Semi-live from the Nov 4 Koingsdam California Coastal cruise.

[terrydtx]

My wife and I are 3 stars with HAL and we booked this cruise earlier this year as short, nice vacation by ourselves.  We booked an aft facing veranda on deck 6, cabin 6235 with Club Orange added and the standard HIA. This is our first HAL cruise on a Pinnacle class ship. We flew from our home in San Antonio to San Diego on Nov 3^rd and spent the night at the Embassy Suites on the bay very close to the cruise port and the airport.  Spent the afternoon exploring the Seaside Village across the street from the hotel. This was our first time in SD in over 40 years and we had a great time.

 

We got up on Saturday and after a great included breakfast at the hotel we headed to the cruise port for our 11:00 check in and boarding time. It was a short Uber ride to the ship for about $8 and we got out at the luggage drop off which as so convenient at 10:45. We easily found the priority Club Orange check in after going through security and checking of our carryon luggage.  After a 10-minute check in process we were directed to the priority waiting area for suites, CO and 4- and 5-star Mariners by 11:00. We were told that boarding was delayed because of an inspection of the ship and boarding started at 12:15 and we went to our cabin, which was ready to drop off our carry-on luggage and get our sail passes so we could go to the MDR for lunch at 12:30.  After all of the horror stories I read about boarding in SD, this was an extremely easy and efficient process. Not a lot of signage for Club Orange but I found if we told the HAL shore personnel that we were CO we got directed to the right lines. While in the waiting area I got to meet @LAFFNVEGAS and her husband as she recognized the shirt, I said I would wear in our CC Roll Call. It was so nice to meet them, and I have followed her posts for years. They have so much experience with HAL that they shared over the years, I believer they make 5 Stas on this cruise.

 

We had a nice lunch in a very uncrowded MDR and then spent the afternoon exploring the ship. I also signed both my wife and I into the ship’s internet which was very easy. I also upgraded my surf internet to premium streaming for only $40 for the week. I did have an issue trying to get my laptop connected but after going to the CO guest services line I found out how to easily do the connection. This is one of the best, IMO, benefits of having Club Orange, is the dedicated CO line at guest services. There were probably 50 people in the non-CO line waiting for help and I was able to walk right up to the desk and get help with no waiting.  While there I was also able to add the 6 bottle Aqua Panna water package to our cruise and it was delivered that afternoon.

 

We had dinner on the first night in the CO dining room and it was impressive. Much smaller and quieter than a MDR and I compare it to Celebrity Suites, Luminae restaurant. We had fast efficient service. My wife had the salmon dish, and it was cooked the way she likes, medium rare, and I had the chef’s special Peruvian Chicken, it was delicious, not over cooked, and one of the best chicken dishes on any cruise.  All of the food was served hot. In addition, the extra daily Chef’s special, I found that the CO dining room has some other items not on the MDR menu. For a starter there is seared Tuna and asparagus salad that was delicious and for the entrees they have Beecher’s Mac and Cheese every night. I will have that Tuna starter again.

 

Well this covers our embarkation day and I will post more later.

Edited November 6, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

Day 2 which is mostly a sea day because we did not get to Ensenada until 6:00pm. We had no plans to get off the ship anyway. We tried breakfast in CO which may be our last there. Service was extremely slow, and it took 1 ½ hours to complete our meal. They appeared to be really understaffed, not as good an experience as last night’s dinner.  For lunch we each got a slice of pizza at NY Pizza and a beer. I was surprised at how good the pizza was and we will be back.

After looking in the Nav app at our dinner menu, we decided nothing looked that great or jumped out at us. We had booked before we boarded, our HIA dinner in Tamarind for Monday day 3, I made another trip to the CO guest service line and quickly got the reservation moved to Sunday at 6:30.  So glad we made the change as the service and food was so phenomenal. In the past this has always been our favorite specialty restaurant of any cruise line and it still is after last night. We both had the Wasabi crusted tenderloin cooked medium rare and they were perfectly done and super tender. I had the Scallops for my starter and we both had the soufflé for dessert.  Our waitress was super-efficient and attentive the whole meal. We will probably make another reservation again later in the week.

