Koningsdam Alaska 2023 Likes/Dislikes

[MonikaJ42]

First HAL cruise fast approaching and I like a crazy person can't stop checking the boards for advice and comments about the ship/itinerary.

I watched another youtube video (have to stop doing that!) from a couple that just recently got off the ship and in a nutshell, they did not have good things to say.

They didn't like the HIA package in regards to drinks (15 drinks max, drinks priced over the max amount), complained the casino was too small or was not open at times due to crew shortage, poor entertainment and food shortage (this one really shocked me, does that happen on HAL?)   At the end it seems like they had more dislikes than likes which was sad 😞

 

This will be my 3rd cruise, 1st with Disney (Wonder to Alaska) and 2nd RCL Harmony of the Seas (Eastern Caribbean)

 

Thanks and happy cruising everyone!

 

 

[OlsSalt]

You are going on a very large ship, best not let someone who wants to drink and gamble set the tone for everything else this large ship can offer.  

 

Food shortages?  Maybe they were out of pineapple and substituted mango instead. Hard to know what that even means.  There are plenty of other options for dining all over the ship, though some menu items might be unavailable.

[bluesplayer]

Was on the Koningsdam 1st cruise out May 2023.  Boarding was chaos but I have heard it has become better.  They were out of some of the wines included in the Have It All.  The food was very good and did not notice any shortages.  I have sailed HA quite a bit and the decor of this ship was rather bland compared to older ships with much more fine art.  Try the Dutch Cafe. Tamarind and Rudis.  We had a wonderful cruise.  The crew as always..  fantastic.

[disneyochem]

I just got off the Koningsdam (August 12) and had a fabulous time as always (4th time in Alaska on her).  It was a full ship but I think it is designed to hold the crowds.  Always able to find prompt bar service and areas to view glaciers and wildlife.  Hubby tweaked his knee playing golf so we ended up using the elevators more than usual but never had more than a few minutes wait each time. 
 

I was on a VIP casino cruise so spent some time in the casino.  I only play slots but I was always able to find open machines though some machines (Buffalo etc) were difficult to find open.  The Koningsdam has a little room with slot machines forward to the casino that adds to the number available.  We were in Juneau and Skagway until the evening on port stops so the casino didn’t open until 9 or 10 pm but that happens on port days!

 

Didn’t experience any food shortages but we were Club Orange this trip.  We only eat twice a day on a cruise so only had breakfast and dinner—never visited the buffet so can’t really comment on what the shortages might have been.

 

Lots of great musical entertainment on board as well as a naturalist and Alaska-themed enrichment.  I don’t like the enrichment talks because I have seen them before.  Since this is your first cruise, it will be new to you!  HAL has a number of Alaskan presentations that they use on their ships and have used for the past two years!

 

I only had one beef with the HIA package.  I ordered a Cosmo at the Sea View Bar on the first day.  Bartender told me it was not covered by my package—cost $1 more.  So I paid the $1.18 for my Cosmo.  I was on the Westerdam in July and the drink was covered by the HIA package.  Guest Services told me the new price went into effect August 1.  What irked me was that my Lemon Drops were covered but not cosmos! 
 

We like the Koningsdam and have three more cruises booked on her.  The staff and crew are phenomenal!  I think you’ll have a great cruise!

Edited August 16, 2023 by disneyochem

[terrydtx]

19 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

I just got off the Koningsdam (August 12) and had a fabulous time as always (4th time in Alaska on her).  It was a full ship but I think it is designed to hold the crowds.  Always able to find prompt bar service and areas to view glaciers and wildlife.  Hubby tweaked his knee playing golf so we ended up using the elevators more than usual but never had more than a few minutes wait each time. 
 

I was on a VIP casino cruise so spent some time in the casino.  I only play slots but I was always able to find open machines though some machines (Buffalo etc) were difficult to find open.  The Koningsdam has a little room with slot machines forward to the casino that adds to the number available.  We were in Juneau and Skagway until the evening on port stops so the casino didn’t open until 9 or 10 pm but that happens on port days!

