Koningsdam

[stjohncruisers]

My DW and I have just booked a cruise on the Koningsdam for November 2023. We are Elite on Celebrity and Platinum on Princess. We are both 60 + and enjoy cruising. We sailed on Holland America once before about 6 or 7 years ago. Tell us what we will like and dislike on the Koningsdam. We are going into this with an open mind and hope we will enjoy our time on the ship. Thanks in advance for everyone's input.

[3rdGenCunarder]

It's hard to know what another person will like or dislike. I could tell you what I like and dislike about Koningsdam, but other posters here would have opposite opinions. 

 

It would be better if you asked about specific aspects of a K'dam cruise. A good start would be to read HAL's descriptions and then do a search of this forum for threads about the ship. 

 

[oaktreerb]

We like the Grand Dutch Cafe, the Club Orange Dining Option, and the World Stage.

[stjohncruisers]

Just now, oaktreerb said:

We like the Grand Dutch Cafe, the Club Orange Dining Option, and the World Stage.

Thanks, We have heard a lot about the Dutch Cafe. My DW and I are both Dutch and are looking forward to some of the Dutch touches on the ship.

[0106]

Here are two threads from people currently of the Koningsdam that may be helpful.

 

 

[pamps2801]

What we dislike are the early closures of the buffet. Breakfast…closes at 10:00am…. Lunch closes at 2:00pm….Dinner closes at 8:00pm. 
  Princess Buffet … Breakfast closes at 11:30am…. Lunch closes at 3:30pm….Dinner closes at 10:00pm. 
  Holland America caters these times, to an older crowd, where the majority of them eat Very Early. They’ve forgotten that the younger generation like to relax and eat later. You have a tendency of always feeling rushed to get to the buffet before it closes. If you wake up around 9:30, by the time you’re ready to go eat breakfast, the buffet will be closed. Ridiculous. 
  So what you get, is the buffet is only open a couple of hours at meal times, which generates a Very Congested Buffet area, as people are all rushing in there at the same time.
  Not very well planned out on their part. Of course people will say there’s the Burger and Pizza area that’s open. Well, “that’s not a decent meal”. The Dutch cafe has soup and little things to eat, but you wait almost 30min before they serve you after you order. Again, not a decent meal. 
Now you have a heads up on the buffet…. 

[pamps2801]

Princess still has Shrimp on the Dining menu, in the dining room every night, and most nights in the buffet, and they still have Lobster on the 2nd formal night. 
  Holland America, it’s a novelty to see shrimp on the dining menu, that’s if they have on there at all. Don’t even dream of seeing shrimp in the buffet. Lobster, you have to pay for it in the dining room, even on formal nights.

[oaktreerb]

1 hour ago, pamps2801 said:

Princess still has Shrimp on the Dining menu, in the dining room every night, and most nights in the buffet, and they still have Lobster on the 2nd formal night. 
  Holland America, it’s a novelty to see shrimp on the dining menu, that’s if they have on there at all. Don’t even dream of seeing shrimp in the buffet. Lobster, you have to pay for it in the dining room, even on formal nights.

We had shrimp available in the dining room on our recent cruises on the k-dam.  We don’t eat in the Lido except for the salad bar (you choose what you want in your salad) for lunch).   The Lido is not a serve yourself buffet except for a few items.  Cruise passengers come from all across the US/Canada and many countries so we each have our dining preferences.  I’ll agree that the Lido hours are too limited.   Staffing has not come back to HAL stated ratios.  Many experienced HAL cruisers prefer fixed dining in the dining room for the evening meal so they always have the same table and wait staff.  

 

[stjohncruisers]

2 hours ago, pamps2801 said:

What we dislike are the early closures of the buffet. Breakfast…closes at 10:00am…. Lunch closes at 2:00pm….Dinner closes at 8:00pm. 
  Princess Buffet … Breakfast closes at 11:30am…. Lunch closes at 3:30pm….Dinner closes at 10:00pm. 
  Holland America caters these times, to an older crowd, where the majority of them eat Very Early. They’ve forgotten that the younger generation like to relax and eat later. You have a tendency of always feeling rushed to get to the buffet before it closes. If you wake up around 9:30, by the time you’re ready to go eat breakfast, the buffet will be closed. Ridiculous. 
  So what you get, is the buffet is only open a couple of hours at meal times, which generates a Very Congested Buffet area, as people are all rushing in there at the same time.
  Not very well planned out on their part. Of course people will say there’s the Burger and Pizza area that’s open. Well, “that’s not a decent meal”. The Dutch cafe has soup and little things to eat, but you wait almost 30min before they serve you after you order. Again, not a decent meal. 
Now you have a heads up on the buffet…. 

We do enjoy the buffet for breakfast and are usually up early. Agree though that the closing hours are messed up.

