Koningsdam - 11/19/17 Return to Hal

OK, there have been some recent reviews of Koningsdam cruises, so I thought I would just briefly add my $.02, and focus on some aspects we noticed as compared to our most recent cruises on Celebrity. Ok, it is turning out to be not so brief.

We are pre-retirement, but seasoned. Read that as early 60’s.

This cruise was our 40th Anniversary cruise (actually September, but the best time to get off was around Thanksgiving). This was my 31st cruise, and 4th on HAL. Our previous cruises were 2 in Deluxe Verandah suites and one in a Superior Verandah Suite, if I got the old names correct, and they were on Zuiderdam and Oosterdam. We have been sailing Celebrity of late, but saw this cruise at an attractive price for a stern Vista Suite, and to make it even better, received a $200pp price drop before final payment.

So here goes:

Pre-cruise

We flew mid-day from PHL to FLL on Spirit. We swore off Spirit a few years back as we felt their customer service is horrible. They did not disappoint again, although most of the crew on this flight were OK, and the gentleman watching the front portion of the cabin was a hoot. The flight arrived 35 minutes early, luggage was promptly available. BUT, the price, including luggage and an up front seat were too attractive to pass up.

After visiting the FL homeport boards, I made the executive decision to cancel the rental car/shuttle to port and go with UBER. I failed to calculate the impact of DW’s luggage, and that we would need a large vehicle. Oh well. But I did save on parking! And I keep reminding DW of this fact as she berates the living …. out of me.

We stayed at the Renaissance on 17th at just under $200, and did I mention, NO parking fee ($33.00 if you rent and park, IIRC). Nice hotel and nice location, almost all cruise passengers. Nothing extra is free.

After checking in, off to Total Wine. “I’ll get us an Uber”. DW: “No, let’s walk”. Me: “There is no way I’m walking to Total Wine and lugging back a case of wine in this heat!” After a brisk walk, we arrived at Total Wine, and settled on our selection of 12 bottles, of which most went into my backpack, or a couple of carry bags for the schlep back to the Renaissance. Apparently, UBER was not working this afternoon.

We ate dinner on Los Olas at Les Bonne Crepe. We have been there before, and enjoy the food immensely, as well as the outdoor dining. Uber was working to perfection this evening, and we retired early in anticipation of the cruise.

12 bottles is a lot to carry on a walk!

Will be following along.

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Sunday, Day 1

No breakfast for us, we had things to do, places to go, etc. First stop, CVS. DW informed me that Uber was not working again this morning, and CVS was only about a mile down the road. The Rite Aid and Walgreens that were steps from the hotel were also experiencing technical difficulties and we would not be able to avail ourselves of their offerings. It also seems that they did not accept the 1” thick stack of coupons that DW was grasping firmly in her hand. Do you know anyone who shops in CVS with a shopping cart? I DO! “Honey, see if UBER is working because I am NOT carrying a case of water and all the rest of this wonderful stuff back to the hotel.” Apparently, UBER was still not working, and I stuffed a case of water in my backpack and limped all the way back to our hotel.

10:30 and time to head over to the port. I tapped up an UBER L for the trip over to port. “Dear, my phone seems to be able to get UBER’s much better than yours”. DW: “That is because you have an iPhone, which you keep telling me is so much better than my Samsung”. YES, I’m right again.

First impression of KDAM – WOW! What a beautiful looking ship. Check-in was a breeze, the waiting line was about 20 minutes long. Off to the waiting area, I noticed that some of the signs said Neptune and Signature Suites could board at anytime during the boarding process. “What about us? We are in a suite also”. Apparently, our suite is not suite enough. When they finally called for boarding, the agent said that suite guests could board, forgetting the Neptune and Signature part, so off we went, and the agent waived us through. We signed for our hefty, but expected, corkage fee and got dots on all but 2 bottles.

I really, really like that the cabins are ready upon boarding. On Celebrity, it is usually 1:00 to 1:30. Up to deck 7, cabin 7194, a Vista Suite. We don’t always get a suite, in fact, we usually do not.

Open the cabin door, and we both exclaimed, in unison “You have got to be freakin’ kidding me.” They actually have the nerve to call this a suite? Hal should be embarrassed calling this a suite. I was expecting it to be smaller than a Sky Suite on Celebrity, but really? I couldn’t wait to see a regular balcony cabin, if this was a suite.

Chalk up one for Celebrity, their Suites are far above HAL’s offerings (except for the HAL PH), with more space, more amenities, and a much better lounge than the Neptune Lounge, for which, of course, we did not have access, because we are in a suite that is not a suite. Apparently, the Signature suites are only sort of suites, as they too cannot use the lounge.

Dropping off our carryon luggage, we headed to the MDR for lunch. The ship is really stunning, and the MDR is no exception. Wonderful choices on the menu, and the food was very good. We sat with 4 others and as usual the conversation was enjoyable. Service was prompt and friendly.