 

Didn’t experience any food shortages but we were Club Orange this trip.  We only eat twice a day on a cruise so only had breakfast and dinner—never visited the buffet so can’t really comment on what the shortages might have been.

 

Lots of great musical entertainment on board as well as a naturalist and Alaska-themed enrichment.  I don’t like the enrichment talks because I have seen them before.  Since this is your first cruise, it will be new to you!  HAL has a number of Alaskan presentations that they use on their ships and have used for the past two years!

 

I only had one beef with the HIA package.  I ordered a Cosmo at the Sea View Bar on the first day.  Bartender told me it was not covered by my package—cost $1 more.  So I paid the $1.18 for my Cosmo.  I was on the Westerdam in July and the drink was covered by the HIA package.  Guest Services told me the new price went into effect August 1.  What irked me was that my Lemon Drops were covered but not cosmos! 
 

We like the Koningsdam and have three more cruises booked on her.  The staff and crew are phenomenal!  I think you’ll have a great cruise!

Thank you for your positive comments we will be on the K'Dam in November. Paying $1.18 for a Cosmo is better than paying $12. Last year on the Oosterdam the month before HAL changed their policy a drink over by $1 was not covered in the HIA and you had to pay the full $12 price.

[Mary229]

24 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

I just got off the Koningsdam (August 12) and had a fabulous time as always (4th time in Alaska on her).  It was a full ship but I think it is designed to hold the crowds.  Always able to find prompt bar service and areas to view glaciers and wildlife.  Hubby tweaked his knee playing golf so we ended up using the elevators more than usual but never had more than a few minutes wait each time. 
 

I was on a VIP casino cruise so spent some time in the casino.  I only play slots but I was always able to find open machines though some machines (Buffalo etc) were difficult to find open.  The Koningsdam has a little room with slot machines forward to the casino that adds to the number available.  We were in Juneau and Skagway until the evening on port stops so the casino didn’t open until 9 or 10 pm but that happens on port days!

 

Didn’t experience any food shortages but we were Club Orange this trip.  We only eat twice a day on a cruise so only had breakfast and dinner—never visited the buffet so can’t really comment on what the shortages might have been.

 

Lots of great musical entertainment on board as well as a naturalist and Alaska-themed enrichment.  I don’t like the enrichment talks because I have seen them before.  Since this is your first cruise, it will be new to you!  HAL has a number of Alaskan presentations that they use on their ships and have used for the past two years!

 

I only had one beef with the HIA package.  I ordered a Cosmo at the Sea View Bar on the first day.  Bartender told me it was not covered by my package—cost $1 more.  So I paid the $1.18 for my Cosmo.  I was on the Westerdam in July and the drink was covered by the HIA package.  Guest Services told me the new price went into effect August 1.  What irked me was that my Lemon Drops were covered but not cosmos! 
 

We like the Koningsdam and have three more cruises booked on her.  The staff and crew are phenomenal!  I think you’ll have a great cruise!

I liked hearing this from you as you use a variety of cruise lines.  I sailed the K in 2019 and it was my least favorite HAL ship but your comments give me hope for my upcoming sailing on the K 

[disneyochem]

40 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Thank you for your positive comments we will be on the K'Dam in November. Paying $1.18 for a Cosmo is better than paying $12. Last year on the Oosterdam the month before HAL changed their policy a drink over by $1 was not covered in the HIA and you had to pay the full $12 price.

LOL!  That’s actually what hubby said to me at the time!

 

We’re also on her in November—taking the kids and their partners on the Thanksgiving cruise.  Hubby and I were on the November 2022 Thanksgiving cruise as well.  Very busy as with every holiday cruise.  Had more issues with the embarkation in San Diego than being on the cruise!

 

(We have also booked the November 2024 Thanksgiving cruise on the Koningsdam as well!)

