Koningsdam vs Zuiderdam - Alaska

[mandapanda13]

We have been looking at cruises to replace our June 2022 Baltic Sea/Russia cruise and have landed on doing an Alaska Inside Passage roundtrip from Vancouver. The June 1-8, 2022 Zuiderdam and June 4-11, 2022 Koningsdam itineraries are essentially identical - Tracy Arm Inlet, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan - and cost for a verandah room are basically the same. This will be our first cruise to Alaska and first cruise with Holland America.

 

With itinerary and cost being equal, which ship would you book?

[lstrong]

Koningsdam!  

[oaktreerb]

Koningsdam is newer and has more special dining options.  

[0106]

I enjoy smaller ships so the Zuiderdam would be my choice.

[Mtn2Sea]

Are they able to open up the bow area on the Koningsdam while viewing the glaciers?

[0106]

The bow on the Zuiderdam was open while we cruised through the Panama Canal.

[lvhh]

I would pick Zuiderdam because it is smaller and has fewer guests when you get to ports and glacier bay. 

[SightCRR]

Make sure to check the in port times of each very carefully. sightcrr

[Suitcasefull]

1 hour ago, oaktreerb said:

Koningsdam is newer and has more special dining options.  

We'll be on the Koningsdam for the first time in July.  Of the special dining options, do you have a favorite?  Would anyone please give input re: the steak place or the seafood place (Sorry, names of restaurants escape me at moment)  We've done our share of Japanese steakhouses and like Italian but don't know if on board it would be anything special.  Thanks for any help regarding this or any other comments about meals on this ship!

[cruzin4us]

I would pick the Zuiderdam only for this reason alone:    Less chance of kids -- The following week kids will be getting out of school in larger numbers

[janmcn]

Zuiderdam for better viewing areas. AK has viewing almost 24/7 on that itinerary. If you are going to AK for the AK experience, smaller ship is better. K’dam is gorgeous and has lots of great eating areas, etc. but that’s better for cruises with sea days.  I missed the wonderful wide promenade deck on K’dam. 

[mandapanda13]

14 hours ago, SightCRR said:

Make sure to check the in port times of each very carefully. sightcrr

 

Port times are identical, with the exception of Skagway, where we would be in port for an hour longer on the Zuiderdam itinerary. Considering we're talking about 13 hours versus 14 hours in Skagway, that hour difference doesn't matter much to us.

[jeh10641]

mandapanda13,

I cruised on Westerdam and Oosterdam preCovid. I cruised on Rotterdam Dec. 2021. I would take the Konigsdam any day, time or location over the "smaller" ships.

 

Jim

[Aquahound]

Ordinarily, I would lean toward the smaller ship, but with HAL's entertainment cutbacks, I'd pick Koningsdam over Zuiderdam any day.  

[DaveOKC]

IMO the cabins are a bit smaller on the Koningsdam.   Also, if you are looking for upsells to a Signature or Neptune, you are more likely to get an offer if sailing on the Zuiderdam (there are alot more of them).

[0106]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

Ordinarily, I would lean toward the smaller ship, but with HAL's entertainment cutbacks,

Alaska is the entertainment on this intinerary.

[DrKoob]

22 hours ago, Suitcasefull said:

We'll be on the Koningsdam for the first time in July.  Of the special dining options, do you have a favorite?  Would anyone please give input re: the steak place or the seafood place (Sorry, names of restaurants escape me at moment)  We've done our share of Japanese steakhouses and like Italian but don't know if on board it would be anything special.  Thanks for any help regarding this or any other comments about meals on this ship!

I can tell you that two of the specialty restaurants were equal to any place we have been on land and we eat out at good restaurants all the time. Rudi's Sel de Mer (seafood) and the Asian restaurant Tamarind were both outstanding. The food at Pinnacle Grille was fine but I am not a steak person. The service was sporadic. While we liked the food at Canaletto on a previous cruise, it paled in comparison to Tamarind and Rudi's. I should also add that Tamarind is one of the most beautiful restaurants we have seen on a ship and it sits on the top of the stern. Sunset at dinner was amazing.

We were on the Nieuw Statendam (a duplicate of Konigsdam) in January/February and I wrote a blog post about the food. We were in a Neptune so we ate in Club Orange every breakfast (fantastic and TOO much) and half the dinners on a 10-night cruise. We ate the other five in the specialty restaurants. You can read the blog here: https://jktravelredmond.com/2022/02/03/its-a-cruise-its-always-about-the-food/

[DrKoob]

12 hours ago, janmcn said:

Zuiderdam for better viewing areas. AK has viewing almost 24/7 on that itinerary. If you are going to AK for the AK experience, smaller ship is better. K’dam is gorgeous and has lots of great eating areas, etc. but that’s better for cruises with sea days.  I missed the wonderful wide promenade deck on K’dam. 

All Alaska cruises have at least three sea days if you count the days in Glacier Bay as sea days. 

 

 

[DrKoob]

22 hours ago, lvhh said:

I would pick Zuiderdam because it is smaller and has fewer guests when you get to ports and glacier bay. 

Sadly, any port (of the big three—Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau) will have so many ships in it, the crowds will be there no matter what size ship you are on. 

[Anne614]

Zuiderdam will be the only ship in Skagway when we are there May 7. Yay!  

[Aquahound]

On 3/13/2022 at 5:32 PM, 0106 said:

Alaska is the entertainment on this intinerary.

 

Well then, go cruise on the Alaska Marine Highway ferries.  Personally, given the choice, I'd prefer to be on a ship that offers more options.  

[0106]

@Aquahound I prefer the cabin amenities and restaurants on a HAL ships to those of the Alaskan Marine Highway ferries.  I feel it is a better experience for the money. 

[rj59]

I would choose the Zuiderdam, because it has a traditional promenade deck, which I found is ideal for Inside Passage and glacier viewing, since you can move around, get views of ice and seals and whales close up, and they usually have plenty of blankets outside to use. It's smaller, too, so getting on and off the ship in ports is quicker, especially in Canada Place in Vancouver, which is going to be a zoo this summer. I also had the unique Zuiderdam experience of having the ship blocked from leaving by climate protesters in Kiel, Germany, on a Baltic Cruise in 2019. 

[Btimmer]

We spent a month on the Zuiderdam in January and were super impressed by the Canaletto Restaurant (fantastic staff).  We loved sailing on the ship.

 

We've sailed on all of the Pinnacle Class ships and the Music Walk is very well done on them.  They also have our favorite specialty restaurant (Tamarind), and a larger LIDO Market buffet. 

 

With all other things being equal it would be a slight edge to the Koningdam. 

 

That being said, for our 2022 Alaska cruise we're sailing on the Noordam (sister ship of the Zuiderdam) because it's a ship we've never sailed on.

 

[doone]

Both are great ships, however, I would chose the Koningsdam, she's newer and has more music venues and I love the showers in the bathroom 😁.  Either ship will give you a great Alaskan experience.  Enjoy your cruise.