Loreto

We have dined at 13 Coins in the past when staying at the airport. Very good and varied menu!

Are you flying in? We always use the HAL hotel package and stay at the Seattle Airport Hilton. There are restaurant choices at the Holiday Inn next door as dining at the Hilton is pricey It is more expensive but you are transported from the hotel to the cruise pier, which is a good distance from the airport. There is a West Coast Departure Board on Cruise Critic and you can ask there, and there will be suggestions you can scroll through. Enjoy Alaska!

Congratulations! You solved the mystery🙂...I hope the OP checks in. The art on HAL ships is amazing. Years ago HAL sent me their book, The Art of Cruising, about the HAL art collection, as a thank you....I was thrilled to receive it!

Welcome Back! We are sailing on the Zaandam Feb.18- March 4 San Diego-Ft. Lauderdale and are staying on to return to San Diego March 4-18. We are glad to be back on a smaller ship. We have sailed the Zaandam 5 times in the past and expect her to be pretty much the same. We have enjoyed the Signature Class ships but not the Pinnacle Class (too big!) We do have a roll call for Feb. 18th. We have only sailed on HAL, but know loyal Celebrity cruisers.

If you notice, on the lower right of the yellow ochre plate, there is a metal plate that would identify the artist. As an artist myself, I loved the recorded walking tour of the ship artwork, and always took note of the plaque that identified the date and artist. I will be on the Zaandam next month.

The ruins in Trujillo and remnants of the Moche culture were among the most impressive I have ever seen! I would be thrilled to see them again.

Oops! I stand corrected, CruiserBruce, as you seem to relish pointing out people's mistakes🙁. It was 7004, it was a quiet Neptune Suite and it was not that far from the Neptune Lounge. We were treated wonderfully by Anika the concierge, whose email address I still have. Thank you for coming to my defense, colbe🙂!

We stayed in 2004 on the Volendam for our 28 day Amazon Explorer cruise in Nov. 2019. I jumped at the chance to book it for our 50th wedding anniversary! 2004 and 2002 are under the beauty salon and were very quiet. It wasn't that far from the Neptune Lounge.

Thanks for reporting! We did this itinerary twice and would book if HAL would offer it again...so far no. Glad to hear it was successful for the most part.

My husband used the military appreciation offer for 3 cruises in 2022...just filling out the form at the web site...very easy. For our upcoming Feb. 2023 the requirements have completely changed. You MUST apply for the offer before you book a cruise, or within 3 days of booking. Documentation of service is required and added to the information for Sheer ID. His required discharge papers were sent as a PDF and accepted, but there was no place to provide the booking number. The "redeem offer" just sent you back to the original web page. A call to HAL was made and the agent called the resolutions department who said it was too late, unfortunately. He said he would try since we are 5 Star Mariners. The booking was made last March, and I just made a booking last month, but it was too late to get the promo. So just a heads up if you fall into that military offer category to apply for the offer before you book.

Our last cruise before COVID was the Amazon Explorer Nov. 2019 on the Volendam. The Pinnacle Grill was beautifully transformed for this A Night at the Tamarind event. The evening started of well with appetizers, but soon became a disaster as the Volendam kitchen became overwhelmed and the meal stretched almost 3 hours. People became angry and walked out. We stayed, although after 2+ hours we ran out of things to talk about! The manager personally apologized to us and we were never charged. The meal, when it came was delicious. Hopefully they have learned from their mistakes. The Tamarind is our favorite restaurant!

I went immediately to the HAL web page to check it out! Great itinerary R/T from Seattle,too. This is the second unusual itinerary…..is HAL listening to customers and offering unique itineraries? We already booked the March 2024 Mexico Solar Eclipse Cruise.

I do the survey but also send a letter to Guest Services naming helpful, terrific crew members by name. Sometimes in the survey I forget things that I should have added, and the letter has assured that HAL gets the message. I always get a reply from HAL...I have been doing this for years!

There is a beach right next to the tender dock at Kona, Hawaii. A number of passengers on our Feb 2022 Koningsdam cruise enjoyed it. Volcanic situation may impact that port...hope not.

The Big Box store has a problem with how they are labeling some cabins as accessible in some areas of the ship. I personally told a manager their Koningsdam map is not correct, but it stayed the same. I have chosen do not upgrade with BB bookings in the past.

There was a very nice late morning party for the 5 Star and Presidents Club Mariners on the Koningsdam California Coast cruise last month. Everyone had a photo taken with Capt. Draper and the Hotel Manager...appreciated touch!

We would really like to see an Amazon Explorer cruise. There is nothing for 2023 and 2024. I asked the Cruise consultant on the Koningsdam last month and she had no idea if it would be offered. We did it twice and would do it again in the future. Taking the itinerary that is there right now didn't work for us, and we hoped there would be another chance in the future.

We did the Circle Hawaii cruise last February followed by the 7 day Mexican Riviera HAL had outstanding enrichment activities from San Diego to Honolulu...The state of Hawaii required us to call first at Honolulu, which altered the cruise schedule and short changed us on the Kauai call. The five days back had different performers...some really outstanding, in addition tho the Step One shows, and offered a variety of activities.

DH and I were just discussing the Prinsendam and our wonderful Amazon Explorer cruise….Capt Gunnerson’s final voyage before retiring. After our not so great coastal cruise on the Koningsdam last month we say “no” to Pinnacle Class ships. HAL needs a small ship again!

We also use both.

I do give the envelopes directly to the cabin/dining stewards! I always do it the day before disembarkation.

Thanks for pointing that out! Some have said they want to give the room steward candy...cash is most appreciated. The front desk staff and bar staff are Filipino. We always give our hardworking stewards extra, and write the room number and our names along with a thank you on the outside of the envelope. For dining stewards we write the dining time and table number.

I appreciate your review! We have paid up to let HAL handle the details, and have never regretted our decision! I was curious as to the precruise hotel arrangements for Venice/Trieste and it sounds like you made the right choice.

We were on the same cruise, got the letter but it was no big deal , everything worked fine.

Hi Jacqui, Welcome back! Please add Loreto : Zaandam 30 March 2024 14 Day Solar Eclipse and Mexican Riviera Thanks, Karen