[stjohncruisers]

3 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

It's hard to know what another person will like or dislike. I could tell you what I like and dislike about Koningsdam, but other posters here would have opposite opinions. 

 

It would be better if you asked about specific aspects of a K'dam cruise. A good start would be to read HAL's descriptions and then do a search of this forum for threads about the ship. 

 

Yes, I have looked at all these options but sometimes it is good to get people's actual experiences

[CruiserBruce]

24 minutes ago, stjohncruisers said:

Yes, I have looked at all these options but sometimes it is good to get people's actual experiences

The "Live from" threads mentioned in Post #5 ARE people's actual experiences on board.

[pamps2801]

In regards to posts #6 and 7….just wanted to add…. We were on the Koningsdsm for 2 weeks in December. Now on Princess for 3 weeks.

[stjohncruisers]

52 minutes ago, pamps2801 said:

In regards to posts #6 and 7….just wanted to add…. We were on the Koningsdsm for 2 weeks in December. Now on Princess for 3 weeks.

What Princess ship are you on?

[pamps2801]

1 hour ago, stjohncruisers said:

What Princess ship are you on?

Diamond

[MereBooty]

6 hours ago, pamps2801 said:

Holland America, it’s a novelty to see shrimp on the dining menu, that’s if they have on there at all. Don’t even dream of seeing shrimp in the buffet

There is shrimp on the MDR menu and in the lido tonight and I believe there was last night as well. And the lido does not close at 2: some stations are open 2-4. 

[pamps2801]

4 hours ago, MereBooty said:

There is shrimp on the MDR menu and in the lido tonight and I believe there was last night as well. And the lido does not close at 2: some stations are open 2-4. 

I did mention it was a “novelty “ to see shrimp on the menu. So, you had it on your menu…. hence… the novelty….as for the select stations… that refers basically to cheese and crackers and the such. When you come back from excursions at 2:00pm, who wants “select stations” with crackers and such ?

[friendswithdave]

Pamps, would you like to make other comparisons between HAL and Princess? We've done HAL many times but never Princess. A friend who had been on both preferred HAL by a little, all things considered. You?

[stjohncruisers]

10 minutes ago, friendswithdave said:

Pamps, would you like to make other comparisons between HAL and Princess? We've done HAL many times but never Princess. A friend who had been on both preferred HAL by a little, all things considered. You?

I agree. We have done Princess many times. I would like your opinion between the two lines.

[pamps2801]

30 minutes ago, friendswithdave said:

Pamps, would you like to make other comparisons between HAL and Princess? We've done HAL many times but never Princess. A friend who had been on both preferred HAL by a little, all things considered. You?

All things considered, it all depends what you’re looking for. HAL focuses on Music Venues, which are quite good. They spend a lot of dollars in order to grab some high quality musicians and singers to entertain in these music venues.Also they have Great Service. Ships are dated, except for the Koningsdam. That said though, their ships are clean and respectable. As mentioned before, Hal needs to increase their Buffet Hours for all three meals. They close it WAY to early.
  Princess  also has dated ships and they are also clean and respectable, but overall their ships seem newer. They also have newer ships, such as the Sky, the Enchanted, and Discovery. Princess Specialty Restaurants are the least expensive of them all(for now). Drink, Gratuities and wifi package is the cheapest of the lot( for now). They have great service and food selections seem to surpass the others. Their Movies Under the Stars is quite impressive. Hal has it too, on some ships, but not as impressive, meaning. small screen and rarely used. 
  Also keep in mind, as for newer ships, you certainly can’t beat Celebrity. 
 As mentioned at the beginning, it all depends what the traveler is in search of, and what the priority is.
 

 

   

[lavictoria]

On 1/2/2023 at 9:33 AM, stjohncruisers said:

My DW and I have just booked a cruise on the Koningsdam for November 2023.

My favourite things on HAL are the free room service, the laundry service and the promenade deck.

We enjoy early breakfast in the cabin when we needed to be up early for an excursion and late breakfast when we want to sleep in and not deal with a crush in the buffet.

The laundry service is by the bag ($30) or unlimited, about $7 day. Especially on longer cruise you can pack lighter and return home with mostly clean, neatly folded clothes.

The promenade deck is supposed to be reminiscent of the golden days or cruising. While there are some spots where you walk past the workings it's a wooden deck, covered, around the entire level - great for a stroll. When you're finished strolling the Grand Dutch Cafe is just inside for a lovely Dutch snacks and treats!

[CruiserBruce]

On 1/4/2023 at 11:56 AM, pamps2801 said:

 Ships are dated, except for the Koningsdam.    

You know they have 2 newer ships, N. Statendam and Rotterdam. Twins of Koningsdam?

