Copper10-8

Agree 100% on the new terminal located at PV's Muele/Berth #1. It's a commercialized maze! As far as the 8-oerson shuttles there, they are electric and run on batteries. When we were waiting for our ride along with hundreds of Carnival pax, one arrived only to have the driver tell the Carnival people, "sorry, the shuttle's battery needs recharging" making for a bunch of not so happy campers! PV is in dire need of larger and more reliable shuttles, especially if your ship is assigned to Berth #3 which is a pretty good hump!

THU 05 JAN 23 – Day Eight – At Sea (Con't) So, as stated, this was the only night on this nine-day voyage specifically tagged as “Dressy” in the daily program. HAL’s term nowadays for what used to be “formal” or “gala” nights. New Year’s Eve, in the past, has been a formal/gala/dressy night but on this particular cruise that night was tagged as “Festive”. Per the website dressy wear is described as: “On Dressy Nights, we take it up a notch and recommend slacks, skirts, dresses, blouses, collared shirts and jackets”. On that recent New Year’s Eve, we still saw quite a bit of suits with ties, jackets with ties along with the odd collared shirt, no tie, and slacks, and of course some individuals choosing to show up in T-shirts and shorts. The majority of the ladies wore dresses, some gowns, and some blouses with skirts. Btw, officers on HAL (male and female) no longer wear their formal uniform (short black tuxedo jacket/white tux shirt with cufflinks and studs/black bowtie/black slacks or long skirt/black formal shoes or heels) , on dressy nights. Instead, officers on dam ships wear the same uniform every night which is the navy blue suit jacket, matching navy pants, white uniform shirt and black necktie. So, this being “Dressy” night, you’d expect K-dam’s combo of her entertainment director and cruise & travel director would have lots of live entertainment scheduled, right? Wrongo dongo! Our choices were a second BBC Earth presentation – Seven Worlds/One Planet – accompanied by the Lincoln Center Stage musicians at 7:00 and 9:00 PM in the World Stage, the two Billboard Onboard pianists at 7:30. 8:30 and 9:30 PM on the Music Walk, and DJ-inspired “Dance to the Hits” starting at 10:00 PM in the BB Kings lounge, So, no BB King’s All-Star Band, No Rolling Hills Rock Band, and no Lincoln Center Stage musicians apart from the BB movie. The two pianists ended their third set around 10:15 PM so that left the DJ as the only entertainment after 10:00 PM which ended around 11:00 PM at which time there was zero/nada/zilch/bupkis/naught/zippo entertainment whatsoever on the good ol’ K-dam during the only “dressy night” of the cruise! That, my friends, is ridiculous, as well as goofy! No clue why they would do/schedule that! So, after dinner, we were limited in seeing the BBC show at 9:00 PM which, like the first one earlier in the cruise, was interesting with incredible photography, but we’d rather see a show with a full cast and leave it at one BBC show with snakes chasing lizards. We then walked to the adjoining Billboard Onboard lounge for the last portion of the final set of the piano players. When they were done, we had no choice but to mosey on to the BB King’s Lounge for a little dancing to music produced by a DJ. We were forced to call it a night at 11:00 PM. Come on HAL, you can do better then that!

B - Classic Eggs Benedict - no sauce from CO/MDR L - Backflip, fries & Dive-in sauce from the, you guessed it, Dive-in L - Broodje Kroket from the Grand Dutch Café A - Satay sampler from the Tamarind C - The Godfather D - Caesar salad no anjovis; Filet Mignon, medium well & Garlic mashed potatoes from the PG D - Bossche bol from the Grand Dutch Café Special request - the keys to the brig and the fast rescue boat 😉

Is that the one for April, perhaps? 😉 Trust you had a good 2nd week along with Tony and the Mrs. Hope you get over your cold/cough soon! Maria and I came home with the crud also; took about two weeks to get rid of the stupid cough

Yes, it's coming! I'm always late but, at times, there is an advantage to that 😉

To @TiogaCruiser, @ccole and the others, much obliged! Have a great day, take care and be safe!

Sure! Apologies not required! 🧐

Rich, just curious; Did you already have the Neptune ceremony?

Yes, they do, but only with a special key. They can be opened per request of the occupants of the cabins on either side. You might see them all in the open position on disembarkation day morning when sailors drag a water hose by the balconies deck by deck in order to hose them down for cleaning

Thanks Roy for Rich and top of the mornin' to ya! 😉 And here I always thought "Ditch New Years Resolutions" day was when these bad boys started making an appearance 🤓

Same food as in the MDR Nice relaxed atmosphere inside CO Always escorted to your table by the host Your waiter(s) still has time for personalized service If it's busy in there, like it usually is on sea days depending on what time you present yourselves, you might have a little bit of a wait, but there are usually seats available for that in the Blend across the entrance to CO, and/or at the windows outside - The longest wait we had on our recently ended cruise on K-dam was about 8-10 minutes

Worth it on the Rotterdam and her two sisters? Without a doubt!

