HAL Koningsdam 10/10/2021 Coastal California Trip Report LIVE(ish)

[cbr663]

On 10/13/2021 at 11:21 AM, nimi17 said:

Thank you, Barbara 🙏

 

My husband and I have the same birthday and turns out he called in to ask for a birthday surprise for me to be presented on the first night and I ordered an hors d'oeuvre plate and birthday cake to be delivered to him on our last night.

 

Result? They forgot my birthday cake the first night, presented me with a lovely slice during dinner the second night as well as a cupcake delivered to our cabin later that evening.

 

He got his hors d'oeuvre plate in our cabin upon arrival. I hope he gets his slice of cake 🍰 on our final night.
 

To be continued…

 

It's so disappointing when this happens.

 

My wife ordered a surprise birthday cake for me on one the Eurodam and it didn't arrive.  I ordered a surprise birthday cake for my wife on the Celebrity Reflection and it didn't arrive either.  We've given up with special orders trying to surprise each other on cruise ships.  

[nimi17]

21 hours ago, leerathje said:

 

It really was!  Dad and his friend, brother and SIL, and Hubby and I travelled together.  We had the dividers opened between the balconies, and had tons of fun!

 

L.

 

Thank you for sharing the lovely photo! 🙂

[bonstersd]

21 hours ago, Marion B said:

   Did I understand correctly - you had a rapid test in San Diego?  Do you mind sharing where and how much?  In case our appointments at home fall through, I'd like to know where we can get tested there as Plan B.  Thanks.

   Continue enjoying.  

 

There is a place in Pacific Beach, about 10-15 minutes from downtown San Diego (Escondido is 45 minutes north of downtown) that does Rapid Testing.  With insurance, it is $25.  You can make an appt. online.  I did it for my cruise last month and it was easy breezy.  They also take walkins but people with appts. get in faster.  https://app.samedayhealth.com/booking/california--san-diego--pacific-beach?wmode=opaque

 

There is also a drive through place downtown but it is over $100 and you have to submit it to your insurance for reimbursement. 

[nimi17]

21 hours ago, CruiseMGM said:

Happy birthday(s) to you both and thank you for sharing your cruise with us. We're on the Konningsdam in December and wondered if you would care to expound on your BLEND adventure! I think I'd like to do that with DH, but don't know much/haven't read much about it!

 

Enjoy, and thanks again!

Thank you for the birthday wishes and I’m happy to help make the Koningsdam a more enjoyable cruise for you all.

 

We didn‘t know much about Blend either but thought it would be a fun event to try at least once. It is located on the 2nd level of the ship, adjacent to Club Orange, I believe.

 

For our event, we had a small group of about 10-12 guests with the lovely Liliana leading the session. Each of us had 5 reds (2 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 Merlot, 1 Cabernet Franc) from Chateau St. Michelle in front of us and, after a short video from Bob Bertheau, CSM’s Head Winemaker, were guided through “The Art of Blending” as we swirled, smelled, and sipped our way through each glass before crafting our own special blend.

 

After settling on a blend of 40% #1, 40% #4, and 20% #5, we created our wine bottle label, turned it in with the ratios of wine, and were presented with the finished product in our cabin later that day (you may also have it delivered to your table at dinner as well). 

 

It was a very warm and inviting atmosphere and I’d gladly do it again 🙂

 

 

 

 

[nimi17]

22 hours ago, CruiseMGM said:

Happy birthday(s) to you both and thank you for sharing your cruise with us. We're on the Konningsdam in December and wondered if you would care to expound on your BLEND adventure! I think I'd like to do that with DH, but don't know much/haven't read much about it!

 

Enjoy, and thanks again!

Oh, and here’s a photo from our Blend tasting. Unfortunately, I became too preoccupied with tasting to take more pictures 😅🍷

[nimi17]

21 hours ago, jhsocal said:

nimi, does it seem a bit disorganized or do you think reduced staff due to 40 percent capacity?

tennisbeforewine mentioned there are 900 crew for 1300 passengers on this sailing, so I don’t believe the hiccups are due to a lack of staff or anything of that nature.

