Koningsdam

[Michigander1959]

We are traveling with our daughters and their families (4 grandkids) in February. Any thoughts on the ship and things to do? HAL is new for us (RC regs).

 

 

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[cabinluvn]

We are traveling with our daughters and their families (4 grandkids) in February. Any thoughts on the ship and things to do? HAL is new for us (RC regs).

 

 

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Sailed her last July. Best was the BB King lounge in the evenings. Not to miss and I think grandkids will enjoy as well. The grandkids might enjoy club HAL. Every time we have seen kids with the program, they looked like they were having fun. Always the pool for swimming. Depending on the ages, they might enjoy trivia. Movies with popcorn.

 

 

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[Michigander1959]

Thank you!!!

[jimbob22]

are you curious about certain things in particular?

 

We were on it over New Years, and there were many kids, but your cruise will probably have very few, and will likely have an overall very old clientele. The kids club is good, the kids will likely enjoy the pools and hot tubs. Our 9yo enjoyed the kids club, but our 11 yo didn't go there much because they lump together kids that are like 7-12, and the things they watched and did skewed toward the younger end. So I'd say that I'm not sure the kids club is great for 11-12 yo.

 

We only did the complimentary dining, but the extra-fee restaurants looked good, seem to get good reviews.

[CruiserBruce]

A little reading down the board will find lots of info about the wonderful new stuff on KDAM. Many threads on her.

[Michigander1959]

Thank you!!!

[Michigander1959]

Does anyone know if you can walk out onto the bow from the promenade deck? Haven’t seen any images of folks on the bow (an obvious favorite spot to hang out as we leave ports).

 

 

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[CruiserBruce]

Does anyone know if you can walk out onto the bow from the promenade deck? Haven’t seen any images of folks on the bow (an obvious favorite spot to hang out as we leave ports).

 

 

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As I recall, it is a split level bow area, public gets to use the higher level. If open, it will be during "scenic cruising".

[therealblackknight]

Just got off this morning from an 11 day cruise. This was my first HAL cruise after having done 7 cruises on RCL.

 

There were very few kids on the ship, seemed like less than 10 total but I might have missed a few. When I did see them, they seemed happy enough.

 

However, do note that it was very heavily leaning towards the older crowd as compared to RCL, which seemed to me to have a decent mix between the age groups for the most part.

 

There was no way to get to the bow for guest that I saw.

[Oville]

Just got off this morning from an 11 day cruise. This was my first HAL cruise after having done 7 cruises on RCL.

 

There were very few kids on the ship, seemed like less than 10 total but I might have missed a few. When I did see them, they seemed happy enough.

 

However, do note that it was very heavily leaning towards the older crowd as compared to RCL, which seemed to me to have a decent mix between the age groups for the most part.

 

There was no way to get to the bow for guest that I saw.

 

We were on the same cruise. Very few children, not sure I saw 10. It is an older/elderly crowd. You might want to bring some things to keep your kids entertained. We were able to use our TV to watch shows/movies from our iPhones. The two pools are not large but there are a number of hot tubs.

[Michigander1959]

Can you ask a room steward for the mini fridge in family rooms to be emptied upon arrival. I’m worried about little kids “raiding” the fridge. And the space could be made useful in other ways.

 

 

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[jimbob22]

Can you ask a room steward for the mini fridge in family rooms to be emptied upon arrival. I’m worried about little kids “raiding” the fridge. And the space could be made useful in other ways.

 

Based on reading the experience of others, I'm pretty certain the steward will be glad to do this on any cruise line.

[CruiserBruce]

Can you ask a room steward for the mini fridge in family rooms to be emptied upon arrival. I’m worried about little kids “raiding” the fridge. And the space could be made useful in other ways.

 

 

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People, such as ourselves, do it all the time. Make sure YOU don't empty it...have the cabin steward do it.

[LocoLoco1]

CruiserBruce, What does it 'feel' like around KONINGDAM's Aft swimming pool area? Windy? Crowded with sun-worshippers and some smokers; a tad removed from hustle-bustle ambiance??