THU 05 JAN 23 – Day Eight – At Sea (Con't) Our dinner reservation at 7:15 PM was in K-dam’s Sel de Mer restaurant on Deck 2 located right smack in between the Pinnacle Grill and Club Orange and across from the Ocean Bar. All share the big galley with the main dining room located all the way aft on that same deck. This would also be a first for us, as a matter of fact our very first time dining in Rudi Sotamin’s place. We are aware of the special “Sel de Mer pop up” nights in the Pinnacle Grill restaurants on the smaller ships, but the menu on those nights never really appealed to us. Btw, this was K-dam’s only dedicated “Dressy” (the former Formal designation) for this cruise since New Year’s Eve had been designated as “Festive”. Our server inside Sel de Mer turned out to be Boris from Montenegro, one of the many former Yugoslavian republics. The manager in there is usually the only Argentinian onboard, but he is currently “under the weather” prob. too much partying after his country recently won the World Cup Football (Soccer) with Leone Messi in Qatar. In his place was a German manager, Steffen, who is convinced that his country will soon win that same world cup again. The host in the restaurant who showed us to our comfortable table for two was Tatenda, all the way from Zimbabwe. The plates on the table had the “Food Faces” artwork on them created by Bernardaud, the French manufacturer of Limoges porcelain. Rudi’s Sel de Mer is not a huge place; it has seating for 44 patrons when fully occupied. As stated, on K-dam it is a standalone restaurant where a blackboard is posted outside with the catch of the day chalked on it. Inside, one wall is made up of a single impressionist painting and ceramics line the walls. A trolley in the center of the room showcases the catch of the day and menus come as you'd expect in France: a single sheet listing the appetizers, entrees and the specials, while on the other side of the page you have a wine list featuring French wines. Appetizer choices include steak tartare; Rudi's seafood tower (with lump crab, North Sea shrimp and octopus); escargot bourguignonne, foie gras torchon and bouillabaisse Marseilles. Entree options included broiled Maine lobster, whole Dover sole meuniere, salt-crusted branzino, Steak frites, duck cassoulet and a goat cheese souffle. A baguette with herbed butter and an array of tapenades is served before the meal, as is a scallop amuse-bouche. Side dishes such as cauliflower puree, truffle mashed potatoes and green beans can be shared. Desserts are ordered at the same time you make your meal choices; if you pick Rudi's souffle, it will take extra time to prepare. Other options include profiteroles, crepes Suzette, apple tarte tatin and a French cheese plate. Besides your dessert, you'll also get chocolate-dipped strawberries and truffles, arranged on a clever presentation "tree." After giving us two complimentary welcome cocktails of sparkling wine with Armagnac, a French cognac, Boris served us a couple of 'amuse bouches’, French for “mouth amuser”— think complementary little bites that chefs send to diners at the start of their meal, One was a fish-inspired salmon cookie, while the other was a plate of delicacies of the sea. For our appetizers, we had the Foie Gras De Canard Au Casis; the entrees were the highly recommended Whole Dover Sole Meuniere for Maria, and the Fish of the Day, which was Mahi Mahi accompanied with Pommes Frites pour moi, and for dessert, we each had the Profiteroles. Post dinner, the chef in Sel de Mer, a South African gent by the name Roy K. came to our table (and others) to get our feedback, a nice gesture! Oh yeah, before I forget, just like inside the Pinnacle Grill where Dylan from Holland is assigned, Sel de Mar has not one, but two Dutch waiters working there! The Dutchies are everywhere! Our opinion after we were finished with our very first dinner at Rudi’s; one magnifique experience as far as ambiance, service and food! Worth doing many more times on one of the three Pinnacle-class ships. As far as the Rudi’s Sel de Mar “pop-ups” inside the Pinnacle Grill restaurants on the other eight dam ships? We will need to pay closer attention to the menus for that occasion 'cause as of right now, we are both sold on Rudi's place!

