san diego spartan

36 minutes ago, Bethcb said:

We live in San Diego too! Go Green! Beat Michigan!

Awesome! Go White! Looking forward to Saturday's game.

My last name is legally hypenated on my passport and driver's license but not ony covid vaccination card.  Also I finally got my name corrected in the CA data base with my pharmacy but they had to leave off one letter of my first name as there was not room.  Odd my name isn't as long as some.  Anyway I went to Hawaii recently and no problem with all the documentation.  

I think if the name is close and you have the photo I'd etc you should be good to go.  Hopefully won't be an issue on Sunday when I board.

Now if the name is way off like the Skip example above not sure how that will go.

On 10/17/2021 at 8:13 AM, tennisbeforewine said:

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Ensenada, Mexico

 

Between last evening and today, we’ve been two busy bees.  Since it was my birthday, I got to choose where to have dinner.  I love Tamarind, and I equally love its bar, formerly called The Silk Room but now re-named The Panorama Bar.  We met Jeff there at 7:00 and chatted and took pictures (with Jeff, that’s a given) and had a cocktail until it was time for our dinner reservation at 7:30.

 

The whole setting in The Tamarind is just so darned peaceful.  It’s a bit dark and people seem to talk in low voices. We began with the wonderful bubbly that I mentioned yesterday while we were served large shrimp  crackers with three sauces:  warm, medium, and burn your lips off.

I’m a sissy, so I stuck to the first one.  For a starter, Jeff loves the tempera shrimp, while John had the Chinese five-spice baby back ribs, and I had the satay sampler.  They all looked and smelled wonderful, and my satay was delicious.

 

For mains, John and Jeff both had the Panang Red Curry Coconut Chicken which is served with jasmine rice, while I had the Mongolian Barbecue  Lamb Chops.  After having lamb chops in both The Pinnacle and Tamarind, I think it’s time to broaden my palate.  Jeff passed on dessert, but John and I shared a Mango Posset, which was a coconut macaroon with some passion fruit jelly and topped with a small scoop of mango sorbet.  It was so good I kept wishing I didn’t have to share.

 

Dinner was followed by visits to both the Rock and Roll Room and the “Dueling Pianos,” and then, since my eyes were having a hard time staying open, it was time for bed.  It was a wonderful birthday!

 

Since our “Have it All” package gave us $100 toward a shore excursion, today was our last chance to use it, so we booked the Calafia Valley Wine Country excursion.  It turned out to be a great choice.  We climbed aboard a large, comfortable bus and drove for almost an hour out into the countryside.  We could have been driving through desert country anywhere in the Western United States or even North Africa.  Cactus was everywhere and houses were few and far between.  Apparently this environment is very kind to some kinds of wine grapes, and our tour included visits (and tastings at) two lovely wineries.  The first was La Casa de Dona Lupe, where we tasted four of their wines and had some great snacks, including freshly made pizza and a couple types of bread.  The area where we sat overlooked the rocky hills behind the winery and would have been a beautiful setting for a wedding or other celebration.  The Argentinian violinist who played during our visit just added another plus.

 

Then it was time to leave, but a very short drive took us to L. A. Cetto winery, which we were told is the largest winery in Mexico.  A tour of the production facility was impressive; the oak barrels extended as far as we could see inside of the huge facility.  We learned a lot, but then came what we had been looking forward to:  the wine tasting.  We tried two whites and two reds, along with a local bread, olives, and pieces of cheese - Monterey Jack from Costco, we were surprised to learn.  The piece de resistance, of course, was the bottle of Cabernet/Malbec which was presented to us as we re-boarded the bus.

 

All in all it was a great excursion.  We arrived back at the ship at around 1:00, and after a fairly brief break (not for lunch - we were full from the excursion), we headed out for a walk through the downtown area of Ensenada.  It’s really a cute little area, the highlight of which is the number of small cafes and Mexican (what else?) restaurants lining the streets.  We picked up a postcard for our granddaughter, poked around a few shops, and then headed back to the ship.

 

It had been a beautiful day, sunny with the temperatures in the high 70’s.  Right now we’re sailing very slowly toward San Diego, only 87 miles away.  John just looked outside and said that it seems we’re hardly moving at all - probably because we have 14 hours to sail 87 miles.

We’re looking forward to a full day in San Diego, and then we begin another adventure to Mexico.

