New ship in 2016 - Koningsdam

[Christine Frances]

Lateral motion may by damp the rolling, but if the sea is trying to roll you and the stabilizer is trying something different you will get a completely different motion and sometime that bouncing of the whole structure is worse than the roll. It can still make you comfortable.

 

Vertical motion is impossible to stop... even a little bit. Stablizers do nothing to damp pitching.

 

Stephen

 

Just watched a show on Discovery Channel - Mighty Cruise Ships, and the Captain flooded the "bulbous bow" with tons of seawater which weighed down the bow in the heavy seas and let the ship ride much smoother.

[frankc98376]

Just watched a show on Discovery Channel - Mighty Cruise Ships, and the Captain flooded the "bulbous bow" with tons of seawater which weighed down the bow in the heavy seas and let the ship ride much smoother.

 

It all definitely helps but we all know that when the sea gets mad there's no smooth sailing on anything :)

 

I remember the old saying "Oh God, your sea is so large and my ship is so small".

[Topsham]

Just watched a show on Discovery Channel - Mighty Cruise Ships, and the Captain flooded the "bulbous bow" with tons of seawater which weighed down the bow in the heavy seas and let the ship ride much smoother.

 

 

 

The 'bulb' is actually a ballast water tank. It can be full of seawater or can be empty. If the tank is empty is makes the bow a bit more buoyant. If filled it will be better... but believe me..... you would not be able to the difference... it is a small difference.

 

Here is ship that I sailed in back in 1974. Queen Mary 2 would nicely fit inside the NORDIC CLANSMAN. Fully laden with oil.... 255,000 tonnes. The ship still rolls and pitches.... and with the freeboard of about 30 ft.. the waves wash right over.

[sammygoose]

I remember being in a couple of forward low deck cabins in our early cruising days. When in even moderately heavy seas the "booms" from the bow crashing down was VERY loud and didn't make for good sleep. Then in rough seas it was the huge boom then then a violent shudder. Ah, the good old days :)

 

Well said! Our 2012 NA cruise had just that. We were in 1010 and the night went up,down, boom, shudder......rinse and repeat.

I found the repetition soothing....as long as my head was above my feet.

 

luckily I'm not prone to sea sickness.

[sail7seas]

It's an area where the shape of the bow would have made it otherwise not useable for rooms. For single rooms though they are fine. Even all the way forward being low isn't too bad. High and forward is where it can get trickier if there's significant movement. Of course for someone that is used to midship Neptune Suites I'm amazed to see the jump to be so critical about location when for years there has been a desire for HAL to offer single rooms at all, anywhere, on any ship

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 using Forums

 

 

 

My notice of a single cabin is because of the passing of my DH. I likely will continue to book Neptune Suites, as always, but it is of interest to a newly single person to see what HAL is offering on their new ship.

 

As to 'they are fine'........ No, I really don't agree. :D Not fine by me but each of decides that for themselves. :cool:

 

 

Back when we started cruising...about 600 years ago it seems...we sailed on Sitmar's Fair Princess and were in a cabin near the bow. Minor amounts of movement was not the issue; it was the sound of the anchor dropping. The noise from the chain made it seem like it was in our bathroom.

 

These days the huge sizes of the ships and the highly sophisticated stabilization systems make undesirable lateral/vertical motion a thing of the past.

 

We once sailed on the previous Ocean Princess in an aft suite. The sound of the aft anchor chain and the thrusters made awful noises. I would never book that location again.

 

[KirkNC]

This maybe old news but it was news to me. USA Today had an article on the new ship and said it would have some larger family style rooms as well as smaller single rooms.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for the news.

[sail7seas]

Yes, that has been mentioned here but thanks for pointing it out to us.

It's good they have single cabins but they put them in about the worst possible location where they had space they really couldn't use for much else very far forward. Won't make for a very comfortable ride.

Edited November 28, 2014 by sail7seas

[maxout]

Yes, that has been mentioned here but thanks for pointing it out to us.

It's good they have single cabins but they put them in about the worst possible location where they had space they really couldn't use for much else very far forward. Won't make for a very comfortable ride.

 

Yes, nice and "up close and personal" with the Chain Locker :eek:

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Lateral motion may by damp the rolling, but if the sea is trying to roll you and the stabilizer is trying something different you will get a completely different motion and sometime that bouncing of the whole structure is worse than the roll. It can still make you comfortable....

 

I remember being on the Infinity once, and was told by an officer they disliked having to deploy the stabilizers in rough seas. He said true mariners prefer the natural roll of the seas to the unnatural feeling of the stabilizers, but they do it to appease passengers.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...Just because single travellers have been asking for dedicated cabins doesn't mean they are so eager for them that they are willing to be treated as though the cruise line considers them to be steerage passengers.

