Eastern Caribbean Cruise (Jan 2011)

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 0, Fri, 1/07 – Arrive in Fort Lauderdale Everyone departed from their various home airports and headed to Fort Lauderdale International Airport. Each group caught the hotel shuttle and headed to the Sleep Inn in Dania Beach. After a short rest, we walked across the street and had dinner at Pancho's Backyard (Mexican) and watched the first half of the Cotton Bowl (Texas Aggies v LSU Tigers). Mary Clare and Margaret purchased wine and we moved our game-watching to the hotel lobby. Unfortunately, the Aggies were not ahead when time ran out on the game clock!

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 1 – Sat, 1/08 – Waiting for the shuttle bus to port Grady showed off his Aggie shirt while we waited to take the shuttle to the port.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 1 – Sat, 1/08 – Waiting for the shuttle bus to port Thankfully there was a Walgreen's drug store next to the hotel and Kathy was able to speak to the pharmacist about what to take since she was battling a terrible cold!

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 1 – Sat, 1/08 – Sail Away First order of business is to find the food! Zane and Burta enjoyed a light lunch once on board the ms Eurodam.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 1 – Sat, 1/08 – Sail Away After lunch, Kathy and Mary Clare enjoyed some of the sunshine before the mandatory lifeboat drill.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 1 – Sat, 1/08 – Sail Away Entertainment - Let Us Entertain You, featuring the Cruise Director Matt and the Eurodam Singers and Dancers Everyone attended a Vigil Mass and then headed to the Rembrandt Dining Room for the first of many enjoyable meals.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 1 – Sat, 1/08 – Sail Away Entertainment - Let Us Entertain You, featuring the Cruise Director Matt and the Eurodam Singers and Dancers Everyone attended a Vigil Mass and then headed to the Rembrandt Dining Room for the first of many enjoyable meals.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 1 – Sat, 1/08 – Sail Away Entertainment - Let Us Entertain You, featuring the Cruise Director Matt and the Eurodam Singers and Dancers Everyone attended a Vigil Mass and then headed to the Rembrandt Dining Room for the first of many enjoyable meals.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam The gang met for breakfast at the Lido Restaurant on Deck 9.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam The ladies decided to take a tour of the kitchen where a staff of 150 people prepare 90% of the food for approximately 2,100 guests and almost 850 crew members. We started in the "Coffee Pantry" and headed to the "Dishwashing Area". All the room service orders are prepared in the "In Room Dining Kitchen". The "Cold Kitchen" is where all cold appetizers, cheese platters and sandwiches are prepared. The two service elevators bring the Chefs to the A and B decks where the Bakery, Lido Preparation, Butcher Shop, Fish Preparation, Fruit & Vegetable Preparation and Storerooms are located. The bakery daily produces 140 loaves of bread, 120 loaves of French bread, 5000 dinner rolls, 1000 croissants and 1000 Danish. They bake the hamburger buns and Frankfurter rolls. Eventually we walked by the “Hot Kitchen” where all the warm meals are prepared. The final stop was the Pastry shop where the Chef and his 6 assistants prepare a wide variety of homemade desserts, pies, cookies, chocolates, etc. It is amazing the amount of food prepared during the week! Meat-11,830 lbs; Poultry-3,814 lbs; Fish-1,875 lbs; Seafood-2,575 lbs; Butter and Margarine-1,675 lbs; Fresh Vegetables-137,500 lbs; Potatoes-7,750 lbs; Watermelon-2,300 lbs; Dairy-5,500 qts; Ice Cream-300 gallons; Eggs-23,040; Sugar-950 lbs; Individual Sugar Packages-24,000; Rice for crew-3,500 lbs; Flour-3,150 lbs; Sodas-362 cases; Beers-332 cases; Champagnes & Sparkling Wines-450 bottles; Wines-1,636 bottles and Water-280 cases

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour - Employee of the Month

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Kitchen Tour

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam The day was a warm 75° with a fresh breeze, clear skies and moderate seas.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam After the Kitchen Tour, the ladies decided to try the Royal Dutch Tea in the Rembrandt Dining Room. Mary Clare spoke to one of the Dining Room managers who promised to reserve our table for us each night.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam Towel Animal - Octopus

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 2 – Sun, 1/09 – At Sea Entertainment - Nightlife, featuring the Singers & Dancers of the Eurodam It's only Day 2 and they have us filling out departure paperwork :-(