 

P. S.  The reason I’m posting two at once is that the internet on the ship has been very far from mediocre for the last two days, so in San Diego I’m planning to find the nearest Starbucks and post both of them.

Thanks again for your trip report.   Has been very informative.  I have also booked the wine tour on HAL in Ensenada and have a question about your post.  Do you get a bottle of wine as part of your tour?  When you said you were "presented" with the bottle I was not sure if you bought that or if it was included as part of the tour price.

thanks

6 hours ago, aring75 said:

All in all, we enjoyed this tour. The captain and crew were great and made sure we never wanted for anything. 

 

Please be aware that if it leaves around 10 am like ours did, the port side of the boat will have shade on the way out. The starboard side is in almost full sun. It is still comfortable with the breeze, but I got a little too much sun on my legs (even with the sunscreen).

Great photos - thanks for sharing.  Looks like it was a lovely day.

Have to chuckle as I remember our past cruises in Mexico/Cabo - they always serve drinks 1st thing before you swim/snorkel - but if you go on a cruise in Hawaii - you have to wait until you are done with the snorkeling before the alcohol comes out.  Viva la Mexico.....

27 minutes ago, maggieq said:

Disappointing to hear but thanks for the update.  Will stick with celebrity until they relax the rules regarding mask wearing on the ship.  

This is one reason I'm  preferring HAL over Celebrity  right now.  With all these breakthrough cases it seems reasonable to have this policy. 

5 hours ago, rochelle_s said:

Guess I will have to wait and see once on board. I don’t have the Have It All package but I did receive the drinks package as a casino perk. 
 

As to whether or not non alcoholic drinks are considered part of the 15 per day drink limit with the Elite package seems unclear. The wording in one place on the HAL website seems to conflict with another. I will be inquiring onboard and would be happy to report back when I return. 
 

I originally thought the upgrade to Elite would be good for the specialty crafted cocktails and to try some different wines. But after looking at some recently posted wine menus there seems to be very little on offer between the $11 and $15 range. On the Navigator App you can view HAL’s James Suckling’s Guide to Great Wines that are offered on the Eurodam. There are 41 wines listed as available by the glass. Of these, 26 are $11 or less which would be included in the Signature Drinks Package. There are 9 that are priced over the $15 threshold and therefore not available with any package. And only 6 wines that are priced between $11 and $15 so would be available with the Elite package. As far as wine selection goes, there does not appear to be much value in upgrading. This would be different if the Elite package provided a discount on the purchase of some of the higher end wines (bottle or glass) but sadly this is not the case. 
 

Also in an older flyer of what was included in the various packages it appeared that the Elite package could also participate in some of the tastings at no extra charge. As far as I can tell this is no longer available either.

 

Rochelle

Thanks as a mainly wine drinker I appreciate the comparison between the 2 packages.  I think I tend to agree that it would seem the signature package seems like a pretty good deal with the variety offered and not much difference for the upgrade to elite.  I guess it would depend on the wines - I need to check the list and see as I tend to prefer some wines over others.  But it looks like $10 per day plus the 18% is the difference from the responses.  

44 minutes ago, treesah said:

I also prefer the smaller portions.  As stated above, you can ask for additional serving.  They will gladly accommodate you. 

I want to add my gratitude to the OP for an excellent review.  I'll be boarding the K-dam on the 31st of October!

I too like the smaller servings.  If you have an app, entree and desert - that is plenty for me.  If you are still hungry you can always order more - or go to the Lido afterwards for a "snack"....I also think it helps the cruise line hold down on food waste - which really is an issue.  I remember one cruise we were on (yes it was a HAL cruise) and a couple we were seated with for a few nights would each order everything on the menu - all apps, all entrees EACH.  It was truly gross and they wasted a lot of food.  I may sometimes get an extra app or entree - but it is usually to share with my husband. However, that was when the menu options were more and looked more enticing than the current MDR (but that is another thread I believe).

We are also boarding on the 31st - can't wait!

29 minutes ago, rochelle_s said:

Is it $10 per day to upgrade? The price difference as shown above in post #2 is $5 per day and if I recall correctly that is what I was told by someone on another thread would be charged to upgrade onboard the ship.

 

Rochelle

My question exactly...

Also on the Elite package is there the 15 drink max to include all types of drinks (water, juices, coffees.... plus alcohol drinks)?

