Live Review Koningsdam Feb 17-March 23, 2024. Hawaii/Tahiti

[mcrcruiser]

Nice Spa + Flowers  .It doesn't get better than that 😃

[BermudaBound2014]

It’s a glorious day to be in the middle of the Pacific. Seas are calm and the sun is shining brightly.

 

So far today I managed some tai-chi. It’s very easy (although I know I’m doing some poses wrong). From there I participated in the 10am dancing by the pool. It’s very easy (although I know I’m doing some of the steps wrong). Notice the theme? 

 

I have one of the Queen loungers on deck 10. I came out at 7 am and got the last one so there is some competition. The pool deck was almost full too. 
 

Had the most lovely visit with a new friend for life. It’s funny how much we all have in common regardless of the color of our skin, nationality, or age. 
 

Got three miles on the jogging track. Sun is bright and I forgot sunscreen. I’ll pick up a couple more miles later to meet my 5 mile a day goal.

 

I was supposed to have Caneletto tonight but I was invited to join other new lifetime friends at the Caneleto next week so I switched up dates.

 

Currently about to enjoy this Reuban from the deli. The pager works on all the upstairs loungers so it’s very convenient and less chaotic lunch experience (although ice cream is in the buffet and that is sounding yummy so I’ll put on my iron and brave the crowd). It’s ice-cream after all. 

 

I haven’t seen this mentioned. This morning there was no early breakfast in the MDR and instead they did a Hawaiian brunch  from 9-1. Friends said it was good. I have yet to make it to the MdR. Maybe tonight. Probably not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 22 by BermudaBound2014

[BetsyS.]

canadianbear - I agree with you about sleeping well on a HAL cruise. 😊  I'm glad you and Mr. Bear are having a great time! 😊

[canadianbear]

Just now, BetsyS. said:

canadianbear - I agree with you about sleeping well on a HAL cruise. 😊  I'm glad you and Mr. Bear are having a great time! 😊

Thank you.   I thought our Eurodam cruise in November was great but this is up quite a notch!  We have our first excursion tomorrow.  Used one of our HIA for the Volcanoes National Park & Gardens in Hilo. 

[ORTravelGal]

Thanks for the input on the thermal spa. Honestly, I think we’re more likely to use it 2-3 times max on our upcoming transatlantic trip, so booking individual days will still only be half the cost of booking for the entire trip. I’ll plan to stop by the spa on embarkation day & choose a few days then. I understand it’s possible they’ll sell out before then, but I’m willing to risk it. If I ***** & moan about it later, I hope someone will remind me of this post. 
 

The flowers are lovely, what a beautiful & unexpected gift! Speaking of flowers…just yesterday I purchased flowers online for our TA trip. My mom & I are going and we each have our own (adjoining) room. I ordered flowers for both of us and I chose the ones in the poppy vase for myself. The flowers & a robe are surprise (early Mother’s Day) gifts to my mom from hubby & me.
 

I am really enjoying this live thread. It’s helping me get more excited about our April trip and even has me seriously considering next year’s Tahiti/Hawaii trip. By the way, I believe HAL has it marked as a Legendary Voyage on their website. It only makes sense…legendary people go on legendary voyages, right?

[d9704011]

13 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

Thank you.   I thought our Eurodam cruise in November was great but this is up quite a notch!  We have our first excursion tomorrow.  Used one of our HIA for the Volcanoes National Park & Gardens in Hilo. 

I booked this cruise for 2025 and am keeping an eye on this thread.  It will be my first time on HAL.  I don't know how, exactly, the HIA works;  when excursions and dining open up for booking can you do it all ahead of time on the understanding that there are excursion and dining credits to be applied first before they come looking for your credit card?

[crystalspin]

22 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

I don't know how, exactly, the HIA works;  when excursions and dining open up for booking can you do it all ahead of time on the understanding that there are excursion and dining credits to be applied first before they come looking for your credit card?

You have it exactly. Keep a watch on the Roll Call, and someone will post when ShoreEx and dining become available. Or obviously you can be checking regularly and be the one who posts!

 

For the cruise sailing now, the Shore Exes were published quite a bit before the Polynesian ones.

 

ETA: I checked my email log and Hawaii was bookable 4th week of May and Polynesia not until 4th week of July (!).

