anniegb

29 minutes ago, kirkc said:

The color orange is worn and displayed as an homage to the Dutch Royal Family…the House of Orange, Has no references to the Irish or their history.

Suggest you search for Orange and the Green on YouTube 😜

5 hours ago, rollie said:

All right you guys.  We're going on this cruise next year.  My question to you is, can we make an 11:15am flight?  It's the only non stop home.  Thanks for your feed back.

 

Rollie

 

 

Have you checked if there is any other ship in port that day? 

Disembarkation this year was not pain free. A Disney ship was in port.

Many thanks for all your reports.

Litter is rare as it is culturally unacceptable to eat food on local transport and in public streets. 

May I enquire what was your favourite port of call?

17 minutes ago, cobalt206 said:

We are traveling in October 2025. I think the temperatures will be mild, perhaps cool up north.

30 minutes ago, cobalt206 said:

We are traveling in October 2025. I think the temperatures will be mild, perhaps cool up north.

Temperature wise Princess cruise will be warmer as the cruise does not visit Hokkaido.

I would opt for the longer trip and probably add on a land trip to catch the Autumn colours.

Neither cruise spends much time in Kyoto but that city can be very congested.

Enjoy whatever you decide.

Question: Which month? It can make a difference temperature wise as both cruises don't cover the same regions.

Very impressed that you managed to see all 3 sites in a 10 hour shorex.

With my experience of the Kyoto local rail network and the Shikansen system, that would have been very difficult to achieve going by rail.

Japanese guides should come with an advance notice, their walking speed is very fast.

15 minutes ago, ski ww said:

We have done two trans Pacific cruises & loved them both, hope to do more. If you enjoy sea days sitting on deck watching the waves, sitting reading a book or having a nap in a deck chair then you will enjoy it. Some times there are interesting guest speakers, it depends. Try it & decide for your self.

On the Koningsdam, I missed the steamer chairs on the promenade deck. In fact there were very few places to sit on that deck.

28 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I wouldn’t be discouraged by long cruises , I love them but the 8 sea days we had on the Tahiti Cruise pushed my limits for physical inactivity.  There is only so much leg room on a cruise and walking on a treadmill is a poor substitute 

I have several 25 day cruises under my belt.  However this cruise lacked a certain energy during the last stretch of sea days - JMO.  The CD and again JMO was disinterested and that permeated. On my long Dec cruise, we had 4 different lecturers per day and I only had 1 hour 'down time' between 0900 and 1800.

You shouldn't compare but inevitably you do.

I have also completed this cruise and in comparison to another cruise line, different itinerary, HAL's daytime activity schedule on the return leg was very light. I think we had 8/9 consecutive sea days.

JMO the Headline Acts in the World Theatre in the 1st half of the itinerary were of a higher quality too.

My advice is be self sufficient wrt to entertainment.

FWIW, I realised that an itinerary with a cruise length of more than 25 days is too long for me.

5 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Hi Annie!! Thanks for the info. Two questions, who the heck is Emma and how does she still have a job?

 

I vote for everyone getting out of Grants way and letting him run the entertainment!! 
 

 

Hi Cheryl

IIRC it was Grant who mentioned Emma was his boss. Apparently she was visible at the crossing the Equator ceremony, Also if I further recall correctly, Grant mentioned  that Mikey another boss Mikey ?? joined in Honolulu.  So by my count, there were 3 personnel who delivered most of the classes and 3 supervisors/managers ?? 

It is possible that Emma was not i/c scheduling but was name dropped by Kristen??

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Yep, Grant was a 10+, born to be in front of crowds with a mic. So warm, welcoming, and inclusive. He really had a positive impact on my cruise.

 

I’m still a little miffed that dance class was cut short 2 days early because Grant was needed in the world stage. Sure, the world stage was a great presentation, but couldn’t dance class have been offered sometime in the 9-10 hour block? After Tai Chi but before the “life at sea’ presentation? If you added in the folks participating in the balconies, dance class had to be approaching 100 participants and it was the ONLY activity offered for those of us who want a little more high energy. I get that Grant is only one person and can’t be everywhere, but there has to be a work around besides cutting out an activity that had such high attendance. Again, a scheduling blunder.

 

Regarding movies at the lido. I do agree that during the day would be invasive on all the folks enjoying the pool. But why not throw on some music videos? That large screen showed a drop of water for 35 days (well there was some gold chain thing too for variety). I asked every single day in the app for music to be played in the lido. If only for a couple hours. If not the lido, then the sea view. Offer one pool with a bit livelier atmosphere. I do understand that on this particular cruise that might have been difficult since the majority of passengers likely grew up without MTV, but every generation likes music. Again, not both pools. Leave one for those who want silence. If HAL wants to rid itself of the decade old ugly stereotype of the cruise line for the “newlywed and nearly dead” then they need to pay attention to those of us who are asking for more energy. Somewhere we can find a compromise between radio silence and Guns and Roses.

