Embarkation was OK, just took longer than we expected. (Disembarkation was quite smooth.) On the first day we explored the ship, which is beautiful although not really to my taste (I prefer simpler design). We found a lot of lovely spaces but did not uncover all the surprises on that first day. One really needs to continue to explore such a large ship, and talk with other passengers about spaces and activities they have enjoyed.

The cabin was compact and efficient, with ample storage and a decent bathroom with a really nice shower. As with most ships there are multiple places where you can eat (I counted 12 on Koningsdam). The food in the dining room was very good, sometimes outstanding, so we felt no reason to spend money to eat in the special restaurants. (To be clear, we would have been very disappointed if the dining room food was not as good as it was. It's just that there were many ways to increase the cost of this cruise!)

Entertainment was very good, two of the music venues were really excellent (Lincoln Center and BB King). Other activities were acceptable. The service on board was very good to excellent - friendly and efficient. We did not object to the automatic gratuity (just wish we had known about it earlier) but some people were really bent out of shape about $12.50 per person per day. Read more