On Friday, March 1st, Marty and I drove from our home in Jacksonville about 6 hours to Ft Lauderdale and spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn. We got in around 7 p.m. and had a great night’s rest before our 7 day cruise.
We jumped on the hotel shuttle to the cruise port around 9 a.m., arrived at the Pier at 9:20. We didn’t have to wait at all as we walked right up to the check-in desk. Depending on when you arrive at the pier, you can wait for a bit, but we hit the timing just right.
We were given a card with the number 6 signifying we were in the 6th group to board. It seems like each group only had about 10 people each because it wasn’t even 5 minutes before they called our group.
We walked right on board; security scanned our room keys and boom, on the Eurodam.
We made our way to our inside cabin (6155). This is a Category “K” on the Upper Verandah deck. The last time we were on the Eurodam during Thanksgiving 2011, we were in an inside Category “N” cabin, and that was a bit small. Back in October of 2010, we had a Category “J” inside cabin on the main deck which boasts a whopping 200 square feet. This was perfect because our daughter Brittany was travelling with us.
I want to commend Holland America Line for coming up with a way to have the cabins ready when you board. I know on other cruise lines, you aren’t able to enter your cabin until 1:00 p.m. Getting to your cabin early means you can drop off your carry-ons and head to lunch!
Being a 3-star Mariner on Holland America Line means we were invited to attend the Mariners Luncheon in the Rembrandt Dining Room. I had an incredible Reuben sandwich with Cream of Broccoli soup. Marty had the Bacon and Avocado burger. We both enjoyed not only the food, but the incredible service of the dining room staff.
After lunch, we walked through the Lido deck to the pool amid ships where we saw JT Watters. JT was our cruise director during our November 2011 Thanksgiving Eurodam cruise. It was great seeing JT again. JT is an incredible cruise director because he connects with the guests, is accessible and is passionate about giving everyone a great vacation experience.
After catching up with JT, I walked over and met DJ Seth. Seth is 21 years young and has been on the Eurodam about 10 weeks. He is excited to be on Holland America Line and mentioned he wanted to talk again later in the day.
Marty and I enjoyed dinner in the Tamarind Pan Asian restaurant at 7:30 p.m. Marty and I have enjoyed the Tamarind twice in the past. The service is top notch starting from when you enter the restaurant. The manager and the staff bow to you when you enter. How cool is that? If you enjoy Pan Asian, you have got to try the Tamarind.
A new addition to the Entertainment on the Eurodam is The BB King Blues Club. I walked to the Queens Lounge about 8:30 p.m. and the place was packed. I will be talking to members of the band later in the cruise, but for now let me say the house was rockin! Guests were on their feet dancing like nobody’s business to the great tunes of the past!
I also stopped by the Mainstage Theater and saw DJ Seth kicking off “ShowTime”. This is the event where the guests see all the entertainers on stage as an introduction to the cruise. Seth did an incredible job of getting the guests out of their chairs and singing along with him including to the classic favorite, “YMCA”. As I looked over my left shoulder from my front row seat, everyone in the theater was on their feet doing the arm motions to the song!
Cruise Director JT then came out and did some introductions of the other entertainers on the ship.
Later on during the evening I stopped by the Northern Lights Disco and caught up with Cruise Director JT and DJ Seth and spent some time sharing stories from my previous Holland America Line cruises.
I want to thank Holland America Line for modifying the smoking policy in the casino. In the past, you would have to walk through a wall of smoke in the casino as you make your way to the popular Piano Bar. I was happy to learn that the revised smoking policy prohibits smoking in the area of the casino near the Piano Bar. Smoking is still permitted in the casino, but in a limited area away from the Piano Bar. This is a refreshing change that we non-smokers deeply appreciate.
Stay tuned this week for my daily updates from the MS Eurodam. You can follow me on Twitter @scottlara1961 and follow me with hashtag #scotthal.
Thanks for all the retweets!