 

Oh, about the speakers. I did notice one speaker was blown. Easy enough to fix. Nearly every other cruise ship I have been on in the last decade has had movies/music videos at the lido with no sound issues. Since every single movie that was shown at the lido was also available on stateroom TV, the lack of movies wasn’t a copywright issue. I get that movies at the pool require more staff and I am the last person who wants to make more work for the crew, but HAL really should address the lack of space issue that the Kdam design created. Seems easy enough to press play every night; again a scheduling issue.

 

I would like to know who was in charge of scheduling events. Based on the conversation  @anniegb had with Kristin, it wasn’t the cruise director. So who was it? Typically it is the cruise director but apparently not on this cruise. I hope they can learn from our surveys because my requests in the app went no where. After ignoring my 22nd request for some light music during the day, I think they would have preferred it if I volunteered to walk the plank. 🙂 

 

Finally, these are certainly first world gripes. I mention them here to help prepare future cruisers for what they might encounter, and I mentioned them in the survey (and app) to help HAL better meet the needs of the up and coming population of cruisers. Make no mistake; the good far outweighed the bad. I had an AMAZING journey on the K’dam. Largely due to all the relationships I was able to form with like minded travelers and the incredible places we visited. Most importantly, I most certainly made life long friends and that trumps listening to Bon Jovi at the lido. 

 

 

 

Hi Cheryl

Kristen disclosed in her conversation with me, that Emma was i/c scheduling.  As I understood it, Emma was Grant's line manager.  BTW how many managers does it take to run that department ? I reckoned that Grant had 3 line managers 😉

Grant, JMO, had such a heavy workload - he could have done with an assistant 🙂

8 minutes ago, highscar said:

On the cruise before yours Kirsten was excellent and well liked. She was very knowledgeable about all her talks.  Also was very personal when off duty.   The best we have had on many cruises.  

Interesting and your POV is at odds to those of other cruisers on this thread..  FWiW the general consensus on my cruise and I accept it is based on anecdotal evidence Kristen was not perhaps the 'best fit' for the role.

Delivering a presentation on useful apps when travelling, why select London as an examplar when the next ports were based in Hawaii ??

Curioser and Curioser.

43 minutes ago, ljgordon54 said:

Well sometimes when people are on the downhill slide leaving a job, they don’t give a darn. 😞 

To be fair, it was said this cruise was her first cruise as a cruise director. I lay more blame at those who assigned her to the vessel.  She had previously worked at Microsoft amongst other employers.

2 hours ago, ljgordon54 said:

We wanted to watch a movie @ the Lido on a different ship and couldn’t understand it at all so we quit trying. Maybe it is just our old ears.

 

I wonder who/why the cruise director is. Activities should be well planned or that person should answer for it. Anyone would have to know that chocolate is a draw!

Janet

The cruise director was Kristen Hickman. She was observed leaving the ship, complete with luggage, at the end of the cruise,

FWIW I raised the schedule/room allocation with her on Day 2 of the cruise.  She replied, it had nothing to do with her.

As has been stated before, the public venues on the vessel are far too small for the size of the passenger list.

20 hours ago, DAllenTCY said:

As I have state before....the city of San Diego has more urgent needs than a cruise terminal.

 

We have thousands of homeless and mentally ill roaming the streets.

 

The city purchased a huge building at 101 Ash St. a few years ago downtown that is uninhabited and tangled in lawsuits. 

 

https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2022/07/26/city-council-approves-legal-settlement-on-101-ash-street-civic-center-plaza/

 

The city has spent many millions of dollars in legal fees regarding prime land along Mission Bay called DeAnza Cove.  It has not been redeveloped as yet ten years later due to lack of funding.

 

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/de-anza-cove-settlement-verdict-comes-today/2081364/

 

Other downtown vacant buildings are being vandalized.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fire-breaks-out-at-vacant-downtown-san-diego-building/ar-BB1k9Oed

 

Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, no longer port in San Diego.

 

Disney Cruise Line has downsized from 50+ sailings to 20 in the next 18 months.

 

It is disheartening to me as I enjoy cruising and being helpful to others who do too.

 

David

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hear you.

However as a visitor from overseas, the poor infrastructure coupled with a very poor attitude displayed by some employees/contractors at the port speaks volumes. Cruises and cruise passengers are not wanted by San Diego.

