New Queen's Lounge on Hal Koningsdam

For those ballroom dancers, the Queen's Lounge on the Hal's Koningsdam resembles Cunard's Queen's Room. Looks like there will be another great dancing venue at sea soon: Hal Koningsdam Queen's Lounge

Just got off HAL Westerdam. The Queens Lounge there has a semicircular floor, about 40' x 25', say 30' x 20' useful LOD, and the floor was in decent condition. Unfortunately, two problems: it's a multi-pupose venue, the floor is often covered in furniture. And even when they did offer "dancing", the music sucked. So a potentially good location can be quickly ruined by bad management.

And it's not unique to HAL, the Manhattan Room on NCL Epic had the same problem.

I saw that in a blurb earlier today. Any idea what the dimensions are? Looks like it is designed to be used with a stage. Hopefully this will encourage the Cruise Director not to use it for Karaoke and bingo like RCL does so often with their great dance floors on the Radiance class ships. What a crime.

I don't actually see a problem with multi use of the Queen's Room. So long as the dancing floor is kept in great condition and is used only for dancing in the evening. If I remember right, there were several occasions on QV and QM2 where the Queens Room was used as another place for say the Captains meet and greet and bingo. Am I wrong?? :confused:

Just got off HAL Westerdam. The Queens Lounge there has a semicircular floor, about 40' x 25', say 30' x 20' useful LOD, and the floor was in decent condition. Unfortunately, two problems: it's a multi-pupose venue, the floor is often covered in furniture. And even when they did offer "dancing", the music sucked. So a potentially good location can be quickly ruined by bad management.

And it's not unique to HAL, the Manhattan Room on NCL Epic had the same problem.

Dancer Bob,

Sorry that you didn't enjoy the music. Was it from a party band? I assume that it was not an orchestra like we are used to on Cunard.

Thanks for the info. Jerry of Jerry and Lady Kathryn

I don't actually see a problem with multi use of the Queen's Room. So long as the dancing floor is kept in great condition and is used only for dancing in the evening. If I remember right, there were several occasions on QV and QM2 where the Queens Room was used as another place for say the Captains meet and greet and bingo. Am I wrong?? :confused:

I think you will find on the Cunard Line, only feet on the floor when meeting the Captain, and only the machine when Bingo is on, the seating is around the sides of the dance floor as always.;)

They held fencing lessons on the dance floor on our last cruise on the Queen Victoria, as well as that crazy Russian Bazaar after we left St. Petersburg. I can also remember folding chairs being set up on the dance floor for some lectures, but the floor still seemed to be in good shape.

On QV I've seen the Queens Room also used for Afternoon Tea as well as the World Club party.

For those ballroom dancers, the Queen's Lounge on the Hal's Koningsdam resembles Cunard's Queen's Room. Looks like there will be another great dancing venue at sea soon: Hal Koningsdam Queen's Lounge

I am glad to see this as possibly a new trend in ship design. The remarks said the larger dance venue was at the request of guests. It seems to me the prior trend was to convert entertainment spaces into specialty restaurants. Hopefully that wave is over.

Now if HAL can get some good music, that lasts longer than 45 minutes, in that venue, they might be on to something

I don't actually see a problem with multi use of the Queen's Room. So long as the dancing floor is kept in great condition and is used only for dancing in the evening. If I remember right, there were several occasions on QV and QM2 where the Queens Room was used as another place for say the Captains meet and greet and bingo. Am I wrong?? :confused:

Sorry, I don't have any issues with how Cunard uses their Queen's rooms. I was commenting on the great dance floors on Royal Caribbean's Radiance class ships which we also like. They have equivalent floors but often use them for Karaoke and bingo and other adventures during the prime time evening hours. It varies by cruise.

Sorry for any confusion.

The HALCats are 5-piece groups of contract musicians, similar to Cunard's. The group in the Ocean Bar tried far harder than any who-cares-what-you-want-we-play-endless-Quicksteps QRO I've seen recently on Cunard, but HAL's music is just as old as Cunard's and has the horn player playing wildly off-tempo, same as Cunard.

If they had moved the Ocean Bar group to QL and the theme nights and karaoke to Ocean Bar, I would have rated them competitive with Cunard. (Although Northern Lights isn't up to G32 standards, let alone Yacht Club/Hemispheres.)

Artists' representations and computer graphics are nice, but I don't trust cruise line marketers as far as I can throw them. I'll wait til I see the as-builts when the ship actually launches.

No surprise there's a Queen's Lounge where Queen's Room is on Queen Vic/Liz, since it looks like Koningsdam is the same basic ship as the Queens, which are just enlarged versions of Eurodam/Nieuw, which are enlarged versions of the Vista platform. Tamarind/Queen's Grill is simply moved forward for more staterooms under Crow's Nest. :rolleyes: