My mini-review of Koningsdam post dry dock

[luv2cruzuk]

I’ve just posted to YouTube my review of Holland America Koningsdam following her recent dry dock. As this was my first HAL cruise I focus on the things that surprised me, having taken 49 cruises with other lines. 

 

 

[Yipper]

Some very good insights.  Thank you for the post.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing.

[BermudaBound2014]

I loved this review!! While there are certainly areas that HAL and the Koningsdam can improve, I think you provided a very balanced description with rational.

 

As you know from your roll call thread, I'm especially grateful for confirmation that Starlink was installed on Koningsdam during drydock. 

 

See you on deck! 🙂 

[luv2cruzuk]

1 hour ago, Yipper said:

Some very good insights.  Thank you for the post.

Thanks Yipper! 

[luv2cruzuk]

19 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I loved this review!! While there are certainly areas that HAL and the Koningsdam can improve, I think you provided a very balanced description with rational.

 

As you know from your roll call thread, I'm especially grateful for confirmation that Starlink was installed on Koningsdam during drydock. 

 

See you on deck! 🙂 

Thanks very much! I appreciate the comments. I think it’s so important to give the good with the, not so good.

 

I would sail with HAL again, actually we have already booked for Canada/New England later this year. I would also sail on Koningsdam again. She’s a lovely ship and offers a great ‘Classic’ cruise experience.

 

Best Wishes, David

[OlsSalt]

Did your cruise leave from San Diego? If so, this port can be notorious for embarkation/security back ups depending on day of departure and how many other ships are in port. We have had both experiences depending on outside factors, including the numbers of security agents that are available for service that day.

 

Your unfortunate pre-boarding experience as I  understand it, is are under the total control of the port agency and HAL has no say in this now almost predictable back up problem. When we faced one at San Diego before a HAL cruise, HAL offered a free drink to everyone as their way or recognizing and compensating for what they had no way to avoid.  Other less impacted departure times in San Diego, we did not have this problem.

 

Happy to see a later poster update those chairs did get re-upholstrered after finally getting delivery of the new material. I find myself being more forgiving of the occasional wear and tear knowing supply issues and missing parts, or even unavailability of parts on older ships can keep them from being 100% pristine, 100% of the time.  Though of course, this NEVER happens on other ships, right? (Even Crystal ships had the occasional tatty defect.)

 

Unswept crumbs overnight are gross. No excuses there. Except for a staff impacted still with "covid cleaning", on top of regular ship maintenance. No one likes a dirty ship and HAL does pride itself on running clean ships.  A one-off experience, we hope.

 

Agree strongly with your recommendation for the "sun rise clock" if booking an inside room. That is the sole moment I  know I miss if I  use an inside cabin - which is hard to justify the extra cost for the few moments to wake up to sunrise.

 

The rest of the time in an inside cabin really does not  really warrant paying for a window or verandah - sleeping, getting ready to be outside the cabin or quiet down time when low lights are perfectly okay.

 

Can you give us more information where you found your "sunrise clock"? Thanks.

[Colorado Klutch]

Very well-balanced and thoughtful review. I will be aboard Koningsdam next week and really appreciate this very timely video. 

- Wow, no excuse for shabby chairs and crumbs on the carpet. I hope they get better about this. Maybe HAL has ordered new chairs, but like so many things, they are on back order.

- It looks like HAL removed many of the plush chairs in the Explorer's area and replaced them with industrial cafeteria chairs. Phooey. 

- The tendering issue appears to be a significant problem with HAL. I think they should pony up and hire some local tenders to augment their onboard boats. 

- I saw a lot of upcharges on the MDR menu. Sheesh, is anything other than a chicken breast and instant mashed potatoes included? 

- I've been reading and reading and I still find HAL's drink packages downright confusing. I can never figure out what's included and what isn't and what's extra. And in this video I learned soda from the machines isn't included. What the hey? That just makes no sense and confirms I will not be buying a drink package. (Listen up, HAL, I will NOT be purchasing a drink package because I can't figure them out! Too hard. Too complicated. Too limited. Too bad.)

