ZGSCL Live from the Koningsdam: November 14th 7 day Mexican Rivera

[echoshipmate]

2 hours ago, zgscl said:

That is really great to hear! I would love to do a B2B but time wise it usually doesn't work for me as it is a challenge to take more than a week off at a time. Planning ahead for Hawaii in 2023 though fingers crossed it all comes together. 

Thank you for all the info re cabanas. We have #12 booked on Koningsdam, near the front, middle on the right looking back to the pool area for our upcoming b2b. We did a family cabana recently on NA and was wonderful. Unfortunately, no family cabana was available for both cruises. Any comments on our selection, #12?

Doug 

Edited November 23, 2021 by echoshipmate

[RuthC]

4 hours ago, zgscl said:

Always happy to share information with others! From what I could see San Diego didn't appear to be set up super well for a solo disabled passenger ... .

LOL! San Diego wasn't set up well for a disabled passenger when I was with a large group who could help me, and wasn't nearly as disabled as I am now! I would hate to have to board there now. 

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, echoshipmate said:

Thank you for all the info re cabanas. We have #12 booked on Koningsdam, near the front, middle on the right looking back to the pool area for our upcoming b2b. We did a family cabana recently on NA and was wonderful. Unfortunately, no family cabana was available for both cruises. Any comments on our selection, #12?

Doug 

Hi Doug, personally I prefer the side view cabanas but I know a lot of people like the aft view better. The only ones I would avoid are 1-3 as they are the ones right by the enterance (and 1-2 are outside the roped off area) so they are the most subject to people wondering by or trying to sneak in or take a retreat towel. 21-22 are sort of in the same situation but the door on the port side is much more hidden so it doesn't seem to be so much of an issue. 

[zgscl]

33 minutes ago, RuthC said:

LOL! San Diego wasn't set up well for a disabled passenger when I was with a large group who could help me, and wasn't nearly as disabled as I am now! I would hate to have to board there now. 

The worst disembarkation we ever had was in San Diego. We had to wait about an hour for the transfer bus to the airport to get filled and then we had a disaster trying to fly out at the airport (not at all the cruise port's fault). I'm curious, what is the best embarkation/disembarkation port as a disabled traveler?

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Thanks, Zach, for the info on how the ships do the Mariner discounts. Having had a lot of experience pre-Covid with this, I would like to see some rationality and reasonable accounting used. Mostly I would like to see the way they do it at the Explorations Cafe: run the room card and the proper discount is applied on the spot.  Maybe there is some hope 🙂

Your thread has been a joy to read - much appreciated!

 

They keep saying they are working on having the discount apply when you pre book online. I had no issue with the lunches or the upsell items I purcahsed onboard. But the pre-booked specialty dining just doesn't seem to work well with their accounting setup. I am not holding my breath, but I am always optimistic. 

[RuthC]

10 minutes ago, zgscl said:

I'm curious, what is the best embarkation/disembarkation port as a disabled traveler?

The very best port for both ends of the cruise was surprisingly San Francisco. I say I was surprised, as every other US port is very difficult; the ship stewards can't leave a certain area, so people have to somehow find a port person to get them from the street to the check-in area, then get out of the wheelchair and wait for a HAL steward and wheelchair to take them the rest of the way. 
In San Francisco, there were port people who met us (I was in a group of 4, 2 of us needing wheelchair assistance) almost immediately at the van, wheeled us to check-in, and then aboard and to our respective cabins. Vancouver was also pretty good, but I arrived from Seattle on a HAL bus. That helped the situation, I'm sure. 

Ports in Europe, Asia, and Australia, as well as New Zealand have all---except Venice---been great. 

[Florida_gal_50]

43 minutes ago, zgscl said:

Hi Doug, personally I prefer the side view cabanas but I know a lot of people like the aft view better. The only ones I would avoid are 1-3 as they are the ones right by the enterance (and 1-2 are outside the roped off area) so they are the most subject to people wondering by or trying to sneak in or take a retreat towel. 21-22 are sort of in the same situation but the door on the port side is much more hidden so it doesn't seem to be so much of an issue. 

