Koningsdam Review - March 18 - 28, 2018

I just wanted to give a shortreview of our cruise aboard the Koningsdam from March 18 to March 28. Overall the cruise was great. I'll tell the good, the bad and the ugly. Although there was not much ugly.

The ship itself is really showing it's wear. What could be cleaned had been cleaned andwas constantly being cleaned by the crew. Some of the seat cushions were badly stained and in several places thecarpets were becoming a little threadbare. The shops were run by the same vendors who have been present ever sinceI can remember. It was kind of a soresubject to bring up to the shop employees about the changes in the shops. Even though the Crow's Nest had been slightlychanged it seemed to be pretty much the same as the other ships with upgraded furniture. Explorations Cafe is still adjacent to theCrow's Nest but separate. The libraryhad changed but was still there and people were using it. I guess the biggest change was no happy houralthough they still have trivia. Therefore, the Crow's Nest didn't attract the crowds it used to. The Lido is just as crowded as always and pretty much laid outthe same way. The service at the Lidoseemed to be lacking somewhat and it was quicker and easier to get your owndrinks than to wait for staff to bring refills. The biggest changes we saw were in Decks 2 & 3. The World Stage Theatre is a definite upgradeand they have amazing technology and they use it. The singers and dancers were topnotch on thiscruise and their shows were well worth attending. Because of the new layout, seating seemed toalways be available. The changes wenoticed being most attended were Billboard Onboard, Lincoln Center Stage andthe Queen's Lounge where B.B. King's Blues Club performed. It could have been the reason was all threevenues had topnotch performers and music that fit every genre and could beenjoyed by all.

We were in a Veranda Stateroom. They seemed to be smaller than I remember butwere suitable for 2 adults with no problem. Had the sofa been pulled out to accommodate more people it would havebeen very crowded. The Veranda issmaller but fine with 2 comfortable chairs. As has been mentioned previously the toilets are positioned in a veryodd, uncomfortable way.

As always, the crew is the best. From stateroom to dining room to public areasthe crew is what makes Holland America. Always has and always will, I hope. The captain on this voyage was Captain Darin Bowland and the cruisedirector was Christina Purcell. Christina disembarked with us on March 28 but in talking with her, shewill be returning (I think she said 8 to 10 weeks).

As for the bad (or not so good). The food in the dining room and the Lidowasn't as good as in the past. On thefirst night in the MDR they actually served some guests fish that was so toughyou couldn't cut it with a knife. Ioverheard one guest mention getting sick from it. I don't know how to describe it but it justwasn't up to what we had experienced in the past. As 3 star mariners we have taken enoughcruises to compare and sometimes there must have been some real confusion inthe kitchen/galley. As an example, onemorning the hash browns consisted of paprika covered potato wedges. We ate atthe Tamarind, Canaletto and Pinnacle and the food and service there is stillimpeccable. As for the dress code in thedining room....even on gala nights.....there was none. It seemed that almost anything and everythingwas acceptable from t-shirts and flip flops to tux. And baseball caps to bathing suits with"covers" were seen at other times. I just wish that Holland America would be consistent on the dresscode. If that is going to be acceptabledinner wear than say so and make it fleet wide. Several cruises ago I was turned away just because I didn't have ajacket. Seeing t-shirts and flip flopson gala night was a little too under dressed IMO. Getting back to the ship showing wear for asecond. I wanted to mention this under "bad". For the first time in all of our cruisingexperience, we actually had bed sheets with holes in them. That is how worn things have become. The other thing that made no sense was thetotal lack of deck plans. The elevatorareas had a plan for the deck you were on, and none were handed out atembarkation. I've seen it mentionedabout the decks being named. It became ajoke on the elevator the way the electronic voice would pronounce Beethoven andMozart. Mozart became"Moosert" and Beethoven became "Btoven" with emphasis onthe "B". Ironically the dailyschedule gave deck numbers and not deck names.

