Question about casual outdoor dining on Koningsdam

[Sun&Sand52]

New to HAL and thinking of sailing on the Koningsdam but do not see a causal outdoor AFT dining location. I have sailed on Celebrity Solstice class ships and they have a lot of out door space that you can simply plop down in a chair and enjoy the scenery. At the aft of the Celebrity ship, you can eat your meal outside as the area is adjacent to the buffet. I have been looking at different websites to see if there is such a place on the Koningsdam, but I must be missing it.

 

So.... does anyone know where your casual outside dining would be in the Koningsdam? It looks like she has a lovely promenade deck that you can walk around on, but I did not see any chairs or loungers where you could sit and enjoy the ocean view. Where would one just sit outside to enjoy the views? Other than my balcony - which I do love to do!

 

She looks to be a beautiful ship and I like the itinerary better than the Celebrity ones to the Caribbean. So thinking of going on HAL for the first time.

[sun~]

There isn't a casual outdoor dining space on the Koningsdam. The dive in and pizza place are by the mid ship pool. Since the roof can be closed, I wouldn't consider it outdoors. The aft pool area has a bar. You could grab a bite in the cafeteria and walk to the aft of the pool and sit outdoors.

 

It is a nice ship with some weird things in the design. The promenade isn't nearly as nice as on other ships, it has very narrow areas in places.

[out2play]

yes, there R tables for dining. at AFT pool deck.

[dfish]

There are tables on the aft deck outside the Lido buffet. They are usually set up with napkins and silverware for those who would like to eat outside.

[*Miss G*]

Seems strange you haven't found any pictures showing outdoor chairs and tables because they are definitely there.

[canadianbear]

Not the best photo but if you look close you should see tables. We often say outside at the Aft pool for breakfast. When we ate supper at the Lido we would take our plates outside as well. Was lovely.

[Sun&Sand52]

Thanks for the reply, I see the area in the above picture where there are tables set up. I guess there is just really no dedicated aft dining area, which is a shame as the aft wake is beautiful to enjoy while having breakfast. Guess I was hoping for a specific dining area in the aft part of the ship.

 

What about the Niew Amsterdam? Anything like that on her?

[canadianbear]

There are lounge chairs right at the aft you can sit on and watch the wake. Otherwise I think you'd have to have an aft cabin. No dedicated aft dining outside.

[Jade13]

New to HAL and thinking of sailing on the Koningsdam but do not see a causal outdoor AFT dining location. I have sailed on Celebrity Solstice class ships and they have a lot of out door space that you can simply plop down in a chair and enjoy the scenery. At the aft of the Celebrity ship, you can eat your meal outside as the area is adjacent to the buffet. I have been looking at different websites to see if there is such a place on the Koningsdam, but I must be missing it.

 

So.... does anyone know where your casual outside dining would be in the Koningsdam? It looks like she has a lovely promenade deck that you can walk around on, but I did not see any chairs or loungers where you could sit and enjoy the ocean view. Where would one just sit outside to enjoy the views? Other than my balcony - which I do love to do!

 

She looks to be a beautiful ship and I like the itinerary better than the Celebrity ones to the Caribbean. So thinking of going on HAL for the first time.

 

 

 

There are more tables and outside space than on Celebrity ships.

 

 

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[*Miss G*]

I guess that I am not clear on what it is you are picturing. There are outside tables adjacent to the buffet outside on the aft deck. There are loungers everywhere. Dining tables do not block the very very back of the ship so that everyone has access. Are you saying that Celebrity blocks the stern view to everyone but diners?

[Sun&Sand52]

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[Sun&Sand52]

Above photo is one of the S class ships where you can relax or eat at a table for casual dining. That is what I was hoping was on the K-dam ship too. But it does not sound like it is. Possibly the S class ships on Celebrity do have more open, outdoor spaces. That is something that is very important to me as I like the open feeling of the sea view. Guess I need to do more research on HAL website and the internet for additional photos of the outside areas of the K-dam.:)

[jimbob22]

Above photo is one of the S class ships where you can relax or eat at a table for casual dining. That is what I was hoping was on the K-dam ship too. But it does not sound like it is. Possibly the S class ships on Celebrity do have more open, outdoor spaces. That is something that is very important to me as I like the open feeling of the sea view. Guess I need to do more research on HAL website and the internet for additional photos of the outside areas of the K-dam.:)

 

it's definitely not set up like your photo in post 11. We dined a bit at the area in post 6, which is on the port side. They have an equivalent area (with bar) on starboard side, but it was the smoking area, so we stayed away from there.

