PACD_JG

I tend to be loyal, so once I find something I like I don't venture out. I liked the fact that different bars had different drinks, so here was my pattern: * Lido & Panorama Bar - The Bohemian * Ocean Bar - Miami Beach Spritz * Billboard - Strongbow on tap * Explorations Cafe - Caramel Lattes (oh, you said alcoholic...my bad) * Every dinner - Chianti (only one brand was on ship...at least that the Signature Beverage Plan would cover). * It was on the Dutch Cafe menu, but it wasn't available on the Koningsdam in June - Lindeman's Kriek and Framboise. Would have drank enough to make my pancreas fall out. * Most of the bars had Amstel Light in bottles, for when I needed to detox from the sugar. Oh, and my favorite non-alcoholic beverage...so much so we found the recipe online and replicated it at home - Ginger Mango Splash.

You know your child won't remember this when they get older, right? My point is, if you like HAL, cruise HAL. Why pick a specific ship or line for somebody who could honestly care less as long as his/her parents are there with them?

Only paper straws on the Koningsdam in June.

It's a pretty simple app to be honest. I used it in June in Canada Place. Since I had a 10 AM boarding time, I'm going to guess that using it (it is optional you know) saved me a whopping 3-5 minutes. Edit - oh wait, it didn't save me any time because I didn't board until 11:45. So 3-5 minutes extra time to sit and wait instead of stand and wait. So why fret?

I had a 10 AM boarding time in Vancouver in June. At first, I thought - awesome. Since I've never been to Canada Place and never cruised, I thought my karma was working in my favor. Not really...walked to the terminal and dropped off our carry-ons on the first level around 9:30, and I was seated in the second row of the waiting area around 10:15. And we waited, with masks on (mandatory in the terminal) until we boarded around 11:45. The only advantage I saw with being one of the first to board was the Lido wasn't as busy. And I got an early start on the drink package. In hindsight, I would have rather have slept in, check out of our hotel at the latest possible time (11:00 for Auberge), and then walk to the terminal (bypassing the luggage check-in since I didn't know you could walk aboard with carry-on luggage).

Poor Suzanne. Came here to garner some sympathy, only to have Sea Grandma upstage her. Frankly though, you're both on the wrong side of right.

My first world dilemma: at $5238 I rated my cruise experience a 9 out of 10. If I would have paid $7752 (which is what they are asking now), I would have only given my cruise a 6 out of 10 because my ratings are based on value. HAL gave me the quality drug but I'm not an addict yet. Anyhow, I'll wish for a sale in one hand...

And fwiw, my Thanksgiving cruise on the Nieuw Statendam for 4 with HIA in a Vista Suite was $4030.

Thanks all. My Koningsdam cruise this June in a Vista Suite for 4 with HIA and crew incentive and 2 free White Pass Rail Excursions was $5238. July 2023 for 4 in a verandah with HIA and crew incentive is $6876. I understand recouping lost income, but ouch.

I'm looking to go on another Alaska cruise in July 2023, but the current fares are a bit more than I'm willing to pay. I'll be on the Nieuw Statendam over Thanksgiving. Two questions - what kind of perk should I expect if booking onboard the ship, and should I expect a Black Friday sale? TIA.

I took a Walgreens test in June. It literally just says: Test ordered: Rapid NAAT Test Test for: SARS-CoV-2 Result: Negative

Picture this: You're wearing masks, and you get in the empty elevator. You're going up to the top. The elevator dings and somebody gets on without a mask. Does this worry you? At the next ding, a family of four without masks gets on and you're trapped in the back corner. Holding your breath now? If you're going to be one of those who wish "others would only do what I do so I can enjoy myself", then probably best not to go. Because I'm just being honest...nobody really cares about your insecurity.

Sure...as long as you wipe down your keyboard with a Clorox wipe first. Wouldn't want you to catch anything.

I'm all for ship's crew having the freedom to choose whether to mask or not. I bet they'd appreciate that much more than customers having to test to board.

I just cruised with 2 teenaged daughters in the same cabin. The adults had have it all, the girls didn't. There was no requirement and certainly no pressure to add have it all or even a drink package for them. Math: To add on HIA costs $50 per day, so a 7-night cruise would set you back $350. That's a huge waste of money in my opinion. Why? As you can see below, to take them to dinner and get them the best drink package costs $194.26. Add in the $100 you pay out of pocket for an excursion, and you come up with $294.26, which still saves you over $50. I decided to take my kids to dinner with us to the Pinnacle Grill since we had specialty dining. That cost $92, or $46 per kid. I decided to take them with us on some excursions, so HIA would have saved $100 per kid. I decided to buy them the Quench package and that cost $296.52, or $148.26 per kid. The wife and I had internet (guests 1 and 2 don't have to share). If the girls wanted internet on their phones, we just simply logged off. My take - buying a separate internet package for the kids simply means you spend way too much time online - enjoy the cruise. And save some quid.

I know some treat Cruise Critic like their Facebook account (or better yet, they claim they don't use social media!?), but this post is sad on so many levels...but not even close to topical since cruise lines are getting closer to no restrictions than more restrictions. But cool story, bro.

Thanks. I won't lie, I've been watching way too much YouTube, and the older ships (even the Eurodam) don't look as nice, stylish, or fun as the Koningsdam, Rotterdam, and the Nieuw Statendam do. So I've been hesitant to book an Alaska cruise out of Seattle for that reason - signed, another Gen-Xer with two spoiled teen daughters.

Sorry, didn't read every line of the thread, but have you ever sailed on any of the Pinnacle Class ships? If so, I'm trying to get an idea how much I would enjoy an older ship like the Westerdam (thinking of another Alaska cruise in July 2023), since I thought the Koningsdam was just my style. Thanks.

Good luck. No kriek or framboise on the Koningsdam on June 25 cruise - they blamed supply chain.

Just wondering...has your current cruise on the Eurodam led you to this decision? Was thinking of Alaska again in 2023, and I've only been on the Koningsdam (which I enjoyed). After watching numerous YouTube videos on the Eurodam...I'm not sure how I'd feel about the older ship.

That’s why I haven’t cancelled hotel reservations in Detroit yet. Unfortunately, we wont have confirmation that HAL are playing the 22-23 season before final payment is due.

Welp. We're officially going to be eating bird and rooting for the Bills on the Nieuw Statendam.

Does anybody remember if the games also show on the cabin TV? Wife prefers the Mexican Riviera itinerary...I'm okay with either but travel logistics will be easier going to Florida. First world decisions...

Seriously considering two itineraries over Thanksgiving: Koningsdam round-trip from San Diego and Nieuw Statendam round-trip from Fort Lauderdale. Both itineraries has us as sea-days on Thanksgiving Day. I only expect two things: a traditional Thanksgiving meal and to be able to see all 3 NFL games. Is this a certainty? TIA.

What Chris said. I made four 6:30 PM MDR reservations from the website on May 20 for a June 25 cruise with zero issues. Some of the nights, it really didn't matter as there was no line for open seating. But on the Gala Nights - yeah, you want a reservation. It was nice feeling turning the corner and seeing a line about 30 people deep, and then walking around all of them to see the maitre d to tell them I had a reservation. Now, I did have a different table and therefore a different waitstaff every night, so if that's important to you...