Now for the ugly. Just 3 things here. A littlebackground with the first one. They nowgive you a daily planner called "When & Where". Well, on our day at Grand Turk we had anexcursion at 1 o'clock. We noticed theDive-In was opening at 11 (instead of the normal 11:30) by the schedule anddecided that would be enough time to grab a hotdog and still make theexcursion. I showed up at 11 and theywere not open. A waiter approached meand said they opened at 11:30 with the rest of the Lido. I showed him my schedule and said, "Accordingto the schedule it was supposed to open at 11". He checked and then he went running for staff. I was informed it would openimmediately. By now it was 11:15. Still not a problem. The problem is when one of the wait staffsupervisors in the blue uniforms showed up and literally said the Dive-In WAS open at 11 as theschedule showed. I had been there thewhole time and he never once made an appearance. I was not going to make a scene so I justwalked away. Never have I experiencedthis kind of behavior. It was as if hewas calling me a liar or something. Iguess one of my biggest complaints was the way the casino was located closeenough to Billboard Onboard and Lincoln Center Stage. Even though they are a deck apart they have acircular staircase in between the 2 decks. The cigarette smoke migration was awful. If they are going to allow smoking in the casino than they need toprovide ventilation to exhaust it off the ship. Period! And now for the absolutely most disgracefulthing about the whole cruise. Theinternet service. Even one of thesingers said it takes 25 minutes and a lot of money to download a song he usesin his show. For a ship that is supposedto be technologically advanced as the Koningsdam supposedly is....it wasdisgraceful. I bought a 250 minute planand on average it would take 5 minutes to connect. All the while my minutes were tickingaway. Once when it literally told me itcouldn't connect I just shut everything off and 30 minutes later tried againand saw where I was being charged for the 30 minutes even though the serverssaid it couldn't connect. It was so slowthat about all I had time for was a quick yes or no to an email. That would only use up 10 - 15 minutes. I overheard one guest complaining the nightbefore disembarkation that it had taken 25 minutes just to download theirboarding pass for their flight home. It is ridiculous to think that HollandAmerica can't find a better vendor or equipment necessary to provide a betterinternet experience. And, if that wasn'tbad enough, they have implemented a new internet based service calledNavigator. My advice is to make sure youhave some type of electronic device (tablet, phone or pc) as there is muchinformation from your account to daily menus and even booking various venuesand shore excursions available through Navigator. And yes, it runs as slow as the rest of theinternet however it is free of charge.

Thank you for your review. One of the best things about Cruise Critic is the opportunity to make constructive criticism that might, just might, correct some of these "little" problems that erode away at the company's reputation. They need to be called out for tough fish or sheets with holes in them. I hope your overall experience was good, however.

Thank you for the review!

Thanks for sharing. Some of the problems with such a new ship is hard to believe, I don't think the internet problem is ever going away.

Allan

Thank you for the review!

Yes, the Koningsdam is a 'royal' disaster, just a weird ship...

Appreciated the reveiw. I have to totally agree with the OP on all the 'good' he posted. It is the 'bad' and the 'ugly' where I didn't have the quite the same experiences on the cruise directly preceeding the one described. I found the internet to be amazingly quick. I was almost hesitant to purchase a plan but did anyway, and was pleasantly surprised. The HAL Navigator was a very useful tool and except for a few hours when we first sailed, it was quick and informative. The deck plans were always right there as was the ability to 'chat' with other guests. We did experience no TV signal a few times. As for the MDR cuisine--I agree, it was lacking. I think they are trying to be too 'gourmet' and falling short on tasty and inviting dishes. We only ate there 4 nights of an 11 day cruise enjoying all of the other venues immensely, even Canaletto which isn't always our favorite but we love their lamb dish. The Lido is ho hum. No exciting food and almost the same offerings each day. Would like to see them shake it up a little. And it was the only space on the ship that ever seemed crowded. The only evidence of wear and tear for me was the Lido carpeting which was very attractive but in need of replacement. As much as they scrubbed it, the stains were ever present. I would hope on their dry dock, a change will be made. We became big fans of Lincoln Center so too had to contend with smoke that filtered down from the Casino or noise from Billboard On Board which was a shame. I understand on the new ship, this will be rectified. On gala nights, we experienced about 85% of the passengers to be appropriately dressed. Never did see flip flops--I m sure they were there-- but did see a baseball cap or two. I think the singers and dancers were among the best we have ever experienced on a ship. They had just come on for our sailing so were brand new with the exception of one dancer. You would never have known it. DH who always avoids these shows, went willingly! We have now sailed on the K'Dam twice and have another cruise on her scheduled. I guess we like her a lot!

Thank you for your review.

Sorry to hear that the Koningsdam needs some loving help.

As a HAL newbie, I was interested in your review. We were on the K'dam Feb 25 - Mar 7 and would happily sail on her again. We enjoyed the service, entertainment, food eaten in most restaurants (only went to MDR once and don't do gala nights) and the ports, explored on our own. Obviously everyone has different expectations and I am not bothered by state of carpets, lack of signs, mispronunciation in elevator of deck names, although holes in bedsheets would get my attention. Hopefully, individually we will all find a cruise where the pros outweigh the cons.