[disneyochem]

42 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I liked hearing this from you as you use a variety of cruise lines.  I sailed the K in 2019 and it was my least favorite HAL ship but your comments give me hope for my upcoming sailing on the K 

The Koningsdam was our first HAL cruise so we’ll always have fond memories of her!  As you said, we cruise other lines as well (Elite on Princess, Platinum on NCL, only 3 star on HAL!) so we did notice differences between them.  But, HAL does some things very well which is why we have six future cruises booked on them!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[terrydtx]

8 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

LOL!  That’s actually what hubby said to me at the time!

 

We’re also on her in November—taking the kids and their partners on the Thanksgiving cruise.  Hubby and I were on the November 2022 Thanksgiving cruise as well.  Very busy as with every holiday cruise.  Had more issues with the embarkation in San Diego than being on the cruise!

 

(We have also booked the November 2024 Thanksgiving cruise on the Koningsdam as well!)

We are on the Nov 4th cruise but we booked with Club Orange to avoid the long check in lines in San Diego and to get the Club Orange dining room.

[disneyochem]

1 minute ago, terrydtx said:

We are on the Nov 4th cruise but we booked with Club Orange to avoid the long check in lines in San Diego and to get the Club Orange dining room.

We loved the CO dining room!  Great experience, food and staff!

 

Hubby and I had CO on our November cruise but it wasn’t available when we booked the kids’ cabins….will definitely miss the experience.

[VacationCharlene]

You are going to have an awesome time on your cruise.  You are going to make it so!  You will love and enjoy the Koningsdam.  Have a great trip and happy sailing 🙂

 

[kazu]

OP - I sailed the Koningsdam in December - January this year.

 

If you are sailing out of San Diego, be prepared for the cattle crawl but it was better than the last time I was there.

 

Obviously things are more hectic at vacation times but just the same I saw no food shortages on the ship.  Not sure what the big “to do” is about 15 drinks a day.  the price if you go over is only the difference.  Unless you are a major wine/alcohol snob, there is plenty of choice within the limits.

 

It was my first Pinnacle Class ship so I had to do some major adjustments for a couple of days but all in all I saw no major issue other than what appeared to be a staff shortage but the ship was filled to the max with many families so that makes it difficult.

I wouldn’t worry about one couple reported.  they may well be the type that are never happen no matter where they go 😉 

[MonikaJ42]

9 hours ago, disneyochem said:

I just got off the Koningsdam (August 12) and had a fabulous time as always (4th time in Alaska on her).  It was a full ship but I think it is designed to hold the crowds.  Always able to find prompt bar service and areas to view glaciers and wildlife.  Hubby tweaked his knee playing golf so we ended up using the elevators more than usual but never had more than a few minutes wait each time. 
 

I was on a VIP casino cruise so spent some time in the casino.  I only play slots but I was always able to find open machines though some machines (Buffalo etc) were difficult to find open.  The Koningsdam has a little room with slot machines forward to the casino that adds to the number available.  We were in Juneau and Skagway until the evening on port stops so the casino didn’t open until 9 or 10 pm but that happens on port days!

 

Didn’t experience any food shortages but we were Club Orange this trip.  We only eat twice a day on a cruise so only had breakfast and dinner—never visited the buffet so can’t really comment on what the shortages might have been.

 

Lots of great musical entertainment on board as well as a naturalist and Alaska-themed enrichment.  I don’t like the enrichment talks because I have seen them before.  Since this is your first cruise, it will be new to you!  HAL has a number of Alaskan presentations that they use on their ships and have used for the past two years!

 

I only had one beef with the HIA package.  I ordered a Cosmo at the Sea View Bar on the first day.  Bartender told me it was not covered by my package—cost $1 more.  So I paid the $1.18 for my Cosmo.  I was on the Westerdam in July and the drink was covered by the HIA package.  Guest Services told me the new price went into effect August 1.  What irked me was that my Lemon Drops were covered but not cosmos! 
 