 

I agree. My first cruise, many years ago, was in a dedicated single cabin on the S.S. Independence, built in 1951. It was midship on one of the main decks, originally in the first-class section before she was converted to a one-class ship. So there was a time when solo passengers were not marginalized.

[sail7seas]

Yes, nice and "up close and personal" with the Chain Locker :eek:

 

 

Yes....... as well as a very rocky ride in any kind of seas more than glass like.

 

 

I remember being on the Infinity once, and was told by an officer they disliked having to deploy the stabilizers in rough seas. He said true mariners prefer the natural roll of the seas to the unnatural feeling of the stabilizers, but they do it to appease passengers.

 

 

 

As much as some of us may cruise, few of us are professional seamen and women. ONE of the reasons they don't like to deploy stabilizers is increased fuel consumption.

 

[freestyling]

[quote name='sail7seas;44855619

As much as some of us may cruise' date=' few of us are professional seamen and women. ONE of the reasons they don't like to deploy stabilizers is increased fuel consumption.

 

[/b']

 

DW and I were told this as well on our cruise last month on the Eurodam. Water abot rough and had to cancel Key West. An officer later that night in the Pinnacle mentioned it.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...ONE of the reasons they don't like to deploy stabilizers is increased fuel consumption.

 

I'm sure that is true as well, as anything that causes drag on the ship will use more fuel! I can see what the officer meant, though, since once they deployed the stabilizers on that cruise the ship went from a slow roll to a "busy" shake on rough seas midway across the Pacific.

[sail7seas]

I'm sure that is true as well, as anything that causes drag on the ship will use more fuel! I can see what the officer meant, though, since once they deployed the stabilizers on that cruise the ship went from a slow roll to a "busy" shake on rough seas midway across the Pacific.

 

At least, everyone knew they were really on a ship sailing the Pacific. :) I'm sure it was a terrific cruise.

 

[HALrunner]

I am very curious to see how some of the new cabin categories fares will shake out. It looks like they are not available on the HAL site yet. Did I miss the chatter that they can only be booked through a TA/PCC for the launch today or something? It is funny that they have their countdown counter on the website and when it finally hit zero hours there is......nothing!

[visagrunt]

I just booked it online through the HAL website. No problems.

[InTheWASide]

I am very curious to see how some of the new cabin categories fares will shake out. It looks like they are not available on the HAL site yet. Did I miss the chatter that they can only be booked through a TA/PCC for the launch today or something? It is funny that they have their countdown counter on the website and when it finally hit zero hours there is......nothing!

 

We set up a future cruise request and got notice a couple days ago that the desired room we requested was available and it is now confirmed.

 

Looks like it is now available online which would mean it's also available over the phone

[Jade13]

Have they said when the cruises later in the year will be available, such as the fall? Will the ship be coming to the US (or has it been announced)?

[InTheWASide]

Have they said when the cruises later in the year will be available, such as the fall? Will the ship be coming to the US (or has it been announced)?

 

It has not been announced yet. So far, just the initial few Mediterranean cruises have been

[1ANGELCAT]

Just came from my TA. I'm booked for the 7 day in an outside guarantee. Good rate, actually cheaper than an inside. Looking forward to it.

 

 

 

 

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[Host Walt]

Here's a link to the deck plans for Koningsdam:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/main/DeckPlans.action?ship=ko&deck=m&deep=0

Edited December 1, 2014 by Host Walt

[Host Walt]

HAL has announced Koningsdam itineraries for Feb thru April 2016. Here's a link to the April segments (2 12 day cruises)

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/FindCruises.action?cfVer=2&destCode=E&regionCode=EM&dateCode=4_2016

 

As far as I can tell, there are no itineraries for any HAL ships yet posted for dates after April 2016.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Host Walt

[Austin Family]

I just tried to book a room for our family on the new MS KONINGSDAM and on this NEW, LARGER Holland America ship there were NO wheelchair accessible cabins for our family of 3.

 

My husband and I have a darling daughter in a wheelchair. We have traveled all over the world together on Holland America ships, most recently we all traveled on the Eurodam to the Baltic.

 

I am very upset by the fact that Holland America has chosen to design a new larger ship that eliminates any regular cabin that would accommodate a family of 3 and be wheelchair accessible. In my mind this action is extremely discriminatory against the disabled and I am going to tell all our friends, family, and community about this outrage.

[RuthC]

I am very upset by the fact that Holland America has chosen to design a new larger ship that eliminates any regular cabin that would accommodate a family of 3 and be wheelchair accessible. In my mind this action is extremely discriminatory against the disabled and I am going to tell all our friends, family, and community about this outrage.

It might be more productive to tell HAL. That way perhaps something could be done to rectify the situation.

Perhaps a few handicap cabins in several types could be converted to triples/quads without too much difficulty.

 

Seek a solution to the problem, or vent. Your choice.