badtwin

We sailed on Koningsdam out of Vancouver spring 2024.  We very much enjoyed it and would recommend it highly (Our last 4 cruises have been HAL pinnacle class) 

That said a couple of comments given your opening post. 

First, if you have adult males who won't wear long pants, it could be a problem.  They very well could be turned away from the MDR if they wear shorts.  They also need to wear a shirt with sleeves and a collar.  But nice jeans and polos are fine.  

Second, HAL is not the line for big production shows.  They have some shows - we didn't go - but this is a common complaint.  We love the BB King and Rolling Stone (or whatever they are called now.)  Some love the piano  players.  But don't go for the shows.  Or any sort of late night excitement.

We find the food on HAL good to outstanding.  The pinnacle class ships give you lots of variety in the MDR and the lido as well as great burgers and pizza.   We went on one Norwegian cruise years ago (2010ish)  and swore them off just because of the food.  No experience with Princess.

HAL is our current favorite line but I certainly understand it is not for everyone.  But no tux or sport coat needed in Alaska if that helps

Am I correct that someone who will dance first and alone at BBKing and Rolling Stone on HAL is going to be sorely disappointed with dancing options on Azamara?

Slightly off original topic, but is an all white outfit really necessary? We want to try to get by with carry-on for up coming cruise in late October and early November and white pants seem like a totally silly waste of space.  Not to mention footwear to match. Is a white top enough?

Just loved your posts. We had friends on this cruise and used your posts to follow them at first which is sort of creepy but then kept checking in to see how you were doing.  Great cruise attitude.  Hope we meet on a HAL cruise someday as we are too cheap to ever sail Seabourn.  

The logo wear comments were particularly insightful.  🤣

I am curious if other OBC offers would apply to this type of booking - like shareholder, AARP, or "special people" - or if excluded because of special price.   Now that we are retired, we could consider something like this as long as the dog sitter consented.

Maybe I should start a new topic, but I just noticed in the morning email from HAL on offer for a perk called "priority stateroom choice." Is this something new or just a pretentious way of saying the earlier you book, the more rooms you have the select from?  Or some way to charge for the benefit of not getting bumped? Just curious. We have never booked real far ahead so never experienced early booking bonuses.

And honestly the search function on cruise critic can be less than ideal.  I have tried to search for threads I know were recently used and been unable to find them.

Just to update this topic.  We were on the Koningsdam April 27 to May 4.  Still no update on our Mariner points or our final invoice.  I emailed and they said it was just this sailing (?) and told me to wait a week.  After a week I wrote again and this was response:

We are experiencing technical difficulties resulting in the sailing, onboard spending and suite bonus (if applicable) not populating to guest profiles.  We are working diligently to resolve this issue in a timely manner.

At this time we do not have an estimate of when the issue will be resolved and your history posted to your profile.

This is not a big deal for us since we don't have another cruise with HAL scheduled but I know some folks are worried about getting to the next level for another cruise.  If so, don't wait for the system to work and ask them to do it manually if you need the points.

Two comments.

We were on Koningsdam April 24- May 4 and there were spots available at Pinnacle and Canaleletto (didn't check Tamarind) for dinners many nights and lots for lunch during the whole week.  We added a Pinnacle lunch the morning of our last day. Maybe it wasn't a major HIA cruise but it seemed times were available in specialty restaurants.  

Second, I agree HAL website is hard to search and its FAQs leave something to be desired, but often on this forum the problem isn't that the poster can't find and answer - it's that they don't like the answer they found.  For example, when an OBC credit offer is supposed to only apply to future bookings but the poster insists they should be the exception to the rule.  Or there is a price drop they want but they want to keep their OBC and other perks.  

Been using the HAL website too long to have any hope it will improve dramatically in the future.

We were on Koningsdam for its first Alaska sailing of season. It was our second time in Koningsdam and fourth on a pinnacle class, having tried them all but no other HAL ships so far.  We had a better experience than OP but understand it can get busy. Embarkation was a zoo but that was mostly the fault of US customs.  We had great service and food in the MDR but we pick late fixed dining which may have less demand.  We asked for a larger table which was far stern so not too noisey. Our sailing was at capacity so we factored that in to our dining selection - early breakfast works for us. Early or late lunch.  In other words, try to work around peak demand. Our food was usually quite good in lido as well as mdr.  Main exception we have found in all pinnacle class is cold breakfast. If you want hot food you need to deal with lido which is disappointing if you enjoy breakfast in mdr.  After 4 sailings we have learned logistics on board which helps.

DH and I had similar luggage - one large suitcase, 2 carryon and two decent size "personal items"  - and did fine on train from Schipol to Utrecht then Utrecht to Amsterdam. We are in our mid-60s and fairly fit for our age.

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.  

11 hours ago, Music Man290 said:

My wife and I just got off the Koningdam Alaskan cruise and has a bad stomach bug, and still sick.  Anyone else get a stomach sickness? My wife got it really bad, and others had the same gastro issues, up and down stairs.  

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.

1 hour ago, Navybikermom said:

I just received the same thing for our May sailing out of Rotterdam. Not at all happy with the 2pm time slot. Our hotel is near the terminal and we probably have to be out of the room by 11am, so we have to bide our time with our luggage until 2! Ugh….. well, that’s what I get for getting a cabin in steerage I guess.

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.