Live from Konigsdam on a Pacific Coastal

[Colorado Klutch]

Well, thank you for your frank reviews, DrKoob. Unfortunately, my heart is sinking as I'm getting ready to fly to Vancouver tomorrow to board Koningdam Saturday. (Four ships in port on Saturday, so I'm sure it will be Apocalyptic.)

This will be my first cruise. It took a long time to convince my wife to try a cruise. If it's anything like yours, it will be our last. 

[Colorado Klutch]

4 minutes ago, Darfun said:

Next cruise will definitely ask for assigned dining.

 

I booked my cruise in early January and, at that time, assigned dining was completely sold out. The waiting list for early dining was full. I didn't see any point in getting on the waiting list for late dining. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Colorado Klutch

[tlc1972]

16 hours ago, Coolcruise02 said:

I would have to hear from one of their passengers as to what they experienced.

 

I can only relay what happened at San Diego and it was HAL employees (with name tags) who were misdirecting people and did not check that people in line were on the right ship or had correct boarding times. They had no clue on basic procedures.

As someone who embarked NCL at Vancouver pre-pandemic, and as Haven guests, it was just as much of a nightmare for us.

 

Trust me, I wanted to blame NCL for the chaos (and maybe get a little OBC), but there were three other ships embarking that morning/afternoon that ended up pushing our embarkation time back further and further. We didn't end up getting on the ship until about 7:30 pm and after waiting in lines for nearly four hours...and we were lucky, as we heard some guests didn't board until closer to 10:00 pm. 

 

I think it's both on port and the cruise line to figure this one out. If a cruise line is selling an itinerary from a small, yet busy port, than they do bear some responsibility, especially if guests lose that first day onboard (as we did). At the same time, the port needs to figure out how to run safely and efficiently. 

[DrKoob]

49 minutes ago, Colorado Klutch said:

 

I booked my cruise in early January and, at that time, assigned dining was completely sold out. The waiting list for early dining was full. I didn't see any point in getting on the waiting list for late dining. 

Totally agree. We could have chosen early dining when we booked but four of our party booked later and couldn't get it so we reverted to Select. From what I am hearing about the Dining room, we aren't missing anything. Had breakfast there today and that's a story for tomorrow.

[terrydtx]

9 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

Totally agree. We could have chosen early dining when we booked but four of our party booked later and couldn't get it so we reverted to Select. From what I am hearing about the Dining room, we aren't missing anything. Had breakfast there today and that's a story for tomorrow.

We have had anytime dining since HAL began offering it. Yes, there is always a line when the MDR opens between 5:00 and 6:00pm. I have seen people get in line 30 minutes or more before the MDR opens but we prefer to enter the MDR between 6:30 and 7:00pm and not once have we waited over 10 minutes for a table. Now I agree a table for 8 may be a whole different story.

Edited May 4, 2023 by terrydtx

[Fairgarth]

2 hours ago, DrKoob said:

At 11:30, the crew member showed up and started taking reservations. I was thrilled that I was second in line until she told the couple that was first in line that there were no reservations available for Select Dining before 8:30 pm for the balance of the cruise. It seems that on the first day of the cruise (while we were getting on), they allowed folks to reserve dining times for the entire week. So today, there was nothing available to reserve until late. 

 

Just to clarify, did you need a table for eight?  Would that have made a difference?  So when you boarded the ship, it was already too late to get any reservations in the MDR for the entire voyage.  What on earth is HAL up to?  In 20 cruises, we have never had a situation where we had to wait till 8:30 in the MDR.  We are booked on Koningsdam for 10th June but I'm not liking the reports I have seen so far.  But, OTOH, may I say a heartfelt 'thank you' for your honest and detailed reports.

[DrKoob]

5 hours ago, Laminator said:

I read somewhere that there is not a dedicated GE line at the Vancouver port. We are also boarding on the 20th and are in an NS plus are 4*. I am curious what our assigned boarding time will be. 

Not sure what you mean by a "GE" line but there were signs with arrows for 4 and 5 Star Mariners so hopefully they got to board earlier. I never begrudge anyone their loyalty status. After 25 cruises with Celebrity they took ours away by giving them to everyone for free. 

[Cruising-along]

1 hour ago, DrKoob said:

Not sure what you mean by a "GE" line but there were signs with arrows for 4 and 5 Star Mariners so hopefully they got to board earlier. 

