LAFFNVEGAS LIVE from the Premier Sailings of the MS Koningsdam

[OlsSalt]

We will be in Chichavecio (excuse spelling) two days we are onboard Amsterdam World special invite to tour the ship looking forward to seeing her. Thank you Vegas for posting pictures she looks beautiful

 

This is a tough one - but you took a good shot at it:

Civita - vecchia ----- Civitavecchia

City - old

 

Cheh - vee - tah -veh -key -ah

 

(Lived in Italy for a few years - took a while to get the hang of their spelling and pronunciation) Ciao = chow --- how does that happen? :cool:

[cbr663]

... On just about every cruise I have been (including Princess and RCI), many people complain about the loudness of the shows...

 

We also find the shows loud. I think one of the reasons is that the performers have to overcome the noise of the ship and the audience noise. I still think that it could be turned down a level or two.

[jtl513]

Ciao = chow --- how does that happen? :cool:

Probably originally cheh - ow, and eventually just slurred

[OlsSalt]

Probably originally cheh - ow, and eventually just slurred

 

Actually chee -ah - ow --- all vowels are sounded. And each double consonant is exploded individually. Maybe to the discerning ear this is how ciao is still authentically pronounced. I could never get "euro" out right either.

Edited April 13, 2016 by OlsSalt

[hrhdhd]

Speaking of spelling, I enjoyed both of the extra "T"s in "PICCATTTA." ;)

[vagporto]

Hi Sppunk: you mentioned that the Grand Dutch Cafe menu was posted earlier... Somehow I failed to see it and I cannot find it in this thread. Can you (or other similar kind soul :)) point me in the right direction to it? Thanks...

 

Vasco

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Evening from the Beautiful MS Koningsdam!!

Today was our last sea day and tonight our last Gala Night. I am fighting with my body to keep a cold from starting. So had decided to not attend any shows this evening although we did watch the Strings perform at the Lincoln Center Stage for a while.

 

I finally saw the Famous Captain Albert, he is as personable in person as he is in his blog, I am thrilled I got to meet him.

 

After dinner we were just passing through the Messina Strait so with our friends Tom and Joe we walked the outside promenade deck. Lot's of people out walking the deck and true definitely no place for deck chairs but to be honest there are more deck chairs than I have ever seen on a ship on many of the other decks and In many secluded areas.

 

It was rumored we would get Inaugural plates tonight, we even seen a cabin steward holding one as he walked down the hall but sadly there was not one in our cabin [emoji22]

Tomorrow we are in Naples Italy and we had booked a very early Panoramic Tour but decided to cancel not wanting a bus ride with potential of lots of winding roads. So going to sleep in and go into town and have pizza and gelato[emoji1303][emoji6]

 

 

 

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[LAFFNVEGAS]

Hi Sppunk: you mentioned that the Grand Dutch Cafe menu was posted earlier... Somehow I failed to see it and I cannot find it in this thread. Can you (or other similar kind soul :)) point me in the right direction to it? Thanks...

 

 

 

Vasco

 

 

Here you go these are the pictures I posted earlier

 

 

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[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thank you for pursuing this question and the fact the captain had a ready response. Tracking the marketing demographics is fascinating.

 

What is also interesting is CC members have been following the development of this ship now for years, but apparently many others beyond CC also wanted to be on her maiden run too.

 

Was it just a random cruise choice or an intentional decision, particularly learning how many kinks still need to be worked on on this very first launch out of dry dock with every single system brand new.

 

Cold hydro-pool ..........eeewwww. :(

 

Spent the afternoon in the Thermal Suite and the Hydro pool was all fixed and nice and warm 👍🏻

[OlsSalt]

In Naples, think about taking the one hour high speed ferry to the delightful small island of Procida - it leaves from the Naples terminal dock area.

 

It is the 'Lemon Island" and the home of limoncello. Often used as a movie set when they want an achingly romantic small harbor scene - see The Talented Mr Ripley. If you can get to the Scarabeo restaurant on this island, so much the better - a vast overhanging lemon arbor - in a rustic setting. You know the story about Vitamin C being good for a cold. http://www.procida.net/scarabeo.htm (In Italian but you get the pictures)

Edited April 13, 2016 by OlsSalt

[TiogaCruiser]

Lisa- when you say there are lots of deck chairs, are you referring to the team loungers? Or are they merely chairs- a place to sit?