Hey, that’s my cabana you are talking about.  I do agree.  It always felt like it was in an odd place.  I think the side ones are better on the pinnacle class.  On the non pinnacle the cabanas overlooking the pool are better because they don’t have the plexiglass.  More air flow.  Somehow I felt like there were less lookie Lou’s then usual in the cabanas.  I’ve experienced squatters before that didn’t want to leave.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, zgscl said:

They keep saying they are working on having the discount apply when you pre book online. I had no issue with the lunches or the upsell items I purcahsed onboard. But the pre-booked specialty dining just doesn't seem to work well with their accounting setup. I am not holding my breath, but I am always optimistic. 

They’ve been saying that for years.  Now they are short of money, even less  incentive I’m afraid.

[echoshipmate]

19 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Hey, that’s my cabana you are talking about.  I do agree.  It always felt like it was in an odd place.  I think the side ones are better on the pinnacle class.  On the non pinnacle the cabanas overlooking the pool are better because they don’t have the plexiglass.  More air flow.  Somehow I felt like there were less lookie Lou’s then usual in the cabanas.  I’ve experienced squatters before that didn’t want to leave.

Thanks for the replies. I am concerned about air flow and heat on the aft view vs the side cabanas and which will be more sun filled as we go south and reversed as we come north. I guess it really doesn't matter, just want to make the best choice possible. I know the level of service is unmatched as we have experienced it before. Side or aft, that's my dilemma!

Doug

[Florida_gal_50]

3 minutes ago, echoshipmate said:

Thanks for the replies. I am concerned about air flow and heat on the aft view vs the side cabanas and which will be more sun filled as we go south and reversed as we come north. I guess it really doesn't matter, just want to make the best choice possible. I know the level of service is unmatched as we have experienced it before. Side or aft, that's my dilemma!

Doug

Personally I think you’d be happier on the side if you are on a pinnacle ship.  I think I’ve had cabanas on at least 6 or 7 ships multiple times.  I personally like the non pinnacle cabanas better because of the air flow.  That’s the only thing I prefer on those ships.

[cruisin'mama]

We will be on the NA in February and I was considering getting a cabana. Since there are 3 of us, are the Family Cabanas our only option? I was thinking we’d like one by the pool…,

[jer_l]

We will be taking this cruise in January.  I have a couple of questions:

Does the ship's time change to correspond to local time?  I believe PV is 2 hours ahead of San Diego and the other ports an hour.)

When were you able to print your boarding pass?  I've received an email that ours are ready, but they aren't available even though the HAL website shows we are checked in.  When I called HAL, I was told they could not be printed until the health assessment is complete (available 3 days before the cruise). I just wondered if that is correct. It would be nice to know boarding times ahead of time.

[zgscl]

17 minutes ago, jer_l said:

We will be taking this cruise in January.  I have a couple of questions:

Does the ship's time change to correspond to local time?  I believe PV is 2 hours ahead of San Diego and the other ports an hour.)

When were you able to print your boarding pass?  I've received an email that ours are ready, but they aren't available even though the HAL website shows we are checked in.  When I called HAL, I was told they could not be printed until the health assessment is complete (available 3 days before the cruise). I just wondered if that is correct. It would be nice to know boarding times ahead of time.

Yes the ship's time changed to match local time. We lost an hour the first night and then between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta and then gained an hour back the first and second night after leaving Puerto Vallarta. 

Boarding pass was available to be printed about 45 days out I believe Below is for my upcoming March 6th sailing and the dates are in line with what I experienced for this cruise. 

 

The top date under next steps is when the health assessment will be available about 3 days before sailing. This does not need to be completed to print the boarding pass.  

 

Assuming final payment has been made, once you complete all check in steps including the vaccine/covid-risk acceptance and your cruise contract as well as provided a method of payment for incidentals this box will appear and will tell you when to expect your boarding pass. Luggage tags can be printed at any time 

[zgscl]

3 hours ago, cruisin'mama said:

We will be on the NA in February and I was considering getting a cabana. Since there are 3 of us, are the Family Cabanas our only option? I was thinking we’d like one by the pool…,

I think you have a couple options. The family cabanas on NA are huge, much larger than Koningsdam and that could be great for you. You can also get two cabanas next to each other. The other more out of the box idea would be to get one lido cabana and one retreat cabana which would give you the best of both worlds. It depends how you plan to use the cabanas and if you will all be together at the same time or not. The pool cabanas are great if you plan to spend a lot of time on the lido deck/pool, but you do not have access to the retreat private area and because of this there is a fairly significant price difference. The advantage of the lido cabanas are they are under the retractable roof so you are guaranteed to be able to use it regardless of weather. Personally I almost always avoid the lido pool area as I find it stuffy usually but I am not really a pool person. If I was going to spend a lot of time in the pool it would be a fantastic thing to have as you have guaranteed seating. 

