My thoughts on Koningsdam fjords cruise

Just finishing up a one week cruise from Amsterdam to the fjords of Norway on the Koningsdam. We had a marvelous time, blessed with calm seas and (unusually) nice weather. Never opened an umbrella all week, although it was misty and cloudy in Bergen, as expected (less than 50 days of sun a year).

Since I received some good advice on this forum, I thought I would share my impressions.

First, you need to understand that we do not cruise with who we euphemistically call “the others.” As obnoxious as that sounds, it is just our way of making a cruise ship filled with thousands more intimate. Thus, we never once ate in the Lido or main dining room, so I cannot share any comments in that regard. We ate every evening in a specialty restaurant (three nights complimentary via TA and HAL), had breakfast/room service on the veranda of our Neptune suite daily (delivered timely and hot and correct), and lunch was either (preferably) at a restaurant in port or at one of the smaller venues onboard (liked the NY deli and Dutch cafe), or we just grabbed some of the small plates/snacks from the Neptune lounge.

Some hints/reflections:

1. Since I am self-employed and have to check emails and do some light work daily, I bought the 1000 minute internet plan for $250. It was not necessary for two reasons: (1) there is no internet service whilst you are in the fjords, a fact HAL fails to mention until it’s too late and (2) there is good cell phone data service available in every port. I had pre-purchased the AT&T $10/day international service so ended up using my phone to check emails in every port. It was faster than the ship’s internet and available in every port, including 4G or LTE servicea in remote Eidfjord, Alesund and Geiranger where the ship’s satellite couldn’t connect. If I had to do it all over again, I would purchase a small number of minutes for use on the sea days and use my cell service everywhere else. Live and learn.

2. Best meal of the week was at Sel de Mer. Great service in an intimate setting. DW had lobster ... huge, sweet, moist, wonderfully prepared. I had the daily special which was a beef tenderloin, notwithstanding my intentions to have seafood when I walked in the door. It was the best beef dish served all week, including the (overcooked and chewy) steaks we had in Pinnacle Grill.

3. Flew in the day before the cruise and stayed at the Renaissance. Highly recommend. Great location. Cab from airport $50E. Cab to port $20. Arrived a noon to a busy and disorganized embarkation scene; as suite guests, we had priority check-in but nobody seemed to know where or how. Was told two different things by different people until finally someone just walked us through.

We bought four bottles of wine at this wonderful wine shop in Amsterdam called Chabrol on Haarlemmerstraat, not far from Central Station. Very helpful staff (ask for Justin.. Perfect English and knowledgeable). We paid corkage for all (HAL charged corkage for 2 at the pier; the other 2 when we brought them into the restaurants). But, if you know wines at all, and examine the HAL wine list, you will find that you are paying high prices for mediocre wines. Their wine packages are rip offs ... basically $15-25 wines. We bought 4 bottles of great wine for a total of $100E at Chabrol; even with the corkage, we spent half what comparable wines onboard would cost.

4. Staying in a Neptune suite is the ultimate in luxury. Spacious. Beautiful with amenities well worth the cost. We were in 7066, just down the hall from the lounge. The concierges are delightful and so helpful and knowledgeable. No need to go to the front desk for anything. Really VIP treatment. Great bathrobes. Divine shower... best in 35+ cruises, with great water pressure and constant temps. This was a 35th anniversary splurge but we already decided to cruise less often but only stay in a suite going forward. Note: only a person weighing under a hundred pounds could possibly use the narrow tub. Sadly, neither of us fit that description.

5. We are primarily Celebrity cruisers. We found the Koningdsam to be boring in design and program. Since we just wanted to relax, it was fine for us ... spent lots of time on the veranda reading. But if you’re looking for a ship with lots of activities, go elsewhere. There is little to do, especially without additional charge. The daily program was nothing more than a marketing brochure listing all the additional ways HAL can take your money. This, unfortunately, is the state of cruising today. We chose this cruise primarily for its itinerary and the timing over the 4th of July weekend, which allowed me to miss less work. The ship is very clean and well maintained and efficiently run. But the decor is neither classically nor contemporarily elegant. No nice woods and club chairs like in a country club, or upscale sleek modern like Celebrity’s martini bar. Just a giant yawnfest. We never walked into any room and said “wow” or “isn’t this beautiful/lovely.” Not that it’s not nice... just hohum ordinary. The crew was friendly and happy and we were always greeted with a smile, often by name. The passenger mix was about 50/50 Americans/Europeans with lots of Dutch aboard. Was also surprised that the demographic was different from our previous HAL cruises in that there was generally a middle-aged crowd with some families and many young couples No problems with kids running amok. Also not the floating nursing home some remark about.

