Dining info

[riffatsea]

We are considering our first Holland America cruise

Dh is tired of flying and Holland has some cruises leaving out of San Diego

Most recently we've been booking suites on Princess and so we are used to their separate club class area where we can arrive at anytime and have a table for 2 each night

What can you tell me about dining in the mdr on the Konigsdam?

Thanks for any advice you can offer

[ottahand7]

We were on the Nieuw Statendam for 21days in a Neptune Suite. On Pinnacle class ships there is a dedicated dining room for NS guests and for a group of people that pay extra for Club Orange. That dining room was never crowded and was available breakfast and dinner.  It is peaceful and service was attentive and the food excellent. You could get that also for paying extra for Club Orange which may include a cabin upgrade.  

 

[riffatsea]

Thank you for answering

It looks like if we book a high end suite we getnmost of the Club Orange benefits

Well have to see if booking a lower end cabin and then adding Club Orange is a better value

It's a fun job checking into all this!

 

[oaktreerb]

Club Orange is included with Neptune and Pinnacle Suites.  It is available for purchase for other stateroom categories.  It is a small dining room and you may rarely have to wait for a table.  There is a bar nearby where you can grab a drink while you wait.  The hostess will come to get you (and she will remember your name).

 

You can make reservations for the MDR on HAL by speaking to the maitre’d if you know the day before what time you want to eat.  Most people seem to want to eat early so there can be a wait at 5:15-5:30 PM when the dining room opens.

 

I love having the Koningsdam sailing out of San Diego.  It’s a very nice ship with several dining venues.  We do not like to eat in the Lido but if that is your choice there are lots of food options and your entree choices will be served by the buffet staff (no sharing serving spoons, etc)

[mcrcruiser]

Best is to ask  a  Holland America   rep in the Seattle area  ,the phone starts with 206 area code when you search for it  . This is headquarters  . Ask them what cabin level you need to book into then add  Club orange  & they can then tell you what suite level you can get at what cost for the  first cabin . Club  Orange has  many benefits including priority  boarding & disembarking & priority tenders & a special ships tour   behind the scenes , Holland Can fill you in  . I printed the perks for my  18 night Hawaii cruise Jan 30 ,2924 on Koningsdam  R.T  San Diego  .We also   stopped flying 

[riffatsea]

I just realized that the ship,is the Volendam NOT Koningsdam

Yes I will ask 

Waiting to hear back from our TA

[Radbooks]

25 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

I just realized that the ship,is the Volendam NOT Koningsdam

Yes I will ask 

Waiting to hear back from our TA

Okay, the Volendam is a much smaller ship and does not have the Club Orange separate dining area. It also doesn't have all of the specialty restaurants.

 

[crystalspin]

49 minutes ago, riffatsea said:

I just realized that the ship,is the Volendam NOT Koningsdam

Club Orange on the Volendam eats in an area of the main dining room. You still have your dedicated servers and an extra entree prepared only for CO in addition to any of the menu listings. You still get the other perks.

 

The specialty restaurant the Volendam does not have is the Tamarind (Asian-fusion). Rudi's Sel de Mer will be a "pop-up" which I think means offered within the Pinnacle Grill, and only one or more specific nights. The Pinnacle Grill is a "steak house" or steak-and-seafood-etc restaurant on all of the 'Dam ships. On the Koningsdam, there are Tamarind and a full-time Sel de Mer.

 

We sailed 7-day Alaska on the Volendam and two 14-day cruises on her sister ship the Zaandam, and we were very happy with the experiences. (I guess the fact we kept coming back would tell you that?)

 

I suspect the two ships (Volendam vs Koningsdam) are totally different experiences. I will know after December/January, when we sail a B2B on K'dam out of San Diego -- our new home port as we do not want to fly at this time, either!

[AFNavigator]

1 hour ago, Radbooks said:

Okay, the Volendam is a much smaller ship and does not have the Club Orange separate dining area. It also doesn't have all of the specialty restaurants.

 

Yes, much smaller...by about 50% less capacity.  The Koningsdam is a more even match in size--and probably amenities--to the Diamond Princess.  I assume that's the Princess ship you've cruised out of San Diego.

[oakridger]

I’ll be interested to see if any more “pop up” Rudi’s actually happens. I was told by one of the Pinnacle Grill supervisors here on Nieuw Amsterdam that they have been discontinued on all non Pinnacle class ships as of October 1st this year  and my Rudi’s reservation was canceled. ☹️ The stand alone Rudi’s on the Pinnacle ships is still in operation. Please let us know if anyone gets a pop up again. 

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, oakridger said:

I’ll be interested to see if any more “pop up” Rudi’s actually happens. I was told by one of the Pinnacle Grill supervisors here on Nieuw Amsterdam that they have been discontinued 

Oh Nancy! I didn't mean to sound an expert. Have never eaten in Rudi's (reserved on K'dam for NYE though!) -- only repeating on what I hear on CC. The effort to offer a Popup does seem a lot for the partakers.

