Boarding the Koningsdam

 Tuesday, January 30, 2024

We managed to get to breakfast at the hotel before things started to get really busy so finding a table wasn't difficult. (I knew a lot of cruisers were staying at the Best Western Yacht Harbor.) Scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and biscuits with gravy...not bad. I overheard a couple saying they were getting on the cruise so we stopped and visited a bit as we were leaving the dining room. They were from Wisconsin and this was to be their first cruise. Normally they travel in an RV and had visited all of the U.S. states except for Hawaii. They decided a cruise would be a good way to check off the 50th state from their list. Wonder if they will get hooked on the cruising way of travel?!

Bob did another long morning walk along the harbor while I showered and got ready for the day. When he got back we sat on the balcony waiting until it was our scheduled time to catch the hotel shuttle to the port. The Best Western Yacht Harbor hotel provides a free shuttle that runs every 45 minutes to the port starting at 10:45. Our original boarding time was 12:40 pm so we signed up for the 11:30 am shuttle. 

Around 11:15 we gathered our luggage and went down to the lobby and saw the shuttle being loaded. It pulled out just as we got to the front desk and I asked if that was the shuttle we were SUPPOSED to be on. The gal said there was a "problem" and they would call us a taxi and pay for it instead of sending us on the next shuttle. We never did find out what the problem was but there were no complaints from us...it was much nicer to have a private taxi than squeezing into a crowded shuttle. Ron and Jean (whom we had met the day before at the pool) were also being sent in a cab.

The Koningsdam pulling into the port of San Diego in the early morning hours.
Photo shared on the Koningsdam January 30th Facebook page.

The Koningsdam docked at the port of San Diego in the early morning hours.
Photo shared on the Koningsdam January 30th Facebook page.

The taxi dropped us off inside the port area where we dropped off our luggage with the porters and got into a line outside the building. People who had walked to the port from nearby hotels were waiting in a longer line just to get inside the fenced in port area. 

Cruisers lined up to get inside the port.
Photo shared on the Koningsdam January 30th Facebook page.

There were mountains of luggage piled in the parking lot. It only took a few minutes for our line to reach the door. I looked at my watch as we entered the building and it was exactly noon. The line snaked back and forth through roped off queues. As I was walking through the maze I felt my knee twist slightly and pain shot through the back of my leg...again. 😢

I hobbled through the rest of the line using my wheeled carryon bag for support like a cane. Once we went through the security screening and had our bags scanned there was another queue to have our faces scanned and compared with our passport photos which literally took seconds to complete. Finally at that point we were sent directly onto the ship with no further waiting. Boarding was on Deck A at the bottom of the ship so there was a bit of a wait for an elevator.

Our room (obstructed view cabin 4070) was ready so we quickly dropped off our carry on bags and backpacks and put our valuables in the safe. I was determined to get to the main dining room for lunch rather than fight the crowds at the buffet. Lunch in the main dining room was scheduled from 12:00 to 1:00 and we arrived at 12:50. With my knee (now more painful than ever) it was nice to sit and be waited on. An older man and younger woman (perhaps father/daughter?) sat at the table next to us and we had a nice visit while we ate. Bob had a club sandwich and I ordered the roasted cauliflower with a burger and fries. (I ordered the cauliflower out of curiosity but actually thought it was pretty good!) Bob ordered cheesecake for dessert which we shared.

 

Embarkation lunch in main dining room.

The burger was topped with bacon jam.

While we were in the dining room we took the time to check out the location of our table for the early fixed dining. We were pleased to see that we had a table for two right by the window! Another stop was made at guest services to have a hole punched in my keycard so I could attach it to my lanyard. Before going back to our cabin we also checked in at our muster station located by the BB Kings Blues Club.

I was in quite a bit of pain so Bob left me to unpack my carryon while he went up to check on the pickleball courts. My large piece of luggage got delivered shortly after and I got it unpacked too. When Bob returned he announced that he had played pickleball with Lamont, the comedian onboard the Koningsdam.

The ships at the San Diego Maritime Museum located next to the cruise ship pier.

The obstructed view from our cabin, #4070.

I was already feeling discouraged because of my sore knee when a deep bass music beat and drums started pulsing through the cabin. Rehearsal was happening in BB Kings (two decks below!) and it felt like the band was practicing right outside our door. There weren't many obstructed cabins available when we booked the cruise but I should have done a little more research. Even though BB Kings was two decks below our cabin the club has an open ceiling and the sound carried right up into our room. 

I might have dealt with the noise a little better if I wasn't tired and in pain, but it was more than I could tolerate at that point. I tried calling guest services on the phone but was put on hold for a LONG time. That just frustrated me even more so I gave up and me and my bad knee limped down to guest services (GS). When I left our cabin, two sets of neighbors were standing in the hallway also upset because of the music. 

As I was waiting in the long line at guest services a lady came up behind me practically hysterical because she didn't know where her room was. In fact, she didn't even know WHAT her room number was! I helped her pull up her boarding pass on her phone which showed her cabin number. She thanked me over and over as she left to go find her cabin.

The next lady that walked up behind me was beside herself because her luggage hadn't been delivered. I explained that sometimes it takes awhile, but she was sure she was going to Hawaii for 18 days with only the clothes on her back. Yes...cruising can be stressful...especially on the first day.

Eventually it was my turn to talk to one of the GS workers...a sweet girl named Daisy. She was very sympathetic with me and suggested she come up to our room so she could hear how loud the music was. Of course by the time we got back the music had stopped. She instructed me to call GS if it happened again. 

Sail away was supposed to happen at 5:00 pm (our assigned dining time) so we made the decision to skip dinner in the main dining room and eat at the buffet after the ship had left San Diego. We went to the aft pool area to watch as the ship left the port and on the way spotted Bob's luggage sitting by the elevator. Whew...glad to know it was on the ship. 

Sail away was delayed a bit but while we were waiting we experienced a beautiful sunset. By the time the ship started to move it was dark and getting quite chilly.

That outdoor stairway hanging over the edge of the ship was CREEPY.

Golden Hour

The city lights were starting to twinkle as the Koningsdam left the port.

As we were headed into the buffet we saw Ron and Jean that we had met at the hotel. I mentioned my sore knee and she offered to loan me a knee brace and actually dropped it off at our room while we were at dinner! (Our room steward put it in the room for us.) Aren't cruisers just the nicest people around!

Lido Buffet menu

After dinner we went back to the cabin long enough for Bob to unpack and then we went down to Billboard Onboard for the 8:15 show. Guess who was there...Ron and Jean! It was funny how we ran into them so frequently for a couple of days and then didn't see them for most of the cruise. 

Another surprise was "Sailor Steve" that we had met on our cruises last winter sat down right next to us. He pretty much lives on cruise ships but I hadn't realized he was going to be on the Koningsdam. It was also fun to see that one of the two piano players was Clara Vee whom we had enjoyed so much on the Zaandam in 2023. The Main Stage theater was featuring the "Origin Story" (the 150 year history of Holland America Cruise Line) which we had previously seen so we didn't mind skipping it.

The ship was starting to shake and shimmy a bit and the fog horn was blowing. The captain had warned us that we would be encountering large swells (4 meters) by tomorrow evening. I was feeling a bit of motion sickness (which is rare for me) and we decided to call it a night. At that point we both decided that bed was the best place for us to be.