A ship aimed at a much older crowd. If you like reading books this is the cruise for you.

Koningsdam Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5
Koningsdam

21 Night Southern Caribbean Seafarer/Wayfarer (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 23, 2020

Ship: Koningsdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11031

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

The ship is beautiful. It does have some narrow passageways and with all the other cruisers being 65+, many using walkers, wheel chairs or scooters, you will find yourself moving at a slow pace everywhere you go. Your on vacation so maybe that isn’t a bad thing. Food is amazing. The best specialty dining I’ve ever had. Guest services staff is among the worst I’ve ever experienced- I asked 2 times for a minor error to be corrected. Despite acknowledging the error, they kept telling me they needed someone else to review it. I eventually gave up. I witnessed a spa manager yell at a guest, and storm away. I witnessed a casino manager ask a guest to return winnings that they said were given in error. Awkward. While on half moon cay a clam shell staff person yelled at guests. She yelled: “You white people don’t listen!” Overall I felt that some staff were abusive toward the elderly guests on this cruise. I will never cruise with Holland America again.

Embarkation

2 out of 5
Despite following the check in times assigned, we waited over an hour in line to board.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
The best part of our experience was the dining.

Sea View Bar

1 out of 5

Couldn’t enjoy this part of the ship do to the smoking.

Dive-In

5 out of 5

This was a highlight for me! Great burgers and fries.

The Dining Room

4 out of 5

Service is a little Slow at times. Food is good though.

Pinnacle Grill

5 out of 5

Best steak at sea.

Lido Market

5 out of 5

Best buffet at sea.

Lido Bar

5 out of 5

The best bar staff can be found here.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5
Fitness center is very small. Main pool deck is small and crowded. Casino was small and had very tight slots. So much smoking in the aft pool area you couldn’t use it.

Lido Pool

4 out of 5

A little small and the area around it is hogged by chair savers.

Casino Action

1 out of 5

This area is extremely small and has to much smoking. It’s time to just do away with indoor smoking altogether. Slots are very tight, unlike any other cruise ship I’ve seen.

Sea View Pool

1 out of 5

Couldn’t enjoy this area because of the smoking.

Entertainment

1 out of 5
No big shows. Live music is aimed at a much older crowd. Terrible magician. An ok comedian.

World Stage

3 out of 5

What is this space intended for? Movies? Shows? Live music performances? Cooking demonstrations? It’s having an identity crisis.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Floor Staff is good. Customer service staff terrible. Very rude, unhelpful when you have an issue.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
There is a bit of wasted space in my opinion. There are a lot of upper decks with nothing there, just empty deck space. These areas could have an additional bar added with some shade and nicer chairs. This would also help tackle the terrible chair hogs that take the best chairs (which are few) by the lido pool.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Balcony was disappointing. Very small. I would rather of had a slightly smaller room and a larger balcony. Balcony has a regular door, not a slider. This is a bad design. Slams on you.

Ship tip

If your under 60, this is not for you. You will be bored and disappointed.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5
Love Florida. Lots to do.

Half Moon Cay, Bahamas (Private Island)

1 out of 5
Dirty and boring. Extremely rude and racist staff on the island. Drink package does not apply here. Why? NCL’s island DOES.

Grand Turk Island

3 out of 5
Did a snorkeling excursion. Not the best experience but fun.

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

4 out of 5
Did a city tour. Visited cigar factory, run factory, and a nice restaurant. Happy with this port visit.

Kralendijk, Bonaire

2 out of 5
Did a bus tour and saw lots of the island.

Willemstad, Curacao

5 out of 5
Probably the most Beautiful island. Did a City tour.

Oranjestad, Aruba

5 out of 5
Beautiful beaches. Went scuba diving. Great island.

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
Similar to embarkation. No one followed the assigned order and it was not enforced.
Was this review helpful? 45

2 Comments

queenb12702    4 years ago

Wouldn't consider the staff racist. Sorry it wasn't what you expected but it sounds like you made the best of it which is awesome. Being on vacation no matter the circumstances is the best time ever. Good luck on your next trip.

Cruiserike0322    4 years ago

Thanks for your review

Other reviews of this sailing