badtwin

It was a separate area on Koningsdam lido. It had a maitre d to seat people and separate waitstaff. Everyone I saw was eating the hookup but not sure why you would have to as there are lots of seats. (Maybe claim allergy 😉.) It was a lot of food but DH and I each managed to finish our own. It was mostly good. Salmon and shellfish were nicely cooked. Nice fingerling potaoes. The corn was field corn but I never expect good sweet corn this time of year. The Dungeness crab was a bit disappointing. I suspect it was frozen as it is not in season. We are from Washington state and usually only eat it when in season in the winter. Served with a pleasant but incredibly messy sauce. Dessert was great.

I should have said in my first post that I am sorry your wife and others got sick. But I don't think there was a major issue on this sailing because there was never the big handwashing push one sees when there is an issue such as extra hand washing announcements and staff dispensing sanitizer. If anything, this was the most lax I have seen in my last three cruises. We never had to wait for those handwashing machines in the lido and I rarely saw others use the sanitizer headed into the MDR. Sort of odd actually.

No issue with anyone we met.

Just off the Koningsdam and noticed two people in bright, shiny green outfits the night of Orange party. Honestly reminded me of lizard people.

I also overheard one very frustrated passenger who was in transit. Didn't hear what happened to her and if she was in wrong line. But given the need to go through immigration to get back on the ship, I would be careful to ask about this in Vancouver.

We boarded Koningsdam April 27 and it was a cluster. We arrived at Canada Place around 12:30. We had planned 11:30 but not researched time at boarder or Vancouver traffic. Got our car parked and easily found beginning line. Check in was long but at least it kept moving. AND thank goodness we had paper boarding passes with bar code. Then we went to another long line which was apparently the pre immigration line. Then we moved on to a horrendous line for US and Canadian citizens. It got so bad they had to pull the Zaandam people to the international line for their earlier departure. When we finally got to front of line, we discovered US Customs only had half of 12 stations staffed. At least 2 and a half hours in line. The worst boarding I ever recall. So the problem with staggering entrance is tons of panicked passengers worried they will miss the ship and absolutely no announcement assuring us it would be okay. NOT HAL's fault but truly miserable. Luckily we got beer and burgers and could start to enjoy cruise.

Two possible options if the Rotterdam port is close enough to other things or has good transport to them. You may be able to drop your luggage at port even if you can't check in for your cruise. Or your hotel may have a baggage room it will let you use after check out. We stayed in Utrecht before a cruise out of Amsterdam. Our hotel held our luggage while we did some touring then we picked it up and caught the train to the port. Later boarding was delightful with very little waiting.

Looking forward to trying the seafood boil. But as someone from the Pacific northwest, boiling salmon seems almost sacrilegious

Thank you. We are on Koningsdam on April 27. I will try to remember to report back

I was actually pleased with the show times as they looked to coordinate with the fixed dining times but realize the show times probably don't work with those who want to eat freestyle at some time in between. We are boarding Koningsdam in Vancouver on April 27 for her first Alaska sailing of the year. We hope the menus and lunch specials continue for the 7 day Alaska sailings. Thank you so much for posting. I am curious what her current fixed dining times are and if they will shift as the ship moves north.

Friends taught us about ordering a plate (or more) "for the table" if there is something several want to taste but are unsure about commiting to eat a whole serving.

We were assigned a balcony below the lido, port side between the mid and aft stairwells on the Rotterdam last fall. I was very worried about noise but pleasantly surprised we rarely heard any noise except for the above-referenced carts occasionally in the morning. We are early risers so I couldn't say if it was enough to wake us or if we just noticed because we were awake. Ended up loving location and its convenience to the lido and pool areas.

And has been pointed out on another thread, you won't be lunching in the MDR anymore on boarding day no matter when you arrive.

Long ago, my DH resisted cruising because he didn't want to dress for dinner. He wore a suit and tie to work and he did not want that on vacation. We took our first cruise in 2006 and really enjoyed it. Several cruises later he bought a tux and I got my first long gown in years. We love late fixed dinner and dressing up. On a British cruise we enjoyed the gentlemen in kilts on dressy night. Last fall he took his tux on our Holland Norway/Baltic cruise (21 days) and wore it a couple of times and a table mate wore his once while the other male at our table didn't even have a sport coat. It was fine. Not a lot wore tuxes but DH enjoyed it. Airline luggage restrictions are an issue. If you want to wear one, it's fine. If not, it's okay too.

Just a note to be sure you understand local rules of the road. Last cruise we did bike tours in Oslo, Helsinki and Amsterdam. I don't think rules were same in any as far as bikes vs pedestrian vs cars. When in doubt stop I guess. We loved bike tours although got soaked to bone every time.