LIVE - Koningsdam Oct 17th - ¡Mexican Riviera!

[Florida_gal_50]

It’s more stressful for me not to be connected.  I feel bad for folks that are not retired and need to connect to do work or that own businesses.  
 

Thank you to the op for the time you’ve spent letting us know how your cruise was.  It’s very much appreciated.

[zgscl]

@aring75 Thank you so much for such a wonderful trip report! Hope you have a safe and easy trip back home. 

[aring75]

1 hour ago, Hogladyrider said:

@aring75...safe travels back to Florida!

 

For us its nice to disconnect from internet while cruising, but understand your frustrations.

 

29 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

It’s more stressful for me not to be connected.  I feel bad for folks that are not retired and need to connect to do work or that own businesses.  
 

Thank you to the op for the time you’ve spent letting us know how your cruise was.  It’s very much appreciated.

There are many reasons to stay connected while traveling, although I agree that’s it’s wonderful when you can just put the phone away and be “unreachable” for a little while. 
 

We own our own business so it’s important to check in occasionally. We also have family members who we need to stay in touch with when possible. 
 

I would welcome improved internet connection options, but I think it’s better to offer WiFi connection as an add-on for people who want it, vs. giving it to everyone and raising cruise fares. 

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, aring75 said:

 

There are many reasons to stay connected while traveling, although I agree that’s it’s wonderful when you can just put the phone away and be “unreachable” for a little while. 
 

We own our own business so it’s important to check in occasionally. We also have family members who we need to stay in touch with when possible. 
 

I would welcome improved internet connection options, but I think it’s better to offer WiFi connection as an add-on for people who want it, vs. giving it to everyone and raising cruise fares. 

I agree about having it as an add on.  I’m really fine paying for it, but it best be working.  Before covid I found the Internet to be fine for the most part considering I was on a ship.  I’m not understanding why there are so many issues lately.  It’s hard to believe the have it all is not causing these problems.

[canadianbear]

5 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I agree about having it as an add on.  I’m really fine paying for it, but it best be working.  Before covid I found the Internet to be fine for the most part considering I was on a ship.  I’m not understanding why there are so many issues lately.  It’s hard to believe the have it all is not causing these problems.

I wonder too with so many now having the wifi included it’s causing issues.  When we booked our South Pacific cruise for late next year the HIA includes the gratuities for us not the wifi which we would prefer.  (Being Canadian we prefer that).   Doubtful we will purchase wifi as much as we like to keep in touch with family it’s not worth it to us.  Hopefully can find a few restaurants on land we can quickly send emails.  

[aring75]

Do we are waiting at SAN to board our flight back to Tampa, so I thought I would start working through some more of my trip report. 
 

I left off at Puerta Vallarta. Here, we booked an all-inclusive resort day. 
 

When we arrived in PV, I opened the curtains in our room and noticed something unusual. 
 

 

Wait. What is that?

 

 

 

Lol. Yep. It’s Walmart and Sam’s Club. Right outside the cruise terminal. Crew members must love stopping here!

 

There is a “shopping mall” with a casino just next door to that. 
 

[aring75]

We lined up on the pier once again to meet for our tour. It was about a 25-30 minute drive to Miraval Emotions Resort, just north of Puerta Vallarta. 
 

When we arrived, we were given a choice of welcome drinks. They had mimosas, a margarita, and this. A strawberry refresher. 
 

 

 

We were given a short introduction to the resort facilities and lunch times/locations, then we could choose lounge chairs on the beach or by the pool. 
 

We wanted to see the ocean. (Okay, the bay, but we got waves so we were happy!)

 

 

 

This was a very nice beach area. Very clean and not too crowded. 
 

 

[aring75]

Unfortunately, the purple beach notification flag was up. Many of you might know, purple means an abundance of marine “pests,” such as jellyfish and other stinging fish or plants. 

 

 
 

 

Many people still swam in the water, and, as far as I know, there were no casualties. 
 

[takemewithyou]

This excursion was the one offered by HAL that takes you to a resort for the day?

 

[aring75]

 

 

The day started off a little hot and humid, but the wind picked up and we had a nice, cool breeze coming off the water. 
 

 

Please be aware. There are a LOT of vendors on the beach. They accept a polite, “No, thank you,” but there are so many of them. We were fine just saying “Gracias, no.” But some people might be more annoyed by the interruptions. 

[aring75]

3 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

This excursion was the one offered by HAL that takes you to a resort for the day?

 

Yes. That’s the one. 

[aring75]

Lunch was a very extensive buffet. Lots of choices!

 

I had chicken fajitas. They let you choose your ingredients and then cook everything together served with white corn tortillas. 
 

 

 

They also had a fresh salad bar and several light desserts to choose from. 

[CruiserBruce]

@aring75the Walmart has been there quite awhile, and yes, popular with the crew. You would be surprised how popular it was with cruise ship passengers, particularly back when you could bring on board unlimited soft drinks or wine.

[Chelseaprincess]

Thank you for all the details about your cruise and great pictures! 

Did they give you a test during the cruise or prior to disembarkation?

