Koningsdam Review May 28- June 4

[QuattroRomeo]

Ketchikan

We didn't book a tour here, just walked about. Another warm sunny day, flowers blooming. Mostly souvenir shops again, several nice totem poles about town though. When we got to the Creek St bridge we  followed the creek in the salmon ladder direction instead of the direction of the Dolly's stuff,  winding our way through town where people actually live.

Later we walked to the Alaska Fish House for lunch. Had a double order of both salmon and halibut fish & chips to share one of each type. Expensive. The fish itself was very good, but the portions were small. Didn't care for the batter on them, and the fries were terrible.We were expecting maybe some freshly cut fries like we get at good fish & chip places at home. But not these, and they had some kind of coating on them, bbq spice or something that ruined them for me. The small portion of cole slaw was very good.

 

 

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Glacier Bay

My favourite day, on board anyway. Beautiful clear skies, warm enough to stand outside for hours and take in the view of the glaciers. It would have been even better without the lifeboats obstructing the view on so much of the promenade deck.  Deck 5 fwd was opened on this day as well, and deck 12 was also great for viewing.

The other ports, while pretty, are similar to landscapes we have at home, so they weren't as arresting for us as perhaps for others. But Glacier Bay is quite stunning, and we were blessed to have such good weather. 

There were a couple of park rangers on board for half the day in Glacier Bay. One of them gave great  narration over the loudspeakers as we cruised along. Thank goodness for that! 

 

[QuattroRomeo]

We found that there was little left of what we used to like about HAL. The captain gave maybe 1 announcement per day. We used to like hearing the mariner readings and such throughout the day. Nothing was announced to say what we were seeing or passing by at the time. A couple of small towns on the coast before we reached Ketchikan for example- what were they? Could he not say something?

The ship itself lacked the traditional nautical look inside that we used to like. Of course they can't do anything now about the design of the ship. Maybe just the wrong one for us.

The promenade view was definitely lacking. Nothing was available on paper. We know that all lines are moving toward more automation, but when it is slower than paper, what is the point? For guests that is!

We don't typically use cell phones so online everything is a pain. But Navigator wasn't the greatest to use, doesn't do much offline, and didn't always work. Ditto the tv screen applications in the stateroom. We like to get receipts for purchases, not to be told to check our account online. What do you compare it with? Standing in the line at Guest Services to get anything printed is not a great alternative. 

Having all of the music venues so close together was kind of odd, would have preferred different areas with music throughout the ship. Okay, end of rant!

[QuattroRomeo]

Food!

We tried the MDR for breakfast the first morning. What a mess. The host led us to a middle table with people all around us; so much for spacing people apart. Took forever for a waiter. Asked for coffee, had to ask again for cream. We ordered the corned beef hash. Wow. A shadow of its former self. Yuck. Lots of staff running around looking busy, but not sure what they were doing. A few of us at different tables just rolled our eyes and shrugged. The coffees were poor, not a surprise on many ships for MDR, but this was bad. Asked for tea instead. The majority of our bill onboard came from ordering coffees elsewhere. We never ate in the dining room again; it was just too disorganized.

p.s. what is it about ships that they cannot provide proper coffee cream? A pet peeve of ours, on all lines.

[shiner6]

Would you please say a little about the weather while onboard?  Did you prefer short or long sleeved shirts?  We begin packing next week and are trying to limit what we take.

[IPB4IGO]

16 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

When we got back to Skagway everyone got off in town rather than at the port, to wander around a bit. Bought a few trinkets. We went into a small convenience / grocery store and looked at the prices out of curiosity. It is expensive to live in the north! I recall a pack of 3 bell peppers for $9..

We stopped at the town grocery store in Talkeetna last month. This was one of our purchases.

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Just now, shiner6 said:

Would you please say a little about the weather while onboard?  Did you prefer short or long sleeved shirts?  We begin packing next week and are trying to limit what we take.

Interesting question- when I first started packing, I included sweaters, sweatshirts, gloves, boots, socks, earmuffs etc. That was based on the long- range forecast, and watching the port cams. When I checked again a few days before leaving, it had changed dramatically, basically a heat wave in Alaska.  I quickly ditched some sweaters and added blouses and short sleeved tops. Forgot to pack sandals and wished I had. Too warm for socks. Many crew members told us it was cold and rainy the week before.  During our week, there were plenty of people using the outside pool and hot tubs on the aft deck... The last day was cool and rainy, but not cold; a light jacket and shoes worked fine. And I wore a light jacket when standing outside on deck during Glacier Bay day. So I would say to check the forecast regularly. We had sun and warmth and were very lucky. 

[QuattroRomeo]

Just now, IPB4IGO said:

We stopped at the town grocery store in Talkeetna last month. This was one of our purchases.

 

🙂 looks about right!!

[Florida_gal_50]

Thank you for you review.  The first time I was on the koningsdam it wasn’t my favorite.  I took until I sailed on the nieuw statendam to enjoy that pinnacle class. Now I adore those ships and want to sail on nothing but.  I do realize everyone is different.  The mdr at breakfast leaves a bit to be desired.  I get club orange and although the service is better it can leave a bit to be desired sometimes.  I appreciate you taking the time to write of your experience. 

[kentuckycruiser]

On 6/7/2022 at 7:31 AM, richwmn said:

At one time there were two kiosks in the lobby by the front desk on Koningsdam that would print out accounts. Do they still exist?

