Just back from first HAL cruise in 4 years

[Tom O.]

Just got back from our first cruise since Covid. 

We sere on a 7 days Koningsdam cruise of the Sea of Cortez.

First I have to say that we had a great time. The service was excellent the food was too.

This was also our first cruise since my wife needed a wheelchair. That went OK with one negative issue - we had difficulty during the muster drill. HAL has made the muster drill much easier than before, we just had to watch a video on the TV and then report to our muster station to have our cards scanned. The problem was trying to get to the muster station. We were on deck 4 and the muster station was on deck 2. Since we had a wheelchair, we had to take the elevator. But we were in the elevator lobby forever trying to get on a elevator. They were all packed shoulder to shoulder with people with no room for us. We would give up and go back to our room, we did this 4 or 5 times. Finally right at departure time we were able to get an elevator down. This might have been easier if we were higher up on the ship, maybe we could have got in an elevator before it filled up. At any rate we did our muster drill duty.

We had a Vista Suite for the first time. I have always heard that the Vista Suites are not worth the extra money because they are nearly the same size as a Veranda Cabin.  I would say this is true, but we booked very late and there were very few choices, and this Vista Suite had a location we liked.

My only real complaint with the room was the location of the TV. It was in front of the bed. I have never been comfortable sitting up in a bed, and in fact I got a sore back from doing so on this cruise. There was a lovely love seat in the room and it would have been great if the TV was in front of that. I will think twice about booking a room with this TV configuration again.

But overall we had a great time and can't wait for our next cruise on HAL.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing.

[sciencewonk]

I'm sorry you had to go through this.  One reason I take the stairs whenever I can is to leave the elevator for less mobile passengers (the other reason being that I eat way too much and need to try to burn off excess calories).  Given the great level of HAL service, next time you might try asking your room stewards for help.

[Bill B]

What do you do in an emergency when the elevators aren't working?

[Alberta Quilter]

You could try getting an up elevator, ride up to a high deck and then take it back down.  I’ve had to do that before on disembarkation day.

Edited January 14 by Alberta Quilter

[Petronillus]

Did you consider taking an elevator on its way up from Deck 4 and riding it down to Deck 2 at the first opportunity of a turnaround?

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Bill B said:

What do you do in an emergency when the elevators aren't working?

There are crew members specifically assigned to assist the disabled.  It is imperative that people fill out that form.  The form is indicated during the booking process 

 

@Tom O.  thanks for the review. It sounds accurate to me. 

Edited January 15 by Mary229

[kazu]

Thanks for your review Tom.

 

On embarkation day on that ship I found that two of the aft elevators were closed to get luggage transported.  I’m not sure it that happens mid ship or not the next segment of the cruise when I had to report for muster I took the mid ship elevator down and had no problem.

 

now those floors are carpeted so depending on your DW’s wheel chair it might not be as easy as some (I ended up on one of HAL’s on a cruise due to an accident and those monstrosities  are a devil to try to work on carpet) but if it is manageable it’s another option.

 

Going up is another alternative.  I tried that on my cruise and it was very fruitless (unless you want to be jam packed in).  I opted to head to mid ship to go back up.  the mob was in the aft.

 

[Crew News]

9 hours ago, Alberta Quilter said:

You could try getting an up elevator, ride up to a high deck and then take it back down.  I’ve had to do that before on disembarkation day.

Amen.  Going up to eventually go down, and vice versa, works well when there are crowded elevators (Embarkation and Disembarkation days). Going the opposite direction a few floors guarantees your spot on the elevator to your ultimate destination floor.

 

This also works quite well for the Vancouver Pan Pacific/cruise terminal elevators both on Embarkation and Disembarkation day.

[regnig]

Well darn it all folks, I thought I was the only one who applied the "everything that goes up will come back down" theory.  😲

 

@Tom O. I'm delighted to hear you really enjoyed your cruise. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 hours ago, regnig said:

Well darn it all folks, I thought I was the only one who applied the "everything that goes up will come back down" theory.  😲

 

@Tom O. I'm delighted to hear you really enjoyed your cruise. 

 

It's a well-known traveler's secret. (Is that an oxymoron?) 

 

On my last cruise, I gave up on getting a down elevator on disembarkation day and did the up to go down thing. A woman looked at her w companions and huffed, "now it will stop at every floor." Seriously??? I was tempted to hit every button, but I didn't. In fact, the elevator didn't stop until it got up to buffet level. I smiled and said "Enjoy your breakfast." She gave a dismissive wave as she walked away. Probably wanted to give me a rude gesture but didn't have the nerve. I still wish I had hit every button!

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for sharing your comments.  Glad you had a good time.

[Tom O.]

Thanks for the replies. I did think of going to the top and coming back down, but it seemed the elevators going up were full too, people going back to their rooms from the muster station. Nevertheless,  I was going to try that on my last effort, but it turned out not to be necessary, as we were able to get on a down elevator that last time.

