need to go to the distant grocery. 

 

 

Thanks, good to know...we will be there six weeks from today.  Signed up for the helicopter to Montserrat 2 hour tour that leaves at 8:30 so will have plenty of time after that to round up some snacks, etc.

[ottahand7]

7 hours ago, kb4683 said:

 

Thanks, good to know...we will be there six weeks from today.  Signed up for the helicopter to Montserrat 2 hour tour that leaves at 8:30 so will have plenty of time after that to round up some snacks, etc.

That sounds like a wonderful tour! 

[ottahand7]

Last night there was an issue in the ventilation system in the galley.  Right after we were seated we smelled burning fish.   We were both sitting there as usual freezing as it always is in the MDR but the AC stopped because I think it was pulling in the smoke to the dining room.  There was a smoky haze visible in the entry.  A short period of varied smells then the frigid AC kicked on again.  Our assistant waiter confided in us that the vents quit working and it was chaotic in the kitchen.  Nonetheless they pulled off early dinner service admirably.   

I had cod fritters, first time for this sailing they were a little doughy and joined together and CO pork tenderloin finished with sugar free almond fruit cake.  It was rather dry because there was no fruit added just a tablespoon of fruit on the side.  Completely different preparation from my favorite cake on the Volendam.  

John had a cheese plate, NY Strip loin with hot fries and finished with chocolate torte.  Overall a good dinner without knowing the hassles in the kitchen. I would not order the tenderloin in the future.  Tamarind for dinner tonight. 

[ottahand7]

We are in Roseau, Dominica today.  I don't know what we will do today, but it is a good feeling to have nothing to do. Last March we did a wonderful 7 hour bus tour of the beautiful island. Maybe enjoy the balcony watching the ship traffic.  It is cloudy right now.  Hopefully the sun will come out.

[Real NHDOC]

One of the treats being aboard Eurodam this year has been the appearance of the roast turkey dinner on night 5 of each cruise. Sometimes HAL doesn’t do that dinner except for on holidays but on these itineraries they have been serving them on each loop. One of their best dinners and “hidden” on the menu just like every other offering. Last night did not disappoint. Unless you hate turkey it’s a winner, winner turkey dinner!