Koningsdam Review

5.0 / 5.0
866 reviews

Not my mother's HAL, and that's not a good thing

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Koningsdam
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gamevod
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Dec 2016
Cabin: Verandah Stateroom

Long time cruiser, but first time back on HAL in 12 years. My understanding is that HAL is trying to catch a younger crowd with this ship, and it has succeeded in some areas, but others not so much. Two big complaints -- first, the ship itself, and its public space layout and design, and second the level of service provided. Keep in mind below my context -- my HAL to HAL comparisons are to what I remember from 12 years ago, while my more generic comments are based on having sailed a variety of other lines in the interim, most recently favoring Celebrity.

So first a couple of notes on the ship. The lifeboat mounts on Konigsdam have been lowered so that the base of the mounting apparatus and the boats themselves are basically at the promenade deck level. So unlike many HAL ships (maybe all others), there is very little "railing" space on the Konigsdam promenade. There is certainly no room for deck chairs. And the promenade starboard and port forward is only about two people wide and aft is only one person wide. So unless everyone is walking at the same pace in the same direction, walking around the deck can require a fair amount of dodging about. I am sure there is a reason for this arrangement (it certainly allows more unobstructed view cabins on the decks immediately above promenade), but it takes away one of the features that differentiated HAL, and I did not like it.

I also think the main theatre is undersized -- there are three shows each night instead of the usual two. This may be because they have spaced the rows of seats sufficiently far apart that it is pretty easy to walk down a row even when people are seated. I think that is a fine idea in theory, but frankly it leads to more than the usual overcrowding at early shows. When the cruise director said "you may want to get here 30 minutes early if you want seats at the 7:15 show," I knew there was going to be an issue.

Cabin Review

Verandah Stateroom

Port Reviews

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata)

Catamaran/snorkeling booked through HAL with gansta rap. See primary review. Also just generally not a good snorkeling location.

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