 

I believe three people can use one cabana as long as only 2 use it at a time (someone will hopefully correct this if wrong) so if you are not all going to be using it at once, or if someone isn't likely to use it that is another option to consider. 

 

Price wise I believe lido cabanas are $199, retreat cabanas are $399 & family are $549. If this is correct you can get two lido cabanas for less than a family. I would give ship services a call (1-800-541-1576) to confirm the pricing though. 

 

@Florida_gal_50 do you recall if the walls open up on the non-Pinnacle ships between the cabanas?

[zgscl]

3 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Personally I think you’d be happier on the side if you are on a pinnacle ship.  I think I’ve had cabanas on at least 6 or 7 ships multiple times.  I personally like the non pinnacle cabanas better because of the air flow.  That’s the only thing I prefer on those ships.

The cabins are larger also! And for Neptune suites they have the dressing room!

[zgscl]

3 hours ago, echoshipmate said:

Thanks for the replies. I am concerned about air flow and heat on the aft view vs the side cabanas and which will be more sun filled as we go south and reversed as we come north. I guess it really doesn't matter, just want to make the best choice possible. I know the level of service is unmatched as we have experienced it before. Side or aft, that's my dilemma!

Doug

I agree with @Florida_gal_50 that the side view ones are probably better. I got really good air flow the entire time. I did move to the outside during the day some when the shade was outside rather than inside. All of the cabanas have the plexiglass shields so it doesn't make so much of a difference like it does on the non-pinnacle ships. The challenge is because the ship & sun are constantly moving it is impossible to really predict where the most shade will be. 

[zgscl]

4 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Hey, that’s my cabana you are talking about.  I do agree.  It always felt like it was in an odd place.  I think the side ones are better on the pinnacle class.  On the non pinnacle the cabanas overlooking the pool are better because they don’t have the plexiglass.  More air flow.  Somehow I felt like there were less lookie Lou’s then usual in the cabanas.  I’ve experienced squatters before that didn’t want to leave.

I was wondering if that was an issue over there. I think because the ship capacity was so low we were spared a lot of the looky-loos and squatters. That is the other thing I think that is better about the retreat area is it is much easier to keep people out than the lido area. I felt like the port side was much more secluded than the starboard side. 

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, zgscl said:

I think you have a couple options. The family cabanas on NA are huge, much larger than Koningsdam and that could be great for you. You can also get two cabanas next to each other. The other more out of the box idea would be to get one lido cabana and one retreat cabana which would give you the best of both worlds. It depends how you plan to use the cabanas and if you will all be together at the same time or not. The pool cabanas are great if you plan to spend a lot of time on the lido deck/pool, but you do not have access to the retreat private area and because of this there is a fairly significant price difference. The advantage of the lido cabanas are they are under the retractable roof so you are guaranteed to be able to use it regardless of weather. Personally I almost always avoid the lido pool area as I find it stuffy usually but I am not really a pool person. If I was going to spend a lot of time in the pool it would be a fantastic thing to have as you have guaranteed seating. 

 

I believe three people can use one cabana as long as only 2 use it at a time (someone will hopefully correct this if wrong) so if you are not all going to be using it at once, or if someone isn't likely to use it that is another option to consider. 

 

Price wise I believe lido cabanas are $199, retreat cabanas are $399 & family are $549. If this is correct you can get two lido cabanas for less than a family. I would give ship services a call (1-800-541-1576) to confirm the pricing though. 

 

@Florida_gal_50 do you recall if the walls open up on the non-Pinnacle ships between the cabanas?

I want to say no but I’m not sure as it’s been a while since I’ve been on a non pinnacle ship and it’s nothing I’ve needed to do.

[akeka]

15 hours ago, zgscl said:

Which sailing? I will be on March 6th

That's the sailing I'm on as well.  Looking forward to it.

