The Inside Cabin - Live on the Koningsdam Coastal California

[ger_77]

17 minutes ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Who can name this sculpture? 

Little Bunny Foo Foo?

[swmissouritravelers]

2 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Who can name this sculpture? 

"Green with envy" bunny. 🐇

[The-Inside-Cabin]

40 minutes ago, swmissouritravelers said:

"Green with envy" bunny. 🐇

The answer is "One of a kind, Honest to Goodness by Tim Berg and Rebekah Myers"

[CATandSQUID]

4 hours ago, ger_77 said:

Little Bunny Foo Foo?

 

2 hours ago, swmissouritravelers said:

"Green with envy" bunny. 🐇

You from IB???  Nice.  We live by the horse farms.

[swmissouritravelers]

14 minutes ago, CATandSQUID said:

 

You from IB???  Nice.  We live by the horse farms.

IB?  Not sure what that stands for.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

56 minutes ago, swmissouritravelers said:

IB?  Not sure what that stands for.

IB is Imperial Beach.    The most southwesterly city in the Continental USA.   I can see Mexico from my house!    We live on Seacoast 

[CruiseMGM]

10 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

IB is Imperial Beach.    The most southwesterly city in the Continental USA.   I can see Mexico from my house!    We live on Seacoast 

Love IB! We visit whenever we can, staying at a condo complex on Seacoast near the pier. Visited for the first time in over 2 years recently and really enjoyed our stay.

 

Thanks for the blog, we've really been enjoying reading.

[The-Inside-Cabin]

Smooth disembark.    15 minutes ahead of schedule.  
 

Plenty of waiting taxis.    Airport shuttle wanted $10 po

 

10 minute wait for customs.   4 agents.  
 

plenty of porters.  
 

portal potties in waiting area and benches

 

ATM

[zgscl]

@The Inside CabinThis is great news, thanks so much for sharing your trip with us! What time did you disembark? 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

5 hours ago, zgscl said:

@The Inside CabinThis is great news, thanks so much for sharing your trip with us! What time did you disembark? 

As 4/5 stars we could leave whenever we wanted.  Right after the self disembark,   They called those at 7:45 and our group - Grey 1/2 at 7:50   We had a driver coming at 9:30 so we hung out until 9 AM.  We were on the curb at 9:20    - It went really fast with only one ship.    

 

4/5 stars get a special disembark package - everyone else goes to the front desk and picks whatever time they want.  

[DAllenTCY]

I always enjoy reading your posts and thanks for taking the time to do them.  I worked in Imperial Beach for 11 years at one time and I enjoyed having lunch at the pier often.

 

Just a quick comment.

 

The benches, ATM, and other amenities you mention are only available for disembarkation.

 

The ATM at the front of the pier was swiped a few weeks ago and will not be replaced, there is no seating, and no bathroom.

 

Embarking guests please be aware.

 

Thanks.

 

David

 

 

[The-Inside-Cabin]

58 minutes ago, DAllenTCY said:

I always enjoy reading your posts and thanks for taking the time to do them.  I worked in Imperial Beach for 11 years at one time and I enjoyed having lunch at the pier often.

 

Just a quick comment.

 

The benches, ATM, and other amenities you mention are only available for disembarkation.

 

The ATM at the front of the pier was swiped a few weeks ago and will not be replaced, there is no seating, and no bathroom.

 

Embarking guests please be aware.

 

Thanks.

 

David

 

 

Thanks for the clarification!

[oaktreerb]

On 11/10/2021 at 10:54 AM, cruise kitty said:

thank you so much for your reports so far...  may I ask, do all of the cabins have nightly turn down/cleaning service....  a poster mentioned this only being in Neptune suites...I will be shocked if this is true.

Just got off the Koningsdam.  First night no chocolates but did get towel animal.  Talked to the steward and he said chocolates are only for Gala nights but he will talk to his supervisor.  I also mentioned it to hotel director.  After that I got chocolates every night and a towel animal in our veranda stateroom on deck 4.  

 

We told the stewards that we would put the service hanger on the door to let them know when we needed service.  We found that our cleaning preference was for clean towels in the evening along with turndown service.  I enjoy coming back to the cabin after dinner to find clean towels and the When and Where with chocolates.   We really didn’t need or want service twice a day but did have to ask for ice one morning.  The stewards were very respectful of our privacy and we tried to be respectful of their time.  They were happy to talk with us and were candid about changes.  

 

We had been so accustomed through the years to the HAL stewards always knowing when we were out to come in for service morning and evening that when we cruised another (smaller) line we learned to put the service request on the door when we were out, their stewards didn’t have that uncanny ability to know our movements!

