LIVE - Koningsdam Oct 17th - ¡Mexican Riviera!

[canadianbear]

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

 

Unless something has changed recently, outdoor cooking is no longer allowed on HAL ships.  Health inspection results allow cooking only in fixed facilities. 

 

 

It’s a shame but I’m glad we got to experience the pig roast on the aft deck a few years back.  It was such fun for all.  

[SilvertoGold]

Hope your flight is smooth and easy and you enjoy the Koningsdam!  Any info, imput on the Dutch Cafe would be welcome.  Many thanks for starting this thread: it certainly gives those of us at home a feeling of being ready to go, then on the ship and enjoying it along with you.  Bon Voyage!

[san diego spartan]

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.

[Lido deck main]

Thanks for posting, Will be following. Bon Voyage

[aring75]

Up at 6:00 am to pack last minute items, guzzle a cup of coffee, and head over to bro-in-law’s house for a ride to the airport. 
 

Pretty uneventful drive, then smooth operations at Southwest self check-in. Got a second cup of coffee (Café con leche from the Cuban Coffee Co…yum) and a Cuban breakfast sandwich for Mark. 
 

Boarding went mostly smoothly, but good grief there are a ton of kids on this flight!

 

Onboard now and headed to Chicago (MDW) and then on to San Diego.

 

 

[aring75]

12 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Hope your flight is smooth and easy and you enjoy the Koningsdam!  Any info, imput on the Dutch Cafe would be welcome.  Many thanks for starting this thread: it certainly gives those of us at home a feeling of being ready to go, then on the ship and enjoying it along with you.  Bon Voyage!

Thanks! I’ll for sure get info from the Dutch Café. I have a feeling we will be frequent visitors. 
 

 

11 hours ago, san diego spartan said:

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.

 

Wow, your cruise is right around the corner! I’m really looking forward to experiencing these ports for the first time. I will try to give honest impressions. Good and bad. Thanks for coming along. 
 

 

10 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

Thanks for posting, Will be following. Bon Voyage

 

Welcome! Glad to have you. 😁

[aring75]

Thanks for following along everyone! Be back later. 
 

Until then, here’s a couple pictures from our last HAL cruise onboard Eurodam in Grand Turk. 
 

 

[KirkNC]

13 hours ago, Crew News said:

 

Unless something has changed recently, outdoor cooking is no longer allowed on HAL ships.  Health inspection results allow cooking only in fixed facilities. 

 

Serving food should not be a problem but not quite the same as the smell of charcoal.

I believe that change occurred in early 2019.

[Lady President]

We're on this cruise too!  We made it safely to San Diego from Ohio yesterday. Today, is the zoo and some sea food for dinner. 

 

Can't wait to board at 1:00 tomorrow. It's been forever since we've had a real vacation!! 

[canadianbear]

So glad your flight so far was easy.  Let’s hope everything else goes smooth.  At least you won’t have to worry about the ton of kids on your flight being on your cruise!  

[canadianbear]

1 hour ago, Lady President said:

We're on this cruise too!  We made it safely to San Diego from Ohio yesterday. Today, is the zoo and some sea food for dinner. 

 

Can't wait to board at 1:00 tomorrow. It's been forever since we've had a real vacation!! 

Awesome!!  Wish we were on this cruise too.   Will be fun to tag along on this thread reading your opinion as well.  We just love San Diego and the Koningsdam.  I’ve been on that ship over 40 days total and even my hubby liked it, lol.

 

Hope you enjoy the zoo and your seafood dinner.  Bon voyage! 

[Hogladyrider]

As former Floridians for 40+ years we cruised out of Florida ports many times.

 

Now as fulltime RVers and South Dakota residents we had the opportunity to sail HAL out of San Diego on this cruise back in 2019 before the COVID mess hit.  It was our 1st HAL cruise and we LOVED HAL, can't wait to cruise again.

 

We did not even get off the ship, we spent our 7 days enjoying the ship and meeting new folks enjoying adult beverages with them on deck, it was by far our best cruise ever!  We especially liked the live entertainment in the Blues Club!

 

The food was far better than other cruise lines.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Heartgrove]

8 hours ago, KirkNC said:

I believe that change occurred in early 2019.

 

I thought that it had been eliminated on HAL ships due to food sanitary reasons but hopefully will someday be brought back. The reason is I was very surprised to see a grill outside on the rear of Viking Ocean ships on the Aquavit Terrace.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by Heartgrove

[aring75]

8 hours ago, Lady President said:

We're on this cruise too!  We made it safely to San Diego from Ohio yesterday. Today, is the zoo and some sea food for dinner. 

 

Can't wait to board at 1:00 tomorrow. It's been forever since we've had a real vacation!! 

Yay! It’s great to hear from someone else on our cruise with us. Please feel free to post your thoughts and ideas as well. The more the merrier!

