Koningsdam California Coast Nov 18th Review

[cbr663]

Thought I would share my thoughts on our 7 day Koningsdam California Cruise, Nov 18th - 25th.  Overall it was a great cruise.  HAL though really needs to do something about its lack of onboard activities and entertainment.

 

Pre-Cruise and Embarkation

 

With air travel being so unreliable, we flew into San Diego a couple of days prior to the cruise.  It has been nearly 20 years since we had been in San Diego and it was like touring the city again for the first time.  

 

We stayed at the US Grant hotel and had a wonderful experience.  The hotel is close to the Gas Lamp District and only a 15 minute walk to the cruise terminal.  Food and service were exceptional.  We had the very best breakfast I have ever had in the Grant Grill.  Dinner was also delicious and the desserts were top notch.  Service was impeccable - water glasses and coffee cups were filled constantly and the food was delicious.  The room was tastefully decorated and very comfortable.  The bed was quite high and on the plush side.  Hallways are well lit and wide and one thing I appreciate is a hotel that understands that its hallways are part of the experience and not an after thought.  A solid 5 star hotel.

 

We also walked to Little Italy and had lunch at The Crack Shack Fried Chicken.  It was really good and we really enjoyed it after our long plane ride.  The Gas Lamp district appears to be suffering from the negative effects of the pandemic and this seems to be a challenge for many world cities.  We also walked to the Seaview Village and it was a nice way to spend a morning.

 

We booked Club Orange for this cruise and had an assigned check on time of 11:20 - Group B.  We wanted to avoid the long lines and hustle and bustle of embarkation of getting through it and then sitting inside with hundreds of other passengers while waiting to board the ship.  So we left our hotel at noon and walked to the cruise terminal.  People were lined up behind their designated time waiting to board but we were able to walk right in.  With CO we were also moved into the priority line and got through security and check in fairly quickly and success - we were able to walk right onto the ship.

 

Those who like to show up earlier than their assigned time might be interested to know that a HAL rep told me that prior to commencing with check-in the lineup was back to The Midway and it was clear to see that if you showed up prior to your assigned time you were directed to another line to wait for your time.

[cbr663]

Embarkation Day

 

After embarkation we spent most of the afternoon sanitizing our cabin, unpacking and making lunch reservations for the PG.

 

At 6:30 we decided to go to CO for dinner and was surprised to be greeted with a long line up from the MDR stretching back past the CO dining room and lots of people in a line up for CO and generally standing around all over the place.  When we finally got to the head of the line for CO we learned that there was a 90 minute wait for a table.  Apparently the CO dining room was empty until about 6:15 and then 20 groups showed up one after the other.

 

Without any other solution being offered, as I wasn't about to wait 90 mins for a table, we left and made our way to the CO line at Guest Services.  The Attendant there was kind enough to make a few calls and within a few minutes we were escorted to the MDR to a table for 2.  The Attendant also told us that she would alert the Hotel Manager of our issue.

 

The next morning at CO breakfast I explained to the hostess that while we were thankful that we were escorted to the MDR so quickly and the food and service were great, we prefer the CO dining room due to my wearing a hearing aid.  We were assured for the rest of the cruise that we would be accommodated in the CO dining room and we didn't have to wait any at all in the CO dining room throughout the rest of the cruise.

 

I truly don't understand why embarkation day is always such a zoo, but it continues to be.  It just seems like so many people need to get to the same place and the same time.  

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing.

[cbr663]

Food & Dining Service

 

Overall, the food on this cruise was good.  There were the expected hits - like the short ribs, rib eye steak and prime rib and, unfortunately, some notably misses.  And like the food, service was overall good, with some hits and misses.

 

We really enjoy a good breakfast and the CO breakfast overall was quite nice.  Being able to order exactly what you wanted was always a treat.  Eggs were served hot and well prepared.  The first CO breakfast we had a delicious bacon that was a wonderful change from the regular bacon.  Sadly, it did not last and on the second day the regular, thinly sliced bacon was back.  Oh well, when life throws you thin bacon you order English Bangers and English bacon.  

