Live from Konigsdam on a Pacific Coastal

[Fairgarth]

17 hours ago, Colorado Klutch said:

Showed up at MDR at 6:30 PM and asked for a table for 5. We were seated immediately. Service has been great. So sorry the OP had such a lousy experience.

 

Now that is really weird.  On the previous departure, Dr. Koob reported on his day 1 that there were no reservations available earlier than 8:30 for the entire cruise.  Why would one week be so different from the next?

[Florida_gal_50]

12 minutes ago, Fairgarth said:

 

Now that is really weird.  On the previous departure, Dr. Koob reported on his day 1 that there were no reservations available earlier than 8:30 for the entire cruise.  Why would one week be so different from the next?

I find reservations are very hard to come by and they seem to be very limited.  Some of the  crew is not very knowledgeable either. My recent cruise was not on the koningsdam.  I called to make a reservation and i was told either 5 or 8:30 IIRC. The guy told me there was only 2 seatings in open which is ridiculous.  I said to him you are thinking of fixed and he dismissed me and at that point i gave up. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I find reservations are very hard to come by and they seem to be very limited.  Some of the  crew is not very knowledgeable either. My recent cruise was not on the koningsdam.  I called to make a reservation and i was told either 5 or 8:30 IIRC. The guy told me there was only 2 seatings in open which is ridiculous.  I said to him you are thinking of fixed and he dismissed me and at that point i gave up. 

 

My only experience with HAL was a B2B2B on the Rotterdam last February, but maybe this is the answer.  Guests on the previous cruise that are B2B cruisers can book dining long before you get on the ship and can take up most of the prime time options.  It didn't seem fair but that was how it worked on the Rotterdam.  Once the system was explained to me, I made it work for the last two cruises.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

My only experience with HAL was a B2B2B on the Rotterdam last February, but maybe this is the answer.  Guests on the previous cruise that are B2B cruisers can book dining long before you get on the ship and can take up most of the prime time options.  It didn't seem fair but that was how it worked on the Rotterdam.  Once the system was explained to me, I made it work for the last two cruises.

I bet this is true because I've made reservations at specialty for the next cruise before the first is over.  I tend not to do that for the mdr though because the mdr usually isn't my first choice unless there is a dish I really enjoy.

[terrydtx]

40 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

You will have a great time. I wrote about the problems so you could avoid them. Avoiding Canada Place will help you. Fixed dining would also help. By that time the crew should be much better trained. There are so many things we could have done had we known how bad it was going to be,

We never do fixed dining on any cruise ship, early is too early for us and late is way too late for us to enjoy our dinners. I have heard that boarding in San Diego isn't much better than Canada Place, but I believe and hope having Club Orange will fix most of the errors for us in November.

 

Nothing like long lines on and off the ship to make a cruise less enjoyable. We get on the Celebrity Equinox in FLL next month, but we avoid the long check in lines in FLL by booking in  Retreat suite with Celebrity. I remember several years ago waiting in line in 90 degree heat to get on a cruise ship in FLL with no suites or loyalty priority boarding.

[terrydtx]

36 minutes ago, Fairgarth said:

 

Now that is really weird.  On the previous departure, Dr. Koob reported on his day 1 that there were no reservations available earlier than 8:30 for the entire cruise.  Why would one week be so different from the next?

With anytime dining you do not need a reservation to dine, just show up on your time. We have never had any unexpected waits for a table when we show up after the 5-6pm rush is seated (in the 6:30-7:00 window) and not once have we made a reservation for anytime dining in the MDR.

Edited May 7, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, BellKat said:

I’m DrKoob’s (Jim’s) wife Kathleen. We mostly followed the rules and paid for it. Our onboard time was one pm. We thought we would head to the line around noon. Imagine our shock at seeing the lines and then watching how quickly they doubled. If we had waited until one, who knows what time we would have gotten on the ship. My daughter & her husband accompanied us - this was their first and LAST cruise. Left a very bad taste in their mouth. Lines, lines, lines! Poor Brian geared himself up for another 3 hour wait just to get off. To our surprise, we were HOME in 3 hours (Redmond, WA). 

 

Just remember also - you spent most of that time in line with 2 other cruise ship passengers. 