[luv2camp04]

On 11/22/2021 at 10:06 PM, zgscl said:

So glad you enjoyed it! The Elite package is $49.95 if pre-purchased or $59.95 if bought onboard. Either way there is an 18% gratuity. Pre purchase is $412.58 per person when bought in advance on a 7 day. For comparison the signature beverage package is $371.28. 

 

 

Thank you.  That is very helpful.  I'm used to getting the Celebrity regular drink package as a perk and then we upgrade once on board to the Premium.  Although Celebrity doesn't have a daily limit.   Anyway, we may go on our first HAL cruise in March 2022!  

[cruisin'mama]

9 hours ago, zgscl said:

I think you have a couple options. The family cabanas on NA are huge, much larger than Koningsdam and that could be great for you. You can also get two cabanas next to each other. The other more out of the box idea would be to get one lido cabana and one retreat cabana which would give you the best of both worlds. It depends how you plan to use the cabanas and if you will all be together at the same time or not. The pool cabanas are great if you plan to spend a lot of time on the lido deck/pool, but you do not have access to the retreat private area and because of this there is a fairly significant price difference. The advantage of the lido cabanas are they are under the retractable roof so you are guaranteed to be able to use it regardless of weather. Personally I almost always avoid the lido pool area as I find it stuffy usually but I am not really a pool person. If I was going to spend a lot of time in the pool it would be a fantastic thing to have as you have guaranteed seating. 

 

I believe three people can use one cabana as long as only 2 use it at a time (someone will hopefully correct this if wrong) so if you are not all going to be using it at once, or if someone isn't likely to use it that is another option to consider. 

 

Price wise I believe lido cabanas are $199, retreat cabanas are $399 & family are $549. If this is correct you can get two lido cabanas for less than a family. I would give ship services a call (1-800-541-1576) to confirm the pricing though. 

 

@Florida_gal_50 do you recall if the walls open up on the non-Pinnacle ships between the cabanas?

Thank you for all this info! Our third person is our son who has Down Syndrome so most likely it will always be 3 of us in the cabana.  It’s also why I’m thinking of being near the pool, he will probably want to cool off and enjoy the water a few times.

[Riversedge]

10 hours ago, jer_l said:

We will be taking this cruise in January.  I have a couple of questions:

Does the ship's time change to correspond to local time?  I believe PV is 2 hours ahead of San Diego and the other ports an hour.)

When were you able to print your boarding pass?  I've received an email that ours are ready, but they aren't available even though the HAL website shows we are checked in.  When I called HAL, I was told they could not be printed until the health assessment is complete (available 3 days before the cruise). I just wondered if that is correct. It would be nice to know boarding times ahead of time.

We are on the Koningsdam for the January 9 Mexican Riviera sailing. We have already printed our boarding passes and have our boarding time assigned. 

[jer_l]

11 hours ago, zgscl said:

Yes the ship's time changed to match local time. We lost an hour the first night and then between Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta and then gained an hour back the first and second night after leaving Puerto Vallarta. 

Boarding pass was available to be printed about 45 days out I believe Below is for my upcoming March 6th sailing and the dates are in line with what I experienced for this cruise. 

 

The top date under next steps is when the health assessment will be available about 3 days before sailing. This does not need to be completed to print the boarding pass.  

 

Assuming final payment has been made, once you complete all check in steps including the vaccine/covid-risk acceptance and your cruise contract as well as provided a method of payment for incidentals this box will appear and will tell you when to expect your boarding pass. Luggage tags can be printed at any time 

Thanks for the info. Knowing that we will be on port time will help in planning.

 

As far as the boarding pass, I thought that the HAL agent was wrong so I called again and spent about 45 minutes on the hone with a different agent.  I was finally able to print the boarding passes today.  Sailing in 39 days. 🙂 

[Florida_gal_50]

If my memory is correct they never used to change to the correct time in Puerto Vallarta.  The time used to just change once on the cruise.  I liked it better that way but it must have been causing issues.

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, cruisin'mama said:

Thank you for all this info! Our third person is our son who has Down Syndrome so most likely it will always be 3 of us in the cabana.  It’s also why I’m thinking of being near the pool, he will probably want to cool off and enjoy the water a few times.

You can have 3 to a cabana.  I believe there is an upcharge for that 3rd person, or so I've been told.