just off the Koningsdam

[go fish 44]

We are not new to cruising, but we  enjoyed the Hal ship very much 

 

We thought the food to be among the best we have ever had in the Main Dining Room at dinner, on any ship we have sailed on ( we had late 8.15 dinner, )

for me because I use a walker I found the buffet at breakfast and lunch very hectic as people are coming and going with their food and since the buffet is just one long line of food areas it is very congested.

 

We were blown away by the entertainment on this ship.

  We never missed a night in the World Stage, we saw Piano player, magic show ,comedian

 the dance team called One Step amazing and the use of the 270 degree screen with many of the shows also Jo Little singer.

As soon as these shows were over we went to hear the dueling  Pianos, as soon as they were over Rock and Roll Band started up and lots of people were dancing and having a fun time.

After dinner BBKings Jazz and Blues played again the dance floor was crowded

 

Add to that great mix of entertainment was Lincoln Centre Stage with classical String Quintet and Piano player earlier in the evening

 

We had so much great entertainment, I can tell you the best we have had and we have done 98 cruises so it does take a lot to impress us.  (Only 4 cruises with Hal)

 

Our inside cabin on deck 6 was lovely, lots of storage drawers that were big enough to hold large packing cases in each drawer.

 

the bathroom came with shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, body wash and bars of soap very unusual to get lotion and conditioner unless you are loyal to some of the cruise lines and this is one of your perks.

the shower stall is definitely the largest we have ever had at sea,( Normally we do balcony cabins on the other big lines.)

 

We would not hesitate to sail on Hal's new ships in the future.

 

One of the nicest touches was that when all the guests were leaving the ship Carly the cruise and travel hostess was at the door saying goodbye to all the guests.

 

Way to go Koningsdam 

 

[ski ww]

Thanks for posting a balanced review.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for the review.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise on the Koningsdam.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[VMax1700]

Thanks for your review.  Koningsdam is our favourite ship.

Do you happen to remember who was the keyboard player in BBKings band?

[kazu]

Thanks for the review.

 

Sounds like you had a great time 🙂 Good to hear!

[cat shepard]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Glad you had a great time!

[leela8]

You said you had Late 8:15 dinner, what time did you see all those shows? Were they after dinner? We have late seating this time and hoping not to miss any shows

[Floridiana]

There are two shows, one early, one late. Same performers.

The music venues are consecutive. The early performers are classical musicians. 

[DeeniEncinitas]

Thanks for the review! Sounds like you had a wonderful time and you enjoyed the entertainment!

Denise😊

[*Miss G*]

6 hours ago, go fish 44 said:

the bathroom came with shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, body wash and bars of soap very unusual to get lotion and conditioner unless you are loyal to some of the cruise lines and this is one of your perks

 

Holy smokes!  Lotion and conditioner as a perk!  😲 That is shocking.

 

Thank you for your review.  I am so happy you enjoyed your cruise.

[Djptcp]

Thanks for your review. We sail on the Koningsdam for the first time in a couple of weeks so glad you enjoyed the ship and the entertainment. We love HAL and am sure we will love the Konginsdam, too.

[go fish 44]

8 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Thanks for your review.  Koningsdam is our favourite ship.

Do you happen to remember who was the keyboard player in BBKings band?

Sorry I do not know who the key board player was in the BBKings band.

[go fish 44]

6 hours ago, leela8 said:

You said you had Late 8:15 dinner, what time did you see all those shows? Were they after dinner? We have late seating this time and hoping not to miss any shows

we saw the shows in the World Stage at 6.30pm, then onto the Piano Bar for their set that lasted until 7.45 most nights, then you really do not have to change seats as you can hear the Rock and Roll band just fine from across the hall and we left for dinner about 8.15 so we heard the rock and roll for about 30 minutes of their show.