 

So you go through the motions of booking a tour or dinner and at the last step, there is a checkbox for "Redeeming Complimentary". I think it opens a window where you must check each person using credit.

 

Edited February 23 by crystalspin

[Haljo1935]

17 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

I booked this cruise for 2025 and am keeping an eye on this thread.  It will be my first time on HAL. 

Welcome!!

[d9704011]

9 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Welcome!!

Thank you.  We're looking forward to a new cruising experience.

[BermudaBound2014]

I’m about to head to happy hour so I thought I better post todays daily now. 
 

As you can see, there really isn’t a lot of choices in the evening but the sets I have listened to in Rolling Stones have been good. I’ll try Bbking eventually too.
 

As you can see, tonight’s evening entertainment in the theatre is a movie. This is far cry from the entertainment options on other lines. Apparently HAL is spending their entertainment budget on lobster 🙂 

[BetsyS.]

ORTravelGal - My stepfather and I had connecting rooms on the Niew Statendam in 2022 and on the Zuiderdam in 2023. It was very convenient for us. On the Zuiderdam, they had a sale at the Lido pool. I bought a poppy vase to take home. Have a great time on your April cruise!

[ORTravelGal]

@BetsyS. thank you so much. We’re really looking forward to it and think the separate, yet adjoining, rooms will be perfect. We’ll be happy to have the additional space and since our sleep cycles are not the same, the ability to stay up later (in my case) or wake up earlier (my mom) without impacting the other person should be really nice. I appreciate hearing from someone else who has done the same!

[Mary229]

@cruisemom42 there was an excellent full hour matinee performance by concert pianist Elliot Finkel this afternoon.  Strictly classical.  SRO.  I understand his evening performance has a more popular tunes bent. He even commended the most excellent trio we continue to enjoy daily, available usually for multiple performances .  

[Silver Sweethearts]

On 2/20/2024 at 1:30 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

Yesterdays daily-

 

opps- internet isnt behaving and doesn’t like the photos right now. I’ll catch up with the dailies later.

 

PS- thank you to everyone for refraining from including photos in the quotes. 

Speaking of photos - Has anyone seen the Green Flash at sunset yet??  We're seeing it almost every day (clouds permitting) here on Maui.  Rather interesting.

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

Speaking of photos - Has anyone seen the Green Flash at sunset yet??  We're seeing it almost every day (clouds permitting) here on Maui.  Rather interesting.

Not yet but it has been very cloudy at sea.  The first 4 days were spent dodging the weather. We had planned a sky view party tonight but canceled it as thick clouds rolled in late this afternoon 

[cruisemom42]

51 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

@cruisemom42 there was an excellent full hour matinee performance by concert pianist Elliot Finkel this afternoon.  Strictly classical.  SRO.  I understand his evening performance has a more popular tunes bent. He even commended the most excellent trio we continue to enjoy daily, available usually for multiple performances .  

 

Literally music to my ears. 😊

[BermudaBound2014]

For the classical music lovers there was both an afternoon performance of a pianist and also a violin/piano duo. They were happening simultaneously which I thought was odd scheduling. The piano player was in the theatre and it was jam packed. The violinist/piano played in Bbking and it was not well attended but I suspect that is because the piano player was doing his thing. If you are into classical music, it’s here.

 

Tonight they had an event called “Lido Fun Fair”. Basically they had four games set up (cornhole, ring toss. Etc…) and guests played each other for raffle tickets. The officers were the officials. I didn’t stick around long, but those participating seemed to be enjoying themselves. Weather was perfect outside so I got another 3 miles in. 

 

I caught a set of the dueling pianos and Rolling Stones rock. I’m definitely a rock girl so that’s my jam, but I have heard great things about the dance band so I’ll hit that up one night. 
 

Oh- I had fresh grilled fish for dinner from the lido and it was a win. So glad they offer fresh grill. I was told it wasn’t available last year which seemed very odd. They also had part of the lido roped off for a seafood boil ($35). 
 

Tomorrow is Hilo. I spent several weeks on the big island last year so I’m going to lay low. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 23 by BermudaBound2014

[crystalspin]

On 2/20/2024 at 12:02 PM, BermudaBound2014 said:

We quickly gathered for a group picture. I mentioned that the photo was to honor @crystalspin and @Front Row(Elizabeth and Tom) who lead our roll call the past few years but had to cancel last minute.

