On Board “The 80’s Cruise”

By Hope Miller,  Guest Blogger

My husband and I, along with a couple of close friends and about 2,000 others are fresh off the ship from Entertainment Cruise Production’s “The 80’s Cruise” and what a totally awesome adventure it was! I was asked by MyVirtualVacations.net to guest blog about our experience and so here are some fun facts and tips about our trip and things to know about going on a theme cruise.
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We cruised on the Holland America Line m/s  Eurodam, and were on a 7-day journey that left from Ft. Lauderdale, FL and traveled to Turks and Caicos, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and The Bahamas before returning to port in Ft. Lauderdale.  We have been on other cruises before, but none were for 7 days, and none had been themed so the experience was certainly very different. 

Here are some things to know about being on a themed cruise like The 80’s Cruise:

When in Rome… If you think you can get away with not dressing up in the theme nights, you are mistaken. This is complete and total immersion. If you are not dressed up in the night’s chosen costume, know that it is you who will be the odd man out. Get into it and have fun! When else can you dress up like your favorite 80’s movie character or relive your prom from 1986? 

Overpacking = thumbs down… Alyson from MyVirtualVacations.net has said it before and too bad I did not heed her advice. I am here to tell you I definitely over-packed and I definitely will not make that mistake again. 7 days (really its 8) seems like a long time and in my mind that equaled the need for a lot of options. This turned into two huge suitcases and an overstuffed carry-on filled with way too much wardrobe. My suggestion is to plan to take half as much as you think you will want, but don’t forget that it’s a themed cruise so make sure you are accounting for your formal and casual nights. We only had ONE formal night on our themed cruise. All other nights, even in the main dining room, were casual because of our themed dress-up parties.  

Excursions are a must… Because we had never been to any of the ports of call that we visited on The 80’s Cruise, we definitely wanted to do some excursions to see the local areas.  Traveling with friends, we picked and chose which ones each of us wanted to do, and we booked them well in advance of our cruise. Upon the advice of other regular cruisers we booked our excursions about three weeks prior to the cruise, but frankly we should have done it before then, as much of what we would have wanted to do was already full.  Booking in advance and with the cruise line was very safe, predictable, and easy to access. 

Never a dull moment… Take advantage of all of the opportunities you have to meet and chat with entertainers and their associates. In addition to plenty of Q & A sessions, we also had the chance to participate in activities with the artists on the cruise, including going on excursions, playing trivia, and hanging out at the pool! We had a blast meeting our favorite rock and roll personalities as getting to know them as well.

Let’s get physical… We were already in a good routine of working out regularly and it was great to be able to enjoy the beautiful facilities on the m/s Eurodam.  We had to make it a priority because, good lord, we were up late every night and certainly were not going without frosty beverages that might make it difficult to wake up each morning.  We did it though. We worked out for an hour or more for five of the seven days, and it was worth putting in the extra effort. It made us feel awake and alive and we didn’t feel as guilty consuming the mass quantities of great food and delicious drinks all day while lounging or exploring.  And, bonus, we got to take a spin class with a couple of the entertainers! As a note - on our cruise, some of the organized fitness classes cost a little, but it was worth it for a couple of days we did it. The 80’s Cruise folks also had morning wellness programs each day to enjoy. 

When the cat’s away… Leaving the kids at home for over a week was challenging to prepare and it was hard to be away from them but they were with grandma so it was okay.  I will say that as a note of advice, know what theme cruise you are signing up for and think about whether it is appropriate for kids. People really did not have kids on this cruise at all. I never saw any person younger than about 16-17 years old, and that was rare even. We really enjoyed the week together and with all of the other adults so don’t allow fear of being away stop you from having some fun. It just takes some preparation.

We had a fabulous time on the Holland America Line m/s Eurodam for The 80’s Cruise 2016 and we are looking forward to next year! Hopefully we’ll see you there!