I believe part of the problem with Vancouver leading to overcrowding and made worse by understaffing, is that many people from the east coast and the mid west fly in for the cruise easily the morning of the cruise. They then go directly to the cruise port from the airport ignoring their assigned boarding time, jamming up the terminal. In July 2019 when we boarded the Noordam in Vancouver, our party flew from DFW at 9:30am to Vancouver the morning of the cruise embarkation. We usually like to fly in the day before or two for a cruise but hotel prices anywhere close to Canada Place cruise terminal were outrageously expensive. We got to the terminal at noon and it took us 2 hours to get boarded, the worst of any cruise to date for us.

Edited May 7, 2023 by terrydtx

[Hogladyrider]

I have read several reviews with horror stories of boarding in Vancouver.  From what I have read the port is not handling multiple ships boarding in port on the same day well at all.  Long lines and long boarding times.

 

Someone who was a "turnaround passenger" got off in Vancouver for a few hours and was directed into the line with boarding passengers and then asked someone else and was redirected to board via staff entrance.  Sounds like the port in Vancouver needs some organization for sure.

[Ipeeinthepools]

After all of these horror stories, I'll never book a cruise from Vancouver.  

[Florida_gal_50]

35 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We never do fixed dining on any cruise ship, early is too early for us and late is way too late for us to enjoy our dinners. I have heard that boarding in San Diego isn't much better than Canada Place, but I believe and hope having Club Orange will fix most of the errors for us in November.

 

Nothing like long lines on and off the ship to make a cruise less enjoyable. We get on the Celebrity Equinox in FLL next month, but we avoid the long check in lines in FLL by booking in  Retreat suite with Celebrity. I remember several years ago waiting in line in 90 degree heat to get on a cruise ship in FLL with no suites or loyalty priority boarding.

Actually San Diego hasn't been too bad the last couple years but they have enforced boarding times. Don't know if that will continue.  In November they let too many people go in at once in a group.  This was the week before Thanksgiving. There was nowhere for people to go trying to get off the escalators and people were getting knocked over like bowling pins.  I was in the first group to board but luckily I was ahead of that. A little bit of care could have prevented that. 

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

After all of these horror stories, I'll never book a cruise from Vancouver.  

The problem is if you want to cruise the inside passage and go south to North or North to south between Vancouver and Whittier you have to use Vancouver as embarkation or debarkation. Most cruises from Seattle are round trip and they cruise in the Pacific west of Vancouver Island and miss the beautiful inside passage. I hope by later in the season the workers in Canada Place have their act together better than this week of opening the Alaska season.

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Actually San Diego hasn't been too bad the last couple years but they have enforced boarding times. Don't know if that will continue.  In November they let too many people go in at once in a group.  This was the week before Thanksgiving. There was nowhere for people to go trying to get off the escalators and people were getting knocked over like bowling pins.  I was in the first group to board but luckily I was ahead of that. A little bit of care could have prevented that. 

For our San Diego cruise we are spending the night before at the Hilton Embassy Suites, about a 5 minute walk to the cruise terminal. Hope we get at least an 11am boarding time with CO.

[Ipeeinthepools]

4 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

For our San Diego cruise we are spending the night before at the Hilton Embassy Suites, about a 5 minute walk to the cruise terminal. Hope we get at least an 11am boarding time with CO.

 

We don't sail on the Koningsdam until February, I'll be looking forward to hearing about any boarding tips for San Diego.

[Ipeeinthepools]

15 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

The problem is if you want to cruise the inside passage and go south to North or North to south between Vancouver and Whittier you have to use Vancouver as embarkation or debarkation. Most cruises from Seattle are round trip and they cruise in the Pacific west of Vancouver Island and miss the beautiful inside passage. I hope by later in the season the workers in Canada Place have their act together better than this week of opening the Alaska season.

 

That's ok for us.  We did a round trip out of Seattle a couple of years ago and we don't really have any burning desire to go back to Alaska.  It was nice but for us it was one and done.  We'll avoid Vancouver for other trips to Hawaii or other Pacific cruises.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Ipeeinthepools

[highscar]

Ya no wot.    Sure I don’t want a huge wait to board, but,  I’m cruising and that’s the bottom line    Yeah.  

