Koningsdam Review
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We always choose the itinerary and HAL ships often deliver. We boarded in Civitavecchia, went to the Adriatic Sea, Sicily, Malta, Naples. We stayed on for the transatlantic back to Fort Lauderdale. We loved all ports with Kotor, Malta and Madeira being favorites.
The Koningsdam is fairly new with pleasant décor. It is also one of the largest ships we cruise on. Smaller is better in our opinion because of the port selection, but the Koningsdam made it to the small Adriatic ports that we really enjoyed. We booked several shore excursions and found them to be well organized with good to excellent guides.
We were lucky that our Neptune suite came with breakfast and dinner in the Club Orange where service was excellent and the space was quiet. The few times we had lunch in the main dining room, we were unhappy with the slow service and the general noise level. The Lido had a wide selection of food but it was crowded. Overall, the food was good with some excellent selections prepared for Club Orange guests. The Tamarind restaurant was excellent.
Cabin Review
Neptune Suite with Verandah
Our cabin was a guaranteed Neptune in the back of the ship. It is far from the Neptune lounge but close to the dining venues. We wouldn't choose it again because of its odd lay-out and the fact that we didn't appreciate the huge wind-swept balcony at the corner. As early risers, we were also far from the hot water supply. It took 4 minutes of running cold water in the shower until it turned hot. We didn't mind the distance from the theater and other venues. I don't really understand why other passengers complained about it although they walked in the gym.
Port Reviews
Dubrovnik
Whisper earphones were broken, guide was boring. The city itself is great but crowded. The view from the cable car was wonderful.
Split
Great guide Philip. Glad we took the walking tour. We had been in Split 2x before but never took a tour, never saw the basement before.
Catania
Mixed feelings. The port area is seedy and the overall impression is grey despite the sunshine. The town had suffered ash fall from Aetna on Dec 24, 2018.
We took the bus transfer to lively Taormina, wonderful location, cute town with outrageously high prices in the shops.
Malta (Valletta)
I would love to come back to Malta, there is so much to see. Tour and guide were very good.
Malaga
Once in a life time with 8000 fellow visitors per day. It is a wonderful palace. Guides were fine. Lunch was good.
Madeira (Funchal)
Would love to come back to explore some more. Wonderful views, bought wine.