 

Oh, and also, sounds like you have a full day planned. You’re going to need this cruise for rest and relaxation!

 

 

7 hours ago, canadianbear said:

So glad your flight so far was easy.  Let’s hope everything else goes smooth.  At least you won’t have to worry about the ton of kids on your flight being on your cruise!  

Thanks @canadianbear! And those kids handled that flight like pros. There were 41 kids on our flight and not a single issue (at least not from the kids, lol).

[aring75]

5 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

As former Floridians for 40+ years we cruised out of Florida ports many times.

 

Now as fulltime RVers and South Dakota residents we had the opportunity to sail HAL out of San Diego on this cruise back in 2019 before the COVID mess hit.  It was our 1st HAL cruise and we LOVED HAL, can't wait to cruise again.

 

We did not even get off the ship, we spent our 7 days enjoying the ship and meeting new folks enjoying adult beverages with them on deck, it was by far our best cruise ever!  We especially liked the live entertainment in the Blues Club!

 

The food was far better than other cruise lines.

 

Have a great cruise!

Love to hear these positive reviews! I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. 

 

[canadianbear]

5 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

I thought that it had been eliminated on HAL ships due to food sanitary reasons but hopefully will someday be brought back. The reason is I was very surprised to see a grill outside on the rear of Viking Ocean ships on the Aquavit Terrace.

 

 

I think it had to do with no sink/water/cleaning station or something.   We really enjoyed the pig bbq on a couple of  HAL Mexico  cruises then disappointed when we were told they couldn’t do them any more.  
 

 

[aring75]

So, the second leg of our flight was too long (Chicago to San Diego, phew) in those tiny, uncomfortable seats. 
 

At least we got something to eat. 
 

 

 

Had a nice view of the Colorado Rockies from 36,000 ft. 
 

When you’re from Florida, it’s required that you take pictures of any and all mountains that you see. No exceptions.  Hey. I don’t make the rules. 
 

[aring75]

Airport to the hotel took about 10-15 minutes, even with traffic. Room looks just like the photo. 
 

 

 

 

And look what I see right outside our window!  Okay, so it’s not the Koningsdam (yet), but still…what a view! 😊

 

[aring75]

After such a long day, we decided something simple and casual would hit the spot for dinner. Carnitas Snack Shack is right across the street from the hotel, right on the Embarcadero. They have live music from 5-8pm. 

 

I had the crispy chicken sandwich and Mark tried the pulled pork. We split an order of garlic parmesan tots. No complaints. 
 

 

 

Not far away is the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum. (Maybe a five minute walk from the hotel.)
 

[canadianbear]

Glad you’ve made it there and taking it easy.  Nice having dinner close to your hotel.  The room photo looks great-did you ask for a room with a view of the cruise ships?  We’ve only stayed at Best Western Plus Bayside (they used to have a view before someone built another high rise) or the Wyndham Bayside where we always book a view of the ships.  
 

We love walking around in the evening usually in Little Italy.  (Hubby is Italian, lol). Lots of people watching, music, etc. and we usually dine in one of the many restaurants in Little Italy.  However, I also insist when we are there for either lunch or supper at the Cheesecake Factory (we don’t have any in Vancouver) and we share their stuffed mushrooms and large Cobb salad-delicious! 
 

Have a great relaxing evening before boarding tomorrow.  
 

 

[aring75]

25 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

The room photo looks great-did you ask for a room with a view of the cruise ships?

Yep!
 

Well kind of, one of the room categories is called “Bay View Corner King.” When I booked it was $34 more for the upgrade. I thought it was worth it. 

 

I really love this location. Spent a little time on the rooftop bar as the sun started to set. It’s 10:02pm FL time (a four hour time difference) and we are feeling the day catch up to us now. 

One more sleep!!

[Florida_gal_50]

Thanks for the pictures of the hotel.  I’m going to stay there before one of my cruises.

[canadianbear]

13 minutes ago, aring75 said:

Yep!
 

Well kind of, one of the room categories is called “Bay View Corner King.” When I booked it was $34 more for the upgrade. I thought it was worth it. 

 

I really love this location. Spent a little time on the rooftop bar as the sun started to set. It’s 10:02pm FL time (a four hour time difference) and we are feeling the day catch up to us now. 

One more sleep!!

Well worth it!  It’s so much fun waking up in the morning and seeing your ship in port.

 

I looked at the hotel website-roof top bar looks like a lovely spot.  
 

Have a good sleep!  Big day tomorrow 🛳

[zgscl]

Bon voyage! Have a wonderful cruise. I will be onboard in just 4 weeks and can't wait. 

[aring75]

51 minutes ago, aring75 said:

It’s 10:02pm FL time (a four hour time difference)

So. Clearly I cannot time zone. 
 

It’s a three hour difference. I blame the flight. It sure feels like more!!