Hawaiian Holiday 🎄🍾 LIVE from Koningsdam Dec 21-Jan 6: join me for my 1st solo cruise & 1st inside cabin!

Crew News · January 2

1 minute ago, VMax1700 said:

Guys, quick geography lesson.......Denmark is not Holland. Danish is not Dutch. HAL has no connection with Denmark. The ships are registered in Holland. The accession of the Danish monarchy has no relevance, so why would the captain of a Dutch registered ship mention it?

FWIW The Dutch king, Willem-Alexander's birthday is April 27th and a very big deal aboard HAL ships.

kluv2cruz · January 2

1 hour ago, Crew News said:

Note that each diner receives EVERYTHING on the menu. Giant sampler plate. An enjoyable experience but very filling.

Any idea of cost?

VMax1700 · January 2

13 minutes ago, Crew News said:

FWIW The Dutch king, Willem-Alexander's birthday is April 27th and a very big deal aboard HAL ships.

Yes, we have been on Koningsdam on Koningsdag. There was not so much of a big to do, but it was mentioned and there were a few Dutch treats on the menus.

Crew News · January 2

31 minutes ago, kluv2cruz said:

Any idea of cost?

$35 and Mariner discounts did not apply.

3.2k · January 2

On 1/1/2024 at 4:39 PM, Haljo1935 said:

Question - have you read enough about the "stuff" and want more happy talk? Or do you want to know when things go sideways?

I'm asking because we're in this together and I want to give an accurate representation of this cruise, but I don’t want to bring anyone down with the negative news.

So, let me know where you sit on the Real-O-Meter.

I want to know the good, the bad and the ugly! It will help me plan for my cruise next January.

Happy New Year!

Haljo1935 · January 2

Bye bye, holiday decorations 😢

Florist is holding a table where the gingerbread village once stood.

This was the focal point, but it was all lovely and very detailed.

Difficult to capture the entire display from the front.

Here's from one end

Haljo1935 · January 2

Many officers and senior crew were lined up greeting passengers as we entered the MDR for the Mariners Lunch. They were lined up at both doors and into the dining room - very nice welcome.

Numbers were for certain passengers to sit at specific tables.

Officers had reserved assigned seating; this is the Director of F&B.

Menu

Captain gave a champagne toast🥂 thanking Mariners for helping them get through the pandemic - he's happy to see so many back on HAL cruising again and said he appreciates us saving their jobs. It was a nice toast and nice lunch.

trishbk · January 2

Thank you again for the food porn. Looking forward to our Jan 30 Hawaii cruise

Mary229 · January 3

!

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

Many officers and senior crew were lined up greeting passengers as we entered the MDR for the Mariners Lunch. They were lined up at both doors and into the dining room - very nice welcome.

Numbers were for certain passengers to sit at specific tables.

Officers had reserved assigned seating; this is the Director of F&B.

Menu

Captain gave a champagne toast🥂 thanking Mariners for helping them get through the pandemic - he's happy to see so many back on HAL cruising again and said he appreciates us saving their jobs. It was a nice toast and nice lunch.

I need to quit skipping that luncheon. That looks like a great lunch. Last time I went to one of those it was pressed Turkey

Edited January 3 by Mary229

Haljo1935 · January 3

Hawaii tourism department wants to hear from me! Sounds exciting, doesn't it? I received this 2 page survey the other day; today I found the box 📦 to drop it off. So, I guess I should read through it to see what they want to know.

Some people got them loose in their mail drops; others, myself included, got them in an envelope with our cabin numbers.

The survey results are to be confidential, but since it doesn't indicate the survey itself is, I'm sharing the survey questions with you.

And, of course, the picture of the 📦 in case you want to drop yours off.

Invitation

Front page

Back page

sunviking90 · January 3

46 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

!

I need to quit skipping that luncheon. That looks like a great lunch. Last time I went to one of those it was pressed Turkey

Yes, we hadn’t been to one in years, but attended last month and were pleasantly surprised. The food made it worth attending.

Haljo1935 · January 3

48 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

!

I need to quit skipping that luncheon. That looks like a great lunch. Last time I went to one of those it was pressed Turkey

Oh, girl, how do you keep cruising? Pressed turkey and no $2.36 port credits...

POA1 · January 3

On 1/1/2024 at 3:59 PM, jeh10641 said:

I hear the HAL is 100% Starlink now for internet.

