Koningsdam Norway Review

just off the 7- day Norway cruise and wanted to provide a quick review.

HIGHS:

The ship is beautiful. All shiny and relatively new ( she just recently turned 1), K is in excellent condition. We sailed in a Vista Suite and were very happy with the size of the cabin.

Food was outstanding and a noticeable improvement over previous cruises. We especially enjoyed the MDR on this cruise, a dining venue that we normally bypass. All our meals in the MDR were served hot and perfectly seasoned. Service ranged from outstanding to okay in the MDR. We had Open Dining and sat at a different table each meal.

Tamarind was divine. We have always felt that Tamarind sets the bar for HAL, and this time the bar was set quite high. The service was warm and welcoming and the food delicious. I especially enjoyed the lobster.

The PG was also exceptional. Gone are those pretentious white server coats replaced with blue shirts and black vests. We enjoyed the double cut pork chop and halibut and it was delicious.

We made use of the Lido for lunch and several breakfasts. A little crowded are times, we did find lots of offerings and lots of staff to help you at your table.

Cabin service. We had an excellent cabin service team who always had our cabin clean and tidied whenever we returned. While there is still a clean up in the evening, turn down service has been eliminated.

LOWS:

No surprise, as it has been mentioned before, the entertainment on board is disappointing. The shows in the World Stage did not really make use of the stage. One night was a juggler, another a singer, another night a BBC movie, another a dance group, and another a variety show featuring the juggler and singer.

The BB Kings were disappointing. Most nights the back ground music over powered the voices and the song choices didn't excite.

The casino was rarely busy. The Lincoln Centre Stage was all classical music that you either love it or leave it. We left it.

The Mariner Lunch was disappointing. Attendance was poor and there was little choice offered.

Food in the Lido was often served lukewarm - a no no for me. We also tried several desserts that were labelled as sugar free but were terribly sweet. Perhaps a sugar substitute was used, but as it wasn't clear, and we had no choice but to discard it.

In cabin dining is very difficult. There is no adjustable table as were offered on other ships which made it impossible for us to enjoy our hot breakfast on our balcony. The loss of this amenity means the NA continues her reign as our favourite ship.

Embarkation in Amsterdam was confusing. The most annoying was when we climbed the top of the stairs to find large numbers of people sitting in groups, labelled 10, 11, 12 and lots of people wandering around confused. A video screen at one end of this large room stated "boarding group 7". I thought the groups were waiting to board. I kept looking for the counters to check in and couldn't find them. We were going around in circles when I finally asked a HAL rep who explained that the groups were waiting to check in and handed me a ticket for Group 13. It would have been much less frustrating had the HAL reps been located right at the top of the stairs.

One thing I found concerning was discovering that the men's public washrooms have security cameras in the ceilings. Perhaps they are on other ships and I never noticed them?

Overall, a wonderful cruise with beautiful weather and lovely ports. The Captain mentioned that a third pinnacle class ship is on its way and that the pinnacle class ships will be sitting the standard for the entire line.

Thank you for your review.

REgarding Open Dining. Did you share or have a table for two? What time did you dine?

:D

Sounds like you had a good time. We are on the K 6/25 for the same cruise. Could you tell me if any of the pools are heated? Thanks.

Thanks for your review! :) We're sailing on the Koningsdam this coming July to Norway too, so I'm glad to hear you had a good time!

Thank you for your review.

 

REgarding Open Dining. Did you share or have a table for two? What time did you dine?

:D

No, we never had to share a table. A couple of times we were seated at a table for four, but it was just the two of us. We usually dined around 6 each evening. Open dining was available on the second and third deck.

Thanks for your review.

Sounds like you had a good time. We are on the K 6/25 for the same cruise. Could you tell me if any of the pools are heated? Thanks.

I assume they are, but we didn't try them. I am pretty sure that both pools are heated. Perhaps someone else will chime in and confirm.

Thanks for sharing. We are headed on K in 3 weeks so loved reading that you overall enjoyed your trip. Was wondering about the weather and seas, recognizing of course that things change day to day.

Thanks for your review Cbr663. We have been eager to cruise the Koningsdam. Surprised to hear the entertainment wasn't so good as that was one of the areas they upgraded with this recent ship.