After lunch, we toured parts of the ship. We were both impressed, but had nagging feelings about the “flow”. We could not put our finger on it. The muster drill was “easy peazy”.

I had reserved Caneletto for dinner, but noticed a 25% offer for tonight. The staff honored the 25% off and credited our account the $7.50, WhooHoo! Dinner was nice, the service was outstanding, and the lamb entrée was wonderful. Mine was overdone, which was quickly and efficiently remedied. Neither of us were particularly impressed, probably because of the location and hustle and bustle of the Lido Market, decided to cancel our reservation for Friday night. The highlight was probably the lovely family with twins sitting at a table near us. Well mannered children, and a lovely family that we would see often onboard.

12 bottles is a lot to carry on a walk!

Will be following along.

DW carried 2.

Part of the way ;)

Hi, Ken!

We will be on the KDam Jan 14 for 21 days, so we are looking forward to the rest of your review and lots and lots of photos!

Hi, Ken!

We will be on the KDam Jan 14 for 21 days, so we are looking forward to the rest of your review and lots and lots of photos!

Wow, lucky you. Are you going to do one of your slideshows?

Wait, I thought you were =x= cruisers!

Great start.

Looking forward to more.

Thanks KK. I have to edit some photos before I continue.

Looking forward to more too!

Hi, Ken!

We will be on the KDam Jan 14 for 21 days, so we are looking forward to the rest of your review and lots and lots of photos!

We are on the January 14 cruise, too. Do you plan to join the roll call and come to the Meet & Greet?

It's great to see some photos! And a nice review.

Enjoying your narrative and photos.

Keith

Really looking forward to your complete review, especially in comparison to Celebrity. It has been many years since we cruised on HAL. We have been mainly cruising Celebrity. We have an upcoming cruise on HAL in June. I am considering a cruise for February, and HAL is in the mix. The lure of the drink package on Celebrity is always an advantage, lol. Plus, we are now Elite so have the nightly cocktail lounge if we decide to go with a lower class cabin with no drink package.

Hurry back! Thanks.

We have been Celebrity Cruisers too, been on the Millie in her first year and Summit twice. Really appreciate the fine service and excellent cuisine on Celebrity. Hearing from friends about HAL, they seem to be in the same class as Celebrity and roughly the same demographic, maybe a bit older. Since we are just at retirement age, thought we should try out another line for a comparison. Will be on the January 14 Kdam cruise as well.

We have been Celebrity Cruisers too, been on the Millie in her first year and Summit twice. Really appreciate the fine service and excellent cuisine on Celebrity. Hearing from friends about HAL, they seem to be in the same class as Celebrity and roughly the same demographic, maybe a bit older. Since we are just at retirement age, thought we should try out another line for a comparison. Will be on the January 14 Kdam cruise as well.

On cruises more than 7 days, in our experience, and definitely on this cruise, a good 10 years older.

Have never cruised with Celebrity but have sailed Koningsdam and look forward to your comparisons.

Following along. We were on the Koningsdam last November and had our first inside room. We're doing it again in January....we're on the tail end of that 21 day cruise ^^-sailing January 23.

Monday and Tuesday, Days 2&3, At Sea

Monday, I ate a light breakfast in the Lido, while DW slept in. I usually rise much earlier, so that I can get some pictures, particularly of the sunrise. I usually have smoked salmon every day on a cruise, and today was no exception.

We had the Mariner lunch on our schedule for today ay 11:30 (do people really eat lunch that early?). The menu was extremely limited and uninspired, although the service was excellent (Eric was our server, and we had him several other times). We did sit with some nice folks and had some nice conversations.

We looked for some pool seats after lunch and were disappointed to see how few seats are actually at the main pool.

We ended up at the Lido Pool, starboard side (an early morning picture as it looked better).

DW lasted a few minutes before she could not take the smoke smell, and the port side was full. I’m not sure it was actual smoke, but the smell bothered her. Tuesday, we never found seats, and ended up against the windows, on a sofa. By the way, the windows do not open, which would have been nice to get some air circulating. Being pro-active, I did seek out a pool staffer to ask him if he could locate seats that were not being used. He said I could move the “stuff” on a chair, but he was not supposed to. I asked him for his recommendation and he said we should reserve our seats early. For the rest of the cruise, I joined the club. I am now an official “chair hog”. First time in 31 cruises. I found that the “official” reserving time starts at 7:30, which is about the time that rolled towels are put on the lounge chairs near the pool. No problem! I am out of the “suite” by 5:30 most mornings. At 7:30 AM it looked like this:

I did it up good, bringing DW’s extra books, my backpack, water shoes, hats, towel clips. Most were not that sophisticated, just unrolling their towel. As a rookie, I went the whole nine yards. In fairness, one or both of us did use the chairs most of the time, but I did feel guilty. Well ... a little.