 

We spent most of yesterday exploring this beautiful ship and enjoying just relaxing. But we also discovered a huge disappointment with this ship. The smoking allowed in the casino is horrible. We could not stand to walk through the casino as the smoke was absolutely the worst of any cruise ships, we have been on, including other HAL ships. We wanted to look at some items in the Shops and the smoke from the casino spilled into the shops and we couldn’t spend any time in them. I think it is time for HAL to do like other cruise lines and ban all interior smoking.  We after lunch wanted to have a drink at the Seaview bar and the smoking there was too bad for us to even enjoy that area. We were told smoking was only allowed on one side of the pool but there were smokers sitting at almost every table, so we had to leave and go elsewhere and the riles were not being enforced. Please do not hijack this thread and make it a smoking pro and con one. This is my observations and I do not like being anywhere around smoking as I am very allergic to the second hand smoke.

[mac_tlc]

Thanks for taking us along. We have our first HAL cruise on K’dam in January 2025  18 nights R/T to Hawaii in an aft Vista Suite with CO so we are absorbing as much HAL info as we can. 
 

mac_tlc

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Thanks for taking us along. We have our first HAL cruise on K’dam in January 2025  18 nights R/T to Hawaii in an aft Vista Suite with CO so we are absorbing as much HAL info as we can. 
 

mac_tlc

Hi Mac, we have participated with you on many discussions in the Celebrity forum, nice to hear from you. I think you will like the K'Dam she is about the same size as the S Class Celebrity ships, but much newer. Other than the smoking in the casinos, so far, no real negatives.  I will say the buffets seem to have much more variety than X and the MDR menus are definitely better. We had an excellent meal last night in Tamarind and I hope you give it a try.

[mac_tlc]

7 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Hi Mac, we have participated with you on many discussions in the Celebrity forum, nice to hear from you. I think you will like the K'Dam she is about the same size as the S Class Celebrity ships, but much newer. Other than the smoking in the casinos, so far, no real negatives.  I will say the buffets seem to have much more variety than X and the MDR menus are definitely better. We had an excellent meal last night in Tamarind and I hope you give it a try.

Yes, Terry , we have been on many X discussions. looking forward to trying something different. Have heard good things about Tamarind and it is definitely on our radar. I am with you regarding smoking, and my DW does like to make an occasional donation at the casino, so hopefully it will be tolerable. That is one thing X seems to get right.

 

Hoping our cruising paths cross some day…….

 

 

mac_tlc

Edited November 6, 2023 by mac_tlc

[terrydtx]

7 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Yes, Terry , we have been on many X discussions. looking forward to trying something different. Have heard good things about Tamarind and it is definitely on our radar. I am with you regarding smoking, and my DW does like to make an occasional donation at the casino, so hopefully 8t will be tolerable. That is one thing X seems to get right.

 

Hoping our cruising paths cross some day…….

 

 

mac_tlc

Not only is the casino full of smoke but the shops near the entrance on deck 3 are also smoky from the casino spillover. No way they will get any donations from me. I remember the huge negatives that CC members gave X when they experimented with allowing vaping in the casino as a test last summer. That test lasted a month and was a no go by X after all the negative emails they received from CC members.

 

If you haven't do so, I highly recommend you buy Club Orange for your cruise in January, It is as close as you can get on HAL to the Retreat amenities on Celebrity.

Edited November 6, 2023 by terrydtx

[mac_tlc]

49 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

 

If you haven't do so, I highly recommend you buy Club Orange for your cruise in January, It is as close as you can get on HAL to the Retreat amenities on Celebrity.

We did add Club Orange. Most of the cost was offset by the cabin upgrade. We like the idea of a smaller dining room.

 

 

mac_tlc

 

 

[Puchi boy]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

Yes, Terry , we have been on many X discussions. looking forward to trying something different. Have heard good things about Tamarind and it is definitely on our radar. I am with you regarding smoking, and my DW does like to make an occasional donation at the casino, so hopefully it will be tolerable. That is one thing X seems to get right.

