Here I am, day 6 of the cruise onboard the ms Eurodam and today we’re at sea en route to the company’s private island called Half Moon Cay which is located in the Bahamas. I’ve been there several times before, as you would have guessed, and it’s probably the nicest spot you can visit during a cruise. More on that tomorrow, I have day 5 to recap!
Many relationships are born or rekindled on a ship. Whether it be a new found romance, a celebration of a lifetime together, a family reunion or quickie in a quiet corner of the ship where you “think” nobody is watching.
I’ve been cultivating two relationships during this voyage, neither one of them however is going as as expected. The first is with the shower head.
Yesterday I briefly told you about the frustration I’m having battling a shower with a water-saving low-flow head. Our relationship was taken to a new level yesterday afternoon when I attempted to shower off all the suntan oil I’ve been slathering on myself for the sake of my dermatologist.
With each pump of the shower gel dispenser and each lathering up, I tried furiously to wash away the soap-oil-sweat-filth combo that was clinging to me like smoke in a cigar bar. I tried the three different settings on the shower head, none of which would do much to rinse me off. So I figured I would just stand there, waste as much water as possible in a protest that didn’t do much for the environment or my mood as the gunk wasn’t going anywhere.
The second relationship is one of equal frustration. The Internet. No matter how hard I try, I just cannot adjust to not having my iPhone ding when there’s a new email, bong when I receive a text and ping when someone from adult chat world needs a word of encouragement. This time around, the ship doesn’t offer an unlimited Internet package, so I’m buying my way through cyberspace in blocks of minutes, which really limits the dings, bongs and pings I get throughout the day.
On other ships I’ve had great Internet service that rivaled that of land based service. However on the Eurodam, the Internet seems to enjoy pushing out the same perverted torture as the previously mentioned shower head. I’m beginning to think everything around here suffers from low-flow syndrome except the liquor.
Like all bad relationships, breakups come quickly and I’m ready to dump the two I’ve been courting all week and I don’t think I’ll do it with flowers or a note.
We spent the day in St. Thomas, one of the islands that encourages people to spend money on t-shirts they will never wear, jewelry they overpaid for and can’t even get rid of on ebay, glass bottom “booze cruise” boat tours, and more junk that helps stimulate the local economy.
God bless America!
With all the cruisers eager to get their fill of trinkets, the ship was empty as I spent the afternoon with the previously mentioned “Bucket of Beer” and a few glasses of champagne that had me gleefully tripping back to my suite prior to sail-away.
Lunch yesterday featured the cuisine of Indonesia. This is perhaps why so many people left the ship in droves. After seeing the menu, my stomach told me that norovirus may be better than the resulting consequences of an Indonesian lunch. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s very good. But the words chicken, lamb and beef followed by four to eight other words that are unpronouncable and preceeded by the word “spicy” makes me think four to six hours ahead of time and what it’s going to be like when it’s time to… Well, let’s just say I forgot the Preparation H and didn’t want to do anything funky with ice cubes.
I took the safe route and had pizza for lunch. Papa Francesco is not manning the pizza making station on this boat. So future cruisers, opt for the hot dog over the pizza.
Speaking of Papa Francesco, in case you haven’t heard, the Catholics have a new Pope. Would someone tell the media to move on to something more important? With six channels of television to choose from, I’d like something other than the “all pope, all the time” news channel.
The ship is still operating under “Code Red” due to the outbreak of norovirus on board. Norovirus is a GI bug that causes you to expel whatever is in your body from both openings, many times simultaneously. We’re told that there was a large outbreak on Grand Turk and it happened to be brought on board by those who visited the island and decided to share it with others on the ship.
There is no shortage of people scrubbing, spraying and disinfecting every surface that can be touched and crewmembers are stationed around the ship squirting globs of disease killing disinfectant in your hands at every turn. I had a conversation with my server at dinner last evening and she explained how exhausting “Code Red” is because they are required to take apart just about everything on the ship, whether touched or not, and give it a top to bottom cleaning including the undersides of tables, chairs, wine bottles, everything and anything.
We departed St. Thomas around 5pm and I took in the sail away from my balcony where I noshed on my evening canapes and some shrimp as I gazed out over the ocean taking in the magnificent sunset as we began our trek out to sea enroute to Half Moon Cay.
Dinner was in the Pinnacle Grill, where for one night it gets turned into an at-sea version of the famed New York City restaurtant, Le Cirque. I started off the meal with a poached lobster tail over bibb lettuce with grapefruit, tomatoes and a non-descript dressing that came with a long winded description that made it sound much better than it really was. Next up was a cold yogurt soup with shrimp and other drizzlings that just wasn’t my cup of tea.
For the main course, I settled for the chateaubriand carved tableside. It was a perfect medium rare, with just the right amount of seasoning and a hearty au jus accompanied by pickled somethings which I politely moved to the side. The highlight of the meal was the dessert, a napoleon with a raspberry sorbet.
I did notice that the “Evening at Le Cirque” was not promoted or hyped up as much as it was in the past on the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. Perhaps it’s time in the spotlight is waning, but overall the meal was on par with what is normally served in the Pinnacle Grill.
After a couple Gibsons (with exactly three onions), a double Disaronno, and a check of my watch, it was approaching 9:30pm and my energy level from my extremely busy day was beginning to fade. I decided to skip the evening entertainment which consisted of a comedian and his “wonder dog.” Animal lover than I am, I decided that good pets shouldn’t be subjected to bad jokes and I opted for a swirl around the Promenade Deck a couple of times to work off the Napoleon was a wiser choice.
I went back to my suite, sat out on the balcony for a few moments until the ungrateful soul in the cabin next to me decided that it was time for him to light up a cigarette and blow smoke into my direction. Since smoking is banned on balconies, I thought a quick call to the front desk might fix his ass, but after the accidental 911 call I made on Tuesday while attempting to get my voicemail, I decided a late night visit by the emergency squad wouldn’t be a good idea. (Tip: If you can’t read what the button says on the phone, don’t press it, let it ring then hang up. Not a good idea, and the people that show up at your cabin door aren’t there to deliver a bowl of soup.)
Instead, I went back inside, turned out the lights, and hoped that his shower had the lower-than-low-flow showerhead model.
Till tomorrow, be wise and sanitize!
Personal Day-By-Day Eurodam Cruise Review:
Photo Tour of the Eurodam:
Preserving memories through photography is an essential part of any vacation, and this cruise was no exception. I captured a plethora of images showcasing various aspects of the ship, such as its interior design, outdoor pool areas, and my own stateroom. These photos can be viewed in the Eurodam Photo Tour and in the daily review of the cruise, which can be accessed through the links provided above.