- Glad to hear the positive impression of the staff. This is very important to me. I know they work very hard and they are a long way from their families, but it's no fun to be around miserable, disgruntled staff.

- Nice to know the onboard Internet is very good. I want to get away from the Internet on my cruise, so I hope to avoid it completely.

 

Thanks for creating and posting this video. 

[Florida_gal_50]

@OlsSaltthis cruise left from Vancouver.

 

to the op it sounds like you were assigned one person in the cabana.  Usually its a group of guys.  I'd love to be assigned just one.  Hopefully it's not one that is getting every morsel of food for everyone.  I'm very low maintenance.  I never ask them to get me food.  I just want my water iced which rarely happens because they spend hours and hours fetching food.

[ldog]

thanks for the review.  we are going in January. 

[summer slope]

Thank you for the review.  I couldn't find out what the problem was with the dining.

[Laminator]

1 hour ago, Colorado Klutch said:

- I've been reading and reading and I still find HAL's drink packages downright confusing. I can never figure out what's included and what isn't and what's extra. And in this video I learned soda from the machines isn't included. What the hey? That just makes no sense and confirms I will not be buying a drink package. (Listen up, HAL, I will NOT be purchasing a drink package because I can't figure them out! Too hard. Too complicated. Too limited. Too bad.)
 

The HIA package includes canned soda. The unlimited coca cola package includes fountain drinks only. So if you are in the casino and want a soda and do not wish to go upstairs they will give you a glass of soda from the gun. With the signature beverage package you will get a can of soda. 

[BermudaBound2014]

10 minutes ago, Laminator said:

The HIA package includes canned soda. The unlimited coca cola package includes fountain drinks only. So if you are in the casino and want a soda and do not wish to go upstairs they will give you a glass of soda from the gun. With the signature beverage package you will get a can of soda. 

That seems needlessly complicated.

[fatpig]

11 minutes ago, Laminator said:

The HIA package includes canned soda. The unlimited coca cola package includes fountain drinks only. So if you are in the casino and want a soda and do not wish to go upstairs they will give you a glass of soda from the gun. With the signature beverage package you will get a can of soda. 

So HAL's own website is wrong then? It shows Signature package includes fountain drinks

 

 

[Laminator]

Just now, BermudaBound2014 said:

That seems needlessly complicated.

I don't disagree. It all started when the Koningsdam came out and they put that machine on deck 9 or 10 or wherever it is. 

 

[luv2cruzuk]

Thank you for the comments. I purchased the sunrise alarm clock from Amazon. This was the one…

 

for the price it was excellent 

 

https://amzn.to/3LhF2JF

 

2 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

Did your cruise leave from San Diego? If so, this port can be notorious for embarkation/security back ups depending on day of departure and how many other ships are in port. We have had both experiences depending on outside factors, including the numbers of security agents that are available for service that day.

 

Your unfortunate pre-boarding experience as I  understand it, is are under the total control of the port agency and HAL has no say in this now almost predictable back up problem. When we faced one at San Diego before a HAL cruise, HAL offered a free drink to everyone as their way or recognizing and compensating for what they had no way to avoid.  Other less impacted departure times in San Diego, we did not have this problem.

 

Happy to see a later poster update those chairs did get re-upholstrered after finally getting delivery of the new material. I find myself being more forgiving of the occasional wear and tear knowing supply issues and missing parts, or even unavailability of parts on older ships can keep them from being 100% pristine, 100% of the time.  Though of course, this NEVER happens on other ships, right? (Even Crystal ships had the occasional tatty defect.)

 

Unswept crumbs overnight are gross. No excuses there. Except for a staff impacted still with "covid cleaning", on top of regular ship maintenance. No one likes a dirty ship and HAL does pride itself on running clean ships.  A one-off experience, we hope.

