CMDE

I changed the answer to the women in wellness panel to 5, and was successful. 

Raptor Bill,  I got exactly the same answers from the video, but I can’t get my answers to take either, it still says I have made an error.

On 3/25/2021 at 9:42 AM, wrk2cruise said:

  The room is large like the other concierge rooms and the balcony is huge about 20' deep.  They are on deck 7, 8, 9 but avoid deck 9 if possible.

 

Hi, wrk2cruise, why do you say avoid deck 9 on the aft balconies? I just booked on Summit for fall, 2022 and got one of the ones you mentioned on deck 9, over another one available on deck 7.

I got my refund to my credit card tonight.

I had cancelled our cruise on March 12, our cruise was a 25 day leaving on April 16. I had the cancellation insurance through Holland America, and my refund was what I would have received under normal circumstances, plus an additional FCC (not huge). I am happy to see the refund. I hadn’t made any pre-boarding purchases.

i hope I get to use the FCC next year!

We were in Koningsdam 4040 last Christmas and New Year’s. We liked the location, very close to elevators so I could zip up for my espresso every morning. It was quiet also. The floor to ceiling windows were nice, and you can see from one photo how obstructed our view was, we didn’t mind it.

We had an outside cabin at Christmas, and similarly there was no light in the bathroom. We had the same lighting under the cabinet area, but it was a motion detector light, and only came on when we got out of bed, which was handy.

For what it’s worth, we had outside cabin DD2690 on the Rotterdam this past February for two weeks, very close to the “secret area”. We had a great cruise - but our cabin did have some floorboard damage near the bathroom, as did the hallway. It was crumbly. But I was so happy to be on the ship that I didn’t even notice until halfway through

That hidden area is very nice for running out and checking the weather, looking at the sea and ports, but you can’t see out when you are in a lounger. 

I noticed when I bought a 4 bottle wine package (for the first time) on our last cruise, the wine steward just kept a written tab, and we didn’t get charged until the last day of the cruise. Does that mean that I don't have to decide if I will order 4, 6 or 8 when I first order? We are going on a longer cruise so trying to decide which package I should order.

Thanks so much for this review, which is the true benefit of cruisecritic. And your review is especially enjoyable to read, and helpful for cruise decisions. 

On 8/15/2019 at 6:30 PM, Anita Latte said:

........

I'm not offering any specifics here, but hopefully my process helps! LOL.

Thanks for sharing your description, it is very helpful. I am going to copy it for my cruise planning notes. 

I keep reading that cruisers on cruisecritic don’t want to eat in the main dining room. Last time we were on Royal we really liked MDR - but that was more than 5 years ago. Should we worry for our cruise in September? Or do you just like variety?

We were on the Rotterdam in February and we were able to get a device from the front desk for an art tour, which I really enjoyed. I think the device was an iPod, I can’t quite remember. 

Our room had some wear and tear on the walls near the bathroom - they were soggy somehow. Honestly, I didn’t even notice until a few days in, I was having such a good time. And I did notice rooms on the other side were having some problems, with fans, etc. Our ocean view room was far aft. There seemed to be a leak on the promenade deck that never quite got fixed as it was always quite wet. 

However, I loved the cruise - a very happy atmosphere, great service overall, excellent food and service in the MDR, and great entertainment in the lobby bar for a drink before dinner (which I love). I would definitely sail on that ship again. 

We had G501 in May, 2018 from Boston to Bermuda. This was the farthest forward cabin. We had 2 portholes, very deep - much like the photos on halfacts. I liked the stateroom - we were docked portside and had good light and could see out quite well if we knelt on the bed (we were king bed configuration). 

We were very rocky the last night coming home, and felt it quite a lot, but I think the whole ship felt that, maybe not quite as much as those far forward. Otherwise it was fine. I loved having the portholes and the light, and they were traditional looking, so I appreciated that. I do not remember the cabin being noisy other than when we were docking. 

I found at one point that I had to click on the link twice. First time wouldn’t work, but second time (on ipad or iMac) would produce a PDF. That was maybe 6 months ago?

So just to clarify - I have a 25 day cruise (Noordam, Sydney to Vancouver) that can also be booked as 2 separate trips of 16 days and 9 days. But it doesn’t appear to be a Grand Voyage. So my status wouldn’t change after the 16 day cruise?

Thanks, 2BACRUISER, I was thinking only of using the dress for other combos, so those are great ideas for the jacket. 

Thanks for the encouragement. I will take it on the longer cruise - especially since it’s pretty light. I will also try and come up with ideas to wear the dress separately without the jacket. 

Hi, I am going on a Christmas and New Years Cruise on Holland America. I got this dress/jacket today which I am really happy with, and I also have a long black dress with some gold accents. 

We no longer get as dressed up for formal nights as when we started cruising (2005), but I am assuming the holidays will be dressier. Would you agree?

Also, we are doing a 25 day trans Pacific in April - would you take this with you, or is it more of a holiday dress? Originally I was thinking longish skirt with different tops for that cruise .

Does the laundry package (for the whole cruise) include pressing? I got it on our last cruise and I thought it didn’t. But now when I think about it, everything that came back on hangers looked so great, they must have been pressed. I should have known, LOL.

Kiimlew, did you like the $250 beverage card better than paying for drinks one at a time? I’ve read about the advantage of not getting paper receipts, but wondering about other benefits? I’m going on a longer cruise so just wondering about getting one of those cards.

14 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The deck is very narrow with the lifeboats and tenders blocking most of the sea views.  There are no deck chairs available on the deck.  The Pinnacle Class ships Promenade Deck is very different than that same deck on all of the other HAL ships.

Thanks for the info. I’ve booked an OV on the Koningsdam, and tend to avoid the pool area, but hopefully I’ll find another shady place to sit and look at the ocean.

We ran into a similar situation at our boarding lunch last year. We are Canadian and there was another Canadian couple and an American couple. The other Canadian couple kept trying to bring up politics -  I felt like they were trying to goad the American couple, in a way. I found it a bit surprising.

Luckily, the American couple had been on about 50 cruises all around the globe, and I LOVE talking about cruising, so that kind of stopped the political discussion. There’s always somebody who’s travelled more than me, or to different places.

On 6/14/2019 at 12:45 PM, Teresa Price said:

Just back from the Koningsdam 23 nights in the med.  Felt very crowded at times. Not helped by no proper prom deck -- as in to sit on during days at sea.

Teresa 

Hi, can you explain about the promenade deck? Is it different from some of the other ships?

Thanks, our last ship was the Rotterdam in February, and they didn’t have the B.B. King venue, so that’s probably why. I’m sure I will find some entertainment somewhere else!

Thanks for the great review and information. 

On previous cruises I’ve always enjoyed a drink before dinner in the Atrium, outside the Ocean Bar (I think that was the name), and there was usually a pianist or a jazz trio. I don’t see that in the schedule. We’re doing that cruise in 2020. Is there predinner entertainment there usually or is it somewhere else?