 

Hoping our cruising paths cross some day…….

 

 

mac_tlc

Highly recommend the Lychee cocktail, which is only served at Tamarind.

[terrydtx]

53 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

We did add Club Orange. Most of the cost was offset by the cabin upgrade. We like the idea of a smaller dining room.

 

 

mac_tlc

 

 

You will be glad you added CO. Its like Luminae but with out the weird dishes. We added it to our Volendam cruise for next August for the August for the upgrade and extra dinner entrees. Priority boarding and  tendering will be a plus too. 

 

The K'dam is every bit as nice as the E Class X ships without the awful IV cabins.

Edited November 6, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

Here are some pictures of our cabin.

Edited November 6, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

This afternoon we purchased the James Suckling 90+ rating wine tasting. It was free for 4 star and above mariners and a lot of fun. We paid $25pp and well worth the cost. I have noticed HAL does much more onboard for their loyalty customers than Celebrity.  

[terrydtx]

Just for some background on our recent cruising experience.  We have done 5 post covid cruises on Celebrity  all in the suites Retreat. We loved the retreat but recent changes to the retreat product many retroactive for those who booked early have us looking elsewhere. After our two Edge cruises in January we will be done with Celebrity. We did one post covid cruise last year on the Oosterdam from Venice and we are looking more at HAL and Oceania for the future. 

 

I am changing my direction some on this thread so not too compete with my friend @LAFFNVEGAS and her expert live thread on this cruise. Most of my comments going forward will be more comparing HAL with Celebrity as many loyal Celebrity CC members are looking to go elswhere like us.

 

So far I think the Pinnacle class ships to be just as nice and beautiful as the Celebrity new E class ships but the traditional verandah cabins gives HAL Pinnacle class ships the edge over X E class ships by a lot. So far i give the edge to HAL on food vareity and quality in MDR and buffets.  CO dining room is just as good as the Celebrity Luminae too. I will have more comparisons later in the week.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by terrydtx

[tiller]

I'll be on the ship in 2 weeks. Unfortunately to hear about the smoking inside--you'd think they could spring for better ventilation around the shops. 

 

So you can get slices of pizza, not just whole ones? That's good to know.

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, tiller said:

I'll be on the ship in 2 weeks. Unfortunately to hear about the smoking inside--you'd think they could spring for better ventilation around the shops. 

 

So you can get slices of pizza, not just whole ones? That's good to know.

The entrance to the  casino on the starboard side is right where the shops end and as you get within 50 feet of the entrance you are overcome by the smell. It seems to be more of a design flaw because we never experienced this last year on the Oosterdam.  Celebrity has a huge advantage over HAL as they do not allow any smoking in the casinos. 

 

Yes you can get just a slice or a small single  individual whole pizza. The slices are available when you order. You have to wait on the individual pizzas to be made and baked. 

Edited November 7, 2023 by terrydtx

[*Miss G*]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Not only is the casino full of smoke but the shops near the entrance on deck 3 are also smoky from the casino spillover.

 

I am enjoying your review, @terrydtx.  FWIW — and as much as I dislike heavy smoking in the casino — sometimes there are very few smokers onboard so the spillover isn’t as bad.  “Bad”, of course, is totally subjective but I can usually stay on the non-smoking side (and sometimes the smoking side) and not be bothered by it.  I hate the tiny side room for the non-smokers because the machines in there are not the kind I play.  Would still prefer the entire casino was non-smoking, though, because whatever they spray in there to try to mask the scent can often make things worse.

[terrydtx]

9 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I am enjoying your review, @terrydtx.  FWIW — and as much as I dislike heavy smoking in the casino — sometimes there are very few smokers onboard so the spillover isn’t as bad.  “Bad”, of course, is totally subjective but I can usually stay on the non-smoking side (and sometimes the smoking side) and not be bothered by it.  I hate the tiny side room for the non-smokers because the machines in there are not the kind I play.  Would still prefer the entire casino was non-smoking, though, because whatever they spray in there to try to mask the scent can often make things worse.

