Koningsdam vs Celebrity Soltice

[mcrcruiser]

We sailed on Koningsdam  for 12 days in December  . We will be sailing on Celebrity Soltice  ,March 11th  & 18th   B2B  . The cruise same itineary ,other cruise slightly different but both will be in Mexican waters  like the Koningsdam 

 

 When we return  we will be able to  truly compare service in the MDR. Lido ,Entertainment  variety & quality  as well as  the  food qualities  between the 2 ships  .Then give a accurate comparison 

 

[doone]

I look forward to your review.  Enjoy your cruise….

[Ipeeinthepools]

Will you be sailing in a suite?  Suite guests and non-suite guests have a much different experience on Celebrity.

[mcrcruiser]

4 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Will you be sailing in a suite?  Suite guests and non-suite guests have a much different experience on Celebrity.

We are sailing  in a handicap balcony   just  like we did on Konigsdam  .Thus ,we will compare apples to apples not oranges 

[Ipeeinthepools]

Just now, mcrcruiser said:

We are sailing  in a handicap balcony   just  like we did on Konigsdam  .Thus ,we will compare apples to apples not oranges 

Excellent, that will be interesting.  We are long time Celebrity cruisers that are currently sailing for the first time on the Rotterdam.  I’ll be interested to see your perspective.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Excellent, that will be interesting.  We are long time Celebrity cruisers that are currently sailing for the first time on the Rotterdam.  I’ll be interested to see your perspective.

 

Enjoy your cruise

We are Elite Plus with Celebrity & 3 Star Mariners with HAL   .Thus ,we will definitely pin point  the differences  .We also dined in the MDR of Koningsdam & will do so on Soltice  .We will also compare the Tuscan Frill to Canaletto   on Koningsdam  .  We expect the entertainment on Soltice to be   better in the main theatre than the Koningsdam world stage ;which you will also have on Rotterdam 

[terrydtx]

Yesterday we booked the Koningsdam for a 7 night Coastal California cruise in November. We received a FCC from HAL this week from our Covid experience on the Oosterdam last August that had to be used by Jan 31 2024. We booked an Aft facing Veranda cabin with HIA and the FCC paid for the cabin 100%. After what we were put through by HAL last year on the Oosterdam with Covid, I never thought we would cruise with them again. This FCC is going to give us a chance to give HAL a second chance at no cost to us. This is our first time on a Pinaccle Class ship and from what I am seeing this may be a fun cruise on a great ship. We are 3 star on HAL and Elite with X, and if we like the Koningsdam we may book an Alaska cruise for 2025 on her while onboard in November.

 

A lot of not so good changes are going on with Celebrity including ridiculous high pricing of suites for future cruises, so we need to be open minded. We are also trying Oceania for the first time in 2025.

Edited February 3, 2023 by terrydtx

[mcrcruiser]

27 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Yesterday we booked the Koningsdam for a 7 night Coastal California cruise in November. We received a FCC from HAL this week from our Covid experience on the Oosterdam last August that had to be used by Jan 31 2024. We booked an Aft facing Veranda cabin with HIA and the FCC paid for the cabin 100%. After what we were put through by HAL last year on the Oosterdam with Covid, I never thought we would cruise with them again. This FCC is going to give us a chance to give HAL a second chance at no cost to us. This is our first time on a Pinaccle Class ship and from what I am seeing this may be a fun cruise on a great ship. We are 3 star on HAL and Elite with X, and if we like the Koningsdam we may book an Alaska cruise for 2025 on her while onboard in November.

 

A lot of not so good changes are going on with Celebrity including ridiculous high pricing of suites for future cruises, so we need to be open minded. We are also trying Oceania for the first time in 2025.

  You will find more differences in the entertainment  with in Koningsdam  . X has netter main theatre imo  .There was dancing on X & not on Koningsdam  except BB kings Blues club  ,but the dancing & music is very different 

 

  All these cruise lines need to wise up & stop cutting corners that downgrade the cruise experience imo , Better to increase prices in line with inflation & still give a superior  experience  ,However ,raising prices &  to continue cut backs is not a wining sale  & in a short time backfires with lost sales

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

  You will find more differences in the entertainment  with in Koningsdam  . X has netter main theatre imo  .There was dancing on X & not on Koningsdam  except BB kings Blues club  ,but the dancing & music is very different 

 

  All these cruise lines need to wise up & stop cutting corners that downgrade the cruise experience imo , Better to increase prices in line with inflation & still give a superior  experience  ,However ,raising prices &  to continue cut backs is not a wining sale  & in a short time backfires with lost sales

Last year we were on the Celebrity Reflection in a Sky Suite from Rome followed by the HAL Oosterdam from Venice in a Signature Suite. The entertainment on the Oosterdam was totally lame in the main Theater with too many nights of BBC world movies. But I have to say we thought overall the food in the MDR on the Oosterdam was better than the Luminae on the Reflection.  Service in Luminae was so much better than the MDR on Oosterdam as it should have been.

 

We looked at the Celebrity Equinox for a 2025 South American cruise for 14 nights in a Sky Suite but it was so expensive compared to our other Retreat cruises we looked at Oceania. We booked the O Marina for 18 nights for the same price as the Equinox wanted, and we are getting 4 more days and 3 more ports with the O cruise. The future Suites pricing on Celebrity has made Oceania and Viking much more affordable.