Koningsdam or Zuiderdam

[CruiserBruce]

14 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

The only discrepancy in this it that it has been reported numerous times on these board that the Signature Beverage package does not include non alcoholic beverages in the limit.  In other words, they don’t count towards the 15 limit.  I haven’t tested it myself but thee was a You Tube video by A CC member posted after his chat with the Beverage manager.  I’ll see if I can find it.

Assuming those reports are right and they have come from accredited CC members IMO that means that only the alcoholic drinks count for the package.  I’ll see if I can find the relevant post and you tube video.

 

It is true. Only alcoholic drinks count against the 15 drink limit. Non-alcoholic are unlimited.

[mcrcruiser]

There is a 35 night cruise on Zuiderdam   to Hawaii & the   South Pacific   ,Feb 2023   .If it were on the Koningsdam ,we more likely take the cruise  . We been on Oosterdam  ,a sister ship to Suiderdam but much prefer the amenities  of the koningsdam as well as the cabin showers   .A 35 day cruise is a long cruise with many sea days & having it on a smaller vessel vs the modern  & much larger koningsdam ,would not be  our cup of tea . Also ,imo the entertainment on the Koningsdam was much better  .Food was about equal but koningsdam has Tamarind ,speciality rest & N Y Pizza .  .We are booked for the `8 night Hawaii cruise Feb 2022 on koningsdam 

[kazu]

I sailed on the Westerdam with one of the best captains on the fleet for the Hawaii, Tahiti, Marquesas cruise.  it was fabulous.  Pool parties, great lectures, and all the stuff that goes with the area - Hula lessons, drum lesson, etc. 

 

And spoiled back then with bbq’s (now gone mostly) of fresh whatever was found on the islands. tuna, etc. Delish. 🙂 

 

Fabulous lecturer, great times on board and not sure if it could be done the same on a bigger ship.

 

I’m happy I did it when I could.  The Koningsdam has a lot of great amenities but I doubt at the time they could have pulled that off with the numbers they have on their ships.  JMO.

[kazu]

Apologies. Duplicate deleted.

[DAllenTCY]

October 24th would be better of the two.... because the only other ship at the pier will be the Grand Princess which is just in for the day from LA.

 

The pier will be far less crowded than on the following Sunday.

 

On the 30th, the Disney Wonder will be in port with 2600 people getting off and on. 

 

David

[NCTribeFan]

Having sailed only 3 times on HAL (Zaandam, Zuiderdam & K'dam) but over 30 on Carnival, I have to chuckle that K'dam would be considered a "megaship" or that the decor on Z was too loud.

 

Sure, the Pinnacle class is large - for HAL.  But considering what other lines have out there, these really aren't huge ships.  The largest I've sailed is MSC Divina, which I thought was lovely but too large for my tastes.  Having said that, I'm booked on a semi TA B2B on NCL Bliss in 2023.  Good thing we have all those sea days or else I wouldn't see half the venues!

 

I'm not a fan of Carnival ship decor but at least their newer ships are not Joe Farcus designed, which I tend to refer to as "bad acid flashback decor."  😁

 

Like I said, I really like K'dam and would happily sail her or her sisters again.  But not every cruiser feels they need to be on the newest, biggest, most bells-and-whistles ships.  My favorite ships on Carnival are the Spirit-class (which are very different from their other ships and much more like the Vista class).  For me, the Vista class is just about the perfect size.  Really looking forward to NA.  Hoping she'll be "just right" for me.

[Tedferg]

15 hours ago, TXCruiser78660 said:

Unfortunately, it is not unusual for HAL's site to have issues.  

Works OK this morning and Cabins are Guaranteed I thought yesterday the Obstructed cabin was named. Strange, yesterday the site had the problem with Chrome Browser and Edge Browser - worked OK if I restarted the PC - Gremlins I suppose !

[VMax1700]

Just to throw in my opinion, I loved Zuiderdam decor.  Harmoniously mismatched.  Colorful and zany.  Though I believe that it has been 'calmed down' since her last dry dock.

We have a lot of days on Koningsdam and love the music walk.  Tamarind is so-so to us and Pinnacle Grill over-rated. Rudi's Sel de Mer is good. Maybe we are spoiled with so many good restaurants close to home.

 

We would be happy with either of them.