Yes we did, as I said in post #47. We boarded and were in our cabin by 12:30. 
 

[Skorpora]

1 hour ago, DrKoob said:

Not sure what you mean by a "GE" line but there were signs with arrows for 4 and 5 Star Mariners so hopefully they got to board earlier. I never begrudge anyone their loyalty status. After 25 cruises with Celebrity they took ours away by giving them to everyone for free. 

GE is Global Entry, more commonly referred to as Nexus in Canada.  And, yes there is a Nexus line in Vancouver.

[Florida_gal_50]

The koningsdam is a hot mess.  In November I mentioned the line ups for the dining room to basically be told it wasn't true. I can't believe they ran out of dessert.  How much are people eating?  

[Florida_gal_50]

9 hours ago, Darfun said:

The embarkation in Vancouver was terrible. But we only waited like 1.5 hours and we were on the boat. Which is surprising to say I was happy with 1.5 hours considering embarkation at other cities is a breeze. Line at the MDR has been terrible and the worst I’ve ever seen. On the 2 cruises I took last year on the koningsdam they were nothing compared to the cruise.

 

Waiting 30-45 minutes to get a table at the MDR is horrible and unacceptable. Next cruise will definitely ask for assigned dining. The wait for food at the MDR has been longer then I’d like but not terrible.

 

This cruise is sold out so this should be the worst you’ll ever experience. But still not what I’m used to compared to my other HAL cruises. 
 

Im still enjoying this cruise and having a good time. I’m finding there are a lot of rude passengers. Maybe that comes with this being a short 5 day cruise and one of the first cruises out of Vancouver where a Covid test isn’t needed. 

Try an overcapacity Thanksgiving cruise. That's what it was like last November.

[curtdesilets]

Embarkation: Could be a bit of both for this ship, in terms of blame.  We recently sailed with her twice out of San Diego again with a dreaded Princess ship simultaneously. The Port Staff and the HAL staff were overwhelmed.  One of those sailings was also during "Navy Week", thus the port was uber crowded and a ton of Port staff were attending to other things.  I say,  pack your patience.  Vancouver however is notoriously slow if there is more than one ship in port.    

[xlxo]

I too was in that Monday embarkation congestion... additional tips.

 

- if you can't afford the Neptune/Pinnacle suites, nor have 4 star mariner status.... serious research joining Club Orange. You get priority boarding access at the terminal.  You get priority debarkation access.  You also avoid some of the long lines at the MDR and Lido, without paying for specialty restaurants.

- if you have troubles standing in long lines, seriously consider getting a wheelchair.  Staff at the terminal and airport are trained to give such passengers priority access.

- do you have Nexus or a member of trusted traveler program, you get sent into a priority customs line

- I've learned to avoid showing up at the cruise terminal during the "hotel dump" (ie noon) where passenger volumes are the highest.

 

Embarkation for me was one hour and I was the first one to enter the Koningdam lobby to enjoy the lemonade for 20 minutes before boarding.

 

I think I could have made it shorter to 45 minutes if someone directed me to the right line for P2 elevator luggage drop.  Pre-covid, luggage drop was at cruise ship level, but they turned that it a taxi pickup area.

 

Oh Saturday debarkation will not be a 3 ship day.  It's scheduled to be a 4 ship day.

 

- Koningsdam

- Volundam

- Grand Princess

- Ocean Victory

 

If taxi line is long, consider doing a luggage drag outside the terminal a few blocks away for pickup.

 

Airport passengers may want to take the Canada Line (subway) to the airport.  There is no $5 surcharge to use the Canada Line to the airport.

Edited May 5, 2023 by xlxo

[DrKoob]

3 hours ago, Skorpora said:

GE is Global Entry, more commonly referred to as Nexus in Canada.  And, yes there is a Nexus line in Vancouver.

We have Nexus. Have for more than 10 years. Didn't see any Nexus line in the mess we were in. Not surprised though, no signage, no people giving direction. Just use a machine and hope for the best. And if it didn't work, then go see someone.

[visagrunt]

Canada Place was designed at a time when the check-in process was:  1) security; 2) customs; 3) check-in, and the typical passenger capacity of ships was less than 2000.  A heavy day in 2013 might have seen 5000 embarking passengers.  A three ship day in 2023 can see double that number. 