This cruise is at 100% capacity which may account for more smokers. I walked into that side room and the smoke smell spillover was evident even in there. The outside temperature is in the mid 60's so maybe there is less air exchanging but it needs to improve. 

[cbr663]

I am enjoying your live review.  Thanks for your description on CO priority embarkation in San Diego.  I am looking forward to it being a very easy process.

 

The long lineups at CO are concerning.  Hopefully we won't experience the same when we board in less than 2 weeks.  Things can change a lot from cruise to cruise, even within a cruise sometimes.

 

[kluv2cruz]

9 hours ago, terrydtx said:

My wife had the salmon dish, and it was cooked the way she likes, medium rare, and I had the chef’s special Peruvian Chicken, it was delicious, not over cooked, and one of the best chicken dishes on any cruise.  I found that the CO dining room has some other items not on the MDR menu. For a starter there is seared Tuna and asparagus salad that was delicious and for the entrees they have Beecher’s Mac and Cheese every night. I will have that Tuna starter again.

Isn’t the tuna fantastic? And, every day the dining room is open for lunch, the catch of the day is served how your wife likes her salmon- medium rare, and hot. The Beechers Mac and cheese in CO is creamy, hot and yummy. Ordered it at lunch in main dining room and not worth having - not hot, not creamy, and dried out. Enjoy!

[terrydtx]

OMG, tonight we discovered Billboatd onboard and we are having a fabulous time. Nothing like this on Celebrity. One of the most fun we remember at night in a long time on a cruise ship

Edited November 7, 2023 by terrydtx

[Gracie115]

13 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Just for some background on our recent cruising experience.  We have done 5 post covid cruises on Celebrity  all in the suites Retreat. We loved the retreat but recent changes to the retreat product many retroactive for those who booked early have us looking elsewhere. After our two Edge cruises in January we will be done with Celebrity. We did one post covid cruise last year on the Oosterdam from Venice and we are looking more at HAL and Oceania for the future. 

 

I am changing my direction some on this thread so not too compete with my friend @LAFFNVEGAS and her expert live thread on this cruise. Most of my comments going forward will be more comparing HAL with Celebrity as many loyal Celebrity CC members are looking to go elswhere like us.

 

So far I think the Pinnacle class ships to be just as nice and beautiful as the Celebrity new E class ships but the traditional verandah cabins gives HAL Pinnacle class ships the edge over X E class ships by a lot. So far i give the edge to HAL on food vareity and quality in MDR and buffets.  CO dining room is just as good as the Celebrity Luminae too. I will have more comparisons later in the week.

 

 

 

HI from another ex, X cruiser... pun intended.

 

I'll be following your thread as we are seeking other lines after our last 2 cruises with Celebrity.  We also cruised in the Retreat but our last 2 on Apex were disappointing.  We really are not fans of the E class.  So my question to you is how would you compare the Koningsdam to the S class on Celebrity?  That is our favorite class of ship.

 

 

 

[terrydtx]

45 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

HI from another ex, X cruiser... pun intended.

 

I'll be following your thread as we are seeking other lines after our last 2 cruises with Celebrity.  We also cruised in the Retreat but our last 2 on Apex were disappointing.  We really are not fans of the E class.  So my question to you is how would you compare the Koningsdam to the S class on Celebrity?  That is our favorite class of ship.

 

 

 

Welcome, We were also dissapointed with our Apex cruise in September compared to the past. I would compare the Koningsdam more to the E Class but with no fake IV balconies because it is newer and about same age as the Edge so it has more upgraded electronics like power outlets with USB plugs by each bed and on the desks. So far the food has been way better than our Apex cruise and the Lido Market puts the OVC to shame for all meals. You could also say the Koingsdam is like moderized S class ships. She is a beautiful ship and i highly recommended sailing on her.

