Koningsdam June 10-17 (2023) Alaska Review

[cabland]

This will likely be a bit repetitive to other reviews, but I always appreciate reading them, so I figure, why not!  First, unlike so many here on the board, we are newbie cruisers as this was only our SECOND cruise.  Ironically, our first cruise was in 2018 on the Nieuw Amsterdam on this same route in Alaska!  Here goes:

 

The Route

Day 1 - Vancouver Embarkation

Day 2 - Sea Day

Day 3 - Juneau

Day 4 - Skagway

Day 5 - Glacier Bay

Day 6 - Sea Day

Day 7 - Vancouver Disembarkation

 

Our Cabin

Our initial booking was for a "Guaranteed" cabin Neptune suite.  We snagged a great deal on it and I THOUGHT I had scanned the deck plan to make sure I would be OK with ANY of the locations.  Unfortunately, I missed the darn SQ cabins at the very front with the microscopic "juliet" balconies.  Sure enough, that's what we were immediately assigned.  Anyway, I contacted my HALL PCC and they were flexible enough to "downgrade" me to a Signature suite midship (note: this was still a stellar deal) for slightly less coin.  Then, as so often discussed here on the board, about 3 or 4 weeks from embarkation, I got a Neptune suite upgrade offer, called HAL, and they let me pick my Neptune Suite location.  Perfect, across from Neptune lounge - Suite 7073 - and still a fabulous deal overall.

 

The "Knee" Challenge Disclaimer

So, I've been battling a stupid knee issue for almost 2 years now.  Two meniscus surgeries last year didn't seem to do the trick.  Long story short, we purchased the cruise last November, but my knee has been very iffy.  So much so I got a steroid shot a week before departure to try to salvage the trip.  While it seemed to help, the morning before we were to leave for Vancouver (note: 4 days before the cruise) , I woke up and my knee was killing me.  I will spare you the details of our travels right up to embarkation, and skip to that point...it did limit our activities on and off the ship....stupid knee!

 

Day 1 - Embarkation (Boarding, Dive-In Lunch, Grand Dutch Snack, Sail Away with REAL Inside Passage, and Nami Sushi Dinner)

Boarding - As others have noted, I was VERY concerned about lines at Canada Place with my knee so we left early (around 9:30ish) and took a cab to the parking garage from our hotel (Hyatt Regency Vancouver - pretty close to CP).  Cab takes you right to bag drop inside parking garage - easy as pie and fast.  We then headed up to HAL check-in.  Our priority boarding (Neptune Suite) allowed for near instant check-in, but honestly, the lines were small as it was early so it didn't make that much difference.  We then headed to security.  I was limping with my cane at this point and got in a smaller line as a result,  The regular line wasn't bad, but I definitely appreciated any assistance I could get at this point.  Post security it was on to U.S. customs.  We were through customs in about 5 minutes, but this was largely because the lines were small since we were there early.  We then ended up in a waiting area to board.  This area had seats.  We were then moved to a second waiting area (also seated) while we waited to be allowed to board.  I would guess we waited at least 30 or 40 minutes total...but we were SEATED so no big deal.  All told, this went about as easy and quick as could be.

 

Dive-In Lunch and Grand Dutch Snack - We got to board (Priority guests firsts) and as our rooms were not quite ready, we headed directly to the Dive-In for a hamburger and fries - one of the surprise highlights from our Nieuw Amsterdam trip.  Unfortunately, the burger itself was pretty bland and surprisingly not that hot since they were being cooked to order.  I had heard the Dive-In might have taken a step down and that was our experience...bummer.  The fries were still delicious, however (note: that changed later in the week!).  We then headed to the Grand Dutch Cafe.  I got a Bocce Ball (giant creme puff) dessert and my wife got a latte.  The coffee was god, but honestly, the pastry was just OK.  It seemed to be a "left over" from prior cruise (i.e. like 2-3 day old pastry).  Environment was pretty and we had a great seat by window.  Service here and and the Dive-in was efficient, but somewhat cool.  Not quite the awesome start we hoped for.

