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

[canadianbear]

Really enjoyed following along on your cruise.  Lots of great info. We will be in San Diego for a cruise next month. 
 

[Haljo1935]

Where are the dogs this morning? They are not in the bag, at least it didn't look like they were.

[Cruisercl]

Welcome home. Safe travels to your own home. Thanks for the great review...😊

[regnig]

10 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Where are the dogs this morning? They are not in the bag, at least it didn't look like they were.

Maybe they were forced to disembark in Ensenada. 😁

[Mestizaqueen]

27 minutes ago, Dismomx5 said:

How many ships are disembarking today?

It’s the only ship in port today. We will be boarding in a few hours. 😊

[Destiny0315]

22 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Where are the dogs this morning? They are not in the bag, at least it didn't look like they were.

 

10 minutes ago, regnig said:

Maybe they were forced to disembark in Ensenada. 😁

Or maybe they were waiting for the dogs to be bailed out of the Brig! 😉

[Haljo1935]

Continuing trip of firsts - paid over limit luggage 🧳 fee - ugh! There was no way to consolidate, so I've paid my first "weight penalty" to an airline. This was not a happy first 😪

[Haljo1935]

25 minutes ago, Mestizaqueen said:

It’s the only ship in port today. We will be boarding in a few hours. 😊

That's exciting - have a great trip!!

[Haljo1935]

18 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

 

Or maybe they were waiting for the dogs to be bailed out of the Brig! 😉

More likely - spoke with John (GS Mgr) last night when we got off in Ensenada. After thanking me for my patience and apologizing (again) for my experience, he said he had finally spoken with them (they'd been avoiding him) and felt they would not be seen again with the dogs in an inappropriate area.

But since it's time to get off, seriously, where are the dogs? If they were disembarking them away from other passengers, like they do ill passengers, for example, surely the humans would be with the animals. Head scratcher...

[Haljo1935]

On 12/18/2023 at 9:37 AM, FlorenceItaly said:

See you onboard!!

Hey @FlorenceItaly now that the cruise has ended (at least mine has, but maybe you stayed on?) how was it for you? Other than the dogs, I had a great time. The PG lunch Barb @zelker arranged was lovely and it was nice meeting you there. 

[FlorenceItaly]

7 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Hey @FlorenceItaly now that the cruise has ended (at least mine has, but maybe you stayed on?) how was it for you? Other than the dogs, I had a great time. The PG lunch Barb @zelker arranged was lovely and it was nice meeting you there. 

We are off the cruise and settled in at the Intercontinental.  We have a 1:30pm whale watching tour scheduled.  We had a wonderful cruise, no complaints but we are happy to be returning home tomorrow.  I am sorry we didn't run into one another more.  We didn't have Internet so look forward to reading your blog once home.  I saw those dogs in the lido on Ensenada day!!!!  Yes, in lido restaurant.

Edited January 6 by FlorenceItaly

[pmjnh]

55 minutes ago, Destiny0315 said:

 

Or maybe they were waiting for the dogs to be bailed out of the Brig! 😉

The dogs should have been in the Brig the entire cruise...shame on this people for bringing fake aka "service" dogs on board.(major assumption, I know)

 

Safe travels home, @Haljo1935. I have really enjoyed this voyage with you!

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, boatmad said:

Regarding the room service tray.  In the past, cabin stewards did not handle these when finished.  There was a number to call and they would pick them up.  Don’t know whether or not things have changed since last winter.

Yes, I've called on other cruises to have them picked up. There were none of the "call 92 to have your tray picked up" cards on this or my last several cruises. Nor have any of the room service delivery people said "when you're finished, just call us and we'll come get your tray" which I've also had them do on previous cruises. Maybe the process changed or maybe there was a communication hiccup.🤔

It was just a little odd, but absolutely did not wreck my cruise. I would like to see them once again post the call for pick-up signs or leave cards or in some way notify us so there would be fewer trays in the hallways. Narrow passage ways + extra stuff (dishes, laundry baskets, whatever) = hard to navigate.

Off my soapbox now.

 

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, regnig said:

So many thanks for taking us along with you on your adventures. The pictures have been wonderful. Only question I have is "when do you sleep"??? 

Anxious to read the last "dog chapters"?

Safe trip home.