US Customs now mandates that both check in and security happen before customs which means that the exhibition rooms in the convention centre now need to be used for check-in--a function that they were never designed for, and for which the passenger movement had to be reinvented. 

Furthermore, the United States requires that every single one of the thousands of passengers goes through a choke-point after the passport readers.  That legally mandated face to face encounter while a passenger hands over the slip from the passport reader sets the pace for the entire embarkation process.  It might only take a few seconds, but when you multiply that by the number of passengers to be screened, the time adds up.

It is fervently to be wished that the United States will introduce technologies like Mobile Passport Control at the pre-clearance station in order to accelerate this process.  

[babelfish]

On 5/3/2023 at 12:57 PM, DrKoob said:

And here is day two...when things went bad...and have only gotten worse.

Well, we are on our way. As I write this, I know I won’t be able to get it online until tomorrow in Ketchikan, and I am not even sure I will be able to do that. YEAH! I WAS! We are sitting in Ketchikan right now.

Embarkation

So, let’s get this out there right now. After 35 cruises, this was the WORST embarkation we have ever experienced. To be honest, I am not sure who to blame here, but they better fix it soon. It could be Holland America’s fault, or it could be the management at Canada Place. Either way, it was horrid. 

I went out around 10:00 am (or should I say down) from our room on the 14th floor of the Pan Pacific to find out the best way to drop luggage and get into the lines to get on the ship. I had really good luck because I got some inside knowledge about dropping luggage from a very nice Canada Place employee. So Brian and I went down to Parking Level 2 and dropped our bags. If we hadn’t done that we would have gotten into the check-in line, had to wait in that line to go down an elevator, drop off our bags and then get in another line to go upstairs and check in. At that point, we thought we were getting ahead of the system. 

 

Check-out time at the hotel was noon, and our “listed boarding time” was 1:00 pm. We decided to go down to the hotel lobby at noon, and Brian and I would go down and scout out the best way to get in line and see if they were holding people to their assigned times. We discovered that we could go ahead and get in line right then. It looked like we would just go up an escalator and be off to check-in. We couldn’t tell what was beyond the escalator, but we could see others coming down and heading off to what we thought was a line to get on the ship. We couldn’t go up the escalator and come back down without going through the process, so we went back to get Kathleen and Michelle. 

Then we walked all the way down, got on the escalator and went up. By then, it was about 12:15. When we got to the top of the escalator; we were taken out into a hallway where we had to get in a line that ended way back in the lobby of the hotel…where we had just come from. We literally could have taken an escalator to the ground floor and gotten in line. At one point, this line went all the way out to the street. That's the length of one and a half cruise ships.

 

I didn’t want Kathleen standing through that long line, so I suggested to her and the others that they step outside and sit on a bench and that I would stay in line and text them when I was close to the door it looked like we would go through. It was VERY warm in this confined hallway waiting in line, and it moved sloooowwwllllyyy—inches at a time. Part of the problem was that there were three ships embarking that day, and people kept getting in the wrong line, so the line kept growing. 

After about 40 minutes, we finally reached a door where we thought (hoped) we would get checked in and get onboard. But just like waiting for rides at DisneyWorld, there was an entire other room with winding back-and-forth queues. We spent another 35 minutes or so getting through this room and then had our picture taken by HAL (even though we had submitted one in their app), and they confirmed that it matched our passports. Once we were done doing that, we were sent down the other side of the escalator. We had come in on to what we hoped would be the ship…but that was not to be. 

We were funneled into a room with airport-like scanners to have our carry-on luggage scanned and to walk through metal detectors. To get to the detectors, we waited in another line (with people from all three ships) for at least 40 minutes, hoping against hope that when we got through that line, we could get onboard. 

 

But it was not to be. Once through the scanners, we found another large room with around 15 lines going up and down to get us to Canadian/US Customs. It took us about 40 minutes to get to the front of that line where there were machines you shoved your passport into, and then it created a little receipt-like sheet of paper that you handed to the Customs person as you exited that room. 

When we finished that, we were told we could board the ship. But we still had a way to walk. So far, we had traversed the length of Canada Place (a building long enough to have two big cruise ships docked next to it) at least twice on two different floors. We walked about the ship’s length back to where we could board Konigsdam, and someone asked us for our boarding passes (after all this—where else could we have come from), and we had to bring them up on our phones again. (Next time, I am printing them out and pinning them to my shirt.) It felt like I was asked for them and my passport about 25 times. Notice, I said it felt like. Probably only 24.

