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Koningsdam June 3 - 10 Alaska review

nw gardener

By nw gardener,
in Holland America Line

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nw gardener

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Here's a brief review of our recent cruise on the Koningsdam,  RT from Vancouver . Myself and DH live in WA, close to the BC border so cruising out of Vancouver is easier for us, besides the fact that we love going to Alaska via the inside passage.  I cruised last year at the same time to AK on Celebrity with a coworker since DH decided last minute to back out not feeling comfortable with the current Covid situation.  Smart move on his part as we did get Covid  (mild cases). Fast forward to this year and he said let's go, so booked an aft cabin on the Koningsdam (8188 if anyone has questions).  Our last cruise was on the Oosterdam to the Mexican Riviera that ended on the day cruising was shut down for Covid. I added Club Orange a few months before the cruise,  and this was our first time on a Pinnacle class ship.

 

 Embarkation  - simply easy.  Was worried reading about the horror stories from early May, and have experienced similar in the past.  Got to the port at 1030 via cab from the Greyhound station- normally drive but the parking garage was reserved full 2 months out!  Dropped bags,  got into Club Orange line, 2 minutes later on to security and Customs.  Breezed through both, sat in the room with the rest of the priority folks for 20 minutes,  boarded at 1110. Rooms weren't quite ready and MDR not open so grabbed a quick bite and coffee in the lido. Then to room, grabbed key cards and headed to the MDR for lunch.  Had plenty of time after that to relax,  explore the ship and unpack. 

 

Dining- We ate in Club Orange for all of our breakfasts and most dinners.  Highly recommend with the separate dining room and great service.  The manager Dani and his crew were attentive,  food was great,  and I'll always do CO on a Pinnacle ship if available.  Used the Navigator app to order lunches at the  Dive in and NY pizza, so easy!. Did the MDR for a couple of lunches,  meh..., and used the Lido for snacks and easy bar service being only 1 stairway away. Did one evening in the  Tamarind which was not as good as previous cruises for us. We both wanted lamb but only had one serving left. I ended up getting the chicken curry which was very average and not worthy of being an entree.  Service was good, as were the apps and dessert, but was busy and not very relaxing. 

 

Need to take a break as still catching up on house chores,  will add more later and pics. I had added pics to Visagrunt live blog but sadly don't quite have that excellent writing style. 

 

 

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oakridger

oakridger

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Your writing style is just fine for me!  I'll be watching for the rest of your experience and pictures.  Reading these reviews makes me want to be there right now!  I'll have to wait to go back to Vancouver and Alaska though. 

 

Thanks for starting the review,

~Nancy

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nw gardener Great Review Rare

nw gardener

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Entertainment  - DH doesn't care for the shows available,  on all cruise lines really,  but fell in love with HAL when the music walk was started.  We really enjoyed the BB Kings group on this cruise,  very good!  I enjoyed the EXC talks and the wildlife expert on board...HAL had plenty of things to do if you needed your time filled.  And sometimes we just enjoyed sitting on the balcony being hypnotized by the wake watching for whales. 

 

Ports- We've had the blessing of being able to cruise to AK many times and have been to all the ports several times.  Juneau was raining so it was only to get off, hit a favorite shop for Christmas presents,  and a drink at the Hangar.  Skagway was dry but cool and windy.  Again just got off to stretch the legs and then back on board and drank the afternoon away in the  Crows Nest. Glacier Bay,  spectacular as usual and lots of wildlife sitings but some sadness at the glaciers retreats from previous years.  Ketchikan did the Totem Bight park tour as we realized after all these years we had never gotten out there.  Beautiful weather and I managed to squeeze in some shopping at Scanlon gallery 😊

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nw gardener Great Review Rare

nw gardener

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4 minutes ago, oakridger said:

Very nice pictures!   That Park Ranger boat sure is odd looking!  I have not seen that one before.

 

~Nancy

It appears to have a very smooth ride with the modified catamaran design,  fast, and shiny new!

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quack2

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2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

Thanks for sharing - glad you enjoyed the cruise. Those true aft cabins are the best for the great AK views!

Tried an aft balcony last year in Alaska.  Decided they are not for me.  I want to know where I'm going, not where I've been.  Just my $0.02.

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Haljo1935

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29 minutes ago, quack2 said:

Tried an aft balcony last year in Alaska.  Decided they are not for me.  I want to know where I'm going, not where I've been.  Just my $0.02.

We like having a view of both sides rather than just one. For us, the biggest draw are the wildlife sightings that we've had - seem to always have whales 🐋 join us when we're on the balcony. 😊

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nw gardener Great Review Rare

nw gardener

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Let's see if I can wrap this up...and I will try to answer any questions. 

 

Ship- We enjoyed the ship. I prefer the promenade on the older ships but still quite walkable.  DH did joke after our 3rd trip in a day from our aft cabin to the Crows Nest "yes,  this ship is larger". You could feel it was full on sea days but once you figure out the flow,  we dodged lines and crowds successfully.  Crows Nest was busy,  but quiet in the early morning and  later evening.  Lido was jammed at opening times for meals, but ok an hour later. Tamarind bar was a quiet hidden spot.  Dutch cafe was busy, but we found quiet times to go. Using the Navigator app to order for the Dive in and NY pizza saved us from lines.  We  would book a pinnacle class ship again for more choices, but itinerary comes first. 

 

Service- As always with HAL,  the crew we encountered on our cruise were always quick with a smile and hello. 

 

Disembarking- walked off with luggage after our last relaxing breakfast in CO. Quick, under 10 to the curb. 

 

The changes we noticed since Covid shutdown-  There has been A LOT written on CC for all the cruise lines we have sailed about all the changes to the industry.  Hard to come up with a business that was hit harder by Covid than cruising. All the cruise lines are struggling to shrink their debt and changes had to be made. We noticed the smaller food portions and menu changes,  staff stretched a little thin, no evening turn down unless requested,  chocolates only on gala nights,  supply issues,  etc.  But I also encountered HAL stepping up their game for AK cruise enrichment with more EXC talks and a wildlife spotter.  Entertainment options were good on the  Koningsdam and I hope HAL has listened about adding more varied shows and talks.  Staffing appeared to be better for the MDR as I saw no long lines for dinner.  However I believe cruising saw an exit of older and experienced front line staff and some service issues are lack of experience,  training,  and the rush to get back up to speed.  If HAL continues marketing HIA, they do need to add bar tenders and servers because that was slow at times, especially sea days at most bars. The positives of this cruise far outweighed the changes for us. 

 

We are looking forward to our  cruise next year on the NA , 14 days to AK. Love that itinerary! 

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