53 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Horton plaza is permanently closed and being replaced by office spaces

 

"In January 2020, Stockdale Capital Partners announced it had reached an agreement with Macy's to close their store as part of a plan to close 125 stores nationwide, allowing redevelopment of the mall to move forward.^[26] Macy's closed in April 2020.^[26] Starting in May 2020, Horton Plaza was fenced off and began demolition; the plan is to redevelop it as primarily office space for a new tech hub called "The Campus At Horton". Completion is expected in 2022.^[27]"

Yup it had pretty much reached the end of it's  usefulness.   It was a ghost town and not  many storesm left before  the pandemic hit.  

8 hours ago, Roz said:

 

Agree.  Battered and fried squash salad?  Shaved cukes?  A fried steam bun?  An orange dreamsicle for dessert?  MDR for me.

Sorry to say but I agree.  The menu does not appeal to me and for that price not even a consideration.  I have not been impressed with the MDR menus being posted on the App either though....I remember much better meals or at least choices B.C......I hope we will not be disappointed on our upcoming cruise as we love the dining aspects of cruising.  I have followed some live threads on other cruise lines (Celebrity) and their dining options look far superior.  I do have to say I do like Celebrity and have always enjoyed their dining options, but we do like HAL as well.  Our last two cruises BC where on HAL (Mexican Riviera and Alaska).  We enjoyed the dining though did have a misstep in Pinacle Grill on the last cruise but have booked again for our upcoming cruise and we do like Tamarind so looking forward to that again. 

Thanks for starting this Live thread. We will be on the October 31st sailing....fingers crossed.  Enjoy and look forward to your impressions.  Enjoy the cruise.  Puerto Vallarta is our fav.  Such a great town.  So much to see and do there a cruise doesn't do it justice but at least you can dip your toes in the water and maybe go back and spend more time later.

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts versus current threads from people onboard now on her 1st sailing.

1 hour ago, tennisbeforewine said:

 

Thursday, October 14, 2021

San Francisco -  Day 2

 

What a gorgeous day!  Yesterday was nice and a little chilly, but today there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature was in the high 60’s to 70 most of the day.  It actually got to the point that I was a bit warm with a turtleneck, cotton sweater and shorts, but it was a wonderful day.

 

Yesterday we headed up the hills into downtown and all around, but today we decided to go the other way - along the bay toward the Golden Gate Bridge.  There was some question about whether we’d actually get to the bridge and, having walked that far, would walk across it.  The walk itself was gorgeous.  We walked all along the beautiful piers of San Francisco Bay, from our #27 to Pier 39 (an entertaining collection of shops and restaurants) to Fisherman’s Wharf and on past all the tourist areas.

 

San Francisco, besides being an absolutely gorgeous place, does a wonderful job of providing activity areas for its citizens.  In today’s case, it was a wide walking/jogging/biking trail from Fisherman’s Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge.  If you like hiking, this is a trail for you.  People of all ages (mostly young, I will admit) were everywhere, and only a few bicycles came a bit too near.   One of the most interesting sights was the great number of dog walkers we saw, some by themselves and others in pairs.  It seemed that the average number of dogs per walker was about six, and each walker seemed to have a specialty:  little, medium, or large dogs.

I understand from some reading that dog-walking is a very remunerative job in big cities, as some very wealthy people like to have their furry friends well cared for.

 

As we walked along we ran into our friend Jeff Farschman who had spent the morning walking and taking photos.  I don’t know anyone who enjoys his photography more than Jeff, and after we took photos of each other, we kept on toward the bridge and Jeff headed back toward the ship.

 

After another mile or so, we realized we had a choice:  either continue walking to the bridge (perhaps across the 1.7 mile length of it) and then Uber back to the ship, or turn around and walk back, stopping at Boudin Bakery for lunch.  After having covered about four and a half miles already, we decided that the second choice was the best.  After we turned around and headed back, we ran into Jeff - again!) and some other world cruise friends.  Howard was quite unhappy with Boudin Bakery because they didn’t sell boudin, or French white or blood sausage (yes, I know - yuck!), so we explained to him that the founder was named Monsieur Boudin.

 

Along with Jeff, we continued our walk toward the ship, but when we arrived at our lunch spot, we split up, Jeff continuing on to the ship to look at his photos and post many of them and the two of us entering Boudin for lunch.  It’s an interesting bakery, having been founded in 1849 along with the California Gold Rush.  M. Boudin, a French immigrant, brought along his grandmother’s recipe for sourdough bread and, believe it or not (it really IS true), all of the bread to this day uses the original mother dough.  If you’ve ever made sourdough bread, you know that you are supposed to save part of the dough, add flour and water, and let it “proof” to get the sour taste.  That’s how the same dough that M. Boudin began with in 1849 continues to 2021.