6. Specialty restaurants: First night, went to (free for suite guests) Culinary Arts where you watch the chefs prepare the meal and they speak about the preparation. It was interesting and the meal was fine (not great). Would I pay for this experience? No. Went to Tamarind twice. We enjoy the Asian fusion cuisine there. But had to send back DW’s meal after they failed to make the gluten free dish we had discussed at length with our server. Get the fortune cookie dessert. Canaletto was a nice surprise... wasn’t expecting much but turned out to have a wonderful meal there (get the veal wrapped in proscuitto) with nice views. Biggest disappointment was PG ... we had tough, thin steaks that were overcooked. Had to ask for bread. Couldn’t find the sommelier to pour more wine. My biggest complaint across the board, is that every meal was served to us luke warm (except at Sel de Mar). Inexcusable, especially in a specialty restaurant.

7. I had read (alarmingly) about the cameras in the men’s room on these boards and so checked it out, especially when I saw one in the sauna changing/shower area. I asked a crew member who advised that those are not in fact cameras (he showed me the difference by pointing out one in the hallway) but rather flashing alarms in the case of emergency. When they did a crew drill, I verified that by seeing them flash bright white light and sounding an alarm.

8. We bought a couples spa pass before muster for $249. Worth it. Went to the thalasotherapy pool/sauna/steam/ceramic lounger daily. Never crowded; in fact, I was often alone or with one or two others. Also had wonderful massages, followed by a sales pitch to buy $125 lotion.

9. Excursions. Won’t ever buy a ship excursion to be herded onto a bus with “the others” at high prices. Not one person we spoke to thought their excursion was worth the cost. In Eidfjord, we just took a walk into the two block town. Go right and head up the hill along the stream into the little town (look for the school). Visit the church/cemetery and the little museum. Find the café where there is a fiddler (say hi to Alex) and sit on the porch, listen to him play folk music on his Herdanger fiddler, and have one of the wonderful cinnamon buns the owner makes. If she’s not busy, she’ll come out on the porch with you and tell you about life on the fjord. This is what travel is about. It was one of our favorite days of the trip in a town that most people said was boring. Alesund is a nice town to shop and walk around. Have lunch outside at the harbor. Visit the church. In Geiranger we had a great experience: we rented a “talking” electric car with an audio guide GPS system that takes you on a two hour tour. It was wonderful. No crowds. Stop and take pictures whenever of the gorgeous scenery. It was an adventure we will never forget. The town is one block long with nothing but some tourist trap shops. But two minutes outside town is some of the most breathtaking scenery. And the “twizy” car takes you up (high!) to a farm where you can get a coffee on a deck overlooking the gorge and then visit the sheep and Alpacas. Watch your step. Bergen is a real city overrun by tourists and cruise ships. This is your shopping stop. No reason to take an excursion. You can walk from the port into town in 10 minutes. Plenty to see and do. Read Rick Steve’s chapter on Bergen and follow his advice and take the 1.5 hour walking tour which includes admission into the two museums.

10. Best music of any cruise. Worst shows. BB Kings band was outrageously good .. Really high caliber musicians performing with energy and enthusiasm and an eclectic music mix ... something for everyone. And even if you don’t particularly like classical music, go and listen to the string quintet because they play Beatles, Sting, Queen, Bernstein alongside Haydn, Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven. A very talented group of young musicians. As for the big shows in the main theater, we walked out of two of them. The design of the theater (in the round) and the LED screens are both excellent and innovative; too bad nothing they put on stage there was worth watching. We never watched a movie on deck (didn’t like the choices of film and besides, had a 60" HDTV in our suite). The interactive TV is great, as was the (surprisingly free) navigator app which allows you to bring your itinerary with you. If they perfected it to include text messaging as on other lines, it would be superb.

11. Liked the fact that announcements (and sales pitches) were kept to a minimum. Didn’t like spending $40 for the one pic they took of us that came out nice, but I did.

Happy to try to answer any questions.

Thanks for your interesting review, we were on the Koningsdam a week or two before you. There were quite a few points you mentioned that were similar to our experience. We rented a little electric car in Gerienger, and loved it. Also thought the B.B. Kings band were very talented, and great performers. Plus we had overcooked meat (our was lamb) in the Pinnacle Grill, and some tepid food as well.

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments.

You are probably the 'new breed' of cruiser that HAL hopes to attract. But they seem to be missing the mark in numerous areas.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Very interesting on the K and your impressions.

I think kira is right - you were probably one of the target market for HAL and they have, apparently, missed. ;)

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Sounds like you enjoyed your fjords cruise.

