crewsgirl

Yes! We absolutely loved it! The balcony was great! My only cabin compliant was that it was tight for a family of four. I have become accustomed (on other cruise lines) to the kids beds being the pull out sofa with a bunk above and on this ship with the pull out sofa and a bunk over the main bed. Which meant we smacked our heads every time we got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom!

Thanks for sharing. It will just be my husband and I so no worries about smacking the head! lol

well, the cabin is gone now, so I guess it doesn't matter. boo.

HAL has the better itinerary in my book.

We sailed in Cabin 6143 with the extended balcony...nice space but it makes the room

have a tunnel view to the water and you have to go all the way to the balcony rail to get the full view. The room was not any smaller than the other Veranda Rooms.

Interested in knowing if you would choose this cabin again and if you liked the extra balcony space. Thanks

Per HAL guest services our cabin (5048 and 5051) is 201 square feet and our balcony is 201 square feet. HAL sent me 6 pictures of cabin 5051 (exactly the same). It is a different layout from other verandahs but I think there will be more floor space. Also our cabin has a large double window which you can see in the picture on twitter - then there is the wall with the TV on it AND then you have the standard double balcony doors (which you cannot see in the picture). The HAL photos shows that the balcony doosr and the loveseat are in a nook area. The only thing smaller is the loveseat.

Hi Sononfire,

I am looking at booking this cabin and would love to know if you have any addl pics, for some reason I am not able to view the twitter pics, but thanks in advance for any information. Did you enjoy this cabin for your trip?

Thank you all so much for the great info and especially the pictures. We have this at the top of our "To-Do" list for Flam! Can't wait to experience this on bikes!

We pretty much had to make the same decision as you and were thinking along the same lines. We considered Koningsdam with that itinerary vs. Cunard QE that stopped at Bergen, Flam, Andalsnes, and Stavenger. I wanted to see Oslo but we ended up choosing the Cunard trip because we wanted to see more coastal views and Fjords than cities. I was thinking there may be other opportunities to go back to Oslo for us in the future but we may never make it back to a small place like Andalsnes.

 

 

We had a great time, and I think we made a good choice, but I am sure you will have a great time with either. You can't go wrong !

 

 

 

Favorite stops have a lot to do with personal preference, but I would say our two favorite stops of the 4 were Flam and Andalsnes (or Alesund - you can do similar excursions from Andalsnes and Alesund). Our two favorite activities were the bike ride down the mountain (Flam) and the excursion to the troll road (Andalsnes). (The troll road trip was much better than what I was expecting based on the excursion descriptions from the cruise line. It had really beautiful mountain views up there.)

 

 

Have fun....

That bike ride down the mountain at Flam is definitely going to be a highlight! Are you the one that posted the fabulous pictures and included the link to the place to rent the bikes? That was so helpful and it is definitely going to be on the list of "must dos"! Oslo is going to be tough to discard, I am interested in the art there and the Nobel Peace Prize site. Also, we live on 47 acres with tons of nature & wildlife, so I yearn for foreign cities and a bit of excitement. You all are very helpful in narrowing down this decision. I wish we had 2 weeks, but alas, the DH still has an office to run these days.

Anybody else here that has sailed the Koningsdam on HAL?

Stavangar yes. We usually do the boat trip to pulpit rock (bought ashore, not via cruise line), walk round old town, walk round lake, cathedral, fire watch tower, sardine cannery museum, city museum, or some combination of these.

 

Oslo is a sort of fjord but not the 3,000 foot mountain right by the sea sort of fjord. It's scenic, but not what you probably think of as a fjord. Worth seeing, though.

 

I don't see that port or starboard would matter, because you'll be coming out the same way you go in to most places; and for the fjords you're probably better on the open deck anyway - you can see both sides. (We always book inside cabins, so you can take my advice for what it's worth!) When you're going from port to port, you're usually out of sight of land because the most efficient way to get from place to place is out to sea - straight line to next port - into port. The long sail-ins at Oslo and Flam, and to a lesser extent Stavangar, are because the port is inland, and nothing to do with the direction you came from. When I sailed west-to-east to Kristiansand S, I had a fairly distant view of the land; sailing the other way may well be further out, depends on shipping lanes.

Thanks for the info! I will be researching Pulpit Rock and we definitely prefer doing our own thing rather than ship excursions when possible. And I seriously considered an inside cabin for this trip, as I'm just not sure the weather in Norway is conductive to sitting on the balcony very much, and I could possibly be quite content on the deck for fjord viewing anyway. More food for thought.

