LAFFNVEGAS LIVE from the Premier Sailings of the MS Koningsdam

[Sir PMP]

'Looks like this is going to be a "one & done" cruise for me."

 

No lounge chairs, no room to walk the promenade, food quality (oversalted lobsters?), poor service, broken pipes, water damage, this ship is clearly a poorly built vessel, it is truly a 'Royal' Disaster..they should quickly move it into the Princess group, it does not belong in HAL..

[canadianbear]

Lisa,

 

Thank you so much for doing this thread. Your experience, photos, opinions, all so valuable and appreciated.

 

Safe trip home. It will be long and exhausting travel but always so nice to get home again.

[dot73]

Then we went into an Italian Grocery store QUOTE]

Lisa,

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one to do this. Whenever I'm in a foreign port, I love to find a grocery store to browse around. It's interesting to see what products they have and compare the prices. I've been known to come out with a bag of goodies to try.

[dot73]

Lisa, thank you so much for taking the time to post pictures and your honest comments (the good, the bad, and the ugly) about the ship. Hopefully, they will have some of the kinks ironed out before she heads to the Caribbean. People need to let HAL know about the things they don't like about this ship, and perhaps some changes can be made before the new one is built. Have a safe trip home and start planning your next cruise.

[teamflames]

It's funny that Lisa has made numerous positive comments about the ship and stated it clearly has a HAL feel, yet the same people who have been anti Koningsdam continue to latch onto any slightly negative comment to support their one eyed biased view against a ship they have never seen.

It is laughable given in recent times there have been several negative comments against others in the fleet eg Oosterdam, prisendam maasadam (excuse spellings) but all those negatives are shouted down by the Hal loyalists.

Hypocritical and a joke.

Shame you have all turned a neutral report by Lisa for your own closed minded views

 

 

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[Adoptionmsw]

Teamflames, I get the sense you're projecting here. Does your name tell us something about you? This has been a very respectful discussion. I for one really appreciated Lisa's postings and the various responses. Everyone has their own idea about what constitutes a good vacation.

 

 

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[teamflames]

Teamflames, I get the sense you're projecting here. Does your name tell us something about you? This has been a very respectful discussion. I for one really appreciated Lisa's postings and the various responses. Everyone has their own idea about what constitutes a good vacation.

 

 

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Not at all my name is a combination of DW and I. There have been numerous quotes on here especially today about only cruising on the ship once, turning it into a princess ship, there being no shady spots to sit. These posts have tried to use the Op's posts as evidence of this and I think that is a shame as I have read all the posts and to me the op has suggested there are some good things about the ship eg entertainment, loads of quiet space, great balcony and there are disappointing aspects such as food, forgotten inclusions for Neptune suite etc

It has been a balanced report, the Op has been asked about the promenade and has reported back neutral at worst and perhaps slightly favourable yet posters continue to suggest it is a negative.

I have no issue with people who don't like the ship or don't plan on sailing her, just don't understand the twisting of someone else's report. I will be sailing her and am keeping an open mind.

[jtl513]

... yet the same people who have been anti Koningsdam continue to latch onto any slightly negative comment to support their one eyed biased view against a ship they have never seen.

OTOH perhaps it's better to board with low expectations and be surprised! That was the case for me on the Eurodam.

 

For the Prinsendam I boarded with high expectations based on the hype and was greatly disappointed to find that it was really not all that much different (IMO) than an S-class ship.

[teamflames]

OTOH perhaps it's better to board with low expectations and be surprised! That was the case for me on the Eurodam.

 

 

 

For the Prinsendam I boarded with high expectations based on the hype and was greatly disappointed to find that it was really not all that much different (IMO) than an S-class ship.

 

 

 

Perhaps your right.

 

No more reading the boards trying to get excited, time to accept I have flushed my hard earned down the drain and there is no way I will enjoy 3 weeks at sea visiting historic cities as I won't be able to sit on the promenade, the music will be too loud, only gelato and no ice cream, my cabin colour will be too neutral, the art is garish.

Thanks guys, I am no longer looking forward to this, maybe I will get lucky and the cruise might be at least just ok.

[Btimmer]

I, too, have appreciated the commentary (good & bad) and photos about the ship. We board the Koningsdam on 5/9 for 3 weeks and are looking forward to it. I'll give a report from the perspective of travelling in "steerage" as we'll likely have an inside cabin on a lower deck.

 

Additionally, we, too, love shopping in local food stores to see the different items and prices. At the LIDL and similar type stores, it's also cool to see the hard goods that they have for sale in the bins. A common item that we purchase is soda water which we really like while traveling.

[OTOW guy]

Booked 3 weeks in Nov. and have booked several nights in Sel de Mare. Glad the promenade is narrow so we van muster inside. Really don't care about loud music as there are quiet areas to drink at or on our balcony.It should be interesting to see how HAL does a big ship although it is smaller than any Princess ship we had sailed. Some of the carpet looks a bit loud but most areas have neutral furnishings to offset that. I don't see how someone can be so negative not having been on the ship. I am sure as more people sail on Kdam, there will be different opinions both + and _.

[Cruising-along]

I very much appreciate Lisa's reporting of the Koningsdam. No ship and no cruise is perfect for everyone. What one person may think of as a negative, another may think as a positive. ;) Because of that, I don't take much stock in the over the top positives or the negatives. :) Lisa's neutral, well-balanced report is what I like to see.