 

After dinner we went back to the piano bar and about 10.45 we went to BBKings which is really just next door to listen to them

 

the Classical String Quintet was before the 6.30 show, sometimes as early as 4pm in the BBKings room

 

 

[sevenseasnomad]

Nice to hear some positives about HAL.  I liked the K too when my brother and I did a Christmas cruise in 2017.  Since I've sailed the other dam ships, I figured I'd give Koningsdam a try but went with reservations, especially about the narrow Promenade Deck.  Unfortunately, that particular reservation was confirmed, while others were put to rest.  Overall, I was impressed with this ship.  I'm scheduled to board her again in April 2021 for a Mex cruise, but am thinking of cancelling and sailing the newer ship, Ryndam, later that year.  Budget won't allow me to do both, but I wish I could.

 

OP, I guess it's safe to assume that you'll sail again with HAL.  Did you  take advantage of onboard booking for your next cruise with HAL?  It's a fast, easy, convenient method for booking, which can then be transferred to your preferred TA. 

[Himself]

Thank you for a very positive report

[go fish 44]

7 hours ago, sevenseasnomad said:

Nice to hear some positives about HAL.  I liked the K too when my brother and I did a Christmas cruise in 2017.  Since I've sailed the other dam ships, I figured I'd give Koningsdam a try but went with reservations, especially about the narrow Promenade Deck.  Unfortunately, that particular reservation was confirmed, while others were put to rest.  Overall, I was impressed with this ship.  I'm scheduled to board her again in April 2021 for a Mex cruise, but am thinking of cancelling and sailing the newer ship, Ryndam, later that year.  Budget won't allow me to do both, but I wish I could.

 

OP, I guess it's safe to assume that you'll sail again with HAL.  Did you  take advantage of onboard booking for your next cruise with HAL?  It's a fast, easy, convenient method for booking, which can then be transferred to your preferred TA. 

No we did not take advantage of the on board booking.  We have 10 cruises booked already for 2020 and really have no extra time available at this time.  But you never know we may need at least one more cruise.

[sevenseasnomad]

1 minute ago, go fish 44 said:

No we did not take advantage of the on board booking.  We have 10 cruises booked already for 2020 and really have no extra time available at this time.  But you never know we may need at least one more cruise.

Wow!  Ten cruises in one year?  Lucky, lucky you.  Can I stow away in your luggage, please?

[erewhon]

Thank you for reviewing your Koningsdam cruise.

[portofrome]

Thank you for your review!

[Sohookedontravel]

On 12/7/2019 at 4:18 AM, go fish 44 said:

We are not new to cruising, but we  enjoyed the Hal ship very much 

 

We thought the food to be among the best we have ever had in the Main Dining Room at dinner, on any ship we have sailed on ( we had late 8.15 dinner, )

for me because I use a walker I found the buffet at breakfast and lunch very hectic as people are coming and going with their food and since the buffet is just one long line of food areas it is very congested.

 

We were blown away by the entertainment on this ship.

  We never missed a night in the World Stage, we saw Piano player, magic show ,comedian

 the dance team called One Step amazing and the use of the 270 degree screen with many of the shows also Jo Little singer.

As soon as these shows were over we went to hear the dueling  Pianos, as soon as they were over Rock and Roll Band started up and lots of people were dancing and having a fun time.

After dinner BBKings Jazz and Blues played again the dance floor was crowded

 

Add to that great mix of entertainment was Lincoln Centre Stage with classical String Quintet and Piano player earlier in the evening

 

We had so much great entertainment, I can tell you the best we have had and we have done 98 cruises so it does take a lot to impress us.  (Only 4 cruises with Hal)

 

Our inside cabin on deck 6 was lovely, lots of storage drawers that were big enough to hold large packing cases in each drawer.

 

the bathroom came with shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, body wash and bars of soap very unusual to get lotion and conditioner unless you are loyal to some of the cruise lines and this is one of your perks.

the shower stall is definitely the largest we have ever had at sea,( Normally we do balcony cabins on the other big lines.)

 

We would not hesitate to sail on Hal's new ships in the future.

