Frank5

I wonder if Captain Dag will stay with HAL after the sale or return to Seabourn. My guess is the latter because he appears to prefer smaller ships.

The Captain said in a Q & A that the new design was to reduce the number of staterooms with obstructed views. He also said that he misses the old design.

The challenging part in these acquisitions is always achieving the necessary economies of scale to make the price of the acquisition work financially by consolidating certain administrative functions (eg, purchasing, personnel, advertising, maintenance, etc) while maintaining the separate identity and quality of the brand. This can be a hit or miss process that requires time and patience to work out new procedures and processes. If done right, Silverseas should emerge to be a stronger and more viable brand.

The food is very good and the food preparation interesting. However, be prepared for a long (at least 2 hour) dinner.

Great ship. Enjoyed your review. My experience was equally good.

Do you have any trouble sleeping on the train do to either the noise of the rails or the periodic stopping at either stations or to accommodate the passage of freight trains?

Why do you prefer taking the train rather than flying? What are the Amtrack pros and cons based upon your extensive experience?

Thank you for your excellent blog. You have stirred my interest in trying another Transpacific or Transatlantic cruise at some point in the future. It was very enjoyable to follow your daily routine.

The cruise ship terminals are very close to downtown Montreal and a short taxi ride to or from your hotel.

How crowded is the Encore pool area on a sea day?

For my tastes, the best of the speciality restaurants.

An interesting experience and good food but a lengthy food preparation process and long (min of 2 hours) dinner.

Live it up and try all three! I did on a recent cruise and enjoyed each of them. Your favorite will probably depend upon your food preferences which vary from person to person.

Recommend an itinerary that features smaller ports that the large cruise ships cannot visit due to their size. The multiple arrival of large ships tends to overwhelm ports and leads to crowded conditions. Also recommend using your cruise as a scouting trip to find your perfect small island for a follow-up land vacation at a great hotel or resort - the best way to enjoy the Carribbean. The best time to go is the shoulder season to avoid uncomfortable conditions (i.e. heat, rain, mosquitos, crowds) as well as high prices.

We used to cruise Regent exclusively until they made all their shore excursions inclusive. My wife and I do not like bus tours and prefer to either rent a car and tour on our own or hire a local guide depending upon the country and port. We then shifted to Crystal but decided that their rooms were to small and that we preferred open dining. We now use Seabourn and Silver Seas and are happy with both. We base our decision on itinerary, and have found that these two cruise lines usually have a cruise scheduled where we want to go. While there are certainly significant differences between the four major luxury cruise lines (Crystal, Seabourn, Regent & Silver Seas), for our needs we find that the quality of food, entertainment, facilities and service are all at a more than acceptable level on all of them. If Chrystal is successful with their upcoming stateroom modifications and subsequent adoption of open dining, we will definitely try them again as they otherwise offer an excellent product.

On a recent Koningsdam cruise they had a nice but limited selection of Neptune Lounge afternoon snacks including sandwiches, desserts and cheese. Frequently, I'd have a light lunch in the lounge to avoid overeating on the cruise. The quality of the food was excellent.

The Captain of the Koningsdam said at a recent onboard Q & A that the Koningsdam was a new hull design and that it was now the most fuel efficient ship in the HAL fleet. He further said that its most fuel efficient speed was 17.4 knots.

You are right. The Koningsdam is definitely different than a traditional HAL ship.

I was recently on a Koningsdam cruise. I'd describe it as a good compromise between a mass market and a premium market ship. It is designed to hold more people in terms of its passenger public space ratio as well as facilities for a wider age range of guests. It is a very beautiful ship and did not feel crowded to me except during debarcation. However, I stayed in a Neptune suite and had all my meals in the five excellent speciality restaurants so my shipboard experience is limited.

The Captain said at a Q & A that the principal reason for modifying the traditional HAL promenade deck with the view blocking life boat placement was to eliminate the stateroom life boat blocked views on their older ships. I found the new promenade deck fine for exercise except for a few narrow spots where you need to either stop or turn to the side to let someone pass coming from the opposite direction. Since I prefer to enjoy the sea view while underway from my veranda deck, I did not miss the lack of deck chairs on the Koningsdam promenade deck.

For me, the best features of this ship were the three music venues (blues, rock & roll and classical) and the excellent quality of the food at the five speciality restaurants.

If you are a dedicated HAL customer that strongly prefers their traditional product offering, I recommend skipping a cruise on the Koningsdam. If you are more flexible, I recommend giving it a try as the Koningsdam is really a beautiful ship that offers many interesting activities.

The Koningsdam Captain said in this Q & A that HAL's new ship networks would become increasingly sophisticated with new apps added over time - not just an electronic library. I liked it very much. It was easy to access with my IPad to obtain a variety of different cruise information including daily charges to my account as well as making and canceling dining reservations. This is the wave of the future and I think HAL is wise to make this type of investment in its new ships. Times are changing...

The Captain of the Koningsdam said during a Q & A on a pre-Christmas cruise that the traditional library will be replaced with an electronic library with the introduction of their next ship and that the Koningsdam will be retrofitted with this feature because all of the electronics are already in place.

Where is the most comfortable and quietest place inside the ship to read?

Where is the best and least crowded outdoor location to enjoy the view of the sea while underway?

Very helpful. If we arrive at 7:25.m. for a 9:25a.m.departure, we should avoid most of the outbound cruise ship passengers. Thanks.

What time did you get to the airport? We will arrive on the Big K on 12/23, stay at my sister's home in Fort Lauderdale overnight and catch a 9:25a.m. flight to Philly on 12/24. My speculation is that FLL will be a nightmare on Saturday, December 24. Since we are spending the night in Fort Lauderdale, we have the option to arrive at FLL as early as we want/need.

Thanks,

If you do not have pre-check at the Fort Lauderdale airport on a busy cruise ship turn around Saturday, how far in advance of your scheduled departure time do you recommend arriving based upon the check in and security lines you observed: two hours, 90 minutes, etc.

As the long time HAL customers die off, HAL must implement changes that will attract their replacements.