Review - Koningsdam Christmas cruise - 12/20 - 12/27, 2017

While I do love reading other people's reviews I don't normally do one myself but thought I would give it a shot this time. Hopefully I can keep my thoughts organized but there's so much to describe that I may veer a bit off track once in awhile. Please be patient!

A little background about us - Angelo and I are both retired and live about 1.5 hours north of Port Everglades so cruising out of PE is very easy for us. Jump on I-95, park the car and we're on the ship. This was our first cruise on the K-Dam and I wasn't really sure what to expect. I received an email from one friend who said they had a great time on their K-Dam cruise but next time would go back to the Nieuw Amsterdam or Eurodam. I received an email from another friend who said that once I go on the K-Dam I will be totally spoiled. I was up for the challenge of making this major decision!

Embarkation: I hate to start the review with a negative but this was the worst embarkation we have ever experienced. We arrived around noon and the line to get into the building was around the block. It took us 1 hour to get into the building so we could get in line for our key card. That line took about 20 minutes and we were on the ship. Luckily the weather was beautiful but, even in December, if the sun is strong it can get very hot standing in line. The best thing was that friends surprised us at the port and were coming on the cruise with us. It made the wait in line much more tolerable.

Boarding: All I can say is that when we got on the ship the only word we could say was WOW!! We have been on 4 other HAL ships and this was nothing like the others. There was nothing subtle about the decor. Where the colors on the other ships was elegant and subdued the K-Dam was light, bright and beautiful. It also felt much larger than the other ships. We immediately loved it and couldn't wait to explore. But first to our cabin!

Our Cabin: On this cruise we decided to experiment. Since HAL no longer allows smoking on the balcony (yes - I am a wicked woman) I found that I spent very little time on the balcony during our Thanksgiving cruise which was a partial transit of the Panama Canal. We spent most of the time out on the deck. The other factor was that we were going to the Caribbean where we had been several times before. My thought was that if there was scenic cruising involved we would have done the balcony again. But we decided to try a midship oceanview cabin. We opened the cabin door (cabin1079) and, once again, all we could say was WOW! The cabin was large with tons of storage. There was more light in this cabin that in any other we've stayed in before. The bathroom was large and although the toilet was in an awkward position it never presented a problem. But the very best thing in the cabin were the ELECTRICAL OUTLETS!! There was an electrical outlet above each night stand and 3 more outlets above the desk on the other side. This meant no extension cords going from one side of the cabin to the other and taped to the floor. Just wonderful!!

The Lido: So like all good cruisers we headed up to the Lido. They have truly done a beautiful job on this ship. The aisles between the service stations and the tables is much wider than the other ships. There is actually room to walk without bumping into everyone. The layout of the food stations is pretty much like all the other Lidos. It was very well done. But this is where we ran into our second problem. They have all new furniture in the Lido and it is beautiful BUT the chairs are so heavy that you can't move them. It was really a problem when you wanted to move closer in to the table. Someone actually had to help you move the chair. Maybe they purposely did this so that if there are rough seas the chairs will not move but the weight of the chairs was an issue for almost everyone.

We then went out to the Seaview Bar area for sailaway and so that I could have a cigarette. The deck was packed for the sailaway. After the sailaway when many people left I was actually able to see the deck space. The smoking area is by the bar in the same area as on all the other ships. There are lots of tables and beautiful furniture. They have the same thing on the non-smoking side. Very nicely done.

Dining: We ate at the Pinnacle Grill on the first night and Christmas night; in the dining room two nights and in the Lido for 3 nights (we were too lazy to put on appropriate clothes for the dining room.) I think that this was the best food we've had on any of our cruises. I've read other reviews saying that service was very slow in the dining room but we didn't have any problems.