 

We won't be sailing her until January, and until then I appreciate any and all thoughts, good and bad. Other than having a large inspirations group onboard the 2nd half of our cruise, I'm very much looking forward to the cruise. :D

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Perhaps your right.

 

No more reading the boards trying to get excited, time to accept I have flushed my hard earned down the drain and there is no way I will enjoy 3 weeks at sea visiting historic cities as I won't be able to sit on the promenade, the music will be too loud, only gelato and no ice cream, my cabin colour will be too neutral, the art is garish.

Thanks guys, I am no longer looking forward to this, maybe I will get lucky and the cruise might be at least just ok.

 

Hi teamflames; remember that ultimately the only opinion that matters in regards to your cruising experience is yours:) Keep up the anticipation, and don't be discouraged.

 

Lisa, thanks for your tremendous generosity, in both time and money, in order to give us your impressions of this new ship.

[teamflames]

Booked 3 weeks in Nov. and have booked several nights in Sel de Mare. Glad the promenade is narrow so we van muster inside. Really don't care about loud music as there are quiet areas to drink at or on our balcony.It should be interesting to see how HAL does a big ship although it is smaller than any Princess ship we had sailed. Some of the carpet looks a bit loud but most areas have neutral furnishings to offset that. I don't see how someone can be so negative not having been on the ship. I am sure as more people sail on Kdam, there will be different opinions both + and _.

 

 

 

How much is a reservation in sel de mer? Can you reserve lunch?

[SilvertoGold]

Thank you. I do, too.

From the reports so far, though, it doesn't seem there are any outdoors.

 

I agree with the lower deck seating (as opposed to a higher deck), shade and everything about sitting outside and watching the sea: prime time for us!

 

There do seem to be some of those hard as rock wooden benches with backs along the wall by the the lifeboats. Not sure what view there is, if any, other than the lifeboats and the bulkhead.

 

Walking the deck looks like a combination of the experience on a Vista and two-across max in many areas.

 

This appears to be a ship for port-intensive cruises when no one has the time to sit outside or walk the deck!

[dot73]

I accept all comments about the K-Dam with an open mind, except from the people who give negative comments before ever setting foot on her.:) I will be on K-Dam in December and will keep an open mind until the cruise is over. I may end up agreeing or disagreeing with some of the negative comments. Also, people have different views of the same cruise they were on. What irks some people, other passengers may find totally acceptable and enjoyable. No matter how many negative reviews may come before December, I am still looking forward to experiencing this new ship myself. If it ends up being my one and only K-Dam cruise, I will then go back to my two favourite ships, the Noordam and the Nieuw Amsterdam. There are also a lot of ships on the sea to choose from.

[puppycanducruise]

Thank you for this thread.

I appreciate your pictures and comments about your cruise.

Safe travels.

[SilvertoGold]

I, too, have appreciated the commentary (good & bad) and photos about the ship. We board the Koningsdam on 5/9 for 3 weeks and are looking forward to it. I'll give a report from the perspective of travelling in "steerage" as we'll likely have an inside cabin on a lower deck.

 

Additionally, we, too, love shopping in local food stores to see the different items and prices. At the LIDL and similar type stores, it's also cool to see the hard goods that they have for sale in the bins. A common item that we purchase is soda water which we really like while traveling.

 

Will keep an eye out for your posts! Looking forward to them.

[jtl513]

... sel de mer? Can you reserve lunch?

No. I would guess that it's not even open for lunch, like the Tamarind now. Edited April 14, 2016 by jtl513

[T8NCruise]

Thank you for this thread. :)

Edited April 14, 2016 by T8NCruise

[dfish]

Lisa, thank you for your thread. There has been so much anticipation for this ship and I have loved your descriptions and pictures. I'm more excited for my cruise on her than before.

 

Debbie

[TiogaCruiser]

Lisa- when you say there are lots of deck chairs, are you referring to the team loungers? Or are they merely chairs- a place to sit?

 

I really meant to ask if there were T E A K loungers on other decks.

 

Apparently iOS knows nothing about teak. I really hate it when it autocorrects.:eek:

[Max Circus]

No. I would guess that it's not even open for lunch, like the Tamarind now.

I can confirm that online you can only book dinner. I did that for our upcoming July sailing. I believe Sel De Mer is ala carte so you "pay as you go". No set surcharge. It didn't charge me anything when I booked it.

 

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[ski ww]

Thank you Lisa for your comments & photos of your cruise. On sea days we enjoy sitting in a deck chair on the promenade watching the sea go by. Looks like we can't do this on this ship. This seems to me to be the only negative thing about the ship. All the other good, bad, or indifferent things I've read you can take or leave and does not by it self stop us from doing a cruise on her some day. Safe flight home.

Allan

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Glad to hear that with also a question. How is the promenade deck for walking? If you have some experience I'd especially be in a comparison with the tracks on Allure OTS or Breakaway.

 

 

 

Roy

 

 

 

Hi Roy, I Have not been on Allure or Breakaway but I several of the Jewel Class of NCL and been on Celebrity Solstice, those all have very similar types of decks. While in places the deck is definitely not wide but it gets the job done for walking and while it has slight obstructions you still see a lot of sea. Three times around equals a mile. I think the promenade will still be good for walking and many were using it for just that.