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

[SilvertoGold]

This is an exciting, informative and fun thread!  Much appreciate all your info plus the dinner menu: wish I were in your place with so many excellent offerings, even some Mexican!

The flowers are lovely - lucky you! They should last well for the whole week.  The cabin stewards used to water ours, but keep an eye on them, as they will need a lot. 

 

Enjoy the balcony on your first sea day! 

[westcoastsue]

58 minutes ago, Marion B said:

   The live webcam had crisp, clear shots (with closeups) of the ship, from the moment she backed out of the B Street Pier until she sailed by the Cabrillo Monument into the Pacific.  What a beautiful sight.

   Thanks for the menus.  Enjoy.

   

 

PS - Birthday flowers from your husband - he's a keeper.

   

 

[westcoastsue]

Just now, westcoastsue said:

I was thinking the same thing - good husbands are not always that easy to find!

 

[slb1949]

Wish you bon voyage and happy birthday.  So excited for you. We are cruising on this ship in January to Hawaii. Counting days. Haven’t been on this ship so will be watching for all the details.  

[12cruise2]

Thank you so much for doing the posting.  It's so much fun and gives so much pleasure to see these beautiful pictures and hear what you have to say.  Happy 40th!  

[0bnxshs]

What an excellent job you are doing all while celebrating your birthday!  Thank you for taking us along with your efforts here.  Enjoy your cruise and Happy Birthday!

[SLC1954]

Here is a photo as she hit the open water just out of San Diego last evening.

[nimi17]

First HAL dinner was unfortunately not very successful.

 

We ordered: 

2 Caesar salads

1 Pasta Caprese

1 Fresh Market Seafood Roasted (last night’s was pollock)

1 Triple Berry Alaskan Tart

1 Lemon Torte (no sugar added)

 

and we received:

2 Heart of Romaine Lettuce Niçoise (with anchovy on the side 🤔)

1 Fajitas del Pollo (and DH’s pasta after notifying our server) 

1 pollock that looked pan fried and not roasted 

and 2 desserts without incident thankfully 🤤🍰

A few hiccups today: we received the wrong salad and they sent DH the chicken fajitas instead of his pasta dish. I took a picture of the errant entree before we sent it back, untasted, for your viewing pleasure 📷
 

My entree was delicious but I was a bit disappointed to see that it was pan fried instead of roasted per the menu description. His pasta was on the salty side and the chicken a little dry. 

 

Dessert was amazing, however! Probably the best no sugar added dessert I’ve ever had. The lemon brought the senses to life and helped cut through the richness of the cream. The berries were fresh on his tart and was the perfect size: I believe he finished it in 3 bites 😅and that’s probably only because he shared some of it with me. 
 

Edited October 11, 2021 by nimi17

[StLouisCruisers]

I'm suprised and sorry to hear about all the problems with your dinner last night.  I just hope things improve quickly for you.  😲

[Marion B]

   Like StLouisCruisers, I'm also hoping for better times food wise.  Hope all other aspects of your cruise are up to par.

[nimi17]

 

*One interesting thing of note: I took a picture of the dining room at 6:30pm and it was probably as empty as when we were seated for dinner at 5:15pm. Not too sure if the first night at the MDR was just an unpopular option for dinner or if it was due to the lower capacity of the ship. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by nimi17

[nimi17]

More cabin photos:

 

HAL swag (lined, cloth face mask and a tote bag)

 

While researching Koningsdam, I kept reading post after post about an awkwardly angled toilet, so I had to take a photo for anyone unfamiliar to it as I found there was much ado about nothing: it’s perfectly sized if you’re just shy of 5’3”! As you can see, even with the door closed, I’ve got at least another 3/4” to spare! So there you go. 
 

DH did not share my appreciation for the petite-friendly toilet, however. Goes to show you can’t please everyone 🤷🏻‍♀️
 

 

And here are a few lumpy pillows, just for good measure

 

[Loreto]

Happy Birthday, nimi17!   Thank you for your wonderful posts and photos!  We will be on the Koningsdam in February, so I appreciate your review.

Karen

[nimi17]

Good morning from Avalon, CA (images from the balcony)

 

 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

Enjoying all your posts so far.  If you are so inclined, try the specialty restaurants, especially tamarind.  It’s so good.  I do realize, it’s not everyone’s wishes to do that.

Edited October 11, 2021 by Florida_gal_50

[nimi17]

A few photos from our walk in Avalon. 

[nimi17]

A few photos from our walk in Avalon. 

[Florida_gal_50]

Was the tendering rough?I remember taking a ferry or some kind of boat over there many, many moons ago.  It was so rough people were getting so sick to put it politely.  

Edited October 11, 2021 by Florida_gal_50

[bcummin]

Happy Forty!  And may your sweet husband always remember to be so thoughtful.

Sorry that your first MDR dinner had surprises.  It sounds like the crew is still trying to get their act together.

Remember to ask for a birthday cake.  Just tell them which evening to serve it.  HAL's sugar free cakes are delicious.

Ask and you shall receive.  I often ask for a different pillow to suit me.  And more coat hangers.  They do want to make you happy.

Thank you for the Avalon photos.

Barbara

[LuAnn]

If you love deserts be sure to try the bread pudding in the buffet...I believe they have a different type each day...and it is fabulous..not too sure it's sugar free!! 🙂

[Dismomx5]

Happy Birthday! Enjoy your trip and thank you for taking a few of your friends along with you. 😉

[kj329]

Loving this thread as we are doing this exact cruise November 7-14. I have a couple questions. How crowded does the ship seem? are they at 50% capacity? more? less?

 

We haven't cruised Holland before, are the specialty restaurants tough to book? or with lowered capacity is everything half empty? We would like to eat at some of the specialty restaurants, but would like to see what is offered in the MDR before we book. This means booking the day of if possible. Is this possible? On a related note, does the MDR menu change daily? or is it the same? Thank you!

[prisage]

On 10/10/2021 at 3:30 PM, 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

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences.  All of the unknowns have been stressful.  So looking forward to our 11/7 cruise.

 

[SLC1954]

Please keep in mind that this is the first sailing in 1 1/2 years, the staff have not had passengers on board and they are trying to find the rhythm of working together.  I was on the first sailing in Alaska on the Nieuw Amsterdam and had the same hiccups. With each day they got better. It’s kinda like your first day at a new job. 

i will be on the K’dam on the October 31st sailing, so it will be interesting to see how they come together in the next few weeks.  
Enjoy the cruise, I know I sure did!

[Marion B]

   I echo what SLC1954 said.  I was on the 4th sailing of Nieuw Amsterdam's return to service.  My experience was markedly better than what was posted by people on her initial return to service.

   I am optimistic for you as to a noticeable improvement between first and last night's dinner.  Really hope you are enjoying your cruise.