Koningsdam B2B (turnaround) question

[Zermatt]

We are on a 21 day cruise from Amsterdam on August 14, 2016. This is a combination of a 14 and 7 day cruise with both being round trips out of Amsterdam. We are new to the combination cruises.

 

Has anyone been on a B2B or turnaround on Koningsdam and can tell me the process of the turnaround and how long this takes? I assume since ours in a 21 day cruise that we will use the same key card throughout. Can you get off the ship and re-enter without going through the check-in lines?

 

Any help will be appreciated. We might want to get off and visit a museum during the day.

 

Thank you!

[CruiserBruce]

The procedure should be the same for all HAL ships...it doesn't change between HAL ships. The only criteria being whether or not the "turnaround day" is in a US port or not. If outside the US, it will be treated as a standard port day. You will receive direction onboard about this. If it is booked as two separate cruises, you will be issued a new card.

Edited June 18, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[TAD2005]

We've been on a few B2B's. On one, the turnaround port was Civitavecchia for Rome. The ship arrived at 8:00am and was scheduled to leave at 5:00pm. All aboard time should have been 4:30. But because there were a lot of new passengers boarding in this port, all guests had to go through a muster drill, even though we, as transit passengers, had just participated in a muster drill 14 days earlier. So, the "all aboard" time was moved back to 3:30 pm, which really put a kink in many guest's plans who arranged private tours scheduled to get back to the ship around 3:30 or 4:00pm. It takes sometimes 90 minutes to get to and from Rome when docked in Civitavecchia. This reduced our available time in Rome to under 6 hours. Be prepared to have to attend a mandatory muster drill at your turnaround port, which may reduce your time in port.

Edited June 18, 2016 by TAD2005

[RuthC]

I've done more turn-around days in Europe than I can count, including Amsterdam, on any number of HAL ships. The Koningsdam is not one of them, but I have found the process to be the same on every ship.

It will be treated like any other port day. You will get a letter with instructions, and an "in transit" card, in advance. Just read the letter, and take the card with you when you leave the ship.

 

Upon return, just head for the embarkation line. Have the in transit card ready to show to anyone who needs to see it.

 

On my last few HAL cruises, we only had to attend muster when we boarded, then when we passed the 30-day mark. Within that 30 days, no matter how many turn-around days there were, we were excused from further muster drills.

[Galley Slave]

We were on the 13 day Christening Cruise and the 7 day Viking Sagas cruise on the Koningsdam. We went off the ship for the day, returned and went through security. We used the same key cards for the whole 20 days. It was a very seamless process for us. The elevators were tied up for hours, so be prepared to walk up the stairs or wait. This was an unusual weekend as several Visitors were onboard the ship to see the ship and receive their plates in Amsterdam. The Lido was very crowded!

[headhunterke]

When I was on my last B2B in March, I did not have to attend the muster drill for the second part of my cruise. In fact, none of the B2B guests had to.

It was the first time I've experienced it and it was quite nice, to be honest :)

 

Was this a one time thing or has the policy changed again over the past few months?:confused:

[Karennella]

We were on the 13 day Christening Cruise and the 7 day Viking Sagas cruise on the Koningsdam. We went off the ship for the day, returned and went through security. We used the same key cards for the whole 20 days. It was a very seamless process for us. The elevators were tied up for hours, so be prepared to walk up the stairs or wait. This was an unusual weekend as several Visitors were onboard the ship to see the ship and receive their plates in Amsterdam. The Lido was very crowded!

 

We did those cruises too and our only problem was that our room steward was not aware that we were not leaving. They also told us we did not need to go to the safety drill but did knock on our door (I got the impression they were having problems with no shows)

Yes the Lido was so crowded that day that we had no choice but to take our lunch back to our room. We found the cruise ever so more crowded in general on the second cruise.

[mame42]

The muster drill policy seems inconsistent. On my Jan-Apr Rotterdam trip, all pax were required to attend every muster drill. However, there was a make up drill at 9 AM the next morning for those whose excursions/tours returned late to the ship.

 

I was mistakenly issued a new key card after one leg, even though my trip was booked as one cruise, so I surmise that for that Captain, sailing, and ship at that time one booked on a B2B received a new card for each segment.

 

Since I am booked on a Koningsdam B2B2B in the future, I will follow this thread with interest.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did those cruises too and our only problem was that our room steward was not aware that we were not leaving. They also told us we did not need to go to the safety drill but did knock on our door (I got the impression they were having problems with no shows)

Yes the Lido was so crowded that day that we had no choice but to take our lunch back to our room. We found the cruise ever so more crowded in general on the second cruise.

 

 

When we get on any ship where we are doing a Collector's Cruise or B2B, we always tell our cabin stewards that we will be staying on for 2 cruises so that they know in advance.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The procedure should be the same for all HAL ships...it doesn't change between HAL ships. The only criteria being whether or not the "turnaround day" is in a US port or not. If outside the US, it will be treated as a standard port day. You will receive direction onboard about this. If it is booked as two separate cruises, you will be issued a new card.

 

 

A couple of times (once in 2010 and 2015) we have booked 2 cruises for the ship and had 2 different booking reservations.

But our ID cards were issued for the entire time we were to be on the cruise.

[Zermatt]

Thanks everyone for the great information. Now we have an idea what to expect and we will have a contingency plan. We sure won't pre-book any museums or pay in advance for any tours for the day. :D

 

When we return after the first week of September, I will update this thread as to how B2B was handled and how it smoothly it went.

 

Thanks again,

Donna