Are there no longer any happy hours?

We were on K'dam Feb 18th to March 7th.

For the last few nights of the cruise the staff were shampooing/deep cleaning the carpet in the Lido, doing a section each night.

There was a deck plan included in the key card booklet and it was available on the Navigator. The Navigator does not require internet purchase and is completely free to use. A few times I did experience it 'hanging' and not updating to current time, and a couple of times it should different information to what was shown on 'When & Where'.

Our real 'bad' is the cigarette smoke which leaches down from the casino to the Lincoln Center stage/Billboard Onboard.

We have sailed twice on K'dam and would jump at the opportunity to sail her again.

I also appreciate your review!

Some of these things I would be concerned about, and some maybe not so much.

I def. would have had the bed-sheets addressed immediately, Starting with my steward, and if necessary, moving up from there.

When your sheets did get changed out, were those sheets any better?

For us, a bad entree would definitely not have gone without being address, at that very moment.

One our last cruise, a different line, older ship... we had asked for a second top sheet, to use like a duvet cover. Sometimes just slept under double sheets!!! Anyhow, after one long night, maybe a formal night, with me in full make-up... We came back into our cabin so exhausted from cruising and I just kind of collapsed and face-planted onto the bed, leaving make-up stains. It would have been fine... really.. but our excellent stewardess replaced it immediately upon her next opportunity! Those sheets, on an older ship, were nice... But I know that the laundering system on these ships can be very hard on the fabric of the sheets and towels... Really takes its toll.

Are there no longer any happy hours?

Yes, 4 to 5 and (not sure) 9:30- 10:30, at the Lincoln Bar and Billboard bar...

Sad to hear the bad end ugly. We are booked on a 24 night. I was so looking forward to it. But am saddened about reading these issues. Never sailed HAL. Always thought it was billed as a top notch line. Seems cost cutting and ship design are not I was expecting.

Ps: Are most of the Koningsdam problems due to poor management?

I guess maybe I need to clarify a few things. I would absolutely sail Koningsdam or any other HAL ship again. None of my comments are intended to say I was not totally satisfied with our cruise. As for the sheet....it was replaced the next morning when I brought it to the room steward's attention. The food issue wasn't mine but just what I saw and heard. And, yes, it was addressed immediately with an offer to replace it. I guess my point is these are issues I had never experienced on HAL before. As for the internet problem.... I can only address what I experienced and conversations that took place on the ship with other passengers and crew. I standby those comments. I thought maybe it was my equipment problem until other people expressed similar frustrations.

As for happy hours, there are several. They may vary some but I'm taking this from the "When & Where" for a sea day, March 22. At 11 at the Sea View and Lido Bars, deck 9; at 4 at the Billboard Onboard and Explorer's Bar, deck 2; and at 10 in the Crow's Nest, deck 12.

I forgot to mention that Notes (The whiskey bar) and Blend (The wine mix bar) seemed to be seldom used if at all.

As for the deck plan in the key card booklet they said they had run out. Problem was there was no place else to get an overview of the deck plans.

We choose first and foremost for itineraries. I’ve never had a bad cruise. Some much better than others. Food-always seem to find something I like. Internet-can only compare to Celebrity. And it was similar to the original posters problems. But that was over 3yrs ago.

Sad to hear the bad end ugly. We are booked on a 24 night. I was so looking forward to it. But am saddened about reading these issues. Never sailed HAL. Always thought it was billed as a top notch line. Seems cost cutting and ship design are not I was expecting.

Please don't worry about your cruise. I have been on the ship for 3 different cruises totalling almost 60 days.

Love the crew, the rooms and the bedding were great (having a tear or a hole in bedding and them getting it fixed when you complain is pretty minor in my books) the MDR servers were great and the food is by far the best food I have had on a HAL ship other than the eurodam (beats out the Rotterdam, zuiderdam and nieuw amsterdam) didn't see the wear of the carpets, but that type of thing doesn't really bother me along as it is clean and the staff kept everything pretty spotless.

I wouldn't worry about it...go and enjoy your cruise. You will have a great time

Thank you for reviewing your cruise.

I don't know what It is about those voices in the elevators!!!

On our first cruise on Princess, it was actually a memory, having a cabin on Caribe deck... hearing the female voice just absolutely 'purrrr' "Deck 10.... Cahhh-reeeeeebe"

On our last cruise it was a very foreign accent, or one of those absolutely awful electronic voices... Sounded just awful... and like mentioned above, could barely even understand.

I don't know what it is with this... but I agree... bring back the pleasant and understandable elevator voices!!!!!