Despite all the negative reviews for Koningsdam on this forum, we enjoyed our 28 days on board as much as any of our previous HAL cruises. We were on board for the trans-Atlantic followed by the Mediterranean ports. The ship is nice and bright with more upbeat decor. We brought our own reading material so lack of library did not bother us. We could still walk around the Promenade deck but the view was obstructed by lifeboats.

Cabin: We found our veranda cabin to be a bit smaller than on other HAL ships but there was lots of storage space – in the closets, under the bed, in drawers at end of bed, and in desk drawers. The bathroom was great and the angle of the toilet was not an issue for us. We really liked the ability to control the temperature in the room. The TV had a good selection of movies. The balcony was a good size. We were disappointed that there was no table in the room to use for room service. We filled in a comment form at the front desk and within a day or two, we received a small table.

Entertainment: It seemed like there was less to do on this ship than our other HAL cruises. Never before have we stayed in our room to watch a movie on TV. Many of the scheduled activities revolved around art auctions, wine-tasting, spa treatments and jewelry sales. We had 2 lecturers on board for the trans-Atlantic portion. We really enjoyed the talks by Thomas Anderson. We thought that the entertainment in the World Stage was of high quality and we tried to attend every show. The HAL singers and dancers were excellent and the high-tech shows were amazing. The acoustics were great but the volume was too high! On the trans-Atlantic portion of the trip, we had some excellent entertainers, especially Georgina Jackson and the Jack Pack. We enjoyed Will & Sarah in Billboard. Their voices weren’t always in top form but they had a nice casual style and camaraderie that encouraged audience participation. They encouraged dancing but it was difficult on the carpeting and between chairs! Could Billboard occasionally perform in the Queen’s Lounge? For classic music lovers, the Lincoln Centre musicians were a real treat. We enjoyed Ian Page’s travel trivia and language lessons. We were very disappointed in the lack of dancing venues. There is no dance floor in the Crowsnest and the tiny postage stamp sized floor in the Ocean Bar is a joke. There is a lovely dance floor in the Queen’s Lounge but we found the music provided by the B.B. King band was too loud, too repetitious, and not very danceable. They seemed to play and sing the same songs night after night. We had more fun dancing to the piped-in music between sets. We very much enjoyed the “tea dances” held many afternoons on the trans-Atlantic portion. The excellent stage band played nice ballroom dance music but unfortunately the dance only lasted 45 minutes. Read more