Semi-live from the Nov 4 Koingsdam California Coastal cruise.

[duffer16]

My wife Mary and I are Elite Plus on Celebrity and 3 star on Hal and have never cruised on an E class ship.  Our problem with the E is the veranda and Retreat suites do not look appealing and the ships carry to many passengers.  For my 80th we were on the Solstice last Feb., we got a good deal and splurged on a Royal suite.  The room de-core was dated, lots of dust under the sofa, did not have enough electrical and USB outlets, old worn cover on the large deck for two chair, and deck hot tub was old with rust and chips.  Believe the ships delay for its revolution is most likely the cause for my comments.  The Retreat lounge was quiet but we have had better bartender service and complementary snacks in the Hal Pinnacle bar.  The Retreat lounge is the former Michaels Club and to us needs to be Revolutionized.  The hostess in the lounge was outstanding and seemed to be able to do more things to accommodate Retreat guests than Hals Neptune lounge person.  The Hal Neptune lounge has a limited self-service bar but has great non-alcohol drinks, and delicious snacks that change throughout the day.  We really liked the Luminae, meals and service.  We ate dinner in two specialty restaurants and decided the Luminae was better.  We have a Vista suite on 25 Nov on the Koningsdam with Club Orange and Hal basic amenity package.  First Pinnacle class ship for us and we look forward to comparing it to the S class on X.  Comments about the number of people in the CO dining are concerning to us as we are hoping that the CO will bring us quiet dining like we experienced in Laminae.  We dine after 7:00 and have never had a noise issue in Hal or X MDRs. thus, we hope to find the same in CO.  Agree with all the smoking comments and we may find that a deal breaker for anymore Hal cruises.  We have not noticed any smoke in our Hal or X cruises to date.  We have no preference on the Millenium class X ships versus the Hal non-Pinnacle ships.  BTW our first X cruise was their first ship The Meridian on 10/091994--yikes!!

[Sherry H]

How about the Dutch Cafe?  Have you tried that yet?

[terrydtx]

28 minutes ago, duffer16 said:

My wife Mary and I are Elite Plus on Celebrity and 3 star on Hal and have never cruised on an E class ship.  Our problem with the E is the veranda and Retreat suites do not look appealing and the ships carry to many passengers.  For my 80th we were on the Solstice last Feb., we got a good deal and splurged on a Royal suite.  The room de-core was dated, lots of dust under the sofa, did not have enough electrical and USB outlets, old worn cover on the large deck for two chair, and deck hot tub was old with rust and chips.  Believe the ships delay for its revolution is most likely the cause for my comments.  The Retreat lounge was quiet but we have had better bartender service and complementary snacks in the Hal Pinnacle bar.  The Retreat lounge is the former Michaels Club and to us needs to be Revolutionized.  The hostess in the lounge was outstanding and seemed to be able to do more things to accommodate Retreat guests than Hals Neptune lounge person.  The Hal Neptune lounge has a limited self-service bar but has great non-alcohol drinks, and delicious snacks that change throughout the day.  We really liked the Luminae, meals and service.  We ate dinner in two specialty restaurants and decided the Luminae was better.  We have a Vista suite on 25 Nov on the Koningsdam with Club Orange and Hal basic amenity package.  First Pinnacle class ship for us and we look forward to comparing it to the S class on X.  Comments about the number of people in the CO dining are concerning to us as we are hoping that the CO will bring us quiet dining like we experienced in Laminae.  We dine after 7:00 and have never had a noise issue in Hal or X MDRs. thus, we hope to find the same in CO.  Agree with all the smoking comments and we may find that a deal breaker for anymore Hal cruises.  We have not noticed any smoke in our Hal or X cruises to date.  We have no preference on the Millenium class X ships versus the Hal non-Pinnacle ships.  BTW our first X cruise was their first ship The Meridian on 10/091994--yikes!!

Last night at 7:00 CO was nearly empty as most on this cruise eat at 5 to 5:30pm.  This is the first time on  HAL ship that smoking was an issue too.

[OlsSalt]

44 minutes ago, duffer16 said:

  BTW our first X cruise was their first ship The Meridian on 10/091994--yikes!!

 

Yikes even more. I sailed on her when she was originally the Lloyd Triestino-Gallileo Gallilei in 1977, before she became the Merdian. That is when now a the Meridian, she revolutionized the idea of cruising with ensuite cabins, instead of being mainly passenger ships going from point to point.

