Cruise Day!

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Cruise Day!! The rain was gone and the day was already sunny and humid when we woke up.

Our room was on the first floor of the hotel so it was easy for Bob to walk down the hall and get me a cup of coffee and a yogurt from the breakfast buffet that I would eat in the room while I got ready for the day. As is customary for cruise day, Bob took off on a jaunt to get some exercise and explore the area around the hotel.

According to his iPhone, by the time he returned he had already put in 13,000 steps. I had leisurely showered and got dressed and put in almost no steps! 😄 After showering, Bob went to the breakfast bar and brought back a bowl of cereal to eat in the room.

An email alert had come from Holland America saying there might be delays getting to the port. 

Please be advised that the westbound bridge on Eller Drive

(old Eller Bridge), near SE 19th Avenue, will be closed for paving marking from

9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Guests should anticipate delays around Port Everglades, and

if necessary, allow extra travel time to get to the pier. Please follow the

signs for the alternate route. Check in will begin at 11:00 AM and all guests

must be checked in by 1:30 PM.

This was a change in information because originally we were told that embarkation wouldn't start until noon.

Around 10:30 am we gathered up the luggage and checked out of the hotel...which took all of 3 seconds. I requested an Uber and the driver arrived within 5 minutes. The trip went quickly until we hit the bridge going into the port. All kinds of semis carrying shipping containers were trying to squeeze together to make 2 lanes out of 3 and I feared we were going to be crushed by a Chiquita banana truck!

So many big trucks!!

Our driver managed to avoid any type of collision and dropped us off at Pier #26 by 11 am where the porters quickly grabbed our large bags. As we were walking in the doors of the terminal we saw Michelle sitting on a bench outside. Jon had dropped her off and left to park the car at an off-site lot.

We sat down to wait with her and could track Jon's iPhone to see where he was. It didn't take long to see that he was quite a distance away. He had pulled over to take a business call and then stopped to get a quick haircut. Originally we thought we might be some of the first to board the ship but as we sat there with Michelle we watched as hoards of people were entering the terminal.

Michelle was becoming increasingly upset with Jon but the real concern came when he texted that he couldn't find the parking lot where he was to leave the car! We stayed with Michelle for about an hour and she was starting to be concerned that he wasn't going to make it back before the 1:30 all aboard time! She finally convinced us to go ahead and get on the ship but she couldn't come with us because Jon had her passport. 

Going up the gangplank to the ship!

Going through the check in process was quick and in short order we were going up the gangplank to the Eurodam. My first impression of our room (an obstructed ocean view cabin) was that it was smaller than the balcony cabin we had been in previously on the Eurodam. But even though the view from our floor to ceiling window was blocked by an orange lifeboat, we still had natural light so it didn't seem too  bad.

The next thing I noticed was a bottle of champagne on ice with a note next to it that said "a gift for you". But it was actually more of an apology than a gift and it was to make up for the fact that we had no mini-fridge in our room. Sure enough, the door where the fridge should have been was just an assortment of drinks sitting in the cabinet...nice WARM drinks. 😒

We did a tiny bit of unpacking (just our carryon bags) and then went up to the lido to find some lunch. I had been planning for some time to get a pizza and eat outside next to the Sea View pool, basking in the warm sunshine (it was -13º at home this morning!) Well when we got to the pool there wasn't an empty table to be found. I resigned myself to the fact that we would be eating inside so I might as well just go through the buffet line instead of waiting on a pizza.

But even at the buffet it took a couple of rounds before we found an open table...and it was still filled with dirty dishes that had to be cleared. As we were eating, Michelle called and said Jon had finally returned and they were onboard. They had been the very last ones to check in...but they made it! Yay!! They soon joined us and we were all breathing a sigh of relief that the cruise was now ready to start...with ALL four of us onboard!

Jon made it! We were worried he (and Michelle) were going to be left in Ft. Lauderdale!
Bob is having the first of MANY bowls of icecream!

While we were finishing up lunch, the captain made an announcement that they were starting to have several cases of norovirus being reported. I heard that there were 470 passengers staying on the ship from the last cruise and some of those must be the sick ones. The captain emphasized over and over that everyone needs to be diligent to wash their hands and for the time being other safety measures would be implemented...all food and drinks would be served by staff and salt and pepper shakers, silverware and glasses would be removed from the tables.

The muster drill was still being done "covid style" where you watch the instructions on the stateroom TV and then visit your assigned lifeboat station afterwards. We had already watched the TV part so after lunch we went by the muster station and got "checked off". Our station is on the opposite side of the ship from Jon and Michelle. 

Our luggage had been delivered while we were at lunch, and we spent part of the afternoon unpacking. The only drawers in the room are two tiny ones in each nightstand. I felt like we had an abundance of storage on our last two cruises on the Zaandam and Koningsdam, but not on this ship. Eventually everything found a place and with the extra hangers I requested from our room steward I was able to get all of my clothing put away. Having some VERY heavy duty magnetic hooks also helped provide some hanging storage. A couple of the magnets also got used to hang a small shoe holder where I stashed sunglasses, sunblock, snacks, etc. When we were finished the luggage went under the bed and I stored my backpack in the empty minifridge cabinet. It always feels good to get settled right away.

When we noticed the ship was starting to move, Bob and I ran down to the Promenade Deck (3) to watch sail away.

The live webcam is located in one of these buildings so we always wave when going by!

None of us felt like changing for dinner and the lido menu looked pretty good so we went to the buffet to eat. It was night and day difference from lunch. Very few people were there and we had no problem finding a table.

We took our time eating and just enjoyed visiting over the meal. Since Jon and Michelle live in Georgia and we live in Minnesota we don't get to see each other often.

At 7 pm we decided we would check out the comedian, Jeff Burghart, in the main theater. He did a lot of impressions and was OK...not necessarily the funniest that we have seen.

Comedian Jeff Burghart

After the show, we explored what was on deck 3...the library, shops, photos and the Ocean Bar. At the photo display there were many different photos of the Eurodam with a sign saying that any 2-star and above Mariners could pick out a photo which I did. (We are 3 star Mariners.)

I read that just recently the casino on the Eurodam switched and now allows smoking. Even though the casino is on Deck 2, as we walked by the open atrium on Deck 3 the smell of smoke was very noticeable in the Ocean Bar. I know the casino is located adjacent to Billboard Onboard which may cause us to avoid it.

Although I am excited to begin our cruise, the first day is not really my favorite. It always seems like everyone tries to be in the same spaces at the same time and the day just feels hectic. Usually the first full day is a sea day which gives me time to settle in, but not on this cruise. Tomorrow will be our first port, Half Moon Cay, and also the first "dressy night"!