 

Once we got past that guy and got on the gangway, we were up and almost on the ship, but again…we were asked for our boarding pass…come on, people…talk to each other. 

 

Total embarkation time—THREE HOURS and 15 MINUTES! We got in line at 12:15 and got on the ship at 3:30. I should also mention that Konigsdam was supposed to sail at 3:00. Glad they didn’t. We didn’t end up sailing until after 5:00. The captain announced it was because we were parked in by the Princess ship behind us, but I am sure the truth was that about half the 2,900 passengers on this ship were still being processed. 

 

We will admit that we were spoiled. On our last cruise with Viking, we embarked in Athens, Greece. We were picked up by the Viking bus and taken to the port. We got off and walked through a single metal detector, had our bags scanned and walked onboard. Less than 15 minutes from the bus door to being sitting down to a glass of rosé in the restaurant. 

 

I am hoping that all this is because this was only the fourth day of ships leaving from Canada Place in 2023 and that things will get improve…soon. They better improve or people will stop sailing from Vancouver. 

 

Here are a few things that would have made this better that you might want to know if you are sailing from Vancouver. First, I made the mistake of checking my rolling bag. I should have taken it on board with me. Not that our bags got lost. We were in line for so long that when we finally got on board, not only was our stateroom ready, our bags were on our bed. But because I had thought that it wouldn’t take too long to get through check-in, I checked my carry-on-sized, wheeled luggage. And that meant that I had to carry my computer/camera bag on my shoulder for more than three hours. Just an FYI: fully loaded it weighs about 15 pounds. Today my shoulder is really wishing I had kept the rolling bag so I could have just pulled the camera bag on it like I usually do.

 

Another tip for getting through the lines quicker is to bring a cane or be with someone with a cane or crutches. Our buddy Bob had brought one with him (that he borrowed)probably just to hit me with it, and when an attendant saw him, she whisked him and Judy off to the front of the line. It really didn’t help that much since he only got on about 30 minutes before we did. Another trick is to be fairly high in Holland America’s loyalty group, the Mariners. We are two-star, but you don’t start getting priority bookings until you are four or five-star. Lastly, if you book a Neptune suite, you get right in a different line, and you get to board first so no one is ahead of you.

 

Let’s close this sad story with one piece of advice for everyone. If they say you can board at 1:00 pm, get in line at 10:00 am. You might get on by 1:00. Pay no attention to the boarding time they give you. No one else does.

 

On board the Konigsdam

We kind of know this ship. Long-time readers of this blog know that we sailed on her sister ship, Nieuw Statendam (NS), back in January of 2022 down in the Caribbean. Konigsdam was the first ship in the Pinnacle Class of Holland America ships, and NS was the second. They are virtually alike, with NS having some tiny improvements. 

The biggest differences between us were two things. First, on NS, we had a Neptune Suite. If you forget what that was like, you can see a video of it by clicking here. It is the largest stateroom we have ever been in at sea. On this ship, we have the basic verandah stateroom. The Neptune Suite is HUGE. Massive king-size bed, huge verandah, full desk, full-size couch and the bathroom…oh, the bathroom. This is the best comparison that I am sure of; our entire bathroom on this cruise would fit into the shower of the Neptune Suite. Seriously. Queen-size bed, miniature couch, tiny desk, barely any room to get around the bed. (Photos of our stateroom are below.) 

 

We are truly spoiled. In our last three out of four cruises, we had either a suite (on NS) or two of the most amazing staterooms in the world—Celebrity’s Flora and Viking Ocean’s Penthouse Verandah. Both are almost twice the size of the stateroom I am writing this post in. 

 

The other reason our NS cruise was so much better…the number of people on board. This morning we spoke to the cruise director here on Konigsdam, the delightful Bettianne. She just happens to have been our cruise director on NS as well. We told her facetiously that we thought the ship was a touch more crowded now than when we had sailed with her last in 2021. She reminded us that she had warned everyone on NS that it would probably never be that way again. You see when we sailed on NS, it was when restrictions were starting to loosen up from the pandemic. Masks and vaccinations were still required. This ship holds 2,700 people when fully sold out. That’s just about what we are sailing with now—2,700 people. But back in January 2022, no one except the really brave was out there sailing, so when we did that cruise, there were only 900 people on board. It was like having your own private ship. Combine that with having a Neptune suite, and this is a totally different experience.

