Live from Koningsdam August 13 RT Vancouver

[SGCruiser2013]

Arriving in Ketchikan on a beautiful day! Sunny and 74, sun feels wonderful on the balcony! 
 

Also I see my Yacht is in fine order.

 

Crab Feast this afternoon……

 

[SGCruiser2013]

Today’s sun drenched program:

 

 

 

[zhuangcorp]

Do all the events at the fitness center cost money to join in? "sunrise stretch" "abs workout"

[Linda VH]

Used to be that if you were in Neptune you could have b-fast for free in Pinnancle.    That was, admittedly a long time ago.

[oakridger]

Neptune Suite guests can eat breakfast and dinner in the Club Orange dining room on the three Pinnacle Class ships.  Konnigsdam, Nieuw Statendam and Rotterdam.

 

Neptune Suite guests may still eat breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill on the other ships.  (per post covid reports on CC)

[Cruise Junky]

What happens during Martini Hour?  Specials?  Is this happy hour? 

[SGCruiser2013]

7 hours ago, zhuangcorp said:

Do all the events at the fitness center cost money to join in? "sunrise stretch" "abs workout"

No these events are typically hosted, except when you see on the program a charge next to it, or something about purchasing tickets. Like a few days ago it said RYDE session (some sort of cycling I believe) and next to it said $20.

[SGCruiser2013]

Awesome day in Ketchikan. Heard from several locals, tour guides, event folks what a lucky weather day to be in port. Sunny, low 70’s, low winds. Perfect.

 

 

I am coming off an injury so taking it easy this cruise. This, I attended the Lumberjack show while DW was floatplaning to spy on Bears. 🇺🇸 beat 🇨🇦 today. That’s twice I’ve attended the Lumberjack show and twice the US has prevailed. Lucky charm I guess. 
 

Then headed to George Inlet lodge for the awesome Dungeness crab feast. So good!

 

How it started:

 

 

How it went: 

 

 

We were docked next to Royal Princess, what a beautiful ship. Here she is as well as a few scenic pics from the day, including an amazing sunset. Will be checking for Northern lights tonight! 

 

 

 

 

*Oh, and a bonus bear pic from DMiL:

 

[oakridger]

That has to be the largest Dungeness Crab legs I have ever seen.  Yummy!!

 

@Btimmerreports that they saw the Northern Lights tonight up in Iceland!!  Good luck up there in Alaska with the clear sky!!!

 

~Nancy

[Btimmer]

47 minutes ago, oakridger said:

That has to be the largest Dungeness Crab legs I have ever seen.  Yummy!!

 

@Btimmerreports that they saw the Northern Lights tonight up in Iceland!!  Good luck up there in Alaska with the clear sky!!!

 

~Nancy

Actually it was Greenland

[Crescent0]

Wonderful thread. Thank you so much for all the updates. I am looking forward to them every day. 

 

If it's not too much to ask, and if you do go back to Rudi's Sel De Mer, could you ask if they make birthday cakes for guests who request them? We are celebrating my husband's birthday and wanted to surprise him with a cake. I know  I can buy it in advance if I call the reservations number, but apparently the cake can only be delivered to the ship on  embarkation day. 

[SGCruiser2013]

Last Day at Sea before return to Vancouver!!

 

Unfortunately no Northern Lights I could see between about 12:30 and 1 am. 
 

Last night, without my knowledge since I wasn’t paying attention 🙂 , we sprung forward one hour. So my clock has been ‘off’ today and I hope I can rally before Bingo.

 

This morning was a fun Captain announcement, direct to the rooms, paging a few specific people to report in immediately. Culprit? Teenagers! 🙂 Ah to be young, glad everyone was safely located.

 

Today’s program chock full of stuff:

 

 

[SGCruiser2013]

A few pics from dinner last night we love Club Orange! 

Sweet and sour fried shrimp and apple crumb cake:

 

 

 

[SGCruiser2013]

Lunch today at Pinnacle Grill, had the black cod sandwich on sourdough and warm brownie (carpaccio appetizer not pictured):

 

[-The-True-North-]

What would you give this cruise out of 10?

 

Not sure how many you have to compare it to, so everything will be taken with a grain of salt. 

[julia]

Fabulous review, thx sooooo much for sharing your trip!  In all our trips to Alaska, I've never seen Ketchikan look so bright and sunny! 