[Mosaic]

K'dam can be crowded in the back, has decent protection from the wind.

[CruiserBruce]

CruiserBruce, What does it 'feel' like around KONINGDAM's Aft swimming pool area? Windy? Crowded with sun-worshippers and some smokers; a tad removed from hustle-bustle ambiance??

 

All depends on the time...all of the above. We tended to go there in morning and evening, quieter. But it can busy.

[sevenseasnomad]

K'dam can be crowded in the back, has decent protection from the wind.

 

OP, aft pool is adults only area. Mid-ship pool is for kids and families. On our Christmas cruise, we noticed a lot of children enjoying the afternoon tea on sea days. Your kids might like that. The waiters, especially at dinner, seem to dote on kids. Hope all of you have a wonderful and memorable cruise.

[Boytjie]

Based on reading the experience of others, I'm pretty certain the steward will be glad to do this on any cruise line.

 

I have never had a steward empty the fridge on my request. I just empty it myself and store it either in the ottoman or some other storage area and tell them where it is.

 

I never had an issue emptying it and was never charged for anything from the mini bar.

[jimbob22]

I have never had a steward empty the fridge on my request. I just empty it myself and store it either in the ottoman or some other storage area and tell them where it is.

 

I never had an issue emptying it and was never charged for anything from the mini bar.

 

Wow, that's quite surprising that they'd refuse to do so.

[RMLincoln]

Our grandkids did jigsaw puzzles in the library. There are also board games in the library. 15 yr old enjoyed tea, very special. HAL club was good for 9 yr old, not so much for 11 yr old but he liked going to the movies; the 15 yr old didn't bother with the kids program. There will be a daily kids activities listing give to them the night before. You can request kids' size bathrobes but they might not arrive until after the first night, meaning first full day on board.

They all loved the shows, but they were all familiar with community theater so it was all interesting to them.

Swimming everyday was a must! And they all enjoyed the cruising and scenery, looking for wildlife, flying fish, dolphins... but not so good at sharing the binoculars :).

Having a camera made them able to engage with activities.

We had a fun time enjoying the cruise through their "eyes". m--

[Oville]

OP, aft pool is adults only area. Mid-ship pool is for kids and families. On our Christmas cruise, we noticed a lot of children enjoying the afternoon tea on sea days. Your kids might like that. The waiters, especially at dinner, seem to dote on kids. Hope all of you have a wonderful and memorable cruise.

 

Absolutely not true on Kdam, the aft pool is available to children with parent/ guardian supervision.

[kenevenpar]

Absolutely not true on Kdam, the aft pool is available to children with parent/ guardian supervision.

 

It was available in November.

[kenevenpar]

Several observations ...

 

We were on for 10 days over Thanksgiving, and had a wonderful time. We are early 60's, and were far below the average age, which does not bother us in the least.

 

Sun chairs were hard to come by. I don't like to admit it, but for the first time in over 30 cruises, we chair hogged. The staff refused to open up any obviously unused chairs saying we should do it (I won't remove someone else's belongings), and said we should arrive early and reserve them. So we did. For the last seven days.

 

On that cruise, at least for us and some others, BBKing's was WAY too loud. It drowned out the lead singer, who had a lovely voice. In fact, it was painful walking by on the upper level. We both do not mind music a bit on the loud side.

 

Billboard 100 was great!

 

The String ensemble was amazing, but you had to arrive very early to get a seat (we don't do very early), but you could hear them from Billboard 100.

 

Staff was wonderful.

 

Finding the Explorations Cafe and Crows nest was just difficult enough that we only made it there once.

 

Tamarind was wonderful, Pinnacle Grille was very good, and Canneleto was OK.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Ken

[sullyd]

I heard toilets in balcony cabins tight ?

[3rdGenCunarder]

I heard toilets in balcony cabins tight ?

 

If you mean leg room, yes I did heard that. In one of our "what's your cabin like?" conversations, someone mentioned that the toilet seemed too close to the shower stall, causing there to be insufficient leg room. Sorry, don't remember what category the couple were talking about.