Roseau, Dominica

 

At the botanical park in Rosseau, we saw a school bus crushed by an African baobab tree during Hurricane David in 1979. Thankfully, the bus was empty at the time.

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As we approached the island, it was nice to be greeted by a rainbow without the rain.

We had to go ashore by tender. I do not enjoy being stuffed into one of these sardine cans, but thankfully it was a short ride.

Today, we went inland and up. It was a steep 1800-foot climb for our minibus.

The first stop was a narrow gorge people could swim through to get to a waterfall. I decided against it due to a minor wound on one arm that I did not want to risk getting infected. Pam forged ahead.

 Unfortunately, in the crowd swirling around the axis point to the water, I did not get a chance to give her the underwater camera before she waded in. For reasons explained later, this may have made no difference.

While there, I noticed a water pipe descending further up the mountain. Over much of its length, it was made out of wood. Our guide told me the wood was oak but could not tell me why there was wooden piping. I was skeptical of the pipe being made of oak since that tree is not indigenous to the tropics. According to Google, there are several tropical hardwoods.

As for the question of why use wooden pipe, online I found, "Why wooden pipes? Wood was inexpensive, readily available, and proven to last at least 20 years. Its smooth interior surface allowed a larger carrying capacity than metal, which was likely to form tubercles (small nodules or protuberances) within a few years."

We descended a short distance from the gorge, then followed a fork in the road to a sulfur hot spring. The sulfur in the water and the much smaller number of people in the water had me join Pam this time.

I took the underwater camera with me, but for some reason, it acted up, so what might have been some fun pictures were lost to posterity.

There were other pools and the river as well as a waterfall.

Tourism on the level of cruise ship-sized crowds is relatively new to the island. This was apparent at both of today's locations, where parking to restrooms and changing facilities were limited.

Having driven through the botanical garden on our way back, after returning to the waterfront. we briefly checked out some craft booths, then boarded the tender to return to the ship.

St. John's, Antigua & Barbuda

THIS POST IS OUT OF CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

FOR REASONS EXPLAINED EARLIER IN THE BLOG.

Eurodam had arrived before midnight, so when we got up at 6:30 and looked out our window, we were at the dock. 

At 8:45, we were off the ship and queued up, ready for today's six-hour tour. It would take us to the southern part of the island in an off-road vehicle. The need for such a truck seemed odd. As the trip progressed, we realized this was to ensure maximum discomfort on the island's bad roads. 

The scenery was generally interesting, including a house built to resemble a boat.

We drove by the "factory" where musical steel drums were made, as symbolized by the one nailed to the side of the building. It would have been fun to see the production taking place, but from the looks of the parking lot, Wednesday was not a workday.

Our first stop was Nelson's Dockyard. When the dockyard underwent a significant restoration in 1950, it was renamed in honor of Sir Horatio Nelson, the British naval hero.  Ironically, when Nelson was here (1784-1787), he was captain of HMS Boreas and charged with enforcing the British Navigation Act, which restricted trade in the British colonies to British ships. This made him most unpopular with the locals, who probably would only have sanctioned naming a dilapidated outhouse in his honor.

We were initially disappointed at the short time we would have at the dockyard before moving on. After a guided tour of about 15 minutes, we were given another 10 minutes before we needed to start back to the truck. 

Pam and I scampered around to take in as much as possible. In the end, we were less disappointed with our time there. While we would have liked a bit more time for boat gawking, Dockyard is more of an upscale location for super (not to be confused with mega) yachts than it is a historic site.

This picture of the picture in the visitor center shows why the harbor was so valuable to the British three centuries ago and is now a preferred destination for (mega-) yachtsmen. For the British, heavy gun emplacements on either side of the harbor's mouth discouraged enemy ships from entering it. For yachtsmen, it is a picturesque shelter from all but the worst storms.

Many of the boats are sailing yachts. A lot of them compete annually in Antigua Sailing Week. They then disperse to the Mediterranean and elsewhere for the summer season. A professional crew usually does these transits because the owners are far too busy for such mundane tasks. Sometimes, they are sent over on specially designed cargo ships that can submerge enough for the yachts to be driven on and off.

One of the interesting facts we learned while there was that careening a ship to clean its bottom could take up to six months. Elsewhere, the process took about 2-3 weeks. The difference was that here, the workers were paid in liquor. The choice was a quart of rum or a gallon of beer...every day.  The work took so long because the workers were constantly drunk.

