Love In Bloom

Floral designers Callista den Hartog and Eddy de Groot

Shipboard floral designers Callista den Hartog and Eddy de Groot are the dynamic duo that designs all of Eurodam’s fresh flower arrangements, including all public rooms, guests’ preordered floral gifts, special requests and deluxe suite flower arrangements. They arrived on Eurodam June 4 as newbuild veterans, having helped bring out the last new ship, ms Noordam.

The creative couple works for Dianthus in the Netherlands. They met in high school and have known each other for 12 years. Their experience includes six years of training in floral design in Holland and aboard numerous Holland America ships — they have traveled to every continent except one. “We have only South America to see,” Eddy said. “We even just did this past world cruise.”

So, how many flower arrangements are there on Eurodam? The two-person department is responsible for 350 small floating arrangements, 15 large arrangements, 18 countertop arrangements and 30 arrangements of various sizes. All of the flowers are received on the first day of every voyage and arrangements must be designed and cared for so flowers last the length of the cruise.

What is it like to work on board? On a ship where space is limited, they have no fixed area in which to work, unlike a land-based florist shop.

“The most challenging thing with a newbuild is that our plants get moved everywhere after we have already set them in a specific spot,” said Callista. “Once everything is settled and all of the crew know where plants and flowers should stay, the time comes when new crew arrive and we have to start all over again.”

I asked them what are the most frequent questions guests ask. They both smiled and said, “Are the flowers real?”

Eddy and Callista said the amusing thing is that usually when someone asks that question, they have a watering can in their hands.

The most unique floral request they have received: “We were asked by a penthouse guest to make a floral elephant as a table arrangement,” said Eddy. “Another guest wanted a Hawaiian lei. Remember while at sea, you cannot just go and get more flowers for such specific requests.”

“We enjoy working on ships because we have so much creative freedom,” said Callista. “We have to be creative with what we receive from our flower delivery every cruise.”

Callista and Eddy sometimes experience a wide range of “flower emergencies.” When they don’t receive their entire flower order before departure, they have to make a “flower run” in a port of call. One time on Noordam they didn’t receive the full order due to weather delays. They received special permission from the captain to go ashore in Manhattan and get as many flowers as they could and return within 30 minutes before the ship sailed!

“We came running back with hundreds of flowers in the February cold from one shop that was very happy to see us,” said Eddy.

Eddy has a ship mobile phone so he can be reached around the clock. Emergencies can be last-minute requests for an almost-forgotten birthday or having to get up in the middle of the night to secure plants and flowers during rough seas.

I asked them what was the next goal on their to-do list. Not surprisingly, they are circumventing the globe again as the on-board floral designers on the 2009 world cruise.

If you’re sailing on Eurodam, take a moment to stop and smell the flowers. And if you see Eddy or Callista with a watering can in their hands, you know that the flowers not only are real, but are cared for with love from Holland.