[oaktreerb]

Skip Club Orange on the Volendam.  Book a Neptune Suite for breakfast in the Pinnacle Grill.  Make reservations for dinner in the MDR.

[FlaMariner]

14 hours ago, riffatsea said:

It's a fun job checking into all this!

 

Agree!

 

Welcome to Holland America Line.....One of my duties on cruise critic is to provide this link to Club Orange info......Here it is.  Have fun figuring it all out and keep asking.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/dining/club-orange.html

[riffatsea]

Thanks for all the good information

We generally,like the smaller ships so that sounds OK

We will definitely book the Neptune suite as the lower end one is more like a mini suite on Princess which we don't like

DH likes as much space as possible!

We enjoy time in our cabin and on our balcony

Mexico cruises for us are like time in an Ai resort

I'm hoping that after a while DH will go back to flying as I enjoy exploring the ports more than just relaxing on board

As you all know marriage is about compromising and for now thus works well for us

 

 

[Aulanis]

Hi  More dining info required.

It is many years since we sailed with HAL  and on Princess we always choose

Any Time Dining.  Since medallion we have been able to book different times

in different restaurant each day if we wanted on the medallion app.

HAL seems to have   "As You Wish Dining"  but in some places it suggests you 

have to request this when booking the cruise.

We are in the UK and our TA didnt ask us.  Our itinerary show blank for dining times.

Havent spotted anything on Navigator or on our On Line booking info though

I may have missed it ( not the easiest site to find anything)

We are on Volendam  Amazon cruise

So questions are:  1 Do you have to specify this when booking the ruise?

2 Can it be amended when on board?

3  Can you book days in advance on Navigator  or on the TV once on board

     or do you just have to turn up when you want  ( not usually a good idea)

Unrelated question 

Are we supposed to be able to see shareholders on board credit credits

on our account now  or only when we board.  They say it has been allocated.

TIA

[crystalspin]

2 minutes ago, Aulanis said:

So questions are:  1 Do you have to specify this when booking the ruise?

2 Can it be amended when on board?

3  Can you book days in advance on Navigator  or on the TV once on board

     or do you just have to turn up when you want  ( not usually a good idea)

You are assigned when you book. It can be modified through your TA. It can be modified on board IF there are seats available (!) -- I think going to AYW is easier than the other way.

 

We have always done As You Wish and shown up any time (why not a good idea?). We tell them "seat us wherever is easiest for YOU" and are rewarded by a big smile from the host/hostess, and by meeting new people every night. On our one cruise with RCI, the hostess recognized us and seated us in the same area at a 2-top (inches from other 2-tops) every night but one! We thought that was odd, with our experience on HAL.

 

It does seem that people (on CC) are using AYW to eat at the same time every night, that happens not to be the fixed times. I'm not sure that was ever the idea, but it IS "as you wish".

 

I have not cruised since Navigator became so useful so I'll let someone else answer that.

[Florida_gal_50]

34 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

You are assigned when you book. It can be modified through your TA. It can be modified on board IF there are seats available (!) -- I think going to AYW is easier than the other way.

 

We have always done As You Wish and shown up any time (why not a good idea?). We tell them "seat us wherever is easiest for YOU" and are rewarded by a big smile from the host/hostess, and by meeting new people every night. On our one cruise with RCI, the hostess recognized us and seated us in the same area at a 2-top (inches from other 2-tops) every night but one! We thought that was odd, with our experience on HAL.

 

It does seem that people (on CC) are using AYW to eat at the same time every night, that happens not to be the fixed times. I'm not sure that was ever the idea, but it IS "as you wish".

 

I have not cruised since Navigator became so useful so I'll let someone else answer that.

I believe the as you wish encompasses all dining seleactions, not just open.  That seems to have caused a lot of confusion with people.  I'm not sure open was conceived so people could dine at all different times.  I usually dine around 6pm.  I don't fluctuate much from that.  It's really not just for people who want to be all over the map. I don't have any desire to eat with the same people every night at 5 or whenever hal does their early dining now.  Thats too early on holidays. Plus it's always been quite difficult to get the early dining.  I eat mostly at specialty restaurants, and it wouldn't be cool to take a place in traditional when I'll never be there.

[oaktreerb]

@AulanisThe assigned dining is fixed dining early (5:15 or 8;00, I think).  Open dining (As You Wish) means you can go to the dining room when you want, or you can make reservations with the maitre’d at the entrance to the dining room for future dates or your concierge may make reservations for you if you are in a suite.  You have to ask for early or late fixed dining when you book your cruise, early fixed is the first to fill up.  There is usually a line of open dining people when the dining room opens at around 5:15.  With fixed dining you just walk to your assigned table, you don’t need to be seated.  

 

Take your Shareholder credit confirmation with you and/or ask your TA to give you the Cruise Confirmation which shows all of your onboard OBC.

 

The Navigator App is a work in progress.  

Edited October 25, 2022 by oaktreerb