Cruising the Eurodam – Day 1 – Embarkation

Well, I am finally onboard Holland America Line’s beautiful ms Eurodam, and I am already blown away by Holland America Line!

This morning began with a delicious breakfast at our hotel, the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. After a quick shuttle ride to Port Everglades, we made our way through the cruise terminal very quickly and proceeded up the gangway to board the Eurodam. Upon stepping onboard, we were greeted with warm smiles and wishes of “bon voyage” from many smiling crew members. We made a quick stop in our balcony stateroom, unpacked, and headed up to the Lido Restaurant to grab a bite to eat. The first thing you notice about the buffet is that the buffet is not self serve. On all Holland ships, crew members will serve you your food in the buffet for the first 48 hours of the cruise in order to prevent any kind of germ from spreading onboard. As crew members explained to me, most viruses are brought onboard ships on embarkation day and can spread very quickly in the first 48 hours, so therefore we aren’t allowed to touch the utensils. It was very interesting to see a cruise line taking such proactive and useful measure to help keep the guests healthy and happy.

After lunch came the dreaded, but important muster drill. After the usual 7 short, 1 long blast on the horns, we made our way down to our muster station. Once at our muster station, crew members began taking roll call and began the search for “skippers.” After the drill was over it was time to set sail. With the gangways pulled back and the ropes onboard, we pushed away from the dock. As many of my readers know and witnessed, I was featured on the Port Everglades Webcam during sailaway with my oversized Cruise Currents banner. After watching ships on the PE Webcam for many years, it was very exciting to finally be a part of the action!

After sailing away, I headed up to an exclusive media cocktail event where I had the chance to meet Erik Elvejord, Holland’s Director of Public Relations, Captain Emiel De Vries, and Hotel Director Stan Kuppens. I enjoyed getting to know Erik, Captain Emiel, and Stan; and I look forward to writing more about their lives and experiences with Holland later this week.

Soon, it was time for dinner in the Rembrandt Dining Room. To start off, I enjoyed a very cheesy and warm French Onion Soup, one of my favorite types of soup. Then as my main entree I chose the 8 oz New York Sirloin Strip Steak. In all honesty, this steak was the best steak I have ever enjoyed on any cruise ship. The steak was so tender, juicy, and full of flavor that I believe it could give any well known steakhouse on land a run for its money. Unfortunately I was too full to enjoy dessert, but I trust that the desserts would be just as good as my main entree and appetizer.

As I sit here now writing my summary of day 1, the Oasis of the Seas is passing us on our port side on her way to Nassau. The beauty of cruise ships (especially at night) never ceases to amaze me, and I really hope that feeling ever goes away. Anyway, I have an early start in the morning, so I should be getting to bed. See you tomorrow!

Cruise Information:

Where is Mike Today? At Sea.

Next Port of Call: Grand Turk on Monday, February 18th

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