Koningsdam Review
5.0 / 5.0
Back-to-back cruises is a great way to see more of scenic Norway
Review for the Baltic Sea Cruise on Koningsdam
terran_explr
10+ Cruises • Age 70s
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Additional details
Sail Date: Aug 2018
Cabin: Vista Suite with Verandah
My purpose in writing this review of my cruise on the Koningsdam is to give future guests some insight on the 14-Day Viking Sagas & Norse Legends cruise and to provide helpful tips that could save you time or money on your future cruise. My wife and I have been on other Holland America Line (HAL) cruises in the past. We stopped sailing for HAL for several years. However, the itinerary and this new ship piqued our interest, so we decided to do this cruise, which was really two back-to-back 7-days cruises leaving out of Amsterdam.
The Koningsdam is a Pinnacle class ship, and the largest ship in HAL’s fleet (as of Sep. 2018), and the largest ship we have sailed on for HAL. The ship can hold about 2650 passengers. Other than the breakfasts being crowded on the Lido deck, we didn’t see any problems with the larger ship. There were several advantages. There are now more nightly entertainment options. In addition to the traditional piano bar and World Stage, there are Lincoln Center Stage (classical musicians), B.B. King’s Blues Club, and Billboard Onboard (dueling pianos).
There are 2 levels of seating for the World Stage shows. There was 1 preview show and 2 shows by the Koningsdam’s Dancers for each 7-day segment. For my cruise, the same shows were repeated each of the two weeks. The dancers put their hearts and minds into their performances; they were enthusiastic, but there was no “wow” factor. I think some of the shows I saw on past HAL cruises were better, more impressive, more Broadway-like. I was not impressed with the quality of the other entertainers (singers, comedians, etc.) who performed on the World Stage. They were “B” or “C” level performers. Some of the singing was not enjoyable. My favorite show was “Planet Earth II in Concert”. The Lincoln Center Stage performers played live classical music to accompany scenes from the BBC Earth television show that were projected on several large screens at the World Stage.
Cabin Review
Vista Suite with Verandah
Cabin A
My wife and I had a Category A Vista Suite (stateroom #6122). There were some narrow spaces, but there was enough room to move around. The bed was comfortable. We had a queen bed, sofa/sitting area, and an outdoor balcony with 2 chairs and a table. The bathroom was smaller than I expected with only 1 sink. The shower was “cozy” (compact, but oblong in shape). There was plenty of storage in the room. There were 2 drawers under the bed (and room for suitcases under the bed). There were 2 hooks in the room and 2 on the bathroom door. [Tip: bring some additional magnetic hooks to put on the walls of the room to give you more hooks.] The two nightstands had 2 drawers and a shelf. The sitting area had a small table and cabinet with 2 drawers. The desk has 3 drawers. The corner hutch has 3 available shelves. The closet has 2 sides; 1 side has 2 shelves, a tie rack, and hanging space; the other side has 4 shelves, a mirror, and hanging space. Another area has a shelf, a shelf with the safe, a refrigerator behind a swinging door, and 3 drawers. There are 3 small shelves in the bathroom to the upper left of the vanity counter; There is no actual storage space under the vanity.
Be aware that the refrigerator vents heat into the shelf compartment above it which has the safe. I would advise not storing anything heat sensitive in that area. Some evenings, I would leave the swinging door to the refrigerator compartment open to add some heat to the room (the refrigerator remained closed, of course).
The flat screen TV in the room provided access to a variety of entertainment. There was a My Journey selection with ship information, ship location, and weather. I accessed the ship location information frequently to see where the ship was located relative to the ports we were visiting. The TV had an On Board selection with information on America’s Test Kitchen, Blend, and Digital Workshop. There was a Dining selection, a Movies selection, and TV & Music selection. This last selection provided access to quite a few entertaining and educational British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) wildlife documentaries.
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