vino100

Thanks for your review. Sounds like we had a similar experience. Alaska from anywhere on the ship is the main attraction. So beautiful.

Thanks for the kind words. We are having cruise withdrawals this week. Lol

Thanks, we are a happy family and are cherishing the memories .

First of all, I had a great cruise on the Koningsdam . So many on this forum answered my questions and I just want to help anyone else cruising on this ship to Alaska. This was a family cruise with 16 of us in 7 different cabins. We ranged in age from 73 to 3 ! And yes, I'm the old one ! So here goes. Embarkation: We stayed at the Pan Pacific , so getting our luggage to the ship was a piece of cake. Expensive ,but worth it for us. We arrived at the first check in area at 10:00. This was my scheduled time. Others in the group had later times, but since we were grouped together we were told we could do this. At this check in point we were asked if anyone had the Pinnacle Suite and I said yes. I had no idea how they knew this, but we were given a special piece of paper saying Pinnacle Suite. The rest of the process went very quickly. The only 15 minute wait we had was waiting for the ship to be ready. We were on board by 11:15. I read on this board that we would be walked to our stateroom ,( I had no idea before reading this here ), but this did not happen. No biggie to us at all. We were on Deck 7 looking for our cabin when an officer asked if he could help .We mentioned we were looking for our room and as soon as he heard the cabin # he took our carry ons and insisted on taking us himself. He apologized that no one had escorted us when we boarded. Like I said before, no big deal to us. Cabin : Well what can you say about a Pinnacle suite ...........absolutely fantastic. I had never booked the Pinnacle before ,but since this was all my family getting together we wanted a big enough place to meet .I am so glad I was able to book this cabin. Three separate rooms and a huge balcony with a hot tub. We were able to easily host everyone inside and out. and yes, we used the hot tub. So much fun to see Glacier Bay while in a hot tub. Would I book this cabin again ? Only if my whole family goes on a cruise again. Fantastic cabin , but I don't need this much space for 2 people. Cabin Stewards : The best we have ever had on over 30 cruises. Barri and Budha went beyond our expectations. Since at many times we had 16 in the cabin, they willingly brought in 14 wine glasses whenever we needed them. And we did do a lot of celebrating ! We had chocolate on the dressy nights, or whatever they are now called, and 2 HAL tiles were left on the bed. Club Orange : There are no tables big enough for 16 people. The largest table sits 6 and the tables can not be moved. I asked if we could have the same tables every night if we came at 5:30 every night. The answer was yes and we could always have the same front tables. This worked great as we were able to keep the same waiters. Roy and Dani were wonderful. Very attentive to everyone's needs and especially helpful to the 6 and 3 year old. We were very spoiled. We do enjoy our wine and there were at least 2 sommeliers on board. Charm was in Club Orange and went the extra mile to help us pick our wines. We really enjoyed her "Charming ways ". While food can be subjective, we really enjoyed the food. The menus were interesting and we always found something we liked. I will always want to book Club Orange for the more personalized service and more relaxed atmosphere . Pinnacle Grill : We only ate here once and it was excellent. They do charge for extra appetizers which I think is wrong. Just my opinion . They did provide a graduation cake that I mentioned as we were walking in, so that did make up for the extra charged appetizers. Neptune Lounge: I would be remiss if I didn't mention the over the top service we received from the Neptune Lounge concierge. Gracielle, not sure about the spelling, did everything in her power to meet our every need. She brought chocolate milk to our great grandkids and even found donuts with pink sprinkles. she sure made us feel very special. HAL has her in the right spot on the ship. Bars : If there was any negative on the ship it was bar service .It really didn't matter what bar we tried to order from, there just was a lack of anyone to help. Even if there were servers they would walk by and ignore you. This was very disappointing. One night in the Ocean Bar my husband gave a server $20.00 and asked if he would get us drinks. He brought one round and then we could never get his attention again. Entertainment : Music venues were very good. BB Kings and the Rock and Roll music were always crowded .I really enjoyed the dueling pianos ,but they were only on one night. Not sure why they bothered having two pianos on the ship ! The world stage shows were disappointing to me. I really prefer broadway production shows , but this is just my personal opinion. The cruise director really lacked enthusiasm. Even my kids who are not really cruise experienced commented on her blahness. Once again ,just my opinion. Activities : We loved the pickle ball on board. This was a very popular event , especially with my family. Trivia everyday. Line dancing lessons. Glacier Bay commentary was very good. Disembarkation : Much to my surprise, we were given a special escort off the ship. The Neptune lounge called two days before we got off the ship and asked how we were going to disembark. Since we had an early flight ,I told her we were walking off with our luggage. She told me to have all 16 of us in my cabin at 7:45 and she would be holding 2 elevators for us and escorting us all the way off the ship. Wow, now that is a perk that no one told me about . This saved us so much time and so appreciated. I know this has been a long review, but I wanted pay it back for all the help I have received over the years on CC. Any questions....just ask away.

we were in the pinnacle suit last week on the konsingdam and the non alcoholic drinks were free. One of the many perks we received. We had a fabulous time and plan to write a review.

Ditto everything you said. False advertising in my book. Shame on HAL. Before I get slammed, I’m 4 star on HAL so obviously have enjoyed the brand.

Thank you. We are a family of 16 so I know we will have so much fun.

Thanks so much for your informative review. We board this Saturday and can’t wait.

We cruise this Saturday on the konsingdam, i too will be so disappointed if we miss the inside passage going north. Specially cruised out of Vancouver at a significantly higher price, air hotel etc. I will report back. Hopefully with good news

I too thank you for taking us on your world adventure. I love the way you embrace the local cultures. looking forward to your next adventure.

Thanks for this honest review. We board in 13 days and I was getting a tiny bit worried that I picked the wrong cruise line.

Thank you so much for these encouraging words. Enjoy your cruise.

I once again thank everyone for the info. I’m hoping that by the end of May the port officials will have improved. Either way, my family of 16 are going to have a fantastic cruise.

Loving all the help. Thanks one and all.

Thanks for the info. What time did you check in?

After reading all the posts about the long lines at the Vancouver port, I’m concerned. We are a family of 16 and we all have priority boarding. Pinnacle suit, Neptune and the rest club orange. we sail on May 27th and do not have check in times yet. Not sure how or when we will get them. we are all staying at the Pan Pacific so we will send our luggage down early. question… should we just check in really early or wait until late.

Thanks for the info. We do love our wine so a good sommelier is a plus.

We are sailing on this ship in September. How was your experience.

I cruised on the new Jazz on the Mississippi River. Will never sail on this cruise line again. food was sub par with limited choices. They even ran out of main courses for dinner. I did enjoy the crew. I wrote an extensive review on the American cruise line board. I have also been on a Uniworld river cruise that was top notch.

After getting no where calling HAL , my wonderful travel agent took care of reserving the Pinnacle Grill for all 16 of us. nothing better than having a great agent.

I thought the cruise was fantastic. We loved all the comedians and left with sore stomachs from all the laughing. We would love to do another comedy cruise.

I’ll keep you posted. We are a fun group for sure. 🎉

Thanks for this link. Much appreciated. I’ll give it a try.

I’m on the Konsingdam to Alaska. I’m hoping there is a side room that can fit us.

I tried to book the Pinnacle Grill for my family of 16. Someone on CC shared a phone # to contact. Well, after being transferred between many agents I was told that I had to fill out a form ,send it back and then wait for their response. I was supposed to get an email from HAL, well it never came. I’m hoping not to go through that process again . Any suggestions?