Koningsdam Review
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We charter a HAL ship every year and I"ve been on about different 6 ships so I'm very familiar with the size of various cabins). We were on a chartered cruise from 1/22 - 29/17. My two friends, a couple and I booked a triple (I Cat). This is really NOT a triple. I was on the sofa, which just flips over to make the bed,s so about 2 ft deep. I could reach out and touch the bed of my friends. And you could literally not walk around in some areas without your backside touching the walls.The size of this room they said is 169 sq. ft. That's probably accurate.
The sofa bed was not comfortable and I am a bed roll-over person so I was unable to accomplish this while sleeping. After the first night, I did ask for some kind of a topper and they brought it that day. It definitely helped, but then they couldn't fold the bed back to be a sofa. But that really didn't matter as you really couldn't sit on the sofa without your knees touching the regular bed anyway.
I'm only giving the embarkation a terrible as there was a series of power outages that day and some folks had to stand in line for 3 hours. As we disembarked on the 29th, one of the ladies there announced I think to anyone listening that they never did figure out what happened the week before. Positives about this new ship - since we were on a music cruise, the design and art really was great - even as you walk along those long hall ways, there is something to look at. The addition of the Dutch Cafe (where I ended up buying a daily latte on the second half of the cruise was terrific. They have some nice treats to purchase as well. They added a couple more restaurants, from Farm to Table - but it has only one seating - 7pm. There were several folks in there as I strolled by.
Cabin Review
Large or Standard Interior Stateroom
I'm only giving the embarkation a terrible as there was a series of power outages that day and some folks had to stand in line for 3 hours. As we disembarked on the 29th, one of the ladies there announced I think to anyone listening that they never did figure out what happened the week before. Positives about this new ship - since we were on a music cruise, the design and art really was great - even as you walk along those long hall ways, there is something to look at. The addition of the Dutch Cafe (where I ended up buying a daily latte on the second half of the cruise was terrific. They have some nice treats to purchase as well. They added a couple more restaurants, from Farm to Table - but it has only one seating - 7pm. There were several folks in there as I strolled by.
I believe the hallways where cabins are located might be a little narrower than the other ships, but the promenade area of promenade deck is definitely narrower than the older ships. So, less promenading and more single file.
The hydropool and spa were wonderful again, however, the pool is now circular, and is a bit smaller. I found the metal seating in the pool to be easier to "fall into" (for those that know what I'm talking about) but I also couldn't stay attached, I kept floating up. There is also a huge rain shower area next to the pool with a huge shower head, but it was out of service the entire week. The tile beds well... they're awesome as always.
They had some new quick dining places - the pizza and sandwich place over looking the lido pool. I only had a bite of someone's personal pizza (not slices on the Koningsdam) but it was very good. For the Dive In (burgers and dogs), I'd like to recommend you add onion rings. The only side was fries, which were very good, but I think one more item wouldn't hurt. The gelato place charged so I never ate there. The dining room was similar to the other HAL ships, but I'd say a step below. I ate in the dining room 3 times and found it to be good and at time just acceptable - the reoccuring food of ceasar salad and french onion soup - blah.
Other things of note, at the lido buffet area there are several hand wash stops. You stick your hand down and get a full, hard rush of water to clean your hands before and after your meal. Nice touch. Of course there are plenty of purell dispensers along the way. The lines at Guest services were very quick. Oh, the servers (including bars) have a tablet that takes your order and runs your card right away. No more handwritten receipts-actually no more receipts if you don't want them!!
Port Reviews
St. John (U.S.V.I.)
There were 3 bands playing at St Johns from the ship that day. I made it to two of them. The weather was absolutely perfect, about 80 degrees with low humidity, almost a cool breeze. Awesome, awesome.
St. Maarten
The place is getting more built up every year. The two bars we visited in the past were both closed that day (Thursday). One closed for good and the other closed on Thursday!
Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
Ft. Lauderdale - same old, same old