[kazu]

@aring75  Just want to add my thanks for your great reports, pics and answering questions.  It is so appreciated that you took us along with you. 👍 

[Cuedon]

On 10/21/2021 at 6:02 AM, aring75 said:

I haven’t been able to find that info yet, but I will try. It feels like we are only at 50-60%. 

 

I heard from one of the MDR staff that they were at "1390-something". With an official passenger capacity of 2650, that's just over half.

 

On 10/21/2021 at 8:38 PM, TotallyCruzin said:

I ordered the boneless rib eye in the Pinnacle Grill in Sept on the NA, and it was pretty tough I was so disappointed.  Was that what you had at the PG?

 

Something is up at the Pinnacle Grill on this voyage... I ordered the boneless ribeye and they subbed in a porterhouse  (which I don't think was even on the menu?) without asking me instead. And they gave me a different vintage of wine than listed (and by extension, ordered)... technically, a superior year, admittedly.

 

  

1 hour ago, Chelseaprincess said:

Did they give you a test during the cruise or prior to disembarkation?

 

Not the OP, but nope. Get your own test before you board, show it to them at boarding, and then no mention of anything thereafter. (I've been told by other lines that if you're running B2Bs, they'll give you a test onboard a day or two before each subsequent leg.)

Edited October 24, 2021 by Cuedon

[trishbk]

For 5 star Mariners, do they tack on the 18% service charge in the specialty dining (i.e., Pinnacle, Tamarind, & Canneleto) ? 5 star Mariner receive 2 free specialty dining per cruise. Asking because so much has changed, including that you cannot bring 2 bottles of wine on board at embarkation to simply drink in your cabin. 

[57redbird]

Thanks for taking us with you!  If I could, I'd move to Puerto Vallarta in a heartbeat....stopped there on a few cruises, loved it so much we rented a condo on the Malecon for a week.....PV has my heart for some reason.

[StLouisCruisers]

1 minute ago, 57redbird said:

Thanks for taking us with you!  If I could, I'd move to Puerto Vallarta in a heartbeat....stopped there on a few cruises, loved it so much we rented a condo on the Malecon for a week.....PV has my heart for some reason.

 

It's definitely a great place to enjoy in Mexico and I have to agree, it would be the place I'd rent a condo if I was so inclined.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Cuedon said:

 

I heard from one of the MDR staff that they were at "1390-something". With an official passenger capacity of 2650, that's just over half.

 

 

Something is up at the Pinnacle Grill on this voyage... I ordered the boneless ribeye and they subbed in a porterhouse  (which I don't think was even on the menu?) without asking me instead. And they gave me a different vintage of wine than listed (and by extension, ordered)... technically, a superior year, admittedly.

 

  

 

Not the OP, but nope. Get your own test before you board, show it to them at boarding, and then no mention of anything thereafter. (I've been told by other lines that if you're running B2Bs, they'll give you a test onboard a day or two before each subsequent leg.)

 

tennisbeforewine was doing a b2b on the koningsdam and she reported doing a covid test on board in her live from. You don’t need a covid test to fly domestically in the USA, do you?  There is no sense in doing them that I see on USA passengers.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Florida_gal_50

[Navybikermom]

On 10/18/2021 at 10:29 AM, aring75 said:

When and Where - Day 2 - Gala Night

(1st Day at Sea)

 

 

 

I don’t see the Adagio at all, how very sad… ☹️
 

[aring75]

4 hours ago, Chelseaprincess said:

Thank you for all the details about your cruise and great pictures! 

Did they give you a test during the cruise or prior to disembarkation?

 

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

 

tennisbeforewine was doing a b2b on the koningsdam and she reported doing a covid test on board in her live from. You don’t need a covid test to fly domestically in the USA, do you?  There is no sense in doing them that I see on USA passengers.

 

No COVID test required for disembarking passengers. However, we met a couple in the Crow’s Nest who had taken one (I believe, provided by HAL) for their B2B. 
 

I don’t know if they offered them for any international travelers. 

[aring75]

2 hours ago, trishbk said:

For 5 star Mariners, do they tack on the 18% service charge in the specialty dining (i.e., Pinnacle, Tamarind, & Canneleto) ? 5 star Mariner receive 2 free specialty dining per cruise. Asking because so much has changed, including that you cannot bring 2 bottles of wine on board at embarkation to simply drink in your cabin. 

I don’t know, sorry! We are not 5-star. 
 

But in other news, guess who became 2-star Mariners on this cruise?

 

That’s right. There it is. 
 

 

“Host of new benefits?” Am I missing something? I didn’t think you actually got anything until you were more like 4-star and above. 
 

Maybe they’re talking about our snazzy new pins. 😁

[aring75]

2 hours ago, Cuedon said:

I heard from one of the MDR staff that they were at "1390-something". With an official passenger capacity of 2650, that's just over half.

Yes. I was told by one of the security officers on our last sea day that capacity was between 50-60%. I asked if they had more concrete numbers, but was just told it was somewhere in that range. 

[Hogladyrider]

@aring75.....when you have time would love to hear about your flight from west coast to east coast.

 

I am embarking on something similar next week BUT I am breaking it up Phoenix to Orlando on a Friday spending the weekend with my BFF in Kissimmee then Monday morning Orlando to Massachusetts.

 

I just could not deal with 3 plane switches in one day and all day travel as it is from Arizona to Florida!