Entertainment: True confession - we spend most of our time in the casino but we did expand our horizons a bit. There was so much music on this ship and it was everywhere. We never made it to Billboard Onboard or the Lincoln Center Stage but people said they were great. We did make it to B.B. Kings several times and they were fabulous. They perform in a large, 2 story open area with a huge dance floor. The upstairs area is all tables and chairs and a great place to listen. The band is on the lower level with lots of seating. Very well done. We also attended 2 of the shows in the WorldStage area. It is done in the round with no poles to block your view. They also do 3 shows a night - 6:45PM, 8:30PM and 10PM to accommodate people regardless of dining times. One of the best things on the ship was the presentation of the BBC production FrozenPlanet Live.

Service: Maybe it's just us but we never seem to have a problem with service on the ship. I am convinced that just a smile seems to resolve almost all of the issues.

Last problem that we had involved temperature on the ship. Sometimes it was so cold in the casino and the Lido that we had to wear our hoodies. This seems to be a recurring problem on all of their ships.

We had a wonderful time on the cruise and have booked it again for next Thanksgiving. If you have any questions please feel free to ask away. I'm happy to share if I know the answer. Sorry for the length of the review but I got carried away!!

Helen

Great review! We got off as you got on. I agree-those chairs in the Lido were almost impossible for me.

Do you have photos coming? Would love to see photos of your cabin etc.

We also liked having so many outlets and not having to use an extension cord for my CPAP machine.

Great review! We got off as you got on. I agree-those chairs in the Lido were almost impossible for me.

 

Do you have photos coming? Would love to see photos of your cabin etc.

We also liked having so many outlets and not having to use an extension cord for my CPAP machine.

I kept meaning to take pictures but never did. We also have the issue of CPAP's so the outlets were great.

Helen

Excellent review! Glad you had a wonderful cruise!

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Thanks so much for your review.

Nice to read a positive review of Koningsdam. I'm so anxious to sail Pinnacle class, but I'm going to have to wait another 16 months.

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I enjoyed your review.

Thank you for taking the time to write this and share it with everyone.

Keith

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

Glad you had a wonderful cruise and enjoyed the Koningsdam.

Great review!

Thanks so much for the detail. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

And, welcome home :)

Thank you for sharing your experience on Koningsdam. My DH and I also love Kdam. We spent 2 weeks sailing the Med and the outdoor sofa/chair areas became our nest after a long day exploring. Never used our balcony! You brought back some terrific memories, so thanks again!

Thank you for a great review of the K'dam. Makes me sad I have to wait til next year to sail her:(

Thank you for the review. I enjoyed reading it.

Thank you for a great review. We leave in 13 days, really looking forward to it!

Thanks for your review. I will be on her next month.

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Thank you for the excellent review. Nice to see all the positives. I truly believe that some people only see the negative in a trip and that draws more negativity to them.

Maury

Thank you for you very positive review! We will be on the KDam in 13 days for a 21 day cruise. Your review has elevated our enthusiasm to a whole other level!

Thanks for the review. We did an inside on the Kdam a year ago, and are doing our first OV later this month. Looking forward to being back on!

Thanks for a great review!

WOW - thanks for the positive feedback. I'll have to keep really good notes for our cruise in March in South America. You never know...this review thing could become a habit!!

Helen:halo:

Appreciate your thoughtful review. We loved sailing her last year. Looking forward to your South America review!

Thank you for reviewing your Koningsdam cruise.

thinking about Christmas cruise in the future - love HAL - how many children on board?

Lots of children. There were a few who were running around playing tag but most were well behaved.

thinking about Christmas cruise in the future - love HAL - how many children on board?

There were 400 kids onboard but we never really saw them. We stayed by the Seaview pool and not the Lido pool.

Helen

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Hi Helen, we were on the Far East cruise with you last February. Your review was great, you should always write one.

We were on the Koningsdam in November and it is our new favourite ship.

It never felt crowded except one afternoon when the piano bar area was packed for a Beatles review.:D

All of the dining and entertainment venues were wonderful.

The ship itself is beautiful.

We are in the process of booking a transatlantic on her. :D:D:D