.

[zgscl]

4 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

We had been so accustomed through the years to the HAL stewards always knowing when we were out to come in for service morning and evening that when we cruised another (smaller) line we learned to put the service request on the door when we were out, their stewards didn’t have that uncanny ability to know our movements!

 

I am convinced there are motion or weight sensors in the rooms. I have not yet seen my stewards since embarking (to be fair I probably missed them as I was out for a good part of the afternoon). I came back and rested in the late afternoon and went to dinner at 5:30. Came back a couple hours later and it was all made up again for the evening. No chocolates this time. It is really spooky how they always know when you are gone. Maybe I should start asking them for stock tips. 

[Florida_gal_50]

The chocolate thing annoys me.  Because one person was throwing them out now no one can get them unless the supervisor approves it?  Maybe Gus needs to be consulted.  I walked in during a q and a last week and whoever was talking said all you have to do is ask for a chocolate.  When someone says I’ll ask my supervisor they are making it a bigger deal.  This person that was doing the q and a said they were being thrown away.  I highly doubt that is widespread.  I’ve paid thousands of dollars for this cruise and it’s too much to expect to get a chocolate daily.

[SilvertoGold]

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The chocolate thing annoys me.  Because one person was throwing them out now no one can get them unless the supervisor approves it?  Maybe Gus needs to be consulted.  I walked in during a q and a last week and whoever was talking said all you have to do is ask for a chocolate.  When someone says I’ll ask my supervisor they are making it a bigger deal.  This person that was doing the q and a said they were being thrown away.  I highly doubt that is widespread.  I’ve paid thousands of dollars for this cruise and it’s too much to expect to get a chocolate daily.

 

A HAL standard: one crew member says one thing, another says the opposite.  A case of "no one is the boss, everyone is the boss".  I have found a short, polite note to the Executive Housekeeper is all that is needed to set thing straight.

Edited November 15, 2021 by SilvertoGold

[oaktreerb]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The chocolate thing annoys me.  Because one person was throwing them out now no one can get them unless the supervisor approves it?  Maybe Gus needs to be consulted.  I walked in during a q and a last week and whoever was talking said all you have to do is ask for a chocolate.  When someone says I’ll ask my supervisor they are making it a bigger deal.  This person that was doing the q and a said they were being thrown away.  I highly doubt that is widespread.  I’ve paid thousands of dollars for this cruise and it’s too much to expect to get a chocolate daily.

I was at the Q%A and talked to the hotel director about tradition.  A lot of the travelers onboard were repeat customers and we expect chocolates on the bed at the end of the day!  Azamara’s end of day treat was a small bite of cake in an open square dish in our cabins.  I prefer the small chocolate treat that I can eat, share, or take home.  I hope people are not disrespectfully throwing the chocolate treat away….they should gift  it to someone if they don’t want it.

[Florida_gal_50]

58 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

I was at the Q%A and talked to the hotel director about tradition.  A lot of the travelers onboard were repeat customers and we expect chocolates on the bed at the end of the day!  Azamara’s end of day treat was a small bite of cake in an open square dish in our cabins.  I prefer the small chocolate treat that I can eat, share, or take home.  I hope people are not disrespectfully throwing the chocolate treat away….they should gift  it to someone if they don’t want it.

I left my steward a note today requesting a chocolate.  It will be done.  He said a lot of people are complaining about the no chocolates.  There is an easy fix for that 😉

 

[ellendrew]

A couple quick questions for those of you familiar with HA - would be most appreciative of any info. We have cruised many other lines but are HA newbies, and are learning that HA does some things differently.  

 

With the Signature Beverage Package (part of the Have It All promotion) drinks up to $11 are included I believe. On other lines, if you order a more expensive drink they just charge you the difference (i.e. $13 drink they just charge your account the extra $2).  If I understand it correctly, HA charges the full drink price for anything you order that's more than $11, correct? And if you want to upgrade to the better drink package, you must pay full price for that once onboard? Not just the difference between the two package prices?  I love to try new wines and hubs is a bourbon fan , but it seems silly to pay full price when there are many included in the package already.

 

Are there any shore excursions in Mazatlan or Cabo that you would recommend? We are booked for one for PV already.  We are in our 50's and no physical restrictions, love lots of walking and beach time.

