patrickmoran

The drawers probably take 1/3 of the space under the bed. The advantage for you will be 1 drawer has bedding for the extra beds. That should be empty for you. 4 in the cabin will be really tight, especially with the sofa open.

A couple of quick comments on the cabin and the ship:

The promenade has been discussed quite a bit. My surprise was that it was not all under cover. Most is half covered and some not at all. So walking during inclement or really hot, sunny weather may mean using the gym. I used the gym several times and found lots of equipment to use. I go mid afternoon and did not have a problem getting a treadmill or using the weight machines.

The cabin, as discussed, is snug. It is definitely smaller than Celebrity S-class ship balcony cabins. Storage space was OK. We brought lots of clothes for the 2 weeks and found places for everything. There are 2 drawers at the foot of the bed under the mattress. The shower is nice size and did not have any problem getting hot water. Our main issue was the shower water temp would oscillate from hot to cold. Reported it but I don't think they did anything. Not a big issue but for a new ship... Unlike Princess ships, you can get nice cold water from the faucet. Balcony size was fine and definitely larger than Princess Royal/Regal balconies. Except on the forward or aft balcony cabins on Beethoven deck (4), you cannot look straight down and see the water. All upper balconies look down on the tenders or half of the Beethoven balconies. Not a big issue for me but you can't see what's happen on the pier next to the ship when docked.

Also balconies on the Navigation deck (8) are only half covered.

I watched a good number of movies on the room TV - good selection. I could watch my talking heads on MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News though I had to account for the 6 hour time diff. ESPN Int'l was showing college baseball and softball playoffs, soccer. They showed the EURO 2016 games on the Lido movie screen. Otherwise the movies/shows on it weren't my cup of tea. It looked great and being covered helped versus alot of cruise ships big screens.

Thank you so much for posting. I am scheduled for a cruise on Koningsdam next May, and am also deaf. I have cochlear implants, which I love, but they are not perfect and hearing with them is quite challenging. I am looking forward to your perspective.

If all goes well, I will get my implant on the 28th. I had hoped to have it done and turned on for this cruise but it didn't happen. I told my wife if I had it I would probably develop a Norwegian accent as I learned to hear again. LOL

Other than missing out on the new entertainment venues, being deaf was not much of a problem. The main production shows weren't as visually entertaining as those on Princess or Celebrity.

My wife and I have returned from Koningsdam's May 29th to June 12th Voyage of the Midnight Sun cruise. We had a great cruise and liked the new ship. A little background to get started. Also if someone could point me to instructions about embedding pix that would helpful. I tried those in CC FAQs section but it wasn't working.

We are in our mid-60s and last sailed HAL in 2011. We have over 20 cruises, mainly Carnival, Princess and Celebrity. I am deaf so can't offer much comment on the entertainment other than the venues were all popular.

We booked an OV guarantee months ago. We got 3 upsell offers in the 2 weeks before the cruise but didn't bite. 5 days before the cruise we got our cabin assignment. We scored an upgrade to a VC balcony cabin, 5040!:D Great location, forward on the Gershwin deck.

Big hits for me on the K'dam: Notes (whiskey bar), New York Pizza & Deli, and Dive In.

Big miss: size of hot tubs at the Sea View pool. 2 people and they are crowded. I can't imagine 4 in them!

Can't comment on ship's internet speed because we didn't use it. I found enough free internet spots in the ports to keep up with email & FB.

We only ate 2 dinners and 1 breakfast in the MDR. Ate once each in the Pinnacle Grill and Caneletto. Otherwise Lido buffet, deli or burgers.

More later

We have not sailed HAL for several years. We will soon be on the K'dam for 2 weeks and have ATD. With HAL can you call the Dining line in the am to make a reservation for that evening in MDR? If we like particular servers, can we arrange to have them in advance? The K'dam may have some differences from the other HAL ships so experiences may or may not translate. But any guidance will be helpful

Any specialty nights in MDR we should particularly watch for?