THU 05 JAN 23 – Day Eight – At Sea Thursday at sea started off with sunshine, blue skies and a gentle motion in the ocean as K-dam was transiting the Mar del Pacifico from the Mexican mainland om course for the tip of Baja California where we would begin to follow the coast northbound. We woke up from an excellent night of sleep and subsequently had our breakfast in Club Orange with service from Ngurah / “Nugi”. As was the case during our first sea day southbound, Aris and Suzie had a full house going and we spent some time seated outside at the Blend, doing some serious people watching as the world went by. There was a whole slew of stimulating activities scheduled this morning such as Tai Chi, Mass, Spanish lessons, Pickleball, an EXC talk, Party bridge, a Poker tournament, learning how to fold Origami, a shuffleboard challenge, jackpot bingo, a jewelry auction, international beer drinking, the art of flower arranging, etc. Routine activities would soon be interrupted however, when Captain Robert Jan came over the ship’s P/A system around 11:00 AM to announce that we would change course and sail directly for Cabo San Lucas for a medical disembarkation of unfortunately one of our fellow passengers. Without a doubt, the ship’s senior doctor, the captain and the local authorities in Cabo (both military and civilian) had been discussing the medevac throughout the morning. Had we been sailing along the U.S. or Canadian west/east (or Gulf) coast, this medevac would have taken place via helicopter. Although the Mexican military has a limited aerial medevac capability, that option is spread out over the country on both coasts. In Mexico, the maritime search and rescue / Búsqueda y Rescate Marítimo is the Mexican Navy’s SAR unit. The Mexican Search and Rescue primary missions are SAR operations within 50 miles of the Mexican coastline. There are two types of SAR Stations (Estaciones Navales de Búsqueda y Rescate or ENSAR). Type A (Alfa) naval stations are equipped with one ex-USCG 47-foot Motor Lifeboat and two 33-foot Defender-class boats. Type B (Bravo) naval stations are equipped with 33-foot Defender-class boats. The first activated naval station was opened on April 6, 2007, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. In total the Maritime SAR unit’s goal is 19 ENSAR stations—six Type As, and 13 Type Bs. Cabo San Lucas has a Type B ENSAR station and that’s who showed up around noon to rendezvous with us in order to conduct the medevac. Bote de Búsqueda y Rescate BR-07 accompanied by Cabo pilot boat ‘Fenix’ came alongside K-dam’s starboard side with BR-07 making the approach to the aft tender platform which had been rigged by Bosun Yacob and his boatmen. ENSAR paramedics then boarded and were escorted to the infirmary where they were briefed by K-dam’s medical staff, collected paperwork, and conducted their own assessment. After approx. 25-30 minutes, the patient was transferred via Stokes litter to the aluminum-hulled rescue boat, equipped with a rigid foam-filled flotation collar. BR-07 then swung away from Koningsdam and made full speed for Cabo’s Hospital General de Cabo San Lucas. Excellent job by all involved and best wishes to our former shipmate! Anchored off Cabo during this rescue were Discovery Princess, Carnival Miracle and Viking Neptune. No doubt, a busy day ashore. Upon our departure from Cabo, there was once again (like Mazatlan) a whistle/toot fest between the bridge team of Discovery Princess and Koningsdam. For lunch, we went down to Lido Deck and gave the Dive-In a try, our first time this cruise and we were not disappointed. We each had the “Backflip”, their chickenburger with the excellent fries and “secret sauce”. Good stuff. The Lido pool was typically busy on a sea day with lots of kiddies having fun in and out of the water. For those who had missed the HAL Origin Story on opening night, there was a repeat in the World Stage today at 2:00 PM. There was also a line dance class in the BB King’s Lounge at 1:30 PM, as well as a ballroom dance hour in the Stuyvesant Room at 4:30 PM.

Thanks! That line can be pretty horrendous based on our experience!

You are welcome!

Any serious accident onboard a HAL ship - and I consider yours serious since you were medically disembarked as a result - is documented by the SECO and forwarded by him to risk management in SEA

Sure, go right ahead

The Deck 2 Pinnacle Bar on the four Vistas (and the two Signatures) would be a grand location and would work

The famous double door entry/exit of the water closet in the NS cabins on the three Pinnacle class ships

I should have done a better job hiding the child bride 😉 Would have been fun meeting you in person! That Mariners reception was short and sweet/in and out. We hung around afterwards to chat with Av8rix (Sue) and Vict0riann (Ann & Pat) and some others - All very nice folks! And yes, that new new cruise passenger welcome center, "Los Alambiques", and co-located themed shopping center, "Hacienda Tequilera", now two years old, is a bit of a maze, trying their best to get you into their stores whose merchandize ain't cheap. Every time you take a turn and think it will lead to the ship, there are more stores. As you know, we were there with Carnival Panorama and those little seven person golf shuttle carts had a hard time handling the large amount of pax, plus at least one of them ran out of juice, and had to be taken out of service to recharge its batteries to the chagrin of the (mostly Carnival) waiting pax! Me thinks they need bigger shuttles there, perhaps a la Mazatlan

The cabanas on Sun Deck belong to "The Retreat" which is listed on the deck plans. This is K-dam with tiny drawings of those infamous cabanas 😉 Yes, one has to do a bit of research to learn more bout the topic "cabanas" and the common sense (if present) side rules of "blaring music" Plus Lido deck, port side; more tiny lines 😉

Thanks Susie; It was a ship's tour, as was our first time flying there in the Cesnna fourteen-seater, but the tour outfit will be more than happy to take you there (and back) as part of a private tour also

Kazu / Jacqui, Welcome Home after your ordeal!

Bingo! And you used the correct terminology this time, Meneer uit Den Haag! 😜