kansaskid

I just wrote a long review on CC so I won't regurgitate it all here. But I thought our perspective is unique considering we are around 40 and travel with two daughters (9 & 3). My sister/husband/newphew (16), aunt/partner (both 70+), and grandma (90+). Four generations and different views as to what this trip should be.

I read a lot about how experienced folks didn't like the Koningsdam. Reasons were varied. What I can say is that it's different, but not by huge amounts, and depending on your expectations you will could love/hate or just be indifferent about it all.

The pros as we see it - the food is better than ever. Adding things like a salad bar to the Lido is a nice touch. Tamarind was the first time we really felt like paying $$ for a meal was worth it (we've cruised 8 times previously). The quality in general was great. The ship is gorgeous. It has some nice new features (outdoor movie screen, gelato bar, and music venues to name a few). They did a great job adding more storage in the rooms, even if the rooms seem a bit smaller in floor space. And the service, particularly the friendliness aspect, is still just top notch. They make my girls feel like a million dollars every day!

The cons - change. Mind you, I like change and don't have a lot of expectations that have to be met to have a great vacation. But from grandma's perspective, the lack of seating on the Promenade Deck was a major issue. Service is slower, I think more as a matter of servers, room stewards, etc. having to cover more ground. There's a cost for things like Gelato in the afternoon (but it's delicious and worth it in our mind).

Overall it's not an entirely different experience from what HA has always offered. They are a business that has to make money; you can see that they are trying to do that while not impacting the user experience much. They are still geared toward an older set (65+ in my mind), but trying to serve younger folks or more active older adults. The music spaces were packed each night and the variety of shows in the World Stage was refreshing.

My advice to anyone trying the Koningsdam out is to give it a chance. You might find some things you love and you will likely find some things you don't.

This will be our second time in port there. This is probably the least impressive Caribbean island we've visited (out of 15 or so). Last time we rented a golf cart and explored on our own. We made it to the lighthouse, a beach and who knows where else. All in all I don't know what we were expecting, but we had a ton more fun at more obscure places than here. And seeing as lots of people seem to love Turks & Caicos, maybe we're doing something wrong?

Someone please enlighten me! (I say that with a smile). We're looking for something fun for 2 adults & 2 kids (10 & 3). We love local, we love adventure, we love water and we love food. We do want to do something though, not just lay on the beach (water sports would be ok though) The kids are troopers, so nothing is out of the question.

Love to hear any ideas you might have. Thanks!

We used all the kids facilities on Oasis the week after Thanksgiving this past year (6 mo & 6 1/2 yr. olds) and loved it. The facilities are great. Staff were really good and interactive. At times it didn't seem the most organized (or even outwardly friendly to parents except for the nursery which always was), but watching the staff they were always interacting with the kids. Special treat if you have little ones is the open play room that just has toys and moms/dads and kids can go in and play.

Only caveat to my experience is I'm comparing against several Holland America cruises which always seem to be lacking in the kids department, so hopefully i'm not gushing about something that is really mediocre compared to many others.