 

Food

Pre-cruise, Our travel agent had booked all eight of us reservations at two (of the four) specialty restaurants on board. It’s really hard to get a reservation for eight. In fact, much to my disdain, they were only able to put us at two tables for four next to each other in the first place we went to last night. Ticked me off because there were many tables for two. They could have slid together so we could all be at the same table. It also meant the only nights they could accommodate us were the first night and the last night. 

 

So last night we went to Tamarind, Konigsdam’s Asian restaurant. We had eaten there twice on NS with our buddy Seth, who worked for HAL then. Both times on NS, everything about it was superb. And I am thrilled to say the same is true on Konigsdam. Outstanding food, outstanding service, great cocktails and one thing was even better…our server told us we could have as many appetizers as we liked. We all ordered two! Plus, I got each table an order of lobster rolls from the sushi restaurant that is part of Tamarind (sushi is NOT part of the one price for Tamarind; you pay for that separately—but it is a great price. Eight rolls for $7.95) and they are soooo good.

That was it for me. A couple of the group went to BB King’s Blues Club, but we were wiped out from the waiting in line (and for me, the six-mile photo walk at 5:00 that I posted pictures from yesterday). We went back to the stateroom, and we were out like lights. 

 

More coming your way tomorrow.

 

[babelfish]

Thanks much for your report, though it is daunting to say the least.  We are sailing on the Koningsdam twice this summer and I sure hope they can at least smooth out a few of the many 'wrinkles' you've commented on.  We have always chosen to cruise from Vancouver rather than Seattle when we've had the choice as it has gone so smoothly in the past.  It appears that's definitely not the case now!  The last time we were on the Koningsdam was very enjoyable, though she wasn't full like now.  I do have a question about her, post-refurbishment--have they converted the Microsoft Studio to a library?  We were on the Rotterdam last summer and really enjoyed the well curated library.  Thanks.

[newbe4]

Hello Babelfish,

I got off the Koningsdam May 1. First, the getting off the ship was a nightmare and we missed our flight. But that is another story.  I plan to write a review of our 18 day circle Hawaii trip this weekend.

 

To answer your question, the refurbishment to the Crows Nest in my opinion is nice.  The tables from the Microsoft Studio were brought up to the Crows Nest to create an Art Studio.  Everyday different classes were offered. Coloring for adults or children, two different classes. Water coloring, calligraphy, and for $25 acrylic painting. Melissa was the young women who led all of the classes.  She is delightful.

 

I do not know what was done with the Microsoft Studio space.  In the Crows Nest is a space for a "library"  it is basically a shelving unit with books.  It was full by the end of our cruise. I left two books there.  There is also a large wall unit with games and puzzles and new table to play games in the area.

 

I enjoyed spending time there.

[Lido deck main]

4 hours ago, DrKoob said:

We have Nexus. Have for more than 10 years. Didn't see any Nexus line in the mess we were in. Not surprised though, no signage, no people giving direction. Just use a machine and hope for the best. And if it didn't work, then go see someone.

 Nexus is first line.  Never a wait .  There is a sign for Nexus.  All the backup for the other people is U,S. Customs.  Also regarding the Dive In, you can preorder on the navigator App. 

[DrKoob]

Koningsdam Day 4-Prince Rupert

 

Every time I think that things will get better, they get worse. So many bad things have happened that I can’t remember if I have already written about them or if I still have to. I have to say I have not talked to a single person on this cruise that is happy about it. Not one.

 

And I feel so bad for the crew. They are working as hard as they can, but they are HUGELY understaffed and HUGELY overworked. Having talked to some crew members, they work 11, 12 and sometimes more hour shifts. Everything to do with food is being manned by fewer people than they would normally have. Here’s how the end of yesterday and today went.

 

I posted early this morning, but I think I forgot to mention that we had a comedian who performed last night in the BB King venue, and he was pretty funny. The place was packed, and there were lots of people standing around the edges. He did two shows, we were at the first one, and the laughs were quick and numerous. See, there’s something positive.

