MarkWiltonM

I don't know how you can be aware that it's non-refundable if you are not told in advance.  But, believe me, it won't happen again. 

I booked an Alaska cruise last month (February 2019) on HAL Koningsdam for August 2020 through AARP's Expedia Travel Center.  I was asked to pay a $350 deposit but was not told by the representative at Expedia that the deposit was non-refundable.  We had to cancel the cruise and lost the $350.  I blame this partly on Expedia but HAL should also make sure its travel partners are fully disclosing the requirements, as I was not even aware there was such a thing as a non-refundable deposit.  In this case, it shouldn't even be called a deposit but rather a fee.   And I would never make a reservation that far in advance (18 months!) if I knew the deposit was non-refundable. The person I was speaking to at Expedia when I called to cancel had HAL on the line for about 30 minutes and they refused to re-consider.  When I re-book for Alaska, I am giving my business to Celebrity.  Until this happened, I had begun sailing more on HAL than on Celebrity but I am not sure I will ever sail with HAL again.  So HAL got $350 out of me but has lost many, many thousands of dollars from me in future sailings.   

I was on Nieuw Statendam in January and Koningsdam the year before, and while we enjoyed some of the food in the main dining room,  most of it wasn't anything to write home about (except for the Culinary Council dinner, which was excellent).  I've sometimes not finished my entree because it wasn't that great and then ordered another entree or I went to the Lido buffet to have something else.  But it never occurred to me, for example, to send my entree back like I would do with an entree I ordered at a land-based restaurant that wasn't up to snuff.  But if HAL introduces the $10 surcharge for an extra entree, they should be prepared for some of us to hold our first entree to a higher standard than we otherwise would.  Meaning, if the entree I order isn't delicious, I'll tell the waiter I don't like it and have them bring me something else (at no charge).  And if I order a second entree for $10, it better be worth $10 or back it goes.  I assume they can't charge you if you say the entree isn't satisfactory after tasting it.  If others do the same, HAL may find their additional charge backfiring on them with more food waste and cost than they would have had for the people who occasionally order an extra entree.  (We've already decided not to dine in any specialty restaurants next year on the K'Dam because they aren't, in my opinion, worth the up-charge.) 

I was annoyed to read that HAL is testing a $10 charge for ordering an additional entree in the main dining room.  The article I read said it was to prevent food waste, which is ridiculous.  Obviously it's to increase revenue.  The article also said a lot of people order an extra entree and don't finish it.  Well: Maybe they didn't finish it because it wasn't good!  The entree portions in the main dining room are not large, and my spouse and I sometimes order a third entree to share between us when we can't decide on just two entrees.  HAL: It's a bad, tacky idea.  FWIW:  When we were on the Nieuw Statendam recently, we took the main dining room up on its offer to order lobster for an additional charge (there's a card on every table advertising this option).  We had to wait 45 minutes (!!!) for the lobster.  We assumed they would comp the lobster after that long of a wait but all we got was a "sorry" from the embarrassed server and the head waiter.  We'll not try that again.  

Dave,

Thanks for pointing out that the prices are for 2 "sailors" in one cabin and not per person. I did another spot check for a five-day cruise to Havana in May for a stateroom with an unobstructed veranda and it was $4,000 for two including taxes and fees, which is $800 per night for 2 people.  Still more than HAL or Celebrity Solstice Class ships but not as high as I thought.  And it is a new ship with innovative features.  And I heard one of the lounges will have a resident drag queen performing. 

I just looked on the Virgin Voyages website for a five-day cruise to Havana from Miami for a mid-ship stateroom with a veranda for two people.  The price was luxury-cruise level at $4750 ($950 per day).  My recent cruise on HAL Nieuw Statendam and my booked cruise for February 2020 on the to-be-refurbished Celebrity Silhouette are priced at about half that ($500 per day for a veranda stateroom).  Although The Scarlet Lady sounds fun,  it (and the overpriced Celebrity Edge) will sale without me.   

LocoLoco1, I'm sorry I don't remember what was there other than the jigsaw puzzle table.  But there is comfortable seating. 

I love Celebrity's Solstice class ships but I've been dubious about the Edge since I first heard about the gimmicky Magic Carpet (even the name is stupid, IMO) and the Infinity Veranda staterooms, which looks exactly like the sliding windows that have been on river cruise ships for years  (see, for example, Emerald Waterways).  These verandas were touted as being "revolutionary" but if you read the reviews on this site they aren't popular to say the least.  It turns a veranda stateroom into a windowed stateroom with a window that you can open some but not all of the time.  The only good thing I noticed was that they haven't done away with Cafe al Bacio, but reviewers report there are few places to sit and relax inside or to sit in the shade outside, which is a dealbreaker for me.  We will be on Nieuw Statendam in a couple of weeks (were on sister ship Koningsdam last year and loved it), and we'll be on a newly refurbished Celebrity Silhouette in 2020.   

