My family of five and my sister-in-law's family of four decided on this cruise to Norway based upon the calendar, the excursions available and the age of the ship. Regarding the last criteria, we like to cruise on newer ships. That led us to the Konigsdam for its 7-night trip from Amsterdam to Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger and Flam, then back to Amsterdam.

Our ages range from 18 to 58 and are all in at least "good" physical condition. For that reason, we were really looking forward to the excursions we booked through Holland America: biking in Oslo, white-water rafting in Kristiansand, the hike to Pulpit Rock (Preikstolen) in Stavanger and the Flam Railway and hiking tour in Flam.

None of us had ever taken a Holland America ("HA") cruise before and we were interested to see what one would be like. Between the 9 of us, we had two Neptune suites, a regular suite and a verandah cabin. Read more