We'll be on the K'dam in Feb, and I was wondering about the view from your balcony...  may I ask what cabin you're in?

[zhuangcorp]

Have you been to Dive-In burger yet? Just quick question: The "Freestyle" burger says grilled portabello mushroom, but is this in place of the beef burger or is it in addition to the beef burger?

[SGCruiser2013]

1 hour ago, zhuangcorp said:

Have you been to Dive-In burger yet? Just quick question: The "Freestyle" burger says grilled portabello mushroom, but is this in place of the beef burger or is it in addition to the beef burger?

This is in place of the beef burger however the Dive In is generally very happy to customize so if you wanted both you can just ask.

[SGCruiser2013]

4 hours ago, julia said:

Fabulous review, thx sooooo much for sharing your trip!  In all our trips to Alaska, I've never seen Ketchikan look so bright and sunny! 

We'll be on the K'dam in Feb, and I was wondering about the view from your balcony...  may I ask what cabin you're in?

We are on Schubert Deck 7, Starboard Side, across from entrance to Neptune lounge.

[SGCruiser2013]

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

What would you give this cruise out of 10?

 

Not sure how many you have to compare it to, so everything will be taken with a grain of salt. 

Thinking tomorrow I’ll do a wrap up review and summary with some ratings, but we loved this cruise. We have cruised maybe a dozen times, half in Caribbean and then once each in Med, Scandinavia, British Isles, and now Alaska twice. We have sailed HAL Kdam twice now, but we have tended to bounce around cruise lines (RCCL, Princess, MSC, Carnival, Norwegian).

[Lido deck main]

1 hour ago, SGCruiser2013 said:

We are on Schubert Deck 7, Starboard Side, across from entrance to Neptune lounge.

We were in that room on Koningsdam in April I think it was 7084 or 7048 we would open our door and Neptune lounge was right there.  

[zhuangcorp]

1 hour ago, SGCruiser2013 said:

Thinking tomorrow I’ll do a wrap up review and summary with some ratings, but we loved this cruise. We have cruised maybe a dozen times, half in Caribbean and then once each in Med, Scandinavia, British Isles, and now Alaska twice. We have sailed HAL Kdam twice now, but we have tended to bounce around cruise lines (RCCL, Princess, MSC, Carnival, Norwegian).

Between HAL and Princess, which show did you like more?

HAL seems to have more refined taste shows, with the BBC shows and such. 
Princess seems to have more energetic broadway shows. 

[julia]

2 hours ago, SGCruiser2013 said:

We are on Schubert Deck 7, Starboard Side, across from entrance to Neptune lounge.

Thanks for that!! Close enough...

[SGCruiser2013]

Final sea day - attended “Ask the Captain” which I thought was super interesting and informative. He did a 40-minute or so slide presentation about various aspects of the ship (in lieu of bridge or behind the scenes tour) and then answered some Q’s. 
 

Did NOT win jackpot Bingo.

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. We were Black group (8-9:30) and left around 8:30, moving right off the ship. No ArriveCAN random test selections this time. Collected luggage and out the door with ease.

 

I will say that there were some decent lines at YVR getting through everything including US customs for flight back to US. From start to finish took us about 80-90 minutes so you might plan accordingly.

 

 

[SGCruiser2013]

EPILOGUE post

 

Thanks for following along and we had such a great time on Koningsdam!!

 

Overall 8.5/10

 

Stateroom: 9/10 loved our Neptune suite cabin 7069, spacious, great big balcony

 

Food: 8/10, meal at Sel de Mer was highly memorable, main dining was good sometimes great, honestly thought Lido was not great and always seemed very crowded, Club Orange was awesome venue and their specials were interesting. Lattes at Grand Dutch we’re tasty

 

Activities and Entertainment: 6.5/10, just seems like wasn’t a whole lot planned each day/eve, I’ve posted the Daily Programs so you may have different view. Exceptions - BB King’s band was consistently excellent, lead singer was extremely talented and energetic

 

Service: 9/10, shout outs to Erza, Teneda and Oscar in Club Orange, Dewa and Anom our cabin stewards, and Cathy in the Neptune Lounge. Across the board was great

 

Alaska: 9/10, itinerary was great, excursion options plentiful, weather held together and was super nice at the end

 

Thanks everyone! If any final Q’s let me know