 

Sail Away - Weather on Friday and Saturday had been cool and wet.  Fortunately, by the time sail away rolled around it was clearing a bit (at least no rain) and we sailed off into the bay and through the "true" inside passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland.  Now, you may wonder why I am noting that.  In recent weeks the Koningsdam apparently did a couple of passages where it went out AROUND Vancouver island and thus there were some concerns this could.  So far, it appears those two voyages were anomalies.  Even with the low cloud cover it was pretty and serene....finally, we were back on an Alaskan cruise!

 

Dinner (Nami Sushi) - I knew we wanted to try the sushi and figured it would not be any fresher during the trip than on day one so we booked Nami accordingly.  Nami is located in the Tamarind restaurant.  Although technically there is a sushi bar, we just sat at one of the Tamarind tables and only ordered Sushi (note: Nami, unlike the other specialty restaurants) is ala carte pricing.  Our waitress was great and honestly, we loved it!  Given how pricey sushi is back home, it was even a good deal...really, really enjoyed it!  Honestly, we could have returned for another night, but wanted to try more places.

 

Entertainment (BB Kings, Billboard on Board) - So at this point my knee was "done" for the day and I headed to the suite for some icing (note: this was a recurring theme for the whole trip).  My wife headed down to listen to the band in BB King's and the pianists in Billboard on Board.  She reported back that she enjoyed BB Kings, and the female pianist in Billboard.  The former was standing room only...a recurring challenge as it would turn out.

 

OK...that's MORE than enough for the first day!  Will move more quickly through the remaining days in subsequent posts on this thread.

 

[decrepit old man]

What happened to Ketchikan?

[cabland]

OK, the rest of the days should go a bit quicker!

 

Day 2 - Sea Day, Neptune Suite, Room Service, Laundry, Tea, MDR Dinner (Gala Night), Move Show and RNR

Starting with a sea day was nice in this "adventure of the bad knee" and we took it easy. The highlights:

Room Service Breakfast - We started with room service breakfast because #Vacation!  - Try as we might, WE NEVER DID BREAKFAST ANYWHERE ELSE BUT OUR ROOM.  We really MEANT to hit up club orange at least once, but the sheer convenience of it was overwhelming,  We had the "American breakfast" (eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns) and the continental (pastries), plus fresh squeezed OJ and coffee.  We did a variation of this each day.  It was delivered within few minutes of the selected time and was hot EVERY DAY.  We even ordered "on the fly" one morning and it was delivered quickly.  For a couple that never even eats breakfast in our "real lives" this was great.

Neptune Lounge and Concierge - So prior to the cruise I assumed we likely wouldn't use the lounge much and had no intention of leveraging the concierge...after all I never require a concierge on a land-based hotel,  I was wrong on both counts.  The lounge became my wife's go to for lattes throughout the day - and the occasional chocolate croissant.  Who needs a specialty beverage package for coffee, when you have the lounge!?  The big surprise though was the concierge.  Due to my "knee" situation, we hit her up first thing asking about our options for canceling excursions.  She was able to assist and we canceled one of our two upcoming excursions on Monday.  Later that same day she assisted us with Internet access showing us how to efficiently share a single device login.  There seemed to be no area she was unfamiliar with or able to assist us with.  When calls to room service or other areas rang a few too many times, they rolled over to her and she assisted effortlessly.  I did confirm this is her full-time gig on the ship and it shows.  I now miss having a full time concierge in my regular life...who knew?

Laundry - So I mentioned above that we had arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday (before our Saturday departure) so we needed laundry almost immediately.  We LOVED the laundry service on our first HAL cruise and it was free with the Neptune suite.  We leveraged it 4 separate times (including embarkation day).  Even if it hadn't been free, we would have paid for it in a heartbeat.  All clothes were available next day.

High Tea - So, on Sea Days, HAL offers high tea in the Main Dining Room on mid-afternoons.  We took advantage of this and it was fast, fun, and free.  The treats were nothing special, BUT I will say this.   Prior to the cruise, we made our way to Victoria and had tea at The Empress hotel.  It was $240 Canadian with tip and one of the most overrated dining experiences relative to the price that we've ever had.  I mean it was "OK", but very assembly line and didn't really wow us at all...and for that price I should feel at least a little wowed!  So, while the Empress was better...I'll take the free tea in the MDR any day!