Sorry for repetition for those following either the 2024 or the 2025 thread, but I want to get this info out to anyone ever considering HAL's CFAR "insurance".

 

I had bought the Standard Cancellation Protection at final payment, and the 80% of fare plus fees was refunded on a couple days ago. Amount was to the penny what I calculated. Today the non-complimentary expenses (including a floral arrangement I wasn't sure would be) were refunded to our credit card. Again, agreeing with my calculations. All told one week from cancellation.

 

If we had paid (~$1000 more) for Platinum coverage we would have got ~$2000 more back. But that's an awful return compared to the Standard CCP. Just my opinion.

 

As far as relying on cancellation protection for Sapphire or other credit cards -- just be sure your possible reasons for cancelling are covered. Mine -- anxiety over others' health conditions, would not have been. We will keep the card! but just be realistic over protection.

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Sorry for repetition for those following either the 2024 or the 2025 thread, but I want to get this info out to anyone ever considering HAL's CFAR "insurance".

 

I had bought the Standard Cancellation Protection at final payment, and the 80% of fare plus fees was refunded on a couple days ago. Amount was to the penny what I calculated. Today the non-complimentary expenses (including a floral arrangement I wasn't sure would be) were refunded to our credit card. Again, agreeing with my calculations. All told one week from cancellation.

 

If we had paid (~$1000 more) for Platinum coverage we would have got ~$2000 more back. But that's an awful return compared to the Standard CCP. Just my opinion.

 

As far as relying on cancellation protection for Sapphire or other credit cards -- just be sure your possible reasons for cancelling are covered. Mine -- anxiety over others' health conditions, would not have been. We will keep the card! but just be realistic over protection.

 

I also had to cancel in January and had a similar quick refund.  I want to emphasize there are no covered reasons for canceling the cruise where you get 100% of your fare returned.  I never read the policy closely and this was a surprise to me.  The reason for the cancellation doesn't matter you get 80 or 90 percent of the fare returned quickly with no questions asked.  I cancelled all of my onboard purchase before I cancelled the cruise and all of those expenses were also returned quickly.

 

I also agree with @crystalspin on the value judgement for the additional cost of the Platinum versus the Standard plans for covering the cost of the cruise.  If you are purchasing the Platinum plan I think it is because the additional trip interruption, medical or evacuation coverages are valuable to you in addition to the additional 10%.   Another subtle difference is the Standard plan doesn't offer any trip interruption coverage.  I'm not sure what this means if you need leave during your cruise.

 

I hope no one else ever has to cancel and utilize the insurance coverage.

 

[SonuvaBeach]

9 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

Speaking of photos - Has anyone seen the Green Flash at sunset yet??  We're seeing it almost every day (clouds permitting) here on Maui.  Rather interesting.

Yes..I have seen the greenflash...and even have photos

[Overhead Fred]

If somebody onboard has the chance, could you post some menus? Since this is a legendary cruise, I am curious to see if the MDR offerings are any different than "normal".

 

Thanks!

[SilvertoGold]

13 hours ago, Silver Sweethearts said:

Speaking of photos - Has anyone seen the Green Flash at sunset yet??  We're seeing it almost every day (clouds permitting) here on Maui.  Rather interesting.

We have seen the green flash many times in our crusing days with HAL, farther south than you are right now, but never in Hawaii, so consider your sightings a huge bonus!

[BermudaBound2014]

21 minutes ago, SilvertoGold said:

We have seen the green flash many times in our crusing days with HAL, farther south than you are right now, but never in Hawaii, so consider your sightings a huge bonus!

I have seen the green flash many times in Maui so it’s not that rare here, but always a bonus 🙂

[BermudaBound2014]

@SonuvaBeach As soon as i saw Silvers question I had a feeling you would be the one to  have caught it on camera!!  bravo!! 
 

 

Edited February 23 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, Overhead Fred said:

If somebody onboard has the chance, could you post some menus? Since this is a legendary cruise, I am curious to see if the MDR offerings are any different than "normal".

 

Thanks!

You can see our menus right from your app at home. Just download the app and go to our daily menus. They have everything posted. Let us know if you can’t find them