nw gardener

A few people and staff wearing masks. Did not hear of any covid cases. Covid will be with us for awhile, we try to stay clear of packed elevators etc, but we felt comfortable. I didn't make it to the new library on deck 2 but assume that is a quiet spot. The Tamarind bar doesn't serve until 5 but you can sit there and probably have it to yourself before opening. We sat there for part of the day in Glacier Bay.

-Temps inside were comfortable in most areas but not t-shirt for me, like a long sleeve light weight top. -A few people went all out, but the majority were dressy top and nice pants or dress, men in nice pants and shirt. Did see one get turned away at Tamarind for showing up in sandals, shorts and t-shirt. I gave the maitre de a thumbs up for that.

Sunset on the last night heading back to Vancouver. Yes the colors are true, it was spectacular.

View from window seat in Tamarind

Entrance to CO

Lovely flowers by the entrance to the MDR

Totem Bight park

Koningsdam in Ketchikan

Let's see if I can wrap this up...and I will try to answer any questions. Ship- We enjoyed the ship. I prefer the promenade on the older ships but still quite walkable. DH did joke after our 3rd trip in a day from our aft cabin to the Crows Nest "yes, this ship is larger". You could feel it was full on sea days but once you figure out the flow, we dodged lines and crowds successfully. Crows Nest was busy, but quiet in the early morning and later evening. Lido was jammed at opening times for meals, but ok an hour later. Tamarind bar was a quiet hidden spot. Dutch cafe was busy, but we found quiet times to go. Using the Navigator app to order for the Dive in and NY pizza saved us from lines. We would book a pinnacle class ship again for more choices, but itinerary comes first. Service- As always with HAL, the crew we encountered on our cruise were always quick with a smile and hello. Disembarking- walked off with luggage after our last relaxing breakfast in CO. Quick, under 10 to the curb. The changes we noticed since Covid shutdown- There has been A LOT written on CC for all the cruise lines we have sailed about all the changes to the industry. Hard to come up with a business that was hit harder by Covid than cruising. All the cruise lines are struggling to shrink their debt and changes had to be made. We noticed the smaller food portions and menu changes, staff stretched a little thin, no evening turn down unless requested, chocolates only on gala nights, supply issues, etc. But I also encountered HAL stepping up their game for AK cruise enrichment with more EXC talks and a wildlife spotter. Entertainment options were good on the Koningsdam and I hope HAL has listened about adding more varied shows and talks. Staffing appeared to be better for the MDR as I saw no long lines for dinner. However I believe cruising saw an exit of older and experienced front line staff and some service issues are lack of experience, training, and the rush to get back up to speed. If HAL continues marketing HIA, they do need to add bar tenders and servers because that was slow at times, especially sea days at most bars. The positives of this cruise far outweighed the changes for us. We are looking forward to our cruise next year on the NA , 14 days to AK. Love that itinerary!

It appears to have a very smooth ride with the modified catamaran design, fast, and shiny new!

Sunset after passing Hoonah and leaving Glacier Bay

Park Rangers getting picked up around 1530 in the afternoon on our way out.

Marjorie Glacier.

Left Skagway and passing Haines in the evening.

At the dock in Skagway, sitting on a windy balcony looking south down the channel.

Juneau looking at the Eurodam.

Will finish this up tomorrow, with our impressions of the overall cruise. We noticed some of the negative changes since the Covid shutdown, but we are pretty easy going and still enjoy cruising.

Entertainment - DH doesn't care for the shows available, on all cruise lines really, but fell in love with HAL when the music walk was started. We really enjoyed the BB Kings group on this cruise, very good! I enjoyed the EXC talks and the wildlife expert on board...HAL had plenty of things to do if you needed your time filled. And sometimes we just enjoyed sitting on the balcony being hypnotized by the wake watching for whales. Ports- We've had the blessing of being able to cruise to AK many times and have been to all the ports several times. Juneau was raining so it was only to get off, hit a favorite shop for Christmas presents, and a drink at the Hangar. Skagway was dry but cool and windy. Again just got off to stretch the legs and then back on board and drank the afternoon away in the Crows Nest. Glacier Bay, spectacular as usual and lots of wildlife sitings but some sadness at the glaciers retreats from previous years. Ketchikan did the Totem Bight park tour as we realized after all these years we had never gotten out there. Beautiful weather and I managed to squeeze in some shopping at Scanlon gallery 😊

The best way to start the day, mimosa and chocolate croissant in CO. That's the end of food porn pics.

Loved the Dutch Cafe and all the calories available there. I did share with DH. 😋

Bye Vancouver

Balcony for 8188, quiet but some chair movement noise by staff around 0630, but we are early birds so not a problem for us.

Here's a brief review of our recent cruise on the Koningsdam, RT from Vancouver . Myself and DH live in WA, close to the BC border so cruising out of Vancouver is easier for us, besides the fact that we love going to Alaska via the inside passage. I cruised last year at the same time to AK on Celebrity with a coworker since DH decided last minute to back out not feeling comfortable with the current Covid situation. Smart move on his part as we did get Covid (mild cases). Fast forward to this year and he said let's go, so booked an aft cabin on the Koningsdam (8188 if anyone has questions). Our last cruise was on the Oosterdam to the Mexican Riviera that ended on the day cruising was shut down for Covid. I added Club Orange a few months before the cruise, and this was our first time on a Pinnacle class ship. Embarkation - simply easy. Was worried reading about the horror stories from early May, and have experienced similar in the past. Got to the port at 1030 via cab from the Greyhound station- normally drive but the parking garage was reserved full 2 months out! Dropped bags, got into Club Orange line, 2 minutes later on to security and Customs. Breezed through both, sat in the room with the rest of the priority folks for 20 minutes, boarded at 1110. Rooms weren't quite ready and MDR not open so grabbed a quick bite and coffee in the lido. Then to room, grabbed key cards and headed to the MDR for lunch. Had plenty of time after that to relax, explore the ship and unpack. Dining- We ate in Club Orange for all of our breakfasts and most dinners. Highly recommend with the separate dining room and great service. The manager Dani and his crew were attentive, food was great, and I'll always do CO on a Pinnacle ship if available. Used the Navigator app to order lunches at the Dive in and NY pizza, so easy!. Did the MDR for a couple of lunches, meh..., and used the Lido for snacks and easy bar service being only 1 stairway away. Did one evening in the Tamarind which was not as good as previous cruises for us. We both wanted lamb but only had one serving left. I ended up getting the chicken curry which was very average and not worthy of being an entree. Service was good, as were the apps and dessert, but was busy and not very relaxing. Need to take a break as still catching up on house chores, will add more later and pics. I had added pics to Visagrunt live blog but sadly don't quite have that excellent writing style.

Last day...😪. SB on the inside. Will do a separate quick review after a few days at home. In short, nice cruise!

Yes they did advise of where to look for the bears, whales, and mountain goats. The whale sightings outside of the park were on our own and looking at the right time and luck.