Hawaiian Holiday 🎄🍾 LIVE from Koningsdam Dec 21-Jan 6: join me for my 1st solo cruise & 1st inside cabin!

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, BetsyS. said:

I'm sorry to tell you that your Dallas Stars lost tonight to Colorado Avalanche in OT 5-4. Their next game will be Saturday, 1/6 at 8 PM Eastern Time opposite Nashville Predators. 

        Have a wonderful day tomorrow. I hope you will have great weather! 😊

I love HAL's pea soup!!!

         

See, another OT game - gotta be a record in their future. I haven't checked the weather for Ensenada, but will probably around lunch time.

Yes their pea soup is pretty great 😋

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, cbr663 said:

Been following along and enjoying so far.  I believe we have experienced a dog on every cruise that we have been on (always see the dog elimination grass on the Promenade deck, rarely see the dog).

 

Would love it if you share your thoughts on sailing in an inside cabin, especially with so many sea days.

Yes, I will share my thoughts on the inside cabin before I wrap this up. For now, I will say having a Thermal Pass has probably helped w/the large number of sea days.

Given you haven't really seen the dogs, I suppose you can't comment on if most of the dogs were well behaved and genuinely working dogs?

Edited January 5 by Haljo1935
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[Haljo1935]

Somehow I did not get pictures of the escargot or prime rib - prime rib was beautiful, tender and tasted great. Also did not snap the tiramisu. That's it, I'm issuing a final warning. 

 

 

 

[oakridger]

I'm glad to hear that HAL is still offering a nice Prime Rib.  

 

 

~Nancy

[Haljo1935]

2 hours ago, oakridger said:

I'm glad to hear that HAL is still offering a nice Prime Rib.  

 

 

~Nancy

Yes, it was quite good. It had a cracked pepper crust. Sorry I didn't get a picture. I think I was dazzled by it's beauty as all admired each others, lol.

Edited January 5 by Haljo1935
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[NCTribeFan]

I'm really picky about music.  I have many, many musician friends.  I absolutely cannot listen to inferior singing/playing and want to hurl if someone is off key. It literally hurts me. Seems that the vast majority of people just have no ear for music and if something was a "hit" then it must be a great song, so let's dance and cheer to things that never, ever should've even got any air time.  Yes, I'm harsh. 😄

 

I universally detest piano bars.  Even talented singers/pianists pretty much HAVE to play the hits, whether it's their style or within their vocal range.  So you end up with pounding on the keys and shouting into the mics and people sit there and just love it!  Ugh.  My main complaint on Vista/Signature class ships is that the piano bar is directly across from the casino and, especially, really right across from "my" roulette wheel.  I can't stay in the casino when they're over there screeching and banging.  Hey, probably keeps me from losing more money!

 

I was able to pretty much avoid them entirely while on Rotterdam.  Sadly, that won't be the case when I'm on Eurodam in about a week.

 

I certainly hope I don't ever encounter any non-service dogs when I sail.  I'll be a real "Karen" about it. 

[Hogladyrider]

21 hours ago, NCTribeFan said:

I'm going to seriously consider buying a spa pass for my sailing.  I've only spent a few hours in the spa (I think that was back on Zuiderdam several years ago).  I loved it.  With so many sea days, and typically a few when it's cooler outside, I can see me taking advantage of those heated loungers.

 

21 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

You know, I thought the spa would be packed because of having so many sea days and wondered if I would get the value from it. But, there has always been room so it's been great. Other than a couple times, the hydra pool has had room.

I'd say, water's great - jump on in!

I purchased the spa pass as a gift for myself....as I love the heated loungers, the hydro pool and the steam rooms as well.  Our room is on deck 8 aft so I won't have too long of a trek to get to the spa.

 

I am happy to see that the hydro pool is in a separate room from other areas as it can be loud when in the pool

[Haljo1935]

21 minutes ago, Hogladyrider said:

 

I purchased the spa pass as a gift for myself....as I love the heated loungers, the hydro pool and the steam rooms as well.  Our room is on deck 8 aft so I won't have too long of a trek to get to the spa.

 

I am happy to see that the hydro pool is in a separate room from other areas as it can be loud when in the pool

With the spa being forward, you will have that horizontal hike, but not vertical being on 8.

The hydro pool is through the sliding doors where the arrow is in this picture. The large steamroom, cold bucket shower & regular showers are where the dot is. There are additional regular showers & a horizontal shower behind the curved wall.

[Haljo1935]

First menu I received today did not have daily specials listed. After seeing Tablemates' menus did have specials, I asked for another menu. So, it may be the other times my menu didn't have specials I simply received the wrong menu.

 

I had the French Toast from the daily special section.

Tablemate had one of the skillets.

[Haljo1935]

Billboard Onboard bar menu

 

[Homer88]

On 1/3/2024 at 6:58 PM, jeh10641 said:

Two years ago on Rotterdam after 4 PM (1600), snacks were served along with a taste of Trivia.

Jim

I asked when I was on the K-dam in November- waitress said it was for Covid precautions- and not in use anymore.  Don't know why they didn't remove it during dry dock in March 2023.