 

Since the pandemic we are trying to avoid the lido and buffets.  We booked lunch at the PG for our 2 sea days and was surprised by the poor experience.  Such started out great with the crab cakes and grilled shrimp bruschetta, but the mains weren't that great.  The bun used for my wife's cod burger was simply too thick and too much bread and my fillet with scallop potatoes was not hot.  The wait staff seemed to be buzzing all around and yet no one came to check on us.  I decided to not send the meal back and we ate around it.  The plates were quickly taken away and before dessert was served I was asked for my cabin card to complete the bill.  The bill arrived with our desserts and I the brownie and my wife the strawberry pavlova.  The brownie was okay but my wife's pavlova was way overbaked and dry right through.  Again, no one came by to check on us and it was only at the very end of the meal when our waiter was clearing the table that he noticed that my wife did not eat her dessert and asked if everything was alright.  We told him no, the dessert was overbooked and dry and he apologized and offered to bring her something else.  We said no and simply left.  We then headed directly to Guest Services and cancelled our second PG lunch.

 

That evening in the CO I ordered the rack of lamb with rosette potatoes and again the dish was served not hot.  The potatoes were actually cold.  Frustrated, I got the attention of a waiter and it was taken away and replaced.  This time they heated the plate.  Sadly, the potatoes were still cold.  I ate the lamb and left the potatoes.  The CO hotels came over to speak with us to make sure everything was okay and I did share with her my cold potatoes.  She offered to get more and I declined as the rest of my meal had been eaten by then.  I did notice as the cruise progressed that other tables around us in CO were sending food back for being not hot.  Honestly, in most cases I think it was because the food wasn't being served quickly enough.

 

Wanted to add also that one day for lunch we decided to partake in a burger at Dive In.  The burger was great but when I asked for fries with cheese sauce and dive in sauce they poured cold, and I mean just from the refrigerator cold, sauces over the hot fries.  The Pizza though was always hot and we enjoyed ordering from the app and then going to pick it up.

 

A common theme with the dining staff is a lot of hustle and bustle but they seemed to be going through the motions.  There were actually only a couple of instances in which the wait staff would return to our table to inquire if everything was okay.  One morning we were escorted to Rudi's for breakfast and the service was disappointing.  Two waiters had 3 tables, - 1 table of 4 and 2 tables of 2 and yet, people at the other tables were having to get up from their table to request items.  If you are ever in CO and offered to have breakfast in Rudi's, you may want to give it a second thought.

 

Luckily, the not hot food was only a couple of times for us and the rest of the meals were great.  

 

I mentioned in another post that the new Cakes made their appearance on the last sea day, noon, in the lido.  They were surprisingly quite good.  I had the carrot cake and my DW the red velvet, although we found the frosting on the red velvet a little too sweet for our tastes.

[oaktreerb]

I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed your time in San Diego

 

The first night outside the MDR open dining is always a mess.  I’m surprised that you would have had to wait 90 minutes for a table in CO. You handled that issue perfectly.  I would not have thought to go to the CO line at Guest Services.  We’ve had CO on our last 5 cruises and never had to wait more than 15 minutes for a table in CO,   

[oaktreerb]

Club Orange has become quite popular recently.  On our last two cruises, one to Hawaii and a Pacific Coast cruise we thought HAL had sold too many CO “memberships”.  In November’s Pacific Coast cruise we thought the CO dining room staff was very efficient.  Maybe they have had staffing changes.  

 

We have learned that if your meal is served on an orange plate it comes from the CO kitchen.  Otherwise the plated meals come from the MDR kitchen, maybe the reason for the temperature variations.   

 

 

[cbr663]

1 hour ago, oaktreerb said:

Club Orange has become quite popular recently.  On our last two cruises, one to Hawaii and a Pacific Coast cruise we thought HAL had sold too many CO “memberships”.  In November’s Pacific Coast cruise we thought the CO dining room staff was very efficient.  Maybe they have had staffing changes.  

 

We have learned that if your meal is served on an orange plate it comes from the CO kitchen.  Otherwise the plated meals come from the MDR kitchen, maybe the reason for the temperature variations.   

