Bruinboy

Trudy and I have similar view. 14th floor. Hope to see you tonight in the lobby.

26 minutes ago, misguy said:

They just canceled our call to Kaui, the waves were coming over the breakwater, and the wind was 35knts both of which are too high to make it into port we are going to cruise around Kauai, and then on to Oahu and Honolulu tomorrow.

Sorry to hear. Has to be disappointing. Hopefully, you will get a good view of the Nepali coast, and look for whales. Some of our best whale watching was late February off Kauai.

@Haljo1935 I can’t begin to describe how sad I am that your cruise has ended. I have enjoyed each and every post, and what a great attitude you have. I know you must be sad that your cruise has ended. Just know many of us here are sad for you and ourselves as well. It has been a wonderful journey with you. Thanks for bringing us along.

Now, I guess I have to find a legitimate service dog for my cruise next month 🙂

39 minutes ago, ArizonaStorm said:

You are making a big assumption.  Perhaps the dogs were left a fortune, and are sailing with their Service Humans?

Yeah … what ever happened with the happy “service” dogs? 

Once again, thanks for bringing us along. I’m very interested in the sea days. Sounds like fairly calm seas thus far … except for Maui. 

Barking dogs and a missing soap dispenser! Are you sure you didn't board a Carnival ship by mistake? We all hope you are having a great time. Thanks for the pics and the reports.

Just now, oaktreerb said:

We took this cruise last February.  The weather is cool as you sail from/to San Diego for a couple of days which is typical of this area in the winter.  The blanket in your stateroom will be welcome if you have a balcony.  

 

No bowl game again this year for Big Red. 🌽.  Looking for improvement in the future. 🙏

Thanks for the info. I'm assuming it will feel breezy with temps in the 50's, but really have no idea. On the bright side it will probably feel warmer than Nebraska in mid-February.

About a bowl game ... it's been a looong drought. Recruited two good quarterbacks. Great defense. Hopefully, our bowl-less streak will be broken next season. Stay tuned!!

As we are taking a similar cruise out of San Diego on Feb 17, I am curious about how the weather (temps) are for the first two sea days out of San Diego?

I hope you got a good night's sleep and am looking forward to updates. It's very kind of you to be taking all of us along on your journey.

Thanks for inviting us along. I look forward to a vicariously sailing, especially during December and January here in the midwest. 

45 minutes ago, taxmantoo said:

I'm a bit confused here.  I don't know which Princess ship you were on but we have been on four different Princess ships since the end of the pandemic and we have not seen ONE Riedel glass.  I am a certified sommelier and I do know a Riedel glass when I see one 😉  We have not seen a Riedel glass in any dining room, nor at Vines, nor at the Chef's Table nor at the Winemaker's dinners.

In 2016 or so we did a Riedel wine tasting on a Princess cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago. I recall tasting each wine in a standard glass and a Riedel glass. Big difference. I don’t recall if they used Riedel glasses beyond this. 

Good for you for being a responsible adult AND sorry about contracting Covid. I hope you have a balcony so you can watch the sea go by. I also hope it stays a slightly runny nose.

Get well and enjoy the rest of your cruise as best you can.

Having had a wine store for a few years featuring regular tastings, one gets accustomed to eyeing a five ounce pour. Of course, some establishments have a subtle, almost undetectable mark on each glass that marks a five ounce pour. I've only cruised with HAL three times and never thought to look if their wine glasses have a little mark on them. My wife is a wine glass snob. She keeps Riedel in business. I'm not as particular. We have a 35 day cruise coming up in February so I'll have plenty of days to do some sleuthing. 

15 minutes ago, trishbk said:

Just to give a more recent update to the guarantee cabin assignment with HAL, they have been very late to assign us a cabin on the last few cruises. So while we booked our cruise month's ago, we are one week + one day from sailing on the Kdam and we still have no assignment. We are 5 star Mariners although I don't believe that has anything to do with our cabin assignment, our friends who are joining us on their very first HAL cruise are also in the same predicament. On our last HAL cruise, we didn't get assigned until 3 days before embarkation. We were hopeful they would put us in an upgraded cabin since the price we paid for the cruise was more than they were charging a couple weeks before sail dare. Sadly, on our last cruise after paying more the empty cabins that they were trying to sell, we were assigned the lowest cabin category. Was a real insult, especially since we are loyal 5 star Mariners and paid more then the going rate. To top it off, our cabin had all sorts of problems which inevitably got us moved after 3 hrs at Guest Services over the course of 2 days.