[Haljo1935]

Feedback regarding an inside cabin - I'll do 2 w/1 on my specific cabin and then another on inside cabins in general.

 My cabin was located on deck 4 forward starboard.

 I thought the size of the cabin was good; I never felt cramped. I did like that there was no hallway, so as @Mary229 said, very efficient, which I learned is not always code for "tiny." 😉 The door was in the center with the desk, bathroom & closets to the left and the bed & TV to the right; there was no sofa (no room for one). The TV was directly across from the bed so no funny angling to see it; however, that also meant you are always stuck on the bed if you want to watch it, which I really didn't do.

There was ample storage w/2 closets and 3 drawers; additionally,  the desk also had 3 drawers - the top one you know houses the mirror and the hair dryer but the other 2 were really deep - so if you needed more storage space, those were available. I didn't use them, but probably would with 2 people.

I had the bed configured as a queen and don't know that the room would work too well with the bed split into twins (it was pretty tight on the far side of the bed between the wall, which would probably stay that way). For twin beds, I imagine you'd probably cut into the space between the bed and the angled "dry bar" but it would be ok for a week, I don't think I'd enjoy it for much longer than that. Solo, though, it would still be fine for cruises longer than a week.

As for the location it was great. It wasn't overly noisy (barking neighbor dogs aside, which was a one-off experience). Later into the day when the bands started playing, sure I could feel and hear them, but they shut down so early that after dinner it was never an issue. I had late dining, though, so I was gone 730 to 930 most nights so I can't really comment as to how comfortable that would be If you were in the cabin and the music was going between those hours. But again you know, this isn't a party all night ship, so there was no issue with noise at bedtime. Before dinner, I was either in the library or spa (thermal pass addict right here), so again was not in the cabin to be impacted if it was loud, but never noticed any annoyances in the hall so assume cabin was also fine. I did occasionally hear some clattering from a service area that sounded like dishes but it was very infrequent and never bothered me.

As for movement, I never felt much. The first couple days were pretty rough and I could feel us "moving" no matter where I was on the ship. But other than that, I didn't really notice much; it was like a gentle rocking or swaying. So maybe being in an inside cabin was a good thing.

Being close to the forward elevator was great for going to the spa. Being 1 deck away from 3rd deck MDR was great. 

There were no funky food aromas or stray casino smoke.

A/C worked well - kept around mid point (no numbers on the thermostat) which I've previously posted a picture of. Shower was fine after the door swingcwas adjusted so as to not require wearing waders, lol. If they leave the portable soap dispener, the next passenger should be good on soap by the sink.😉

I posted cabin pictures a couple days ago, so you can see where I lived the first part of the cruise. If there's anything about that particular cabin or location you want to know, just ask.

I'll comment on inside cabins in general plus give my thoughts on an obstructed balcony (also 1st time in one of those) in an upcoming post.

Edited January 5 by Haljo1935
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[Haljo1935]

11 minutes ago, Homer88 said:

I asked when I was on the K-dam in November- waitress said it was for Covid precautions- and not in use anymore.  Don't know why they didn't remove it during dry dock in March 2023.

Personally, I think they should put it back into service. It would be great to have Apps available at a bar.

[Haljo1935]

@BetsyS. @Hogladyrider this one's for you! I know you won't mind sharing, so anyone else interested in the hydro pool, come join us 😏

Being the only one in the pool, I took advantage of the rare opportunity to take pictures. 

The arrow points to the automatic doors leading into the ceramic lounge, shower and steamroom areas aka Thermal Suite. Pictures of the Thermal Suite are still coming😊

You can really see the pool since neither the sprayers nor the pool jets are on - there are buttons for them at the base of the staircase; the one on the right controls the sprayers, pool jets on the left.

These pictures are in no particular order, but mostly sweep the room from left to right.

Towels are available in both the hydro pool and ceramic lounge areas. Close-up of the doors to the Thermal Suite.

 

 

The double doors lead to Lido pool area, but are locked.

 

 

 

Closer view of the Lido doors

 

Service door

Edited January 5 by Haljo1935
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[cbr663]

14 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Yes, I will share my thoughts on the inside cabin before I wrap this up. For now, I will say having a Thermal Pass has probably helped w/the large number of sea days.

Given you haven't really seen the dogs, I suppose you can't comment on if most of the dogs were well behaved and genuinely working dogs?

 

Always hard to tell what a genuine working dog is these days.  A vest isn't enough and I think with dogs being used for very different purposes I would think that the training is also very different.

 

On our November cruise a passenger was with a dog at the Grand Dutch Cafe.  I didn't recognize at first that the shoulder bag that she had was a pet carrier bag until she sat at the table and took the dog out of the carrier bag.  The dog was a very small terrier of some sort and didn't make a sound.  It just always catches your attention when you see an animal where you aren't expecting it.  I didn't think it appropriate though that she kept the dog in her lap while sitting at one of the Grand Dutch Cafe's tables.  She was, after all, sitting at a dining establishment with the dog in her lap.  (And for the record, I am a dog lover).  Having the dog sitting or resting beside her on the floor would have been what I would have expected.

