Good cruise, but last on on HAL

Item: Koningsdam
Rating: 4.2
Author: bnbinps

Koningsdam Cruise Review to Coastal - West Coast

bnbinps

Contributor Level: Purser

1 Day Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 18

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

6 Night Classic California Coast (San Diego Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 30, 2024

Ship: Koningsdam

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 5189

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 months ago

Review summary

Last one on HAL. Death by a thousand cuts. No one thing did it, just lots of little things. The whole bottled water thing tore it for me. Booked online. ZERO notice about bottled water counting toward hard limit is mentioned. No other cruise line does this to my knowledge.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

Pandemonium. 3 ships in San Diego harbor on same day. Add rain. Remove any semblance of organization as well as ALL signs with any instruction. Also, zero rain protection. No covered gangway. 100 yard dash from terminal to ship only to stand in the rain for 5 minutes before we could board. Lifts smelled like wet dog all afternoon. So, yeah, it was ugly. Never again

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Not a single bad experience. Flawless!

Tamarind Restaurant

5 out of 5

Flawless all the way round. Best venue on board. ALL of their ships need this. Best service on board. Loved it.

Ocean Bar

4 out of 5

Stools absolutely sucked. Service was good. And Catherine made me the BEST margarita I’ve had in a long time!

New York Pizza

5 out of 5

Flawless. Hidden gem for a quiet breakfast. Crew were always pleasant and cheerful, even to the entitled jerks they had to deal with.

Grand Dutch Café

4 out of 5

Excellent service. Great coffee. Line moved quickly. But how on earth do you run out of lids halfway through the cruise?

24-Hour In-Room Dining

5 out of 5

Spot on, every time.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Lots of stuff to do, or nothing at all.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Solid entertainers. High emphasis on music.

B.B. King's Blues Club

4 out of 5

Great music. Nice venue. Just always PACKED! If you don’t arrive at least an hour early, you get to stand outside in the hall.

Children's Programs

No kids!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Again, flawless!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Nice ship. The other 2 we’ve been on were dated and looked tired.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

A bit cramped, but bathroom was nice, much better than other ships we have been on, RCI included.

Ship tip

Watch your folio. Charges kept showing up. Also, if you purchase beverage package, do NOT order bottled water! It counts toward your hard limit of 15 per day. We drink a lot of water. Of course, we were charged for cocktails, not water. GRRRR!

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