Spa Manager Karin Olivier (left) and Spa Concierge Camilla Soares welcome guests to the Greenhouse Spa.

Joel Esmeralda leads a yoga class in the fitness center.

The relaxation area is the perfect place to wait for your treatment and gaze at the tranquil sea.

Merabella will carry unique and one-of-a-kind designer jewelry collections.

Duty free perfumes, cologne and skin care items are always popular.

No ship would be complete without its own line of logo wear.

The shops also will carry items reflecting the cruising destinations.

Tricia Fitzpatrick is Eurodam’s first “techspert” — an expert on the free classes that are being offered at the Digital Workshop powered by Windows, a partnership with Microsoft Corp. This partnership currently is exclusive to HAL, and Eurodam is the fourth ship in the fleet to have a techspert program.

Tricia is new to ships, but not to traveling the world. She has traveled to 26 countries, mostly on her own. She comes to us with vast experience not only with travel, but in the hospitality industry, having been an event planner for 10 years.

Tricia will be teaching FREE classes to guests on how to make memories digital using new Sony Vaio computers with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. Topics covered include:

• How to take digital photos, movies, journaling, blogging and photo editing
• How to download digital media to the computer and upload it to Microsoft Live Spaces
• How to upload pictures and send them to a photo printer such as a Walgreens or CVS pharmacy
• How to print photos on to wrapping paper, mugs, bags and photo books

Classes are available daily and yes, they are still FREE! Check the Daily Program for class times and get there early, as they are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

My fellow correspondent Paul Lasley spoke with Tricia about the digital program. To listen to the interview, click on the arrow below.

Arturo Bowalan Jr. is concierge at the Neptune Lounge, the exclusive service center for guests in suite accommodations. Arturo tells Paul Lasley how making guests happy gives him a sense of fulfillment.

To listen to this podcast, click on the arrow below.

The cabanas are right next to the pool under the Magrodome.

There will be curtains between the cabanas giving some privacy, but at the time of this photo they hadn’t been installed.

The cabanas are behind the curtains.

This Texas Hold‘Em dealer never gets tired, never misdeals and always keeps track of split pots. It’s called PokerPro, and it is a poker table with an inset touchscreen for each player.

PokerPro shuffles, deals, splits pots and generates side pots instantly. It’s manufacturer, PokerTek of North Carolina, claims it is the fastest and most accurate dealer in the world. Players can sign up for games on their own and will never again complain of a misdeal, accidentally mucked cards or incorrectly split pots.

You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em.

The Electronic Shuffler has been certified by Gaming Laboratories International as a mathematically random process with equal probability for each card. In addition to the Shuffler, PokerPro burns a card before each round of betting.

For players who are accustomed to online poker games, PokerPro provides an easy transtion from the computer to a live game. For beginners, the table removes the intimidation factor some might feel with a live dealer.

With environmental concerns taking center stage in recent years and the move toward being more green on the rise, Holland America Line is taking a look at various operations on board that offer more environmentally friendly solutions.

One such area is that of garment dry cleaning, which involves a variety of solvents and chemicals that require strict handling and disposal guidelines governed by international laws. The solution? Change the cleaning system.

Eurodam will be outfitted with an environmentally friendly system called wet cleaning from Canadian supplier Solvent Free Solutions, using detergents manufactured by Winning Brands Corp. The alternative to traditional on-board dry cleaning is already being used on eight other Holland America Line vessels.

The Solvent Free Solutions team designs and installs systems that permit garments labeled “dry clean only‚” to be cleaned instead using Smart Wet Cleaning Liquids, plain water and special Wet Cleaning machines. The systems provide a safer, environmentally responsible alternative to old-fashioned perchlorethylene-based dry cleaning systems.

Eurodam will have an additional 11th deck with a topside 144-seat Pan-Asian restaurant and 50-seat lounge that provide panoramic ocean views and a view of the Lido pool.

Other additions are an Explorer’s Lounge Bar, a new specialty restaurant adjacent to the Lido serving fine Italian food, luxury jewelry boutiques, new atrium bar area, enhanced and reconfigured show lounge with theater-style seating, and a new photographic and imaging center.

The Explorations Café, powered by The New York Times, will be located on the starboard side of the Crow’s Nest Lounge, providing a scenic backdrop to the specialty coffee bar, Internet cafe and music listening stations.

The added deck accommodate 63 more staterooms than the Vista-class ships. Forty-seven will be verandah staterooms and 10 will be a new style of stateroom with ceiling-to-floor and wall-to-wall panoramic windows. Of Eurodam’s 1,022 staterooms, 86 percent will be outside staterooms and 67 percent will have verandahs.