 

 

When we went to the CO Guest Services it was mentioned that CO was oversold for the cruise.

[cbr663]

Entertainment & Onboard Activities

 

Sadly, entertainment and onboard activities is for us the key area where HAL is lacking.  The dance shows were enjoyable.  Personally, I preferred Move to Humanity, but I wouldn't miss either.  We had seen them in May on our Alaska cruise and it was good to see them again.  That's enough for now though.  🙂

 

The comedian and magician show were your typical cruise show.  The magician was new to HAL and in Week 2 of his contract so I think he is still working at getting his sea legs.  I am sure it will get better as time goes on.

 

The live music this trip just wasn't that great.  The Rock group was anything but rock and played their rock songs so slow that I wanted to yell out, "speed it up."  The Piano group reinforced the false stereotype of HAL attracting older folks by belting out Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and Buddy Holley.  I wanted to remind them that songs from the 1950s are from 70+ years ago.  The BB Kings - well, they were loud and we didn't recognize anything they were playing so we kept on walking.

 

We had enjoyed the Rock Group on our Alaska cruise and the BB Kings have always been a favourite of ours in the past.  I am guessing it simply comes down to the calibre of the entertainers at the time you are on the ship.

 

One day I looked at the Daily List and said to my DW, remember when this was on a much larger sheet of paper, both sides were full and you practically needed a magnifying glass to read it as the font was so small?  Now it has lots of white space, larger font and ads and it still struggles to fill a smaller page.  There simply wasn't a lot to do throughout the day.  The casino was full at night (and yes, quite smokey).

 

The library is a lovely addition.  A wonderful place to sit and read.  There are some comfortable chairs in there (I think only about 6 though) and we spent a couple of hours there reading.  I noticed a lot of couples brought a deck of cards with them and were playing cards throughout the ship.  Others brought board games.  So, if you are going, you need to be prepared.

 

This cruise reminded us a lot of a Celebrity cruise we had taken many years ago.  If you didn't like drinking, we didn't find there was much to do on the ship.  This cruise re-enforced for us that we need a lot of port days.

[cbr663]

Ports

 

The cruise started in San Diego and we really enjoyed our time there.  We walked to Little Italy, the Gas Lamp, Seaview Village, up the waterfront to the cruise terminal and of course, all the streets around our hotel.  The daily highs were about 73 - 74 and those are perfect temps for this Canadian.  We spent so much time walking San Diego that we were exhausted every night.  It was a good thing.

 

Avalon, Santa Catalina Island was a wonderful surprise.  It was a tender port and when the waves calmed a little we went ashore.  It was very clean and a very beautiful port and so easy to walk around with lots of shops and eateries.  Many people rented the golf carts to tour the island.  It was great to visit a port that didn't have a Diamonds International in sight :-).

 

We had a wonderful day in San Francisco.  Even though we had an overnight in this port, we didn't arrive until 6:00 pm and I am never that confident exploring a new city after dark.  The, "You don't know what you don't know" always comes to mind so we decided to wait until the next day to get out and explore.  We took advantage of the Hop On Hop Off tour.  I know, it is such a touristy thing to do.  I've enjoyed them in other cities and enjoyed this one also.  We got off at the Ferry Terminal to explore, got to learn of the history of the city and its beautiful architecture, got to go across the bridge and hopped off at Ghirardelli Square for some must needed shopping.  We then decided to walk back to the cruise terminal along Fisherman's Wharf.  We stopped in Boudin's (thank-you @LAFFNVEGAS) and had a wonderful afternoon.  Lots of walking in a beautiful city.

 

We arrived in Ensenada, Mexico with RDF - Rain, Drizzle and Fog.  It did put a bit of a damper on the day.  We didn't really plan much for this port as HAL didn't offer much in shore excursions so when the weather cleared we went ashore and walked around.  It was a quick walk.  I was a little surprised that HAL didn't offer a port map like it use to.  Guess those were another cut.

