Life and Live from Koningsdam on her New Year's cruise 26 Dec 21 - 02 Jan 22

[aliaschief]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

 

These were on NA last October. We each got one after each Covid test. The chocolate’s ‘had different flavors and were good.Though we received the regular chocolates with turn down at night.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by aliaschief

[Copper10-8]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

 

 Un pedaso de chocolate / a piece of chocolate 😉 it contained Valerian, supposedly to make you catch better Zzzz's 😉

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, dmcfad2 said:

I am waiting to see if they let you off in Cabo. Keeping my fingers crossed. Carnival Panorama was denied disembarkation in PV yesterday and Mazatlan today. ☹️

 

Yes, no problem visiting Cabo today for us (K-dam) as well as for Norwegian Bliss' pax, behind us at the #2 anchorage. We had a nice lunch at Karlito's Cantina. Most of the Cabo locals are wearing masks! A large percentage of the cruise ship pax, as soon as they are passed the security check on the tender pier, remove theirs.............. We shall see what Mazatlan brings tomorrow, and PV on Thursday. No petrie dishes onboard K-dam, however 😃

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, Kruising Kathy said:

Thanks for the photos and info.  We spent 45 days on KDAM a few years back (FLL to Amsterdam).  We are booked for April crossing from FLL to Barcelona on Nieue Statendam.  Looking forward to dinner in Tamarind, and music.

Here in Denver, the TV stations are running KDAM problem at Porta Vallarta on a loop with a womän who feels she's in a "petrie dish."

 

 

I was not on the cruise last week! PV is the very last stop of the three, so on Thursday. That leaves the two sea days of Fri and Sat before the return to San Diego on Sun. The crew members who tested positive last week (every K-dam crew member gets tested every (once a) week; that is mandatory!), were immediately isolated / secluded inside a cordoned of portion of the ship upon learning their test results and have now been transferred off the ship

 

The woman who compares the situation, I am assuming after Thu of last week to "live in a petri dish" is no longer on board. I can guarantee you that live on K-dam this week does not compare to "live in a petri dish" to us. That, at least has been our experience in having now been here for two full days.

 

The food is good, the entertainment is really good, the crew is happy to be here working, people / pax seem to be enjoying themselves and are having a good time, masks et all, and live here on K-dam goes on on a daily basis!

 

We shall see what Mazatlan tomorrow, PV on Thusday and the two sea days, incl. the New Year celebrations bring. We are personally taking it one day at a time and looking fwd to it all! Happy New Year and stay safe! 🙂

[Copper10-8]

2 hours ago, aliaschief said:

These were on NA last October. We each got one after each Covid test. The chocolate’s ‘had different flavors and were good.Though we received the regular chocolates with turn down at night.

 

 

 

Yeah, we liked them also, Bruce! Funny thing was, there were no pillow, actually "foot of the bed" chocolates is a better description, since they no longer place them on your pillow so that you don't sleep on them and wake up the next morning with melted chocolate protruding from your left ear, on Sunday nite so we initially thought the whole idea was ground filed. Then we received the "Valerian" ones last night so we'll see what tonight brings..........

Edited December 28, 2021 by Copper10-8

[zelker]

20 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

The woman who compares the situation, I am assuming after Thu of last week to "live in a petri dish" is no longer on board. I can guarantee you that live on K-dam this week does not compare to "live in a petri dish" to us. That, at least has been our experience in having now been here for two full days.

 

The petri dish woman was talking about Carnival Freedom in the Caribbean.  It had nothing to do with HAL or Mexico.  

[Copper10-8]

9 minutes ago, zelker said:

The petri dish woman was talking about Carnival Freedom in the Caribbean.  It had nothing to do with HAL or Mexico.  

 

OK then, thanks! Completely misunderstood and I sit corrected! I will shut up and do ten laps around the ship as self-inflicted punishment for complete failure to follow written instructions! 🤐

[aliaschief]

The media loves to play up  statements from ignorant cruisers. There have been some Covid positive cases on ships since startup. The good news is some excellent protocols have kept them in operation since July!

[zelker]

28 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

OK then, thanks! Completely misunderstood and I sit corrected! I will shut up and do ten laps around the ship as self-inflicted punishment for complete failure to follow written instructions! 🤐

Oh, sorry.  I guess I wasn't specific and should have quoted the other person who first mentioned it (and no, it has not been on TV here in Colorado nonstop like they suggested).  I was just wanting to clarify for you what the other person posted was incorrect in saying that it had to do with the K'dam.  No laps required.  😉

[Florida_gal_50]

59 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Yeah, we liked them also, Bruce! Funny thing was, there were no pillow, actually "foot of the bed" chocolates is a better description, since they no longer place them on your pillow so that you don't sleep on them and wake up the next morning with melted chocolate protruding from your left ear, on Sunday nite so we initially thought the whole idea was ground filed. Then we received the "Valerian" ones last night so we'll see what tonight brings..........

