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

[Florida_gal_50]

A couple of things.  If you are a water drinker make sure to ask for 2 bottles of water in the cabana.  That’s what is supposed to happen but I assume they try to save wherever they can.  
 

I think I’ve tried the parm in the Canaletto before and you are right it’s not good but it’s been a while.  I’ve had the branzino twice and it is excellent.  I also had the osso bucco there as well.  Delish.  I think the fried or breaded items are not their strong suit.  What a difference in the crab risotto!  Yours looks much better although I still enjoyed it.  I’ve switched my free pinnacle 5 star bennies to Canaletto.  On top of it I don’t really care for the hostess in the pinnacle.  It makes a difference for me.

[CruiseMGM]

Loving your review, thank you so much! And thank you for your candid comments about Canaletto and the chicken parmesan. That's a night I've always wanted to try, but maybe not so much now. My favorite night to be in Canaletto is Saturday for their grilled shrimp; you'll always know where to find me for Saturday dinner! We were there on our Saturday during our Alaska cruise in August on the NA and while the dish was not quite the same as pre-shutdown, it was still good. My brother got the lasagna and I tried a bite, WOW, it was fantastic. So now I'll likely be torn and will be trying to convince DH to order the lasagna and I'll have the shrimp and we'll share. Thanks for all the pictures and comments and details, we'll be sailing the "K" in just a few weeks!

Best wishes, enjoy your cruise and your cabana!

Edited November 17, 2021 by CruiseMGM

[Cruzmama]

Thank you so much for posting.  We sail this Sunday, and I'm so excited to see so many activities, especially the Music Walk.  How is service in the dining room?

[westcoastsue]

7 hours ago, zgscl said:

One other note is they have these great hand washing stations in the Lido which I really like. You stick your hands in for 12 seconds and it washes your hands for you. They still do have the hand sanitizer stations but they are much less prominent than they were on other ships. 

My husband loved these. We saw the officers using them quite often.

[westcoastsue]

1 hour ago, CruiseMGM said:

Loving your review, thank you so much! And thank you for your candid comments about Canaletto and the chicken parmesan. That's a night I've always wanted to try, but maybe not so much now. My favorite night to be in Canaletto is Saturday for their grilled shrimp; you'll always know where to find me for Saturday dinner! We were there on our Saturday during our Alaska cruise in August on the NA and while the dish was not quite the same as pre-shutdown, it was still good. My brother got the lasagna and I tried a bite, WOW, it was fantastic. So now I'll likely be torn and will be trying to convince DH to order the lasagna and I'll have the shrimp and we'll share. Thanks for all the pictures and comments and details, we'll be sailing the "K" in just a few weeks!

Best wishes, enjoy your cruise and your cabana!

I had the lasagna last week in Canaletto and agree it was amazing. My husband had the lamb and totally cleaned his plate. Service was really terrific too.

[RuthC]

8 hours ago, zgscl said:

I do not think it is accurate any longer to say the ship shuts down at 10 PM any longer, at least on the 7 day cruises. 

In my experience, it never was accurate. 

[Florida_gal_50]

I was happy to see the vendors in the pier building today.  So happy that I dropped a couple of hundred.

[AncientWanderer]

11 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I was happy to see the vendors in the pier building today.  So happy that I dropped a couple of hundred.

 

Oh, this is good news.  That sense of "abandonment" of the buildings is sad.  Glad they are back.

And glad that you seem to overall be enjoying being back onboard.  👍

[Florida_gal_50]

12 minutes ago, AncientWanderer said:

 

Oh, this is good news.  That sense of "abandonment" of the buildings is sad.  Glad they are back.

And glad that you seem to overall be enjoying being back onboard.  👍

Yes it was very sad in ensenada.  I love that vendors respect you here too.  I rarely buy anything in cozumel because they treat you like you have endless money.  Do a fair price and I will be more than happy to buy.  Yes things are definitely better than a couple days ago.

[roxybear135]

@zgscl I saw that you have the elite drink package and I saw the photo you posted of the note you got in your room regarding it.  If you don't mind, can you ask around on the ship to confirm that there's a 15 drink total limit (like it says on the note) or if it's 15 alcoholic drinks and unlimited non-alcoholic?  There's been a lot of debate about what it actually includes and I was informed by the Office of The President that it's 15 alcoholic/unlimited non-alcoholic but your note says otherwise.  Thanks so much and hope you're having a fabulous time!

