Live from Koningsdam, Southern Caribbean Wayfarer, Nov 23-Dec 4

[MaxeyMom]

The lamb special looked really good! Do they post the special for the other nights of the week ahead of time?

 

What does the gelato cost?

 

Thanks for all the posts on your cruise.

[sppunk]

Day 10, at sea: that was a lot of Wang Wangs

 

Last night before dinner we made a point to go to a Lincoln Center Stage performance. This is the new orchestra that performs nightly.

 

It was PACKED. I'm not well versed in orchestration or anything but they seemed good and were loved by the audience so apparently this is another homerun on Kiningsdam.

 

We new to Sel de Mer again for dinner.

 

For a starter we had the seafood salad trio, which consists of three individual servings of king crab, North Sea shrimp and tuna salads. It was quite good, the shrimp salad being by far the favorite.

 

 

For the main course I had the fresh catch. When possible the chef will go the a market while in port and select fish to be served that night. You can have it grilled, steamed or pan friend and there are a litany of sauce options.

 

The first night we went the chef didn't find anything worthy of purchase. In St Thomas he bought fresh-caught striped red snapper. So I had this, grilled, served with green tomato salsa.

 

 

It was delicious - just have to be careful when chewing due to bones. I also may have embarrassed my wife after I ate the fish by picking up the head and moving its lips. :) Gotta keep it light!

 

My wife had again the salt-crusted branzino and adores it.

 

For desert we went with the profiteroles, which are like little donuts holes filled with chantilly cream and then at the table covered with warm chocolate sauce. Amazing!

 

 

After dinner we met up with friends who were doing a whiskey tasting at Notes. The experience seemed really cool and very in depth. The steward will walk you through all the different whiskeys and you try several. He gives you a history lesson of each, the manufacturing process, flavor profiles, etc. He makes recommendations as you go and have the opportunity to try very rare whiskeys. Our friends tried one that sells for $270/bottle, for instance.

 

We were met by another set of friends they had made and eventually all retired to the BB Kings show and ordering up a lot of Wang Wangs for people to try. At one point there were eight on the table. All eight were drank. Not by me, I promise!

 

At 2 a.m. we were still there talking. It was time for sleep through at that point. What a fantastic, fun night onboard.

 

Given the night and alcohol consumed I slept in this morning. Way late. RuthC would be impressed actually.

 

There were two Mariner lunches today - one at 10:30 am and one at 1 pm. We skip these but did run to the front desk to get our tiles. All told they gave out something like 180 100 day medals today. Huge, huge number of high-ranking Mariners onboard.

 

We had lunch in the Lido after getting our tiles and then at 2 p.m. went to the Q&A with the Captain. Captain Darin gave a bit of info about the ship, showed photos of behind-the-scenes stuff and took questions. Thankfully no one used it as a pulpit to complain, so yay!

 

The only thing I found noteworthy was his answer to a question about Prinsendam.

 

He said what I've been saying for a while: It's a very old ship that needs significant upgrades and HAL now has Seabourn and it's existing and new ships to fulfill that niche role. He didn't say outright it was leaving but I firmly believe it is in a few years and his answer reaffirmed my belief.

 

 

After the Q&A we retreated to our room, watched some on-demand TV and relaxed on the balcony.

 

Not a bad view to share at for an afternoon.

 

 

It's gala night but we are dining in Tamarind anyway. Tomorrow we are at Half Moon Cay, we might tender off to get a photo for our Christmas postcard, we'll see.

 

More tomorrow from the gorgeous ms Koninsgdam.

Edited December 2, 2016 by sppunk

[Skipper's Mom]

Day 10, at sea: that was a lot of Wang Wangs

 

Last night before dinner we made a point to go to a Lincoln Center Stage performance. This is the new orchestra that performs nightly.

 

It was PACKED. I'm not well versed in orchestration or anything but they seemed good and were loved by the audience so apparently this is another homerun on Kiningsdam.

 

We new to Sel de Mer again for dinner.

 

For a starter we had the seafood salad trio, which consists of three individual servings of king crab, North Sea shrimp and tuna salads. It was quite good, the shrimp salad being by far the favorite.

 

 

For the main course I had the fresh catch. When possible the chef will go the a market while in port and select fish to be served that night. You can have it grilled, steamed or pan friend and there are a litany of sauce options.

 

The first night we went the chef didn't find anything worthy of purchase. In St Thomas he bought fresh-caught striped red snapper. So I had this, grilled, served with green tomato salsa.

 

 

It was delicious - just have to be careful when chewing due to bones. I also may have embarrassed my wife after I ate the fish by picking up the head and moving its lips. :) Gotta keep it light!

 

My wife had again the salt-crusted branzino and adores it.

 

For desert we went with the profiteroles, which are like little donuts holes filled with chantilly cream and then at the table covered with warm chocolate sauce. Amazing!

