Holland America Koningsdam - January 8, 2017

[RoyalVisit]

Hi Everyone,

 

I hope this isn't a duplicate roll-call!

 

We were looking for a leisurely + peaceful cruise in early January so we picked the Holland America Koningsdam on January 8th.

 

Looking forward to it, long time since I've been on Holland America. Our last two cruises were on Carnival (first time ok, and then the second earlier this year also ok - but also maybe our last on Carnival, just didn't seem the right fit for us.)

 

Scott

[djhsolara]

We will be on this sailing as well. Very much looking forward to the "new" ship.

 

 

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[RoyalVisit]

We will be on this sailing as well. Very much looking forward to the "new" ship.

 

 

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Hi there! same for us! I'm not up to date on classes but I think the lsrgest one we've been on to date was the Constellation or Voyageur but I could be wrong so we are looking forward to seeing the ship. My husband has never been on a HAL cruise so he's a newbie to the line.

 

When we booked all we could choosefrom was open seating or second dining so we took open but waitlisted for early.

 

Really looking forward to the World Stage and the Dutch Cafe! I have a sweet tooth! :)

[RoyalVisit]

We will be on this sailing as well. Very much looking forward to the "new" ship.

 

 

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I see in your previous cruises list that you have cruised on Princess - how does Princess compare to HAL? We've never been on Princess but we are considering it for the future.

[djhsolara]

To us, there was never anything wrong with Princess, but also never anything wonderfully memorable. The ships we've been on were pretty enough, but just nothing as far as food, entertainment or lounges to say they were outstanding.

 

One thing that we do remember was having one of the smallest balcony staterooms we've ever been in on Ruby Princess.

 

Additionally, to us their ships are much less manageable for size. We can easily navigate a HAL ship, but the fact that parts of some Princess ships are 18 floors was just a little much for us. We had my Mom along (who was 72 or so around the time of the cruise) and she stuck by our side all the time. She never does that on HAL and is very comfortable making her way around a HAL ship.

 

 

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[RoyalVisit]

To us, there was never anything wrong with Princess, but also never anything wonderfully memorable. The ships we've been on were pretty enough, but just nothing as far as food, entertainment or lounges to say they were outstanding.

 

One thing that we do remember was having one of the smallest balcony staterooms we've ever been in on Ruby Princess.

 

Additionally, to us their ships are much less manageable for size. We can easily navigate a HAL ship, but the fact that parts of some Princess ships are 18 floors was just a little much for us. We had my Mom along (who was 72 or so around the time of the cruise) and she stuck by our side all the time. She never does that on HAL and is very comfortable making her way around a HAL ship.

 

 

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Interesting! appreciate your insight! I've been watching an older series called "Cruise Ship Diaries" about Costa and I can't say I like what I'm seeing. We've also looked at MSC but haven't booked anything with them yet. My husband is almost 42 and I'm 38, and were not party animals so we prefer a quieter and more relaxing experience. The food and having a balcony is most important to us. Our last two were on Carnival and prior to that mainly RCL or Celebrity. We like Celebrity and RCL but they both felt so much the same cruise after cruise (we even had the exact same entertainers on our cruise 2 years apart) that we decided to give Carnival a try - after two on Carnival, we won't likely go back. Carnival was just a bit too "loud" for us.

[djhsolara]

We are 45 and 47...and HAL is just right for us. We like the quieter and relaxed atmosphere too. A cruise is all you make of it.

 

We've had wonderful cruises on Carnival too...it's all in what you choose to do and where you spend your time. I think it also depends on the ship too. We like to spend lots of time in the spa areas. We've always enjoyed the Chef's Table on Carnival...a very nice experience. We are, however, done with Carnival for a while.

 

 

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[RoyalVisit]

We are 45 and 47...and HAL is just right for us. We like the quieter and relaxed atmosphere too. A cruise is all you make of it.

 

We've had wonderful cruises on Carnival too...it's all in what you choose to do and where you spend your time. I think it also depends on the ship too. We like to spend lots of time in the spa areas. We've always enjoyed the Chef's Table on Carnival...a very nice experience. We are, however, done with Carnival for a while.

 

 

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Very true. Neither of us have spent much time in the spa areas. I try to use the gym a few times while we are at sea to burn off some of the calories! I'm looking forward to the separate vegetarian menu this time as well...I'm normally able to find something on the main menu from the veggie selections but it will be nice to have more alternatives.

 

We've been to all of the ports on the Koningsdam sailing already so I'm looking for things for us to go. Last time in San Juan we toured the Governor's Palace which was interesting and this time we're going to tour their Legislature which I've already pre-booked but it's free. We've seen most of the tourist attractions there. Last time in St Thomas we went over to St John so we might do that again this time as we enjoyed it. We almost might go into Grand Turk this time as we've normally just stayed in the beach area.

[RoyalVisit]

Very true. Neither of us have spent much time in the spa areas. I try to use the gym a few times while we are at sea to burn off some of the calories! I'm looking forward to the separate vegetarian menu this time as well...I'm normally able to find something on the main menu from the veggie selections but it will be nice to have more alternatives.

 

We've been to all of the ports on the Koningsdam sailing already so I'm looking for things for us to go. Last time in San Juan we toured the Governor's Palace which was interesting and this time we're going to tour their Legislature which I've already pre-booked but it's free. We've seen most of the tourist attractions there. Last time in St Thomas we went over to St John so we might do that again this time as we enjoyed it. We almost might go into Grand Turk this time as we've normally just stayed in the beach area.

 

Clearly I have not had any caffeine yet...my typos are wicked!