 

We did dinner at the buffet, where only one side was open. That meant there were no seats on that side of the room, so we sat on the other and walked back and forth. I ate what I call my “not willing to stand in line” menu. I would get anything that I didn’t have to stand in line behind ten people to get. Not much selection in that lineup. 

 

I have not mentioned how HAL is handling the buffet. In about 85% of the buffet, you cannot serve yourself. There is a plastic shield preventing you from doing that. In 15%, there are tongs and a space to reach through for a roll or a small sandwich. The only problem is that if you get a roll and want butter, you must get in line to ask for the butter. Or (like I did last night) I grabbed a sandwich and then took the same tongs to reach a little further back for potato chips and was quickly scolded by the person behind the counter that I was not allowed to reach that far and if I wanted chips with my sandwich, I would need to get behind the 11 people in the line. I was welcome to as many sandwiches as I could eat, but not the chips. Go figure.

 

Breakfast in the Main Dining Room

This morning, against my better judgment, Bob talked us into going down to try to get into the dining room for breakfast. We had not eaten any meal in there as of yet and really wanted to see what it looked like. So we went down expecting a long wait. Lo and behold, we were second in line and ushered to our table at 8:10. Keep track of that number; it’s important 😜.

At 8:40, we were still waiting for water and coffee and had not had a waiter stop at our table for anything. Judy was coughing and really needed water, and Bob pointed out that there were water pitchers on a table behind me. So I grabbed one and poured us all some water. Before I could set the pitcher back down, a waiter grabbed it from me. He finished pouring and went and brought us back to carafes of coffee, one with decaf for Bob and the other for the rest of us. Sadly, they were lukewarm and became cold pretty quickly. 

 

The server came back about five minutes later to take our orders. He told us that it might take a while since they had just had a big group of people come in, and there were a lot of orders coming in. By this time, it was close to 8:55. I really wanted to point out that if he had taken our orders when we came in, we would have had our food by then, but I didn’t. I want to point out that this situation was NOT HIS FAULT! He was covering a lot of other tables, and the food was NOT coming out very quickly. We knew we would be waiting a while for the food to come back because the tables near us had been seated before we were, and they didn’t have food yet, either. 

 

The food finally showed up at about 9:20. This is where it really gets good. Kathleen had ordered buckwheat pancakes, and they were OK but not hot. Just lukewarm. Judy had ordered banana pancakes, and as you can see from the photo above, they came with exactly THREE slices of banana on them. I asked her if there were any mixed into the batter, and she said, “No, these are just buttermilk pancakes with three slices of banana on top." 

 

Bob and I had both ordered the same thing—the ham and cheese scramble with hash browns, and I also ordered an English muffin. Now wouldn’t you think that a “scramble” would have the eggs scrambled into them? You know, scrambled eggs? No, when Bob moved aside the tortilla chips that were, for some reason covering his “scramble,” there were two (kind of) soft-boiled eggs on top. When I moved mine back…there were two hard-boiled eggs on top. That is NOT a scramble. It just isn’t. The ham, cheese, green bell peppers, onions and potatoes looked great, but the entire dish was dry without the scrambled (or poached, soft-boiled or any other kind of egg other than hard-boiled) eggs.

Not being willing to eat hard-boiled eggs, I called another waiter over and asked them to take them back and get me some scrambled eggs in my scramble. He did, and miraculously within about 5-7 minutes. But one small problem. The veggies and ham that were on the bottom were not cooked. Basically raw. The scrambled eggs were on top, and they were almost raw, very runny. And the cheese? Nowhere to be seen. It has probably run off with the hash browns and English muffins because they weren’t there either. So I pushed the veggies and ham aside and ate the wet eggs. Just as I was finishing them, out came two servings of hash browns. One was cooked almost well-done, and the other was close to raw. 

 

We just gave up at this point as the coffee was cold, and it was obvious that my English muffin had gone to HAL food heaven with Bob’s Dive-In hot dog. I hope they are doing OK together. We left the dining room at 9:50 according to Kathleen's recollection. 

 

HAL rips off everyone on the ship…or at least attempts to

So after this wonderful breakfast, we decide to go and check out scenic Prince Rupert. Regular readers of this blog know that I walk a lot. My daily walk is always between four to eight miles. Kathleen, on the other hand, is not a big walker. She has a few things that make it difficult for her to walk long distances, and she can’t keep up with me. When we do go out together in a port, I try to walk slower so we can stay together, but she knows it is driving me crazy…but we make do. This also means that we like to tour by tram or bus. 

