Live Review Koningsdam Feb 17-March 23, 2024. Hawaii/Tahiti

[BermudaBound2014]

I am flying out tomorrow morning so figured I'd get this started. I am traveling in a solo outside room. I'm leaving hubby at home because he refuses to retire and I do my best to avoid Michigan Winters. At the end of the cruise I'll fly to Maui where Hubby will meet me in our paradise. Packing for this trip has been challenging as once I leave tomorrow I won't be home again until Mid-May.

 

Background: I feel like sometimes it's helpful to have a little background on the reviewer to add perspective.  I'm a fully retired Gen X. I started cruising in 1987 and the first 5 cruises were on lines that eventually went bankrupt (Regency, Commodore, and Dolphin).These ships were all in the 20,000 GT range so I do have a historic love for the little gals. I've sailed everything from tiny ships to the 'behemoth of the seas' and find that each and every ship has pros and cons. 

 

It should be noted that while I have sailed nearly all main stream lines (Celebrity, Carnival, Holland, NCL, MSC, Princess, etc..), I have zero brand loyalty. Never have. Likely never will. I select ships based on who I'm traveling with and perceived value. I don't look for the cheapest option, but I do weigh things that are important to me and select based on which ship best meets those expectations. Cost is always a consideration but value is what drives my decision making.

 

When I travel with DH, his favorite is NCL for the District Brew house with 20+ drafts to choose from. He is also casual and prefers to dress in shorts the majority of our trip. He really appreciates the Local (former O'Sheehans) which is an informal dining option where you can sit down and order a hot meal off a menu nearly 24 hours a day. It's perfect for him.  I describe NCL like our local pub. A Cheers type casual bar atmosphere where everyone knows your name. We also enjoy the water slides on the away and away+ class as I'm an admitted adrenaline junky. I'm dragging him on a HAL Antarctica trip next year and I am already preparing him for a much more cerebral experience. 

 

Hubby and I just returned from sailing in the Caribbean on a side to side on the Carnival Celebration and the NCL Encore. Both ships are significantly larger than the Koningsdam. I know some of the HAL regulars feel Koningsdam is too big, but in my experience she is a nice mid-sized vessel. I hadn't been on Carnival since the mid-90's and I'm pleased to report that their new Excel class has upped the game. They have a new 'food truck' style eats around the pool that is revolutionary. Much like the waterfront was when NCL first introduced it. The Celebration kept us entertained until the wee hours of the morning. Where she lacked in service, she made up for in fun. Like I always say,  I have never met a cruise ship I didn't like. There are always pros and cons.  

 

I also do girls trips. My girls trips seem to be split between RCL and Celebrity. Some friends appreciate the stepped up entertainment/activity options on the large oasis class, while a few of my friends prefer a bit less Cheers and a few more Martinis. The last few girls trips have all been on Celebrity when they offer 150% solo supplement (since we are now old enough to afford our own rooms). I also greatly appreciate solo trips. I did those when I was working and needed time to just lay on my balcony and drool. There is something really healthy about a good solo trip where 'all about me' is the norm. If you have thought about traveling solo but are apprehensive, I highly recommend stepping outside your comfort zone. It's a wonderful experience. I will miss my Husband, but 35 nights will fly by and knowing he will find me in Maui softens the ache. 

 

I think expectations are critical when selecting a cruise ship. Notice I said cruise ship and not cruise line. I don't believe it's valuable to compare line to line anymore as there is so much discrepancy between ships offered on the same cruise line. The Grandeur of the Seas is infinitely different than the Icon. Instead, I think it's wise to compare ship to ship when making a decision on how to spend your discretionary travel dollars. In addition, I always recommend that expectations be kept in line with price paid. For this cruise, that means the bar is pretty low. HAL prices for sailing 35 nights were significantly less a land only trip to Hawaii would be. So, as I explained to hubby, I'm saving money by not spending the entire winter in Maui ;-).  I also think anyone booking a cruise today needs to be prepared for reduced amenities and increased onboard charges as the cruise lines battle back from enormous debt brought on by covid. It's just a new normal.

 

I typically don't book suites (although I have sailed in the Yacht Club on MSC). Suites just don't provide me with enough value where I can justify the cost. I never used my butler in the Yacht club since it's just not my vibe. However; I will gladly pay more for a balcony that can accommodate a lounge chair because laying outside on my lounger gazing at the sea is very much my vibe. For this cruise the best value was an outside solo. I'm not sure how I'm going to do without a balcony for such a long cruise but time will tell. I tried desperately to purchase a cabana to no avail. I do have a cabana booked already on the 2025 version of this sailing so I'll be able to compare the itininary with and without the solitude a cabana offers.

 

Finally, I should probably warn you that this review isn't going to focus only on the rosy. That's not my style. For those of you looking for a glowing report, this won't be it. However; I will do my very best to point out both the good and bad as I perceive. As always, just my opinion and YMMV,

 

I learn much from CC and believe in playing it forward, so if you have questions I am more than happy to investigate. A Little Columbo action to break up the day never hurt this girl. I love a good challenge. 