 

 

After dinner we met up with friends who were doing a whiskey tasting at Notes. The experience seemed really cool and very in depth. The steward will walk you through all the different whiskeys and you try several. He gives you a history lesson of each, the manufacturing process, flavor profiles, etc. He makes recommendations as you go and have the opportunity to try very rare whiskeys. Our friends tried one that sells for $270/bottle, for instance.

 

We were met by another set of friends they had made and eventually all retired to the BB Kings show and ordering up a lot of Wang Wangs for people to try. At one point there were eight on the table. All eight were drank. Not by me, I promise!

 

At 2 a.m. we were still there talking. It was time for sleep through at that point. What a fantastic, fun night onboard.

 

Given the night and alcohol consumed I slept in this morning. Way late. RuthC would be impressed actually.

 

There were two Mariner lunches today - one at 10:30 am and one at 1 pm. We skip these but did run to the front desk to get our tiles. All told they gave out something like 180 100 day medals today. Huge, huge number of high-ranking Mariners onboard.

 

We had lunch in the Lido after getting our tiles and then at 2 p.m. went to the Q&A with the Captain. Captain Darin gave a bit of info about the ship, showed photos of behind-the-scenes stuff and took questions. Thankfully no one used it as a pulpit to complain, so yay!

 

The only thing I found noteworthy was his answer to a question about Prinsendam.

 

He said what I've been saying for a while: It's a very old ship that needs significant upgrades and HAL now has Seabourn and it's existing and new ships to fulfill that niche role. He didn't say outright it was leaving but I firmly believe it is in a few years and his answer reaffirmed my belief.

 

 

After the Q&A we retreated to our room, watched some on-demand TV and relaxed on the balcony.

 

Not a bad view to share at for an afternoon.

 

 

It's gala night but we are dining in Tamarind anyway. Tomorrow we are at Half Moon Cay, we might tender off to get a photo for our Christmas postcard, we'll see.

 

More tomorrow from the gorgeous ms Koninsgdam.

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time! We get on Sunday, cannot wait!

 

Sent from my XT1064 using Forums mobile app

[sppunk]

Just saw this ... it was interesting on Hal that lido often had mdr food - even on formal nights... very impressed.

 

Btw how is the smoking? On the 2nd leg of our cruise they were everywhere and the ship did not police it at all ... any change???

 

 

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I've not noticed any-the aft pool has it but no balconies around us have smokers. The casino has been smoke free several nights.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Enjoying your reports.

Sure wish when we were the only ship at Crown Bay and there was room at Havensight, we could have docked there. Hate Crown Bay.

[CHOPPERTESTER]

Love your review!

 

So much more down to earth than some of the other reviewers. More about themselves than the cruise.

 

Boarding on Sunday 4 Dec. Can't wait to try one of those Wang-Wangs. Been wearing three hats at work for the last four months and I need a reset. Will a Wang-Wang do this or who do I need to seek out to get one of the special ones?. LOL

[RuthC]

Given the night and alcohol consumed I slept in this morning. Way late. RuthC would be impressed actually.

That late, eh? ;) :D

[sppunk]

That late, eh? ;) :D

 

Let's just say it was pm when I woke up!

[RuthC]

Let's just say it was pm when I woke up!

I'm impressed.

[WeRockChalkKU]

We just left the wonderful Kdam this am after the 10 day cruise.

 

Dutch Cafe - their almond paste cookies are AWESOME and folks were standing inline when they came out around 3pm each day. . In fact, I was just on the internet trying to find a recipe.!

 

I just tried baking my own Almond Paste Cookies (Gevulde Koeken) from the recipe I found online. They tasted pretty good but the ones from Dutch Cafe were better . I'll just have to keep trying to get them just right.

Edited December 3, 2016 by beachdreaming
Typo

[djhsolara]

Love reading your review. We'll be onboard Jan 29. Sounds like we're from similar areas when I heard you talk about traveling down 83. We're in York PA.

 

 

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[kazu]

So enjoying your LIVE.

 

Sounds like you had a really good time the other night ;)

 

Love the plates in Sel de Mer and the offerings. Wish they had that on all on the ship.

 

Also appreciate the words on the P'dam. Thanks for taking the time to share with us.

[sppunk]

Love reading your review. We'll be onboard Jan 29. Sounds like we're from similar areas when I heard you talk about traveling down 83. We're in York PA.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Just up the road in HBG.

 

More later - a picture-perfect day at HMC.