 

So today, we get off the ship, and there is a tram that takes you around Prince Rupert. Super! When we go to buy tickets, we are asked for our sea pass card. Now this is NOT a HAL excursion. Anyone can walk up and take it. But once they knew I was off the ship, they wanted my sea pass and would not take cash. So I gave the woman the card, and she wrote us a receipt. She had told me the trip around town took 90 minutes, and the cost for us would be $59.95. She handed me the receipt to sign, and I was SHOCKED to see it was $59.95 EACH! For a 90-minute tour around a very small town. We decided to skip that. 

 

Then we started talking to a couple of local people who worked for the tram service, who were only too glad to fill us in on what was going on. It seems that HAL (and all the other Carnival Corp lines who stopped here) were buying out all of the trams for the days they have ships in port. Then they set the price for that day for everyone. Even if you happen to drive to Prince Rupert and want to take the tram, you pay the price set by the cruise line that is in town that day. He said the day before when Princess had been there, the price had been $69.95 per person. I don’t know about you, but this is just WRONG as far as I am concerned! They buy out the entire set of 15 trams (the only ones in town) to be able to charge their own customers more. Shame on them! 

 

And later on, when I went out walking on my own, I passed one of these trams and saw them stopped in front of a house with the driver pointing at the house. That’s cool. Then as I went past him, he moved up one more house and started talking about that one and the people who had lived there. I walked another 300 yards to the corner where I was going to turn and looked back, and he had pulled up two more houses and was doing the same thing all over again. You see, I think Prince Rupert must not have that many things to show people who are from out of town, so they probably tell the guides/drivers to take as long as you can describing things to stretch this out as long they can. I am fully willing to hear from anyone who took this tour that it was a good value. 

 

I also want to point out that when we got off the ship, there was not a single vendor selling any kind of tour. No boats, no helicopters, no airplanes, no taxis. Nothing near the port. The collusion between the city and the cruise lines is really evident here in Prince Rupert.

 

Lunch on board Koningsdam in Prince Rupert—how sweet it ISN'T!

After we had tried to go out (we did walk around for a short time), we came back to the ship; I changed into my walking shorts and a tee shirt and went out to do my four miles. Had a very nice walk as the weather was uncharacteristically (we were told by a local) beautiful and sunny. And then, when I came back, I had to again…stand in a 20-minute line to get back on the ship. We took our grandkids to Walt Disney World in February, and we were told by Disney that it was the most crowded four days in the park’s history. We have stood in more lines to get places on this ship than we did there. And at least at WDW, they give you something interesting to look at while you wait in line. 

Once I was back, we went up and got a sandwich/slice of pizza on deck 10 (above the buffet, next to the indoor/outdoor pool). Got it pretty quick (which was awesome), but then we both felt like something sweet afterward (I had missed my English muffin at breakfast, remember?), so I went down to check out the desserts in the buffet. Above is the list of the desserts they had on offer today. Below is a picture of the actual desserts that were available directly below the sign. This was the only place to get sweets (except for a small ice cream station serving two flavors of ice cream with a line of at least 15 people waiting at all times) on the entire buffet. This is the second day in a row that this has happened. Nothing there for some time before the meal is set to be over. At the point I took this photo, they still had more than an hour before the time the buffet was scheduled to close. I did walk by a little later, and they were putting out a few apricot tarts, but as soon as they were out, a swarm of people grabbed them all. Ah, the hoarding of desserts.

They did get me to spend money on gelato again. HAL has been doing really well getting me to spend money on extra stuff. Besides the gelato, I have purchased meals in specialty restaurants (which have been really great so far) on four of the five nights of this cruise. We are eating in Canaletto (the family-style Italian place) tonight and Rudi’s (Fish house) tomorrow night, the last night of the cruise. 

 

 

It's after dinner as I am finishing up this post; we are back in our stateroom. I have succumbed to the lure of a reduced-cost WiFi package and picked up the last three days of the cruise for around $25 US. Worth it to be able to check some things going on with Kathleen's estate stuff and a medical appointment I have coming up, plus I get to post the rest of the way.