We like the Koningsdam and have three more cruises booked on her.  The staff and crew are phenomenal!  I think you’ll have a great cruise!

Thank you so much for your detailed response!  I feel better, thank you!

[MonikaJ42]

Thank you everyone that responded, you are all truly wonderful, thank you for taking the time to make me feel better!!  Happy Cruising!!

[terrydtx]

6 hours ago, kazu said:

Obviously things are more hectic at vacation times but just the same I saw no food shortages on the ship.  Not sure what the big “to do” is about 15 drinks a day.  the price if you go over is only the difference.  Unless you are a major wine/alcohol snob, there is plenty of choice within the limits.

In my last 3 HAL cruises I think the closest I got to 15 was 12, when it was hot, and we drank a lot of can water and a couple espressos. If I drank 15 martinis in one day I might fall overboard.

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, MonikaJ42 said:

Thank you everyone that responded, you are all truly wonderful, thank you for taking the time to make me feel better!!  Happy Cruising!!

I think you will love HAL and whoever posted that youtube video may have had an axe to grind with HAL and should be taken with a grain of salt. We have never had a bad meal in any HAL MDR or buffets. We did a 14 night cruise last August on the Oosterdam and never heard or saw anything about food shortages. The only shortage I knew about was they ran out of Macallan 12 year old Scotch at $18 a shot, my favorite pre dinner drink. Last year I had to pay the full $18, this year I will only have to pay $7 with the HIA drink package.

Edited August 17, 2023 by terrydtx

[MonikaJ42]

12 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I think you will love HAL and whoever posted that youtube video may have had an axe to grind with HAL and should be taken with a grain of salt. We have never had a bad meal in any HAL MDR or buffets. We did a 14 night cruise last August on the Oosterdam and never heard or saw anything about food shortages. The only shortage I knew about was they ran out of Macallan 12 year old Scotch at $18 a shot, my favorite pre dinner drink. Last year I had to pay the full $18, this year I will only have to pay $7 with the HIA drink package.

Thanks so much! I am feeling much better and getting more and more excited. I'm taking my parents and this will be their first cruise overall so I think I'm just overthinking things.  We are pretty easy going people so I'm sure if there ARE any hiccups, we still will have a good time 🙂   Thanks again!

[cbr663]

We sailed to Alaska on the Koningsdam in May and had a wonderful cruise.  Not perfect, wonderful.

 

I have learned when reviewing others thoughts on cruises is to first understand that we all sail for very different reasons and we all have different expectations for our cruises.  Cruises are very much subjective experiences.  What may be an exceptional dining experience for you may be a poor dining experience for me.  And that's okay.

 

We had the HIA package on our cruise as it was included in the TA promo that we purchased.  We would never had bought it ourselves as it is primarily a beverage package and we rarely drink alcohol or consume lots of beverages other than water.  We have 2 other future cruises booked and both are without HIA.  If you enjoy beverages then simply understand that like every other cruise line HAL offers different beverage packages so you should spend some time to make sure you purchase the right package to meet your needs.

 

One thing I have learned with regard to dining is that you never have to accept what you feel is poor food.  If you are uncomfortable sending food back then simply get up and seek out another option as there always is another option.  In the MDR on our cruise we tried out the express lunch of fish and chips and it was, for us, a poor experience.  It was more reminiscent of a high school cafeteria experience than a fine dining experience (which the MDR is).  We simply left the MDR and made our way to the Dive In for a burger.  We have found it so much more enjoyable to let situations like these simply fall away and not give them another thought.

 

Very few of my travels over the years have been perfect.  What I have learned though is my willingness to roll with it makes all the difference in my enjoyment.  

 

[visagrunt]

Koningsdam is provisioned every Saturday in Vancouver and typically there will never be true shortages--though there may be times when access to individual items may be at issue.  If, for example, a delivery is rejected on quality grounds and a replacement can't be secured before departure time (K'dam can sometimes be subject to departure restrictions depending upon tides in order to clear the bridge) then the galley will have to "work around" whatever couldn't be provisioned.