Thanks for posting your review. We will be on the a Konnigsdam ourselves in August. Looking forward to checking out the new restaurants.

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Thanks for the info on the poor internet connection in the fjords. We are on this cruise in a couple of weeks. I'll rely on my Verizon plan more.

Re the internet, I just used data on my phone. We are lucky in the UK now, that most cell phone contracts include minutes and data within Europe (so using my phone in Norway, cost me no more than using it at home in the UK)

Thank you for your review.

Unfortunately, it has left me confused. :confused:

We were looking at Koningsdam as an alternative to Celebrity Equinox. We find ourselves tired of Celebrity .... especially the food and entertainment. Hopefully, we looked back on our two HAL cruises and remember the food to be pretty good (excelllent buffet), and the entertainment to be boring, but equal to Celebrity. From reading your review (and others), maybe we should stick with Celebrity, since that cruise will make us Elite (and Diamond on Royal).

The reviews for Koningsdam (in all categories, not just suites), are not great, but we were telling ourselves that, maybe, it was just HAL cruisers who didn't like "new." We may be wrong. We love seafood, and are happy you enjoyed Sel de Mer, but that's probably not enough for us to book Koningsdam.

Thanks for the review.

Thank you for the great review. Looks like you found just the right things for you to do in port. Question: Driving in the little e-car, what was the traffic like in and around Geiranger and did you feel reasonably safe in it? We'd love to try it, but...

We have little open air self-guided tour vehicles touring in San Francisco and when we're driving a normal-sized sedan near them, they look very vulnerable. Of course, we have LOTS and LOTS of cars on the road, usually speeding. We know the guided tour routes and try to give them wide berth, for the safety of everyone!

Were there any issues?

Kathy

Thank you for the review! We sail same ship, same itinerary, next June.

Really appreciate the info on the internet package. We will investigate what our cell phone carrier has to offer for international.

What time are the BB Kings band shows? That sounds like something we would enjoy.

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Thank you for a very well written report.

Thank you for the review! We sail same ship, same itinerary, next June.

 

Really appreciate the info on the internet package. We will investigate what our cell phone carrier has to offer for international.

 

What time are the BB Kings band shows? That sounds like something we would enjoy.

 

 

 

 

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On our sailing, a couple of weeks before the OP, BB Kings did 3 x 45 min sets, 6 days a week. They were usually 8pm, 9.30pm and either 10.30pm or 11pm

At the late show particularly, everyone was up dancing.

Thank you all for the kind remarks. Debsjc is right about BB Kings. Knippsel, I felt very safe in the little car. One block outside town, there's very little traffic. The scary part is the tour buses that can't make the hairpin turns so sometimes we had to back up down the mountain to let them pass. But it's really quite easy and loads of fun. We are in our 60s and not real adventurers and this was our favorite activity of the week! Just do it!

Just finishing up a one week cruise from Amsterdam to the fjords of Norway on the Koningsdam. We had a marvelous time, blessed with calm seas and (unusually) nice weather. Never opened an umbrella all week, although it was misty and cloudy in Bergen, as expected (less than 50 days of sun a year).

 

Since I received some good advice on this forum, I thought I would share my impressions.

 

First, you need to understand that we do not cruise with who we euphemistically call “the others.” As obnoxious as that sounds, it is just our way of making a cruise ship filled with thousands more intimate. Thus, we never once ate in the Lido or main dining room, so I cannot share any comments in that regard. We ate every evening in a specialty restaurant (three nights complimentary via TA and HAL), had breakfast/room service on the veranda of our Neptune suite daily (delivered timely and hot and correct), and lunch was either (preferably) at a restaurant in port or at one of the smaller venues onboard (liked the NY deli and Dutch cafe), or we just grabbed some of the small plates/snacks from the Neptune lounge.

 

Some hints/reflections:

 

1. Since I am self-employed and have to check emails and do some light work daily, I bought the 1000 minute internet plan for $250. It was not necessary for two reasons: (1) there is no internet service whilst you are in the fjords, a fact HAL fails to mention until it’s too late and (2) there is good cell phone data service available in every port. I had pre-purchased the AT&T $10/day international service so ended up using my phone to check emails in every port. It was faster than the ship’s internet and available in every port, including 4G or LTE servicea in remote Eidfjord, Alesund and Geiranger where the ship’s satellite couldn’t connect. If I had to do it all over again, I would purchase a small number of minutes for use on the sea days and use my cell service everywhere else. Live and learn.

 

2. Best meal of the week was at Sel de Mer. Great service in an intimate setting. DW had lobster ... huge, sweet, moist, wonderfully prepared. I had the daily special which was a beef tenderloin, notwithstanding my intentions to have seafood when I walked in the door. It was the best beef dish served all week, including the (overcooked and chewy) steaks we had in Pinnacle Grill.