[OlsSalt]

Treats that were done very well on the Konnigsdam - just off yesterday after 16 days:

 

The Gelato Cafe - pool side was super - the real deal, not that grainy stuff from  mix - even  though it is a modest surcharge - $2 per large scoop, $2.85 for a double. The Espresso Chocolate Chip was my own favorite. My sentimental "lunch" the last day was a double scoop and a bag of cheese fries from the Dive-In right across from the Gelato station.  (Ice cream is still free at the Lido)

 

The croissants at the Lido were large and flaky, right up there will the best we enjoy at our local French bakery. I always plan a few freshly made french crepes at one of the Lido breakfast stations and ask for just plain with butter and sugar, which I then top with some squeezes of lemon that I pick up at the coffee and tea station first. One is never enough. 

 

Canaletto was by far our best speciality restaurant experience. We found the main dining room food to be very good with nice variety and nicely attentive service. We were able to score late (8pm) fixed dining on our second cruise segment, even though they were "sold out" on the first segment.

 

This made a huge difference in the main dining room experience compared to the crowd scene that impacts the as-you wish lower floor main dining room scene.  We were able to do the early show (7pm) and then on to dinner as long as you show up early to get seat in the main theater.

 

On a ship this large, we were pleased the elevators were never crowded or required long waits. The long walks from point to point depending on the location of your cabin were a bit grim and daunting at first.

 

Then we learned to cover the distance on either the Lido deck (9) of the Promenade (3) decks - exact same distance I know, but it just did not feel like the forced march gauntlet down endless rows of cabin hallways.  We had cabins in the aft sections, so getting from dining rooms (aft) to entertainment (forward) does take a bit of walk if your cabin is on either end of the ship. A bit circuitous, but it worked for us.

 

We are not fans of areas with piped in music or the constant mechanics of the bar (blenders) of coffee making noise (Explorations Cafe) if one wants to find a quiet place to read and also still enjoy viewing  passing seas - we learned the port-side rear section of the Crows Nest -was the best; then the Ocean Bar seating -daytime or the day time window seating across from Club Orange offered respite from the piped in music found in too many of the other places, indoors and out.

 

Later in the evening there were no lines at the Front Desk if you have issues you need to resolve, and learning the tricks of how to use the Navigator took up at lot of time at first for many passengers - put your device on "airplane mode" to access the internal Navigator system and internet. 

 

[crystalspin]

On 1/2/2023 at 9:33 AM, stjohncruisers said:

... Tell us what we will like and dislike on the Koningsdam. We are going into this with an open mind and hope we will enjoy our time on the ship. Thanks in advance for everyone's input.

Currently on second day & second leg of a B2B on the Koningsdam. First cruises since spring 2019! First time on a Pinnacle ship. We are enjoying being back on a Blue-Hulled Beauty aka 'Dam Ship again! 

 

Have been thinking about the experience and what I will write on Cruise Critic as a review at the end! @OlsSaltmade some of my same points.

 

We are mid-ship in a Vista Suite due to having substantial future cruise credit from March 2020. Very occasionally we've needed to walk fully front to back (forward to aft) such as Crow's Nest to Tamarind and it seems a hike; but we remind ourselves it's not like a mega-ship! Although I did move our cabin from forward high-deck to this very one for 35 days in 2024, and happy with that decision. 

 

I think my favorite thing is ALL the activities. There seems to be something for everyone, and mostly that means - even though the ship was at capacity last week and seems so this week - it rarely seems crowded. 

 

Happy hours (which don't have a fixed schedule) and trying to get a seat at open seating MDR are exceptions. We simply go somewhere else if the HH crowd shows up, and we have been dining in either the Lido (which is not chaotic) or specialty restaurants due to having a bit of OBC. The Lido menus being available on the Navigator makes all the difference -- decide ahead of time which station(s) to visit and save the milling around. 

[oakridger]

36 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

The long walks from point to point depending on the location of your cabin were a bit grim and daunting at first.

 

Then we learned to cover the distance on either the Lido deck (9) of the Promenade (3) decks - exact same distance I know, but it just did not feel like the forced march gauntlet down endless rows of cabin hallways.  We had cabins in the aft sections, so getting from dining rooms (aft) to entertainment (forward) does take a bit of walk if your cabin is on either end of the ship. A bit circuitous, but it worked for us.

 

I had to laugh when I read this because on the Rotterdam in November I did the exact same thing!!  I have a bad knee, so walking is painful.  My cabin was aft on deck 5 so I took the aft elevator to deck 3 or 9 depending on where I was going and walked the length of the ship there.  I could sit down in various spots along the way to rest then carry on.  Worked great for me! 

~Nancy

[gwenmarie]

On 1/3/2023 at 1:17 PM, MereBooty said:

 Three days in a row ... since I have been checking ... with shrimp on both MDR and Lido dinner menus on Koningsdam.

I know you didn't like something but there is no reason to post the same lies over and over again. Such a strange lie also, focused on one specific protein. What is your agenda?

 

I just spent 9 days on this ship. I had seafood salad every day for lunch.