Thanks

We booked our trip with the risk free cancellation benefit.

 

And 5 minutes ago we invoked it, due to the posts on this site, and on vikings site, talking about high water, water not being navigable, etc. and that our trip would be modified to accommodate.

 

Ill let you know how it plays out.

What cruise were you booked on?

For the itinerary that we are looking at, the promotion is worth $1,100 pp, net cruise price diff. Sweet!

Was there an entrance fee to Nordkapp?

Get Global Entry. It fill save time going through Immigration. Once approved you will also be TSA Precheck approved saving time at FLL. (The security line there is outrageously long but does move.) A well spent $100 pp.

https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/pkmslogout

This is no different than any other travel company selling late into the season. The price on our upcoming Holland America cruise on their newest ship dropped by 1/3 after final payment day. Fortunately I got a good rate when we booked plus some perks otherwise :mad:. Airfares to Amsterdam now are crazy high, nearly 3 times what I paid. Airfares are hurting the cruise industry but they continue to go up.:(

Recently off the Royal Princess and it has this type system. Princess has now put their own card in the slot permanently because US pax hated it. Europeans are liking what's the fuss?

P.S., still managed to walk out of the cabin without my key card and had to go to the purser.

If you book a pre-cruise extend through Viking, do they still charge deviation fees? I would expect they would handle airport transfers as well?

No deviation fee; airport and ship transfers are included in the price of the extension.

So do you tip on the sodas and mocktails? If so, how?

No tipping required. The tip is factored into the price (+15%) that you pay initially. If you find a regular server that treats you well, then a tip will be appreciated.

We had the Soda & More package on our recent Royal cruise and it worked well. I found different bartenders have different recipes for some of the mocktails. The Sunrise Daquiri always seemed the same but I had at least 5 versions of the No Jito. I liked the sweet one best and did not care for the ones made with a lot of grapefruit or pineapple juice.

One day the diet cola tasted nasty no matter where I got it. I started asking for it with lime and liked that. About 25% of the time, the drink showed up without the lime but the soda tasted fine. We drink Coke Zero at home and prefer it to Diet Coke.

Forgot to add that one evening I tried the BBQ from the Trident Grill. BBQ is available after 6 pm. The grill has 2 menus that alternate. I had the one with ribs, wings and beef brisket. The food was good though the BBQ was "Kansas City" which was a bit mustardy for my tastes. The wing was very mild but tasty. The brisket was tender. The ribs were not baby back and a bit chewy. I liked the option of BBQ.

Thanks for your review! Is there a time on your boarding pass and do they allow you to board earlier than the time stated? What is the earliest you are allowed to board the ship? Also did you do Anytime dining and how did you find that to be on this ship?

We got to ship about 1pm. We drove to a parking lot near the airport and rode a van to the pier. Lots of people arriving then. We are Platinum so it took maybe 15 minutes to get on the ship. We dropped the bags in the room and had lunch in Alfredos, nice and quiet with good service.

We did have Anytime Dining but only ate in MDR on the 1st formal night. We went to the show first then went to the dining room on deck 6 and were seated immediately. The section was not busy and enjoyed a fairly quick dinner.

We were on the Southern Carib 10 day itinerary. I thought I would post a few thoughts/info that I haven't seen in other reviews.

We had a sideways inside cabin on Riveria Deck, R227. We have stayed in many Princess inside cabins and wanted to try a sideways one. I thought the shelf space was excellent and the cabin had a longer desk so more surface area to put stuff. The cabin did feel a bit bigger. We had twin beds to give more space in the middle. With the twin arrangement, you loose the pillow top mattress pad. The mattresses were very firm. I had the stewardess put on foam toppers and top sheets. that worked well though the wife thought the bed wasn't real comfortable. I slept fine. I liked the cabin and location.