[stratixman]

Thanks for your informative review and photos. We will be sailing the Konigsdam in February as our first intro to Holland (long time Celebrity cruisers). One question regarding the Sel de Mer. Sounds to be great. Ala carte pricing? Did you snap a photo of their menus, or can you inform regarding the prices? Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

[sppunk]

Thanks for your informative review and photos. We will be sailing the Konigsdam in February as our first intro to Holland (long time Celebrity cruisers). One question regarding the Sel de Mer. Sounds to be great. Ala carte pricing? Did you snap a photo of their menus, or can you inform regarding the prices? Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

 

The menu with pricing I'm pretty positive is on the HAL website - it is onboard on TV screens, on the app, and on the interactive TV too.

[sppunk]

Day 11, Half Moon Cay: I don't wanna go home

 

Well, this will be my final report from the good ship ms Koninsgdam. Boo hoo.

 

Last night we once again went to Tamarind for dinner.

 

It was, as always, a great dining experience. I just adore the ladies here.

 

I forgot to take photos of our appetizers but we had some California rolls, the satay sampler and veggie spring rolls. So so good.

 

For my main course I has the panang red curry coconut chicken, extra spicy. It was legit spicy and the flavor profile was on point.

 

 

My wife had the hoisin lime-glazed seabass. It was so good she didn't even let me steal a bite!

 

 

For dessert I tried something I never have but is highly recommended, the mango cloud. It was super yummy!

 

 

After dinner we went to the main show, called Billboard Top of the Charts. It was an in-the-round show, and not too bad. It was entertaining. Good music, dancing a little iffy.

 

After the show we met up for BB King's with our newly sorted group of friends and had a great evening over too many drinks and good stories.

 

Today we were in Half Moon Cay, and weather couldn't have been much better (though it was very hot for this time of year there, around 93 degrees).

 

We slept in a bit, had breakfast and went over around 10:45 a.m. to get a photo for our Christmas postcard.

 

Thanks to the Nokia D500's self-timer and a camera bag and bunched up hat for elevation support, mission accomplished!

 

We then went for a little walk before heading back and stumbled upon this little innocent view:

 

 

We also ran across this. It's a most interesting sign to me, given November 31st does not exist. But hey what do I know?

 

 

On the tender back I was able to capture Koningsdam in all her sun-lit glory.

 

 

God bless, I'm going to miss her. I'm in love with her.

 

We came back onboard and had lunch - my final

Dive In Cannonball burger and fries. My wife has discovered they're making pretzels onboard Koningsdam and says they're excellent so she had one along with her usually salad and fruit.

 

We then came back to our cabin to do the unthinkable: pack.

 

It didn't take too long and we started to watch a movie. I lasted maybe 10 minutes before I was out like a fat kid in dodge ball. It was a wonderful nap though, my last opportunity for one in a long while I'm afraid.

 

Tonight we say goodbye to our dining room waitstaff, our favorite bar stewards, and our new group of friends.

 

I really don't want to the trip to end, but it does tomorrow.

 

I'll post my final wrap up including my thoughts on the Koningsdam tomorrow evening, or Monday if tomorrow turns into a cluster.

 

More then.

[Cruising-along]

I want to thank you again for bringing us along. Amazing photos and you've managed to make me feel like I'm there on the cruise (and feeling awful that it's ending). :)

[WeRockChalkKU]

Thank you sharing your cruise with us. So glad there were many positives for you to post about. We enjoyed your posts.

 

Safe travels home.

[CruisinNana]

I have enjoyed your reports as much as any I have ever read. Thanks for the wonderful information. Did you by any chance visit the new Lobster Shack on HMC? What were your thoughts about the menu?

Thanks again for a wonderful vicarious cruise!

[Lizzie68]

Love your review!

 

So much more down to earth than some of the other reviewers. More about themselves than the cruise.

Boarding on Sunday 4 Dec. Can't wait to try one of those Wang-Wangs. Been wearing three hats at work for the last four months and I need a reset. Will a Wang-Wang do this or who do I need to seek out to get one of the special ones?. LOL

 

(Bolding mine) - that's what I find so refreshing about this "Live from..." as well. It really is an excellent thread, with info that's pertinent (for me, others may want something different).:D

[slabeaume]

I looked forward to your reports every day! I guess tomorrow I'll have to board her myself to continue the adventure. I won't have internet then, but ---as you may have noticed from my signature---- I'll be blogging all about the trip once we're back on land. your posts have been quite informative. thanks!

[RuthC]

This has been a fun read, with lots of great information. Loved, loved, loved the picture of the Koningsdam at HMC. Stunning.

Thanks for your efforts.

 

Much as I know this ship is not a good match for me, I also know it is a good match for others. Happy that it was for you.

[innlady1]

Thank you for your wonderful review of the Koningsdam...it was an absolute pleasure to read!

 

 

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[kazu]

Just an awesome review sppunk.

 

Really enjoyed your indepth reveiw of the ship itself.

 

And your experiences.

 

Your pictures, everything were fabulous

 

I am at a loss for words other than thank you :)

[innlady1]

Choppertester...a regular Wang Wang ought to do the trick!

 

 

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