 

3. Flew in the day before the cruise and stayed at the Renaissance. Highly recommend. Great location. Cab from airport $50E. Cab to port $20. Arrived a noon to a busy and disorganized embarkation scene; as suite guests, we had priority check-in but nobody seemed to know where or how. Was told two different things by different people until finally someone just walked us through.

 

We bought four bottles of wine at this wonderful wine shop in Amsterdam called Chabrol on Haarlemmerstraat, not far from Central Station. Very helpful staff (ask for Justin.. Perfect English and knowledgeable). We paid corkage for all (HAL charged corkage for 2 at the pier; the other 2 when we brought them into the restaurants). But, if you know wines at all, and examine the HAL wine list, you will find that you are paying high prices for mediocre wines. Their wine packages are rip offs ... basically $15-25 wines. We bought 4 bottles of great wine for a total of $100E at Chabrol; even with the corkage, we spent half what comparable wines onboard would cost.

 

4. Staying in a Neptune suite is the ultimate in luxury. Spacious. Beautiful with amenities well worth the cost. We were in 7066, just down the hall from the lounge. The concierges are delightful and so helpful and knowledgeable. No need to go to the front desk for anything. Really VIP treatment. Great bathrobes. Divine shower... best in 35+ cruises, with great water pressure and constant temps. This was a 35th anniversary splurge but we already decided to cruise less often but only stay in a suite going forward. Note: only a person weighing under a hundred pounds could possibly use the narrow tub. Sadly, neither of us fit that description.

 

5. We are primarily Celebrity cruisers. We found the Koningdsam to be boring in design and program. Since we just wanted to relax, it was fine for us ... spent lots of time on the veranda reading. But if you’re looking for a ship with lots of activities, go elsewhere. There is little to do, especially without additional charge. The daily program was nothing more than a marketing brochure listing all the additional ways HAL can take your money. This, unfortunately, is the state of cruising today. We chose this cruise primarily for its itinerary and the timing over the 4th of July weekend, which allowed me to miss less work. The ship is very clean and well maintained and efficiently run. But the decor is neither classically nor contemporarily elegant. No nice woods and club chairs like in a country club, or upscale sleek modern like Celebrity’s martini bar. Just a giant yawnfest. We never walked into any room and said “wow” or “isn’t this beautiful/lovely.” Not that it’s not nice... just hohum ordinary. The crew was friendly and happy and we were always greeted with a smile, often by name. The passenger mix was about 50/50 Americans/Europeans with lots of Dutch aboard. Was also surprised that the demographic was different from our previous HAL cruises in that there was generally a middle-aged crowd with some families and many young couples No problems with kids running amok. Also not the floating nursing home some remark about.

 

6. Specialty restaurants: First night, went to (free for suite guests) Culinary Arts where you watch the chefs prepare the meal and they speak about the preparation. It was interesting and the meal was fine (not great). Would I pay for this experience? No. Went to Tamarind twice. We enjoy the Asian fusion cuisine there. But had to send back DW’s meal after they failed to make the gluten free dish we had discussed at length with our server. Get the fortune cookie dessert. Canaletto was a nice surprise... wasn’t expecting much but turned out to have a wonderful meal there (get the veal wrapped in proscuitto) with nice views. Biggest disappointment was PG ... we had tough, thin steaks that were overcooked. Had to ask for bread. Couldn’t find the sommelier to pour more wine. My biggest complaint across the board, is that every meal was served to us luke warm (except at Sel de Mar). Inexcusable, especially in a specialty restaurant.

 

7. I had read (alarmingly) about the cameras in the men’s room on these boards and so checked it out, especially when I saw one in the sauna changing/shower area. I asked a crew member who advised that those are not in fact cameras (he showed me the difference by pointing out one in the hallway) but rather flashing alarms in the case of emergency. When they did a crew drill, I verified that by seeing them flash bright white light and sounding an alarm.

 

8. We bought a couples spa pass before muster for $249. Worth it. Went to the thalasotherapy pool/sauna/steam/ceramic lounger daily. Never crowded; in fact, I was often alone or with one or two others. Also had wonderful massages, followed by a sales pitch to buy $125 lotion.