 

And I did notice that while we were there no one from the crew or any officer approached her to discuss the appropriateness of her having the dog at the table.  I understand HAL's challenge of verifying the validity of claims of service dogs but I don't understand why it won't enforce restaurant sanitary requirements.  Although, now that I think about it, it is more and more common for me to run into dogs in all kinds of public spaces these days and perhaps there aren't any requirements anymore restricting animals in restaurants and at a public dining table??

[Haljo1935]

Holy Wow - people love their 🎂 🥮!

As I was heading to the spa for my mid-day dose of calm, I saw this unusually long line in the Lido. Turns out I'd forgotten about Cake me Away being today. T&CD Kristen was going through the line showing pictures of the cakes on her phone so people could see them.

This is the best I could do for pictures - the crowd was thick and I couldn't get to other side. Zoom in to see how pretty they are. Yummy art for the tummy and the eyes!!

 

 

Edited January 5 by Haljo1935
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[Haljo1935]

We've been invaded - the Lido was overtaken by animals and critters galore.

 

While some were just hanging out, others were lounging around

 

 

 

 

 

Beverage Mgr introduced me to his boss, lol

 

Well done HAL Housekeeping!!

[BetsyS.]

Thanks for all the great pictures! The crew must have spent many hours baking the cakes and making the towel animals!  😊

[Haljo1935]

12 minutes ago, BetsyS. said:

Thanks for all the great pictures! The crew must have spent many hours baking the cakes and making the towel animals!  😊

Yes, they must have been crazy busy and put in a lot of extra time. I hope they know how much we appreciate it.

I forgot to post this from the Navigator.

Edited January 5 by Haljo1935
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[Haljo1935]

23 hours ago, pmjnh said:

@Haljo1935 wait.. I thought you had an inside cabin.. that looks like Window.. did I miss something?

I agree,cabin steward shoul have taken the tray. 
have loved your narratives… but did you get feedback regard the d-o-g-s????

Nope, you didn't miss a thing. I think you and I were posting yesterday at the same time 😏 you may have deduced by now that I was moved from my original inside cabin. After my last post, I think I may (fingers tightly crossed 🤞) be able to give a final report and tie off the bow 🎀

Assuming no encounters during disembarkation tomorrow 🫣

[Haljo1935]

So exciting - popcorn 🍿 is packaged and there looks to be plenty

It's a beautiful sunny slightly breezy day - let's go for dip and watch a movie. How does "Coco" sound?

You can't see the screen?👀

What if we zoom in - is that better?🙄

Still no? Ok, well let's take a short walk 👣over here and peak at the land instead!!

We have mountains coming into view - Woo Hoo!! And some buildings, too. Zoom in again (which I know you're really good at cuz you just did it trying to see the movie 👀) and you'll see the white tops of various structures. Please tell me that haze is not smog.🤔

 

[pmjnh]

25 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Nope, you didn't miss a thing. I think you and I were posting yesterday at the same time 😏 you may have deduced by now that I was moved from my original inside cabin. After my last post, I think I may (fingers tightly crossed 🤞) be able to give a final report and tie off the bow 🎀

Assuming no encounters during disembarkation tomorrow 🫣

I am super happy they finally moved you and glad you spoke to the hotel manager. I dont think we would have had the patience you displayed. I loved your "live reports". Enjoy your last evening!

[Hogladyrider]

@Haljo1935..OMG thank you so much for the amazing spa pics you posted earlier today!

 

The weather is a bit brisk here today, breezy with little sun so despite trying to sit outside and read I am inside and have been researching our port stops in Hawaii.

 

For Ensenada, we have never been there, I found that it is the "home of fish tacos" so that may be on our list as we both love fish, talapia is NOT fish in my vocabulary for sure.

 

I so enjoy the research part especially when I have lot of time on my hands.

 

Sure going to miss your reporting, it has been wonderful.

 

One final question.  Have you watched any of the Lido pool side movies?  If so was it difficult to find a seat?   We have found on 7 day cruises it is often tough finding a seat so we just go to the cabin and watch something there as HAL's selection is usually good.  

 

We are BIG fans of BB Kings and the other live music venues.

 

Safe travels home and please post a link here for your future cruises so we can follow along!

Susan

[Haljo1935]

More views from my balcony as we get closer to Ensenada, in no particular order.

 

 

And one looking down instead of out, cuz why not? No inside cabin means I CAN look down (even if there's nothing particularly worth looking at)😉

Edited January 6 by Haljo1935
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[Mary229]

40 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

So exciting - popcorn 🍿 is packaged and there looks to be plenty

It's a beautiful sunny slightly breezy day - let's go for dip and watch a movie. How does "Coco" sound?

You can't see the screen?👀

What if we zoom in - is that better?🙄

Still no? Ok, well let's take a short walk 👣over here and peak at the land instead!!

We have mountains coming into view - Woo Hoo!! And some buildings, too. Zoom in again (which I know you're really good at cuz you just did it trying to see the movie 👀) and you'll see the white tops of various structures. Please tell me that haze is not smog.🤔

 

Popcorn, glorious popcorn.  You made my day.