[cbr663]

The Koningsdam

 

The Koningsdam is the first of the Pinnacle Class ships and is still in good condition.  There are subtle signs of wear though throughout the ship (the CO chairs are showing lots of wear) and I did notice some rust here and there.  Nothing out of the ordinary but I was a little concerned with rust around the inside of our cabin balcony door.

 

Our cabin was one of the triangle verandah cabins that can be found on the corners of the bump outs.  Although the extra space is on an angle, it does make the cabin feel so much larger than a regular verandah cabin.  A tip for those thinking of this cabin.  Make sure that you book the cabin with the balcony opening facing forward.  Some of these cabins have the balcony opening facing back on the ship and should you book this cabin your view forward will be completely blocked by the verandah portion.  

 

One thing that I really enjoyed was that the verandah cabins came with the 100% wool lap blankets.  We like to spend a lot of time on our balcony and the wool blankets help extend that time.  I was so disappointed during our Alaska cruise to find out that the Neptune Suites lap blanket had been switched to a polyester fleece HAL branded blanket.  I don't know who thought that a blanket made from petroleum was an upgrade from a 100% natural fibre wool?  In case you haven't yet surmised, I wasn't pleased with the NS lap blanket on our Alaska cruise and yes, I provided that feedback to HAL.

 

We had neighbours who did their laundry in their cabin and hung their wet clothes on the hangers to dry on the balcony.  All day long while we were on our balcony we had to listen to the clang and bang of the wooden hangers smashing in the wind.  Please remember that for safety reasons you should not be hanging your wet clothes on your balcony, especially when the ship is under sail.  There is a clothes line in the shower that is best for hanging wet clothes.

 

One last thing that was really noticeable for us - the smell of perfume/scent was very noticeable.  The Elmes products are very fragrant and it is very noticeable throughout the ship.  It is one thing that I notice often when we travel to the US that there seem to be so few scent free environments.  I really wish HAL would do more to encourage a scent free environment on its ships.  More than once I found myself in a coughing fit due to the amount of scent in the environment.

[cbr663]

Disembarkation

 

As we were disembarking in San Diego having sailed from Mexico we were all required to meet with US Immigration to have our picture taken prior to disembarking the ship.  The instructions were as clear as mud.  Being CO though, we did read that we could disembark whenever we liked and to basically attend the Immigration process whenever we liked.  We thought we would follow the group not requiring assistance and go early.  Well, let me tell you.

 

We were required to meet at the World Stage on Deck 2.  We walks down the stairs at the rear of the ship near the MDR and the lineup was back to the MDR.  We just said the heck with this and went to CO for breakfast.  The lineup just kept getting longer and longer and was snaking back up the hallway toward the World Stage.  People were there will luggage and bags, a no-no.  Luckily once it started it moved quite quickly.

 

We enjoyed our final breakfast in CO and when we could no longer see the end of the line we left for our turn.  The line was about half way down the hall.  We moved quickly and then returned to our cabin to pick up our bags.  We were surprised to see that the cabin was already being readied for the next cruise with the bed changed and the cabin partially cleaned, even though it was clear that we had not vacated the cabin.

 

When we were ready we were able to grab an elevator and walk ashore.  A heads up to anyone boarding in this port - the gangway for embarkation and disembarkation was quite steep and anyone with mobility issues may have issues with it.  

 

A quick taxi to the airport and we began our flight back to Canada.

[cbr663]

Final Thoughts

 

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise.  We continue to learn more and more about what we look forward to when travelling so we are better able to fine tune our travels.  We have discovered that for us the itinerary is very important.  We find sea days boring on HAL and we are ever so glad that we cancelled our British Isles cruise when itinerary changes meant more sea days and two sea days at the end of the cruise.  I have also been debating about taking the ABC islands cruise on the Rotterdam and now know that it has too many sea days for us.

 

We don't have any future cruises booked at this time and we didn't bother to purchase any more FCD while onboard.  We have looked ahead and we don't see a lot of itineraries that appeal to us.  HAL really needs to up its entertainment and onboard activities.  For me, I don't need to spend money to be on a cruise to watch a movie or read a book - I can do that from the comfort of my own living room.