[PSR]

22 hours ago, zgscl said:

It is lobster, tomato, garlic and white wine. They pushed very hard for us to try on Nieuw Amsterdam but they didn’t push at all on K

 

Thanks for the info. I like lobster, but not a fan of seafood on pasta, so will  have to think about it...🤔

[zgscl]

13 hours ago, kazu said:

 

Sounds like you learned a lesson from the syrup 😂. Seriously, great description, great posts & pics and very informative.  Thanks so much 🙂 

You are too kind. Yes, I did! I figured someone would be offended or I would give my phone a bath. 

[zgscl]

2 hours ago, PSR said:

 

Thanks for the info. I like lobster, but not a fan of seafood on pasta, so will  have to think about it...🤔

Yeah, that is not a dish I have any interest in trying. Just cancelled my upcoming Canaletto to get a second crack at Tamarind. Too many choices and not enough nights. Thankfully I will be back in March and can get all the things I didn't this trip. 

[zgscl]

4 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

@zgscl I saw that you have the elite drink package and I saw the photo you posted of the note you got in your room regarding it.  If you don't mind, can you ask around on the ship to confirm that there's a 15 drink total limit (like it says on the note) or if it's 15 alcoholic drinks and unlimited non-alcoholic?  There's been a lot of debate about what it actually includes and I was informed by the Office of The President that it's 15 alcoholic/unlimited non-alcoholic but your note says otherwise.  Thanks so much and hope you're having a fabulous time!

Sorry if I was unclear. There is a 15 drink per day limit. You do get unlimited access to the Coca Cola freestyle machines which are controlled by using a special cup. If you get your sodas here it does not count against your limit, but if you get sodas from a bar then it does. 

[zgscl]

11 hours ago, Cruzmama said:

Thank you so much for posting.  We sail this Sunday, and I'm so excited to see so many activities, especially the Music Walk.  How is service in the dining room?

Music Walk has been really fantastic. Maybe @Florida_gal_50 can comment on the MDR? I have not been and don't think I will be going as I am doing all specialty dining and Club Orange this trip. 

[zgscl]

12 hours ago, CruiseMGM said:

Loving your review, thank you so much! And thank you for your candid comments about Canaletto and the chicken parmesan. That's a night I've always wanted to try, but maybe not so much now. My favorite night to be in Canaletto is Saturday for their grilled shrimp; you'll always know where to find me for Saturday dinner! We were there on our Saturday during our Alaska cruise in August on the NA and while the dish was not quite the same as pre-shutdown, it was still good. My brother got the lasagna and I tried a bite, WOW, it was fantastic. So now I'll likely be torn and will be trying to convince DH to order the lasagna and I'll have the shrimp and we'll share. Thanks for all the pictures and comments and details, we'll be sailing the "K" in just a few weeks!

Best wishes, enjoy your cruise and your cabana!

My pleasure! I would say skip the chicken parm as there are far better things available. Totally not worth trying at all. Always remember, for only $10 you can get an extra entree if your husband won't go along 🙂

[zgscl]

13 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

A couple of things.  If you are a water drinker make sure to ask for 2 bottles of water in the cabana.  That’s what is supposed to happen but I assume they try to save wherever they can.  
 

I think I’ve tried the parm in the Canaletto before and you are right it’s not good but it’s been a while.  I’ve had the branzino twice and it is excellent.  I also had the osso bucco there as well.  Delish.  I think the fried or breaded items are not their strong suit.  What a difference in the crab risotto!  Yours looks much better although I still enjoyed it.  I’ve switched my free pinnacle 5 star bennies to Canaletto.  On top of it I don’t really care for the hostess in the pinnacle.  It makes a difference for me.

Thanks for the note on the water. I haven't made it past one yet as I am never up there for more than an hour or two at a time. As someone who was born and raised in the SF area my body has been manufactured for a constant 68 degrees year round. I can stand anywhere from 50 to 72. Anything outside of that for extended periods voids the warranty. 

 

I was actually surprised at the difference. Glad I wasn't just remembering something that didn't exist. 

[zgscl]

For Breakfast Monday I got my first taste of Club Orange. I have to say that I am very impressed by the service. After my first meal there every server, bartender and the host and hostess knew me by name.  

 

I have read a lot about Club Orange not having windows. While it is true that the restaurant is in the interior of the ship, the windows have sections that are frosted and unfrosted so you can actually see well out the side of the vessel regardless of if you are sitting on the outside or in the middle of the room. It also lets lots of natural light in. 