 

9. Excursions. Won’t ever buy a ship excursion to be herded onto a bus with “the others” at high prices. Not one person we spoke to thought their excursion was worth the cost. In Eidfjord, we just took a walk into the two block town. Go right and head up the hill along the stream into the little town (look for the school). Visit the church/cemetery and the little museum. Find the café where there is a fiddler (say hi to Alex) and sit on the porch, listen to him play folk music on his Herdanger fiddler, and have one of the wonderful cinnamon buns the owner makes. If she’s not busy, she’ll come out on the porch with you and tell you about life on the fjord. This is what travel is about. It was one of our favorite days of the trip in a town that most people said was boring. Alesund is a nice town to shop and walk around. Have lunch outside at the harbor. Visit the church. In Geiranger we had a great experience: we rented a “talking” electric car with an audio guide GPS system that takes you on a two hour tour. It was wonderful. No crowds. Stop and take pictures whenever of the gorgeous scenery. It was an adventure we will never forget. The town is one block long with nothing but some tourist trap shops. But two minutes outside town is some of the most breathtaking scenery. And the “twizy” car takes you up (high!) to a farm where you can get a coffee on a deck overlooking the gorge and then visit the sheep and Alpacas. Watch your step. Bergen is a real city overrun by tourists and cruise ships. This is your shopping stop. No reason to take an excursion. You can walk from the port into town in 10 minutes. Plenty to see and do. Read Rick Steve’s chapter on Bergen and follow his advice and take the 1.5 hour walking tour which includes admission into the two museums.

 

10. Best music of any cruise. Worst shows. BB Kings band was outrageously good .. Really high caliber musicians performing with energy and enthusiasm and an eclectic music mix ... something for everyone. And even if you don’t particularly like classical music, go and listen to the string quintet because they play Beatles, Sting, Queen, Bernstein alongside Haydn, Brahms, Mozart and Beethoven. A very talented group of young musicians. As for the big shows in the main theater, we walked out of two of them. The design of the theater (in the round) and the LED screens are both excellent and innovative; too bad nothing they put on stage there was worth watching. We never watched a movie on deck (didn’t like the choices of film and besides, had a 60" HDTV in our suite). The interactive TV is great, as was the (surprisingly free) navigator app which allows you to bring your itinerary with you. If they perfected it to include text messaging as on other lines, it would be superb.

 

11. Liked the fact that announcements (and sales pitches) were kept to a minimum. Didn’t like spending $40 for the one pic they took of us that came out nice, but I did.

 

Happy to try to answer any questions.

We are loyal Celebrity cruisers but we're looking for a change. I was looking at the koningsdam but now I may stick to celebrity. Especially after the remark about our favorite Martini Bar.

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The other great thing about the Twizy cars in Geiranger, is you can get to Westeras farm, and the big buses can't get down that small track. There are quite small though, not sure how larger, or very tall people would manage.

The other great thing about the Twizy cars in Geiranger, is you can get to Westeras farm, and the big buses can't get down that small track. There are quite small though, not sure how larger, or very tall people would manage.

I was worried about us fitting (I'm 200 lbs and 5'11") but actually there's more room than you might think. Of course, DW is only 5'2" so didn't need much legroom. It was a bit of a contortionist act for her to get in/out but you really don't do much of that ... it's mostly scenic driving. Any yes, that farm (and the Alpacas up there) were the highlight of the day.

Thank you for your interesting review.

Appreciate your feedback!

Thank you for that comprehensive and well written review. On our Med. cruise, age demographic was younger than on any cruise that began or ended in the U.S.

Wonderful review. Thank-you for pointing out that there aren't any cameras in the men's public washrooms. I am happy to learn that I was wrong on that point. :)

Thank-you for pointing out that there aren't any cameras in the men's public washrooms. I am happy to learn that I was wrong on that point. :)

I was happy to learn that as well, especially after seeing one in the mens only sauna shower/changing area. BTW, that same day, a woman walked into that sauna and I told her it was men only [luckily I was the only one in there and was wearing a bathing suit, unlike many of the (mostly European) men who let it all hang out.] She told me no, they were "uni-sex" like all the other facilities. I asked her to come out with me and look at the signage, and then showed her how to get to the women's sauna. She was quite embarrassed.

But it also pointed out another criticism I had of the ship and didn't mention in my review: the signage is lacking. When you get off an elevator, it's quite confusing to figure out which way to go, or, when returning to your cabin, whether you are on the "odd" or "even" side because the signage is in the cabin hallway, not in the elevator lobby.

Hi wbrumel,

Thanks for your impressions, I will be on Koningsdam at the end of next month.

Some questions:

-Did you dine in MDR? Were you satisfied with the menus and the quality of food?

-Did you get sorbet as "dish in between" the courses during the formal nights? Princess does so.

-Did they offer petit fours after dinner?

-Did you get small snacks to the drinks at the bars, at least during cocktail hours?

-Is the bow also accessible for passengers, or just crew?

Thanks in advance. :)