[HappyInVan]

I agree with the observation about too many CO pax. I'm on the NS. On the first night, my dinner took 2 hours. Presented myself at 6:30pm. Waited with the pager for 15 minutes. Waited 25 minutes for my order to be taken. The staff  were running around. Not nice for the diners.

 

I'm thinking  of MDR or room service. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by HappyInVan

[cbr663]

11 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

I agree with the observation about too many CO pax. I'm on the NS. On the first night, my dinner took 2 hours. Presented myself at 6:30pm. Waited with the pager for 15 minutes. Waited 25 minutes for my order to be taken. The staff  were running around. Not nice for the diners.

 

I'm thinking  of MDR or room service. 

 

I also noticed that the CO wait staff are quite busy.  I wonder why though?  On the Koningsdam there are 19 tables in CO.  Most are 2 people at a table.  Every evening there was a CO hostess at the door, who, when not welcoming and seating people was constantly clearing and setting up new tables and visiting the tables to make sure things are great.  

 

There were 2 gentlemen in blazers who appeared to be some sort of leadership role (please forgive me, I don't pay much attention to all the different staffing levels in a restaurant) and 4 - 5 wait staff and a drink staff filling all alcoholic orders (as she would have to leave the CO to go to a bar to fill the orders).  So 9 staff for 19 tables.

 

I did notice that the wait staff appeared to be all over the floor.  In a normal restaurant wait staff would have a certain section, but this didn't appear to be the case in CO.  Several times we were seated in the far rear of the dining room and our waiter also tended tables toward the front of the dining room.  It just seemed to me that it would make more sense if the waiter would have been assigned the 4 tables in the rear only.  

 

They are very busy, no doubt.  It just seems that in their busyness they are going through the motions.  It was only a couple of times that we had wait staff anywhere on the ship return and ask us if everything was okay.  The normal process was to sit, fill water glasses, ask if having wine, take your full order, place the appetizer and return to simply remove the plate, place the entree and return to remove the plate and place the dessert and return to remove the plate.  We learned quickly that if you wanted a tea or coffee with dessert you had better order it when they take your order else you would be waiting a long time for it.  

[AFNavigator]

17 hours ago, cbr663 said:

Our cabin was one of the triangle verandah cabins that can be found on the corners of the bump outs.  Although the extra space is on an angle, it does make the cabin feel so much larger than a regular verandah cabin.  A tip for those thinking of this cabin.  Make sure that you book the cabin with the balcony opening facing forward.  Some of these cabins have the balcony opening facing back on the ship and should you book this cabin your view forward will be completely blocked by the verandah portion.  

Our last cruise on the NS, we had an aft facing angle verandah cabin.  We loved it.  The aft-angled balcony didn't catch the wind that a forward-angled balcony would when the ship is underway.  We primarily got the angle balcony cabin because the desk normally at the foot of the sofa-bed is relocated to be beside the bed (in the added angle section).  That made it easy to walk past the sofa-bed when it was in use by our son.  I think the angle adds about 35 sq ft to the cabin floor space and it makes the balcony about 2 feet wider than a standard side-facing balcony.  We also liked that you get a wider angle view from the angled balcony.  The one drawback to the angle is other cabins can see the outer half of your balcony--if that's a problem for someone, they may want to avoid this configuration.

[cbr663]

1 minute ago, AFNavigator said:

Our last cruise on the NS, we had an aft facing angle verandah cabin.  We loved it.  The aft-angled balcony didn't catch the wind that a forward-angled balcony would when the ship is underway.  We primarily got the angle balcony cabin because the desk normally at the foot of the sofa-bed is relocated to be beside the bed (in the added angle section).  That made it easy to walk past the sofa-bed when it was in use by our son.  I think the angle adds about 35 sq ft to the cabin floor space and it makes the balcony about 2 feet wider than a standard side-facing balcony.  We also liked that you get a wider angle view from the angled balcony.  The one drawback to the angle is other cabins can see the outer half of your balcony--if that's a problem for someone, they may want to avoid this configuration.