 

One of the nicest touches was that when all the guests were leaving the ship Carly the cruise and travel hostess was at the door saying goodbye to all the guests.

 

Way to go Koningsdam 

 

So nice to hear🌴🥂looking forward to sailing her

[BatchawanaBabe]

We were on the same cruise to the ABC's - our first HAL cruise - and due to the lack of entertainment and bathroom issues, won't be booking with them again.  Yes, the screen on the stage provided some fantastic technical effects, but they were badly needed for the lack of singers and dancers.  How much of a stage production can you have with only 6 dancers and no singers? The first dance production was mediocre and the second was a little better.  Some nights there was nothing scheduled.  The magician was also just ok and the singer, although her voice was great, spent too much time telling jokes. We missed the big stage productions of the other lines but there was more legroom than in many of the other lines.

 

Music Walk didn't make up for the lack of entertainment.  We found the individual "rooms" to be too small to accommodate everyone, the music to be too loud.and the shows to be too short.  This was our first cruise with an outdoor movie screen which we enjoyed one night.  Unfortunately, they didn't show movies every night and one night the movie was preempted by a football game.  We ended up spending too many nights in our stateroom watching movies on TV or on our balcony relaxing.

 

Yes, the big bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash in the shower were appreciated.  Also the smaller bottles of body lotion.  However, the fact that we had to sit sideways on the toilet due to lack of legroom didn't help, along with the cheapest, roughest toilet paper ever. I'm only 5'5".

 

The food was pretty good, especially their breads and desserts.  However, several times the food in the MDR was cold and hubby found a long black hair in his apple pie one night.  One thing we appreciated was the fact that every staff member acknowledged us with a hello and smile.  This hasn't happened on all of our cruises.

 

 

[Dunelm]

Batchawanababe, it is certainly different strokes for different folk.  We thought the dancing shows on the Koningsdam were the best we have seen on any line.  Yes!  Life would be boring if we were all alike in our tastes.

[stratixman]

We agree with the OP. We have sailed the Kdam twice and thoroughly enjoyed both cruises. There are no perfect ships/experiences when it comes to mainstream cruising; only better or worse. Having sailed Celebrity, RCL, and HAL many times over the past 20 years I have concluded that one can find pluses  and negatives about any ship in particular with each line. It is somewhat stupefying to read reviews of the same ship on the same sailing dates can  vary from exuberantly positive to scathingly negative. Oh, well each toeir own. Kdam definitely belongs in the better category. We think that with the exception of smaller inside cabin sizes the Kdam can compete with pretty much the newer Celebrity S class ships in service, dining, and entertainment. Quality of dining is very comparable and service levels are both excellent.  We think the Kdam has a better entertainment line up with the music walk (B.B. KIngs, Lincoln Center, Rolling Stone Rock and Roll, and the Piano guys (they aren't dueling but perform together).  Holland has eschewed most house  dancer and singer based stage productions in favor more contracted entertainers and some in house productions (including collaboration with BBC) utilizing their unique World Stage with its wrap around screen. We don't miss the dancer/singer productions. Two considerations in HAL's favor over Celebrity is that Celebrity has significantly raised prices in the past few years and has much more limited  warm weather itineraries (i.e. Caribbean). A Kdam cruise with more interesting itinerary than a comparable length Celebrity is less expensive and probably has a much more interesting schedule of stops. Dang, I just talked myself into booking us another trip on the Kdam.  

[gentle@spici]

We are interested in sailing on the Kdam in January but are a bit worried about having to pay for alcohol. I like a few beers and a few mixed drinks every day on vacation but the wife is content with 2 or 3 drinks a day. so we are still debating it. 
I would say we usually sail celebrity and if you really do your homework you can get some great deals.  We just returned from a 11 day cruise on the Reflection in a 10th floor Concierge balcony with drink pkg and tips and $350obc for $2610 total. 

Looking at a guarantee suite on Kdam for the same price but zero perks. Haven’t booked yet but always like to try new lines and ships.