New Years Cruise on Holland America's Eurodam

Happy New Year to ya'll!! We are back from the most wonderful cruise ever!!! This was cruise #11 or 12 for us and it was by far the most amazing week. The ship was under-stated elegance - Eurodam, Holland America Line. She is the newest ship of her line and the service was just awesome. The Eurodam is not a huge ship right at 2100 guests on board for the New Year's cruise, but the clean European lines and art work throughout the ship was just in a whole different class. Everyone was friendly and easy to get along with - we think due to the smaller ship. Notice I didn't mention kids... not too many and the ones we spoke with were very very well behaved, educated and threatened within an inch or their lives by the grandparents who brought them. The ship was decorated for the holidays and each cabin door had a full sized wreath. There were probably 50 Christmas trees throughout the ship and those decorations were changed for New Year's. I've never seen such beautiful fresh flower arrangements. Each public bathroom had fresh orchids growing in pots and there were no paper towels, cloth only. Cloth towels were rolled, placed in holders and after you used it, you put them in a bin. Such simple touches just made you feel so special.

The food was in a class alone - everything was prepared with fresh ingredients. The breakfast was wonderful, made to order waffles (in flower shapes) pancakes, eggs cooked to your liking, toast prepared only when you ordered it. Loved the 4 different omelet stations and I preferred the Egg Benedict station - 6 different types of Eggs Benedict - who knew?? Although this was in the buffet, very little was help yourself. They didn't like you to have to use your energy to help yourself. They were into serious service. Each order, wish, plate was individually filled to your specifications and there were no trays to tote around. When you were handed your plate, there was a waiter waiting to take you to a table. Once seated you gave him your beverage order and he brought the drinks and any refills. You were of course allowed to get more as much as you wanted, but you were not going to carry anything to the table if they could help it. Breakfast gave way to brunch and brunch turned into full lunch. Lunch was elegant all over the ship and the salad bar, prepared salad, cooked hot entrees and made to order sandwiches and Panini was excellent. One of my favorite lunch entrees was the lamb burger. Then at 3:00 pm there was formal tea every single day. The scones, clotted cream, homemade jam, lemon curd, tiny sandwiches, and petite dessert bites were amazing. The napkins were the tiny linen ones with the ship logo embroidered on them. Oh - and the china - I've never seen such gorgeous china, 14k gold rims, cobalt blue with white and a speck of paprika color. Then there was dinner. We had a perfect table for 2 for the late seating. 2 waiters and our own wine sommelier were there for any whim we had for dinner. The menu was varied and elegant. The 'lobster night' was not advertised as a lobster night nor surf and turf. It was simply tenderloin with lobster cake. The TWO lobster tails were the garnishment on the SIDE of the plate. There was a 4oz. filet, lobster cake and the 2 tails. The soups, appetizers and entrees were all out of this world. One night I was not feeling well and had to leave the table. The waiter called my room to ask if he could send over broth and crackers!! The first night the wait staff for our section came over and sang Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary in Indonesian - then they brought over 2 cakes to show us and had those sent to our room for later. We tried to eat most of our desserts from the sugar free menu and we had quite a selection to choose from each meal. One of the best was the Baked Alaska on the final night. The one night we splurged was New Year's Eve with the chocolate sculptor and mascarpone cheese filling. They had hand painted the plates to look like tuxedo jackets in chocolate to go with it. We met the head chef the next day and he told us that each dessert had cost $7.50 in ingredients each. We also had dinner in the 2 specialty restaurants, Tamarind and Pinnacle grill. We were truly spoiled and loved ever bit of it.

We had 2 good port days. The day of the private island, it rained, not too bad, but bad enough to leave the island as soon as we got on it. It would have been a great spot if the weather had been nice. They had horses and all sorts of water sports equipment to rent. The next two ports were Aruba and Curacao and both were so nice. We got a tour right off the ship for $20 and they drove us all over the islands. Both are beautiful in their own way. We were surprised that Aruba is arid, lots of cactus and scrub type plants. The Devee Devee trees are just beautiful and the winds have shaped them into unique forms. We did a tiny bit of shopping, Christmas ornaments for our tree - nothing big or out of the ordinary. In Curacao we visited the distillery for the Curacao (blue) liquor - taste like oranges. At that point we were only 30 miles from Venezuela.

