motheroftwocats814

Thanks so much to everyone. 

Hello-

Sailing on Emerald in July 2024. Canada/NE cruise out of Boston.

I am local so getting to the port is easy.

This will be my first time on Princess. We have the premiere package.

With the premiere package we get a medallion accessory. How do I get that and can you choose the accessory?

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Happy cruising

Blast it on Twitter. You will get a response with a quickness.

On 10/26/2023 at 10:58 AM, princeton123211 said:

Worth mentioning also that its WAY too early to be looking at actual pricing/availability for 2025--- if you can actually find availability it will most likely be priced much higher than if you were to book 5-6 months out. 

Yes. I know. Just thinking about options at this point.

9 hours ago, booinla said:

I, too, have booked my first HAL cruise. On the Koningsdam. In 2025 (January). And I'm very much looking forward to trying a new-to-me thing as well! I'll be on a San Diego round-trip to Mexico/Sea of Cortez.

 

I guess that means we are in a club now 😉

I suppose so! Lol! Enjoy

Hello all-

We are sailing out of San Diego on HAL in March 2025.

Any recommendations on hotels that offer hotel>San Diego Pors

25 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

If your travel dates don’t coincide with spring break there should be very few children. It is too soon to predict the future entertainment and even though the music walk is undergoing changes it has been so popular I am sure there will be some incarnation of BB Kings.  The HAL crews are superb always.  The ships are clean.  The K has many modern amenities.  The only shortcomings I found on the K was the wait for anytime dining.  That can easily overcome by now signing up for fixed dining. 

Our cruise date is March 29,2025. So maybe the tail end of spring break. I am not expecting no kids, but hoping a few. KDAM as of now has BB Kings, Rolling Stone and Billboard. Plus I think some others. Of course a year and half a lot can change. But looking forward to trying HAL. 

54 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

We sail Koningsdam next month.  Looking forward to our 1st time on the K, specifically, but we have sailed her sister- Nieuw Statendam.  We love the Grand Dutch Cafe on this class of ship- a must try IMO.  Free pastries, light lunch offerings, & several types of sweets included at no additional cost.  Love the coffee they serve there for a small fee.

Music walk will have a variety of music to enjoy.

There are usually a few kids onboard, but are usually well behaved.

Cruise critic is a good place to get ideas of what is available on HAL vs other lines.  Enjoy your cruise

Thank you!

We just got off Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas..and never before have we seen soooo many children..to the point where at the end of the week we were done.

We have been wanting to book HAL for a while, and the Wonder sailing sealed the deal.

We understand there may be some kids on this sailing, but not a ton.

We are booked on the Koningsdam March 29, 2025. Yes, 2025.

Starting in San Diego and ending in Vancouver.

We are HUGE music fans, namely the blues, so we are really looking forward to BB King's.

Anyone have any tips or experience with HAL and Koningsdam?

We have done CT a couple of times on various cruise lines.

We did it on Allure in 2019.The food and wine were great. Our stablemates? Not so much. Apparently they were a party of 10 and were pissed that we were there as they were under the impression it was a private event just for them. They were total jerks about it. Basically ignored us, and the "leader" of the group was a blow hard.

We are sailing on Wonder on Sunday and have CT reserved. We live in a major city where something like this would cost three times what costs on the ship. So it is worth it to us. Have a great cruise. 

As others have said, sounds like MTD instead of early fixed dining.

This "new program" is a mystery to me.

On 10/1/2023 at 9:36 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

That only applies to ssilings prior to final payment.  They are now in a penalty phase as they are after final payment. 

 

If it was before final it would only be $100 per person, not $200

I was thinking 2 people so the 100. a person..and I guess I didn't read! LOL

You may want to consider moving the dates..Royal will charge you a 200 per person change fee..due at the time of making the change. And if there is a difference in fare on the new dates you'd be responsible for that as well. But it might work out to be better financially.

Sorry to hear about your mom.

On 9/29/2023 at 12:51 PM, babyblue78 said:

If you have the Deluxe or Refreshment packages, you can get smoothies and protein shakes in the Vitality Cafe also, if you can use those instead of hauling your own on.  Here is the link to the menu:  vitality-cafe-menu-sample.pdf (royalcaribbean.com)

Thank you!