JIM

Yes. It's quite good.

oakridger · January 3

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I need to quit skipping that luncheon. That looks like a great lunch. Last time I went to one of those it was pressed Turkey

56 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Yes, we hadn’t been to one in years, but attended last month and were pleasantly surprised. The food made it worth attending

I haven't gone to one in years either and the menus from 2022 were pretty bad too. It's great to see that HAL has upped their Mariner Luncheon game in the last six months based on postings I've seen on Cruise Critic! I will attend on my next cruise in May. 🙂

~Nancy

Haljo1935 · January 3

Sun getting serious about setting east of Hawaii

Bow Cam view

Aft Cam view

oaktreerb · January 3

On 12/31/2023 at 7:35 PM, Haljo1935 said:

Oh no, my friend, you did not 🫣

Things had been relatively quiet, just an occasional yip here and there; although, other pax reported hearing them. Then 2 nights ago about 545pm as I opened my door to leave, one of them started to dart into my cabin. I wasn't able to get my camera ready quick enough, so all you can see is a blurry dog booty as its human pulled it back out into the hall. No apology or acknowledgement of any kind; not even an embarrassed "oh, my!"

They went back toward their cabin, turned around and came back down the hall. At that point, I did shoot a short video where human is heard saying "no, not in there, get over here" as they headed down the hall. I stayed at my cabin until the hallway was clear then went out because I thought I would say something and didn't want an altercation.

With that said, my patience with "those passengers" (4 legged and 2 legged) has been used up and the next time I'm not staying silent.

As I type this (yes, I still peck at the e-keyboard rather than use text-to-talk [don't tell me boss cuz it won't look good for his department- I'm in IT 😳 ]) I have decided to report it. I will be sharing the video and the "booty" picture details w/them. So, hopefully I won't have to find out what cruising me exercising restraint sounds like.

Breaking news - Just as I was about to hit "submit," I heard them in the hallway. They were going to their cabin. One human tugged one away from dirty plates that were in the hallway and said "no, that's not yours" quickly followed by "no, Meatball, that's not your cabin." The other dog's leash was dragging the floor behind it

because nobody was holding onto it.

There was a HAL crew member dressed in all black walking behind them who did not say a word; I assume he was an escort(?). If so, why did he allow the dog's leash to be unheld? Crew turns to look back down the hall in my direction, then continues on with them.

Once they went into their cabin, he turned the corner. So, now the new video will go with the report. And I know one is named Meatball. Ugh

Aren't you glad you asked? 😉

It just occurred to me that the steward who was following the dog walking pair could have been making sure they returned the dogs to the room so that they would not be roaming the ship. I can’t imagine how the dogs were allowed on the ship. We had a service dog onboard our Hawaii cruise last year and the owner said she had to fill out all kinds of paperwork for the dog to be allowed off the ship in Hawaii.

Haljo1935 · January 3

Not all these pictures are from today; they're misc pictures taken across the time onboard.

If there's something you want to see, just let me know - 3 days left.

Are we playing Mahjong or "Deal or No Deal?"🙄

The views up here are fabulous - so is the coffee and, well - everything!

Haljo1935 · January 3

9 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

It just occurred to me that the steward who was following the dog walking pair could have been making sure they returned the dogs to the room so that they would not be roaming the ship. I can’t imagine how the dogs were allowed on the ship. We had a service dog onboard our Hawaii cruise last year and the owner said she had to fill out all kinds of paperwork for the dog to be allowed off the ship in Hawaii.

Yes, passengers do have to fill out paperwork and provide documentation as required for each port. But no one says they have to get off at any port.

I agree the crew member has likely been provided in an effort to help minimize issues. If they were actual service dogs, that wouldn't be necessary as proper service dogs don't create a nuisance (as I think all of us here have agreed).

While I can name a few cruise ship positions I wouldn't mind having, I do not want the job of speaking with non-compliant passengers as it relates to pets. Ugh

Haljo1935 · January 3

Preparing for art auction in Rolling Stone Rock Room. Wonder what it means if you share a seat with one of those cute little statues?

Haljo1935 · January 3

The Shops has you covered if you forgot your splash of orange for the party tonight.

Haljo1935 · January 3

Relaxtion Room to chill in while waiting for your treatment.

Similar to the ceramic lounge area, but the seats aren't heated.

Great views while checking in at the Spa.

Tree in the spa coordinates well with the painting - it's almost as if there was a plan 😉

Haljo1935 · January 3

Oops, I cut part of the wheel off - now I have a reason to go to the casino 😏

You can put your losing scratchers in the hopper - if yours is drawn, you get to spin the wheel.

Haljo1935 · January 3

In Kona, there is a swimming & snorkeling spot right at the tender pier. Apparently, also public restrooms that they're really proud of - no, I mean REALLY proud of - did you see the sign?! I couldn't get it in one shot, but that flag is right in front of Kamakahona Beach. They may want to rethink that marketing plan 😳

Directly across the street is a huge tree

and a souvenir store - save your time and $$, stop in ABC instead of going down to Hilo Hattie's. We found everything from t-shirts and water shoes to liquor, Hawaiian wine, coffee, chocolate and everything in between.

HAL has a tent set up for you to wait for the tender. We didn't need it as there was no waiting, but the ice water and cold towels were nice. You can also borrow an 🌂 if you need one. Thanks, HAL!!