Coolcruise02

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

 

 If you waited through the same lines to board the Princess or RCI ship, would it still be HAL’s fault?

I would have to hear from one of their passengers as to what they experienced.

I can only relay what happened at San Diego and it was HAL employees (with name tags) who were misdirecting people and did not check that people in line were on the right ship or had correct boarding times. They had no clue on basic procedures.

Sorry to hear about your embarkation mess. It was just as horrible at San Diego! I'm tired of hearing the blame being customs or port authority. This is a HAL responsibility!

Enjoying your review!

Thank you for the very informative video! We were on the sailing before the dry dock. Those Lido chairs were embarrassing. I can't believe they weren't replaced.

Our embarkation at San Diego was also horrible, so clearly this is not isolated to just Vancouver. I get tired of people blaming the "port authorities".  HAL has to take responsibility for making it better!

Can't wait to see more of your videos!

1 hour ago, curtdesilets said:

Something was curious on our last fully sold out cruise on Koningsdam.  I am an early waker and like to explore the ship on my early morning walks.  Surprised to find two people fully asleep with sheets and blankets on two of the upper level indoor pool lounges. (Not sleeping together, two separate mini beds)  I am a bad snorer and my wife grills me on it all the time  Is this an alternative? They seemed pretty comfortable sleeping there. 

Yes! I woke up at 5:00 one morning with a terrible headache. I went up to the Lido buffet and fixed me a cup of tea so I could take a pill. I went out to the pool to lay in a lounger and there were 2 men on opposite sides of the pool sleeping. Found out later at least one was getting away from a snoring wife.

10 hours ago, Bruinboy said:

So, what is a responsible and proper way to deal with chair hogs? I hate the fact that people ignore common courtesy and think the rules do not apply to them. And related to common courtesy, I apologize if this is hijacking the original post and will gladly received a responsible and proper response to me doing so. 

We were on the Koningsdam for 35 days. The first couple days the pool attendants were actively marking unoccupied chairs with stickers and removing items after their time had expired. I think people did take notice and things got better but unfortunately after 3 or 4 days it all stopped. I don't know if someone complained or they were short staffed.

Two loungers were saved next to me and the pool attendant asked if it was my stuff and I said no and he removed all the items & towels. When the people returned the attendant told them they could collect their items at Guests Services. I have no doubt they had a few choice things to say at GS. It seems like it would be better to have a shelf or cabinet on the pool deck to store the collected items.

Like others have said, the area above the pool is open to anyone but people start "reserving" them with a book or beach bag very early in the morning! Personally, I found them to be too hot when the roof was closed and when the roof was open you had to tie back the curtains or they would blow and hit you. Also, I found the loungers far more comfortable than the 2 person couch. 

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

A long time ago, in NYC security was after check-in and priority mattered from the beginning. But now, security always seems to happen first. And I've never seen priority lines for security when it's the first step. 

Not In San Diego!

To me if they have a HAL uniform on and a HAL name badge they are representing HAL and should be trained by them. I'm not going to argue about who hires or pays them. 

We embarked at San Diego and it was a mess!! HAL loyalist tried to blame port employees. I don't care who pays them, but if they are representing HAL they should be trained properly by HAL. They should know who has priority and who doesn't and how to handle each group. Especially, in a situation where people are standing in the sun for 2+ hours! (based on the time HAL assigned us)

FYI, we had a GREAT cruise despite the horrible start.

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Port staff are not HAL employees, so they deal with the rules and priorities of several lines over the course of a season and they don't always quite get it right. Once, boarding a HAL ship in Boston, we were asked how many Marriott stars we had. 

 

Then why do the have HAL uniforms on? The people in and around check-in, other than the porters, look like HAL employees to me. They should know the check-in rules and procedures but many of them don't.

 

I found one on our recent HAL cruise. I kept it in the cabin a few days and then hid it. I checked back in a few hours and it was gone. Kinda fun!

Exactly! The piano players would end and they would kick it over to Rolling Stones. Those people could not come and sit in the Rolling Stones Club as the seats were always full. There is no way the rock band can start before the piano players were done. Then BBK would start right after the rock band or sometimes 15 minutes before Rolling Stones was done. very weird!

We were on the Koningsdam before the dry dock. On most nights you could NOT arrive 15 minutes before a performance at BBK or Rolling Stone and get a seat. Personally, we did not like leaving one venue to go to another as there was rarely a place to sit. Also, I thought it was rude of people who had seats at one venue and would get up 15 minutes or so before the end of the set to run over to grab seats at the other venue. 

1 hour ago, Torquer said:

Also beware that if there is an umbrella, it will be a traditional one, and not one that folds up to a small size.  Because the HAL ones are not really suitable for walking around in a port unless it is actually raining, and can be a problem on many tours, we always bring our own.

We just did the 35 day Hawaii/South Pacific on the Koningsdam and the big orange umbrellas were everywhere in every port. Some used for possible rain but a lot of times they were used for shade.

2 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I thought only Neptune and Pinnacle suites have umbrellas. My mere veranda on Eurodam didn't have one.

We were in an interior cabin on the Koningsdam and we had one.

11 hours ago, Denversail said:

I’m not sure what you are trying to say here. The last time I checked the pools don’t have a foot washing station. If they did I would imagine they would be as utilized as the showers. If dirty shoes gross you out I would suggest you just stay out of the water. Honestly your disdain for such a small thing is perplexing to me. It is a cruise. Enjoy yourself

I'm sorry this is perplexing to you but to me it is just plain gross to wear shoes into the pool or hot tubs! Most people have flip flops on their feet and leave them at the step before entering the pool or hot tub. They have not gone barefoot around the ship and then jump into the pool.

11 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

You mentioned the shoes that worn were not used to walk around in.  I really don't see a problem if they are clean.  Maybe the person felt safer walking with something that had some grip to it. Personally, I get the ick feeling from people not showering off if asked.

Yes, I said the watershoes that people put on at the pool were NOT a problem. It's the people that get into the pool or hot tubs in crocs/shoes that are worn all over the ship. 

13 hours ago, Denversail said:

That is not the grossest thing in that hot tub by a long shot. Enjoy

Actually, I don't use the hot tub but I do swim and they were walking through pool water to get in the hot tubs.

I'm not sure where the people are from that think it is acceptable to wear Crocs and Tevas in the hot tub but it is gross. And, they also walked through pool water with their shoes on to get in the hot tubs. On the Koningsdam there is 4-5 inches of water you have to walk through to get into the hot tubs. Am I out of touch? Is this acceptable in some countries? Yuck!

PS..I am not talking about water shoes. The folks I saw that wore those put them on at the pool. They hadn't walked all over the ship with them on.

Not much help right now, but we will be there in a couple weeks. I'll report back on our experience.

It's still a beautiful island to explore!

On 1/7/2023 at 3:28 PM, Sir PMP said:

It's a Carnival stop, so you won't miss much.

What does this even mean????

Thanks for the info!

21 hours ago, Scrapnana said:

During Happy Hours, the sodas are $1.25 plus the 18%.  You can get two for the normal price of $2.50 plus !8%.

Thank You!

Do they also add a tip?

Thank you!