Whale Watching - So, while the weather was OK, whales were ELUSIVE for US this trip.  However, only part of that was really the whales.  Our last trip was about a month later (in July) and notably warmer.  The little bit of extra warmth last time meant I was willing to glue myself to the rail of the ship for hours looking through our binoculars - whether it be on our balcony or at the back of the ship.  This time it was chilly and the wind was just biting enough we would quickly move inside.  It also brought up a good/ad about the Koningsdam vs. the Nieuw Amsterdam.  The aft Lido deck area on the Koningsdam has more covered areas so you can be outside, but stay at least somewhat out of the elements and warmer, which is good.  Conversely , that whole area feels and looks crowded and cluttered with the side seating, pool, hot tubs, and equipment as compared to the more open aft of the Nieuw Amsterdam.  It was simply a less inviting place to "hang out" and watch the ocean.  yes, you could go up to deck 10, but that was very open and windier.  I suspected I would miss the layout from the NA and was right.  Was it a huge deal?  Not really, just something to note.  Honestly, though, it was cool enough (temp-wise) I'm not sure I would have spent a ton of time out there anyway (even on the NA)...especially given my stupid knee and inability to stand.

MDR Dining / Gala Night - So, we weren't really that impressed with the MDR on the NA back in 2018 so we had low expectations here.  I was happy to be surprised when our food and service were both good.  My wife had a filet and I had the lamb shanks - the latter were quite good.  I was just generally pleased  all the way around with no service gaffs, etc.  A win!

World Stage - Immediately after dinner, we caught a show on the main stage.  I think it was called "Move" or something like that.  I had low expectations for this as the shows on our last cruise were campy.  It was basically dance numbers done to pre-recorded songs.  After the first 2 songs/dances I thought "maybe we can leave now".  However, it then seemed to turnaround and I'll be darned if we didn't legitimately enjoy ourselves!  While hardly Broadway, we liked it enough to recommend it and I sort of wished  we had attended at least one more show.  Another win.

Rolling Stone Rock Room - So coming out of the world stage we listened to the last 3 songs from the RSRR band....really, really good.  I had high hopes for this venue, but was trying to temper my expectations.  My knee was done for the night otherwise we would have hung out elsewhere  and then done the next set with these guys...for the record we saw them 3 more times before the cruise was over.  Big thumbs up!

IMG_0253.HEIC IMG_0264.HEIC

[cabland]

33 minutes ago, decrepit old man said:

What happened to Ketchikan?

Ack!  My wife says I am quick, but careless!  Day 6 should, of course, have been Ketchikan, followed by the Sea day and then disembarkation in Vancouver!  Thanks for the catch!

[cabland]

Man, this blog is boring...will try to spice it up and shorten it and bit!

 

Day 3 - Juneau

The canceled excursion - I mentioned we had to cancel an excursion due to my knee, and sadly this is the day that took the hit.  We were supposed to do the Tracy Arm excursion, but (having done it in 2018) I knew my knee wouldn't be able to handle it so we made the tough decision to cancel it.  When I say tough, I mean it.  One of the reasons I chose this ship/route was specifically because it stops at the mouth of Tracy Arm to offload passengers for this excursion (but still gets back in time to do another one.  SO...a moment of silence for missing it....  However, it was the right decision, and as sort of a nice guilty pleasure that $580 ended up in our Onboard Cash and we were able to spend freely w/o thinking about it too much (since we had "pre-paid" back in December).

MDR Lunch - All was not lost however...we were able to take it easy and grabbed the special "Fish N Chips" lunch in the MDR.  Not the best we've ever had, but pretty decent and not greasy.  Another win for the MDR.

The NOT Canceled Excursion - So while we canceled Tracy Arm, we KEPT our Pilot's Choice helicopter excursion.  For this excursion, the pilot flies you to a glacier, stops, you get out and spend some time walking around there, and then re-board the copter and he flies you to a second stop and you get out there before re-boarding and flying back to Juneau.  I've heard others say it, but it bears repeating: seeing Alaska from the air really is special.  The scenery takes on new depths and you just see stuff you otherwise would not.  Walking on the glaciers continues to feel surreal and it can feel like you are on an alien landscape.  You just wish you could capture the moments and really relive them...sadly, all the pics in the world just aren't the same.  Oh and the copter just cresting a cliff before hitting a valley provides for some breathtaking slow-mo rollercoaster moments.  Highly recommended.

