HatRez

4 hours ago, Urban trekker said:

That is what was explained to our group - we just off the Koningsdam this morning. Also as the crew usually share 4 to a room if one gets inflected they are moved to these cabins. I was on one side of the Q cabins and the rest of my friends were on the other side - had to use the aft elevators to get to my room.

 

Hey Urban Trekker, I'm hoping you're maybe my trivia buddy. I didn't get to say bye yesterday!!

Ketchikan was a huge letdown for me. We were there eight years ago and other than the area immediately surrounding the berth, it has really suffered. Everything looks weathered and haggard, and probably low funds from no tourism to restore/maintain things. We were sorely disappointed. Wandered around for two hours then went back on the ship. 

9 minutes ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Are you talking about the funicular that goes up to Cape Fox Lodge?  I thought I read that it is still under repair.  Anyone know?

I can confirm it's still under repair as of three days ago.

I was very worried heading into our Koningsdam cruise since this was my first cruise since going vegan six years ago and didn't know what to expect. Here is a detailed summary for anyone searching this topic in the future:

Breakfast: The lido deck offers very few options. Breakfast includes oatmeal, fresh fruit, hash browns, toast with jam. Some stations offered Morningstar veggie sausages but I know a lot of Morningstar products are vegetarian but not vegan so I passed to be safe. Room service and MDR offers a nice wild rice and quinoa bowl that is vegan without the poached egg. Adding a couple hash browns and some fresh fruit is a filling breakfast. Both cafes offer soy and almond milk (couldn't find oat for those wondering) for lattes. 

Lunch: Again, the lido deck options were limited. The pasta bar does plain pasta with marinara if requested. The salad bar is handy and the balsamic dressing is vegan. I custom-made a couple of hard-shelled tacos one day with refried beans and various toppings, served with chips and guac. They occasionally had a vegan bean chili served with rice. Sometimes the faraway lands station had Indian or Asian dishes that were vegan but mostly they were meat-heavy. No vegan desserts, although sometimes if I asked the ice cream station they would have access to sorbet. The pizza spot can do a cheese-less pizza but also has vegan mozza shreds if you ask. Dive-in has a veggie burger (unsure if it's vegan) and Beyond burgers and sausages! The burger buns are brioche so you can have it with a lettuce wrap. The dive-in sauce isn't vegan but you can sub ketchup, mustard and relish.

I don't believe anything at the Dutch Cafe was vegan. Same with Gelato, obviously.

Dinner: If you tell HAL when you book that you're vegan, they will handle the rest in MDR or Orange Club. The first night I had the appy and entree option that were alterable to be vegan, along with lemon sorbet, but after that every one of my courses was designed for me. It was amazing! I had an Indian night, I had pasta with Beyond meatballs, tabbouleh salad, tomato soup, cauliflower steak with saffron rice. They even made me vegan desserts like poached pear, peach crisp and chocolate cake with berries. I felt spoiled every night, because sometimes they would bring me my specialized dinner AND the regular menu option that was also vegan, so I'd have so many plates of food in front of me!

I also should note we upgraded to a Neptune suite and the concierge in the Neptune Lounge was so amazing. Every day there was a plate of vegan snacks left on our coffee table. Sometimes mini sandwiches, sometimes veggies and hummus or chips and salsa. Tamarind does a vegetarian bento box for $5 for room service and I believe most of the items on it are naturally vegan.

At first it looks very un-friendly for vegans but they really do go above and beyond to make an effort. I would prefer if they switched to impossible for things like meatballs and pasta because Beyond has such a distinct taste but honestly, the fact they have Beyond is awesome. I really wish there were more vegan sweets available during the day but once a day at dinner was okay. 

Verifly was super easy to use and shaved so much time off our embarkation process. We bypassed a huge lineup of people having to show proof of everything to agents. Highly recommend.

They conducted them on our Koningsdam yesterday morning for disembarkation today.

We upgraded to a Neptune Suite for $300 a person and it was the best choice we've ever made. Free laundry and dry cleaning, Neptune lounge for premium coffee close by in the mornings, snacks all day close by without hundreds of people coughing on them, excellent service in Club Orange (Koningsdam) and we had an amazing view both ways. We saw porpoises, orcas, grey whales, mountains goats, etc. 

