Koningsdam's Flaws/What Can Nieuw Statendam Improve Upon?

Hey, stickey mouse, I agree with you on not swapping the B.B.King venue with the venue for the string performances. Easy fix...They should simply wall in (or double-glass for sound proofing) the string venue, remove the stairway from the casino, and leave B.B.King where it is on K-dam. Of course, no one dances to strings, and the only issues were sound bleed from the very busy public walk area, and smoke from the casino. The big sound system, great dance floor and second story viewing area are much more suited to B.B.King. The floor was packing by the end of every evening we were there. Loved it!

We also really enjoyed our dinner at the Culinary Arts venue on K-dam. Isn't America's Test Kitchen a TV series? Sorry, not familiar with it, but it sounds more mainstream. Our dining experience was so fun because they used unusual herbs and spices grown right in front of us on K-dam. Tried many we had never heard of...hope they aren't getting away from that with ATK.

This is so true! And really funny as it applies to lots of thread topics - folks are offered reasonable solutions and workarounds to their objections and dislikes - and they reject them all.

Vacation time is limited, as is my money. I appreciate your good intentions but when it comes to my vacation excuse me if I don't respond enthusiastically to workarounds.

... excuse me if I don't respond enthusiastically to workarounds.

My workaround is simple: I won't sail the nouveau-HAL Pinnacle ships again!

My solution as well.

There was a time I wanted very much to reestablish my record of sailing every ship in the fleet, but as time goes on, that is becoming less and less important to me. I am getting a lot more selective in choosing ships that offer more of what I want. You pay your money, you take your choice.

We have sailed on Koningsdam twice now, and Dec 10 we will be on her again. It amazes me the number of complaints I read about her. We loved the ship. We thought she was beautiful, loved all the options for dining, service was great and the cabins were comfortable and well thought out. Loved the roomy showers in the bathrooms. Loved the USB ports in the rooms. Liked having indoor muster. The World Stage is great. We liked the modern look of the ship, but for us it kept the feel of traditional HAL. I think she might be our favourite HAL ship.

 

Is she perfect? No. We did miss the full wide promenade deck with loungers. Missed the library. MDR service was a bit on the slow side.

 

We never felt crowded, never had any issues with getting an elevator. Thought the food, especially in the Lido was the best of any ship we have been on.

 

I would suggest, if you are thinking of a cruise on the Koningsdam, give it a try. Don't be scared off by all the criticism.

I agree! I love this ship. Going on her for the 3rd time in a couple of days. I can hardly wait.

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A small nuance that brought angst among the old HAL patrons on our recent calm Trans Atlantic

 

The crowded Happy hour we religiously attended in the Crows Nest from 4-5 pm was banished down to the bowels of deck 2 for that hour. The neophyte powers of scheduling only allowed that hallowed prime time to meet new friends into the Crows Nest after bed time at 11 pm I heard.

 

The curdled cries of anguish reverberated around the 70 ish style furniture kitty corner from the non library every day at 3:55 PM as old timers to this martini smorgasbord were directed to the netherworld below!!

 

My wife commiserated with the regulars by downing 2 bloody marys and bursting into crocodile tears at this travesty of traditions. Moi I wallowed in the 2 for 1 wines

 

Cheers

 

Bob

Hahaha! [emoji1][emoji1]

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It's an interesting issue that gets brought up here:

 

 

 

Concern: I want somewhere to sit and watch the ocean

 

Solution: There are spots throughout the deck where you can (varies by ships but there are spaces better than others on every ship)

 

Concern: I don't want to be specifically right there

 

Solution: They have chairs on the upper decks and at both pools as well as numerous inside spaces then

 

Concern: But I want shade and I want it outdoors

 

Solution: Both pools would be great for that

 

Concern: The lido pool has windows that block some air and they play music in there and I want it 100% SILENT, and the aft pool isn't the view I want and it can still get hot up there

 

Solution: You could always get a room with a verandah

 

Concern: I'm not paying for that!

 

Solution: Or one of the ships with a lanai room

 

Concern: No! And people can see me

 

Solution: Actually they couldn't. It's mirrored one way glass

 

Concern: Still not doing it

 

Solution: Some ships have the Retreat Cabanas, then you can get precisely what you want

 

Concern: I'm not paying for that either... and it's too high anyway. I want low and close to the water

 

Solution: I don't know what to tell you then since you're not working to find a space that is even a nice compromise of what you want and you just choose to be mad about it

 

Concern: HAL has gone down hill, this is just another sign of that

 

Solution: You can always go to another line or only sail on the ships that "meet your standards"

 

Concern: I do. I only go on the ships that I like the setup on. Never or rarely been on the ones I'm bent on complaining about in as many posts as I can find a loose connection to the topic

 

 

 

If you've been on this board for any amount of time you've no doubt seen these exact interactions occur on more than a few threads

Where is the “like” button??

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To each his or her own..but to complain about what a ship does(or doesn't) have when your opinion is coloured by what you read on on Cruise Critic, and the fact you've never been on said ship..that's unfair.

Not saying anything that hasn't been said before(but I'll say it again for emphasis.

We sailed on the KD in March for the first and last time. Loved the Dutch Cafe. We were stunned by the reduction in size of the Family Retreat Cabana which was too small for the four of us to enjoy every day, as we had planned.

Hated having to straddle the toilet to avoid banging knees on shower.

Disliked lack of library but having a revenue generating space at every turn.

Love love love the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. We’ll stick to those.