MDR Dinner - This one was a little more inconsistent.  I had a beef and pasta dish that was fine, but my wife had the Salmon.  She had 3 bites and picked bones out of every bite.  At that point, she bailed and opted to have the beef/pasta dish that I got.  The rest of the meal was uneventful and tasty enough.   The couple seated at the table next to us has also been on our helicopter ride so we got to reminisce about that (from just a few hours earlier!).  I am pretty sure HAL had planned it that way.  They obviously know who has signed up for what and probably know "shared experiences" make for a more fun trip....planning seating is an easy use of that data.

 

Comedienne and Rock - Post dinner we caught the second set of the comic (in BB Kings) and then headed over to the Rock room.  The latter was good as noted before, but I felt the comic was meh.  My wife liked him OK, but she is "an easy laugher" (much to my delight).  I think what hurt him was apparently a lot of folks had stayed for his second set from the first so he felt obligated to adlib on the fly and it just wasn't that polished from my perspective.  I may have enjoyed him more in the first set.  Call it a draw.

IMG_0393.HEIC

[cabland]

On to Day 4...

Day 4 - Skagway

4 ships in port - Skagway is TINY, so I was a bit surprised when I woke and we were already in port with 3 other ships!  The Grand Princess was docked right next to us (and we were both disembarking right on the dock).  The Royal Princess and Celebrity Eclipse were also there parked just past the "landslide" spot that has affected the dock area.  The Royal Process was tendering all day (yuck), but the Eclipse appeared to be putting people on big Greyhound style buses and driving them down the dock past the landslide area (I guess if you drive fast enough...)

Rent a Car (an EV No Less) - SO last time we were in Skagway, we took the train to the Summit and back and then did ziplining in the afternoon.  Needless to say, the latter was out for me this time, but several months back I stumbled upon a YouTube video where some folks rented an electric car and drove to Emerald lake and back.  As a "car guy" and EV enthusiast I loved this idea and found Klondike EVs (awesome place!) and rented a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and we made the 70 mile drive to Emerald Lake and back.  This....was....awesome.  The views along the way were just so breathtaking and changed as the drive progressed.  There are also a ton of turnouts on the way up so plenty of opportunities to stop and take pics.  We further stopped at the Yuokon suspension bridge for a few pics (and bathroom...note: paying customers only) and then ate Fish N Chips at the bistro in CarCross.  The latter were surprisingly good.  Finally, we saw Emerald Lake which changed as the sun came out with the green increasing in intensity.  So, so glad we did this drive....really helped to take the sting out of missing Tracy Arm and was beautiful in its own right.  Did I mention, THIS is why we are back in Alaska?!  p.s. FINALLY SAW A BEAR!

Gelato A-Go-Go - Once back on board we had a gelato snack...let's just say this wasn't going to be our only time to eat gelato - a win!

Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill - While there was nothing really "wrong" with this meal, the whole thing just fell flat for my wife and I .  Maybe it was the table in the corner by the serving equipment (so much for "requesting a window") or that afternoon gelato, but given it was our priciest specialty restaurant, we just wanted to be "wowed" a bit more.  My pork chop was a little tough and my wife's filet was really no better than the one she'd had in the MDR on gala night.  The bread was, well, flavorless...the Lido bread was better.  C'mon Pinnacle, you can do better.

 

IMG_0427.HEIC IMG_0434.HEIC IMG_0497.HEIC

[cabland]

Day 5 - Glacier Bay

I loved Glacier Bay in 2018, but it was cloudy and drizzly much of the day.  This time, we were blessed with partly sunny/cloudy and no rain.  What can I say...it's beautiful.  I'll let the pics TRY to speak for themselves.

 

Dinner in Tamarind - Had a nice dinner in Tamarind, pretty view of sunset for sure.  I probably enjoyed my meal more than my wife (note: she said she wished she had just had more sushi from Nami).  I liked the Satay sample and coconut curry chicken (made to their "spiciest" offering).  The Mango dessert I tried was also a winner.

