We travelled from Australia to Amsterdam to board the ms Koningsdam on July 17, 2016, to see the Norwegian Fjord scenery. We booked and paid for a "Large oceanview stateroom" in an "Outside" location, as stated on our booking from HAL. At embarkation we were switched to a different cabin and were told this was an "upgrade". This cabin had a large lifeboat, capacity 150 persons, across the window and balcony, completely obstructing our view. This switch was done without any discussion with us. We could only see a small arc of sky and the horizon. We spent the next 14 days looking at the side of this lifeboat instead of a view of the Fjords. We met 2 other couples from Australia who had had the same experience. We immediately asked to be transferred to the cabin we had booked but were told this cabin had been sold to another passenger and the ship was full. The occupant of our original cabin was asked to exchange with us. She refused because there was no view in our cabin! So much for the upgrade!

Had we known we would not be able to see the fjord scenery from our cabin, as planned, we would not have come on the voyage. The alternative inside public viewing areas were crowded and the outside areas were both cold and wet. HAL gave us a refund of $350 per person but that did not compensate.

The Flam railway journey was a much anticipated shore excursion and a major reason for choosing this cruise. We booked and paid for the Flam Railway excursion with HAL 6 months before the cruise. On boarding the train our guide separated my wife and myself from our group and directed us to board another carriage. This carriage was already full with earlier HAL passengers. The only seats were 2 small fold down seats in the end of the carriage with no view. When we asked the "guide" if he could direct us to other seats where we could see the scenery he replied that the train was full and left us. Once again HAL defeated the whole purpose of the rail journey. Read more