Koningsdam - 11/19/17 Return to Hal

[kenevenpar]

Other

Billboard 100 – we did most of our pre-dinner cocktails here, and Ramon was happy to see us each night and eager to make DW’s muddled fruit martini concoction. Either that, or he thought there may be a tip forthcoming. For our primary pre-dinner bar, we try to find one that is comfortable, not too loud, with excellent prompt, I repeat prompt, service. This fit the bill, even with the pianos playing a couple of nights. Actually, we really liked the music. There was a male and a female entertainer, both of whom were very good. I called him Jerry Lee Lewis, as he really liked to bang out songs on the keys. I even called him Jerry Lee when I saw him around the ship. I’m not sure he thought it was funny, but he thought I would put bread in his jar. Oops, Billy Joel reference.

 

 

Please note the indentation in the 4th seat from the right, my seat for this cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

Crows Nest – We couldn’t even find it for the first week! When we figured out we had to go down to walk forward and then up to the Crows Nest, we were in. I’m wondering if others had the same problem, as there were very few guests there both nights we went. It is a wonderful place, and the drinks were spot on. If you remember that I mentioned early on that the flow did not seem to work, this is definitely one of those cases.

 

 

Library, or lack of one – no biggie for me as I am an EReader; DW was disappointed. This was the number one complaint I heard around the ship.

 

 

Explorations – I think that this is what the computer space is called. My few visits, after I found it, there was hardly anyone using it. I suspect that is a function of smart phones and tablets replacing the computers, as well as the difficulty getting to the space. Easy to print, if you do that, boarding passes.

[Sea42]

Just loving your review and your beautiful photos! Thanks for taking the time to share them with us!

[kenevenpar]

BBKings (Queens Lounge) – I am sure I’m in the minority here, but I thought the volume level was insane. From the upper level, I was blown away. The female lead singer who I believe had a wonderful voice, was constantly drowned out. I’m from the loud Rock and Roll generation, but this was too much. We equated it to too many wedding receptions where you cannot talk to the person next to you. For the most part we now just mail a check and skip the receptions, our kids excluded of course.

 

 

Dutch Café – We did not stop by often as the carb temptation was extreme. I drink a lot of coffee, so I only stopped by for one fru-fru drink. It was pretty good. Everything else looked good.

 

Stateroom Attendants – Rohman and Tomy were most excellent. Always working as a team, they kept our tiny suite immaculate, and learned our patterns quickly. One request to keep filling the ice bucket, and it was done. Never once was it even low on ice. Towel animals every night, even though I told them they didn’t have to do a new one each night. Good Service!

 

Tour Service Desk – The three times I visited, I thought they could have been a bit more helpful. I guess if I had to answer the same questions over and over, I might get that way. One incident, the clamshell. Upon return from HMC, I asked for a refund as we were only able to use it briefly, and the Captain called us back. The staff person said that following their rules she was not allowed to issue a refund. She was quite pleasant about it. I naturally asked for a supervisor, who started with the same thing, then agreed “to check with the island”. I asked that at a minimum, they should prorate the amount. 15 minutes later, he called me and the charge was reversed. I call that good customer service!

[colonialinnkeeper]

We agree with you about the BBKing venue. The volume is so loud that you can't enjoy the music. The first two times I tried stuffing my ears with a tissue and then the third time with ear plugs. Too loud. We haven't gone back which is too bad. It could be really good but loudness diminishes the quality of voices. We had several discussions with cruisers about this and it seemed to be the consensus most times.

[kenevenpar]

Just loving your review and your beautiful photos! Thanks for taking the time to share them with us!

 

Thank you. It is forcing to organize my pictures.

[kenevenpar]

We agree with you about the BBKing venue. The volume is so loud that you can't enjoy the music. The first two times I tried stuffing my ears with a tissue and then the third time with ear plugs. Too loud. We haven't gone back which is too bad. It could be really good but loudness diminishes the quality of voices. We had several discussions with cruisers about this and it seemed to be the consensus most times.

 

Thanks. I really wanted to enjoy the music, and was looking forward to it. Hopefully others who think it was loud will comment on their surveys. It could be a great venue!

[kenevenpar]

Conclusion and Comparison to Celebrity –

 

 

 

Celebrity has been my #1 with HAL #1A. DW had them reversed. After this cruise, she has flipped them, and I remain of the same mind. I know, I’m floored too. Not that she came to that conclusion, but that she agreed with me.

 

 

Here are some of the comparisons:

 

 

Suites – There is no comparison. Celebrity has this one by a mile. From the butler, who is really more of a concierge, make sure things get done, delivering “stuff” person than a true butler, to the separate restaurant, Luminae, which is like a specialty restaurant, to Michael’s Club lounge, the experience is significantly different. Make no mistake, Celebrity uses marketing speak also, but I don’t think even they would try to get away with calling our room a suite.

 

 

MDR – More similar than different. Both are good, but have declined a bit over the last number of years. I may give a slight nod to HAL’s service, mostly because other than at closing time, they are genuinely friendly. We had one waiter, Eric, on several occasions, who never stopped smiling and wanting to be helpful. I might give a slight nod to the efficiency of the service at Celebrity.

