Sundagger

9 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

Booked in 7059 fingers crossed it is a good selection.

It is essentially across the hall from the Neptune Lounge. That is the area that I've been reserving the past few cruises. Very convenient to the Lounge and it's snacks/canapes and an outstanding coffee machine. The concierges in the Lounge are exceptionally helpful with ship information and for resolving any problems that might come up.

My "significant other" and I are booked to Alaska from Vancouver in May of 2021 on the Koningsdam. We were booked last May, but it was cancelled. I'm getting very anxious - but I know that another cancellation is possible.

I had a dream cruise for last May cancelled - huge disappointment. I've been reading a lot and reading between the lines and decided to go ahead and book the same cruise for *next* May. I'm not going to be dreaming about it until February when the full payment is due and when I have a better idea of what is going to happen to cruising next summer.

I'm a mid - 3 star Mariner and still get email from my PCC and snail mail from HAL. I had an Alaskan Cruise booked in an SA suite for this past May. I had to get a refund for that (and credit from Delta). I've gone through booking for another Alaskan Cruise for next May, but stopped short of actually booking it. I'm not sure if there will be cruising from Canada by next May.

Is it customary to tip the concierges?

Well Done! Having sailed on the K'dam twice now, I can say this is the best review I have seen anywhere. Pics are excellent and really gives someone who is not familiar with the K a good idea of what the ship looks like. Thank you for your efforts sharing.

I definitely agree - an outstanding review with excellent pictures.

I have to wonder if the population of anti-smartphone posters is a reflection of the HAL age demographics.

For the record, I am in that demographic and couldn't live with out my Samsung Note 4.

Hah! I've been trying to decide if I should update my Note 4 for my 77th birthday in June. My significant other and I tote along a wide variety of electronics on our cruises. We get a 1000 minute internet package and never have anything left over. We *don't* carry a printer along, so use the one in the Neptune Lounge for our boarding passes.

I have a lot of apps on my phone - some I use daily, some weekly, some rarely, some I can't delete so they're a waste of space. We print our boarding passes and tuck them away, because the airline checkin scanners don't always work as well as they should - we like to have a backup to prevent delays.

Isn’t the photo the OP is talking about only used by the ship to identify you when boarding or leaving the ship? Who else sees this photo and why would anyone care what it looked like? I don’t recall that I have every looked at mine.

 

The concierges in the Neptune Lounge have the photos on their computer for those in the Neptune suites - I'm not sure if anyone else on board does.

I'd like to say thank you to everyone except ronbe65 and Tennessee Titan for staying on topic, providing your positive comments and addressing what might be expected on a new ship. I've learned so much on CC, especially that any topic, no matter how mundane will bring out the HAL bashers, the flame throwers and the just plan nasty. But I do keep coming back and risking it for those of you who are kind and are willing to share your knowledge. The majority of this conversation has been very helpful and encouraging. I'm going to be keeping my eye on this cruise and may see some of you on the NS in December.

Happy cruising.

I certainly agree with your comments about CC - I've just about abandoned it due to nasty complainers.

I was on the first Koningsdam Caribbean cruise and loved it. For my next winter cruise, I'm only looking at the Koningsdam and the Nieuw Statendam. I can't make the TA for various reasons.

Roger, thank you so much for the excellent account of your cruise. My first cruises on HAL were also on the Veendam, back in 2003, when I was also living in New Mexico. I'm glad that HAL is maintaining and updating their smaller ships (although I'm in love with the Koningsdam).

My main recollection from the Veendam cruise to Alaska was when I set off the smoke alarm by having a cigarette right under the alarm. No more smoking in cabins now and I haven't smoked in 7 years.

It is unfortunate that HAL isn't upgrading their internet connections. For those of us who are addicted to electronics, it's a frustrating situation.

I lived in Puerto Rico in the late 60's and hate to hear of the troubles there, both political and storm related. I'll probably be visiting it again in a year.

One person topped all the intrusive questions. On my first cruise, I was asked how much I paid for the cruise. I had gotten the cruise by submitting a very low bid on an auction site and accidentally winning it. I was panicked - I didn't really want to go on a cruise, but I had paid for it. When I told the questioner that I had paid $200 pp for a 7 day cruise - he didn't believe me. I went on and on about it and also added that my traveling companion had paid for airfare from Seattle to San Juan and I had paid from Santa Fe to San Juan - both airfares were far more than the cruise fare. I think he finally believed that I got a bargain on a fluke.