 

We plan to get covid swabs done Friday morning to sail on Sunday. We have Kaiser and they promise results within 72 hours - and it has taken close to that long for us for some earlier tests.  I know HA says if you can show you've been tested on time but not received results they will rapid test you at the port.... but that makes me a little nervous. I hate to pay several hundred dollars out of pocket for a test at CVS or Walgreens as a back up that we might not need though. Suggestions?  We will be flying to SD on Saturday and staying over at the Wyndham near the port, so if there's a rapid test suggestion near the port maybe?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you long-time HA travelers could share!  Super excited to sail in a few weeks!

 

[VMax1700]

4 minutes ago, ellendrew said:

If I understand it correctly, HA charges the full drink price for anything you order that's more than $11, correct?  That is correct.  $11 or less on the price list.  Ignore the service charge element as it is covered by the package providing your drinks is listed under $11

 

And if you want to upgrade to the better drink package, you must pay full price for that once onboard?   You can only upgrade onboard is true, but you pay the difference between SBP and the Premium package  "On Board" pricing.  

 

Not just the difference between the two package prices?   You pay the difference between the onboard price of the two packages + service charge on that.  Not the pre purchase prices, but the onboard prices.

 

 I love to try new wines  Very poor choice of wines on both packages.  A few more on the Premium package, but if you really like wines you are better off if you bring on a couple of bottles and pay the corkage.

 

[ellendrew]

13 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

 

Thanks VMax1700 for the super quick & helpful reply!  I just looked at some recently posted HA wine lists and there are very few options by the glass in the $12 to $15 range, so now I'm not sure it would even make sense to upgrade. Great to have all the info on how this works though!

[Cruzmama]

1 hour ago, ellendrew said:

A couple quick questions for those of you familiar with HA - would be most appreciative of any info. We have cruised many other lines but are HA newbies, and are learning that HA does some things differently.  

 

With the Signature Beverage Package (part of the Have It All promotion) drinks up to $11 are included I believe. On other lines, if you order a more expensive drink they just charge you the difference (i.e. $13 drink they just charge your account the extra $2).  If I understand it correctly, HA charges the full drink price for anything you order that's more than $11, correct? And if you want to upgrade to the better drink package, you must pay full price for that once onboard? Not just the difference between the two package prices?  I love to try new wines and hubs is a bourbon fan , but it seems silly to pay full price when there are many included in the package already.

 

Are there any shore excursions in Mazatlan or Cabo that you would recommend? We are booked for one for PV already.  We are in our 50's and no physical restrictions, love lots of walking and beach time.

 

We plan to get covid swabs done Friday morning to sail on Sunday. We have Kaiser and they promise results within 72 hours - and it has taken close to that long for us for some earlier tests.  I know HA says if you can show you've been tested on time but not received results they will rapid test you at the port.... but that makes me a little nervous. I hate to pay several hundred dollars out of pocket for a test at CVS or Walgreens as a back up that we might not need though. Suggestions?  We will be flying to SD on Saturday and staying over at the Wyndham near the port, so if there's a rapid test suggestion near the port maybe?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you long-time HA travelers could share!  Super excited to sail in a few weeks!

 

We sail this weekend, and I've been paranoid about testing.  Will get rapid test at CVS on Friday, with backup appointments later in the day at Walgreens which we will cancel (just in case).  We also got 2 free home tests from the public library which we will bring along with us (just in case).  I'm sure it will all work out just fine.

[Heartgrove]

5 hours ago, ellendrew said:

 

Are there any shore excursions in Mazatlan or Cabo that you would recommend? We are booked for one for PV already.  We are in our 50's and no physical restrictions, love lots of walking and beach time.

 

 

We sail on the December 5 cruise and have booked excursions in both Cabo and Mazatlan as well as Puerto Vallarta.  In Cabo we are on the "Discover Todos Santos" and Mazatlan is "Colonial Villages of the Sierra Madre."  We sailed on this same itinerary in 2016. Back then we did the Open Air bus tour in Mazatlan and just walked the pier area in Cabo. For Puerto Vallarta we toured the city on foot and a bus to the tequila distillery for lunch.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[ellendrew]

54 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

We sail on the December 5 cruise and have booked excursions in both Cabo and Mazatlan as well as Puerto Vallarta.  In Cabo we are on the "Discover Todos Santos" and Mazatlan is "Colonial Villages of the Sierra Madre."  We sailed on this same itinerary in 2016. Back then we did the Open Air bus tour in Mazatlan and just walked the pier area in Cabo. For Puerto Vallarta we toured the city on foot and a bus to the tequila distillery for lunch.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks Heartgrove!  I will take a look into those. And we'll see you on the 5th!  That's our cruise too 🙂

[OVgirl]

You just have to do the Rapid Antigen Test, not the PCR Test which takes longer to get results back.