We enjoyed the angled verandah cabin quite a lot.  The extra space was quite noticeable and appreciated.  This was our first time sailing in a verandah on a Pinnacle Class ship and I will be looking at these cabins again moving forward.

[HappyInVan]

1 hour ago, cbr663 said:

 

I also noticed that the CO wait staff are quite busy.  I wonder why though?  On the Koningsdam there are 19 tables in CO.  Most are 2 people at a table.  Every evening there was a CO hostess at the door, who, when not welcoming and seating people was constantly clearing and setting up new tables and visiting the tables to make sure things are great.  

 

 

The problem is that CO does not require reservations.  So, it's subject to surge demand. 

 

The first night, everyone rushed to take advantage of what they paid for. The bottleneck is their kitchen. The waiters slow down the order taking when the kitchen is bogged down. Then, rush to deliver the plates as they come out of the kitchen.

 

Tonite, it's dressy nite. I'm sitting outside CO and the pace is normal. Looks like the crowds have moved to the MDR and the bar. There's also the Captain's Welcome. So, more pax dining early.

 

That's why they have to limit the number of CO members, or require reservations on some nights.

Edited November 27, 2023 by HappyInVan

[Roz]

@cbr663, thank you for your comments and observations.  

 

I debated whether to write a review after my September Alaska sailing on HAL, but didn't for fear of being skewered by those for whom HAL can do no wrong.  I'm in my 70s, but find myself aging out of HAL due to lack of onboard activities (adult coloring and knitting basics, really?) and overall lackluster entertainment. I've never been on a cruise with so many passengers using mobility devices, to the extent that they created problems in public areas. While I'm upright and able, I'd prefer to sail with a more active and energetic passenger contingent.  I may have been born in the 1950s, but I don't limit my entertainment choices to music, plays, and performers from that era.  When I see posts on this board looking for swing bands instead of rock bands, I know I'm on the wrong line.   

[OlsSalt]

Roz, your points are very valid but since this was also a combined  and longer late season cruise, I think attracted a very different passenger base. Very much an older and less mobile crowd.

 

Two weeks Alaska late September plus one week Coastal Calif was a 21 day cruise - that does not attract those who still work, or families, or even those looking for more of a warm weather outdoor cruise. Much of Alaska had already closed down.

 

I also  think  passenger base had a lot more who had done Alaska many, many times.  Along with those who chose not to cancel the California segment,  after losing two of the more desirable ports at the last minute - Monterey and Santa Barbara, and getting San Pedro and Catalina instead. 

 

All of this did combine to make it a very low key cruise and  many just stayed on the ship and enjoyed the less active joys of cruising - leaving the cooking and cleaning to someone else and not even bothering with many of the repeat ports. Plus a very early  to bed crowd too. 

 

It was more a "repositioning" cruise which do tend to offer fewer bells and whistles too.  Yes, this is a HAL cheerleader talking here, but one who is also moving more into just cruising to be on the ship rather than our former go-go-go destinations cruiser so it worked for us.

 

Loved Valdez as a new Alaska port,  but that was as low key as possible.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

@cbr663 I totally agree with everything you wrote and your cruises mostly mirrors our Koningsdam cruise. 

Just my personal opinion is a lot of this is the Pinnacle Class Ships and how they are managed.

Oddly to my shock in September on the Westerdam everything was so different from our previous HAL cruise which had been Rotterdam in July 2022. Dining Room was a pleasure with a Main Server and an Assistant Server. When we were on our recent Koningsdam and spoke with Crew many admitted they wanted to go back to the Vista Class ships.

I remember reading a few months ago and I could be mistaken but the number of crew on the Pinnacle Class ships was the same as it is for the Vista Class Ships yet the Pinnacle Class has 700+ more passengers and several more dining venues that need to be serviced such as Rudi's, Club Orange and the NY Deli and Pizza. They are just spreading crew much thinner. There were no Assistance servers in the MDR and things we asked for were seldom remembered.In 13 days we will be n the Nieuw Statendam this time we have Club Orange so we shall see.

 

 

[cbr663]

1 hour ago, Roz said:

@cbr663, thank you for your comments and observations.  

