Koningsdam Review

5.0 / 5.0
866 reviews

Classic Holland America style and a very friendly crew

Review for Transatlantic Cruise on Koningsdam
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Richard989
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

Rating by category

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Value for Money
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Dining
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Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2018
Cabin: Standard Interior Stateroom
New World Lounge theater with 16 milion pixel digital video screen
Netherlands flag
In port at Corfu, Greece
Indoor/ outdoor Lido Pool
Outdoor pool aft
Dining room table

We’ve like HAL for its more traditional nautical style and took advantage of good pricing for this transatlantic repositioning cruise. It was our first time on the new Koningsdam, and we were not sure if we would like the larger size, with 2500 passengers. Although we would still prefer the mid sized Vista class ships, the Koningsdam is beautiful and you are seldom aware of the larger crowd.

We were onboard for 34 days, including the two following Med cruises, and really enjoyed the whole experience. Everyone from the Captain to the room stewards and dining room staff were excellent and communicated well, and food service in the Dinng Room and Lido was delicious. A special plus is the new theater with thrust stage and wrap-around digital projection wall which allows for dramatic effects.

We had one substitute port in the Azores, due to weather, but had sunny days the rest of the way. The only disappointments were the expensive, not very interesting range of shore excursions offered by HAL; we made our own better, cheaper arrangements in several ports and just walked in the others.

Cabin Review

Standard Interior Stateroom

Cabin L

Convenient location for dining room and Lido access, not a problem being inside but the small cabin does not have a chair or small sofa, which is inconvenient. You can sit on the bed or lie on the bed, that’s it. Otherwise fine.

Port Reviews

Ponta Delgada

Interesting town, walkable from the ship.

Malaga

Very attractive town with lots to see, walkable from the ship. See the Arab castle, Alcazar, but fyi the entrance is from the bottom of the hill, on the left as seen from ship).

Cartagena (Spain)

Very interesting, easy walk from the ship. Take the elevator to the hilltop castle, see the Roman forum archaeology which is under cover, good for a rainy day. Skip the Casa Fortuna, which is a basement site.

Rome (Civitavecchia)

We prearranged a taxi from Stefano Rome Cabs online, they picked us up at the baggage shed right next to the ship, very convenient. About 45 min and $150 to Rome, with no traffic on a holiday.

Gibraltar

Long walk from ship but not bad, we chose not to go up on the Rock, the town feels like a Caribbean port. Frankly the Rock is more impressive in images than in reality, I thought.

Cadiz

Walkable from the ship, but while it is true you can walk around the city wall it is a long way with little of interest. Go to the cathedral, look at the seawall there, then just walk in the more interesting central part of town, which has all the cafes and shops.

Monaco (Monte Carlo)

The cruise port is 5 miles outside of town, but the required shuttle ($14 ea) took us to Old Harbor and we walked around downtown, for a few hours, then went back for lunch onboard.

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