oldbluff

Yes, the handful of port-side deck 4 extra-large balconies are great. Not more expensive than regular ones.

I agree about Rudi’s. Our only experience was on Koningsdam the end of last year. We went once and it was fabulous. So we returned another 4-5 times during the four weeks onboard. The food was always excellent and only once was the service very good instead of superb. I also agree about Pinnacle Grill for lunch. Consistently good and a bargain. For us, consistency is key. I will frequent a lesser quality restaurant much more often than one that is hit or miss. Plus then I can recommend it without hesitation.

You are correct. Plan G is available, which we have. The big attraction for us is covering surprise extra charges from doctors and labs. The foreign medical is a bonus, although we still get travel insurance. I figure the Plan G $50K can stretch our travel insurance medical coverage if needed. I believe the only difference between plan G and the discontinued plan F is F covers payment of the annual Medicare plan B premium of a few hundred dollars.

These prepayments will not affect revenue until HAL is able to keep the money because you sailed or forfeited the funds. It does increase cash in hand on their balance sheet, but is offset by Unearned or Deferred Revenue, not real Revenue. This does not feed into profit and loss until later converted to revenue. Companies do try to shift revenue timing (think Enron), but today it is almost impossible for large publicly-traded firms to do so. Privately-held companies are more likely to try such shenanigans, depending on the strength of their auditors.

I gave the wrong price to upgrade the beverage package. It is $10/day/person, not $15. So $11.80 per day and $82.60 for a 7 night sailing, for one person.

Our experience has been you can upgrade from the Signature to the Elite beverage package once onboard. The cost has been $15 per day per person in your cabin. Plus 18% of this amount. Things may have changed. Our last cruise was in January. We did the upgrade then without a problem.

We board Eurodam in a couple of weeks and look forward to meeting your son and listening. I don’t expect perfection but decent pitch and a bit of interaction with the crowd makes for a great evening. And using a tempo and style that matches the song, vs one size fits all. The two on Koningsdam the end of last year were dreadful.

Tamarind. Consistently excellent food and service.

Susan, we are looking forward to joining you in a month. Cheers! Cliff & Shelley

I have no doubt they will survive. But this will have a major impact on future business until they can rebuild credibility.

Yeah, I came to the same conclusion last night and reserved a car from SD to Portland for the 7th. Always wanna have a Plan B. With us arriving Saturday morning, we will have two days to get back if needed. My DW and I try to minimize night driving.

I do business software for a living and would happily sign on to a project to rewrite their crew scheduling software.

Yes.

Thanks Nancy. Forgot about Tule fog. Once upon a time I lived in Coarsegold and descended into the fog each morning enroute to my job in Fresno.

Having been in a jam before, I booked separate flights. So at least the return is disconnected from the cancelled outbound.

Nope. This 9 night is the last cruise for a good while, with Shelley watching our new granddaughter full time beginning January 9th. New Year's Eve on a ship is fun and there are two new ports for us, La Paz and Loreto. Glad you got home safely from your cruise. We enjoyed visiting with you both and hope to see you again. Cliff

We think alike. I did check those Bay Area airports as well. Nothing in time for less than $1000/person. Our son had driven up from Napa for Christmas and was going to drive back tomorrow. Instead, he is driving us today to Sacramento where we will stay overnight. We have a car rental (thru Costco! 😁) from Sac airport to SD airport for tomorrow. The treat awaiting us is staying at the Westgate in SD tomorrow night before the cruise, thanks to the recommendation from @kazu. I expect our Southwest flight back to Portland after disembarking on the 7th will hold.

Thanks. Yes, rental cars thru Costco have great rates plus second driver at no extra cost.

I was notified just after midnight that our Southwest flight tomorrow from Portland to San Diego has been cancelled. There are no flights from Portland or Seattle on any airline that will get us to SD in time to board the Koningsdam Thursday. We will rent a car and drive, leaving today. That may not be an option for others, if they are traveling too far to a cruise port and their flight is cancelled. The sooner you verify flights scheduled thru this weekend, the more time you will have to deal with unexpected changes.

It is 3pm in the MDR every sea day. Sometimes it is listed in the Daily What And Where and other times not. But is is held every sea day. At least on the Koningsdam.

Duplicate post.

On Koningsdam last week, I asked two lead bartenders what happens with bar tips, both cash and a tip amount added to a drink receipt. Both gave me the same answer. Cash tips are pooled among bartenders, either across the ship or for a group of bars. Tips added to a drink receipt go only to the bartender listed on the receipt. This is the opposite I would expect, but there was no misunderstanding my question and their response. It was still early in the evening. 😁 I am unsure what the protocol is for beverage servers, as I only asked a couple bartenders about their tips given directly to them. Cliff

I agree. Here is the sailaway view on Koningsdam 11/26.

I agree about Sel de Mer being the best specialty restaurant at present on Kdam. Milan was our go-to server there the past three weeks. Nelson and Tatenda will welcome you as fine friends when you arrive. Cliff

We are also on this week and had some food quality misses in the Pinnacle Grill. Sel de Mer and Tamarind had exquisite food and service. Canaletto was also a very good experience. Here's a pic of the gingerbread village, with a running model train. Deck 2 just forward of the midship atrium.