Anyone on (or recently on) the Koningsdam....or on recent Alaska cruise

[cabland]

Hello all,

 

Am considering a somewhat last minute booking on the Koningsdam out of Vancouver (Alaska roundtrip).  With cruising really ramping up, am seeing a lot of commentary around:

 

• Covid cases onboard and how ships are handling them (well or not so much)
• Staff shortages and increased wait times and/or venue closures
• Excursion cancellations
• Port cancellations
• Reduced food quality and/or selections

 

Anyway, just trying to get some more current feedback with regard to the items above for the Koningsdam specifically...or at least a comparable Alaska cruise as this is one of the first big cruise seasons to start back up.  Part of me is desperate to do it, but I also don't want a disappointing onboard experience (on top of hte potential risks of Covid and delays in getting home).

 

Thanks All!

 

[hova]

Just returned from Alaska (via Koningsdam) yesterday.  There were 1188 passengers on board and 900 crew (less than 50% capacity).  

All facilities were open and there were no lineups for anything.  The service was the best we have every had on any cruise!  All ports were visited on schedule.  It was a great cruise, and would repeat it without any hestiation.

We heard of one case of Covid on board, but there could have been more, but it something that isn't discussed much.  Most people wore masks at the start of the cruise, but by the end, the majority were maskless.  

Overall, one of the best cruises we have been on, and recommend you go before it gets busy over the summer!

[DaveOKC]

We were on the K in late April for a California cruise.  Less than 50% occupancy, so service was great!  The only negative I expereinced was that the second (top) floor of the main dining room was closed for dinner, thus the lower floor was a bit crowded.

 

[hova]

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

We were on the K in late April for a California cruise.  Less than 50% occupancy, so service was great!  The only negative I expereinced was that the second (top) floor of the main dining room was closed for dinner, thus the lower floor was a bit crowded.

 

The second floor dining room was also closed on our cruise, but their always seemed to be room on the main floor and I never seen any lineups of people waiting.  The cruise that left on Saturday was supposed to have 1900 passengers, so they were going to open up the top dining room for this cruise.

[DaveOKC]

18 minutes ago, hova said:

The second floor dining room was also closed on our cruise, but their always seemed to be room on the main floor and I never seen any lineups of people waiting.  The cruise that left on Saturday was supposed to have 1900 passengers, so they were going to open up the top dining room for this cruise.

No lineups on ours either, but the tables were all prettty filled and the noise level was higher than normal IMO.  

[highscar]

It was mentioned some time ago that the varanda cabins in the centre bump out had balcony's with no roof covering.   Is that true? 

[cabland]

7 hours ago, hova said:

The second floor dining room was also closed on our cruise, but their always seemed to be room on the main floor and I never seen any lineups of people waiting.  The cruise that left on Saturday was supposed to have 1900 passengers, so they were going to open up the top dining room for this cruise.

Hmmm, I suspect the experience with 1900 passengers could be markedly different than with 1188.  That still doesn't strike me as a bad crew to passenger ratio though.