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion Captain Jeroen van Donselaar started with Holland America Line in 1986 as an apprentice officer aboard the old Noordam. He was appointed captain in 2002. Captain van Donselaar was born in Kampen, The Netherlands, and admired the sea at an early age. When he was a teenager, he was invited onto the bridge of a ferry sailing across the North Sea. This experience made such an impression he decided to pursue a seafaring career. The highlight of his career to date is being named the first Master of the Eurodam in November 2007 and taking the helm when the ship debuted in July 2008. Captain Van Donselaar and his wife live in Long Island, New York. The Eurodam is 935.6 feet long and 105.9 feet wide. This cruise had 2,104 guests and 925 crew. There are 6 MaK engines which produced 85,824 HP of power and 2 ABB Azipods which produced 47,204 HP of propulsion. The diesel generators consumed 75 gallons of fuel/mile. 501,927 gallons/day of potable water is produced and 184,920 gallons/day of potable water is consumed. Our trip to Grand Turk was 560 nautical miles at an average speed of 14.75 knots. We enjoyed a clear day of 78° with a strong breeze.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion We arranged a tour with a local guide to take us to the Lighthouse Park. Along the way, we saw St. Mary’s Anglican Church on Front Street. Built in 1899, it was the island’s first cathedral. The church was first built as a ‘chapel of ease’ in 1900 to accommodate the parishioners of Cockburn Town. At that time, St. Thomas’ Church, which was the first church in Grand Turk, was quite a distance from the town and made it particularly difficult for evening worship. The Church was designated a Pro-Cathedral of the diocese of the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands in the 1990s. Every diocese has a Cathedral, and as the Turks & Caicos Islands are politically separated from the Bahamas but still ecclesiastically part of the Nassau diocese, St. Mary’s can be used as a Cathedral if the Bishop of the diocese wishes to do so.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion The Victoria Library was built to honor Queen Victoria’s 50th year on the British throne.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion Grand Turk Island is part of the Turks & Caicos Islands, a British Crown Colony comprised of 40 islands and cays. This beach paradise has been blessed with crystal clear turquoise waters and smooth powder white beaches. Seven miles long and 1.5 miles wide, Grand Turk has served as the government seat for the colony and the British Governor since 1766. The island is renowned for its inspiring and colorful Bermudian British colonial architecture yet exudes its own quaint Caribbean charm. It is still disputed which European first sighted the islands – Christopher Columbus or Ponce de Leon. France and Spain fought for control of the islands for a few centuries but Britain ultimately ruled. John Rackham (Calico Jack), Anne Bonny and Mary Read were notorious pirates and longtime residents. The two women are known for carrying out their exploits disguised as men. They (and others) lured ships to grief on the coral shoals – more than 1,000 vessels are known to have sunk in territorial shallows. The Northeast Reef is a shallow reef lying to the northeast of Grand Turk and running 2.8 miles into the sea. The Reef lies in the Turks Island Passage, which has been located along trade routes from Jamaica, Cuba and Hispaniola back to Europe since the finding of the New World. Shipwrecks off the Northeast Reef have included all kinds of cargoes imaginable, including coal, lumber, kerosene oil, salt, potatoes and codfish. Many of these items were utilized in provisioning and building Grand Turk over the years.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion The Grand Turk Lighthouse had two keepers, the Principal and the Assistant. It is believed the keepers lived on location until the 1890s. Meals were prepared in the separate Bermuda Kitchen. The daily routine of a lighthouse keeper was demanding during times of bad weather and tedious during good weather since the work was routine and repetitive. The oil lamps had to be maintained and kept burning from sunset to sunrise. The tower stairs had to be swept, as did the landing doors, windows, recesses and passageways from the lantern to the kerosene room. Lighthouse keepers, unlike the mariners they served who might take shelter in a calm harbor when storms rushed in from the ocean, were expected to man their stations regardless of climate or weather conditions.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion During the colonial days, hundreds of shipwrecks occurred off Grand Turk due to the shallow reef off its northern coast. Because shipwrecks were so common, vessels began refusing to call for salt cargoes, the mainstay of the Grand Turk economy. Both shippers and the American Government insisted that a lighthouse be constructed. The Grand Turk Lighthouse was built in London in 1852 and shipped to Grand Turk where it was assembled in hopes of saving the salt trade. Standing sixty feet, it was designed by Alexander Gordon, who designed lighthouses throughout the British Empire. The original lighting apparatus consisted of eight whale oil lamps with reflectors. These reflectors magnified the light to 450 times its original intensity. Simple clockwork machinery was driven by a weight which revolved the chandelier. In 1943 the lighting system was changed to a Fresnel lens and kerosene light, which had a visibility of 15 miles. In 1972 the lamp was electrified and automated; the burner and clock mechanism were removed. Today the light has distinguishing characteristics that allow sailors to ascertain from the Admiralty Light List that this light is that of the Lighthouse of Grand Turk.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion In 1954 the U.S. Navy established a hydrographic research station on this northern promontory of Grand Turk, overlooking the strategic passage from the Atlantic Ocean. Quonset huts were erected to accommodate eleven officers and 100 enlisted men. Known officially as the U.S. Facility for Oceanographic Research, the base was established to improve knowledge of oceanographic and acoustic conditions. The U.S. had found during WWII a need to improve knowledge of ocean conditions in order to better deal with enemy submarines. After the establishment of the facility, U.S. atomic submarines frequently sailed off Grand Turk. Another U.S. facility, the Guided Missile Base, was constructed on the island’s southern end. The number of American personnel and families resident in the island at one time exceeded 300. In March 1980, the U.S. Facility for Oceanographic Research was officially closed and turned over to the Turks & Caicos Islands Government. The facility currently serves as the Grand Turk Community College.

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion

Eastern Caribbean Cruise – Eurodam on Holland America Line Day 3 – Mon, 1/10 – Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Entertainment - James Cielen, dazzling variety of magic, ranging from the extremely difficult sleight-of-hand to the equally impressive large-scale grand illusion Margaret and Burta enjoyed the Cruise Ship Complex as they browsed through the modern shopping center. Zane, Grady, Mary Clare and Kathy enjoyed the private beach.