 

I believe it’s just a matter of the crew resetting, getting systems in place, fine-tuning them until they get into the swing of things, and operations return to normal once again.

 

Our cabin stewards shared that they were out of work for 1-1 1/2 years+ due to covid shutdowns. Even though they’ve  been on the ship for the past two months, we are the first passengers they’ve had in a long while. 
 

I’m so glad that we were able to sail with the ship less than half-full as we heard plenty of grumbling during the embarkation process while having our covid documents verified alone. Imagine the lines and reactions if we’d been at full capacity 😳😱😵‍

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by nimi17

[nimi17]

18 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...

Yes, embarkation was Sunday, Monday was Avalon, and first Gala night was Tuesday. 
 

I’m not sure if the Gala night was pushed back due to the cancellation of Santa Barbara, but found it interesting that it wasn’t Day 2 as well.

[nimi17]

15 hours ago, san diego spartan said:

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???

Yes, it looks like your first Gala night would be falling on 11/2, the day after Ensenada.

[nimi17]

13 hours ago, Lee-Shari said:

Thank you so much for the information. We will be boarding on Sunday and were wondering about dress code in dining room on non gala nights. We have never cruised HAL. We just came back from Alaska on RC ship and we were casual in dining room. Do we need to avoid the dining room if not dressing up?

Thank you 

Well, the Navigator tells us what the dress code is not tonight but leaves room for interpretation from what I’ve seen IRL.

 

I saw someone wear a coordinated sweat suit combo in the MDR during embarkation day dinner. 
 

I wore dark jeans with a blouse during my visit that day. Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing anything more casual than that to the MDR, but that’s just me.

[nimi17]

12 hours ago, nimiq said:

Very interesting to follow. 
 

Thanks for sharing. 
 

Sea Ya

 Éric 

It’s my pleasure, Éric!

 

”Sea ya” when I see ya! 🛳⚓️

[nimi17]

7 hours ago, jimbri said:

Great pictures.

Thank you! 😊

[nimi17]

4 hours ago, Sunburg1 said:

Please comment on mask wearing, how many do wear and how many do not. Is there any enforcement of mask wearing?

thanks

Everyone, whether they be crew or  passenger, has been masked save for a few exceptions:

 

1) while actively eating or drinking

2) while smoking on the Sea View deck

3) while in the spa’s pool and/or steam rooms

 

I have not witnessed the need to enforce mask wearing as everyone I’ve encountered has been very diligent with masking.

 

I believe we’re all in the same boat in regards to wanting this to be a successful return to sailing and trying to minimize the risk of breakthrough infections as much as possible via masking in public spaces.

[nimi17]

2 hours ago, dmcfad2 said:

Thanks, @nimi17. One thing that I failed to mention is that our TV remote doesn’t work for the on demand movies. It seems to get stuck and won’t work, no matter how many buttons I push, but it works for everything else. We told guest services and they sent up another remote, but we still have the same issue. It’s not a big deal because we usually go to bed by the time we get back to our room. Our room steward said it is happening to many guests and they will be replacing the remotes soon. Just curious if you have experienced that, too? 

That remote was the BANE of our tv viewing experience until our steward swapped ours out for another one 😆 I am glad to hear they’ll be replacing them ship-wide soon!

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, nimi17 said:

*one more thing: we dialed 88 yesterday to ask about reservations for the specialty restaurants and they are in abundance of those but there were very few spots to reserve in the MDR.

 

We ended up dropping in at 5:15 pm yesterday while on our second port day and had no problem getting a table in the MDR that way.

 

We’ve walked by the specialty restaurants and from a cursory glance there doesn’t appear to be any social distancing as the tables looked full during the busiest hours.
 

Nami wasn’t crowded when we went but our reservation was at 5 pm and they had just opened so YMMV.