My current cruising companion (recently and forever more) and I prefer tables for two - we want to talk to each other. We talk to the crew far more than we talk to other passengers. And we don't do group tours - we explore ports on our own.

I heard complaints about cutbacks on our Noordam - San Francisco to Auckland. No specifics though.

 

We've only had three cruises on HAL, one in 1999 before Carnival bought HAL. Last year on Voyage of the Vikings and this year.

 

We did have flowers (daisies in a bud vase) in our Signature Suite on Noordam. Saw them after embarkation in San Francisco, and fresh flowers after Sydney.

 

I didn't know this, but Noordam's bathroom doors are made w/ a hydrolic closure so you won't smash the fingers.

 

Rotterdam had a strong door magnet to keep the bathroom door open. With the suite amenities package we bought, we had fresh flowers weekly.

Carnival bought HAL in 1989.

I'm very glad to see a review of the Koningsdam that matches what we experienced on a Southern Caribbean itinerary. We were across the hall from the Neptune Lounge, so used that coffee machine instead of the one in the suite. I think the Lincoln Center is a terrific addition to the entertainment. I ate/drank at the Dutch Cafe often, but seating was a problem there. We managed to avoid the Lido except at the beginning or ending of the lunch hours, so it wasn't terribly crowded at those times. We also went to Gelato daily for dessert or whenever the mood struck.

It's always amazing to me; no matter what Holland America implements there is always so many negative responses?

 

If it is all so bad why do folks continue cruising with this cruise line?

 

If they offer you chocolate and you don't think you will like it don't try it. Thanks, this new offering is free.

 

I'm waiting to be flamed.��

No flames from me. I've actually cut back on cruising on HAL, not due to it's changes, but to the constant complaining I hear. One gentleman was overheard having a coffee with a ship's officer and asking them to turn off the overhead music on the ship because he had trouble concentrating. The Koningsdam and its upcoming sister ship are the main reasons I DO continue to cruise with HAL. I'm probably going to drop out of Cruise Critic due to the whining of so many members.

I had looked at the two Neptune suites at the top/front of the ship, and finally found a review of the cabin somewhere (I can't find it now). The reviewer loved the huge size of the cabin - very spacious. They didn't love the long distance to the Neptune Lounge though. When the ship was under way, it was too windy to sit out on the huge verandah. Since I love to sit on the verandah, and I'm addicted to the Neptune Lounge, I decided on a suite across the hall from the Neptune Lounge.

We sailed on the Koningsdam twice, and the late show (10pm) was never busy. At most it was half full.

Half full or half empty?;p

In the last 4 years we have traveled on HAL cruises 9 times, to include the 14 day Alaska voyage to Anchorage on the Amsterdam we're on right now. However, we may be jumping ship after our Antarctica cruise next year as HAL's rebranding strategy definitely is not in sync with what we enjoy when cruising. Here's what we found out on the cruise we're on right now.

 

The cruise director's response to our daughter's request for karaoke was that HAL wants the passengers to focus more on what to do off the ship rather than on the ship. In others words as they only have a cruise director and one assistant now, they only have time to offer trivia at various times around the ship. If you want "cheesy" entertainment like karaoke or game shows, look elsewhere as there were no such offerings so far on this 14 day Alaska cruise.

 

Forget about having a naturalist speak on one of their Alaskan cruises, even a 14 day one like we're on. The best you're going to get is a person from excursions read from a script when sailing by a glacier.

 

We stopped by the future cruise desk to confirm the rumor that HAL is only going to have lecturers on cruises over 15 days and were told "it depends". If you are on a 15+ day cruise on the Prinsendam in Northern Europe or cruising through the Panama Canal or around Antarctica, the answer is yes; otherwise probably not.

 

We're really not complaining, but just wanted to let folks know what we found out. It will be interesting to see what they actually offer on the Antarctica cruise we're booked on in January.