 

In this video,

around 1:24, you can see how the aft area has a lot of loungers, but it's not set up for dining.

[Sun&Sand52]

Thanks for the link to the video. Definitely different than what I had thought.

Edited January 25, 2018 by margar

[OlsSalt]

it's definitely not set up like your photo in post 11. We dined a bit at the area in post 6, which is on the port side. They have an equivalent area (with bar) on starboard side, but it was the smoking area, so we stayed away from there.

 

In this video,

around 1:24, you can see how the aft area has a lot of loungers, but it's not set up for dining.

 

Looked to me there were a lot of tables set up for outdoor dining under the over-hang from the video. Did I miss something. Agree, it is too bad the smokers get to dominate one half of most ships outdoor aft deck dining space. But that is another discussion.

[jimbob22]

Looked to me there were a lot of tables set up for outdoor dining under the over-hang from the video. Did I miss something. Agree, it is too bad the smokers get to dominate one half of most ships outdoor aft deck dining space. But that is another discussion.

 

Correct, there are lots of tables under the overhang, and it seemed to be a little-used area when we were on board--but if you want to be closer to the very aft end, able to look out and see the water and the wake, it's not configured that way, as it's not close enough to the end of the ship.

 

We've used that aft-end dining area on other ships (even on Carnival's oldest class ships), but the absence of it here didn't bother us. But to some it's important, and to each his own.

 

Overall, we were very pleased with our Koningsdam experience.

[twodjs]

There are plenty of tables aft to enjoy you food, but it is not set up like Celebrity because Holland also has a pool aft. So plenty of tables under cover, plus lots of lounge chairs around the pool and on the deck above. No HAL ships or Celebrity ships have food service outside aft, but both lines have buffets just inside the glass doors. NCL ships have an outdoor buffet with seating at the aft edge.

[OlsSalt]

There are plenty of tables aft to enjoy you food, but it is not set up like Celebrity because Holland also has a pool aft. So plenty of tables under cover, plus lots of lounge chairs around the pool and on the deck above. No HAL ships or Celebrity ships have food service outside aft, but both lines have buffets just inside the glass doors. NCL ships have an outdoor buffet with seating at the aft edge.

 

CDC came down pretty hard on HAL ships for any outdoor buffet settings too - food service in an unprotected overhead setting apparently became a recent CDC ship taboo. Lack of hand-washing stations was also part of the CDC ban on outdoor poolside buffets on the older HAL ships.

[*Miss G*]

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That looks so inviting!

[OlsSalt]

Looks can be deceptive, exposed outdoor seating for dining can often be too windy or have too much sunlight beating down. Hard one to call, nor can all 3000 passengers be accommodated with open air aft seating.

[tilt10]

Margar.   Totally agree . Loved the two Celebrity boats i have been on because of outdoor eating.First thing i look for is out door eating areas. Don't understand boats that don't cater for this. Solstice food in the dining room was some of the worst i have had.  The other Celebrity boat around the med was good.

Booked on the Koningsdam only because of the ports. Probably won't book again because they don't have outdoor dining.

[Solas36]

Oceania Riviera has lovely outdoor eating area right outside the buffet restaurant. Going on 2nd HAL cruise in September, on Koningsdam this time, chosen for itinerary. Though we love Oceania Riviera, it's prices are probably making it unlikely choice for us now. But we are glass half full kind of people so sure we will enjoy Koningsdam too! 

[Rosmerta]

We were disappointed in the lack of aft outdoor dining and the narrow promenade without chairs, shuffle board (at least it went all the way around). But we would book the Koningsdam again based on itinerary.

[Cruzaholic41]

That outdoor dining area on Celebrity is really nice. As stated, Koningsdam has nothing like that. It’s too bad. I think HAL missed a lot of opportunities with Pinnacle Class and that’s one of them.  

[Palm Bay Cruise Couple]

Maybe you should cruise on Celebrity and happy and satisfied.  All cruise lines are different from each other.