 

Edited to add: It should be obvious by now that I'm not short on words. I never mastered the cliff note version of anything. Feel free to ignore me. I promise I won't be offended :). 

 

Edited February 14 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

So let's get some of the 'bad' out of the way upfront. HAL's website and tech team are atrocious. Seriously the worst in the industry based on my experience. I still need to use incognito to get anything done online and our embarkation directions have been a cluster.

 

First,  Everyone was given Noon Embarkation in the app.

Then, The app continued to say noon, but we were assigned check in times. I was given letter "P" to check in at 3:20. 

Two days ago, yet another change came when I was bumped to letter Q with an embarkation of 3:40. Did I mention last call for embarkation remains 3:30. 

 

And this letter came late last night. Not one but three contradictions in single 'Very Important Announcement"

 

1) My check in time is both 3:40 and 2:00.

2) Check in ends at 3:30 (did I mention I have a 3:40 check in?).

3) They forgot to include club orange in the list of those with priorities.

 

 

 

Now, before everyone jumps to HAL's defense, I get that these are first world issues. In fact, none of the changes have effected when I planned to arrive. I gave up early arrival a couple decades ago and prefer to show up much later to avoid lines. BUT, for those who are new to HAL, this has been extremely confusing. 

 

This embarkation debacle won't effect how I judge the onboard experience. I get that this is two totally different departments. But IMO, Hal most certainly can, and should, do better. This has been the most confusing embarkation of my entire cruising life (and I'm not new to this). Since both CCL and NCL offered a completely seamless online experience and embarkation last week, I think HAL needs to up their game.

 

 

[Notalotofinfo]

Following 

[SDARCH]

We are on this cruise in Feb 2026.  Looking forward to your posts.  Sadly, the SD port embarkation is a miserable experience - no fault of the wonderful staff there.

[chawkjewel]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Hubby and I just returned from sailing in the Caribbean on a side to side on the Carnival Celebration and the NCL Encore. Both ships are significantly larger than the Koningsdam. I know some of the HAL regulars feel Koningsdam is too big, but in my experience she is a nice mid-sized vessel.

We are on this cruise with you. We just got off Icon a little over a week ago so this will be a big difference in ship size. I do prefer the size of Koningsdam for itineraries like this. See you soon!

Edited February 14 by chawkjewel

[julia]

Loving it so far! 

 

We did this cruise last year, and if you think your pre-sail has been a cluster, then just wait til you're on the pier in San Diego! 😲😲  It was the clusteriest of all clusters, and was the talk of the cruise for weeks. (Remember, when everyone has priority, then there is no priority).

 

We did enjoy the ship, staff, and itinerary though... great cruise!!

[57redbird]

6 minutes ago, julia said:

Loving it so far! 

 

We did this cruise last year, and if you think your pre-sail has been a cluster, then just wait til you're on the pier in San Diego! 😲😲  It was the clusteriest of all clusters, and was the talk of the cruise for weeks. (Remember, when everyone has priority, then there is no priority).

 

We did enjoy the ship, staff, and itinerary though... great cruise!!

I agree!  Neptune Suite/CO ---no priority at the pier.

[BermudaBound2014]

43 minutes ago, chawkjewel said:

We are on this cruise with you. We just got off Icon a little over a week ago so this will be a big difference in ship size. I do prefer the size of Koningsdam for itineraries like this. See you soon!

I bet we were in st  Thomas Together- and we did pre and post cruise in Fort Lauderdale so watched her sail out on her inaugural. Looking forward to finally meeting onboard 🙂

Edited February 15 by BermudaBound2014

[wdw1972]

Your report is off to a great start.  From all you've said, I'll enjoy this immensely! 

 

Sue/WDW1972

[SilvertoGold]

Really wonderful writing: I will enjoy your thread ;). San Diego is the only HAL embarkation port I prefer not to have to use but it comes in handy.  Last we were there  we did not show up early, for a change, and it was smoother than expected. Stay calm and carry on: this is a lovely cruise.  Bon Voyage!

Edited February 15 by SilvertoGold

[sunviking90]

Another retired gen x-er here who also started cruising on a 20,000 ton beauty (RCCL’s Sun Viking) I enjoyed your intro and I’m looking forward to your reports already! 

[*Miss G*]

Enjoying your trip report, thus far, and look forward to reading along.  Bon voyage!

[Haljo1935]

3 hours ago, julia said:

Loving it so far! 

 

We did this cruise last year, and if you think your pre-sail has been a cluster, then just wait til you're on the pier in San Diego! 😲😲  It was the clusteriest of all clusters, and was the talk of the cruise for weeks. (Remember, when everyone has priority, then there is no priority).

 

We did enjoy the ship, staff, and itinerary though... great cruise!!

Same experience Dec 21. San Diego departures are brutal. Need the cruise to relax after the experience 😉

[Silver Sweethearts]

3 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

Another retired gen x-er here who also started cruising on a 20,000 ton beauty (RCCL’s Sun Viking) I enjoyed your intro and I’m looking forward to your reports already! 

