PACD_JG

Cruising into a port for less than half a day does not equal destination travel. It's one notch above having a layover at the airport...

Not to add to Scuba Steve's personal vlog, but my two favorite recent things from the Koningsdam from 2022: the library and the internet speed. I was very pleased with both.

I've been in a Verandah with the same teens in 2023. The now 5'5" teen daughter slept on the sofa bed. In the verandah, it does go all the way to the desk, but it's on the balcony side. Daughter preferred that since she wasn't woken up in the middle of the night by those with small bladders. However, I didn't like it as I had to literally walk on her bed to get on the balcony. And the difference in space is notable when it comes to storage for 4 people. If it was just the wife and I, I would never spend extra for the Vista Suite.

I was in this room in 2022 with two teenaged daughters. My then 5'4" daughter slept on the sofa bed quite comfortably, but her feet were off the edge. There's about 12 inches to pass through...without her feet in the way. I guess we're not as fussy as you so we didn't have a problem with four in the room. In all seriousness though, if this cabin isn't enough for 3 people...what other choice do you have?

Considering the average age of HAL pax...whining is only topped by sleeping in favorite activities.

Are you afraid of not boarding? I mean, if it takes an hour or two hours to board, does that somehow change your plans for that day?🤷‍♂️

LMGTFY: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/crew-appreciation.html

It's like our San Diego poster with better It's like our San Diego poster with better spelling...

Since we're here...HAL doesn't shut down ping pong when they are playing movies at the Lido Pool. Bothered me enough that I had to make a snarky comment on one of my end of cruise surveys.

Truth be told, on my 2022 Alaska cruise I originally booked 4156 but was kicked out because they made it a Covid room. They moved me to another Verandah and I was ticked off because I wanted the big balcony. Anyway, I got a free "upgrade" to a Vista. We liked it enough that on my Thanksgiving cruise I booked another Vista (only because it was cheaper than my Verandah in Alaska). In 2023, the Vista was more than I wanted to pay, so I booked the 4156 (much more expensive than 2022).

I did, but it was only for an hour a day, and it was 50% off.

All the local beers were in cans. If there was draft, I never saw it, and we utilize all aspects of the ship. As far as the wait for the MDR - we made reservations on board, and because it was for 6, it was always after 8. Sometimes that was okay, and other times we determined it was too late and just walked in. I would say the longest we waited was about 15 minutes. The longest line that I saw was on Day 2 and Day 5, the "dressy" nights, and that was during our late reservations. I imagine the line to get in at 6 or 7 was pretty extreme. FWIW, we ate in the Tamarind the first night and then ate in the MDR the rest of the nights...mainly because my son and his partner are vegans and ordered off of that menu. If you want to know, they were both very pleased with the food.

In 2022, there was green tea served and hot wash cloths, and I distinctly recalled 3 shrimp in the tempura appetizer. In 2023, there were 2. Wasabi tenderloin was noticeably smaller. By the way, this goes for all the mixed drinks/cocktails on HAL - drinks are smaller and/or weaker than they were in 2022. I was way closer to reaching my drink limit every night, and believe me, my alcohol tolerance did not go up.

The balcony had two lounge chairs with the separate footstools and two folding black chairs.