 

So . . . what did we have?  Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, of course.  I love clam chowder and I just had to have some sourdough.  I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, so I was also raised with sourdough bread.  For some people the taste is a little “sharp,” but John and I love it, even though there’s no way I can finish a one-pound loaf that’s been hollowed out for my chowder.  Needless to say, we enjoyed our lunch. We also picked up a loaf of sourdough for a young lady who serves us whenever we need something at breakfast on the Lido.  She's heard all about sourdough bread, but because the crew is not allowed to get off the ship on this cruise, she was disappointed to not be able to try it.  We hope she's pleased.  

 

Now that we’re back at the ship, after 6.9 miles) it’s time to get really nervous about the results of the Giants/Dodgers Game 5 for all the marbles.  Right now it’s 6:00 and the first pitch will be thrown at 6:07 right here in SF.  I’ll hold my breath and follow along online after we sail and Verizon goes out of range.  Oh my!

Thanks for your posting have enjoyed reading your thread and about your cruise. Watching your Giants game right now fingers crossed for you.

39 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

That is ridiculous.  I believe this also happened on the n Amsterdam.  Why must it be so difficult?

Totally agree that is so frustrating. Nobody wants to spend the majority of their time at the front desk trying to get this worked out. I actually on Holland America cruise is the last two times to Alaska in 2018 and 2019 had many difficulties with our bills having to go to the front desk several times the correct. I'm sad to see that this is also happening again.

Thanks for all the information, photos, dailies, etc.  It has been fun to read and informative.  I think for most of us we all wonder what getting back on board is going to be like after a long hiatus.  Sorry there have been a few missteps along the way, but hopefully it is just the crew getting back into the swing of things and not a trend going forward.  We will see on our 10/31 cruise.  

3 hours ago, PSR said:

 

So your first gala night was Day 3? Usually it is on Day 2. I don't want to schedule a specialty restaurant on the first Gala night, so I was assuming it was always on Day 2, but I guess I shouldn't assume if it can be on Day 3 as well...

I have this same question....changed my Pinnacle Grill reservations in hopes that I am avoiding Gala Night....however, my 10/31 looks like a slightly different itinerary as we go to Ensenada the 1st day out.  Anyone have thoughts on when our 1st Gala night will be...I was thinking 1st sea day???

I am on the 10/31 Koningsdam cruise and have no problem with the requirements which I'm actually glad to see (at this point anyway) they are extended into 2022 as I am looking at booking another cruise then.  The only thing is a bit of stress about trying to find the Covid testing and make sure we get it and the results in time.  Some places in  San Diego that were open for this have now closed so I ordered the telemed type of testing, so hope that works.  I have been scouting out some places to go in case that does not work. I'm not sure why one would cancel a cruise because of this update.  Really wearing a mask is not difficult...

15 minutes ago, tennisbeforewine said:

Monday, October 11, 2021

Avalon, Cataliina Island

 

As strange as it seems with all our traveling, there are some nearby places we haven’t visited, and there doesn’t seem to be any good reason.  For a long time our friend Jerry would ask how many times we had visited Paris (a question to which we don’t have an answer), and then would follow it with, “Then why haven’t you been to the Grand Canyon?”  The same is true of Catalina Island.  Our daughter’s been here twice for school trips in elementary school, but we’d never been.  We have now corrected that omission.

 

Sailing into Avalon, the main town on the island, the first thing that one notices is the Avalon Pavilion, a beautiful round building with faux pillars which sits right on the water.  It’s a theatre, a casino, and a ballroom which we’ve heard are all beautiful, but since it was locked up today, we’ll have to take other people’s word for it.

 

This is a tender port, and since we weren’t in any hurry, we just went about our usual morning routine:  gym, breakfast, shower.  After I spent about a half hour at the front desk getting online, we were ready to board our tender and head for land.

 

Avalon is different from what I’d expected, but to tell the truth, I don’t know exactly what I expected.  There is the cutest little “downtown” area that reminded us of a combination between Key West and a small European coastal town - with a bit of California hippie thrown in.  The main means of transportation (and almost the only one) is golf carts.  They are everywhere, and when I looked down a side street at the parking places, I think I must have seen ten golf carts for every other vehicle.  They are freely rented on the main street, and I think I noticed that one rental agency was charging $55 a day.  We took a pass but decided that this was definitely a place which was way overdue for a visit of several days or even a week.