 

no you just use your TV or your navigator app

Edited June 8, 2022 by kentuckycruiser

[kentuckycruiser]

We were also on this cruise. Fantastic warm weather. I can also chime in on Club Hal (only 25 kids on board!) and Club Orange. We never set foot in the MDR except for an afternoon tea.

 

We were a mixed group of three families most of us in verandas on Deck 6.  The family with 4 kiddos was in the side aft on deck 4 with two adjoining veranda rooms with huge balconys.

 

Also would recommend the zip lining in Ketchikan.

 

We did the Tracy Arm and it was very nice, it is a bit long of a day.

 

We paid for premium internet on Friday am and then did proctored tests in the room. We didn't have enough so two of the dads took an Uber to the Safeway in Ketchikan and bought FlowFlex tests for $12 then used Azova for proctoring for $20 per test. Super easy.

 

Disembarkment was super easy and quick. We got off at 8:15, breezed through customs (all they wanted was the paper declarations page), short line for a cab which was 20 feet from customs (all inside) and then zipped off to airport. Short lines at Vancouver airport and we were at the gate at 9:15 with hours to spare.

 

Getting on was fast but so many lines to get into. One family with us who had a 4 year old got stopped and even though child had negative test, HAL said he had to be tested again that day. That slowed them up by an hour which they found really annoying. The mom had to take the child to the convention center testing center (which is closed for everyone else) while dad was dealing with the three other kids.

 

BTW even though the convention center testing was closed, HAL front desk was pushing it all week as an option.

[QuattroRomeo]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

Thank you for you review.  The first time I was on the koningsdam it wasn’t my favorite.  I took until I sailed on the nieuw statendam to enjoy that pinnacle class. Now I adore those ships and want to sail on nothing but.  I do realize everyone is different.  The mdr at breakfast leaves a bit to be desired.  I get club orange and although the service is better it can leave a bit to be desired sometimes.  I appreciate you taking the time to write of your experience. 

Enough different ships for all of us I think! Thank you for commenting.

[QuattroRomeo]

1 hour ago, kentuckycruiser said:

We were also on this cruise. Fantastic warm weather. I can also chime in on Club Hal (only 25 kids on board!) and Club Orange. We never set foot in the MDR except for an afternoon tea.

 

We were a mixed group of three families most of us in verandas on Deck 6.  The family with 4 kiddos was in the side aft on deck 4 with two adjoining veranda rooms with huge balconys.

 

Also would recommend the zip lining in Ketchikan.

 

We did the Tracy Arm and it was very nice, it is a bit long of a day.

 

We paid for premium internet on Friday am and then did proctored tests in the room. We didn't have enough so two of the dads took an Uber to the Safeway in Ketchikan and bought FlowFlex tests for $12 then used Azova for proctoring for $20 per test. Super easy.

 

Disembarkment was super easy and quick. We got off at 8:15, breezed through customs (all they wanted was the paper declarations page), short line for a cab which was 20 feet from customs (all inside) and then zipped off to airport. Short lines at Vancouver airport and we were at the gate at 9:15 with hours to spare.

 

Getting on was fast but so many lines to get into. One family with us who had a 4 year old got stopped and even though child had negative test, HAL said he had to be tested again that day. That slowed them up by an hour which they found really annoying. The mom had to take the child to the convention center testing center (which is closed for everyone else) while dad was dealing with the three other kids.

 

BTW even though the convention center testing was closed, HAL front desk was pushing it all week as an option.

Glad to hear someone embarked quickly!! There were a lot of lines ....

[QuattroRomeo]

I will backtrack a bit here to add some photos that I have finally managed to extract, and continue the food review later.

 

Juneau

Gold panning guide, shots around Juneau. 

[QuattroRomeo]

Boardwalk, Juneau 

[QuattroRomeo]

 

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Heading out of Skagway on tour, railway train running alongside us, no traffic!

 

[kentuckycruiser]

6 hours ago, QuattroRomeo said:

Food!

We tried the MDR for breakfast the first morning. What a mess. The host led us to a middle table with people all around us; so much for spacing people apart. Took forever for a waiter. Asked for coffee, had to ask again for cream. We ordered the corned beef hash. Wow. A shadow of its former self. Yuck. Lots of staff running around looking busy, but not sure what they were doing. A few of us at different tables just rolled our eyes and shrugged. The coffees were poor, not a surprise on many ships for MDR, but this was bad. Asked for tea instead. The majority of our bill onboard came from ordering coffees elsewhere. We never ate in the dining room again; it was just too disorganized.

p.s. what is it about ships that they cannot provide proper coffee cream? A pet peeve of ours, on all lines.

We had Club Orange - great use of $350 to move from obstructed balcony to a VA. We also enjoyed the CO dining room. Fantastic service. I was glad the CO had nice views of the ocean, so long as your table was in the right place. I think the MDR is a hot mess for breakfast even pre-covid. We didn't set foot in the MDR except for one tea. I was glad the ship was at lower capacity, I think it would have been jam packed in the Lido and elsewhere if full.

[QuattroRomeo]

Sawtooth mountains

 

 

[QuattroRomeo]

Our bus, and the guide is speaking.

[QuattroRomeo]

We all gasped when we got out of the bus for these vistas:

 

[QuattroRomeo]

[QuattroRomeo]

Yukon sign and a truck selling handmade souvenirs on the side of the road: 

[QuattroRomeo]

Just beautiful.

[QuattroRomeo]

Carcross Desert.