 

RSRR - More rolling stone rock room did NOT disappoint!

IMG_0678.HEIC

[cabland]

Day 6 Ketchikan

Bering Sea Crab Tour - This was our only really "bad weather" day.  It rained and was cold for the almost the entire time in port.  We did the Bering Sea Crab tour which we had done in 2018.  It is a winner tour, but a repeat for us and the cold/rain made it a little less exciting.  However, it is still WORTH DOING if you have not done it before.  The guys tell some good stories and show you a few of the ropes.  The eagles are, of course, awesome (they feed them and a dozen plus swoop down to feed.  Recommended.

 

Dinner and Fun Encounter - So we opted for Caneletto for dinner this evening and were pretty happy with that meal.  Yes, its a "segregated" section of the Lido deck, but that gave it a bit more energy and, frankly, it is hard to beat the Lido deck window views!  My wife and I enjoyed our meal here well enough that we opted for round 2 on Friday night  - I recommend the Veal Scaloppini and gelato trio for dessert.

As a fun aside, we ran into the Rolling Stone Rock Room band having dinner there (it was there off night) and we took a second to say hello and thank them for their great performances.  They were VERY gracious and willingly engaged with us....nice moment (at least for us!).

 

Day 7 was mostly uneventful, at least for us.  There was, unfortunately, a medical emergency on board and the ship had to pull near Port Hardy at the Northern end of Vancouver island for a couple of hours to evacuate some folks (Tender boat took them to an ambulance on shore).  I pray whoever fell ill was OK.

 

IMG_0689.HEIC IMG_0762.HEIC

Edited June 26, 2023 by cabland

[0106]

Is there a reason you ate in the MDR instead of The Club Orange dining room?

[cabland]

OK, this is already way too long and boring!  Sorry!  I'll wrap it up by saying despite a few issues we had a great time aboard the Koningsdam.  The suite was great, the food, while hit or miss had enough winners we were happy and the Rolling Stone Rock Room band was great.  The service aboard the ship was actually exemplary.  Our room attendants, the Neptune concierge, and vast majority of the wait staff were just so darn good - truly felt like a luxury experience.

Alaska is, of course, the real star of an Alaskan cruise and did not disappoint!  Still, the cruise + Alaska experience is unique and one we really appreciated and one I think HAL does right.  I already miss it!

 

God Bless you if you read this far!

[cabland]

2 minutes ago, 0106 said:

Is there a reason you ate in the MDR instead of The Club Orange dining room?

A few reasons actually:

 

1.) We enjoyed the "grandeur" and ambiance of the MDR over the smaller "Used to be the America's Test Kitchen" space of Club Orange

2.) The MDR experience the first time we ate there didn't show any of the issues others had reported (perhaps because we were eating at the less popular "late" seating?) so we didn't encounter the need for a "service" advantage that CO might have offered.

3.) We already had multiple specialty restaurants on our agenda (Nami, Tamarind, Pinnacle and Canaletto)

4.) The menu was largely the same as the MDR so didn't have that much extra to offer selection-wise.

 

We had intended to eat their for breakfast, but alas Room Service was perpetually too convenient.  I have seen where others wished Club Orange was open for lunch and now I see what they mean.  It would have been a nice alternative to the Lido...but perhaps that's the problem (it isn't that big and perhaps couldn't handle the volume...on sea days in particular???).

 

In retrospect, I might have skipped one of the specialty restaurants and tried it!

[0106]

@cabland First, thank you for your report.  It was informative and an unbiased review. (And it at all boring!)

 

Thank you for your comments about CO.  We were on the Rotterdam in February and loved the CO experience.  We ask to be seated in the same section with the same waiter for every meal. We ate breakfast there every day and I liked the variety and the ability to “customize” all the dishes and that the food was piping hot.  We had dinner there every night that we weren’t in a speciality restaurant.  Although there was only one additional entree, the CO entrees were some of the best food we had on the cruise (Peruvian chicken, yum). The service we received was better than the Pinnacle and my husband agrees with your wife, his steak was better there too. 

