No longer the glamorous vacation

Wow. What a great shot of 'Discovery'. She's not a half bad looking vessel; for a cruise ship, anyway. She's well appointed on the inside; the only space with some oddity in decor is the plaza. But, even so, it's at a minimum; quite tolerable. From what I've seen, though, I might like 'Koningsdam' better; its designers made some sleek but daring moves, especially in the dining room and lobby.

Departing Los Angeles:

In Mazatlán:

Bravo Opus! Thank you for the work you do.

Lets try to steer this back on topic.

I have enjoyed catching up on this thread. It is very disappointing (to me at least) some of the amenities, activities and features on cruises that I missed, starting crusing so late.

Trap/Skeet shooting off of a ship? that sounds like a damned good time!

As for the MDR...I have 2 looks. Formal night(s) and every other day:

I am a blue collar guy, but I do my best to fit in, and follow the rules.

Each to their own ... peace out

To All, we're being "trolled"

According to Wikipedia: In slang, a troll is a person who posts or makes inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages online, or in real life, with the intent of provoking others into displaying emotional responses, or manipulating others' perception.

Lynn is a troll

“

These people normally live in Trailor parks or in mobile homes and have limited knowledge of day to day lives of normal people.

They eat pizza all day, and shipshape they are not :)

Truly awful people and should not be allowed to cruise. “

Lynn is intolerant and abhorrent

You do look very handsome and beautiful in those pictures, and thanks for posting.

(Please post some more pics)

I agree with the lazy inconsiderate comments you made of those awful people on the ship.

These people normally live in Trailor parks or in mobile homes and have limited knowledge of day to day lives of normal people.

They eat pizza all day, and shipshape they are not :)

Truly awful people and should not be allowed to cruise.

Lynn is beautiful and wonderful

​

Yes, we were nearly neighbors- we were on the Koningsdam for 2 weeks (11/26 - 12/10) and saw your ship in every port. Got some great pix of her!

Nice attire - definitely better than what we saw on our ship - thanks for sharing.

We were nearly neighbours, as I disembarked from the 'Discovery Princess' on Saturday, too, and the 'Koningsdam' tailed us from Los Angeles, on 3 December, to at least Puerto Vallarta. (I was off the ship so quickly when we returned to LA, I failed to notice if the 'Koningsdam' had come back there, as well.)

I'm happy I wasn't physically assaulted by any gymnastic children! (What a shame to allow that in what's a quite beautiful room; or so it appears in pics and videos...) But, it was disheartening to see so many lazy, inconsiderate people about. I mean, perhaps they have nice enough personalities. But, they certainly didn't show any care toward their fellow passengers by dressing nicely on any evening, let alone the formal nights. I wasn't going to let it drive me to quit trying, though; I'll fight against the slide to the lowest common denominator as long as I can. Who knows? Maybe I'll change a few minds; inspire others to do similar or the same next time. And, hey, by the end of the trip, I found out I'd earned the nickname around the ship of Gavin Bond, because I dressed well every night and the fact I like a martini. lol (I don't know who started that; whether it was crew or a passenger...) I certainly got compliments and gave out a few, myself, including to the poor guy I mentioned in my previous post, who was embarrassed by his wife in the elevator! He needed it.

(It's also not that I spent heaps of money; at least not all at once. The pants and shirt I got with employee discount when I worked retail as a summer job during university, eons back. The black velvet jacket I picked up on sale years ago. The bow tie and cummerbund I got for $20, combined, at a costume shop for a Hallowe'en costume at least a decade ago. (I had it held on at the back with a safety pin!) The cufflinks belonged to my father, which he used to let me borrow and I was given after he died. The only things new were the shoes ($99) and the white jacket ($124). Like I said in this thread a while back, you don't have to break the bank.)

I disembarked Sat from HAL new(ish) ship Koningsdam. There was a small library with more board games, puzzles and available space than books, but it was there. I take a Kindle with me on ships, but prefer real books and often find I never power on the Kindle. :) HAL has also moved away from "formal" nights in favor of "dressy" nights, but I saw very little "dressy" anything. We opted to dine in the Pinnacle Grill on the first dressy night and passed completely the 2nd, choosing the Lido instead; we just didn't want to look at any more "sloppy dress" in the MDR during a time designated as "dressy." Regardless, I am happy to see more people being afforded opportunities to explore the world and experience cultures that cruising offers. I am NOT happy being physically abused by children doing cartwheels in the MDR...ugh.

Cabin stewards continue to provide superior service; although, it is now limited to once per day, but they do an excellent job. And remember numerous names from the first encounter. That's a feat most parents with more than 1 child can't seem to pull off (admit it - you have either called Billy Fred or were addressed as Betty by your Mom even though Betty moved out years ago...lol).