Short Review Koningsdam January 8th Eastern Caribbean

[RoyalVisit]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm sure there will be several reviews for the 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Koningsdam so I will keep mine short but feel free to ask questions if you would like my personal insight.

 

Good:

Beautiful ship

Service overall was fabulous other than one issue with in room service taking an excessive amount of time and the Lido in relation to setup more so than service (see Bad)

Lincoln Centre musicians were fabulous, we returned several times to enjoy their performances. Noise from Billboard can be distracting but didn't outshine their talents.

World Stage was fantastic, musical performances very enjoyable including dancers and singers. Five O'Clock Somewhere were great!

BB King musicians also fabulous. Many couples on their feet dancing the night away.

VB Cabin, Deck 4, #4022 - extended balcony was marvelous, no issues with stateroom other than agreement on the strange angle of the toilet. I'm 5'10 and average/slim build and my knees touched the shower door glass. You will also hear some noise from the World Stage until about 11pm depending on performance schedule.

Food good but nothing specific from a vegetarian perspective that stood out other than a vegetable curry dish with apricot couscous.

Vegetable Cutlets in Lido were delicious.

 

Bad:

 

Lido setup: no trays, layered down with plates when the items I selected could easily fit on half of a regular sized dinner plate. The counter servers will try to put the items on the same plate if you ask nicely or gesture your request. While waiting in line (if you can call them lines because it was a common problem trying to determine where the food station lines started and ended) a lady was being served ahead of me, when she was finished, the server started to fulfill my request and the lady re-entered the line in front of me to ask for an additional item and the server literally put his hand up in her face to make her wait, I said it was ok to serve her and instead he jnsisted on completing my request first and then rather rudely and fiercely he asked her what she wanted. I was rather shocked by the hand in the face. Overall the Lido is clean, comfortable but very busy and a bit chaotic (also difficult to find seats unless you wish to sit with other passengers.) Lido was the worst part of the experience for us simply because of setup rather than service or food.

 

In the Dining Room, regardless if you ordered off the main menu or Vegetarian menu (requires you to order the night before for the next evening) it took on average 2 hours to receive and eat 3 courses. We had Open Seating and regularly dined at about 515pm and had a table for 2 each night.

 

 

Ugly:

Not the fault of the cruise line but we had rough seas and high winds for the first few days and that meant Grand Turk was canceled.

Fort Lauderdale Airport shooting...tragic and sad. I will proudly proclaim that mental health awareness and treatment programs need more funding and expansion. I also do not believe personal weapons of any kind should be permitted on flights.

 

Overall, I would not hesitate to cruise on the Koningsdam again and our cabin stewards, Asep and Ram were the perfect caretakers for us.

Edited January 19, 2017 by RoyalVisit

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your report.

Many cruise lines stopped using trays in the Lido about 7 or 8 years ago.

[RoyalVisit]

Thank you for your report.

Many cruise lines stopped using trays in the Lido about 7 or 8 years ago.[/quote

 

RCL has larger plates, Carnival had trays on our last two sailings. I can't remember the other lines but irregardless, a better setup in the Lido is necessary.

[FlyingFishy]

I missed the trays so much that by the end of my last cruise, I would bring up a tray from our breakfast room service order to the lido deck for lunch. :eek::D

 

Thanks for your review!

[RoyalVisit]

I missed the trays so much that by the end of my last cruise, I would bring up a tray from our breakfast room service order to the lido deck for lunch. :eek::D

 

Thanks for your review!

 

I never thought of that! good idea! but those in room service trays are very big though, something about half that size would be good. :)

[RoyalVisit]

Also meant to add regarding the Lido, by the time you sat down after collecting everything you needed the food was most often cold. Lots of opportunity for improvements as far as the Lido on the Koningsdam is concerned.

 

PS I also loved the sweet chocolate pretzels from the New York Deli and the pistachio Gelato.:) :)

[FlyingFishy]

I never thought of that! good idea! but those in room service trays are very big though, something about half that size would be good. :)

 

:D

 

You're right, they are huge! I may have to go to a local school and steal (I mean "borrow") one of those lunch trays with the indentations for each individual component of lunch. I've got a week until I leave for my cruise...

 

[freestyling]

Did you try the Dutch cafe

[sammygoose]

I bought a tray from a restaurant supply store and have brought it on 2 cruises. It really doesn't take up much space at all in my suitcase. It's bright orange and no staff member has even asked me about it. As with many things that people pack that the ship does not supply I find it useful at times.

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

[igraf]

I imagine that the Lido servers have had to deal with many passenger squabbles due to the new Lido buffet lines, and this fellow was just trying to avoid another problem.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

...While waiting in line (if you can call them lines because it was a common problem trying to determine where the food station lines started and ended) a lady was being served ahead of me, when she was finished, the server started to fulfill my request and the lady re-entered the line in front of me to ask for an additional item and the server literally put his hand up in her face to make her wait, I said it was ok to serve her and instead he jnsisted on completing my request first and then rather rudely and fiercely he asked her what she wanted. I was rather shocked by the hand in the face. ...

[RoyalVisit]

Did you try the Dutch cafe

 

Yes we did and we enjoyed it immensely. The peanut butter with the fries was a new experience too. Almond cookies were popular and worth trying. I also loved the decor and when they removed the "city" after a few days (which had some Christmas decorations included if you looked close) it was a bit of a surprise to see the ocean. :)

[RoyalVisit]

I imagine that the Lido servers have had to deal with many passenger squabbles due to the new Lido buffet lines, and this fellow was just trying to avoid another problem.