Bed is near the door and the veranda is huge! Very large walk in shower with glass door, allowed granddaughter and myself to dress at the same time. I t was "intimate" with 4 but, will have plenty of room for two. Enjoy.

I am assuming you mean the bed is near the door to the hallway which makes the sofa near the balcony door. This is my hope, anyway. Thanks so much. :D

The HAL website lists scenic (fjord) cruising as both Oslo Fjord and Sognefjord, and now that I have read about Flam and the amazing bike ride down the mountain, I am excited to experience that. Do you think Stavanger is a timeworthy port? I have Oslo on my bucket list, mainly for the art available there. I do think Bergen sounds lovely and so quaint, but I think its impossible to do it all. So many choices.....

Another quick question...would you choose a starboard cabin for the best viewing point if you were traveling Amsterdam-Oslo-Kristianstand-Staveanger-Flam direction? That is what I am thinking, but would love for someone with experience to weigh in on that one.

We are looking at visiting Norway on the HAL Koningsdam calling on Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Flam, & back to Amsterdam. Is this the best itinerary to get a first look at Norway? Or is there another ship with a more exciting route that I should consider? It appears that the fjords will be fabulous with up close cruising on the ship, which we are very excited about....Just want to make sure that I am not missing the best part if these are the only ports. Thanks for any help/idea/opinions.

We just spent 7 days on the Koningsdam (8/20/17 - 8/27/17), cruising to Norway RT from Amsterdam. Rather than starting a new thread, I'll just hijack this one to post my thoughts.

 

For the most part, I'm aligned with the OP. Excellent food in all the venues, great service. Absolutely agree about "the best showers on the seas". Had one of the Deck 4 mega-balconies - very nice bonus relative to other decks, IMO. Grand Dutch Cafe was great - and on my cruise, became the hangout for actual Dutch people, which speaks well for the food's authenticity.

 

As for negatives: Entertainment/activities seemed limited, compared to previous cruises on other, more mass-market lines. World Stage layout is a bit wacky - I went to a Q&A with two of the headliners, and they had little good to say about the configuration from the performers' viewpoint.

 

Most critically, HAL will need to re-jigger the Lincoln Center Stage. It just doesn't work as-is. You have a main walkway that has to be closed off with doors and "Quiet, Please" signs. You have the Billboard dueling piano lounge across the walkway, whose customers have to either shut up or clear out during a Lincoln Center performance. Finally, you have the open spiral staircase up to the casino. Heck, at one point, while shooting craps, the guy next to me got chewed out by a concert-going passenger for being "too loud". Too loud - in a casino! That was a new one for me.

 

Overall, it was a delight to take a vacation on such a nice, new, well-appointed ship.

So, can you tell us which cabin on deck 4 you would recommend? You got my attention at "mega-balconies", haha, I am thinking maybe 4154?

Re: The Spa cabins on Deck 10:

 

Far forward would probably be better. I would advise avoiding those cabins aft of the main forward staircase. (VQ 10033/10034 or higher)

 

In particular, there are a few specific cabins there you would definitely want to avoid - VQ10051/52/54/55. Those are the ones directly adjacent to the Lido Pool area. Continual traffic and slamming doors. Even worse, on the port side, there is an automatic door-opening mechanism that is LOUD. I have no idea how the people in VQ10054 got any rest at all.

 

As for the forward location - that worked well for us. You can easily access the stage, the Crow's Nest, the Spa, the Lido Pool, etc. from that stairwell. Yes, getting to the MDR was a hike. We saved some hassle by first walking to the back using the empty hallway of our own (all-cabin) deck, THEN going up/down to the needed floor. That way, we were never fighting crowds.

Thanks so much for the info! I can see your point and I am currently looking more midship and lower. I understand that the balcony space on the VQ cabins is quite limited as well. Thanks again, it is helpful to get good info!

We had them for free in the Explorations Café on Koningsdam in the evenings, strawberries dipped in chocolate as well !

Oh good to know! I will look forward to it! Thanks for sharing.

We are sailing on the "K" in July and have a quad veranda suite (7109). Have never tried this before but, we are taking two grands and it seemed easier. Will report back on how it works out. Was somewhat surprised to learn that the bunk bed was over the Queen instead of the sofa. Will probably ask the steward to make up the bed upside down to feel less claustrophobic.

Would love to hear how you liked cabin 7109, I just put it on reserve for myself and the DH, not realizing it was a quad. How was the balcony space? Was the sofa closest to the balcony? Thanks for any information and if you have pics, I would love to see. Thanks in advance.