Edited April 14, 2021 by VMax1700

[bennybear]

We’ve been on the Zuiderdam since the dry dock and the decor was fine, but we loved the Koningsdam and would choose it in a heart beat just for the Tamarind!    You really can’t go wrong on either but the Koningsdam is in tip top shape as it is much newer.  And it is not so large. 

[Aquahound]

On 4/13/2021 at 9:53 AM, Tedferg said:

Looking at an October 7 day Mexican Riviera, Oct 24 Koningsdam Oct 30 Zuiderdam, 2021. Any preference in these ships ?

 

This would be our first time on HAL

 

I've sailed both and my preference is Koningsdam.  In fact, after my most recent cruise on Eurodam and having experienced all of HAL's changes and cutbacks, I don't think I'll ever sail HAL again on anything other than a Pinnacle Class ship.  

[idiebabe]

I'll probably get "clobbered" by some for saying this!  Like many here we've sailed on many of the different Class Ships from Prinsendam to Pinnacle Class.  Our last three Cruises before the Pause: one was on a 14 Day Amsterdam AK Cruise and the other two were on Nieuw Statendam (Europe/TA and a Carib).  We were actually bored with Amsterdam's Entertainment.  The Ocean Bar's Music was outdated  and the Piano Player (can't remember his name) was so so (no Stryker or Barry from Boston) and actually very quiet as a result.  We also missed having Sel de Mer and Tamarind and Music Walk. 

 

We do love the Zuiderdam and sailed her twice in 2018 and 2019 and sailed with Captain Bart (great Captain).  

[Florida_gal_50]

I'd pick the koningsdam in a second.  I'd be happy to never sail on anything other than the Pinnacle class.  That said, my next 2 cruises booked are on the Zuiderdam.  One cruise is because of the itinerary, the other because the price at the time was excellent.

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

I'd pick the koningsdam in a second.  I'd be happy to never sail on anything other than the Pinnacle class.  That said, my next 2 cruises booked are on the Zuiderdam.  One cruise is because of the itinerary, the other because the price at the time was excellent.

I too have noticed higher fares on the newest HAL ships.

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

I too have noticed higher fares on the newest HAL ships.

I’m finding all prices are very high.  No Mariner pricing for me either.  I just happened to catch the cruise for next year right after they posted it to the website and snagged it.  It’s a little earlier in the year than I would like but by then it will be well over two years since I’ve had a “real” break from work.  Prices have almost doubled since I booked it.

[Despegue]

Both Koningsdam and Zuiderdam are Medium sized vessels, and not at all megaliners. Let’s put this straight first.

 

That being said, we do love the entertainment options on Pinnacle class ships, especially the new R S  Rock room and sensational Queens Lounge with the BB Kings band.

Zuiderdam has also sufficient entertainment, and a larger main showlounge.

 

You can not, in any way, claim that a HAL interiour decoration is “too modern”. Even on Pinnacle class vessels, the decor is classical, restrained and far from modern clean  style interiours of for example Celebrity or EU lines like Tuicruises or Aida. But indeed, the “70’s nursing home style” decoration of some of the older vessels pre-refurb. is disappearing, Thank God. ( this does not mean that the artwork and antiques have disappeared., they are not, and are magnificent on HAL)

 

[Tapi]

On 4/13/2021 at 4:12 PM, LynnSD said:

Any advice on best verandahs on Koningsdam?

When we sailed on sister ship Nieuw Statendam, we selected obstructed verandah 4135. We found it to be a great bargain. Since it’s considered “obstructed”, we saved about $800 for a 7 night cruise.
 

Because it’s the first balcony in that section of the ship, the verandah is slanted and considerably larger. Also, the obstruction (by the lifeboat) isn’t as bad as other balconies farther down. We also loved being on deck 4 and fairly close to the stairs leading to the Dutch Cafe. I was a bit concerned that we’d have noise issues (being above a public deck and having a connecting door) but we didn’t. It was very well insulated and super quiet. I would definitely book this stateroom again. 
 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Tapi

[Tedferg]

Thank you Tapi - very informative !

