Koningsdam questions for 18 day Hawaii

[saturn93]

I am going on the 18 day Hawaii cruise from Vancouver on the Koningsdam  I do have a couple of questions.

 

1) What day is the Wine Tasting?

 

2) What day is the Mariner Reception?

 

I wanted to know so we can set up the Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill days, in which we will not have those with the above items.  We learned that lesson in December...too much having those at the same time.

[Loreto]

15 minutes ago, saturn93 said:

I am going on the 18 day Hawaii cruise from Vancouver on the Koningsdam  I do have a couple of questions.

 

1) What day is the Wine Tasting?

 

2) What day is the Mariner Reception?

 

I wanted to know so we can set up the Tamarind and Pinnacle Grill days, in which we will not have those with the above items.  We learned that lesson in December...too much having those at the same time.

We were on the Feb 2 Hawaii Koningsdam .  The Mariner wine tasting was on a sea day going to Hawaii at 2pm.  There was a Mariner get together on embarkation day and then on a sea day after Hawaii there was an invitation only Mariner party in the Crow's Nest at 10 am on a sea day after Hawaii.

[StarboardCali]

For anyone who was on the Feb 2 Hawaii Koningsdam, are you able to comment on how the Internet was during all of those sea days?  Much appreciated!   

[saturn93]

16 minutes ago, Loreto said:

We were on the Feb 2 Hawaii Koningsdam .  The Mariner wine tasting was on a sea day going to Hawaii at 2pm.  There was a Mariner get together on embarkation day and then on a sea day after Hawaii there was an invitation only Mariner party in the Crow's Nest at 10 am on a sea day after Hawaii.

We are trying to figure out what days to go to Pinnacle and Tamarind, so I want to get an idea on days not to go there due to the wine tasting and Mariner activities.  If there is more information about the actual days that they took place, please add.  Thank you.

[oakridger]

@saturn93  Keep in mind that HAL is not always consistent in a lot of things! (Understatement) The exact day of the wine tasting or Mariner activities may vary from the most recent cruise experience.  If the days you have reserved for specialty dining need to get changed, you will most likely have another option to rebook once onboard.

Edited March 23, 2022 by oakridger

[jhsocal]

Loreto, was Mariner event on embarkation day limited to certain level of Mariner?

[Lead_pup]

What days were the gala nights?

[CruiserBruce]

5 hours ago, jhsocal said:

Loreto, was Mariner event on embarkation day limited to certain level of Mariner?

Historically,  and on our recent Koningsdam cruise, the cocktail party on embarkation day was for 4 and 5 star Mariners. 

[Loreto]

6 hours ago, jhsocal said:

Loreto, was Mariner event on embarkation day limited to certain level of Mariner?

It was the morning of our first sea day, after Catalina, and in the BB King Blues Club.  I went to the CC Meet and Greet and met my DH there.  The BB was full and we were in the overflow Rolling Stone Rock Room.  It was disappointing , just beverages.  Must have been for 4&5* as there were a lot on board. Should have skipped it.

The Crows Nest party must have been for. 5* & Presidents Club…there were 6 onboard.  Officers were there, much better and we enjoyed it.

[Loreto]

1 hour ago, Lead_pup said:

What days were the gala nights?

Gala nights were on the Sea days to and from Hawaii, not while we were in the islands.

[Loreto]

20 hours ago, StarboardCali said:

For anyone who was on the Feb 2 Hawaii Koningsdam, are you able to comment on how the Internet was during all of those sea days?  Much appreciated!   

The internet was surprisingly good.  We had premium Wi-Fi with our package.

[Loreto]

17 hours ago, oakridger said:

@saturn93  Keep in mind that HAL is not always consistent in a lot of things! (Understatement) The exact day of the wine tasting or Mariner activities may vary from the most recent cruise experience.  If the days you have reserved for specialty dining need to get changed, you will most likely have another option to rebook once onboard.

Agree!

[Loreto]

7 hours ago, jhsocal said:

Loreto, was Mariner event on embarkation day limited to certain level of Mariner?

I don’t recall if there was anything for Mariners on Embarkation Day.  HAL was strict about embarkation times, with signs to line up behind at the cruise pier. It was very hectic as everyone had to be tested again for Hawaii.  Being on the Koningsdam. was a little overwhelming as we were onboard for the first time.

[vswan]

To switch things up a bit. I am on this same cruise. Did an internet search and it appears that as of April 1 we no longer need to have a covid test one day before entry into Canada. Know we will still need one to board the ship - 3 days before at most since we are boosted. Do we also need to test to reenter the US on our return? Is this handled by HAL?

[CruiserBruce]

7 minutes ago, vswan said:

To switch things up a bit. I am on this same cruise. Did an internet search and it appears that as of April 1 we no longer need to have a covid test one day before entry into Canada. Know we will still need one to board the ship - 3 days before at most since we are boosted. Do we also need to test to reenter the US on our return? Is this handled by HAL?

No, you don't need a test to re-enter the US by cruise ship.

[vswan]

But do I need to test to fly from Vancouver into the US?

[CruiserBruce]

2 hours ago, vswan said:

But do I need to test to fly from Vancouver into the US?

Currently, I believe you do..

[RobTheGob]

4 hours ago, vswan said:

To switch things up a bit. I am on this same cruise. Did an internet search and it appears that as of April 1 we no longer need to have a covid test one day before entry into Canada. Know we will still need one to board the ship - 3 days before at most since we are boosted. Do we also need to test to reenter the US on our return? Is this handled by HAL?

 

Since you are boarding the ship in Canada - the current Canadian rules to board are a PCR test three days before or the day before for rapid test. HAL's rules are less stringent. We're on this cruise and getting a monitored rapid test the day before we sail.

 

For fully vaccinated people, no test is required when you arrive in Canada (after April 1) and no test is required when the ship returns to Canada. I'm not aware of what the USA regulations are for your return.