We were on Koningsdam, the sister ship to Nieuw Statendam, last year and loved it.  We are in our late 50s/early 60s but our cruising habits and preferences haven't changed since we were in our  30s.  We don't require a lot of "activities" to keep us busy or expect anyone to map out our days for us.  We like to relax; read a lot, both in the room and in various locations on the ship, preferably with a strong cappuccino and a pastry; play some cards/games, sometimes with others we meet on the ship; visit the ports of call; take naps in the room and watch movies (Nieuw Statendam/Koningsdam have a  pretty good selection of free on demand films); go to the gym or the running track; and most important, EAT.  In our opinion, Holland America has the best food of any of the mainstream cruise lines, with Celebrity a close second.  The food in the Lido buffet on Koningsdam was the best we've had at sea.  The specialty restaurants Pinnacle Grill and Rudi's Sel de Mer are also worth a visit.  People rave about Tamarind, but pan-Asian restaurants aren't our thing (now if a cruise ship had a good dim sum restaurant we would be all over it).  Nieuw Statendam has a lot of options for music entertainment including the new Rolling Stone Rock Room (a bar with a rock band), Billboard Onboard (a bar with dueling pianos), BB Kings Blues Club (blues band of course), and Lincoln Center Stage (a classical quintet).  On Koningsdam, the only music we thought was top-notch was the quintet, and we rarely go to the theaters on cruise ships because the entertainment is usually mediocre by our standards.  We will be on Nieuw Statendam from Jan. 20-30.  Can hardly wait.  I think you should try it. 

On Koningsdam last year we didn't notice  smoke or the the smell coming from the casino.  The worst smoke was on the deck aft of the Lido Market.  It's nice to  sit and eat out there but the starboard side of that deck was for smokers and depending on which way the wind is blowing it can come over to the port side.  But since it's outside, and it's a lovely deck, we put up with it.  

I got a call that the 02/02/2020 cruise had been canceled. I booked for 02/23/2020 for the same itinerary. They honored the original price but the go-for-2 promotion I purchased wasn't going to be honored until I protested. The first person I spoke to at Celebrity's call center was useless. I called again the next day and got a great service rep who went to a manager and got it all approved. If you don't get good service when you call try again. Of course this does not apply to those who work with an independent travel agent, in which case you have to go through them. 

I wonder why they moved both Billboard AND Lincoln Center. Perhaps the new use of the space will help explain this. Otherwise, I would rather they keep BB Kings in the Queen's Lounge to take advantage of all that great dance floor space.

When I was on Koningsdam in January, I was told they were moving BB King out of the Queen's Lounge on Nieuw Statendam because it was too loud for the shops opposite it. There have also been complaints about noise from the Queen's Lounge, which is two decks high including the balconies and I believe has staterooms above it (or so I was told; haven't checked the deck plans). Because Lincon Center Stage performs earlier than BB King, and is quieter, that would solve that problem as well. I was also told they would add another table to Sel de Mer and position the host stand outside the restaurant to make room for this. We will be on the Nieuw Statendam Jan. 20-30, 2019, cruising to the ABC islands (a/k/a Dutch Carribean). Looking forward to it!

There may be and will be some shake down issues.

But the main reason for not go: the degradation of the HAL product.

The new Pinnacle class ships (Koningsdam) is a big step down from the level that was achieved with the Signature class.

I completely disagree. I think the Koningsdam is an improvement over the prior class of ships in every way. We booked a Caribbean cruise on the Nieuw Statendam for Jan. 20 - 30. We figure they will have had a month or so to work out any initial kinks. At least we hope so.

We just got back from an 11-night cruise on the Koningsdam (which we thoroughly enjoyed). There were some books in the Crow's Nest, which appears to be used as a catch-all coffee shop, bar, library, card room, and activity center. There's also a table with a huge jigsaw puzzle in progress you can try your hand at. We like it up there but it's usually pretty crowded, especially at sailaways because of the great views, and it's not particularly quiet because of the activities like trivia games. I am a Kindle reader, and I stocked my e-reader with library books just before we set sail because my primary activities on ships are eating, reading, and napping. We don't do shows and we don't gamble. For me, cruising is a rare opportunity to relax because I don't have to make a lot of decisions. I enjoyed reading on the Lido deck both in the Marketplace during off hours with a cup of coffee and in the pool area on that deck, where we, along with many others, also played cards. We also read and played cards in various places during the day including the Queen's Lounge, which was often empty and had tables with ocean views, and other bars around the ship that have comfortable seating and are all usually quiet, during the day at least. Regarding the Grand Dutch Cafe, at times it got crowded for lunch and one day there were a couple of guys monopolizing a table playing cards who were not eating or drinking anything at the cafe. There were people who had ordered food who had no where to sit and these guys were either oblivious to the situation or didn't care.