 

When we travel, we always send our granddaughter a postcard from every port, and this one was no different.  She’s been receiving them since she was about four so the “treasure box is quite full)  and we found a lovely  map of the island, wrote it, and popped it in the mail.

 

After our walk to the Pavilion/Casino, it was beginning to feel a bit like lunch, so we decided to wander back while looking at seafront restaurants.  John expressed a wish for fish and chips and we looked particularly at restaurants that served them.  After a walk almost to the tender pier, we had seen several places which were rather nice sit-downs, but what really spoke to us was a little shack-like place at the end of the pier which had fish and chips (and a LOT of chips) in a little basket-like paper plate for about eight bucks.  Such a deal.  Now that we’d found a place which had what John wanted, did he get what he had asked for?  Of course not.  He had a buffalo burger, since Catalina Island is famous for its herds of buffalo.  I had the fish and chips, so we shared and enjoyed both choices.

 

After a bit more wandering about, including some side streets, it was off to the tender for us and back to the ship.  We’re great afternoon nappers, so I’m pretty sure that’s what’s coming next.  It’s getting cooler and windier, so a nice toasty nap will really hit the spot.   

Enjoying your postings.  We are anxiously following along as we hope to board the Koningsdam on 10/31!  

FYI - the pavilion you are referencing is the Catalina Casino.  It is not and never was to my knowledge an actual casino.  I think that confuses a lot of people.  We did a very nice tour of it years ago.  Too bad it was closed for your visit. Hopefully if you'll get to visit it if you return. 

Have a great sail away.  Great weather here today.  If you could post photos of the main dining room menu for dinner that would be great. For some reason my navigator app is only showing me a couple and it seems to have not updated in a week. I'm interested to see what the offerings are. Happy birthday and have a great time.

2 hours ago, nimi17 said:

Make sure your hands are free as you’ll need to hold up the documents yourself! They are not allowed to touch them although YMMV as I saw some indeed handling them (your paperwork).

 

Required documents:

1) passport

2) vax card

3) COVID test result

4) boarding pass

Following along as we are set for the 10/31 cruise.  Will be interested  to hear your reporting.  Can I have my covid test results on my phone or domi need to print the results?

We are on the October 31st cruise.  Will be following and looking forward to your reports.  Have a great time.

17 hours ago, HAL4NOW said:

They seemed to have salmon most nights, but it was Alaska. The Fresh Market seafood option seemed to be a different type of fish every night. I never ordered it, but my SIL had it a couple times because she prefers not to eat red meat. I don't remember what type of fish was offered, because I found other items on the menu that interested me more.

Thanks for the information.  

26 minutes ago, RGEDad said:

For each $300 spent/squandered/donated/drunk you get one credit earned

From the mariner Society FAQs

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/mariner-society.html

 

• Suite Bonus Earn double Cruise Day credits when you pay a published fare for a spacious suite or penthouse on your next cruise. For example, a guest who pays published fare for suite accommodations for a 10-day cruise earns 20 Cruise Day credits. Special paid or complimentary upgrades do not qualify.
• Onboard Spending Bonus Effective with cruises on or after September 18, 2009, one bonus Cruise Day credit will be granted for each $300 in eligible onboard purchases. This is calculated on the combined folio charges for all guests on the booking, regardless of who signs each charge and who pays the bill. Only the first two guests on the booking receive the limit of one bonus day for each day sailed; 3rd and 4th guests on the same booking do not earn the onboard spending bonus. 

Great explanation -thanks!  

28 minutes ago, Crew News said:

$300 in onboard charges for one additional cruise day BUT at the end of the cruise, HAL rounds up to the next $300.

Great thanks for the info!

So I understand credit days cruised, but how does the ship board charges work? How much do you have to buy to get a cruise day credit? 

Thanks.

On 9/30/2021 at 11:03 AM, HAL4NOW said:

The New York Strip Steak was available every night in the MDR on the NA last week.

Do you remember if the salmon was also offered every night?  That is usually my fall back if I don't care for anything on the evening menu.  Rustic lasagna is not an option for me as I do not eat red meat. 

I also too wonder about "fresh market seafood" - what is that???