I hear you and I will not return 

6 hours ago, ljgordon54 said:

I don’t understand, it was for you because you don’t like chocolate? I am hoping they fix some of these things before next year. Especially trivia; it is our favorite thing we do. Janet

No chocolate offered

1 hour ago, yellowjacket_cruiser said:

Koningsdam Ball and Chocolate Surprise were a disappointment. By the time my husband and I finished our 7:30 fixed time dining, the venue was so packed the hallway in back was full as well. I guess that is to be expected when you invite over 2000 people to a room that holds maybe 300. We left after about 15 minutes of standing without a drink and went to another bar. But we were sad to miss the party, I don’t understand why they couldn’t use the lido deck so everyone could participate. 
These past seadays the events have seemed to be more crowded than the first part of the cruise. To play 30 minutes of trivia you have to show up 30 minutes early to get a seat. Every event seems people are turned away. It was not that way earlier in the cruise. 

Only 30 minutes early? You were lucky!

8 minutes ago, yellowjacket_cruiser said:

Koningsdam Ball and Chocolate Surprise were a disappointment. By the time my husband and I finished our 7:30 fixed time dining, the venue was so packed the hallway in back was full as well. I guess that is to be expected when you invite over 2000 people to a room that holds maybe 300. We left after about 15 minutes of standing without a drink and went to another bar. But we were sad to miss the party, I don’t understand why they couldn’t use the lido deck so everyone could participate. 
These past seadays the events have seemed to be more crowded than the first part of the cruise. To play 30 minutes of trivia you have to show up 30 minutes early to get a seat. Every event seems people are turned away. It was not that way earlier in the cruise. 

Well I was there and chocolate surprise was for me - no chocolate offered.

Management know these public venues cannot possibly accommodate everyone who wants to attend. One of the drawbacks of ever larger ships.

22 hours ago, canadianbear said:

Nice to come back from breakfast & find these on our bed.  They are larger than the other tiles we received previously. 

Leaving mine in my cabin. More unnecessary clutter. I appreciate it is a tradition but time to move on.

On 3/10/2024 at 2:28 PM, crystalspin said:

AFAIK, it is still $10+1.8=$11.80pppd and all adults in cabin must upgrade for the entire cruise on the first day before using the HIA/Signature plan. If 3 (really 2.5) of each of your drinks per day are $15, it pays for itself. But it would take 10 drinks at $12 (pppd) to break even. Every day, port days included.

 

I will just put up with the messy accounting.

Correct.

However I am unable to obtain a Singapore Sling as not all ingredients are on board.

I drink Dubonnet - no one can advise if there are stocks on board.

One couple I met, trawled the ship looking for their preferred wine.  No one could advise them which bar had stock.

Very many on this cruise are not drinking.

5 hours ago, AryMay said:

Hmmmm. Wonder what happened to James (from Scotland?) James and Clara Vee both had just started together on the previous 18 day Hawaiian cruise and I thought they worked well together. I figured they both would have been on the current cruise. 

His contract ended when we docked in Oahu. He is sorely missed by some of us and his style offset Clara's over singing.  She was trained in musical theatre and her voice is too big for a relatively low ceilinged venue.

At least we still have BB Kings.

17 hours ago, Shears5055 said:

They are on board and I must say we are thoroughly enjoying them.  Clara V has some amazing talent and her new partner Lynn is quite good as well.  They work together very well.

I could not disagree more.

There is a group of cruisers who have abandoned Billboard as a musical venue.

Just proves taste in music varies.

Clara has earned the nickname screechy.  She has yet to learn to calibrate the volume according to venue.

Her new partner did play over Captain's announcements.

47 minutes ago, misguy said:

The line is for security, but it was only for those boarding Hal.    The biggest issue was having to wait out side in the line, with no protection from the sun.  We got there very early, and if we had waited till later it might have been less of an issue.  

 

We like to get on as soon as possible.

You may not know the answer but is it suspected that many arrived ahead of their booking slot?

TIA 

19 hours ago, Loreto said:

I applied with Stockperks Tuesday Jan. 23. Uploaded a photo of my current statement, got the reply that it was being reviewed and received email confirmation that it was accepted today, Sun Jan 28.  So it did work!

Same experience.

Navigator App confirmed 0900 GMT that OBC was visible.

At 1700 GMT OBC has disappeared from Navigator App.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

19 minutes ago, kwhear435 said:

Thanks for all your answers.  Unfortunately it’s been confirmed by HA that the TA (after our final payment and final paperwork we have)  went in and changed our cabin to a guaranteed cabin and took off our pre paid gratuities.  She is nothing but a crook.  She of course denies having done it.  Her supervisor believes her and no one will help.  

The question I would ask does the TA computer system not have a system log which records who made the change??

You can prove it was NOT you.  The TA or HA systems should be able to prove who initiated the change.