Nice ship, great crew

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 77

Review summary

We had boarding in San Diego. I did all the pre boarding requirements on the HAL website and on VeriFLY. Our boarding pass said that a REAL ID-compliant driver's license was ok BUT the dock personnel did not seem to know that, we got shuffled over to another area and were finally told it was ok and we were allowed onboard. The Koningsdam is a nice ship and seemed to be very clean. We got to our cabin and our ship cards were in an envelope by the door. We had a Balcony cabin and it was nice just like the other HAL ships we were on. We met our cabin attendants Alex and Mas and they were outstanding the entire cruise. Our first night we had reservations at the Pinnacle Grill. The Clothesline Candied Bacon was yummy! The steaks were just OK, but the service was very good. The main dining room was not crowded but we asked for a sharing table and they never put anyone else with us. The next night we asked for a sharing table and to be by the window. They put us four tables away from the window but we did get 3 people to join us. Food was ok and service was adequate. The rest of the cruise we just ate at the Ledo Market which had a better variety of choices and good service. We also tried the New York Deli & Pizza and the Dive-in for lunch which we both liked. We LOVED the Lincoln Center Stage musicians, they were excellent and we kept coming back for more! The World Stage Step One Dance Company was also very good. We did a few ship excursions and had a big problem with the "Hop on off harbor tour". We started 12:30 pm and they gave us a time of 5 pm for the harbor tour. The problem was that the Hop On bus had a end time of 6 pm and we were left stranded after our 1 hour harbor tour! We talked to a number of the Big Bus personnel and the best they could tell us was we had to walk back to the ship or take a tram. We ended up waking back which took 25 minutes. The next day we take with Jazz on the ship excursion team and she was very helpful and understanding. Ensenada - just walked around the port compound, no stores were opened. San Francisco - Muir Woods & Sausalito, highly recommended. Hop on off & harbor tour, Do not pay for the bundled harbor tour. The harbor tour itself was good but we had problems. Avalon, Catalina Island - We walked around the town a bit NO ship tours were offered! Santa Barbara - Did Santa Barbara By Trolley, it was pretty good. We were very disappointed in the reverse itinerary that the ship took. We wanted more time in Catalina (Avalon) and a lot LESS in Ensenada! Whoever made that change should have a new position.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

San Diego, California

Ensenada, Mexico

San Francisco, California

Catalina Island, California

Santa Barbara, California

Disembarkation

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