7 Nights Alaska Inside Passage Cruise

Koningsdam June 2025 Pinnacle Suite

This was our first time cruising on Holland America. We stayed in the Pinnacle Suite after accepting an upgrade from the original Neptune Suite we booked. We really did not have any expectations as we had never stayed in this type of accommodations before. If you choose to book this suite, I will share our experience as there was very little posted prior to our sailing. Embarkment: We sailed out of Vancouver. I had read nightmare stories about the embarkment process there. Ours was anything but great and fast. We stayed at the Pan Pacific and handled our luggage for us. Upon going into the check-in area there was porters and a luggage drop space, no need to go to the basement of the parking garage. We were directed to a check-in kiosk, up on scanning our ticket, it flashed VIP on the screen and the woman helping us took us to the managers desk. We were greeted by a couple of people including the escort to take us on the ship. We were taken to the customs area where it was photo scan, no waiting, then instead of walking through the main security, we were taken through the employee line and had no wait. We were immediately taken onto the ship, went to the Neptune lounge where they had Champaign waiting. the whole process took 20 minutes max from stat to finish. We were on board just before 11, and our suite was ready by 11:15. Suite: The Pinnacle Suite was amazing, will share a video and photos below. Key items, fresh flowers, unlimited soft drinks and bottled water for the duration of the cruise. Unlimited laundry services, always delivered the next day. Pre dinner appetizers delivered to the room between 5-7pm daily, afternoon tea in the room daily and full breakfast spread each morning if you choose. The Good: The space. total suite with veranda was just under 1400 sqft. We had 3 adults and never bumped into on another. It was amazing. The Veranda was key, it was the width of 5 normal suites, table with 4 chairs, two chairs with foot stools, two lounge chairs and a jacuzzi. For sitting out having a drink, snack or just watching for whales, otters, bears and other wild life it was great with no fighting over space. The Bad: Not much to say but for the beds. The king sided bed is nice but it needs to be replaced. Clearly people sit on the sides of the bed as both sides were really crushed in. this was really a big disappointment as I expected of all things to have a nice mattress. The second was the pull out king sofa, the sofa itself was worn out, needs to be replaced, and once the been was pulled out it was bad, frame was bent down and was such that the person in our group had to sleep sideways as it was not comfortable at all. Food: Best was the Tamarin restaurant. It is an additional fee restaurant. We ate there our first night, food and service was amazing with amazing views out the back of the ship. Second was the dinner Morimoto By Sea. It is one night per sailing and is in the Tamarin restaurant. it too was excellent. Service was great, food was fantastic. Disappointment was the Pinnacle Grill. We had dinner there on our second night. Service was good, had a seat by the window. Menu was also good. Our issue was that our steaks were poorly cooked. We had Filet Mignon (2) and one prime rib. All were ordered med-rare. They were all brough out well done. We did not send them back, in hind sight I wish we had but we generally don't do that...the flavors of everything was good. Just be mindful your steaks may not be done the way you want. Lido Market, I was really excited to see what all they had, unfortunately the market / buffet area was a complete zoo. seating was a premium, no where to sit, we had 3 of us and had stray individual ask if they could sit at our table....the problem is there are too many people coming in, sitting by the window seats and not leaving, they would read, remain there after eating just watching out the window etc. The seating area is small to begin with. Needless to say we had breakfast there once and lunch once. Dive-in and NY Deli, were both really good. Burgers and hotdogs were very good, just on Glacier Bay day it was crazy it was up to 45 min to an hour for a burger...everyone was going there as the buffet was crazy and you could not find a seat. The pizzas and sandwiches were good, took about 10 - 15 min once you ordered. Main dinning room - we did not go there as we had Club Orange and always ate in there. The staff knew who we were an approached us by name. FYI that was always the case as they knew we were in the Pinnacle Suite. We were interrupted a number of times at dinner by various officers from the ship. It was nice but something we have never experienced before. Room service - we never used it Neptune Lounge - fantastic, they had great snacks, little sandwiches, coffee, lattes, cappuccino machine etc. The concierge staff was great, went out of there way to do and get anything we asked for. Bars and drinks- We had the Have it All package which included the elite drink package. Up to 15 alcoholic drinks a day up to $15 each and unlimited non-alcoholic drinks. The one issue we all felt was how long it took to get a drink. Each bar only had one bartender. When you have people waiting and wait staff getting orders you had to plan ahead. The drink package is nice but having sailed on other cruise lines like Disney that does not have packages, there are multiple bar tenders always there to take your order. The upside there was bar bill at the end of the cruise to see on your bill. Music row - The band playing the Rolling Stone Lounge was great!!, packed the room on every set, they sounded good and you could tell everyone was having a good time. We did sit in one set at Billboards (dueling pianos) they played music that everyone liked and could sing along to, that was the plus, the negative was that there were not very good. Frankly people were making comments on the elevator about how bad they were. Unfortunately the acts between the Rolling Stone and Billboards switch off every 45 min as not to play over one another. We did not go to BB Kings....not into blues music at all, frankly not a fan. When we walked by, there was always a full crowd and the sound was good. Not like Billboards. World Stage - we did not go to any of the shows, we spent our time on our veranda enjoying the scenery of Alaska, note it never got completely dark, was light out from 4 am to almost midnight. We did however sit through a few wildlife sessions and information about using binoculars etc to make the whole experience better, those were really good and were on the first sea day. Casino - we did not gamble, however we walked through the casino a few times to the elevator, smoke was really not an issue, noticed it but not as bad as people made it out to be on other posts. They have several slots and table games. Shopping - dominated by two things Jewelry and more jewelry, they did a have a couple shops on the 3rd deck with clothes and ship related stuff. frankly it could have been better. Typical for cruise ships to have more square footage selling jewelry and sales people than they do bar tenders.....don't get it. Conclusion: The Koningsdam was a beautiful ship, the itinerary was amazing, in Juneau we did the helicopter walk about on the Mendenhall Glacier, in Skagway we did the luxury train car, that was amazing, Glacier Bay is what it is spectacular, and in Ketchikan we did a private tour around town, booked out side of the ship. All in all the food was really good, room was amazing, staff was very friendly and supportive, booking and experience was very easy, we did not use a travel agent went directly through HAL. When flying into Vancouver we took the train down to Canada Place, cost us $27 us, going back to the airport cost the three of us $9. It was clean and fast. I hope this help anyone curious about sailing on this ship and itinerary