We sailed on the KD in March for the first and last time. Loved the Dutch Cafe. We were stunned by the reduction in size of the Family Retreat Cabana which was too small for the four of us to enjoy every day, as we had planned.

 

Hated having to straddle the toilet to avoid banging knees on shower.

 

Disliked lack of library but having a revenue generating space at every turn.

Love love love the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. We’ll stick to those.

The toilets in the staterooms!

Unless you are really short, sitting on the toilet will have you banging your knees into the glass of the shower. The toilets are at a weird angle, so to have your knees not hit the glass you have to sit sort of "side saddle".

We spoke to a housekeeping supervisor whilst on the Koningsdam and she told us that the "powers that be" would correct this on the Nieuw Statendam. Hope so!

We sailed on the KD in March for the first and last time. Loved the Dutch Cafe. We were stunned by the reduction in size of the Family Retreat Cabana which was too small for the four of us to enjoy every day, as we had planned.

 

Hated having to straddle the toilet to avoid banging knees on shower.

 

Disliked lack of library but having a revenue generating space at every turn.

 

Love love love the Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. We’ll stick to those.

Sailed the K'dam in October. Hope to sail her again. Didn't spend time at the Dutch Cafe. Loved the Family Retreat Cabana. No problem with the toilet. Was sad about the lack of library but I had enough to do and no lack of reading materials. Was probably a main contributor to the lending library. Will be happy to board the Eurodam and NA (again) in the near future. :)

I think I'll stick with the S & R ships and the Prinsendam.

To each his or her own..but to complain about what a ship does(or doesn't) have when your opinion is coloured by what you read on on Cruise Critic, and the fact you've never been on said ship..that's unfair.

 

Not saying anything that hasn't been said before(but I'll say it again for emphasis.

I spent 30 days on the Koningsdam B2B with 37 days on the Westerdam in similar class balcony cabins. In my personal opinion, for plain, old "livability", the Westerdam cabin was superior to that on the Koningsdam (but I LOVED the K's shower!).

As I mentioned earlier, the square coffee table on the K is a nuisance at best and a hazard at worst; the W still has the more commodious, adjustable height, oval table.

The K "love seat" is like sitting on a cement bench, and it will only accommodate one person comfortably. It has no arms to lean against, and the snap off arm rolls do just that at the slightest pressure. On the W, the comfortable loveseat had slim arms, so a relatively small person, such as myself, could prop up and stretch out on it with a book and watch the sea go by.

Most of the storage on the K, although adequate, was low to the floor, which probably does not present a problem on a shorter trip, but became an irritant over 30 days. That on the W, although not as modern (no soft close drawers), is located at a more comfortable height.

Bottom line, for comfort over a long haul, I would choose the W. However, changing the cabin furnishings would be easier and less expensive than some of the other structural changes mentioned in this thread.

Does the k-dam have any place for the puzzles? I love to work on the puzzles.

I wonder how they missed such an obvious design flaw.

Nothing is perfect. We had 30 wonderful days on her inaugural and we are counting the days until we go on her again. We are booked on the Neiuw Statendam inaugural too. Hal will change a couple of things and that's ok.

Sandra

Thanks to everyone who has been on K'dam for sharing their feedback. It's enough information for me, based on what I consider important, to avoid the K'dam and any identical new builds. As for everyone else, glad you like her and happy travels!

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We just got off and had a wonderful cruise.... it was our second cruise on the Koningsdam. Some suggestions for the new ships.....Bigger hot tubs would be nice (other than the one in the midship, they are only meant for 2 people and I often see 4 trying to get in) and the stairs in the aft pool go into the deep-end????? Bizzarre! The size of the aft pool is too small, there is enough deck space to expand it a couple of feet on each side. I seldom saw anyone in the expensive jewelry stores on deck 2.... seems like a real waste of space. Also, I was constantly directing people on how to get to either the Crows Nest or how to find their rooms on deck 11.... it would be really hard for a new cruiser. My other comment is that there are not enough tables for 2 in the dining room. Not everyone likes to eat every meal with strangers. We stuck to our guns and were able to get a table of 4 for us (as a table for 2) for most of the cruise. I agree it would be nice if they could make the bathroom four inches wider, so you can sit on the toilet properly.... otherwise it is a beautiful bathroom. The Promenade deck is very narrow. and dark, we missed not having deck chairs in the shade (all the lounge chairs are in the sun and it is nice to be able to sit in the shade and read a book).

I agree it would be nice if they could make the bathroom four inches wider, so you can sit on the toilet properly.... otherwise it is a beautiful bathroom.

I agree it would be nice if they could make the bathroom four inches wider, so you can sit on the toilet properly.... otherwise it is a beautiful bathroom.

Are the showers nice and roomy? We have a larger gentleman that usually travels with our group, and that is always a concern of his.

Are the showers nice and roomy? We have a larger gentleman that usually travels with our group, and that is always a concern of his.

The showers are wonderful. Yes, they are very roomy. Which brings up another problem. The water pressure is the best I have ever felt on a cruise ship. However, they made the shower drain too small. So if you leave the shower on its maximum potential, the shower starts to fill with water.

Any casino lovers out there? How is K-dam's casino? I have only been on the Noordam. Initially, I thought the Noordam's casino was too small, but it turned out to be perfectly adequate for that size of ship. It could've used another low-minimum blackjack table, but that's usually the case anywhere.

How is K-dam's casino? I have only been on the Noordam.