[sunviking90]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I find reservations are very hard to come by and they seem to be very limited.  Some of the  crew is not very knowledgeable either. My recent cruise was not on the koningsdam.  I called to make a reservation and i was told either 5 or 8:30 IIRC. The guy told me there was only 2 seatings in open which is ridiculous.  I said to him you are thinking of fixed and he dismissed me and at that point i gave up. 

Yes, we had that frustration last year on the Zuiderdam. When we are cruising alone we don’t mind dining at 5 so are able to get reservations easily, but we were with my sister and her DH and they didn’t want to dine that early. Tried to get reservations at 6:30 and always told only 5 or 8:30. “As You Wish Dining” is really As THEY Wish! I know some will say just show up at 6:30 and wait a bit, but I am a planner an need things set. I don’t like uncertainty as to when I’ll get a table or if I’ll get a table. I have generally found the dining hosts lately on HAL very rigid, and not at all focussed on pleasing the passengers. A big contrast to the positive experiences we’ve had recently on Princess and Celebrity.

[terrydtx]

20 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

We don't sail on the Koningsdam until February, I'll be looking forward to hearing about any boarding tips for San Diego.

Tip: Get Club Orange before it is sold out.

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 minute ago, terrydtx said:

Tip: Get Club Orange before it is sold out.

 

Please stop giving out this tip.  😉

[Florida_gal_50]

10 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Yes, we had that frustration last year on the Zuiderdam. When we are cruising alone we don’t mind dining at 5 so are able to get reservations easily, but we were with my sister and her DH and they didn’t want to dine that early. Tried to get reservations at 6:30 and always told only 5 or 8:30. “As You Wish Dining” is really As THEY Wish! I know some will say just show up at 6:30 and wait a bit, but I am a planner an need things set. I don’t like uncertainty as to when I’ll get a table or if I’ll get a table. I have generally found the dining hosts lately on HAL very rigid, and not at all focussed on pleasing the passengers. A big contrast to the positive experiences we’ve had recently on Princess and Celebrity.

I'm a planner too and it's hard for me to stand in one place for too long so that's another issue. While I eat stupid early at home since I get up so early for work my sweet spot on holidays is 6pm.  For me 6:30 is verging on too late.

[Florida_gal_50]

8 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Tip: Get Club Orange before it is sold out.

No, you don’t want to do that, it’s terrible 😛😉🤪.

[oaktreerb]

5 hours ago, DrKoob said:

We would have done fixed dining. Really wish we had. When four of us booked we could still do that. When our other four joined us, they could not. It was full so we pulled out and went to Select. I think you will be much better off with fixed.

If you were dining as a group of 8 I am pretty sure the Maitre’d would have assigned a fixed table for you, even in the open dining room if you planned to eat at the same time each evening.   Sorry your experience was not what you had hoped for.  It never hurts to speak to the person in charge if you feel that your needs are not being met.  I’ve sailed a lot on HAL and expressed my displeasure in person a few times.  There is usually a solution if you speak to the responsible employee.

[Ipeeinthepools]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Tip: Get Club Orange before it is sold out.

 

Do you know if there is a way to find out if Club Orange is available without your TA calling HAL?

[Darfun]

Was this the best cruise I’ve been on, no. Did I enjoy it, absolutely. No only do I have a cruise booked for next year out of Vancouver but I also put a deposit down for another cruise. Definitely will continue to cruise with HAL

[LAFFNVEGAS]

7 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Do you know if there is a way to find out if Club Orange is available without your TA calling HAL?

No way unless you call into HAL, even a TA would have to call in to see if still available for a particular sailing. The department that handles it is the same department that handles the Upsell offers/same phone number.

[Coolcruise02]

5 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Actually San Diego hasn't been too bad the last couple years but they have enforced boarding times. Don't know if that will continue.  In November they let too many people go in at once in a group.  This was the week before Thanksgiving. There was nowhere for people to go trying to get off the escalators and people were getting knocked over like bowling pins.  I was in the first group to board but luckily I was ahead of that. A little bit of care could have prevented that. 

We cruised out of San Diego in February on the Koningsdam  and the embarkation was horrible!!