Looking at the deck plans it appears the cabins on 10 aren't directly above the Lido area. It is a hike to the MDR from there. We were mid-ship in 6142. Very quick to get to most locations from there.

Yes, midship sounds great! I will take another look, although I probably need to hike to MDR (and back!) to work off all those cruise calories! :'):')

I am currently researching and looking at the Norway trip on the Koningsdam. I would love cabin recommendations if you wouldn't mind sharing any good tips for cabin location. I am wondering if anyone has experience in the spa level cabins with thoughts about that location on the Panorama Deck (level 10) Would that be a mistake above the Lido? Would the configuration be a pain with only the forward elevators? Love to hear your thoughts and I thank you in advance.

So, we packed and found a compromise.....1 checked bag and 1 carry on bag for 12 days. Pretty good for us! We used all compression bags, and cross packed in the carry on bag with only the items necessary for 3 days in Amsterdam. No reversible dress because I decided no dress was needed for this trip at all. So far, so good. I added 2 pair of Tieks for a compact ballet flat with a pop of color , 2 scarves that functioned very well on the plane, and a cashmere wrap for warmth. I probably still overpacked, but this was a great exercise in paring down and so much more manageable as we used the bus from the airport to our apartment in Amsterdam.

On both viking cruises (Last one a few months ago from Amsterdam) we were pleased with the way our laundry was handled…very well done…similar in price to ocean cruise cost for same service…maybe $6 for pants…less than $20 for a whole bag of stuff...

Thanks so much, tml! that sounds reasonable and maybe I can skip packing all the extra stuff. I may try it.

Getting serious on the packing here for our Rhine cruise (with a few days ahead in Amsterdam) and wanted to get your insight regarding use of the laundry services on Viking. If you used their laundry, were you pleased and how much did you spend? Would you use it again?

We want to pack light as we are traveling independently in Amsterdam. So, ladies who have recently returned from Viking's Rhine Getaway, please share your tips on attire choices for ease of comfort & weather changes.

Thanks!

I asked my lady who is usually very reliable on makeup questions. She is certain there is not a magnification mirror. Note - we were on the Kara but all the longboats are equipped and configured the same.

Have a great trip - we are on the Kvasir in August.

Frank

That's actually what I was thinking.....I'm sure there is a bathroom mirror, just not magnification! Thanks for your response!

We just returned from the Viking Kvasir Rhine Getaway yesterday (spent a couple of extra days in Switzerland). Yes, there is a mirror. You will love it!!! A packing tip...don't take too much...they can do laundry for you and it is worth it! Sometimes we would send items on the morning and it would be back in the afternoon.:)

Yes, I am certain there is a mirror.....I love my makeup mirror with magnification....In any event, I just ordered this little gem for travel http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013KY6QA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

And thanks for the laundry tip. I am on a mission to pack light for this trip. Were you able to go in just a carry on bag, Britcnm? :eek: That is my dream!

I may have to resort to 1 checked bag & a carryon for the DH!

Another good reason why we always book the cheapest cabin on the lower deck. We don't go to the room for anything but sleep anyway.

This is exactly why I was willing to try the aquarium class stateroom for our upcoming cruise.

Just the day after my earlier post, a truck came up our driveway and delivered a silver Viking box containing our cruise documents! And I have to say, I was quite impressed! Bright red leather luggage tags, water resistant self adhesive luggage tags, a guide book of the Rhine & its Tributaries and 2 detailed itinerary booklets personalized with our names/reservation numbers....with awesome blank pages in the back that we can use as our daily trip journal to write impressions, fun facts, etc. Best part, the booklets are small enough to easily fit in zippered part of carryon tote. :)

Oh, and 2 red stickers to identify people at the airport for Viking transfers....which we don't need; we are doing our own transfers. Simple and Sweet! I loved it! Can't wait for this trip! :)

Thanks so much for the great review and trip tips! :) We are leaving on this same trip on the Kvasir in a few short weeks. :)

A few questions for you,:confused: if you don't mind:

1. What type of adapter did you travel with on this trip?

2. Did you use cell phones during this trip and if so, did you simply add the international calling plan from your usual cell provider?

3. How was the internet connection onboard?

4. Did anyone on the ship have an opinion on the Colmar excursion? Is that one to consider?

5. Did you find that you had enough free time for independent exploring of each town along the way?

6. Casual dress? Did you think you overpacked/underpacked? What is best for Amsterdam city sightseeing for women's casual wear?

Thanks so much and I am so very glad you had a great trip! :D