 

 

Lido – As mentioned, we do not eat dinner at the Lido or its equivalent. I like the look of KDams Lido, and I really like the plating of the food. I prefer the layout of the S Class on Celebrity, which also utilizes the stations approach, it just seems to flow better.

 

 

Specialty – None of HALs offerings stack up to Murano. Granted, the upcharge is higher, but we have never paid close to full price. As mentioned, Pinnacle on this ship was far better than I previously experienced, but still not on the same level as Murano, service or food wise. Tammarind is a gem, and compares favorably with QSine on Celebrity, although DW would give the nod to QSine because of its uniqueness, and how fun it is to share with others.

 

 

Service – Hal’s service is exceptionally friendly and courteous. Celebrity’s service may be a bit more intuitive, but that is an extremely judgmental evaluation. Despite the proliferation of the drink packages, more so on Celebrity, I think their bar service and experience is more enjoyable. The frozen bar of the Martini Bar is not to be missed.

 

 

Demographics – There is no doubt that the demographics of Hal skew toward the older population, especially on longer cruises. The line up of walkers, wheel chairs and scooters at the Lincoln Center rival any in our Senior Living Communities. I have worked in the Senior Healthcare field for more than 35 years, and I truly enjoy interacting with Seniors, so I do not necessarily see the demographics as a negative. On the other hand, I quickly realized that there are no good seats left 15 – 30 minutes before an event. I do not do lines, so there were occasions that we missed out on something.

 

 

We will continue to consider both HAL and =X=, with price and perceived value as the determining factor. All mainline cruise companies have made cutbacks, some significant, so factors do change rapidly.We would have absolutely no problem sailing with HAL again.

 

 

I'll post a few more pictures along with a few random thoughts in the next day or two.

 

 

Ken

[superoma]

Thank you for a fair and balanced review. We may have to give celebrity a try. We have mostly sailed Hal, but have used rccl and princess if the itinerary was what w3 wanted.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bgomes]

We, too, were on this sailing with you, and agree with your conclusions.

 

We have mostly sailed Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. When this came up at an excellent price and itinerary we decided to give HAL a try. Not disappointed, although it did not sway us to change to this line more. We will continue to book according to price and itinerary.

 

In reference to the Dutch Cafe it became a daily stop for us, and we were never disappointed with the food or service.

 

I agree that the staff seemed very customer oriented and were always smiling. My biggest complaint was that there was nothing to do during the day We watched a lot of TV since we are not big "water/beach" people.

[Stevanb]

Ken

 

We are leaving on the ms Veendam on Jan 10 thru 17 . Had to use up some vacation time from 2017 . We will let you know the differences when you have half the capacity BUT really see if the food, service and other things are the same or different. Last year we where on a 14 day Christmas thru New Years it was different from the Koningsdam in the service and food much better

 

We too have been on Celebrity before and after RCCL took it over it was great before now it is some what better than Holland in our view BUT we normally go for destination not the ship

[jimandtoni]

Great review, Ken!

Just one quick question...How formal were the GALA nights? I am on the KDam for 21 days and am debating about taking my tuxedos. On Celebrity cruises, tuxedos are really a thing of the past. What percentage, if any, of men wore suits/tuxes on the gala nights? Thank you for your help!

[bgomes]

From my observations I don't think I saw very many tuxedos, if any Mostly suit coats. But then, I didn't really real pay attention

[kenevenpar]

Great review, Ken!

Just one quick question...How formal were the GALA nights? I am on the KDam for 21 days and am debating about taking my tuxedos. On Celebrity cruises, tuxedos are really a thing of the past. What percentage, if any, of men wore suits/tuxes on the gala nights? Thank you for your help!

 

From my observations I don't think I saw very many tuxedos, if any Mostly suit coats. But then, I didn't really real pay attention

 

There were a few tuxes and a few white dinner jackets, but definitely in the minority. This was only the second cruise that I didn't take one or the other, or both, and I honestly do miss it. Having said that, most were dressed nicely, if not GALA. By way of comparison, Celebrity has "Evening Chic" nights, and I have no idea what the he double hockey sticks that is. I don't think Celebrity does either.;)

[shrimp56]

Well, maybe not, but Veendam once had a plastic palm tree on the aft deck, or Retreat, as they called it. I'm sure someone can come up with a picture of it.

As requested. Taken June 2013 near the end of its pitiful existence. Folks on an Antarctica cruise said it looked pretty weird against the ice.

[RuthC]

Folks on an Antarctica cruise said it looked pretty weird against the ice

That's one word for it. I thought it looked ridiculous, and kept thinking they should continuously run the old movie Mr. Roberts on the screen out there.

[dfish]

shrimp56, thank you! It was gone by the time I boarded in late August of 2013.

[kenevenpar]

As requested. Taken June 2013 near the end of its pitiful existence. Folks on an Antarctica cruise said it looked pretty weird against the ice.

 

 

I had forgotten about this. Just wow.