I find they are pretty "tight" with MDR reservations and they are limited on times.  Of course this was pre pandemic so it may differ now.  I'm excited to hear about San Francisco from you and also Ensenada.  Ensenada is a hole in my opinion but I'm sure I'll be told otherwise before too long by other posters 😉

[nimi17]

SF Day 2

[nimi17]

Lido Market Late Night Buffet 😍

 

There were PORK BELLY SANDWICHES! 🤤

 

[nimi17]

A few breakfast options from today’s Lido Market. We love the variety of smoked fish to choose from 🐟🐠 as well as all the pastries ☕️🥐

[Florida_gal_50]

26 minutes ago, nimi17 said:

Well, the Navigator tells us what the dress code is not tonight but leaves room for interpretation from what I’ve seen IRL.

 

I saw someone wear a coordinated sweat suit combo in the MDR during embarkation day dinner. 
 

I wore dark jeans with a blouse during my visit that day. Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing anything more casual than that to the MDR, but that’s just me.

Sweat suit combo.  Love it.  But those people probably had their luggage lost 😉.  The classic excuse.  I tend to be more dressy than not but I've dumbed it down over the years.  Still more dressed up than most I run across.

[nimi17]

Can anyone spy 👀 the difference in our sushi rolls? My husband and I ordered the same thing 😅 

 

Delicious crab cake 

 

His halibut 

 

my prime rib (arrived more medium than medium rare but I really enjoyed the spicy sauce that accompanied it) 

 

His sundae (that arrived deconstructed in milkshake form) 

 

and another home run in the No Sugar added category my hazelnut mousse cake! 

[Florida_gal_50]

It looks like one of the sushi is missing the protein (tuna?).  Sorry I'm not a sushi fan.

[CampbellsAK]

41 minutes ago, nimi17 said:

Everyone, whether they be crew or  passenger, has been masked save for a few exceptions:

 

1) while actively eating or drinking

2) while smoking on the Sea View deck

3) while in the spa’s pool and/or steam rooms

 

I have not witnessed the need to enforce mask wearing as everyone I’ve encountered has been very diligent with masking.

 

I believe we’re all in the same boat in regards to wanting this to be a successful return to sailing and trying to minimize the risk of breakthrough infections as much as possible via masking in public spaces.

Can you tell me if masks are required when actively exercising in the gym? Can you remove your mask once you get on an exercise bike?, for example? Thank you for the lovely food photos - I’ll be on this itinerary in a few short weeks and am already hungry!

[nimi17]

16 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It looks like one of the sushi is missing the protein (tuna?).  Sorry I'm not a sushi fan.

Yes! 🎰🎰🎰

 

It’s little things like that throughout the cruise that left us puzzled 🤔 another was having a hot dog and fries delivered via room service with no ketchup accompanying it (not including missing entire entrees during breakfast delivery when requested the night before via their “A Delicious Start” doorhang as well as orders called in during evening hours). 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, nimi17 said:

Yes! 🎰🎰🎰

 

It’s little things like that throughout the cruise that left us puzzled 🤔 another was having a hot dog and fries delivered via room service with no ketchup accompanying it (not including missing entire entrees during breakfast delivery when requested the night before via their “A Delicious Start” doorhang as well as orders called in during evening hours). 

That's just sloppy in my mind.  I know people love to make excuses because they are just starting up again but they only have 40% of passengers!  What if it was at 100%?  Now if it was 40% of the fare I normally pay it might be different.

[nimi17]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

That's just sloppy in my mind.  I know people love to make excuses because they are just starting up again but they only have 40% of passengers!  What if it was at 100%?  Now if it was 40% of the fare I normally pay it might be different.

Yes! As I was typing my response I was wondering if there’d be some OBC of some sort due to the inconsistencies we’ve encountered. 40% of the fare definitely wouldn’t hurt 😉

[nimi17]

3 hours ago, cbr663 said:

 

It's so disappointing when this happens.

 

My wife ordered a surprise birthday cake for me on one the Eurodam and it didn't arrive.  I ordered a surprise birthday cake for my wife on the Celebrity Reflection and it didn't arrive either.  We've given up with special orders trying to surprise each other on cruise ships.  

I’m so sorry to hear that as it must’ve been very disappointing! I guess I’ll have to plan ahead and show some surprises in my luggage for future cruises 🛳⚓️🥳