13 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

Hello OP,

 

I understand your post. I also lost weight and do not eat as much as I used to eat. I have sailed 3 times since then and have 2 more scheduled. For my first two cruises after losing weight, I also wondered about eating during the cruise and not wanting to be wasteful. Like you, I asked the MDR staff for smaller portions, but meals were served at portions that seemed regular which was too much for me. I talked with the wait staff each evening that I was in the MDR about it, and they helped reduce my concern about being wasteful, even though I would not eat all that was served. Sometimes portions were offered smaller, but at times, that depened on what the entre was. Those first two cruises were solo. In some ways that made food situations easier.  I chose not to purchase specialty dining on those first two cruises post-weight loss. They were also during the cruise restart which made things easier too. 

 

My third cruise after losing weight was NOT solo and we did book some specialty dining restaurants. This time, I let the MDR waiter know that I eat smaller portions for medical reasons. When the food was served, I ate what I wanted, and left what was remaining. I did not feel concerned about it as that was my new norm at that point.

 

Regarding wasteful from a money standpoint when it came to specialty dining restaurants, I had some thoughts about that since specialty dining is an additional cost, but I knew that when I purchased it, so I was able to not let that get to me too much. I had accepted that I paid for something and will not eat all of it. I paid for it because I wanted to enjoy the experience. To me, having a good experience does not mean that i have to eat a lot of something thats good. So, I took care of the money concern mentally before getting on the ship. plus, I value my weight loss which helps my health, so I am not critical of myself when there is food leftover. I do care about food waste in a large scheme of things, but I also care about my health. I ask for smaller portions. If that is honored, great. If not, I don't hold myself responsible for that. The waiters are kind which also helps me feel more comfortable. 

 

I'm not sure how long it's been since you lost your weight. For me it's been 2.5 years at this point. Smaller portions is my new norm. If you are newer to eating smaller portions or cruising post your weight loss, I understand your concern or question. Just wanted to share about my experience of how i became more comfortable over time and my concern reduced over time. Perhaps yours will as well. 

 

Also, my next two cruises have folks joining me that may help reduce any potential food waste for anything I don't eat, lol. 

 

Enjoy your cruises. Hopefully with less concern as time goes on. Take care, and congrats to you. 

 

Thank you so much for your input. Our last cruise in October 2022,I spent the first three nights in the MDR convincing the waiter that I just couldn't finish, it had nothing to do with the food not being good. After night four he said "I know Miss, you don't eat much" with a big smile. This time around, I am going to try and be less stressed about. Congrats on your weight loss success. 

I don't eat a lot after losing a lot of weight.

Our last cruise the waiter in the MDR finally got used to me not finishing dinner after about three days.

I had to convince him that the food was good, I just can't eat a lot.

We are doing a couple of specialty dining venues and Chef's Table.

I am a little worried that it might be a waste of money.

I did a royal up bid once.

It was sort of last minute. Maybe about about two weeks prior to sailing.

I got accepted and assigned cabin 1 day before sailing.

15 minutes ago, JustUs275 said:

I asked this question on another forum and was told yes. So I'm planning on putting them in my carry on, just as I would do with soft drinks or water if I were bringing them.

 

Thank you.

Why should you get double points? It wasn't booked as a solo. 

I am confused about your OBC. Was the OBC per person? ie: 150 per person? Or was it attached to the lead guest?

Hello fellow cruisers.

I drink protein shakes. The bottled ones.

Am I allowed to bring them onboard? If I can't it is not a huge deal.

Thank you for you input.

What's a check?🙃

2 minutes ago, mkmaj said:

Seriously. It's a big reason to go on this ship in cool weather. I don't want to relax with people's screaming kids either but want to spend time with my daughter enjoying some reading, chatting and lounging that we both like. We waited until my daughter was old enough to book.

 

Just because it's not your thing doesn't make it ridiculous for someone else to look forward to.

I get it, but many 16 year olds are not as quiet as your daughter sounds like.

On 9/27/2023 at 11:13 AM, mkmaj said:

I'm personally very irritated by this. We are sailing in 5 weeks and I was very much looking forward to quiet reading time with my quiet reader 16 year old. It feels like my whole cruise plan has been sabotaged.

Seriously?

Yippeee..Now let's hope they enforce it.

Enforcement varies ship to ship I have seen.

Our Allure sailing there were kids in there. And not going to the bistro.

I mean in the pool, on the loungers etc.

FINALLY staff member came over and told them to leave. Mother was mad that the staff dared to kick her angels out.

On our Voyager cruise not a young one even dared enter. LOL

On 9/26/2023 at 3:24 AM, MsSoCalCruiser said:

How much are the Beach Passes? Does that include lunch? What all does the beach pass include? Thank you. 

Ours were about 179 per person. It includes lunch. Private area. We aren't getting off the ship at the other ports, so we decided we would spend it on CoCo Cay.