New Year's was nice, dancing with noise makers, champagne toast with the handsome Captain. We spent most of our ship time in the Hydro pool - huge swimming pool filled with minerals and 98 degree water and Jacuzzi action. It had a lounge chair built into the pool that accommodated about 12 people at a time. From the pool we went into the relaxation room and sat on heated stone lounge chairs that just fit all the sore places in your back. We saw a movie in the theater, shopped, explored and tried out several bars that last day at sea. Each room had a DVD player. I sat out on the balcony and just enjoyed the sights and sounds, it was so relaxing. One night we signed up for a photo shoot. It was like a shoot for a magazine. We were to dress all in black and he shot the pictures in black and white. He took probably about 75 pictures and had the cool music playing while we did the poises. They came out terrific, we choose 4 shots (cost a small fortune ) but they are something we would never ever get done any other way. I wouldn't know who to call to get it done!!


We loved this cruise so much that we booked another cruise for the exact same time next year.
We have already downloaded the art tour from the ship's website onto the IPod. You can tour all of the artwork and walk around the ship and have your own personal tour. We didn't know to do that for the Eurodam - pity - we missed a lot by not doing it.

Oasis of the Seas

Exclusive Oasis Photo Gallery

To all of our Friends and Family,

WOW! Royal Caribbean coined the term and the Oasis of the Seas fit the bill!
WOW! Winner, Triumph, Sensation and Knockout!
WOW! No better word can describe the experience you feel while sailing on the Oasis!

Royal Caribbean invited My Cruise Outlet to join Oasis of the Seas on her inaugural sailing departing on December 05, 2009, 7-day eastern Caribbean itinerary.

Our experience? WOW!

I have sailed on hundreds of ships over the last 25 years and the Oasis raises the bar higher then ever projected. She is truly spectacular. Veteran cruisers will be WOWED by every detail that went into creating this maritime masterpiece.

Oasis is truly an experience that just keeps on giving. Every time you enter one of the 5 neighborhoods (Central Park, The Boardwalk, The Royal Promenade and let’s not forget the Pool & Sports Zone), a different bolt from the blue awaits you. I can honestly say that 7 nights on the Oasis without porting would work just fine for me.

Specialty Dining aboard the Oasis is not only tops on the Ocean, but rather it competes with the premium dinning offered around the world. 150 Central Park, Chops Grille, Solarium Bistro, Izumi, Chef’s Table, and my personal favorite, Giovanni’s Table, are just the start of the culinary adventure that awaits you while on-board the Oasis of the Seas. If you go for a quick bite at Windjammer’s Marketplace, stop by Seafood Shack on Broadway, or just crave a Milk Shake at Johnny Rockets, the presentation and the quality is brilliant.

The ship is far from traditional and I highly recommend you call one of My Cruise Outlet’s Oasis specialists to help plan your trip. My Cruise Outlet’s entire staff has been personally trained on how to deliver you the best experience at sea.

Check out one of these Oasis of the Seas links to see exclusive photos. These pictures our not artist renditions; they were strategically taken by MyCruiseOutlet.com to help you make the decision that Oasis of the Seas is ideal for you and your family.

Now get out there, plan that cruising vacation you and your family not only need but also deserve!

Don Iorio,

CEO, Leisure Travel Enterprises

www.mycruiseoutlet.com www.passport2anywhere.com www.mcointerline.com

World's Largest Cruise Night

On October 14, 2009 My Cruise Outlet will host the World's Largest Cruise Night an exciting event designed to show the choices, diversity and value of cruise vacations.
Potential cruisers can get an idea of life at sea and take advantage of never see cruise vacation prices. If you have never cruised before, now is the time to ask questions, compare the different cruise lines and to take advantage of the low prices and Cruise Night Perks. My Cruise Outlet is hosting a Virtual Night Sale as well as a drop in Cruise Night Sale through out the month of October. Now is the time to find your perfect cruise. Let My Cruise Outlet's certified cruise counselors help you find the best value for your vacation dollars.