Jonathan

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Forums mobile app

Thank you for your review.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

Thanks for sharing. We are headed on K in 3 weeks so loved reading that you overall enjoyed your trip. Was wondering about the weather and seas, recognizing of course that things change day to day.

We had showers one day only in Bergen. The rest of the time it was cloudy and quite nice. Seas were calm. More than once I had to stop and look out to see if we were actually moving. The K is very steady on the sea. There was no need to get your sea legs, a first for us.

Thanks for your review Cbr663. We have been eager to cruise the Koningsdam. Surprised to hear the entertainment wasn't so good as that was one of the areas they upgraded with this recent ship.

 

Jonathan

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Forums mobile app

Entertainment is such a personal thing. Lots of classical type music, which I can listen to for only a little. Many will love it, I'm sure. I really wanted to see the World Stage in action but the performers didn't support it. The shows we attended were no where near full.

Thanks for explaining the embarkation process in Amsterdam. We're embarking on 6/25 for 2 weeks and HAL sent out a notice recently listing when each deck would be able to board. First time I've experienced that.

Glad you liked the food. Did you take any HAL or private excursions?

Thanks for explaining the embarkation process in Amsterdam. We're embarking on 6/25 for 2 weeks and HAL sent out a notice recently listing when each deck would be able to board. First time I've experienced that.

 

Glad you liked the food. Did you take any HAL or private excursions?

It will be good if they make changes to the e mbarkatiin process. It was one of the things that I provided feedback when we got on the ship. It was speedy, but very confusing.

We did two HAL excursions: Eidfjord Cruise & Voringsfossen Waterfall and the Mt Dalsnibba & the Eagle Road in Geiranger. If you have a fear of heights, the Mt. Dalsnibba will test your fear. It was 21 degrees at sea level and 6 degrees when we reached the top of the mountain.

I did notice that the ship was heavily promoting the Lido throughout the cruise. If you had lunch in the Lido, there was usually a card at your table telling you what dinner would be in the Lido that evening.

When we had breakfast in the MDR, there was also a card on the table promoting the Lido. There was even a card on the MDR table promoting that lobster was available in the Lido on Gala Night. But there was never a card in the Lido promoting the MDR.

First time I had seen this.

Thank you for your review.

We had showers one day only in Bergen. The rest of the time it was cloudy and quite nice. Seas were calm. More than once I had to stop and look out to see if we were actually moving. The K is very steady on the sea. There was no need to get your sea legs, a first for us.

Thanks so much for the quick reply.

Any chance you could describe the embarkation process in more detail?

This is our first time leaving from Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the info since we will be on the 6/25 fijord cruise on K. Can you tell me when the second gala night is? The second sea day is the last night so I wonder if it will be a gala night.

Thanks for the review.

Love that you did the highs and lows and a very objective review.

And, welcome home :)

Enjoyed reading your review. We are sailing on K next year.

Thank you for your review.

They must have changed the process for checking in. When we arrived we were ushered to a particular line at the check in counter where we had our pics taken and were given our boarding group number. From there we went into the large room to find and sit with our group. If I recall we waited about thirty minutes to board.

I believe the BBKing groups rotate in and out. The group we had last August was great.

In the casino, I had found a machine that I won on every time I played (ended up $66 ahead) but some nights it was crowded and few machines were available.

Agree with in-room dining. We ordered breakfast quite a few mornings. My friend usually sat at the desk and I'd bring in the balcony table and sit on the little sofa.

Also agree with your Lido observations. The food wasn't hot and if they were out of something, they were out. I guess they only make so much for each meal. On the plus side, I was able to score Tetley British Blend teabags, which I use at home, in the Lido. No where else were they available on the ship. Even asked in the MDR without luck. Started grabbing a few each day to use in the MDR and Crow's Nest.

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

Food was outstanding and a noticeable improvement over previous cruises. We especially enjoyed the MDR on this cruise, a dining venue that we normally bypass. All our meals in the MDR were served hot and perfectly seasoned.

 

Thanks for your review. We were on the Amsterdam recently, and also thought the MDR food was improved.

One thing I found concerning was discovering that the men's public washrooms have security cameras in the ceilings. Perhaps they are on other ships and I never noticed them?

What???!!!???