Man if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the chocolate story I’d be a millionaire.  Everyone throws away all the chocolates 🙄so how could they sleep on them.

[Florida_gal_50]

50 minutes ago, zelker said:

The petri dish woman was talking about Carnival Freedom in the Caribbean.  It had nothing to do with HAL or Mexico.  

Thank you for correcting that misinformation.

[Copper10-8]

10 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Man if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard the chocolate story I’d be a millionaire.  Everyone throws away all the chocolates 🙄so how could they sleep on them.

 

Not everyone Ma'am 🙂 

[GTVCRUISER]

I eat the chocolates before I go to bed ,with a glass of red wine 🍷

[Florida_gal_50]

19 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Not everyone Ma'am 🙂 

Not me but that’s the reasoning the higher ups were using for only giving chocolates on gala nights (and not even then either) on the koningsdam in the cheap seats. Just man up and say we are trying to save 2 cents.  I get really angry when people make crap up.  Just be up front.  I’m just using this as for instance before the usuals start chirping.

Edited December 29, 2021 by Florida_gal_50

[cccole]

Copper10-8 - Soooooo happy to see your "live from".  I hope all goes well in your upcoming ports.  How fun to be ringing in 2022 onboard!  And, hopefully there will be no more laps necessary for failure to follow instructions.  Happy New Year!!!!  Cherie

[sailingdutchy]

8 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Sorry, in my book, 2 days and 48 hrs. are one and the same but then again, I'm not the brightest pencil in the box, and no, the shoreside staffer in SD did not appear to look at the time on the test results, just at the date

 

I believe that Holland America mean by 2 days , 2 calendar days so you can be tested on Monday morning at 9 am fly from Toronto, Ontario to San Diego , stay for the Tuesday in a Hotel and climb on board on Wednesday at say 2 pm so that would be 53 hours and we would still be within the guide lines . At least we were told before our cruise on the Eurodam leaving from Venice and staying in a hotel for a day that would be OK ????? 

[iflyrc5]

7 minutes ago, sailingdutchy said:

 

I believe that Holland America mean by 2 days , 2 calendar days so you can be tested on Monday morning at 9 am fly from Toronto, Ontario to San Diego , stay for the Tuesday in a Hotel and climb on board on Wednesday at say 2 pm so that would be 53 hours and we would still be within the guide lines . At least we were told before our cruise on the Eurodam leaving from Venice and staying in a hotel for a day that would be OK ????? 

The test monitoring is supposed to be available 24/7.  So we fly out at 10am on a Monday and will be boarding the ship on Wednesday.  My plan is to stay up and at 1201am on Monday try and do the monitored test then hit the bed before getting up at 6am for the drive to the airport.  If that does not work we will take the tests with us and do them from the hotel on Monday afternoon.

[Caribbean Chris]

Copper10-8, those of us sailing on K-dam soon truly appreciate all the info you’re providing.

 

The January 16 Hawaii cruise sails two weeks from Sunday - passengers were told today that Hawaii is revising its protocols and likely to require vaccinated guests to have booster shots 14 days before arriving in Hawaii. Have you heard whether crew members are currently required to have (or will suddenly need to get) boosters, too?

 

Meanwhile an alternate universe exists for the itinerary: HAL’s version and official Hawaii’s version (as seen on Travel.Hawaii.Gov and Hawaii.portcall.com websites.)

HAL still shows itinerary unchanged, arriving Oahu January 22. But register on the official Hawaii Safe Travels site per HAL’s instruction, and the state of Hawaii tells you that the K-dam is coming from Santa Catalina Island (not San Diego) and arriving one day later, January 23.

 

Hawaii PortCall shows the same, and indicates K-dam will not call at Kauai at all on the January 16 cruise. The itinerary is rearranged, with an overnight in Kona, and going into Kahului instead of Lahaina for Maui. 
 

Just wondering if HAL is keeping the senior management on board K-dam in the dark, too, about their whereabouts soon. 