We had a very nice dinner at Canaletto, and we all ate way too much. When we had been on Nieuw Statendam with my brother and his bride, we had thought the food was kind of weak in Canaletto, but it is much improved here on Koningsdam. So far, we have eaten in three of the four specialty restaurants, and we have had great food, efficient and friendly service and wonderful experiences. I just told Kathleen, "This is where HAL is putting their experienced waiters and cooks—the specialty restaurants. Where they make money." Again, that's pretty sad, but I believe it's true.

 

If you want to see this review with more photos, drop by www.jimbellomo.com

 

 

[DrKoob]

5 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

 Nexus is first line.  Never a wait .  There is a sign for Nexus.  All the backup for the other people is U,S. Customs.  Also regarding the Dive In, you can preorder on the navigator App. 

Sorry. There was no line for Nexus. Everyone was in one line that was funneled through the passport machines. We had our Nexus cards in our hands looking for someplace to use them. The only person you could ask was one poor man trying to help people with machines. There was one man helping and 20+ machines. No wonder it was going slow.

 

They turned off Dive-In preorder at 11:30. They were so swamped.

[DrKoob]

9 hours ago, visagrunt said:

Canada Place was designed at a time when the check-in process was:  1) security; 2) customs; 3) check-in, and the typical passenger capacity of ships was less than 2000.  A heavy day in 2013 might have seen 5000 embarking passengers.  A three ship day in 2023 can see double that number. 

US Customs now mandates that both check in and security happen before customs which means that the exhibition rooms in the convention centre now need to be used for check-in--a function that they were never designed for, and for which the passenger movement had to be reinvented. 

Furthermore, the United States requires that every single one of the thousands of passengers goes through a choke-point after the passport readers.  That legally mandated face to face encounter while a passenger hands over the slip from the passport reader sets the pace for the entire embarkation process.  It might only take a few seconds, but when you multiply that by the number of passengers to be screened, the time adds up.

It is fervently to be wished that the United States will introduce technologies like Mobile Passport Control at the pre-clearance station in order to accelerate this process.  

Well explained sir. I would also like to say that HAL could have avoided this entire thing by not scheduling a stop in Ketchikan and gone to Nanimo or Victoria. Then there would have been no need for Customs at all.

[DrKoob]

6 hours ago, newbe4 said:

Hello Babelfish,

I got off the Koningsdam May 1. First, the getting off the ship was a nightmare and we missed our flight. But that is another story.  I plan to write a review of our 18 day circle Hawaii trip this weekend.

I am very interested in discovering why getting OFF the ship was a nightmare. You were coming from Hawaii, but I know you stopped the day before you got off in Victoria. Didn't you clear Canadian Customs there? We are planning on walking off the ship and our car is parked at the pier. Interested to why we would be held up once they get us off.

[*Miss G*]

10 hours ago, DrKoob said:

We have Nexus. Have for more than 10 years. Didn't see any Nexus line in the mess we were in. Not surprised though, no signage, no people giving direction. Just use a machine and hope for the best. And if it didn't work, then go see someone.

 

6 hours ago, Lido deck main said:

 Nexus is first line.  Never a wait .  There is a sign for Nexus.  All the backup for the other people is U,S. Customs.  Also regarding the Dive In, you can preorder on the navigator App. 

 

For what it’s worth, there was no NEXUS/GE line when we boarded in Vancouver.  I asked the roaming CBP Officer where it was and he said they didn’t have one that day.

 

Also, FWIW, having priority boarding (NS & Pinnacle Suites, 4+5*, CO) didn’t make one bit of difference with regard to the Security and US Customs & Immigration lines.  All passengers on all ships were sent to Queue Hell.

 

@DrKoob, I think you have a good suggestion with regard to pre-clearance.  Cruise lines should change their itineraries to a Canadian port, first, and have CBP process passengers for US entry onboard or at a US port.  They are causing far too much havoc and frustration at the Port of Vancouver.  They do the same at the Toronto pre-clearance center too.

[DrKoob]

15 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The koningsdam is a hot mess.  In November I mentioned the line ups for the dining room to basically be told it wasn't true. I can't believe they ran out of dessert.  How much are people eating?  

It is not that they are taking too many desserts. It's that there are two few crew working the kitchen. They just can't keep up. And many of the people working in the buffet are new. They have no clue what they are doing or what they are serving. It's just sad.