 

igraf

 

I agree. I could see the frustration on his face but the hand in her face was plain rude. He should have just asked her politely to wait a moment. If the Lido was more "user friendly" I'm sure it would run more smoothly.

[RoyalVisit]

I bought a tray from a restaurant supply store and have brought it on 2 cruises. It really doesn't take up much space at all in my suitcase. It's bright orange and no staff member has even asked me about it. As with many things that people pack that the ship does not supply I find it useful at times.

 

Making mental note for next cruise! If the counter staff just asked us to raise our plate so they could add the items without touching the plate it would be much simpler. I saw several people several times also trying to find breakfast syrup, peanut butter etc. It's a shame our experience wasn't better as far as the Lido is concerned because the physical space is nice but the awkward setup and service style made more than a few guests frustrated. One man actually was quite upset at a counter server when he was offered his 3rd plate to carry...one plate had a piece of toast, one plate had a few pieces of cantaloupe and the

3rd was an egg. He raised his voice at her to ask how many hands she thought he had.

[FlyingFishy]

I bought a tray from a restaurant supply store and have brought it on 2 cruises. It really doesn't take up much space at all in my suitcase. It's bright orange and no staff member has even asked me about it. As with many things that people pack that the ship does not supply I find it useful at times.

 

That's genius!

[Dogstar]

Thanks for taking the time to review. Appreciate the insight. [emoji106]🏻

Edited January 20, 2017 by Dogstar

[easyboy]

Thank you for your objective review.

[perfect match]

Thank you very much for your review. We are looking forward to cruising on Koningsdam in October, so I am enjoying learning as much as I can about her while we wait. :D

Edited January 20, 2017 by perfect match

[Skipper's Mom]

Local dollar stores also have smallish trays.

 

Sent from my XT1064 using Forums mobile app

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[happy2cruise2016]

I would agree with most of this review. We did not experience any issues with the Lido, however we tended to eat fewer items that didn't require a tray. I was able to carry a cup of soup and salad easily...loved the salad selections! I also enjoyed the made to order stir fry. We tended to scope out the selections and didn't usually get more than one course at a time or one person got one course and the other got another course. We also had a good experience in the Main Dining Room with only one evening lasting two hours and that was mostly due to the good conversations going on at our table. We had anytime dining and ate most evenings around 8:00 at shared tables with 4-8 people...we met some really delightful people. I also enjoyed the chocolate pretzels at the New York Deli and the it was hard to chose my favorite Gelato!

 

We enjoyed all of the entertainment venues. I have seen many complain about the lack of dancing on the Koningsdam, however a large group of all ages were dancing every night at BB King's...many different styles of dance happening. The Lincoln Center musicians were excellent and we enjoyed the production shows in the World Stage. I do think there might have been a few more options for relaxing music around the ship...the Crow's Nest seemed to be quiet most of the day/evening, except during Happy Hour.

 

Our room, a VA veranda on the 8th floor was comfortable and conveniently located. I was a little concerned being under the Lido Pool area but there were no issues with noise and it was easy to run up for a snack or something to drink. Yes, the toilet was at an odd angle, but it was not really a problem for us. The shower was wonderful!

 

I've seen posts from people about how horrible the cruise was or that they were bored and I have wondered if they were on the same ship. The weather was very rocky and many of us had an adventure even getting to Fort Lauderdale due to the airport shooting. If you go on a cruise with expectations that everything will be perfect you will be disappointed every time. I heard several people complaining to the crew about the weather and wanting to know what the ship was going to do for them to compensate them for the inconvenience. For the most part, the crew was gracious and tried to respond in a positive manner to these demands...not sure I could have been as nice as they were to some of the people!

 

The bottom line...the ship was lovely, the food was good, I didn't have to cook or clean and I was never bored. Was it perfect...no, but it was a great week of pampering and relaxation and I would happily sail on the Koningsdam again!

[psbhappy]

Can you tell me when the Gala nights were? My parents leave in a couple of weeks and I'm trying to help them plan. Are they on the two sea days?

[happy2cruise2016]

Yes, they were on the two sea days.

[jtl513]

I never thought of that! good idea! but those in room service trays are very big though, something about half that size would be good. :)

We've brought along small, light, cheap trays from a Dollar Store a couple of times, but in a pinch the metal tray from under the ice bucket is a help.

 

We had no crowd problems in the Lido but we tend to eat off-peak, either before or after the 12:00 > 1:00 crunch.

Edited January 24, 2017 by jtl513

[CTBob]

Hi, I was on the same cruise plus the next week too and the weather improved greatly. Agree that the Lido is confusing but since we traveled with another couple we made multiple trips to the stations while someone always watched our seats which we never had any trouble finding. There were no signs indicating where the line should start and we figured it out along the way. The second week was much easier. Agree about the music and enjoyed Emily in Billboard on Board (Dueling Pianos) and really missed her the second week. Too bad they can't find a way to insulate the Lincoln Center Stage from people walking and talking as they went past. Seems like the toilet design was checked by very short people but we survived and yes, the shower was wonderful. Our cabin stewards were probably the best we've ever had and the entire crew was great. Disappointed that the singers only performed once and the One World show on the second week was the best of the two weeks. I understand that they are working on a new show. We had a good group from our roll call and enjoyed seeing them around the ship. The highlight of the trip was the rental of the Grand Cabana on Half Moon Cay. The weather wasn't perfect but everything else was.