QuattroRomeo

We did have beautiful weather - in the 20s°C for all but the last day. We brought too many warm clothes, but not complaining! Lots of people enjoyed the outdoor pool and hot tubs on the aft deck/ Seaview lounge area. 

Given the times, we had sort of expected a higher level of cleaning, maybe for door handles, counter tops and the like, but there was no evidence of anything other than the usual.

Masks were required when boarding or leaving the ship. Other than that, nothing. I can recall only one announcement recommending social distancing and wearing masks. There were signs in the hallways that read "Masks Recommended". Some people were good about social distancing. Many were not. Maybe half of the passengers wore masks; crew members always did. Some crew members were double-masked. Don't blame them! Crew are tested weekly. The only other signs I saw were in the Explorations Cafe, Dutch Cafe and Guest Services:

  The mug was not there. I like to collect mugs with the specific ship name on it. I had to hunt for it onboard, eventually found wrapped in a bag somewhere in behind Guest Services. It turned out to be a generic logo mug. I had to try and find the proper one myself. None of the shops had anything but the generic HAL logo. Finally I found one in Photo Services...and I mean ONE. They would not allow a straight exchange. Had to get a refund for the generic one and then buy the new one. So much for the couple of bucks pre-cruise order discount!

There were about 1600 passengers on board, 50/50 Canadian and American. Apparently the week before was busier, with about 1800, 60% Canadian. Makes sense given that it was a long weekend here. The port shopping ambassador told us that during the previous week, the TV area in the Casino Bar was packed with people watching the Flames vs. the Oilers!

Just now, Xenni said:

Thank you for the review, it is definitely a good read to prepare for our cruise in late July (same ship)!

 

I also have couple questions -

How full was the ship?

Also, when was your boarding time? I was just slotted to a 12:40 boarding time (Group C), so I'm not sure if it's the last group to board.

Our boarding slot was also 12:40, although it didn't seem to mean anything. Passenger counts coming up!

Just now, Dreamer115 said:

Following along, thanks for the review.  Question:  Do they have a seperate line up for people who use scooters or walkers?  

 

Hmm, I don't recall any special line. Hopefully someone here will know!

To be fair, some folks we met later had a smoother embarkation; just depends on timing, who is working, etc.

Just now, dvanwa said:

We are on the June 18th sailing. A few questions for you - when are the Formal nights? Did you test for covid virtually on the ship the day before dis-embarking? We need a test before flying home to the US. Curious whether anyone had trouble with the Wi-Fi. Thank you!

 

Sunday and Wednesday were  "Dressy Attire" nights. We did not have to test before flying home as it was a domestic flight for us. Although many people did manage it virtually onboard. 

We just returned from our Alaska Inside Passage cruise, May 28- June 4, on the Koningsdam. We are regular cruisers but haven’t cruised on HAL since 2011, nor had we used the Vancouver cruise port before so we thought we would do a short cruise just to see what sailing is like these days.

We are both vaccinated, boosted and mask-wearers.

We had an early flight and had booked the HAL transfer to the ship. There was only one transfer kiosk set up in the airport just past the luggage carousel area. Finally found it. We were informed that no bus would be boarding until after 10 am, so a couple of hours' wait. In retrospect, wouldn’t do that again. Anyway we finally left on the full bus ( all cruise lines together). Took half an hour to get to the terminal.

It was about 11:30 when we got there. The lineups weren’t terrible; I had completed Verifly before and that seemed to help- the shortest line – and all they checked for was the “green” message ( Ready to Sail) and we moved on to the next checkpoint. Things got much slower then… The HAL rep told me my photo wasn’t in the system ( I loaded both of our photos in Navigator at home); she took at least 3 photos of me before it seemed to load. We moved on to whatever the next pit stop was; it went on and on; US customs lineup was slow as they had passengers do their own passport scanning, many needed help. Then some pit stop checking ArriveCan and some young  guy looking all concerned and  mumbled something unintelligible. I had entered everything beforehand so we just kept moving. Finally got to a seating area where we waited 10 minutes for our row to board. This all took at least an hour. Once we got to the embarkation kiosk on the ship, the crew lady told me my photo wasn’t there.. surprise,  surprise! And that I would need to go to the Guest Services desk. Oh goody- Guest Services on Embarkation Day! I waited until the next day when there was a shorter line. Asked them why the photo didn’t “take” earlier; “Oh just some sort of glitch” is all that I got from them.

