Showing posts with label Grand Turk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand Turk. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
2016 Dec. 4-14 Koningsdam 10 nt cruise (Half moon cay, Grand Turk, Amber Cove, Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba):
On our last cruise (2015 Nov. cruise) we signed up for the future cruise bonus. The Koningsdam is the newest ship in the HAL fleet and was going on a route we wanted to do. Didn't know if we'd like being on such a big ship, but it turned out to be great. We met a lot of interesting people, ate a lot of great food, visited several interesting ports, enjoyed the entertainment; everything would have been perfect----if it hadn't stormed all day in Bonaire. Oh well, there's always next time!
We tend to base most of our cruises (and most of our land vacations) around beaches and snorkeling. This one was no exception. In fact I chose this specific itinerary because it went to Bonaire and Curacao again, plus a couple new ports for us---Amber Cove and Aruba.
Instead of making a ridiculously long blog, I'm supplying links to the ship, ports, and sea days individually---and the 4 days pre-cruise mini S. Florida vacation.
11-30-16 back to our old stomping grounds in South Florida!
12-1-16 back to the beach!!!
12-2-16 Mounts gardens in West Palm Beach:
12-3-16 Wakodahatchee and Green Cay!
Now---on to the cruise!
The Koningsdam
Dec. 4---embarkation day
Dec. 5---Half Moon Cay
Dec. 6---Grand Turk
Dec. 7---Amber Cove
Dec. 8---1st sea day
Dec. 9---Bonaire
Dec. 10---Curacao
Dec. 11---Aruba
Dec. 12-14---sea days and disembarkation
I'd read a lot of complaints about the Koningsdam---no library, walking was hard on the promenade deck, lines were bad in Lido, not enough elevators, more places to nickel and dime you, and more that I can't think of right now, but none of that bothered us. We loved the Koningsdam. But then, we've loved every ship we've been on. This one was different from the other HAL ships, but I kind of liked that. Shows they're trying to grow with the times. I especially loved the digital daily Navigators, the Lido movies, the New York Deli, and the World Stage. I wouldn't hesitate to cruise on the Koningsdam again.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
2011 Nov. Eurodam cruise do-over Eastern Caribbean: Grand Turk; San Juan, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay
2011 Nov. Eurodam cruise do-over Eastern Caribbean: Grand Turk; San Juan, St. Thomas, Half Moon Cay
The "suite life"! Originally I booked the same category room that we had last year (a VD veranda), but when the lowest suite came available for about $60/person more, I jumped on it and booked a SZ guarantee. We had never had a suite before, so I was really looking forward to that.
It just so happened that our daughter, Angie, and her husband, Josh, were going to be in Puerto Rico on vacation with some friends and scheduled to fly home the day we were in port there. After joking around with her about continuing on the cruise with us instead of flying home, I managed to get approval for her to board in San Juan for the last 4 nights of our cruise. She was even elgible for a special 3rd person add on fare of $49 + about $90 in taxes and fees. It took some doing, but persistence paid off. I had to call 5 or 6 times and work out everything from: does the Jone's Act apply here; to writing a letter to get approval for "late embarkation"; to getting a room assigned (went from the SZ guarantee to a complimentary upgrade to an SS cabin) before she was approved. So instead of flying home, Angie was able to join us for the remainder of the cruise.
About 2 weeks before our cruise, I even got an email from HAL offering us an upsell to an SA suite (next category down from the penthouse) for another $398 total. I immediately called them and jumped on the offer. Not only did we have a suite, but the SA, SB, and SC suites had a lot of added benefits over the SS, SY, and SZ suites, like breakfast in the Pinnacle restaurant, a private lounge and concierge, larger pull out bed for Angie; much larger room and balcony, flowers for formal night, free laundry service, and a few other things. We very much enjoyed the SA cabin. It may be hard to go back to any other cabin now!
Too quickly it was time to disembark the ship. We hopped in a taxi and took the $14 ride to the airport. Angie lucked out and was able to fly standby on an earlier flight and made it home to Atlanta before our flight even took off from Fort Lauderdale.
The "suite life"! Originally I booked the same category room that we had last year (a VD veranda), but when the lowest suite came available for about $60/person more, I jumped on it and booked a SZ guarantee. We had never had a suite before, so I was really looking forward to that.
It just so happened that our daughter, Angie, and her husband, Josh, were going to be in Puerto Rico on vacation with some friends and scheduled to fly home the day we were in port there. After joking around with her about continuing on the cruise with us instead of flying home, I managed to get approval for her to board in San Juan for the last 4 nights of our cruise. She was even elgible for a special 3rd person add on fare of $49 + about $90 in taxes and fees. It took some doing, but persistence paid off. I had to call 5 or 6 times and work out everything from: does the Jone's Act apply here; to writing a letter to get approval for "late embarkation"; to getting a room assigned (went from the SZ guarantee to a complimentary upgrade to an SS cabin) before she was approved. So instead of flying home, Angie was able to join us for the remainder of the cruise.
About 2 weeks before our cruise, I even got an email from HAL offering us an upsell to an SA suite (next category down from the penthouse) for another $398 total. I immediately called them and jumped on the offer. Not only did we have a suite, but the SA, SB, and SC suites had a lot of added benefits over the SS, SY, and SZ suites, like breakfast in the Pinnacle restaurant, a private lounge and concierge, larger pull out bed for Angie; much larger room and balcony, flowers for formal night, free laundry service, and a few other things. We very much enjoyed the SA cabin. It may be hard to go back to any other cabin now!
It was another fantastic vacation. Made even more special by Angie joining us. It definitely won't be our last cruise!
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