[djhsolara]

Very true. Neither of us have spent much time in the spa areas. I try to use the gym a few times while we are at sea to burn off some of the calories! I'm looking forward to the separate vegetarian menu this time as well...I'm normally able to find something on the main menu from the veggie selections but it will be nice to have more alternatives.

 

 

 

We've been to all of the ports on the Koningsdam sailing already so I'm looking for things for us to go. Last time in San Juan we toured the Governor's Palace which was interesting and this time we're going to tour their Legislature which I've already pre-booked but it's free. We've seen most of the tourist attractions there. Last time in St Thomas we went over to St John so we might do that again this time as we enjoyed it. We almost might go into Grand Turk this time as we've normally just stayed in the beach area.

 

 

We've done the "same" cruise about 10 times...we just get off the ship for a while and go do our regular thing and then we're back. At GT we spend time in the pool, SJ just walk around the old town and shop...but have to get an authentic Pina Colada at Barrachina. ST shop...mostly for linens and cologne, HMC is a beach day for us. We truly love the beach there.

 

 

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[RoyalVisit]

We've done the "same" cruise about 10 times...we just get off the ship for a while and go do our regular thing and then we're back. At GT we spend time in the pool, SJ just walk around the old town and shop...but have to get an authentic Pina Colada at Barrachina. ST shop...mostly for linens and cologne, HMC is a beach day for us. We truly love the beach there.

u

 

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HMC is great and we also love Coc Cay because if you walk to the furthest beach it is quiet and only a few venture that far. Labadee was ok too. We haven't been to Roatan yet but hope too in the future.

[djhsolara]

We just did a short Disney cruise that stopped at Castaway Cay. Everyone kept saying it is as nice as HMC. The island was comparable, but the beach itself was nothing like HMC. We are not beach people. In fact, the only beach we go to is HMC. The sand there is so beautiful and soft. There was lots of coral in the sand at the adult beach on CC...and lots of "potholes" as you walked in the water. I almost twisted my ankle a few times walking back to shore.

 

 

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[RoyalVisit]

We just did a short Disney cruise that stopped at Castaway Cay. Everyone kept saying it is as nice as HMC. The island was comparable, but the beach itself was nothing like HMC. We are not beach people. In fact, the only beach we go to is HMC. The sand there is so beautiful and soft. There was lots of coral in the sand at the adult beach on CC...and lots of "potholes" as you walked in the water. I almost twisted my ankle a few times walking back to shore.

 

 

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We've never taken a Disney cruise or been to Castaway. I highly doubt we will simply because I think Disney cruises are expensive. I also have little interest in being on any ship with that many children. My brother and his family have taken a few Disney cruises and they enjoy them but my nieces and nephew are all young so they love it. Perhaps if we traveled with them it might be more enjoyable.

 

We hope to get to at least one dinner at the Culinary Arts Centre. We are waitlisted for early dining and a table for two but we may have to move to late dining to get the table for two. The majority of HAL guests are older so it will be interesting to see the age bracket on this cruise being just after Christmas and the New Year and the kids will be returning to school. I suspect it will be more older people which is likely why the early dining is already full.

[djhsolara]

We've never taken a Disney cruise or been to Castaway. I highly doubt we will simply because I think Disney cruises are expensive. I also have little interest in being on any ship with that many children. My brother and his family have taken a few Disney cruises and they enjoy them but my nieces and nephew are all young so they love it. Perhaps if we traveled with them it might be more enjoyable.

 

 

 

We hope to get to at least one dinner at the Culinary Arts Centre. We are waitlisted for early dining and a table for two but we may have to move to late dining to get the table for two. The majority of HAL guests are older so it will be interesting to see the age bracket on this cruise being just after Christmas and the New Year and the kids will be returning to school. I suspect it will be more older people which is likely why the early dining is already full.

 

 

Disney is expensive (we paid for 3 nights what we normally pay for 7)...but many extra touches that made it well worth it. We were surprised that they really do keep the kiddos busy and have some very nice adult-only areas.

 

We often go into a cruise not having what we want for dining in the MDR, but have always gone to the maitre d' upon embarkation and get our two top early seating.

 

We're planning on doing the dining package, but wish we could switch out Canaletto because we do not care for it. Doing that plan would have us in the MDR only twice. Last cruise on NA we did Canaletto once, PG once and Tamarind twice. We just weren't thrilled with the selection in the MDR. Hoping it is better on this ship as I believe it has a different menu than the rest of the fleet.

 

 

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[RoyalVisit]

We normally go to the MDR as well but in most cases we've lucked out and had exactly what we wanted.

 

We don't normally go to the specialty restaurants because our experience has been that the vegetarian options are often the same as they are in the dining room.

 

I was watching some Youtube vlogs about the Harmony of the Seas last night and then I read how a crew member died yesterday and four injured as a result of a crew lifeboat drill. So sad.

[RoyalVisit]

Very happy to hear HAL has changed their smoking policy....no longer able to smoke on verandahs period. New policy begins in January 2017 and our cruise is one of those listed!:)

[RoyalVisit]

52 days until we go to Disney World! :)

58 days to the cruise! :D

[djhsolara]

Oh wow...I just realized that we are no longer on this cruise. One evening we sat down and looked at prices and were able to save $800 by moving to January 29, so we jumped at it.

 

 

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[RoyalVisit]

I guess that means we might be the "only gay in the village."

 

I understand the reasoning though! I checked the pricing today, the same category and same date is now $1300 Canadian dollars more than what we paid!

 

Hope you have a great cruise anyway!

[djhsolara]

Oh, I'm sure you won't be alone. We always see others on HAL.

 

Enjoy Disney and your cruise!!

 

 

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