By the way, we were midships, and two of the four elevators were not available because of the crew bringing up luggage.

[Mary229]

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

It's a well-known traveler's secret. (Is that an oxymoron?) 

 

On my last cruise, I gave up on getting a down elevator on disembarkation day and did the up to go down thing. A woman looked at her w companions and huffed, "now it will stop at every floor." Seriously??? I was tempted to hit every button, but I didn't. In fact, the elevator didn't stop until it got up to buffet level. I smiled and said "Enjoy your breakfast." She gave a dismissive wave as she walked away. Probably wanted to give me a rude gesture but didn't have the nerve. I still wish I had hit every button!

When the elevator has many stops that is called a “ship tour”

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

When the elevator has many stops that is called a “ship tour”

 

Are you sure that was not a typo, Mary? There might be another name for that merry excursion.

[Moriah]

I agree about the TV placement on Pinnacle class.  We had a family cabin with two bathrooms but only one TV, which would really not have been a problem but the TV was, as you said, across from the bed!  The little sitting area with loveseat would have been a much more logical place to watch TV.  Especially in a family cabin where there might be more than two people - everyone having to pile onto the bed is ridiculous. 

Glad you enjoyed coming back "home" to HAL. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, Moriah said:

I agree about the TV placement on Pinnacle class.  We had a family cabin with two bathrooms but only one TV, which would really not have been a problem but the TV was, as you said, across from the bed!  The little sitting area with loveseat would have been a much more logical place to watch TV.  Especially in a family cabin where there might be more than two people - everyone having to pile onto the bed is ridiculous. 

Glad you enjoyed coming back "home" to HAL. 

 

It seems to be a trend. I had a balcony cabin on Eurodam and the TV was across from the foot of the bed. Cunard did this, too. My cabins on QM2 and on Queen Victoria were set up that way. There used to be a piece of art across from the foot of the bed. Take that down and there's plenty of room for a large flatscreen TV. 

Edited January 16 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Hobar]

11 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

It's a well-known traveler's secret. (Is that an oxymoron?) 

 

On my last cruise, I gave up on getting a down elevator on disembarkation day and did the up to go down thing. A woman looked at her w companions and huffed, "now it will stop at every floor." Seriously??? I was tempted to hit every button, but I didn't. In fact, the elevator didn't stop until it got up to buffet level. I smiled and said "Enjoy your breakfast." She gave a dismissive wave as she walked away. Probably wanted to give me a rude gesture but didn't have the nerve. I still wish I had hit every button!

I would have told her not to worry, they likely won’t run out of food.

[boeckli]

4 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

It seems to be a trend. I had a balcony cabin on Eurodam and the TV was across from the foot of the bed. Cunard did this, too. My cabins on QM2 and on Queen Victoria were set up that way. There used to be a piece of art across from the foot of the bed. Take that down and there's plenty of room for a large flatscreen TV. 

 

Same for me in balcony cabins on Westerdam and Noordam.  Watching TV sitting on the sofa with an angle view for me was preferable than trying to get comfortable on the bed. 

They're probably discouraging us watching TV in our cabins, as that way we're not spending money around the ship 🙄

[RuthC]

13 hours ago, boeckli said:

They're probably discouraging us watching TV in our cabins, as that way we're not spending money around the ship

Good thought! I always wondered why they were making it so tough to watch a little TV when getting dressed. Or relaxing a bit. 
With the couch under the TV all I could think was I would have to hold a mirror to watch. 

Might be the a contender for dumbest idea HAL has had in a long time. 

[taxmantoo]

10 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Might be the a contender for dumbest idea HAL has had in a long time. 

I am really resisting the urge to start a new thread 🤣

[*Miss G*]

Looks like I’m in the minority as someone who prefers the tv where it is, as I like to climb into bed and use it to fall asleep.  If I had to sit on the couch to watch, I’d get sleepy and have to get up and get into bed.  That would wake me up and then I’d have to get back on the couch to watch tv to get sleepy again.  Rinse and repeat.

[mawvkysc]

I like watching tv in bed when on vacation! I rarely sit on a couch or chair in a cabin or hotel room

[lyndarra]

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

Looks like I’m in the minority as someone who prefers the tv where it is, as I like to climb into bed and use it to fall asleep.  If I had to sit on the couch to watch, I’d get sleepy and have to get up and get into bed.  That would wake me up and then I’d have to get back on the couch to watch tv to get sleepy again.  Rinse and repeat.

I'm with you on this. I get a sore neck watching from the couch. At home I have my TV opposite my bed - it helps me get to sleep (but not as fast as reading a book).🛌📺💤

[highscar]

While in a suite on the Nordham the tv was above the desk on DH side Love to watch tv while in bed but a belly was in the way lol.   Prefer it at the bottom of the bed.  That’s me.