[Cruising-along]

Thank you for posting the promenade pics, that's what I've been waiting for. :D Unfortunately it does look dam narrow in spots.

[Topsham]

There are sandwiches (hot and cold) and salad plates too. The menu was posted earlier, it looks as if I'll spend many, many hours there haha.

 

Got it! Excellent. Hmmm.. hot Jenever & Grolsch! Hmmmm!

 

Breakfast of champions!

[SC_GAY_Cruiser]

Lisa, sounds like your cruise has been wonderful so far. Being the first week with paying passengers - do you think that any "startup" issues outweighs being on the ship later once the crew gets into their routine?

 

dave

[SabreSailor]

One last question to bug you - is there still a DVD player in the stateroom?

 

Thanks for all your photos and valuable dialogue!

[bcnvcanada]

Enjoy your pizza, Naples is the home of pizza, and truly the best we very had

was there. Of course it is the water, tomatoes, and flour, and the wood

fired, very, very, hot ovens. So different than the styles of other pizza in Italy.

Enjoy.

[boards]

Quote" "Tomorrow we are in Naples Italy and we had booked a very early Panoramic Tour but decided to cancel not wanting a bus ride with potential of lots of winding roads." Yes they do, but it was a very interesting ride. They used mirrors on curves for the driver to see traffic ahead. We really did enjoy the tour, while being a little anxious a few times.

[OlsSalt]

Enjoy your pizza, Naples is the home of pizza, and truly the best we very had

was there. Of course it is the water, tomatoes, and flour, and the wood

fired, very, very, hot ovens. So different than the styles of other pizza in Italy.

Enjoy.

 

Good pick for pizza as well as plenty of other menu items very close to the Naples cruise terminal: L'Europeo http://www.viamichelin.com/web/Restaurant/NAPOLI-80133-L_Europeo_di_Mattozzi-143025-41102

[RMLincoln]

We noticed alot of 100 day awards as well. Of course, on longer cruises you will experience this as it puts more people over the 100 days. We did not see many on any of our 7 day cruises.

 

Interesting that this implies that one doesn't have to wait for their next cruise but gets their medallion n the cruise they make the next level....

 

We had to wait for our next cruise, and on that cruise they didn't have us listed, we weren't invited to the celebration. Upon inquiry, they said they had to wait to check with Seattle. Our medallions appeared on our bed about 2 days after the party. I was disappointed, not the first time in life! But no apology, not even a chocolate strawberry. Poor form. m--

[SilvertoGold]

We did NOT get a discount at the Dutch Cafe or the Gelato ☹️

 

DAM!!!

 

Thanks for letting us know, Lisa!

 

I agree with other posters' idea about the discount at Sel, Exploration's Cafe, but not at these other two new ones.

 

Could HAL be in the process, still, of figuring this out? I hope so, anyways.

Edited April 13, 2016 by SilvertoGold

[rafinmd]

I think it's normal to get medallions on the cruise where they are earned. There's a key difference between stars and medallions. Medallions are based on actual days on the ship so when boarding HAL knows EXACTLY how many days you will have at the end. That's not true with stars where nobody knows how many spending bonus days you will get until it's all over.

 

Roy

[bumbilb]

Hi Lisa

 

Thanks for all of your posts. We all appreciate your time and effort.

We are doing the TransAtlantic in October. If possible, can you get

some shots of the Verandah rooms, especially the handicap ones?

Have a great cruise

Bonnie

[DaveOKC]

Interesting that this implies that one doesn't have to wait for their next cruise but gets their medallion n the cruise they make the next level....

 

We had to wait for our next cruise, and on that cruise they didn't have us listed, we weren't invited to the celebration. Upon inquiry, they said they had to wait to check with Seattle. Our medallions appeared on our bed about 2 days after the party. I was disappointed, not the first time in life! But no apology, not even a chocolate strawberry. Poor form. m--

 

It is my understanding (and personal experience) that you get the medallion on the cruise that you earn it. In my case, I checked with our HAL agent before we left and with the front desk on the ship the first day to be certain we got ours.

 

I wonder if in your case they forgot about you on the cruise you earned it and then on the next cruise they figured you already had them. Easy for this type of thing to occur.

[Adoptionmsw]

We received ours on the cruise where we earned it. We missed the ceremony itself because our excursion ran late. It was waiting for us in our cabin.

 

 

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[vagporto]

Lisa: thank you for re-posting again the Dutch Cafe menus (and sorry for wasting some of your precious net minutes).

 

Vasco