 

  I thought at the time she was such a big ship, but was only about 1500 passengers back then - two separated classes: first class and passenger class. 60 day RTW cost me $900 in 1977.

 

Bathrooms were down the hall for most of us when she was the Galileo, with bunk bed cabins. She did catch fire as the later after the Merdian became the  Sun Vista, which was a gambling ship. Then sank after all passengers had been rescued, and  her sunken hulk is now a dive site in the Malacca Straights off Malaysia near Penang.

 

In her former life as the Galileo, she was one of the few remaining regular around the world passenger ships back in 1977, taking mainly Italian immigrants to Australia and home sick Italian immigrants back to Italy. Plus a lot of young South Africans,  Aussies and Kiwis up to England for a requisite year in the "mother country".   

 

I even got  two extra free weeks since her Italian crews struck from time to time in order to delay its transit, just  so they could dock in Naples for Christmas and spend the holidays with their families . They had to then  take us all off the ship in Naples, and put us up in hotels for that extra week before starting the trip again down Suez, Africa and across to Australia.

 

They also paid me a per diem for a prior land-based week, while I had to wait  to board the now delayed ship  to arrive in Genoa where I was embarking. No wonder they shortly went out of business a year or so later. 

 

 

[duffer16]

Thank you so much for the reply as we had no idea of the ship’s interesting history.

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, Sherry H said:

How about the Dutch Cafe?  Have you tried that yet?

Every time I have been by the line is long so I go to the crows nest to get my espressos.

[cbr663]

12 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Every time I have been by the line is long so I go to the crows nest to get my espressos.

 

That's unfortunately quite common at the Dutch Cafe.  When we were on the K in the Spring we dined there a couple of times by accident - happen to walk by with little or no lineup and took advantage of it.  I think it's a combination of it being a popular venue combined with slow service.  

[jwb3843]

8 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Hi Julie,

Unlike Celebrity one of the MDR is open for lunch for everyone on Embarkation Day from 12:00 to 1:00pm.  With CO you can board early with plenty of time to get to the MDR for lunch. We did this on Saturday, and it was not crowded and it was very quiet, so that is my recommendation. Unlike the Luminae the CO dining room has the same menu as the MDR plus one extra starter and a daily special entree.  So far, we found it to be much better quality than Luminae and they actually have deserts that look like they should. Last night the Dutch apple pie was Dutch apple pie not some deconstructed desert in Luminae. Last night we had the rack of Lamb and we got 3 large thick chops cooked perfect and they were both tender and tasty. The only con with the HAL MDR and CO, so far, is the very poor selections of breads compared to X. If you like music the venues on this ship and HAL are amazing compared to X, last night we enjoyed the Billboard room with 2 very talented singers on dueling pianos doing songs from the 60's and 70's. They both were fantastic.

 

The other difference is the cost for drinks and wines by the bottle and glass with a much better selection than the basic drinks package on X. Last night I had a Buffalo Trace Bourbon on the rocks, and it was $8. Overall, the cost for booze on HAL is less than X.

 

Here is a picture of the Dutch Apple Pie:

 

Thanks so much for your reply and suggestions, Terry!  We’ll definitely be taking advantage of the MDR on Embarkation day for lunch.  I too appreciate desserts that look like what they’re supposed to be ~ not sure why “deconstructed” has become such a thing!  It would be nice to have decent WiFi for a change!

I’m really sorry to hear about your observations about the smoking issue.  Though we don’t visit the casino, it’s a shame the second hand smoke permeates the surrounding areas.  Maybe if enough people complain it will be addressed by the time we sail in 2025!  

If you manage to get to the Dutch Cafe, please try the chocolate covered cream puffs (don’t recall the official name for them!) and no matter how good they are tell me they’re horrible!  I need to stay as far away from them as possible!! 🤣

Julie

[terrydtx]

I am looking at tonight's menu and see spice crusted prime rib, something we did not get in our two Celebrity Cruises this past summer. Last night we had the thick cut pork chops and they were delicious and as good as any land restaurants. So far the food on this cruise has been far superior to our earlier Celebrity Cruises. 

[*Miss G*]

25 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I am looking at tonight's menu and see spice crusted prime rib, something we did not get in our two Celebrity Cruises this past summer. Last night we had the thick cut pork chops and they were delicious and as good as any land restaurants. So far the food on this cruise has been far superior to our earlier Celebrity Cruises. 

 

If they have veal cutlets on the CO menu one night, make sure to order!  No idea why they are calling them cutlets.  They are actually chops and are cooked to perfection.  Probably one of my favourite meals ever.  Except for the fresh fish dishes.  (I think I need to be on a ship.)