What type of cabin? Inside, Oceanview, Veranda, Vista, Signature Suite, Neptune? We have a Guaranteed Vista so trying to manage our expectations. Thanks.

Just about every day. Nothing new here. One would think someone would fix this, but .... NOOOOOOO!

Wow!!! Great follow up. Glad you enjoyed your cabin. Sounds like it was worth the extra cash. Very thoughtful of you to close this thread. It will help others facing a future upgrade question.

9 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

When  & how should  we hear from  HAL as to whether  they will use the Kahului Deep Sea port i the industrial side of Maui  in lieu  if the horrific fire at Lahania , Our cruise to Hawaii in Jan 30 ,2024 

Too soon? Probably. Not to defend OP, but an observation. He/She articulated what many are thinking, not just saying. My wife and I had the same conversation a couple of days ago. I obviously did not post our conversation, but we did have it privately. We have a port stop scheduled for Maui in February. I really don't care if we stop in Maui or not, just want what's best for the residents there. Having been born in Hilo I am keenly aware of the push/pull of tourism, especially "saturation" tourism in Hawaii as well as other parts of the world. As the OP said, the situation is horrific and I hope we all do what we can to assist those impacted by it. I'm sure HA is weighing what works best for the people of Maui. 

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Its not realistic to know what shows will be provided 6 months out, none the less 18 months out.

While I agree shows may change from previous cruises, I would like to know what was done on previous Koningsdam Hawaii itineraries as well. I think that was what the OP is asking. 

Great report. Writing and observations terrific. A joy to read and NW Washington ... thanks for adding to our vicarious cruise experience.

Gin Gimlet up. Yum. 

On 5/27/2023 at 11:52 PM, Edinburghgirl1 said:

Are they pressed too or just folded( I don’t mean the socks and underwear lol) 

I miss you on the Feb 17 South Pacific Roll Call. I hope you don’t let one person keep you from posting. It was clearly out of line. Not you … her. 

20 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

The last HAL survey we got asked a lot of questions are charging for special  services ,especially poolside, including rentals of loungers, running a sunscreen kiosk. ......and their real kicker - paying a fee for staffers to apply sunscreen.

 

Some bean-counters must have had had a field day coming up with some of these ideas. The pool area uses seems to have the most focus.

 

Other questions were mainly about additional fees for dining times, reserved theater seats, priority tendering etc.  

 

Basically, what aspects about onboard life would we be willing to pay for special access for what is now all inclusive and/or part of the Mariner loyalty perks, but also parts of shipboard life being impacted by excessive demand.

We received the same survey. I agree with the bean counters having a lot of fun coming up with revenue ideas. Thanks for putting that image in my head. It resulted in a smile during my morning coffee.

27 minutes ago, BobbiSox said:

This is an annoying situation, and HAL could think of some way to control it, but why should they? There's no profit in regulating chair usage. They should do away with saving of chairs of any kind; buffet, entertainment and any other venues where chairs are involved. If I see someone in an overcrowded venue 'saving' chairs for 12 people, I have no problem sitting in one and ignoring any comments that are hurled my way.  Do people need to be reminded that this is not high school? First come, first served, no 'savies'. Furthermore, if people want to 'save' their seat, they should stay in it, or have no expectations of finding it vacant when they return from their lunch.

 

Two themes in this thread. Hydrotherapy and chair hogs. Love it.

Anyway, if the crew would simply enforce the "guidelines" or "rules" of chair engagement, this would no longer be a problem. Sure, guest services or pool attendants get an earful from the "hogs", but will also get an earful from the "rule followers" if they don't. Amazing that this continues to be a problem. Maybe it helps them sell the cabanas so they don't enforce the policy?

BTW, is there a Non-Chair Hog club or organization one can join?

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. 

Great questions. We have been reluctant to return to cruising as yet. Our next cruise will be in January. Our last was January 2020. Main reason for the reluctance is not having to be confined to our cabin in case we come down with it once again. My wife and I had covid in July. We also took Pavlovid and thankfully both of us had mild symptoms. The fatigue was no fun, however.  I hope you don't mind the metallic taste the Paxlovid. We did!!! Seems like testing at embarkation is the minimum that needs to be done. From there, if you have a cough you get a mask. 

Thanks for sharing. 

Thanks for taking time to write this. Even though I do not have a cruise planned for the NS, I appreciate you sharing your HA experience. I will be on the Koningsdam for an extended time next February and hope my experience will be as good as yours.