[St. Louis Sal]

I haven't done the Zuiderdam,  just the Noordam and Westerdam and I've been on the Konigsdam once.  We really loved the dining options on the K.  The Dutch Cafe was fun, we adore Tamarind.  The public places were nicely done.  The only drawback was the cabins.  My daughters had a verandah suite and for the first time ever on a HAL ship, they complained about noise from the cabins on either side. They also complained about a lack of storage in their cabin compared to other HAL ships.  Our issue was probably more with the particular cabin we chose.  We did a Signature Suite and we chose the one all the way forward.  Two problems: the bridge controls the lights on your balcony because the cabin is in front of the bridge.  You also must keep your draperies closed at night (apparently they will come after you if you don't), again for the light issue.  The other problem was not really getting to use the balcony.  It was a particularly windy, choppy cruise and being so far forward, we could hardly get the door open except in port and never really used the balcony at all on that cruise. 

 

If itinerary and price are equal I'd probably go for the Konigsdam, but any cruise is so great that you probably can't go wrong with either.

 

St Louis Sal

[Tampa Girl]

On 4/13/2021 at 2:43 PM, kazu said:

One thing that is a plus for many are the showers in the cabins on the Koningsdam.  However, if you happen to be someone who enjoys a bathtub, you won’t find them on that ship unless you book at least a Neptune Suite, I believe.

 

Worth taking a good look at the deck plans for the cabins.

 

Kazu - are the Neptune Suites on the Koningsdam as roomy as on the older ships?  

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Kazu - are the Neptune Suites on the Koningsdam as roomy as on the older ships?  

 

I haven’t been on the Koningsdam personally but looking at halfacts.com and reading reports and talking to some CC friends, no, they are not.

 

The largest are on the R class ships.  The newer the ship, the smaller the cabin and balcony IMO.  I have sailed and had a Neptune on every class except the PInnacle.  

 

Hopefully we will find an itinerary we like on a Pinnacle Class to try it out but I doubt we will be in a Neptune 😉 

[Tampa Girl]

14 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I haven’t been on the Koningsdam personally but looking at halfacts.com and reading reports and talking to some CC friends, no, they are not.

 

The largest are on the R class ships.  The newer the ship, the smaller the cabin and balcony IMO.  I have sailed and had a Neptune on every class except the PInnacle.  

 

Hopefully we will find an itinerary we like on a Pinnacle Class to try it out but I doubt we will be in a Neptune 😉 

That was my impression, as well.  Oh, for a return of the  R class!

[kazu]

49 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

That was my impression, as well.  Oh, for a return of the  R class!

 

I remember a sail a way on an R class and another on the S class.  We had 10 people on our balcony and there was no crowding as the balcony was much deeper and wider.

A Neptune is a treat any time you can pull it off either by a good price or an upsell but no question on the older ships you really see the difference 😉 

[wdw1972]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 

I haven’t been on the Koningsdam personally but looking at halfacts.com and reading reports and talking to some CC friends, no, they are not.

 

The largest are on the R class ships.  The newer the ship, the smaller the cabin and balcony IMO.  I have sailed and had a Neptune on every class except the PInnacle.  

 

Hopefully we will find an itinerary we like on a Pinnacle Class to try it out but I doubt we will be in a Neptune 😉 

I've been in a Neptune Suite (visiting someone) on Koningsdam and had one on a Vista class ship and the ones on Pinnacle class ships are MUCH smaller!!  That Koningsdam one was shocking to me - there's no way I would have wanted one, after having had them on other ships.  I don't recall all the details, but the cabin living area was smaller, there was no makeup/dressing room like on the older ships, and the bathroom was different.  Definitely check halfacts for pictures to be sure you're happy with it before booking.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[oakridger]

I also don't like the Signature Suite on the Pinnacle Class ships (based on pictures).  The layout is different and doesn't have as open a feel as on the older ships.  I do consider it better if you have a third person in the cabin because there is a Murphy bed in a more separate area by the desk, so more privacy.  

 

~Nancy

[Tampa Girl]

On 4/16/2021 at 7:04 PM, wdw1972 said:

I've been in a Neptune Suite (visiting someone) on Koningsdam and had one on a Vista class ship and the ones on Pinnacle class ships are MUCH smaller!!  That Koningsdam one was shocking to me - there's no way I would have wanted one, after having had them on other ships.  I don't recall all the details, but the cabin living area was smaller, there was no makeup/dressing room like on the older ships, and the bathroom was different.  Definitely check halfacts for pictures to be sure you're happy with it before booking.

 

Sue/WDW1972

 

Thanks for the heads-up.  I think that I will stick with the smaller ships.