[jwb3843]

Hi Terry!  SO thankful for your review and Celebrity comparisons.  We too are taking a step away from Celebrity and giving HAL a try for our long awaited retirement cruise ~ the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti trip on the Koningsdam in Feb 2025.  We opted for an aft Vista Suite and Club Orange, so I’m very happy to hear your positive reviews on that experience thus far on your journey.  On our last Edge cruise we only ate in Luminae once for dinner because nothing on the menus appealed to us, so I’m more hopeful based on the info above!  Can you give us any recommendations as to a nice quiet lunch spot on embarkation day?  Bistro on Five (many moons ago!) used to be our go to embarkation spot and we’ve missed it!  

 

Looking forward to following along and learning more HAL tips!

 

Julie

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, jwb3843 said:

Hi Terry!  SO thankful for your review and Celebrity comparisons.  We too are taking a step away from Celebrity and giving HAL a try for our long awaited retirement cruise ~ the 35 night Hawaii/Tahiti trip on the Koningsdam in Feb 2025.  We opted for an aft Vista Suite and Club Orange, so I’m very happy to hear your positive reviews on that experience thus far on your journey.  On our last Edge cruise we only ate in Luminae once for dinner because nothing on the menus appealed to us, so I’m more hopeful based on the info above!  Can you give us any recommendations as to a nice quiet lunch spot on embarkation day?  Bistro on Five (many moons ago!) used to be our go to embarkation spot and we’ve missed it!  

 

Looking forward to following along and learning more HAL tips!

 

Julie

Hi Julie,

Unlike Celebrity one of the MDR is open for lunch for everyone on Embarkation Day from 12:00 to 1:00pm.  With CO you can board early with plenty of time to get to the MDR for lunch. We did this on Saturday, and it was not crowded and it was very quiet, so that is my recommendation. Unlike the Luminae the CO dining room has the same menu as the MDR plus one extra starter and a daily special entree.  So far, we found it to be much better quality than Luminae and they actually have deserts that look like they should. Last night the Dutch apple pie was Dutch apple pie not some deconstructed desert in Luminae. Last night we had the rack of Lamb and we got 3 large thick chops cooked perfect and they were both tender and tasty. The only con with the HAL MDR and CO, so far, is the very poor selections of breads compared to X. If you like music the venues on this ship and HAL are amazing compared to X, last night we enjoyed the Billboard room with 2 very talented singers on dueling pianos doing songs from the 60's and 70's. They both were fantastic.

 

The other difference is the cost for drinks and wines by the bottle and glass with a much better selection than the basic drinks package on X. Last night I had a Buffalo Trace Bourbon on the rocks, and it was $8. Overall, the cost for booze on HAL is less than X.

 

Here is a picture of the Dutch Apple Pie:

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

Another big difference, it seems the premium Wi-Fi on this ship is much faster and more reliable than we had with the premium Wi-Fi on the Apex last month. The K'Dam was recently upgraded with Starlink like the Apex.

[terrydtx]

Unlike the E Class ships the HAL Pinnacle ships all have the Crow's Nest up on deck 12 in the front of the ships with spectacular views. Ours has both a full-service bar and a specialty coffee station.

 

The Crow's Nest has one of the best bar servers we have encountered so far, his name is Darwin, he has a great personality and was fast and efficient.  He told us about a wine tasting yesterday afternoon in the MDR so we had him sign us up, I hope he gets some commission for his sale. We tried lunch again yesterday in the New York Pizza and I had a tasty, corned beef sandwich. My wife had a slice of well-prepared pizza. The bar and drink service around the NY Pizza was slow and appeared understaffed. Just like X, HAL has lots of chair hoggs and I saw many unoccupied chairs around the Lido pool with personal possessions saving them.

 

Here is a picture of the wine tasting yesterday. We Paid $25pp for it but all 4 and 5 star Mariners got free invitations, All of the wines were Pacific NW wineries and rated by James Suckling 90 points or more. One of the wines was a Skol Blosser Pino Noir and it is available by the glass for only $13.

Edited November 7, 2023 by terrydtx