My husband and I had a balcony cabin on Mozart Deck (deck 6) toward the aft elevators. The bath is a good size and bright with a roomy shower, and more importantly, a raised bar to rest a foot upon when shaving legs (a much-appreciated convenience, as any lady will attest to). The cabin is well designed with plenty of closet and drawer space. There is a handy rack for flyers, newsletters, magazines and other papers that accumulate during a week's cruise. The TV monitor is big and affixed to the wall directly opposite the bed. Our steward kept our room clean and tidy all week, leaving us with plenty of ice, chocolates by the pillow, and even the occasional towel animal. The standard balcony was a good size and held a small table and 2 chairs. Interestingly, we stepped onto the balcony on arrival and discovered about 15 empty bottles of booze in the corner. We joked that the previous occupants must have wanted to catch up on their beverage package before their cruise was over! In any event, the steward (who was clearly embarrassed) promptly removed all the bottles and apologized profusely.

We were conveniently docked at the main port close to town, so I got off the ship in the morning to explore the area on foot, including the waterfront, the fish market, and the famous Bryggen houses. If shopping is on your itinerary, save it for Bergen, where the shops are plentiful. After lunch, we did the ship's tour of composer Edvard Grieg's home and Museum, followed by a concert of his works. Our first stop was the stave church, which was an exact replica of those built by the vikings. Next, was the ride to Grieg's house, which sits on a gorgeously landscaped piece of property overlooking the fjord. The concert hall is beautiful, and the stage with it's beautiful grand piano features a large window with a view of the fjord. We enjoyed the concert, and the hall was not crowded as the guests on our bus were the only ones in attendance. However, the museum is rather small, as are the rooms on display inside the house, and are a challenge to enjoy when visiting with a bus load of people touring at the same time. There are two downhill paths to both his gravesite and the composer hut, which I didn't do, as I chose to sit on a bench, rest my sore knees, and admire the scenery. Note: The walk from the bus to Grieg's house is fairly easy on a level paved road. However, the gravel wooded, hilly path to the stave church was a challenge to a few folks on the tour.

"Waterfalls & Waffle". We loved this excursion. The scenery was spectacular, the waffle delicious, and the guide informative. We did wish more time was spent at Voringfossen Waterfall because that was definitely the highlight of the tour, and the walk to the viewing area took some time.

Eidfjord

We chose HAL's Mt. Dalsnibba and the Eagle Road excursion - best tour of the cruise! After a needlessly complicated route from the meeting point in the show lounge to the tender boats, the tour went very smoothly, and we loved it. The scenery just got better with each viewpoint, and the icing on the cake awaited us at the very top of Mt. Dalsnibba. Locals say it rains a lot in Norway, but we lucked out with fabulous weather and, therefore, an exceptionally good view of the incredible landscape. Note: Book the first tour in advance, because the long and winding road up the mountain gets busier as the day gets older. It was amazing to see how the big busses negotiate those turns. Our guide was informative, we learned a lot about the fiord and Norway, and thanks to our driver's expert skills, we made it up and back safely.

Words can't convey the emotion we felt on this tour. I was nervous about the steep and narrow stairs necessary to reach the hidden annex, but that was all but forgotten once we were inside, reflecting on what Anne and her family lived through during those years. All visitors are given an audio headset to hear stories and quotes from Anne Frank's diary and guidance through the many photos to the actual diary itself. It's a heartbreaking look at this period of history, the 8 people who hid in the annex and those that helped them. I can't stress enough the importance of securing tickets on line well in advance - as soon as they become available - to avoid the long afternoon queues.

One of the best ways to see Amsterdam is from its system of connecting waterways. There are many boats of various sizes cruising the canals, but we pre-arranged our own smaller vessel through a great company called "KINBoat" in order to give our group a 2-hour private canal tour of Amsterdam, complete with open bar and appetizers. Our skipper, Bob, expertly guided our 12-person boat through the various city neighborhoods, explaining the scenery along the way, and a great time was had by all! 

Tickets are available on line in advance to avoid the long queues. We didn't plan ahead, but arrived late morning to a very quick moving line, about 15 minutes. Once inside, the museum is well laid out and easy to navigate. Backpacks are not allowed inside, so either leave it behind or be prepared to spend some time in line checking it in or out at the desk.

We didn't book a tour and instead bought a ticket to the hop on-hop off bus, which we used to get us to the scenic overlook. Note: To avoid a massive line for the ho-ho, either get off the ship early or wait and buy tickets after lunch when the rush is over. The ho-ho has a number of stops around town, but we took it half way, getting off at the art and culture center and then walking back to the ship.

KONINGSDAM

Embarkation: We booked a mini-bus for our group ride from the hotel to the cruise port, which turned out to be a good thing, given the distance to the Waterlands industrial terminal, where we were to board Koningsdam, instead of the nearby Port of Amsterdam passenger terminal.Being my first time on a HAL ship, I'm not sure if it's just Koningsdam or if it's the whole line, but on several occasions throughout the cruise, both the main and aft pools and hot tubs were overrun with kids running, pushing, jumping, and dangerously diving into a 4-foot deep pool.

Koningsdam Review

Beautiful Ship and Stunning Norway Fjords!

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Verandah Stateroom

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Eidfjord

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