Inside Passage Voyage

On our embarkation day, we ended up taking Lyft to the cruise terminal at Canada Place as we had about 3 luggages. Note, do not get dropped off in front of any waterfront hotels, an employee may come out to lecture drivers about dropping off passengers in front of their building. When we arrived at the terminal it was already in the afternoon, around 1pm. By the time we passed all the security (there were 2 in total) and got checked in to our room, it was already about 3pm.

Technically, they do have designated boarding times depending on your deck number, but I don’t think anyone was keeping track. Next time, I think we will go really early to get a head start on exploring the ship, and having enough time to eat after boarding.

There was a lot of standing and waiting in line through security (without fan or AC) for about 1-2 hours, so be prepared! Wear layers that you can easily remove if you get too hot.

I was worried about bringing water bottles onboard (thought it was the same as airport security where you have to discard any liquid), but nobody really checked water bottles.

Here are some photos as we finally embarked on the Koningsdam.

Depending on what time you board, your room may or may not be ready. Chances are if you arrive in the afternoon, your room will be prepared for you with the keys and “papers” such as activity list, dining options, etc. in front of the room door. Once you get to your room, your cabin steward will come and greet you, explain any safety procedures, and remind you that you can eat in the buffet.

For safety reasons, HAL had everyone on the ship go to their mustard stations and get “checked in” right away. If you forgot or thought this was optional, they might announce your name on the PA.

When we booked, we chose a guaranteed obstructed balcony room, but fortunately we received a category upgrade, so we got a great room with a massive balcony (unobstructed – minus the tender boat on the left side)! Our room was VB4169 on the 4F Beethoven Deck, kind of in between mid and back of the ship.

After we rested a bit, we ate at the Lido buffet (which was still very crowded). It was difficult to find empty seats, but luckily a group next to the window was just leaving as we were searching for seats. The food options varied everyday, available in different sections; a salad bar (called ‘Wild Harvest‘), main entree bars (‘Homestead’ and ‘Roasting Pan‘), bread area (‘Breadboard‘), sandwich area (‘Rise‘), international foods (‘Distant Lands‘), and dessert section (‘Sweet Spot’).

For international foods, one section was always Italian (various pastas and on rare occasions when available, lasagnas), and the other varied everyday (for our trip we had Japanese, Chinese, some Korean, Dutch, and Greek food). The food was somewhat decent, but did not taste quite authentic.

Note that there are 2 sides to Lido, although they’re connected by a mid-hallway; most sections such as entrees and salad bars are the same, but things like international foods were different. Depending on the meal time, some sections on one side might also be closed.

There were very little “self-serve” options, though this was probably due to sanitary reasons. You would choose which foods you want then the servers will plate it for you. There was also always a bit of a queue for the main entree section.

After having our fill, we explored the ship and its impressive artworks onboard. We also went to the Crow’s Nest (on the top – deck 12), to play some board games. There was a shelf designated for board games, and had some games like Monopoly, Sorry, Life, Checkers, Clue, and Scrabble. You would take the board game to a table and return it once you’re done.

We didn’t get a drink package with our trip, so I just ordered and it was automatically billed to my room card. Whatever you purchase on the ship (drinks, gifts, services like the spa, fitness classes) will be billed to your room card, and before you disembark, you would be able to check your final statement. If there are any errors, you can go to the Guest Services located on Promenade deck before getting off the ship.

It wasn’t too long after eating at the buffet, but it was already dinner time so we headed to the main dining room. Since we had anytime dining, we didn’t have a specific reservation slot, so we dropped by and asked for a table of 2.

Most of the time, we only waited for maybe 5-10 minutes before we were seated. But, you could call ahead early once you’re checked in the room to reserve a table. Reservation only opens 2 days in advance and spots fill up really fast.

Keep in mind, the service in the dining room (DR) tends to be slower compared to specialty dining areas as there’s a lot more people. On average, meal times in the dining room took around 1 hour and a half. If you’re in a hurry (maybe to catch a show or go to an excursion), stop by Lido instead and grab a bite.

I wasn’t aware on the first day, but you are allowed to order more than 1 dish! If you can’t decide between surf and turf, you can get both! Normally, the ingredients used in the DR menu would be very similar to the Lido ones, just presented a bit differently. Of course, there are some unique menu items only available in the DR as well.

We also stopped by the fitness centre, not to work out 😂, but to join in the Spa raffle draw.
We didn’t win this time, but I was able to snag the embarkation day offer at the Spa. Note all prices onboard are in USD.

In the evening, we had an amazing view of the sunset over the Campbell River. Then we made our way to the World Stage, where we watched a speaker talk about the cruise for about 30 minutes.

After the show, we went back to our room to rest and rewind. We watched some TV and the live map of the route, as well as the weather forecast for our first port day, in Juneau.

Next day was a sea day, which meant we would be spending most of our time watching shows, playing board games, going to the spa, and of course, eating!