Live from Koningsdam August 13 RT Vancouver

[SGCruiser2013]

Hello everyone! Following @steve4031 lead and thought I’d trip report some from the Koningsdam this week. Happy to try and answer any questions. If I can post some cruise daily info, will do that as well! 
 

Just got on to the ship after a nice stay last night at the Pan Pacific. This is our first cruise post-Covid and thus we treated ourselves and are staying in a Neptune suite. 
 

We did all the advance stuff - Check-in online, Verifly, two different ArriveCAN submissions. We had a 10:00am check-in time (had never had one that early) and really it was a breeze. We arrived at maybe 10 after the hour and by approximately 10:45 we were all done and in the priority area for boarding. They didn’t start boarding until 11:30, so we just sat for quite a bit, not sure why 10:00am call time if not starting board to 11:30, but no worries.

 

Two if our party of 4 did get selected for Canada “random test” on arrival yesterday so I will try to do a separate post later on that whole deal. Spoiler alert: we were both negative this morning and it probably cost us 1.5+ hours of detour post-arrival yesterday afternoon, and maybe a few sprinkles of mild stress, but all was fine in the end. 
 

She’s a pretty ship!

 

 

Sample dishes from first Lido meal!

 

[SilvertoGold]

YAY!  Thank you for starting this thread!  Looking forward to every word, every photo!

[LuAnn]

We are on board for Xmas week so also looking forward to info on the ship!!

[SGCruiser2013]

Here is the Daily Program for today, I’ll post the full program today but in the future I may post just the middle section (unless front or back has something interesting). 
 

 

[-The-True-North-]

Amazing! I love reading these and getting a sense of what to expect on our cruise. Thanks for posting.

 

dis you guys get have it all? How's the internet? Can you use instagram or WhatsApp voice calling? Thanks 

[steve4031]

Cool.  Thank you for posting the daily news letters. I was too lazy to do that.  If you go by club orange say hi to Erza.  

[Dreamer115]

Can't wait for more.  I would be interested in the full daily program to get a better idea of whats happening.  But I'll take whatever you give us.  Thanks

[SGCruiser2013]

Good morning from the peaceful Inside Passage! We have a friend currently accompanying us ..

 

 

Yesterday I mentioned that two of our party were random selected on arrival to YVR for Covid testing. I posted on that process in Canada - Pacific Coastal cruise critic section of anyone is interested in more details. From my phone, I could t quite figure out how to paste a link.

 

Loved the ease of the new Muster process from since the last time we cruised HAL. Watch a video and then check in to your Muster station within a 2pm-4pm window. Easy! 
 

Before dinner we checked where our MDR table was and found it a bit in the middle on 3rd floor, surrounded mostly by larger tables and thus we decided to try first night in Club Orange. We loved it! Very attentive service. And maybe I should say very, very attentive :). Several folks always at the ready!

 

Here is a snapshot of the Club Orange menu:
 

 

 

And here are a couple pics of the special entree (Peruvian spiced chicken) as well as the Salmon. Also two desserts the hot fudge sundae and cheesecake.

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner we listened a bit to some live music near Billboard (pretty good) and attended the Majority Rules game show (imo not as good). Looking forward to the shows tonite.

 

Today will be a relaxing sea day with not much in the way of activities so will do some ship exploring. Tonight is dinner at Rudi’s Sel de Mer, very excited about that and deciding between the lobster tail or whole lobster! 

[cidymom]

Will be going on this ship in a few weeks so looking forward to reading your live trip report and seeing the Daily Programs so I can plan a few things in advance.  I do have a couple of questions: (1) was the Lido Market for embarkation day lunch full of people on your sailing? and (2) when you sail in Alaskan waters in the next few days whether the ship is rocking as I'm worried about seasickness.  Thank you for taking the time to do this for your fellow cruisers!

[SGCruiser2013]

1 hour ago, cidymom said:

Will be going on this ship in a few weeks so looking forward to reading your live trip report and seeing the Daily Programs so I can plan a few things in advance.  I do have a couple of questions: (1) was the Lido Market for embarkation day lunch full of people on your sailing? and (2) when you sail in Alaskan waters in the next few days whether the ship is rocking as I'm worried about seasickness.  Thank you for taking the time to do this for your fellow cruisers!

We boarded with suite/priority passengers towards the beginning, which was just after 11:20am. We went to Lido to begin with and crowd was sparse. When we left - probably 44-60 minutes later, yes it was pretty hopping. 
 

Today our seas are decently wavy and Captain said tonight would be more so, so Inwill post an update in Juneau tomorrow. This week in Alaska is planned for clouds and some rain, though of course that varies a lot and can change quickly. Right now it’s just cloudy/overcast as we sail along. There is a slow rock back and forth but none on our party have had motion sickness. Thus far she’s a pretty steady ship.

 

Here’s a current balcony pic to give a sense:

 

 

The $1000 !!!! BINGO .. was won by nobody, so the jackpot will just get bigger. I started with the max plays, lol, was like 10 people playing. Nada! 
 

Headed to NY pizza for lunch. Earlier today shot photos of the Dive In and NY Pizza menus (poor quality pic on NYP sorry).

[SGCruiser2013]

15 hours ago, steve4031 said:

Cool.  Thank you for posting the daily news letters. I was too lazy to do that.  If you go by club orange say hi to Erza.  

No Erza at the Club Orange this week, Oscar seems to be in charge. Perhaps she moved ships this week. But everyone there has been awesome last night. 