I don't sleep - this is all ChatGPT & AI and I'm a robot😉 

I worked such odd hours for so long and start my work day very early as I work across multiple time zones, so I tend to sleep in shifts. I get a few hours in the evening, wake up in the wee hours for a bit then grab another couple hours of 💤😴. It's awful, but it's been that way for years. I get about 5 hours/night. Ugh

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Hogladyrider said:

@Haljo1935...safe travels home!  Looking forward to your wrap up and additional stories.  We don't board until January 30th.

 

Curious how traffic is at the airport this morning.  We are renting a car in Yuma and dropping it off at San Diego airport then will grab a cab to the port.  

Traffic was not bad at all, almost non-existent. Don't know the airport well enough (only my 3rd trip through there) to know if it's always that way or if it's the time of day or being a weekend. The port is soooo close to the airport, that will be an easy taxi ride.

I will wrap up soon. Safe travels - enjoy your cruise!

[cruisetraveler2]

Thank you for taking us along on this journey with you.  I've really enjoyed it.  I appreciate all the time and effort you put into doing it for us!

[TahoeLynn]

Yes, thank you so much for doing this, we are on the Jan 30 sailing, I'm looking forward to it even more after reading about your cruise. One question--does HAL no longer do Gala nights?

[Haljo1935]

14 minutes ago, cruisetraveler2 said:

Thank you for taking us along on this journey with you.  I've really enjoyed it.  I appreciate all the time and effort you put into doing it for us!

Thanks for coming along - nice to have someone to talk to when traveling by ones self 😊 

[Haljo1935]

6 minutes ago, TahoeLynn said:

Yes, thank you so much for doing this, we are on the Jan 30 sailing, I'm looking forward to it even more after reading about your cruise. One question--does HAL no longer do Gala nights?

They now have Casual, Dressy and Orange Attire, no Formal, no Gala. Overall, dress code enforcement is pretty lax with some ships being a bit more strict. I saw 2 people turned away from late seating MDR on this trip wearing what has been allowed on other ships.

On Dressy nights, you'll see everything from jeans to suits and the very occasional tux (I saw 1 on Eurodamin May) - really so long as you honor the "no holey jeans, no swimwear in the dining room" rule, it's whatever makes you comfortable. 

The dress is in the top right of the Daily and is on each day of the Navigator. 

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

We are off the cruise and settled in at the Intercontinental.  We have a 1:30pm whale watching tour scheduled.  We had a wonderful cruise, no complaints but we are happy to be returning home tomorrow.  I am sorry we didn't run into one another more.  We didn't have Internet so look forward to reading your blog once home.  I saw those dogs in the lido on Ensenada day!!!!  Yes, in lido restaurant.

I hope you see lots of whales, looks like a nice day to be on the water. 😊

Oh geez - that would have been after they were talked to and after their trip to Grand Dutch Cafe. 😳

Edited January 6 by Haljo1935
Upload

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, pmjnh said:

The dogs should have been in the Brig the entire cruise...shame on this people for bringing fake aka "service" dogs on board.(major assumption, I know)

 

Safe travels home, @Haljo1935. I have really enjoyed this voyage with you!

I (and many others including the Hotel Gen Mgr & the GS Mgr) have the same opinion of their Service Dog status, ugh

Now THIS is a service dog 😊

Not a service dog and not pretending to be one

 

NOT service dogs and terrible imposters

Edited January 6 by Haljo1935
Remove duplicate pic

[packercruising]

3 hours ago, boards said:

we were in 4033 transatlantic cruise and is was great.

We have never done a TA, but we really like sea days.

[packercruising]

3 hours ago, SybilUnrest said:

I’ve been delighted to follow along and am even more delighted to wake up to the ship parked right across the street from my hotel- can’t wait to embark! Safe travels home.

Wyndam Bayside? That is where we will be staying.

[packercruising]

3 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

My group, Brown 1, was called about 15 min early. I got on the shuttle about 810am and now heading to airport at 816am. Finding luggage was easy - it's after facial recognition, which worked smoothly.

Escalators were not working, so it was wait for an elevator or take the stairs to get from ship to facial recognition line. That was the longest part. So disembarkation was a snap. My knee would have appreciated an escalator, but if you're prepared, it's fine.

Disembark schedule

Elevator line

Facial recognition line 

No waiting for CBP agents

 

This is not good news for those with wheel chairs, mobility scooters, etc.

[Haljo1935]

Sunrise over Port of San Diego as seen from my balcony

 

 

 

 

Bow Cam view

Aft Cam view 

 

 

Edited January 6 by Haljo1935
Remove duplicate pic