Since I cruised on the same ship and the same itinerary 13 months apart, I thought I would share some comparisons. 1. Stayed in the famous verandah 4156 with the bonus balcony. We had always stayed in Vista Suites before, so the first notable thing is that a family of four will definitely know the verandah room is smaller. For two folks, definitely not worth paying extra for the suite, but we definitely noticed that the room is smaller for four. Personal preference - I like having the bed closer to the balcony because of the hallway noise. And you can shimmy your way around the sofa bed in a Vista Suite (about a foot of space), but there's zero shimmy in the Verandah room to get to the balcony (must walk across the bed). But that balcony is huge! 2. 2022 had 1800 pax. 2023 was sold out, but so was my Thanksgiving Cruise on the Nieuw Statendam. I was apprehensive because that cruise wasn't enjoyable at all. But I was surprised...Alaska 2023 was somewhere in between, but it seemed like there was more crew than both 2022 and Thanksgiving. 3. Way more children in 2023 than 2022, but nothing compared to the Thanksgiving Zoo. 4. Food portions definitely smaller than 2022, but probably the same as Thanksgiving. Would give food 4 out of 5 stars on this cruise, and both times we found the Koningsdam food better than the NS. Still, service in the MDR is just too slow for my taste: 90 minutes - 2 hours. 5. Stewards were much more efficient than Thanksgiving (perhaps less rooms?), and about the same as 2022. 5 out of 5. 6. Had Pinnacle Grill lunch that so many recommend - it was great, but even lunch service was slow. Tamarind was great but definitely some cutbacks from 2022. 7. The $11 HIA drink limit pissed me off several times when I found numerous drinks that I got included in 2022 are now $12 (Chianti, Emperor's Nectar). 8. I finally got two tiles that people speak of. I like them enough to use as coasters...at first I wasn't mad about not receiving them before...but now I want four more. When do people usually get them? 9. All the Alaskan beer were from cans, and they were very inconsistent on what they had. From a koelsch to a pils to an IPA to an amber. Never had a time when all 4 was available to choose from. 10. The RS Rock Band was not as good as 2022 or Thanksgiving. The Billboard pianos have never been my thing, and I'm a theater-goer. This BB Kings band was the best out of them all. Spend some time every night that they played, and they put on their best at the Orange Party. 11. They have a new singing group called Major Fourth on the main stage. All of them had good voices...but the arrangements were cheesy. Didn't watch Step One Dancers but they were there but they didn't have as many performances. Lots more game nights/game shows for entertainment. Betty Ann is still the Cruise Director but Miss X is the fun one who leads a lot of the activities. Comedian was funny. Art classes were fun but all of them were jam packed. And they shouldn't have them one right after the other, because the people at the first one won't leave. 11. YVR was about the same as it was 2022 (not difficult, mid-sized airport). Canada Place arrangement was different, about the same time to embark (about an hour) and disembark (20 minutes). If there was a strike I didn't notice it. Stayed at Auberge Vancouver in 2022 and 2023 - same experience. Ask what you want and I'll be candid.

Here’s what I found in a Facebook post. I won’t copy and paste since it’s from a private group that has the patient’s wife’s name on it. My husband was medically evacuated today from the Koningsdam. Thanks everybody for your support. He feels bad that your Glacier Day was spoiled. He suffered a heart attack and we are currently in Anchorage. I do have to say that the care he received and the support I got was incredible. A special thank you to the cardiologist from New York who assisted. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your trip.

So on the Koningsdam today we did not do the 360 degree one hour viewing at Marjorie Glacier due to a medical emergency. The ship got to the end so we could see it but quickly turned around. We’re now stopped at Bartlett Cove where the rangers disembarked and one of the tenders was lowered with the patient, who was taken to Bartlett Cove (not sure why the NPS couldn’t do it). Waiting for the tender to return. Interesting. Whales now would make it better though. Hope whoever has good insurance.

Yep...lived in Germany for 4 years. August travel was always verboten.

But HAL doesn't have to change a DAM thing because you keep making bookings! The definition of insanity...doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. But keep on trolling...

Stop making sense.

Summer 2025 Alaska is now available on the HAL website. Do I win?

Pot, meet kettle.

Just think of all the money you'll save...

I wanted to add onto this thread rather than start a new one to help any future cruisers. I'm booked on 7-night roundtrip Inside Passage cruise out of Vancouver starting July 22 of this year. Last June, my family did this very same cruise and really enjoyed it (only 1800 pax though). I have both my parents' cremains, and we thought we should do this cruise again, but invite my son and my sister to spread the ashes. I inquired well before I booked the cruise about the procedure and HAL said they could accommodate. Before final payment, I asked again, and they said no problem, but they could not tell me when/where it would happen until about two-three weeks before the cruise. I was notified yesterday they could only do it at 1 AM on Day 3. I told HAL since the scheduled itinerary doesn't change, why could you have not told me this before I even booked my cruise, as surely I can't be the first person to ask this question. HAL checked one more time and said this would be the only time available for this year and next. So I won't be spreading ashes...