[cabland]

35 minutes ago, 0106 said:

@cabland First, thank you for your report.  It was informative and an unbiased review. (And it at all boring!)

 

Thank you for your comments about CO.  We were on the Rotterdam in February and loved the CO experience.  We ask to be seated in the same section with the same waiter for every meal. We ate breakfast there every day and I liked the variety and the ability to “customize” all the dishes and that the food was piping hot.  We had dinner there every night that we weren’t in a speciality restaurant.  Although there was only one additional entree, the CO entrees were some of the best food we had on the cruise (Peruvian chicken, yum). The service we received was better than the Pinnacle and my husband agrees with your wife, his steak was better there too. 

Great feedback.  I do think we would endeavor to try it in the future!

[RuthC]

Loved your report, as it brought be back to Alaska, and some of the excursions I have loved there. 
Next time I will see about that helicopter to the glacier (although walking on it is likely out of the question). How did you manage to walk on the glacier with your bum knee? 

Which brings me to my main question: Once your knee had decided not to cooperate, did you consider renting a scooter, wheelchair, rollator, or at minimum a walker? 
I know for a fact that a scooter would fit inside a Neptune Suite on a Pinnacle Class ship, and any mobility device would have made getting around a lot easier for you. 

[vino100]

Thanks for taking the time to write your informative review. I was on this cruise 2 weeks prior and we enjoyed our cruise too. 
 

we loved club orange for the more personal service and the food was always hot. On your next cruise go and give it a try, just once. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. 

[oakridger]

I enjoyed your review and perspective......plus the pictures!  Thank you for taking the time to write it for us.

 

Did you ever go to the BB Kings band?

 

~Nancy

[cabland]

14 hours ago, RuthC said:

Loved your report, as it brought be back to Alaska, and some of the excursions I have loved there. 
Next time I will see about that helicopter to the glacier (although walking on it is likely out of the question). How did you manage to walk on the glacier with your bum knee? 

Which brings me to my main question: Once your knee had decided not to cooperate, did you consider renting a scooter, wheelchair, rollator, or at minimum a walker? 
I know for a fact that a scooter would fit inside a Neptune Suite on a Pinnacle Class ship, and any mobility device would have made getting around a lot easier for you. 

My walking is sort of a "X steps at a time and I'm done" type of thing.  So, as an example, on our travel day to Vancouver it was the long walk to the gate that did me in.  Once I ice, the cycle starts over again.  So for the glacier, it was really a lot of standing around and marveling vs. a real trek of any kind.  Indeed, we took a different copter to a glacier in 2018 and that one had one stop and you walked around in full gear with cramp-ons, etc. (and it was the mild "walkabout" version).  I knew I probably couldn't do that one this time so the "two flights followed by a short time on the glacier after each one" worked out better.

I'm only 56 so the thought of being in a wheelchair or on a scooter is a little over-the-top for me (I believe I am defining textbook "vanity" here), and being on the ship meant I was able to get back to my room to ice easily enough.  I'm actually incredulous (and bummed) that I'm having to deal with this!

 

The Ice certainly wasn't limited to the glaciers...it was frequently found in airports, airplanes, cabins and balconies! 🙂

 

[cabland]

9 hours ago, oakridger said:

I enjoyed your review and perspective......plus the pictures!  Thank you for taking the time to write it for us.

 

Did you ever go to the BB Kings band?

 

~Nancy

My wife went there the first night and I saw the tail end of a performance one night.  Although I did not catch a full set, I was not quite as impressed with the band on the Koningsdam as compared to the one on the Nieuw Amsterdam, but didn't really give them a fair shot.  This does bring up one other item, despite being a much larger venue on the Koningsdam it was standing room only every night if you didn't get there early (which is one f the things that limited my watching time).  If HAL is going to make it all about the music, they really need a more space in these venues.  I would steal it from Billboard on Board (the least exciting of the three in my opinion).

[vicd1969]

Very NOT boring blog. Too bad about your knee condition - acupuncture may have helped but can't vouch for the quality of the acupuncturist on the ship. May have been worth a try given your excess OBC, however. Good notes on the embarkation process and glad you were able to enjoy your cruise despite the knee issues.