Leaving Nelson's Dockyard, we passed an outboard mechanic for those with more modest boats whose work might be questionable but is done at highly reasonable rates.

Our next two stops - Shirley Heights and Sugar Loaf Hill - were remnants of the gun batteries that overlooked the mouth of the harbor. They provided great views.  

another shadowed face

shot - for better or worse

Those who appreciate the placement of heavy artillery will understand how well the harbor was protected. In addition to the accuracy that could be gained by calibrating the guns so that where the cannonball would hit was predictable, the fact that the ball would be dropping downward on the enemy ship made the strike particularly lethal. 

The sites we visited were only two batteries on this part of the island. In combination, this created a fortress capable of overlapping fire, so there was no way for an enemy ship to wiggle through holes between the range of the cannons.

Back aboard the truck and rolling along, we watched the countryside pass by. 

At one point, we turned off an adequate road to further misalign every bone in our body on a terrible one. My mapping app indicated this was for no good purpose in reaching our next destination, so it must have been part of our 4-wheeling adventure. 

Back on a good road, we descended towards the island's southwest coast on Fig Tree Drive. It was a lush landscape because of the rain it got due to the prevailing wind.  

Our final stop was for lunch and beach time at Turner's Beach. Pam took advantage of the beach. I should have. A local at the restaurant tried to engage me about the US military posture worldwide and how everyone should love their fellow man. Aware that several other locals were watching with amusement, I courteously disengaged from the conversation, which I realized was probably religious proselytizing on his part. My audience seemed pleased that I had not disrespected him. I would have been pleased if they had helped get me off the hook, especially since one of them was our tour guide.

When our tour ended, it was time for us to return aboard.

The harbor was shallow enough that we kicked up a lot of bottom sediment while backing away from the pier and turning around.

The ship moved straight into the Caribbean for some time before turning south. What a surprise! When we made the turn, we were far enough to open the onboard casino and shops, both big revenue earners for the cruise line.

Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten

We were up at 6:30 to watch the ship approach and dock. By 7:30, the lines had been made fast and soon they announced that passengers were free to go ashore.

We were not on a tour, so we sat on our veranda and watched them firm up and depart while we had a leisurely breakfast. 

We walked through the canyon of ships and the nifty-gifty shops beyond them, exiting the cruise ship terminal and heading to the town. A few light rain showers hit us along the way, a couple of which were heavy enough to make us seek shelter. From the ship to town, it took us about 25 minutes, 15 minutes from when we reached the road. Given the long queue of people waiting for a taxi, we were probably in Phillipsburg, well ahead of many.

Besides the minor mission of finding some reef-safe suntan lotion, we had no specific destination, so we just wandered around. Phillipsburg has always been known for jewelry stores, but even with that knowledge, the number is staggering.  

Pam went swimming while I snapped candid pictures of people walking along the promenade. I set up my camera on the table and used a remote to take them. It limited my shooting, but it captures people acting more naturally, whatever that is.

Strangely, we came across a derelict property that must have been valuable real estate. It appeared to have been abandoned for some time, but who knows. It did look like it was the victim of a fire.

We were back aboard the ship and relaxing in a cabana when sailing time came...and went. There were eight passengers still ashore. Eventually, they straggled back. Given the short trip to our next port of call, I can only presume that the captain was benevolent and did not leave them behind.

We were the first ship to leave. We turned east and circled around the island's southern end before turning more southerly. Given the distance to our next port, we maintained a speed of 8 knots, compared to the 17 knots we averaged during our transit from Miami.

We arrived in Antigua, our next port of call, before midnight.

At Sea

We cruised along all day at a sedate 17 knots. It was warm and partly sunny. The ship passed through a couple of short-lived tropical showers. 

While numerous activities are available onboard, we opted to do our own thing. The ship is big enough that three times around the Promenade Deck is one mile. Seven decks up, it is 4.5 laps on the open-air deck. 

Yesterday, I tried a Tai Chi class. It was an unfamiliar version of the Yang Style with the same name for different moves I knew from two other versions of the Yang Style. It was confusing. The instructor was over-enthusiastic. 

I am not sufficiently comfortable with the forms I know to start another one. The class is held at the time we will be pulling into various ports, something I enjoy watching. 

