We are long time Celebrity cruisers. However, after canceling a July cruise for medical reasons, we wanted to book a Caribbean cruise for October. We need an accessible cabin (and always get a verandah), and none were available on any Celebrity ships that close to sailing. So we decided to give HAL a try after finding one accessible Vista Suite available on the Koningsdam for an Oct 29 sailing.

The cruise was out of Fort Lauderdale for 10 days,visiting the Dominican Republic (Amber Cove and Cap Cana [which replaced San Juan]), plus Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba. My husband uses a scooter for mobility. When we arrived at the pier, it was quick entering the terminal, but then it was lots of confusion. We did make our way to the "accessible" line, and were then booked in. Not once did anyone ask us for our boarding passes, which seemed odd. After we were logged in and given our key cards, we were sent across the room. There we were asked for our boarding number. I said no one gave us one. They told me to "go ask the guy in the white shirt". Finally found him and was told to go ask the lady at the entrance. After finally finding her in the hoards of people in the terminal, she just said "Oh, just go in with group one". Which we did. Very chaotic. However, once on the ship, we were able to go directly to our stateroom. (It was about 12:30 pm).

The accessible Vista Suite was nice. The bed was accessible on one side only, but it happened to be "his side of the bed" so that worked out well. The room was large, but I would hesitate to call it a suite. Balcony was nice, with a ramp for a wheelchair. Bathroom was large and there was a roll-in shower with a nice big drain all around it so you didn't flood the bathroom floor. Good feature. Could have used more storage in the bathroom, but not a big deal. Read more