We ate mostly in the Horizon Court. We liked the food and there was certainly plenty of it. The specialty nights were very good. Lots of servers clearing tables, getting drinks, etc, for all meals. Generally, the hot soups on the MDR menu will be on the buffet. There may some other items also from the MDR menu. there was more fish available in MDR than the buffet. The MDR menus generally weren't interesting enough to justify the time at dinner. Seemed like there is more port on the menus than before and less beef. We ate 1 dinner, 1 lunch and 1 breakfast in the MDR and they were good. We ate lunch twice at Alfredos and liked that. We did Crab Shack once and enjoyed it though I think the $20 pp is getting a little high compared to the other specialty restaurants.

Dominica is the poorest island visited. Seemed like the best prices for trinkets. The ship docks outside of town and there is a shuttle bus to the tourist area in town. I think it cost $3 pp each way. There was a warehouse where the ship docked and a flea market was set up inside. Some vendors would bargain; others not. Our day there was rainy.

I snorkeled on ship excursions in St Thomas and Bonaire. Both excursions were fairly priced. Both were had 2 snorkeling stops. The snorkeling in ST was poor but the rum punch and snacks great. Opposite for Bonaire, one of the best snorkeling excursions I have been on (Sea Cow). Also more snorkeling time because we were just across from where the ship docked so less back and forth.

First several days, it was very windy up on deck. I like the Retreat pools on Princess ships so that is where I would hang out. Needed to batten down the hatches.

Debarkation was very swift. I have never seen such short lines for immigration. We got off late so I don't know how it was earlier.

Spent lots of time in the Piazza reading. Surprisingly, it was not usually crowded though our weather was good. But even in the evenings, it was not crowded.

We got the Soda & More package and that worked fine for us. I had brought a couple of bottles on board. It is no problem, and no corkage fee, to take the bottles to the buffet. The servers quickly got us wine glasses.

Anyway, we enjoyed the ship and the cruise. We are looking forward to our TA in the Fall aboard the Royal.

Anyone know what time masses are at Our Lady of Fairhaven Catholic church in Roseau? Thanks

I believe it docks out of town. Correct? Is there a shuttle into Rosseau?

Thanks

If it is important to you that you sit at a table for 2, then select Anytime dining instead of Traditional. It is true that you can request a table change in Traditional but the maitre d won't be able to reassign you to a table for 2 if they are already all taken. AnyTime Dining gives you more flexibility.

That should be opened bottle. You can have the server keep the bottle and it will be on the table the next night if you have fixed dining time. If you have anytime dining, the server will label the bottle with your cabin number. When you want it, tell whichever server you have that there is a bottle for you and he will retrieve it.

No problem taking it back to the cabin. The key is glassware. There will be glasses in the cabin. If you pour a glass and take it to dinner and don't bring the glass back, the cabin stewards no longer will replace the glass. You'll have to get glasses from Room Service or stop at a bar and ask for a clean glass. It's a pain but its not the steward's fault. A few years ago, management instituted a new policy and won't let them replace the glass. Stupid but oh well.

I suppose I should have asked this question as well - or maybe it should be a separate question - but here goes. For us the total price is a concern. Would you consider a less expensive line with a room with a Juliet balcony or a more expensive line with a cabin with the small windows? On the Seine is the time spent cruising very scenic?

I recommend that you pay for a less expensive cabin and extend your stay in Paris. If you haven't been before, there is way too much to see even if the ship docks at the Eiffel Tower and run like mad while in Paris. Secondly, we did Viking's cruise this past October and the fall colors were gorgeous. You want to be up on deck to take it all in and go from side to side not sitting on a balcony or looking out a cabin window. You would miss too much. Plus you won't believe what happens when the ships approach some of the low bridges near Paris! You want to be up on deck for that.

What kind of juices are available? Thanks

What juices are available with the package? Are they available at all the bars? MDR or buffet? Thanks

What juices are included? Fresh squeezed OJ? Are these juices available at any of the bars? Thanks

According to my policy, up to time of departure.