[SGCruiser2013]

21 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Amazing! I love reading these and getting a sense of what to expect on our cruise. Thanks for posting.

 

dis you guys get have it all? How's the internet? Can you use instagram or WhatsApp voice calling? Thanks 

We booked this cruise initially in early 2021 for Summer 2021. Not sure package name but was great deal. It was but a suite and get free inside room (or credit of inside room against higher category, which is what we did). We have free gratuities, signature drinks, specialty dining and some OBC. We purchased Wifi with four devices. Premium internet as I plan to try some video calls this week. 
 

Do not have Whatsapp but Instagram video chat worked this morning for a brief call. Video was a little choppy. 

[tundra1]

Thanks for doing this trip report!  We board her at the end of the month.  We are getting so excited for that long awaited vacation!

[quilty964]

Thanks for sharing!  Have a great cruise!
 

[ptmbaa!]

We were on this cruise a month ago on July 9th - rained the whole f**king time....

[-The-True-North-]

2 hours ago, ptmbaa! said:

We were on this cruise a month ago on July 9th - rained the whole f**king time....

Ohh no! That's terrible.

 

So sorry to hear that. 

[-The-True-North-]

@SGCruiser2013

 

Would love to see what you are getting at the Grand Dutch cafe.

 

hope you are enjoying your cruise so far.

[Dreamer115]

How much was the bingo package that you bought?  I used to be a bingoholic but haven't played in a few years now.  Thought I might give it a try.

 

[SGCruiser2013]

57 minutes ago, -The-True-North- said:

@SGCruiser2013

 

Would love to see what you are getting at the Grand Dutch cafe.

 

hope you are enjoying your cruise so far.

Ok will do. Had a great takeaway vanilla latte this morning when I went for breakfast. I didn’t realize that the hours for food/menu began at 11:30, so I will go for lunch on Skagway day, assuming it’s open. Tomorrow we are on the Tracy Arm Fjord early depart excursion to Juneau. For breakfast, you can get muffins and biscotti type items from the counter shelf, but not the prepared foods like waffles. 
 

 

[SGCruiser2013]

21 minutes ago, Dreamer115 said:

How much was the bingo package that you bought?  I used to be a bingoholic but haven't played in a few years now.  Thought I might give it a try.

 

Well I paid a lot for bingo, the mega package was $59 and you got 39 plays plus a scratch off. I think the options were $19/$29/$39 and $59. I will ply again one day this week and will fill in some details. There were four rounds - last round was blackout/jackpot. Lasted just short of an hour and had a good time. Wesley has been our game show host twice and he is very personable and funny. 

[Dreamer115]

1 hour ago, SGCruiser2013 said:

Well I paid a lot for bingo, the mega package was $59 and you got 39 plays plus a scratch off. I think the options were $19/$29/$39 and $59. I will ply again one day this week and will fill in some details. There were four rounds - last round was blackout/jackpot. Lasted just short of an hour and had a good time. Wesley has been our game show host twice and he is very personable and funny. 

Thank you very much.  I think I would pay that much too and then give the one card to my daughter.  Share the wealth (I hope).

[SGCruiser2013]

Good lunch today at NY Pizza and Deli. We used the app to order ahead. The app has the specialty pizzas but not build your own. However on the specialty pizzas you can add instructions so if you minus this, sub that, you can pretty much customize. When we ordered, the app shows three stages. First stage is order, then processing and then ready. There was not a time estimate on front end. After we ordered, it moved pretty quickly to processing, and then we headed up from the room. However NY Pizza was pretty crowded when we arrived and when we got a table nearby and waited, it was probably 30 mins wait (so maybe 45 mins from order submission). 
 

BBQ pizza was yum! Yes I like pineapple, sue me 🙂

 

 

 

[SGCruiser2013]

Dinner tonight was at Rudi’s Sel de Mer. Wowza. One of the best specialty dining’s I’ve had on a ship. Loved it. Took some recommendations and ordered the Dover Sole Meunière and we all shared a soufflé as well as some of own desserts. Waitstaff was great and pacing good. 7pm reservation and we ended around 9pm, in time for some of the group to make 9:30 showtime for Humanity. 
 

Mostly I have pics. Appetizers (crab bisque and escargot):

 

 

 

Entrees: Sole, lobster tail (which was listed as 12 oz tail but came as two 6 oz tails - suspect this was not how usually served?):

 

 

 

 

The Sole was simply magnificent. 
 

Desserts: Soufflé (shared for table), Apple Tartin, Profiteroles:

 

 

 

 

The soufflé was magnificent and the star of the show. It was cooked with mixed berry on the bottom. Light, fluffy, perfect. But honestly, our party of 4 thought 90% of the dishes from start to finish were superb. Great meal, highly recommend!

[oakridger]

Yes, the lobster should be a single 12oz tail.  I had two small ones served on a pop up Rudy's on the Oosterdam in 2019....let's just say that all other Rudy's have been excellent and I'm sure that one was a one off.  I'll be trying the Nieuw Amsterdam Rudy's this fall and yes, I will be having that Dover Sole!

 

I'm so glad you are sharing your cruise with us and all the pictures!

 

Thank you,

~Nancy

[Florida_gal_50]

Yes I ate at sel de mer a few times in March on the koningsdam and had the lobster every time.  It was always one tail and it was amazing.  I hope it’s as good with two but I have my doubts. Disappointing.