[POA1]

Great reporting @terrydtx Thank you for the comparisons.

Edited November 9, 2023 by POA1

[Ipeeinthepools]

@terrydtx  I saw that you have previously cruised the Oosterdam, now that you have cruised on a Pinnacle class ship, do you think you would be happy on the older smaller ships?  We are thinking about booking the Ossterdam for a South American trip and I’m concerned that we might be disappointed.

[rollie]

Just love your review.  We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and our last few cruises have been on Edge class in Sky Suites, and have been disappointed with the changes over the last couple of years.  We are now booked on the Koningsdam for a Polynesia cruise for Feb. 2025.  My hope is they change their smoking policy by then.  It's the only thing Celebrity has over Holland from reading your post.  Thanks for posting.

 

Rollie

[terrydtx]

11 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

@terrydtx  I saw that you have previously cruised the Oosterdam, now that you have cruised on a Pinnacle class ship, do you think you would be happy on the older smaller ships?  We are thinking about booking the Ossterdam for a South American trip and I’m concerned that we might be disappointed.

We are booked for next August on the Volendam and with Club Orange. I would book the Oosterdam but only with CO as the extra benefits for the small cost is well worth having. We are doing the South America cruise in March 2025, but after looking at HAL and Celebrity we are booked on the 18-day cruise on the Oceania Marina. We booked a Concierge class cabin for less that the 14-day X cruise that was then canceled earlier this year. You may want to check out Oceania as an alternative to HAL. If you like the size of the X Sky Suites you should look at a Signature Suite on the Oosterdam, which is what we had last year, it is about the same size as a Sky Suite and has a huge bathroom with double sinks. After our B2B Edge cruise in January we are done with Celebrity. Going forward we will be looking at either HAL or Oceania.  

 

BTW we had a really good prime rib in the CO dining room last night, something we didn't see on our last two X cruises.

[terrydtx]

6 hours ago, rollie said:

Just love your review.  We are Elite Plus on Celebrity and our last few cruises have been on Edge class in Sky Suites, and have been disappointed with the changes over the last couple of years.  We are now booked on the Koningsdam for a Polynesia cruise for Feb. 2025.  My hope is they change their smoking policy by then.  It's the only thing Celebrity has over Holland from reading your post.  Thanks for posting.

 

Rollie

I doubt HAL will change their smoking policy as too many of their loyal customers are smokers and there would be a mass revolution if they tried to eliminate casino smoking.  We do not ever use the casino, so we just stay away from the area, but it is a shame that the smoke continues to prorogate into the shops area on deck 3. What HAL needs to do is seal off the casino with doors and put in a better exhaust system to keep the smoke out of the rest of the ship. This morning on deck 6 we could smell smoke in the forward elevator and stairs area which tells me the casino smoke is rising up the stair wells too.  I hope I get a post cruise survey as I intend to let HAL know how bad the smoking was on this cruise.

 

If you haven't done so, I highly recommend you add Club Orange to your cruise in 2025. 

[kluv2cruz]

Re smoking HAL vs Celebrity. A negative of celebrity, at least on Eclipse & Solstice, is the walk/run track goes right through the smoking area of the Mast Bar which is bizarre. And, I think it’s the Sunset Bar, is “1/2 smoking”. We’ve never been able to use that bar as it all is smoky to us. 

[terrydtx]

34 minutes ago, kluv2cruz said:

Re smoking HAL vs Celebrity. A negative of celebrity, at least on Eclipse & Solstice, is the walk/run track goes right through the smoking area of the Mast Bar which is bizarre. And, I think it’s the Sunset Bar, is “1/2 smoking”. We’ve never been able to use that bar as it all is smoky to us. 

The Seaview pool and bar on HAL is the equivalent to X Sunset bar. On this cruise smokers are smoking on both sides of the area with no HAL inforcement of the rules. I saw no signage about proper area for smoking either. It makes the bar and pool useless for non smokkers

[oakridger]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

The Seaview pool and bar on HAL is the equivalent to X Sunset bar. On this cruise smokers are smoking on both sides of the area with no HAL inforcement of the rules.

 

Smokers on the port side of the Seaview Pool would cause me to speak with a manager to get that stopped immediately!  I never saw this on my Rotterdam cruise in November 2022.  I'm not a smoker but am not super sensitive to smoke like many people are, however, I am often out at the Seaview pool in nice weather and would not allow smokers over on "my" side (port) of the area!!