Has anyone cruise recently with Koningsdam and taken note of the vegan options? I'm looking at the different menus on the app and they have lots of items flagged vegetarian but no markings for vegan. I haven't been on a cruise since I went vegan 7 years ago so I'm preparing myself for a very different type of experience culinarily. I'm assuming my only breakfast option will be fruit and oatmeal, and my only dessert option will be sorbet. 

Someone mentioned Uber in Juneau. Is that an option?

The entire highway toward Carcross and even beyond is spectacular. Highly recommend a self-guided tour with a car rental. We drove all the way to Whitehorse when we went a few years ago.

On 4/25/2022 at 5:43 AM, Glaciers said:

The West Glacier Trail in Juneau is one of our top 5 hikes. It gives you fantastic views of Mendenhall Glacier from above it. If you hike up far enough you can see the tour helicopters landing on the glacier from above it.

https://www.alaska.org/detail/west-glacier-trail-mendenhall-glacier

Hey! Thanks for the tip. It looks amazing on YouTube. When was the last time you did this trail? I am looking back at photos from 10 years ago and Mendenhall looks like it's receded about 3 km from our photos to today's google maps. Is getting to the glacier still doable in one day at port?

We are looking for a great hike at one of the three major ports along the inside passage. We are fit so terrain doesn't matter, just something doable in the timeframe with an awesome view as a reward!

My bro-in-law called and asked for our opinion on MSC. They've never cruised before and have two boys, 11 and 8. Friends of theirs have invited them along on a holiday.

We have only ever cruised HAL so we couldn't really provide him with advice on this line specifically. What are some of the pros and cons of MSC for a young family and maybe how it would differ from our experience on HAL?

I've also posted this on the MSC board. Thanks for any help you can provide.

My bro-in-law called and asked for our opinion on MSC. They've never cruised before and have two boys, 11 and 8. Friends of theirs have invited them along on a holiday.

We have only ever cruised HAL so we couldn't really provide him with advice on this line specifically. What are some of the pros and cons of MSC for a young family and maybe how it would differ from our experience on HAL?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

I got the same thing shortly after my cruise. I never questioned the source. Pretty sure it's legit.

Juneau: We did the whale watching and glacier combo tour and saw dozens of whales. Lovely day. Bring good rain gear. In September Tracey Arm may not be an option...it wasn't for us when we cruised in late Sept.

Skagway: We did the Yukon/White Pass Railway. It's an all-day excursion so good value for the price. Or rent a car and do the drive yourself. Skagway is quite boring if you stay within town limits. The view along that highway is unreal.

Ketchikan: Never did an excursion on either cruise. Town centre is my favourite of the three stops so we just meander.

Great review. I was on the same cruise as you and posted a list of some of my annoyances... drink lines were one of them. haha Hopefully they find a way to improve that process.

They did serve pea soup. I saw it but didn't have any. I don't like pea soup, would have prefered chowder but it's okay. It wasn't cold enough for soup...I was in my bathing suit and housecoat after the spa. :-)

Surf and turf was my favourite meal. But I had filet mignon added to my halibut caddy ganty. They're both my favourite and I couldn't bear to choose between them. I let my DH have my lobster tail. He didn't refuse.

Recycled Percussion was AWESOME! That monkey thing was hilarious. I was crying laughing for the first time ever at a cruise ship show. They are in Vegas full time so I hope no one else gets their hopes up to see them.

In Juneau we wanted to get a shuttle to the glacier and do the tram. Some guy hollered from that line of tour company booths. He told us we couldn't buy the tram tickets at the tram centre...we HAD to buy them from him. Plus his "packaged" price was the same as the two shuttle tickets and two tram passes individually. So we walked away and went to the visitor info booth. She said, "Of course you can buy them at the tram centre." Just as we suspected... scammer. At the tram centre we were able to bundle the tram and glacier passes and save $12. Tram was well worth it since we had such perfect weather that day.

I wonder if we passed each other every so often on the ship!! :-)

We just came back from our Inside Passage cruise on Zuidy. The ports, views, cabin location, food, service, staff etc. were wonderful as always. Third time on the Zuiderdam and it was everything we've come to appreciate and expect with HAL. The upgrade for the hydropool and thermal suite was worth the $$$...total relaxation. The Zuidy in general desperately needs upgrading but ship condition doesn't affect my general enjoyment levels.