 

But as you can tell from our future cruises booked below, HAL is definitely not our "go to" cruise line anymore. It's sad too as we just made 4 star and love the free laundry and the other perks you get at that level. But we feel if we're going to be on a 25-35 day cruise, there should be a lot more things to do than play trivia, watch evening shows and go to the bar and listen to piano players.

 

But that's ok. After 9 cruises on HAL in 5 years, maybe it is time for a change, especially when an Oceania veranda cabin is roughly the same price as a HAL vista suite.

 

 

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So Celebrity, Oceania, and Crystal have karaoke and game shows? What other sorts of entertainment do they provide that HAL doesn't? I'm not really familiar with those lines.

We sailed for three weeks on the Kdam in January. Our food was always as described (may be the difference between early and late), service was excellent, the table next to our fixed (early) was for anytime diners on the top level of the dining room. While we noticed the different timing than ours they weren't obtrusive at all. I think the MDR is beautiful.

 

 

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We were on the Kdam for 10 days in November and were very pleased with the early fixed dining on the upper level as well. The waitstaff was friendly, courteous and prompt. The wine stewardess had time for some conversation and even made us some origami. The food was as good as any I've had over the past dozen years.

We were very fond of the Kdam, particularly the Lincoln Center performances, the Grand Dutch Cafe and Gelato. The concierges were exceptionally helpful - we hope to see them again. We're also looking forward to the Nieuw Statendam when it debuts next year. I just regret that the two new ships will be sailing the identical Caribbean itineraries.

We did not miss it in our Koningsdam Neptune (SA). We liked the addition of a separate toilet room with sink.

That is the configuration we had on our K-dam cruise. The diagram online for the Neptune Suites has the "angled" toilet near the bathtub and kind of a blank area where the dressing table was on other ships - that wasn't our experience. While we liked the separate toilet w/sink, the dressing/makeup area near the window looking out onto the verandah wasn't as convenient or as well-lit.

I guess Princess is getting worried about the larger ship competition that Konigsdam is now offering. Time to bring out the heavy guns to trash HAL, which is pretty much one off from all the other reports about the Konigsdam. Sorry you were so miserable on a HAL ship. Everyone eventually finds the right mix for themselves.

Yes, this hatchet job was dramatically different than my cruise on the Koningsdam in November. I hope the original poster will stay with Princess, so that I won't have the misfortune to run into them. I detest whiners.

One thing to be cautious of with surprisingly low fares is the fact that many of those are *non-refundable*. That seems to be a new trend in HAL pricing. Be sure to read the fine print.

We loved the Koningsdam. We had our daily (sometimes twice daily) gelatos and stopped at the Dutch Cafe every day. The concerts in the Lincoln Center Stage were a daily must. I think that will be the only HAL ship that we cruise on in the future - although the upcoming sister ships will probably be as enjoyable.

On the Koningsdam in November, we were given the bottle of sparkling wine, plus two bottles of Perrier water and 3 bottles of still water. I don't know if they were all intended to be gratis, but we drank them and weren't charged.:D I wouldn't count on them being in your suite, but they might be.

I didn't care for the in-room coffee, but we were across the hall from the Neptune Lounge and got the excellent coffee there (and lots of snacks).

Although this ship doesn't have the traditional promenade deck with deck chairs I still enjoyed my cruise on the Koningsdam. In fact I've booked a B2B later this year. Love the addition of the Dutch Cafe and Lincoln Center Stage chamber music. Improvements on this new class of ship are needed in my opinion but I'm sure they were as well when HAL introduced them S class ships! My favorite ship is still the Maasdam but my attitude is any dam ship is better than no ship.

I definitely agree with some of the new features on the Koningsdam. After 10 days aboard this winter, it's now my first choice for cruising.

The previous posters covered things very well - I was just going to add that on the Koningsdam, we had the sparkling wine, but also 2 bottles of Perrier and 3 bottles of a still water. We weren't sure if they were all complementary, but we finished them by the end of the 10 days and weren't charged for the waters. If you have water in the cabin, you could ask the cabin stewards or the NL concierges if yours are complementary.

It's very nice to have the extra space, especially the large bathroom, but it's the perks that make it worthwhile for us. On the K'dam, the concierges were especially friendly and helpful, so we were over there numerous times per day for coffee, snacks, conversation with the concierges, reading the Times Digest, etc.