 

Agree strongly with your recommendation for the "sun rise clock" if booking an inside room. That is the sole moment I  know I miss if I  use an inside cabin - which is hard to justify the extra cost for the few moments to wake up to sunrise.

 

The rest of the time in an inside cabin really does not  really warrant paying for a window or verandah - sleeping, getting ready to be outside the cabin or quiet down time when low lights are perfectly okay.

 

Can you give us more information where you found your "sunrise clock"? Thanks.

 

[Laminator]

5 minutes ago, fatpig said:

So HAL's own website is wrong then? It shows Signature package includes fountain drinks

 

 

Gotta Be...I have been dealing with this since the Koningsdam came out and for the most part all I drink is pop so I would consider myself somewhat of an expert on it. It used to be regular coke but it is now Coke Zero. The coke card gets you fountain the SBP gets you cans. 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Laminator

[luv2cruzuk]

1 hour ago, summer slope said:

Thank you for the review.  I couldn't find out what the problem was with the dining.

An upcoming video. I’m still onboard and still have videos to edit and upload. I’m surprised I can even do this using cruise ship Wi-Fi! 

[luv2cruzuk]

1 minute ago, Laminator said:

Gotta Be...I have been dealing with this since the Koningsdam came out and for the most part all I drink is pop so I would consider myself somewhat of an expert on it. It used to be regular coke but it is now Coke Zero. The coke card gets you fountain the SBP gets you cans. 

Agree with this. That’s been my experience onboard Koningsdam 

[luv2cruzuk]

2 hours ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

@OlsSaltthis cruise left from Vancouver.

 

to the op it sounds like you were assigned one person in the cabana.  Usually its a group of guys.  I'd love to be assigned just one.  Hopefully it's not one that is getting every morsel of food for everyone.  I'm very low maintenance.  I never ask them to get me food.  I just want my water iced which rarely happens because they spend hours and hours fetching food.

Paollo was so helpful and would do anything for us. I didn’t order food to the cabana as I like my food to be at the correct temperature! 
 

Paollo had “helpers” so perhaps that’s why he was omnipresent 

[Mary229]

Deleted

Edited April 29, 2023 by Mary229

[julia]

Thank you SO much for a clear, concise review... very well edited!

 

My jaw dropped at the "makeover" of the Crow's Nest... WHAT IN THE HOLY HECK HAPPENED?!?  😲🤮  It looks terrible, and I can only imagine the noise and distractions with the bar, coffee shop, AND excursion desk all going on!  The Crow's Nest was always a quiet getaway to read, relax, sip, and enjoy the views. Oh, and here's what it looked like on the sailing before dry dock (plush chairs and sofas). 😪

While Koningsdam was not our favorite ship, (we won't sail that class again), it was BY FAR, our favorite crew. I recognized several in your video...  thx!!

[oakridger]

@luv2cruzuk that was a very balanced review.  Thank you!  I'll look for the rest of them as you are able to post.

 

I would like to mention that Vancouver port at Canada Place is especially crowded many times and is complicated by having to pass through both Canadian and USA immigration checks.  There has always been a LOT of walking involved to board.  Those are controlled by the port, not HAL.  Your video stated that there wasn't any available assistance for people who had mobility issues.  The times I have passed through I had wheelchair assistance off the ship by HAL staff which I needed post surgery.  Last fall I had wheelchair assistance going through security and immigration and was then passed to HAL staff who pushed me all the way to my cabin!!  Hopefully those that need it are getting it!

 

~Nancy

[Colorado Klutch]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

That seems needlessly complicated.

Exactly! If I buy a drink package, it's supposed to make things easy and convenient. The HAL drink packages aren't easy or convenient. They're complicated. If I buy a drink package, I must constantly ask, "Is this included or is it not included? Is gratuity included or is it extra?". I might as well just order whatever drink I want wherever I want and pay for it. I won't drink nearly enough to lose money compared to a drink package. 

[oakridger]

Drink package drinks always include the gratuity.  

 

~Nancy