 

Sitmar Cruises was our favorite.  The ships didn't have all the bells and whistles (unless you considered skeet shooting from an aft deck), but they had excellent food and a great staff.  Hope HAL treats you well too.  Bon voyage, BermudaBound 2014 and fellow sailors!  Fair winds and following seas.

[Mary229]

Bon Voyage!  
 

looking forward to chatting. 

[Haljo1935]

Bon Voyage!

Looking forward to the adventure. 

Edited February 15 by Haljo1935
Typo

[Haljo1935]

15 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

...First,  Everyone was given Noon Embarkation in the app.

Then, The app continued to say noon, but we were assigned check in times. I was given letter "P" to check in at 3:20...And this letter came late last night. Not one but three contradictions in single 'Very Important Announcement"

 

1) My check in time is both 3:40 and 2:00.

2) Check in ends at 3:30 (did I mention I have a 3:40 check in?).

3) They forgot to include club orange in the list of those with priorities.

 

This embarkation debacle won't effect how I judge the onboard experience. I get that this is two totally different departments. But IMO, Hal most certainly can, and should, do better. This has been the most confusing embarkation of my entire cruising life (and I'm not new to this)... I think HAL needs to up their game.

The multiple check-in times is indeed confusing. This is the first I've seen w/times noted by deck listed. Wonder when that started? I did not have that in Dec.

[BermudaBound2014]

15 hours ago, julia said:

Loving it so far! 

 

We did this cruise last year, and if you think your pre-sail has been a cluster, then just wait til you're on the pier in San Diego! 😲😲  It was the clusteriest of all clusters, and was the talk of the cruise for weeks. (Remember, when everyone has priority, then there is no priority).

Thankfully we are the only ship embarking on Saturday so that will help with the crowding.  
 

I totally agree with you when you say “when everyone has priority, then no one has priority”. With cruises this length it’s not uncommon to have half the passengers 4 and 5 star. Then add in those who purchased priority through room choice and club orange. I am totally fine embarkation with the rest of the detention kids near all aboard time. I have 35 days to explore the ship 🙂 

[SonuvaBeach]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Thankfully we are the only ship embarking on Saturday so that will help with the crowding.  
 

I totally agree with you when you say “when everyone has priority, then no one has priority”. With cruises this length it’s not uncommon to have half the passengers 4 and 5 star. Then add in those who purchased priority through room choice and club orange. I am totally fine embarkation with the rest of the detention kids near all aboard time. I have 35 days to explore the ship 🙂 

Heeyyyyyy!!! Are we going to have dueling LIVE REPORTS???

[BermudaBound2014]

15 hours ago, wdw1972 said:

Your report is off to a great start.  From all you've said, I'll enjoy this immensely! 

 

Sue/WDW1972

 

 

13 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Enjoying your trip report, thus far, and look forward to reading along.  Bon voyage!

14 hours ago, SilvertoGold said:

Really wonderful writing: I will enjoy your thread ;). San Diego is the only HAL embarkation port I prefer not to have to use but it comes in handy.  Last we were there  we did not show up early, for a change, and it was smoother than expected. Stay calm and carry on: this is a lovely cruise.  Bon Voyage!

 

13 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Enjoying your trip report, thus far, and look forward to reading along.  Bon voyage!

Oh wow- thanks for all the lovely compliments. Super nice to read. I am now suffering performance anxiety so it’s probably best l to adjust expectations:) 🙂 

[BermudaBound2014]

@Silver Sweethearts Thanks for the well wishes. I still hope we can meet up once I get on Maui after this trip. I’ll email you when I get to Kapalua. 

[rollie]

As we will be on this itinerary next Feb, I'm really looking forward to your views. Thanks for posting.

 

Rollie

[*Miss G*]

11 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

@Silver Sweethearts Thanks for the well wishes. I still hope we can meet up once I get on Maui after this trip. I’ll email you when I get to Kapalua. 

 

Love Kapalua ❤️

[BermudaBound2014]

So, thanks to the moderns world of technology I’m currently flying over Mercer County, Missouri in route to San Diego.

 

Our roll for this trip has been exceptional!! Filled with wonderful helpful kind and friendly travelers. As such, many of us choose to stay at the Best Western Yacht Harbor. Back in April room rates were right around $100 a night and parking is only $5 a night for those that drove so it’s quite a good bargain compared to the traditional hotels across from the pier.

 

I kept a running list of all the CC members staying at the BWYC and between CC and other social media sites we have nearly 100 people swarming the hotel .

 

We are having a very informal pre cruise meet and greet both tonight and tomorrow night. It’s BYOB and the lobby is small but the manager said he’d open the breakfast room for us and we can overflow into the pool area.

 

I’m the girl bringing name tags but other than that I take zero responsibility for any shenanigans that may occur. Zero. Even if I’m involved. 

 

Speaking of roll call, I’d like to invite anyone on our sailing to chime in this report at any time (or we can get multiple reports going). I don’t want anyone to feel left out, so if you are sailing and have anything to add (good or bad), Jump right in. I consider this a group thread for the entire roll call :). Of course, multiple lives are always fun too.

 

Edited February 15 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

This is the little invitation to the Best Western Yacht Harbor I whipped up. 
 

Excited to meet so many tonight and of course tomorrow too!