Here are some minor annoyances I encountered along the way that maybe others have noticed, too? I put them in my opinion survey to HAL, too.

* Trivia and game show questions are IDENTICAL to two years ago. Does it make sense that team trivia would be the same season after season? What colour is a polar bear's skin? Who was the first actor to be paid $1 million for a movie? What is the only muscle attached at one end? Same with the marriage game show. My DH and I participated two years ago and it was word for word the same questions. A lot of the activities felt repetitive.

* Of course I see the value in the hygiene procedures during the first 48 hours of cruising. But when there is only one beverage station for 2000 cruisers and only one attendant manning the station, my DH and I ended up waiting in long line ups for a lemonade or iced tea. One day I waited 12 minutes. Surely things would run smoother if there was two on a station; one for hot drinks that require multiple steps, and another person to hand over the cold drinks that are pre-poured.

* Sea days seemed to be almost devoid of activities. Where did the cooking classes go? Pool activities? Game shows? It wasn't until after dinner when things started. Other than that it was spa seminars on metabolism, shopping talks and jewelry sales. I found myself wandering the ship quite often looking for something to do.

* That being said, the few things there were to do during the day were packed. The screening room was standing room only for movies. The Crow's Nest was crowded and no room to help with a puzzle or space to work on a table-top crossword. The galley tour was a three-minute walk past stainless steel counters. Not too exciting. haha

Anyone else notice similar things on other ships?

When I booked through HAL I was asked if I wanted to be put on a list for a complimentary upgrade. I declined because I liked the location of my interior and didn't want to be automatically upgraded to an obstructed view room on a different floor. You don't have the option to decline a free upgrade.

That being said, a week before cruising I received an offer to BUY an upgrade. At about $100 a person for the week, we were upgraded to a verandah and it was in an ideal location.

Maybe the ship did do all it could but the apparent rudeness you encountered is unacceptable.

I have never had any of my questions or requests met with rudeness from HAL staff. I'm assuming someone who expects the captain of a ship to help her find a cell phone was more than annoyingly persistent with staff members. Maybe they were on their last nerve or maybe they had repeatedly told her they had done all they could. Or maybe the way it was said was perceived as rude by the OP because of her stress and exasperation. Lots of scenarios here.

In the end, OP lost her OWN phone and someone dishonest found the phone. What can any of the staff, or captain, do about it?

Just a curious question - seems the frequent posters are asking about who is going to be the Captain, HD, CD, piano player, etc. on their upcoming cruises. Why is this important to them? And most important - Would the answer cause them to change an already booked cruise? I know some have favorite Captains, CDs, but if a favorite was not on a planned trip, would it really matter? Please enlighten me as I tend to avoid reading those threads. Am I missing something?

Not sure why it matters to you why it matters to them. If you don't want to read or reply to a certain topic, don't. I'm not sure why it's an issue people ask legitimate cruise questions.

If it bothers you, pass it over.

There was a girl on our movie/music trivia team who was 19, from the states, and every time we won a bottle of champagne, she drank it. I'm not sure if there is a special notation on key cards for underage cruisers and I'm not sure who enforces the policy. Seemed pretty free and easy to me.

We brought small packets of trail mix from home to take with us on excursions in Alaska. In Panama we brought packets of graham crackers from the cruise ship and snacked on those.

Just had a couple of delicious burgers on the Zuidy this past week. Cheese fries were delish, too. The hotdogs were nothing special but tasty. We never waited longer than a few minutes, even when there was a bit of a line. They were super efficient so they must be getting used to the system. And with the pager, you can enjoy the view and your drink while you wait.

I forgot......I love the chilled soups HAL serves' date=' but they are usually too sweet for me as a first course. So I have learned to order them for dessert!

 

Barbara M. In NH[/quote']

 

Mmmm... love their chilled soup!

 

Also, once upon a time they served a sherbert-type dessert meant to resemble a slice of watermelon. It was just called watermelon pie. I wouldn't let my DH have a second slice because I wanted to make it to the show on time and I have NEVER lived it down. Such a baby...lol But in his opinion, the best dessert he's had.

 

I find in general HAL desserts are not sweet enough. Maybe it's a European thing?