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by Caribbean Chris

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

5 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Yeah, we liked them also, Bruce! Funny thing was, there were no pillow, actually "foot of the bed" chocolates is a better description, since they no longer place them on your pillow so that you don't sleep on them and wake up the next morning with melted chocolate protruding from your left ear, on Sunday nite so we initially thought the whole idea was ground filed. Then we received the "Valerian" ones last night so we'll see what tonight brings..........

 

The three covid tests we had on Koningsdam between cruises did not come with extra chocolate.  BUMMER!  😒

[julia]

5 hours ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

 

The food is good, the entertainment is really good, the crew is happy to be here working, people / pax seem to be enjoying themselves and are having a good time, masks et all, and live here on K-dam goes on on a daily basis!

 

We shall see what Mazatlan tomorrow, PV on Thusday and the two sea days, incl. the New Year celebrations bring. We are personally taking it one day at a time and looking fwd to it all! Happy New Year and stay safe! 🙂

And that is EXACTLY how it should be!  Having followed your wonderful reports from the NA in Alaska (which "forced" us to sail there in September!), I am certain you are having a lovely, fun, and safe cruise.  The media (in the US) however, is sounding the seven long whistles when it comes to cruise ship safety. Sigh. 

Enjoy.  Rest.  Relax.  Repeat.

[roxybear135]

We are also on this cruise and saw on the news today that Mexico has just changed its policy to allow cruise ships with covid aboard to dock. Passengers can get off the ships as long as they’re not showing symptoms. So hopefully we don’t have any issues in Mazatlán or puerto Vallarta. https://abc7.com/amp/mexico-cruises-covid-passengers-with-virus/11399252/
 

So far we’ve been having a good time but have found service to be pretty slow (we’re in club orange and dinner took over 2 hours last night which was frustrating). It seems that the ship may be understaffed (for example, tonight we went to the comedy show at BB Kings and it was packed but there was only one waiter taking drink orders). We only received chocolates on our bed last night. 
 

Also, we were originally in room 6130 which had the worst engine noise I’ve ever experienced on a cruise. It sounded like someone was hammering in our room all night and kept us up. Guest services was quick to accommodate our request to a different (and thankfully quiet) room but just a warning to anyone who may be booked in that room. 

[GTVCRUISER]

I hope they let you guys  get off the ship in Mazatlan , my favorite place in Mazatlan is Stone Island 

[Florida_gal_50]

11 hours ago, sailingdutchy said:

 

I believe that Holland America mean by 2 days , 2 calendar days so you can be tested on Monday morning at 9 am fly from Toronto, Ontario to San Diego , stay for the Tuesday in a Hotel and climb on board on Wednesday at say 2 pm so that would be 53 hours and we would still be within the guide lines . At least we were told before our cruise on the Eurodam leaving from Venice and staying in a hotel for a day that would be OK ????? 

Yes absolutely.  I don’t know why so many people are struggling with this.  I was tested on a Friday morning at 9:30 am.  I boarded the koningsdam at approximately 1:30pm the following Sunday.  When the staff looked at my paperwork no one batted an eyelash.  Easy peasy.

[Florida_gal_50]

8 hours ago, roxybear135 said:

We are also on this cruise and saw on the news today that Mexico has just changed its policy to allow cruise ships with covid aboard to dock. Passengers can get off the ships as long as they’re not showing symptoms. So hopefully we don’t have any issues in Mazatlán or puerto Vallarta. https://abc7.com/amp/mexico-cruises-covid-passengers-with-virus/11399252/
 

So far we’ve been having a good time but have found service to be pretty slow (we’re in club orange and dinner took over 2 hours last night which was frustrating). It seems that the ship may be understaffed (for example, tonight we went to the comedy show at BB Kings and it was packed but there was only one waiter taking drink orders). We only received chocolates on our bed last night. 
 

Also, we were originally in room 6130 which had the worst engine noise I’ve ever experienced on a cruise. It sounded like someone was hammering in our room all night and kept us up. Guest services was quick to accommodate our request to a different (and thankfully quiet) room but just a warning to anyone who may be booked in that room. 

I found the service in club orange to be very uneven.  One day it was great, the next day they were chasing their tails.  I ate there every morning for 2 weeks.  I only ate there twice at night and it wasn’t busy either night.

[Copper10-8]

49 minutes ago, GTVCRUISER said:

I hope they let you guys  get off the ship in Mazatlan , my favorite place in Mazatlan is Stone Island 

 

Yes Sir, K-dam got cleared for its pax to go ashore in Mazatlan about 40 min ago, so that's 2 for 3 (Mex ports), one to go 🙂