Great return to cruising

Incredible experience for what my wife and I were expecting (quiet, laid back). Ship was very well maintained and staff were incredible. We chose HAL for the food and for the quieter atmosphere and both delivered. The food was really good, we ate at the MDR whenever available and every single meal there was a hit. The Lido was sometimes busy but never took too long to get food. The cafe on the 3rd floor had really great pastries that I got every day too! There was sometimes a long line to go to the pizza place for late night snacks but the ability to order pizzas online helped there somewhat. We didn't book this cruise for the on board entertainment but went to a couple shows which were OK. The music walk seemed like fun but it wasn't our taste of music which is also OK. Overall for us it was a great experience.

Best Cruise EVER!!!

There is an article on this website that discusses changes in Celebrity and how it has spiraled downwards. I have done 60 cruises with Celebrity and my first Holland America (HA) cruise the past April 5th Celebrity has become a cash conscious taker, has cut so many things just to save a few bucks and I will not sail with them again. On the Koningsdam, everything was outstanding. The staff are very gracious, happy. joke amongst themselves and one can easily see that HA treats them well. Not so with Celebrity - I have had several run-ins with rude staff members. The food is far superior than Celebrity and unlike Celebrity, it arrives in a timely manner. It was evident that HA made most of the activities relatable to the cruise we are on. Celebrity does not, its just the same old, same old... The officers were kind and toured the ship talking with guests onboard. I had a nice decision with the Captain and his Deputy. I was given a reduced cost upgrade to a Vista Suite. In all the 60 cruises I have sailed with Celebrity, not once was I offered a free upgrade or a reduced cost upgrade. The size of the ship was perfect, the new Celebrity Edge class are far too big, They do not have verendahs. Don't let them fool you with their ridiculous virtual window BS. If you still want to sail with them, save some money and go for an ocean view room. Its a waste to buy Concierge Class ticket. The entertainment aboard HA was outstanding. I attended almost all events in the evening with HA and they really made an effort to do their very best. Celebrity on the other hand - their entertainment was of a very poor quality replaying and replaying several productions (Rock City and the timeclock thing). I stopped going to their attempt at entertainment long ago and just went to bed. HA is very careful about soliciting guests to buy things like upgraded beverages and wifi, i.e. they do not do it. You have to ask for it. Celebrity on the other hand, bombards its guests daily trying to sell amenities or upgraded ones. The dancers were exceptional. Celebrity has also shortened its cruises - there are no 14 night cruises in the Caribbean anymore. Quick sales for quick cruises. They have changed their strategy towards the younger folk, but have forgotten about us oldies (PS it is us who have money, not the youngsters). There is all kinds of variety of types and duration of cruises with HA. In my view, Celebrity has sadly set up to fail.. Celebrity has not strategically thought out their changes and it is going to haunt them in the near future. I believe safety is of prime importance - Celebrity is grossly lacking in this regard. They have reduced staff again so that guests have to plate themselves in the Ocean View Cafe and many with mobility issues are without assistance, or they have to wait for assistance. Not so with HA, everything is served by the staff in the Rido Market (I think it is called that) and it is much healthier. On Celebrity I have seen men come from the restroom after not cleaning their hands and sticking them directly into food. I had two stateroom attendants and two waiters with HA, and everyone did, regardless of your cabin. Celebrity did away with the second stateroom attendant and one of two waiters to save money. HA stateroom attendants wash down the walls - saw them doing so when I came back in. I am disappointed for two reasons: a. I am kicking myself for not trying HA much earlier in my cruise life; and b. Celebrity was once a great cruise line before corporate killed it and I have 1800 loyalty points with Celebrity that will be at sea. But I am not compromising again! With Future Cruises, I booked two more 17 night cruises with HA. This week I am cancelling all of my pending cruises with Celebrity.