I decided it was one and done for me. 

Today, I found an out-of-the-way place on deck to do my own thing.

This evening, we again ate in the main dining room, where we had another good meal.

About EURODAM

 This post is information about the ship, followed by some thoughts on our experience aboard her.

Ship Profile & Stats

• Cruise Line: Holland America Line
• Ship Type: Cruise Ship
• Line Class: Premium
• Registry: Netherlands
• Year Built: 2008
• Capacity: 2,104 passengers
• Decks: 11
• Gross Tonnage: 86,273
• Length: 936 ft
• Beam: 105.8 ft
• Average Speed: 22 knots
• Inside Cabins: 155
• Outside Cabins: 897
• Nationality of Officers: European
• Nationality of Crew: Filipino, Indonesian
• Number of Crew: 876

• On-Board Recreation

• Outdoor Pools: 2
• Spa: Yes
• Casino: Yes

• Dining Choices

• The Dining Room Cuisine
• Lido Market Buffet
• Tamarind Restaurant Cuisine
• Canaletto Cuisine
• Pinnacle Grill

• Entertainment

• The Mainstage
• Crow's Nest
• Lincoln Center Stage
• Explorations Cafe
• Ocean Bar
• Billboard Bar
• Rolling Stone Bar

This picture shows less than half of the

main stage theater on Eurodam.

As our time aboard her draws to a close, we have enjoyed our experience. The crew was friendly and helpful. The service was good. The ship was clean and in good repair. There is a long list of other positives. 

Our leading negative observation was that etiquette and consideration for fellow passengers have deteriorated significantly since COVID. We have seen this on previous cruises. This time, because of the number of passengers on this ship, it was more noticeable. It was not a problem, just a little off-putting. 

It is also a reflection of societal problems that stretch way beyond cruise ship passengers.

Again, it was not a problem, just a higher awareness due to being on a cruise ship. We liked our experience well enough to sign up for a 35-day cruise in 2026 on Eurodam's sister ship Nieuw Amsterdam. 

As this is much larger than other cruise ships we have been on, we were concerned that the size could manifest itself in negative ways. We found none. The ship is larger, accommodating a larger passenger list without feeling crowded. The larger ship offers more common areas, entertainment options, and so on.

Larger cruise ships indeed have fewer ports they can call in than smaller ships.

We found that several people we met during the cruise we never saw again. We attribute this to the ship's size, not those people avoiding us.

It is always difficult to answer the question, "How big is the ship?" For Eurodam, the most interesting statistic I found was the three laps around the promenade deck (which does not go all the way to the bow), was one mile.

At Sea

While a bit breezy, the weather is warm and mostly sunny. The ship has a very smooth ride.

We spent most of the day relaxing. We continued to orient ourselves to this much bigger ship than any we had previously cruised aboard. At the end of our first day, we were favorably impressed. In some respects, it actually seems less crowded than other ships. The layout is good, but in some places, it sacrifices topside deck space. The next litmus test will come when we experience disembarking at our first port of call.

We had dinner at one of the specialty restaurants - Tamarind. It was tasty Asian cuisine.

Tomorrow is another sea day. 

Underway

There was no need for an early start to our day. The bus transferring us from the hotel to the ship left at 11:15. 

As we drove along, after realizing that all the people waving at it were not just being friendly, the bus stopped so that the driver could get off and close one of the luggage compartment doors. Everyone was looking back up the street to see if their bag had fallen out. None have. 

(Pam and I had remained calm because we knew from the tracker in each suitcase that our bags were still aboard.) 

After slogging through heavy traffic, we arrived at the terminal, where checking in and boarding were quick and straightforward. Our stateroom was ready. The bag we had shipped from Marion arrived soon after we did, so we had much of our unpacking done before the ship sailed at 3:50 PM.

We were fourth in line to depart. One of the ships ahead of us was NIEUW AMSTERDAM, which is the sister ship of the one we are on - EURODAM.

When it was our turn, we backed away from the pier. Once in the turning basin, the captain pointed the bow towards the channel. Accompanied on both sides by a Coast Guard boat sporting a manned fifty-caliber machine gun in the bow, we cleared the breakwall into the open ocean.

We finished unpacking, had a pleasant dinner in the main dining room, and wandered the ship for a while before returning to our stateroom for the night.

By midnight, we were wiggling our way between Bahamian islands.