[albingirl]

Loved your review.  And the pictures!  I have no cruise planned, at the moment, but you certainly encouraged me to book one soon.  Thank you!

[RuthC]

8 hours ago, cabland said:

So for the glacier, it was really a lot of standing around and marveling vs. a real trek of any kind.  Indeed, we took a different copter to a glacier in 2018 and that one had one stop and you walked around in full gear with cramp-ons, etc. (and it was the mild "walkabout" version).  I knew I probably couldn't do that one this time so the "two flights followed by a short time on the glacier after each one" worked out better.

Thank you for this explanation! I never realized there were different kinds of walkabouts on glaciers, so assumed (yes, I know) that my 'best buy' date had long passed. 
Now I am at least toying with the idea. 
You have been a big help. 

[TotallyCruzin]

Great job on your review...I love the Koningsdam and can't wait to go in September and then again in November.  I'm so glad you enjoyed the ship and the cruise.

[Boatdrill]

To the OP....how does the Koningsdam  (Pinnacle class)  compare to the Nieuw Amsterdam (Signature class)  for Alaska cruises, as far as size, and outdoor deck space ? 

[cabland]

22 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

To the OP....how does the Koningsdam  (Pinnacle class)  compare to the Nieuw Amsterdam (Signature class)  for Alaska cruises, as far as size, and outdoor deck space ? 

 So I'll start by saying they are more similar than different.  The key items in the Nieuw Amsterdam's favor (IMO of course) are:

 

1. Promenade Deck - Both ships have a Promenade deck, but The Nieuw Amsterdam's is much wider for most of it AND the view is unobstructed by lifeboats.  The promenade deck was, quite simply, "inviting" on the NA whereas it was more of a simple path around the ship on the Koningsdam (one blocked by lifeboats for a large part of it).

 

2. Aft Lido deck - As I described in my review, the aft Lido deck of the Koningsdam just seemed crowded/cluttered with very little in the way of "open space" for whale watching, lounging, etc.  There was more covered seating on the Koningsdam if that is your thing, but I didn't find it that inviting...oddly, the benefit of being covered is that it was sheltered from the elements, but it was still cold enough to not be a great place to hang out.  I even went back and looked at my old NA pics to confirm the delta.  For Glacier Bay we spent most of our time on the bow on the Koningsdam, but did the aft Lido on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

3. Signature Suites - We had a signature suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  I like the layout of the Signature suite on that ship MUCH better than the "two deep room" layout on the Koningsdam.  The Sig suites on the NA are set up similar to Neptune suites AND have the wide AND DEEP balconies like Neptune suites do...really an ideal suite for less $$$ than a Neptune.  The Sig suites on the Koningsdam are, IMO, really for 3 or 4 person occupancy setups where the 3rd/4th person could use a murphy bed in a middle room...we just wanted MORE room and a big balcony.  We loved everything about our Neptune suite (well, maybe not the magic fingers vibration when the ship was at 20+ knots), but you typically have to pay $$ for it.

 

4.  Atrium - This is purely an aesthetic thing, but it was so unmemorable on the Koningsdam that I almost walked by it.  No "wow" factor.  I don't think the NA is much better, but liked the NYC chandelier more than, um, weird metal swirls!  It also felt more crowded around this area on the Koningsdam.

 

Beyond this, the ships are almost identical, BUT the Koningsdam has the edge with a dedicated club orange, Grand Dutch Cafe, and the Rolling Stone Rock Room (although that may be coming to the NA if it hasn't already).  It is also 6 years newer and more updated which is also nice.  "Picking" between them would be tough.  I might lean toward the Koningsdam (or any Pinnacle class ship) as there are enough advantages, but I wouldn't be crying if I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam...particularly if I was spending more time outside.

 

Crazily, there continue to be areas I "never make it to" on these ships.  I never made it to the Crow's nest area on the Koningsdam as an example - I blame that on my knee!

 

Edited June 29, 2023 by cabland

[cabland]

Here are a couple of pics that sort of illustrate what I described about the Aft of the Lido deck on the Koningsdam (Sunset pic) vs. Nieuw Amsterdam (sunny day pic).  Pics were not taken from the exact same angle, but close enough.