Time sure flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t it? It’s hard to believe that it’s time to pack up and leave the beautiful ms Eurodam after a week. I have to figure out what it is exactly that makes a vacation week go by so quick and a work week linger on for eternity.
Anyway, today is Friday and after a day at sea we are anchored off of Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. I’m pretty sure I’m one of about a dozen or so people who have stayed on board rather than hit the beaches on Holland America Line’s private island.
Yesterday was one of those days where you just laid around, soaked up the sun and enjoyed doing nothing. The sun was hot, there was a slight breeze and the ocean was flat calm – a welcome departure from the wind and swells we experienced for most of the cruise. Later in the afternoon, after we continued northwest, we began to hit some wind and the swells returned. Dinner time saw winds approaching 60 mph and all outside decks were closed due to the rolling of the ship, the wind and the sea spray that was making its way up to my own balcony which is on deck 7.
As I sit here in Half Moon Cay, there’s a pretty strong breeze and the temperature has dropped into the low 70’s, but it’s glorious none the less.
Lunchtime saw the return of the Indonesian themed menu. No poo-pu this, or tu-yam-sup for me. Like any good American on board, I supported my homeland and ordered a hot dog. I would have ordered a hamburger, but I had on embarkation day. You don’t have to tell me about what exactly goes into a hot dog, I’ve seen the video. Bernie, my cabana butler, just informed me that today’s lunch menu features food from the Philippines and he’s going to pick me out his favorites.
This should be interesting.
Thursday was the second formal night of the cruise and another reason for me to say this age-old tradition should be banished. Looking around at other passengers, they feel the same way. I suspect the only ones who don the tux and cocktail dress are those who go out to dinner once a year, on New Year’s Eve, and order the lobster. I threw on a sport coat, like I did every other night, and headed up to Deck 11 for dinner in Tamarind, the ship’s pan-Asian restaurant.
I’ve mentioned before that the Eurodam has a noticeable and pronounced vibration that wasn’t felt the last time I sailed on her. Whether at sea or docked in port, the vibration is there – throughout the ship. At dinner I had my own form of entertainment provided to me by the items on the table. I had a flower arrangement who’s water did a dance, flatware that provided a “tinkle” for the water to keep time to and china that provided a “clunk” as the backbeat for the vibration powered orchestra. I joked with my server about the vibration and she said, “you like magic fingers on bottom?” I replied with, “I’ll try the fish tonight.”
Vibrating fingers aside, the meal was enjoyable as was every meal on board. Which is a great lead into today’s topic – the food on board. Not wanting to be with the huddled masses in the main dining room, I took all my meals in the pay-to-eat speciality restaurants on board which include the Pinnacle Grill, the ships steakhouse; Canaletto, the red sauce joint; Tamarind, featuring pan-Asian cuisine; and Le Cirque which is nothing more than the Pinnacle Grille featuring a menu from the NYC restaurant of the same name.
When I was on the Oceania Riviera in December, I had high expectation for the food onboard. After all this was a premium line who’s culinary team is lead by famous French chef, Jacques Pepin. I found the food on board to be average with the best meal coming from the ship’s Asian themed restaurant, Red Ginger. My cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas featured the most abhorrent food I’ve had at sea, even though I ate my meals each night in the ship’s pay-to-eat speciality joints. The Italian restaurant on Allure, was perhaps the worst red sauce place on land or sea I’ve ever experienced. The only redeeming quality there was the freshly sliced prosciutto as an appetizer.
While I can’t speak for the food served in the main dining room aboard the Eurodam this trip, I can say that each of the speciality restaurants I’ve eaten at have provided excellent food and top-notch service. If I was forced to rank them on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being excellent and 1 being poor, I would give the Pinnacle Grill a 5, Tamarind a 5, Le Cirque a 4, and Canaletto a 3. Lunch in my Retreat cabana usually came from the Lido, even though it was plated and served by my butler, and was the typical buffet style food you would expect, in other words nothing noteworthy. Props do go to them, with all joking aside, for having theme menus which celebrate the culture and food of the crew on board, even though I wasn’t much of a fan of many of those dishes.
Almost every morning, I enjoyed breakfast en suite. On Oceania Riviera, where I paid more than two-times the cost of this cruise, there were no hot items available for breakfast from the en suite dining menu. Yeah, if you wanted bacon…. too bad. Go to the Lido. I was shocked that a premium line would not have an en suite breakfast menu that didn’t include anything other than a limited selection of cold items. That was very disappointing, and one of several reasons why I probably won’t be back to Oceania unless I get a good – make that a great – deal.
Like other ships, your breakfast card is on your bed the night before and you fill it out with what you want, what time you want it and hang it on your door. Each morning, the food arrived on time, the hot items were always hot, however, toasted breads, bagels, etc were always stone cold. Room service gets extra props for the pre-dinner canapes which are delivered to suite holders each evening upon request. Upon embarkation I informed the concierge that instead of the canapes, I would prefer some cold shrimp each evening at 5pm. “No problem, Mr. Scott. You will have that.”
And have that I will. The first delivery consisted of four orders of shrimp cocktail. I laughed a little and thought it was probably a mistake and we’ll see what tomorrow brings. After all, I’m not going to refuse that much shrimp! Next day, four more orders. Knowing that my doctor at home would probably up my Lipitor prescription if he know how much shrimp I was consuming, I asked to cut the order in half and add a french onion soup into the mix. Mission accomplished. Every day at 5pm, the Filipino in his black pants, blue dinner jacket with shiny gold buttons and a smile to melt the hearts of the old ladies on board, showed up with shrimp and soup for “Mr. Scott.”
This is the same young fella who delivers breakfast in the morning. During one conversation we had, he explained that he works “around” 12 hours a day and is usually done by 6pm and goes “down below” for “party, party” after work.
I’m curious to know what “party, party down below” is like. I venture to guess it’s like “magic fingers on bottom” only with several more people involved.
So, the food on board has been great although the pizza is something that would put any hard working Italian pizza shop owner into cardiac arrest and the burgers are, well, they ain’t Angus, Agnes. But overall the food, under the direction of Austrian Chef Rudi Sodamin and his Council of Chefs, has been great.
Over on Half Moon Cay right now, they’re firing up a beach BBQ to feed the hungry masses before we depart around 3pm and start making our journey back to Ft. Lauderdale where our journey ends. In tomorrow’s final installment, I’ll give my thoughts on my suite, the ship’s public rooms and the rest of the little things to wrap up this week long review of the ms Eurodam.
In the meantime, I’m getting ready to experience Bernie’s hand picked selections of his favorite food from the Philippines. Oh, joy!
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.