We were on board in the first week of June.  All of the embarkation troubles in May seemed to have been resolved.  Service was generally excellent, though with a few waits for bar service at peak times.  The issue of signing slips for beverages is going to need some sorting out as it seems to do little more than add delay to already overworked beverage attendants.  The practice of "pay the difference" is great, but manual signatures should be consigned to the dustbin (where all those paper slips wind up).

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 8/16/2023 at 12:57 PM, Mary229 said:

I liked hearing this from you as you use a variety of cruise lines.  I sailed the K in 2019 and it was my least favorite HAL ship but your comments give me hope for my upcoming sailing on the K 

I've sailed the K twice, and it's my least favorite HAL ship, too. It always felt more crowded, and while the staff were good, they seemed to have a bit more work than they should have--a few more cabins, one more table in MDR. It didn't have the "happy ship" vibe that I've experienced on other HAL ships. And the lack of a wide promenade deck with chairs was disappointing. 

 

I find the youtube comment about running out of food surprising. As others have said, it might mean one or two specific things. But I always saw plenty to eat. Because of the size, the Lido has a greater variety of foods than the smaller ships, even Eurodam. Plus there are the extra venues around the pool. Really good pizza! And the K has Tamarind! 

 

As for poor entertainment, well that's been discussed here a lot. It depends on what you like and which ship you're on. 

 

[Mary229]

40 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I've sailed the K twice, and it's my least favorite HAL ship, too. It always felt more crowded, and while the staff were good, they seemed to have a bit more work than they should have--a few more cabins, one more table in MDR. It didn't have the "happy ship" vibe that I've experienced on other HAL ships. And the lack of a wide promenade deck with chairs was disappointing. 

 

I find the youtube comment about running out of food surprising. As others have said, it might mean one or two specific things. But I always saw plenty to eat. Because of the size, the Lido has a greater variety of foods than the smaller ships, even Eurodam. Plus there are the extra venues around the pool. Really good pizza! And the K has Tamarind! 

 

As for poor entertainment, well that's been discussed here a lot. It depends on what you like and which ship you're on. 

 

The congestion was what bothered us last time.  It was a short cruise for us, 12 days, and we didn’t get fixed dining.  That was a mistake. Yes, and I didn’t like the promenade.  The NS had vast improvements over the K and I thoroughly enjoyed that cruise. My favorite all time is the Zaandam. 

[mafig]

Does HAL have a list of cocktails / wines that are covered by the HIA package?

[Mary229]

Just now, mafig said:

Does HAL have a list of cocktails / wines that are covered by the HIA package?

Roger keeps images of recent menus on his website. Anything $11 or less and you only pay the difference for those that are more 

 

https://rogerjett-photography.com

[Fairgarth]

5 hours ago, visagrunt said:

Koningsdam is provisioned every Saturday in Vancouver and typically there will never be true shortages--though there may be times when access to individual items may be at issue.  If, for example, a delivery is rejected on quality grounds and a replacement can't be secured before departure time (K'dam can sometimes be subject to departure restrictions depending upon tides in order to clear the bridge) then the galley will have to "work around" whatever couldn't be provisioned.

 

We sailed on her in early June.  The beer list in the bars was almost entirely 'out of stock'.  However, they did have lots of craft Alaskan from Juneau which were not listed.  Which was fine, much enjoyed.  However, again, there are lots of craft beers in the Vancouver area but none on board.  Why not?  Price?  Taxes?  Buy American?  

[mafig]

I am trying to figure out why a Cosmo is not covered by the package and other drinks with similar ingredients are.

A Cosmo is Vodka, Triple Sec, Cranberry Juice and Lime Juice.  All of which are in other drinks that are covered.  🤨

 

Just curious.