 

It's so good to hear you are having a good time!  Thanks for reporting.

 

~Nancy

[highscar]

On the K in January I spoke to a bartender about a couple smoking on the no side and he politely mentioned to rules to them and they apologized and moved. 

[terrydtx]

Here is the prime rib last night in CO that we won't see on  Celebriity ship anymore. It was excellent too and cooked a perfect Medium Rare. 

Edited November 9, 2023 by terrydtx

[duffer16]

Agree with the recommendation to try Oceania.   We have been on Oceania several times and like the ship size and provided service.  As said before for us the Celebrity E class have to many passengers.  The Koningsdam size is an experiment for us but from what has been said about the smoking the number of passengers maybe immaterial.  We have to date enjoyed all the Hal ships we have been on and do not have a favorite.  Our favorite X ship is the Infinity.  We are looking forward to seeing how this CO works out.

[terrydtx]

15 minutes ago, duffer16 said:

Agree with the recommendation to try Oceania.   We have been on Oceania several times and like the ship size and provided service.  As said before for us the Celebrity E class have to many passengers.  The Koningsdam size is an experiment for us but from what has been said about the smoking the number of passengers maybe immaterial  have to date enjoyed all the Hal ships we have been on and do not have a favorite.  Our favorite X ship is the Infinity.  We are looking forward to seeing how this CO works out.

I was told that our cruise is at passenger capacity of just less than 2700 people. The K'Dam is not much less in size than the E Class ships, but it is a jump from the about 2000 pax size of the Vista and Signature class HAL ships. Take away the Retreat Lounge and Sun Deck and add the HAL HIA, CO will provide most of the other Retreat benefits for a whole lot less cost. The CO dining room is every bit as nice as Luminae, but with better food choices. The big complaint on Celebrity with Luminae is the frustration of the starters and Entrees choices and not being able to order off the MDR. The CO dining room has both the MDR menu and a special starter and entree every night not available in the MDR. CO is also much quieter and more intimate than the larger Luminae in the E Class ships.

[kluv2cruz]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

The Seaview pool and bar on HAL is the equivalent to X Sunset bar. On this cruise smokers are smoking on both sides of the area with no HAL inforcement of the rules. I saw no signage about proper area for smoking either. It makes the bar and pool useless for non smokkers

That’s why we never went back there. Too wildly smoky.

[duffer16]

Really agree with you about the CO benefits being close to the X Retreat.  I should have said that plus the connivence of the SD port are positives for us.  Our last Retreat suite was in Feb. of this year and the Luminae did offer the MDR menu as an option.  We were told the MDR option was a new change which we did not use.  We liked the new Luminae menu so much that we ate all but two dinners there.  With a Royal Suite we could have dined wherever and whenever we wanted.  We tried two specialty restaurants early on and never went back.  For example we found the beef and Italian food in Luminae to be superior.  We had the best lobster dinner we have ever had including the ones we have enjoyed in Boston.  To us the salads and appetizers and desserts were superb.  Maybe things have changed and we were on the Solstice not an E class ship.  We do think the Hal MDR food has caught up with and passed the X MDR in a big way.  We are looking forward to quiet dining and thank you for pointing out CO  was less crowded after 7:00pm.  Any idea how busy the CO is at 8:30am?  BTW like you we never use the Casino and now will not even go near it based on your smoke description.  

[terrydtx]

30 minutes ago, duffer16 said:

Really agree with you about the CO benefits being close to the X Retreat.  I should have said that plus the connivence of the SD port are positives for us.  Our last Retreat suite was in Feb. of this year and the Luminae did offer the MDR menu as an option.  We were told the MDR option was a new change which we did not use.  We liked the new Luminae menu so much that we ate all but two dinners there.  With a Royal Suite we could have dined wherever and whenever we wanted.  We tried two specialty restaurants early on and never went back.  For example we found the beef and Italian food in Luminae to be superior.  We had the best lobster dinner we have ever had including the ones we have enjoyed in Boston.  To us the salads and appetizers and desserts were superb.  Maybe things have changed and we were on the Solstice not an E class ship.  We do think the Hal MDR food has caught up with and passed the X MDR in a big way.  We are looking forward to quiet dining and thank you for pointing out CO  was less crowded after 7:00pm.  Any idea how busy the CO is at 8:30am?  BTW like you we never use the Casino and now will not even go near it based on your smoke description.  

CO for breakfast is busy the first hour they open. 7-8am. 8:30 is good time.