So, as mentioned, the main pool layout is not good in my opinion. Up to 2800 guests are expected to use these pools and very limited desirable seating, and there is no enforcement of the no reserving rules, or maybe there are no rules. What is the deal with walking into the deep end of the pool? Of what use is there for two person hot tubs, which often had 4 or 5 squeezed in, doing who knows what kind of hanky-panky in there? Clear edge to Celebrity in this area, as most (all?) ships have a large two pool area outside, and an adults only solarium with a retracting roof similar to the roof on KDam.

"Quote" I asked him for his recommendation and he said we should reserve our seats early. For the rest of the cruise, I joined the club. I am now an official “chair hog”. First time in 31 cruises. I found that the “official” reserving time starts at 7:30, which is about the time that rolled towels are put on the lounge chairs near the pool. No problem! I am out of the “suite” by 5:30 most mornings. At 7:30 AM it looked like this: "unquote"

http://i348.photobucket.com/albums/q...5%2017-130.jpg

"quote"I did it up good, bringing DW’s extra books, my backpack, water shoes, hats, towel clips. Most were not that sophisticated, just unrolling their towel. As a rookie, I went the whole nine yards. In fairness, one or both of us did use the chairs most of the time, but I did feel guilty. Well ... a little."unquote"

Sure sorry to hear that is allowed to happen on this cruise ship. We experienced this on land vacations at resorts and didn't like it, sure don't like to hear it is happening here on cruise ships. Did not think that was allowed "officially" to happen. I know it is being naïve to think it doesn't happen on all ships, but I still don't like it, especially when they sit unoccupied for a long period of time.

BTW - thank for the review you are doing.

I enjoyed having Eric as my waiter in the MDR last summer. He and his assistant, Putro, were excellent.

Sure sorry to hear that is allowed to happen on this cruise ship. We experienced this on land vacations at resorts and didn't like it, sure don't like to hear it is happening here on cruise ships. Did not think that was allowed "officially" to happen. I know it is being naïve to think it doesn't happen on all ships, but I still don't like it, especially when they sit unoccupied for a long period of time.

BTW - thank for the review you are doing.

I agree. It is much worse on other lines. I think that the lack of desirable seating contributes to the problem. There was not anywhere near this amount at the Lido pool.

I appreciate your review. We had "Suite" 7194 reserved on the upcoming Dec 27th sailing, after reading your reaction, to the size of the suite, just upgraded to a Neptune suite.

We too are frequent Celebrity cruisers, who about every other year take a HAL cruise trying HAL's newest ships. Each cruise line has its own merits and faults and though we have cruised on many lines, none is perfect. It is helpful to look at differences and likes and dislikes from others who cruise a variety of lines.

I look forward to hearing about the rest of your cruise and your perspectives HAL vs Celebrity.

Mirage

We where on the cruise with you . The problem we noticed all the public areas are small for the volume of passengers on the ship . The main ship room is so small they have to have 3 show a night . That seems to shorten the length of the shows. Food is subjective so no comment. In the past they where things to do at sea nothing really on this ship . We will go back to the smaller ships . The ship does look better than the old ones much lighter

Wow, lucky you. Are you going to do one of your slideshows?

 

Wait, I thought you were =x= cruisers!

Loving your review of the KDam!

X cruisers??? Naaaah...we do like Celebrity, but we go where the deals are. Celebrity often has the best deals, but we booked the KDam for 21 days with gratuities and $300 shipboard credit for FAR less than $2000 a person. Tough deal to beat. We also like RCCL older ships, and often cruise on them.

Keep the review and photos coming!

I appreciate your review. We had "Suite" 7194 reserved on the upcoming Dec 27th sailing, after reading your reaction, to the size of the suite, just upgraded to a Neptune suite.

 

We too are frequent Celebrity cruisers, who about every other year take a HAL cruise trying HAL's newest ships. Each cruise line has its own merits and faults and though we have cruised on many lines, none is perfect. It is helpful to look at differences and likes and dislikes from others who cruise a variety of lines.

 

I look forward to hearing about the rest of your cruise and your perspectives HAL vs Celebrity.

 

Mirage

That is too funny! HAL should send me a gift card for convincing you to upgrade.

Without giving away the ending, I would truly sail either line. For me the biggest determining factor is getting the best perceived value.

Ken

We where on the cruise with you . The problem we noticed all the public areas are small for the volume of passengers on the ship . The main ship room is so small they have to have 3 show a night . That seems to shorten the length of the shows. Food is subjective so no comment. In the past they where things to do at sea nothing really on this ship . We will go back to the smaller ships . The ship does look better than the old ones much lighter

Agree! Thanks for jumping in here!

Ken