Sunday, September 30, 2018

Pre-trip Review - MS Eurodam

We are prepping for our trip on October 17th on the Eurodam sailing from Vancouver to San Diego, with a port call in Astoria. 


I am personally very excited to return to Astoria.  As a child in the northwest, it was always a fun place to visit even if I didn't understand the historically significant context of it's location where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.  For those that haven't been, or those that are unaware, at one time it was sought as the pivotal location from where John Jacob Astor would launch his trading outpost between Asia and the United States, under the watchful eye of President Teddy Roosevelt (more about the history in this book).  Its a tricky place for ships of all types to sail, because the channel is less than half a mile wide even though the river is almost 4 miles wide.  This is primarily due to sand bars in the channel which have been a hazard since the port was ever discovered.  See the hastily drawn map below.



The Astoria Megler Bridge is also an impressive site which spans the Columbia River in this area and links Washington state and Oregon by road at this location.  This combined with the sand bars makes the navigation channel about 1000' wide - roughly 5% of the total river at this location!

Other fun things to see in Astoria are several filming locations from the movie Goonies, the Maritime Museum, the Astoria Column (125ft tall with 164 steps) and several great micro breweries.

Here are some photos from our last visit to Astoria, in 2011 on the Coral Princess - both taken from the Astoria column.


In preparation for the voyage, I've been reading more about the history of Astoria in a book I got on Amazon called "Astoria: Astor and Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire".  It's a fast read and very interesting - so much so, I've had to stop reading it so I'll have something to do on the ship!

We are really looking forward to the Eurodam as I've heard that she and her sister, the Nieuw Amsterdam represent the best of the Vista class which I've found to be very comfortable ships (granted, they don't compare to the R class in my opinion, but still very nice).  I especially anticipating spending some time in the "Silk Den/Tamarind Bar" as I didn't get to last time on HAL when we were on the Koningsdam.

We are currently booked as a category J interior room and hoping for an upgrade - however as a 2 star mariner, I think it could be a long shot.

I've started the packing process and have my specialized cruise list of essentials.  And really, a passport is the most essential item, however beyond that I've got a variety of other gadgets that make our lives easier on board.

  • Magnetic hooks - its always a challenge to determine how heavy duty I want these to be, but we've hung strollers from the ceiling as well as suitcases while packing with some that can support 50 lbs.  They are awesome!
  • Packing cubes - great for organizing and I always use them to place straight in drawers and keep everything tidy.
  • Monster Outlet -  An awesome hub with 3, 3 prong US plugs and 2 USB ports.
  • 3 Port USB power strip - I also seem to run out of outlets, this can plug in at weird angles (on Princess ships, this one goes in behind the TV)
  • Concealable/Reuseable Flasks - enough said - I usually buy drinks on board as well, but sometimes its nice to have a bit extra.
  • TSA Approved Luggage Locks - Always useful when traveling internationally, even if just to Canada - they help make sure that someone doesn't walk off with your luggage unknowingly.
  • Bungee cables - We travel with kids a lot (though not on this trip) and these are great for attaching strollers, multiple pieces of luggage, rain jackets!
  • Ginger Tablets - My wife gets seasick from time to time and these seem to work best and use the natural power from ginger.

We head out to Vancouver on the 17th and we'll attempt to live blog along the way.  Post your questions before we go and we'll be sure to find the answer to them and take lots of photos and videos!

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