Koningsdam is quite a nice ship and a departure from the classic HAL cruise ships. For cruisers new to HAL you should be pleased. HAL is not geared to kids so if you want climbing walls and that kind of activity book elsewhere. This is what makes HAL different and why we choose to sail with them. We were fortunate to have perfect weather and calm seas during this cruise. Dreaming of the next cruise...
Embarkation
4 out of 5
The timed emabarkation per deck works well. Not much to compare it to other than first cruise which was a bit of a cluster. The timed arrival just had us que up for a short bit then directly onto the ship after checkin. Pretty quick and efficient.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
MDR food was good to very good. Lido buffet is fairly predictable and we only had a couple of breakfast and lunches there. Salad bar is excellent and we were lucky enough to find Indian food for one lunch, tucked away. The smell lured us into the Lido to eat. It was easily some of the best Indian food I've eaten. Did not eat in the specialty restaurants. We purchased wine in Amsterdam and brought onboard. We feel the selection/price ratio on HAL is poor. Even with added corkage fee we've found it a better value to do so. The "follow me" wine bottle program is a nice perk so you can enjoy wine with dinner and later at Billboard, BB King or other spots on board.
Lido Market
3 out of 5
Avoid during peak hours as it is a cluster. Otherwise great for salads and such.
The Dining Room
4 out of 5
Really a 3.5, service was spotty. Food is good to very good.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Greenhouse Spa was very nice.
Casino Action
1 out of 5
Stop the smoking in the casino. The stink goes all over other areas.
Sun Deck
4 out of 5
Chill and watch the view go by.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Billboard Onboard
3 out of 5
Hot and cold, when they were on it was quite fun but when they were off, it was not good at all.
Queen's Lounge
5 out of 5
BB Kings lounge was great. Fortunate to have a good band on board during our cruise.
Music Walk
4 out of 5
Enjoyed BB King lounge!
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Not quite at the level expected. Spotty MDR service until we found a good table under open dining at the end of cruise. The wine stewards were all good. Staff seemed a bit more less "friendly" than that which we experienced on previous cruise. Hard to peg but just not as engaging if that makes sense.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
I miss the larger promenade deck layout with deck chairs, boo. Being a newer ship it is in good shape, clean and well maintained. Miss the comfortable seating in the Crow's Nest. The room was smaller than expected with a little less storage. The bathroom are is smaller but shower is larger and very nice. The toilet angle, as others have mentioned is interesting. I'm short and my knees just about touched the shower door. You will wind up sitting side saddle, it's inevitable. Not sure what they were thinking other than you have a bigger shower, something has to give.
Beautiful fjord. We did the hike to the Viking burial grounds. You have to go uphill at some point and it's rather steep. The walk along the river is level up until the last 800m of uphill climb to the plateau. Lovely to walk to the lake if you just want to do that and the trail is accessbile if pushing someone in a wheelchair. The pathway is wide and is made of compacted gravel, well maintained when we were there. Should be manageable if dry. This is just a comment from previous experience when traveling with someone who would love to see the sights but mobility impaired. You would not be able to do the uphill then downhill portion pushing a wheelchair in that case take the little troll train, views are beautiful. Buy a gallon of spring water for the boat at the Joker market for about US$5.00.
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