 

I debated whether to write a review after my September Alaska sailing on HAL, but didn't for fear of being skewered by those for whom HAL can do no wrong.  I'm in my 70s, but find myself aging out of HAL due to lack of onboard activities (adult coloring and knitting basics, really?) and overall lackluster entertainment. I've never been on a cruise with so many passengers using mobility devices, to the extent that they created problems in public areas. While I'm upright and able, I'd prefer to sail with a more active and energetic passenger contingent.  I may have been born in the 1950s, but I don't limit my entertainment choices to music, plays, and performers from that era.  When I see posts on this board looking for swing bands instead of rock bands, I know I'm on the wrong line.   

 

I'm sorry that you didn't feel confident enough to share your review.  I understand your hesitation though.

 

I agree with you that the entertainment overall is lacking.  I didn't want to be one of the HAL passengers who are lamenting HAL from the past, yet I do remember not that long ago when the list of Daily Activities was so long and so varied that you would have decide which activities were more important as activities times would conflict.  That doesn't happen anymore.

 

Lots of people seemed to enjoyed the music venues.  I have too in the past, it's just on this ship the performers weren't that great for me.  For many of the songs they were clearly out of tune.  On our Alaska sailing the Rolling Stones Rock Room was packed with people out in the hallways - this sailing it was never full when we stopped by.

 

Your comment about adult colouring made me smile as yes, it was offered.  :-).  I must admit that I was struck by the number of couples and people playing cards to pass the time.  And I understand that for some people, being on a ship and playing cards works for them, just like some people enjoy lounging around the pool all day long.  That is not for us.  We are active early retirees and while I am not looking for the go carts and climbing walls I would like a little more on the ship.  There are only so many times you can walk around the Promenade deck each day.

[cbr663]

41 minutes ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

@cbr663 I totally agree with everything you wrote and your cruises mostly mirrors our Koningsdam cruise. 

Just my personal opinion is a lot of this is the Pinnacle Class Ships and how they are managed.

Oddly to my shock in September on the Westerdam everything was so different from our previous HAL cruise which had been Rotterdam in July 2022. Dining Room was a pleasure with a Main Server and an Assistant Server. When we were on our recent Koningsdam and spoke with Crew many admitted they wanted to go back to the Vista Class ships.

I remember reading a few months ago and I could be mistaken but the number of crew on the Pinnacle Class ships was the same as it is for the Vista Class Ships yet the Pinnacle Class has 700+ more passengers and several more dining venues that need to be serviced such as Rudi's, Club Orange and the NY Deli and Pizza. They are just spreading crew much thinner. There were no Assistance servers in the MDR and things we asked for were seldom remembered.In 13 days we will be n the Nieuw Statendam this time we have Club Orange so we shall see.

 

 

Lisa, I will be looking forward to your review of your upcoming cruise.  It certainly does appear that they are spreading the crew so thin on the ships.  We had the same room steward on this ship as we did when we were in Alaska and he remembered us fondly.  On the last full day I stopped him in the hall and asked if we would be receiving our CO tote.  He said he would get it for us.  But I waited until 9:30 pm that night and no tote arrived so I went to CO Guest Services to request it.  No way would it show up in our cabin the next morning which was disembarkation day.  

[Boatdrill]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:43 AM, cbr663 said:

We then headed directly to Guest Services and cancelled our second PG lunch.

Just curious as to why you didn't cancel your second PG lunch with the host/hostess when you left the  PG ?  

[Boatdrill]

3 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I remember reading a few months ago and I could be mistaken but the number of crew on the Pinnacle Class ships was the same as it is for the Vista Class Ships yet the Pinnacle Class has 700+ more passengers and several more dining venues...

Koningsdam Crew/Pax: 1036/2650

Westerdam Crew/Pax: 812/1964 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

5 minutes ago, Boatdrill said:

Koningsdam Crew/Pax: 1036/2650

Westerdam Crew/Pax: 812/1964 

While this is what is published on websites such as Cruise deck plans below is what was given to for our little Journeys Booklet.