The room keycards were waiting by the cabin door. We watched the safety video while unpacking (no TV services available until after you play the video), then went to our muster station to have our cards scanned. Finally done!

We had an obstructed sideways balcony cabin on deck 4 forward. The room was a pretty good size, as was the balcony. Bath robes were there. I had pre-ordered mineral water, flowers and a ship mug. The water was there and the flowers, which were beautiful and fresh- lasted all week. This was our Astrid bouquet:

What we did get was a port shopping "guide" basically showing where the various ship-sponsored stores are, but it does have a little town map in them with the main streets outlined ( and shops highlighted...)!

We have used ArriveCan a few times through the website. You do receive an email, which includes the QR code, a receipt reference code, and the names included as travellers all in one page. I just print it out and carry it. 

On the K-Dam last week, every day except embarkation the daily programs show:

Happy Hours: Buy a drink, get the second 50% off

4-5 pm Crow's Nest and Billboard Onboard

8-9 pm Ocean Bar

9-10 pm Crow's Nest

🍸🍸

Just off the Koningsdam, and one thing that IS still on HAL - real cloth hand towels in the public restrooms..!

We also went on a Yukon tour from Skagway yesterday. The passport check was merely a manual one where the border officer came on our minibus and looked at each one. No scanning. The tour operator told us that separate ArriveCan entries were not necessary, and that was our experience.

We took the Yukon Discovery tour just yesterday. 6.5 hours (Skagway). Only 10 in our group- great day, driver/guide was Connor. The company is known as Frontier Adventures in Skagway. Local company.

Because the train tour doesn't go to the Yukon this year, there were few crowds and no traffic. 

oh oh...he's got it bad!!!...😁🚢

If anyone wants to know what the requirements are in the HAL notice 4 days pre-cruise: (Alaska from Vancouver)

IMPORTANT ITEMS TO COMPLETE FOR YOUR CRUISE - The mandatory Health Questionnaire is now available on the Navigator app or at https://*****/HAL_OLCI. Every guest must complete this questionnaire. If you have not already done so, please also complete the other mandatory Online Guest Check-In items online or on the Navigator app (*****/HALNavigator). - All guests over 5 years of age must present acceptable proof of COVID-19 vaccination completed at least 14 days before the cruise. Guests over 2 years of age must also provide a negative viral COVID-19 test (medically observed PCR or antigen) taken within the guidelines at *****/hal_ustest. - Register with VeriFLY to speed your check-in process at the pier. For details visit https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/verifly-app.html. - All guests must complete ArriveCAN within 72 hours of embark and provide their receipt at cruise check=in. Visit https://*****/hal_arrivecan for info. - We are unable to provide debark COVID-19 tests on voyages ending in Canada. If you require a test to fly home, please make independent arrangements. Ships' Registry: The Netherlands Statement Date: May 24, 2022

Thankfully our Ketchikan stop is on a Thursday! It is great to receive recommendations; it is so helpful when in tourist towns to avoid the  mediocre food places that can be everywhere, trying to take advantage of the crowds.

For our upcoming cruise, we would like to know people's favourite casual spots, take-outs or kiosks,  to find really good fish and chips, chowders, or coffee. Plus any treats you think are worth indulging in ( muffins, bear claws, donuts, etc)!

We will visit Juneau, Skagway & Ketchikan. Thanks for any recommendations! ☕🍟🥧

We liked the puffy mints that the Yum Yum man had, and especially liked the spoon of ginger preserves there. Seemed like an appropriate thing on a ship!

Also miss the Passport to Fitness - the booklet you could get stamped after you walked, I forget how many, laps around the Promenade deck! Redeemed for small souvenirs at the end of the cruise if you had enough stamps. Still have the sweatshirt!

The Apollo Murders- Chris Hadfield

Enjoying your review, thank you! We haven't done this itinerary yet so it is very interesting.

Thank you for the photos, can't get any clearer! Mugs are very pretty. But sounds like I should see what they have on board first, as they might include a different kind of mug from their inventory!

Thank you both! (and sorry you got 'short-beaned' navybikermom!).

Koningsdam's arrival in Victoria was just on our evening news (CTV), showing many who were there to greet it, waving flags and so on! The newscast indicated it was at Level Green. 

Wonderful to see these beautiful photos. Here's hoping for a healthy Alaska sailing season!