 

Breakfast was cooked to order by the C.O. chef and it was by far the hottest and freshest breakfast I have had on HAL complete with everyone's favorite McDonald's hash browns. 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

After breakfast Monday I went up to my cabana for some relaxation. Really nice views and a great breeze while at sea. Mid morning the cabana attendant brought over a nice bowl of fruit and they were great about keeping my cup of ice full and getting drinks as requested. 

 

 

 

On sea days I always like to go to the Pinnacle Grill. They started with bread with their signature bell pepper butter (yuck) and garlic butter. I went with the crab cakes and the Beef Tenderloin with Oregon Blue Cheese, and for desert lemon sorbet which was served with very cute meringue cookies  on top. All of the food was excellent and the service was top notch. 

 

 

 

 

 

For the afternoon I decided to head back up to the cabana where they brought around frozen grapes & chocolate covered strawberries along with a cheese plate and a complimentary glass of sparkling wine. The service is really excellent up here and they are very attentive. They were worried that i was leaving for lunch and wanted to make sure that I knew I could get it up there and that they are happy to serve me there. 

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

For dinner Monday I went to Club Orange. The service continues to be great and the entire team was very friendly and remembered me from breakfast. Unfortunately the food is the same as the MDR just plated by C.O. chefs. Tonight's Club Orange special was Jumbalaya. None of the starters were intreaguing to me so I had the stuffed shells to start with and the Filet Mignon Oscar as my main. Shells were great, the steak was OK. For desert the chocolate souffle (good, but not as good as the Pinnacle Grill one). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner I had a great evening on the Music Walk. It is really great having 3 good groups to choose from. Lots of people stayed up dancing into the late evening. After dinner I went up to the lido for the late night snack Tonight they had fish tacos which were great along with fried chicken and fried pork katsu which were also good. As tonight was a gala night I did get chocolate and a towel animal. 

 

 

[zgscl]

Tuesday - Cabo San Lucas 

When and Where 

 

 

 

MDR Menu

 

 

 

 

[zgscl]

For breakfast today I went to Club Orange again where the service continues to be excellent. I had the granola and the salmon omelette. The omelette was prepared well but could have used about three times as much filling. The bacon was very crisp. And of course our favorite McDonalds potatoes (sorry it was this day not yesterday). 

 

After breakfast I went off to the Greenhouse Spa for a hot stone massage. Wow that was amazing, if you have not had one you do not know what you are missing! It was incredibly relaxing. 

 

[Vict0riann]

On 11/16/2021 at 5:32 PM, PSR said:

 

Thanks also...what is in the special spaghetti All astice, if you remember?

This was our spaghetti al' astice on Eurodam.  It was delicious, and I think it had crab as well as lobster, but perhaps I am forgetting.  It was weeks ago, now!

 

[zgscl]

After my massage I went off to the cabana for the rest of the morning. It was quite hot today and they brought me my requested club soda as well as came around with chilled moist towels which were incredibly refreshing. 

 

 

Beautiful arrival into Cabo San Lucas this morning. 

 

 

While the cabanas on Koningsdam do not have their own chairs, the cabana attendants are more than happy to bring chairs for your cabana upon request and several folks replaced one lounger with two chairs instead. When the ship is not moving it can get very hot in the cabana, but having a chair to pull out into the shade is great. We have a really nice group of people up there this cruise and it has been nice getting to know everyone. 

 

 

 

As it was so hot I thought it was a good day to try a chocolate milk shake and the cabana attendants were only too happy to bring me one (charged to the beverage package). I thought it was pretty good! And perfect for this weather. 

 

 

For lunch today I decided to dine in the cabana and I went with another Dive In burger which is always a hit! 

 

I will probably do a more detailed review of the cabanas when I get back so it is easier for folks to find, but one thing to note is that the main entrance is below me on the starboard side of the ship. Cabanas 1 & 2 are the first two on the left and outside of the roped off area. These are more susceptible to people sneaking in. #2 is the first one behind the roped area and the numbering continues from there all the way around. There is an entrance on the other side but it is a bit more hidden and you don't have the same issue of being outside the roped in area. We have a few other CC members staying on this side of the retreat so I would be interested to hear what they think. I am in #18 which is on the opposite side and I have found it to be very private. 

 

[canadianbear]

Really enjoying the photos and reports!!!