First time Cruise....

First time cruise with wife! OK! Was excited and weather was near perfect for the whole cruise. Didn't know what we were getting into and happened to pick this cruise line and also the cabin. We can afford any room we want, but as a phoebic, I just wanted a large window. This put us mid/aft ship on deck 1...Okay!!!! First impression when walking into the room on lower section was I wish we were higher. Also, I felt the window could of been cleaned. However, the room was very clean, comfortable, and spacious. I realize that a lower deck window gets sea spray and is extra maintenance since it can only be cleaned from the outside. Wasn't terrible, but I love clean windshields on my cars. But was still OK. All main upper deck glass was beautiful and we spent much of our time up there. Also, the lower deck position grew on us and we were very comfortable there and loved our position. The cabin was so quite and smooth for our entire trip. Was kept extremely cleaned and stocked with towels. As for the food, the regular Lido deck was near excellent for both of us. Plenty of fresh variety. The scrambled eggs seemed a little wet, but they would cook more for you if you wanted. As for me, I stuck with fresh omelets most of the time. All deserts that we chose was bakery fresh and not real sugary. All good. The fruits were all fresh, but we steered clear of the pineapple because the few times we tried it was a bit too tart. Also we did try the NY pizza as a late comfort food and neither one of liked it. But overall, 95% of the food included was excellent. With such a large variety, I can't give them even one star down. Water was fresh and completely filtered, I never drink water from anything but a bottle, but I drank their water from a glass all the time. We didn't find a need to go to any of the restaurants. We had 3 shore excursions with only the Skagway train ride being a Tiny bit of an issue, but these are for separate reviews. Overall, it was a smooth sailing clean ship with great food and service. Glacier Bay was my favorite part of the entire cruise. R&R is all we were there for. I did put on an extra 10 pounds once we got back. Only bad thing is the food indulgence. But it's unavoidable...Loved the whole thing although once we do something we tend not to do it again.....Time for a different vacation in a different place...

First time cruiser. Koningsdam didn't disappoint.

We had a great time on the Koningsdam. Ship was in great shape. We loved all the art around the ship and the decor. You felt like you were actually at sea and not in a fancy hotel. A more classic cruise experience. This was our first cruise and I did a ton of research. My expectations were high and I wasn't disappointed. Food was great. We ate in both the MDR and the Lido and both were equally as good. The ship was full, so occasionally it could be hard to find a table. We would just take our food to the pool area were there were plenty of tables. We preferred eating out there anyways. Tamarind was excellent as good as any fancy asian restaurant on land. We had a Family OceanView and it worked well with my two teenage boys. Except for embarkation day, the ship never felt too crowded.

We Would Do It Again

Quick preface about me. This is my 7th...maybe 8th cruise. I've sailed Carnival, Royal, and now Holland, but most of my cruising post-2000 has been with Carnival. I've been a long time defender of Carnival with the caveat of longer cruises tend to provide an excellent experience over the booze cruise craziness. That all changed two-years ago. I won't rehash that cruise other than to say it is the worst one I've taken. If you want to know more details, you can look up my Mardi Gras review. Suffice to say, I will not be sailing Carnival again and I simply state that to give some perspective. This cruise was myself (50), my wife (eternally 35) and our two daughters ages 17 and 10. I will give a brief summary based on all the categories and then I will provide some more detailed information for those that want the additional feedback. This was a big trip for us and I'm guessing if you are a planner, you have some anxiety about making this trip worth the money. Without further ado: Cabin - 5/5. Verandah. 4 of us; it was tight. Balcony was one of the larger ones for a Verandah. I believe there are four for each deck level that Verandahs are present. Clean. Clever use of space. Biggest shower I've had. No issues with outlets. Highly recommend Deck 7. You are not under Lido and it is all cabins above and below. Dining/Food - 4/5. Specialty restaurants were top-notch. Wagyu was excellent. Main dining room appetizers were inspiring. Breakfast in the main dining room excellent. Main dining room dinner entrees were unremarkable. Lido deck burgers were awful. My kids loved the fries though. The pizza and deli is excellent, as are the salads. Just make sure to order your pizza fresh; it makes all the difference and is worth the wait. The buffet on the Lido was bleh. Shoutout for the MDR reindeer sausage; it has ruined all other sausage for me. Drinks - 5/5. Great selection. Healthy pours. The Alaskan beers were a joy and I'm sad that they aren't all available out of state. Suffice to say, you can get schnookered fairly easily. Embarkation - 5/5. Caveat that we stayed at the Pan Pacific. Details in the last section if you want them. Lined up at 10:30 am. We were through registration, security, and customs by 11 am. Room was ready...and there were two boats boarding. Best embarkation I've had. Debarkation a breeze as well. Entertainment 3/5. - It was fine for what I wanted on an Alaskan cruise. Saw three of the World Stage shows which included a magician and comedian. They were very good. The three main bars were fine for what they were but the musicians playing there are not memorable. Lots of art classes; lots of health classes catered to senior citizens; lost of jewelry stuff; bingo; trivia with the cruise director. Regardless, not a lot of production value injected into this aspect of the cruise. And hey, it is catered to an older crowd. We never had trouble finding a seat though and never felt crowded for any of the above-referenced bars and World Stage. You can get there anytime and find a nice seat. Now, the Crow's Nest (Deck 12 - bow) is hopping early...and any art classes, etc. are hopping as well. There was no shortage of people up and at them at 6 am...or so we were told. In short, you need to arrive early for anything pre-6 pm. You have no such arrival time past 6 pm. Casino was on the smaller side. Yes, there are smokers; yes, I don't get it, but it is what it is. Family Friendly - 4/5. One of my big concerns going in with the HAL reputation. I told my wife to be forewarned that I would be considered young "meat" on the cruise. So, it is an Alaskan cruise. There is no water park. There is a pool that has a retractable roof. It was always in use, but never crowded like your Caribbean cruises. Out of the 2,400 passengers, over 300 were kids and over 120 were ages 8 - 12 (I didn't think this information would be openly shared, but I asked and they answered at the Kids' Club during registration. If you have older kids, they will look and act bored even if you are on a rocket ship to Mars; if you have a 10-year old, they are perfectly satisfied with escalators and a pool. Youth is wasted on the young. The staff was great with our kids though; more than enough options for picky eaters. Room service is included for no additional charge with a limited but acceptable menu. They are going to bored to some degree on the sea days or they will be 17 and dreaming of their significant other and 5g internet. Fitness Room - Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Public Areas - 5/5. Okay. Clean. Like white-glove clean. I've been on newer boats and been disappointed...not that this boat is old (approaching 10 years), but the cleanest boat I've ever been on. They don't even touch straws while wearing gloves. The buffet is not self-serve. There are bathrooms and hand-washing stations everywhere. And there is never any trouble finding a place to chill out on the Lido deck. Unless it is the Crow's Nest early in the day or a Bingo game, you are good to go. The boat is just quiet and chill nearly everywhere. Value for your money - 5/5. I'd do it again. I'd do it again without my children unless they are grown; I may still do it again without my children even if they are grown. I'd choose Holland again without pause. I would not choose Holland for a Caribbean or beachy cruise, but Alaska or perhaps European cruise? For sure...though I've always wanted to try Viking but I also want to afford gifts for my children at Christmas. Service - 5/5. Exceptional. I could count on one hand the amount of times I was not completely satisfied with the service and those were far from egregious. Children's Program - I wish I could offer you more, but my youngest just wasn't interested this time and we weren't going to force her, but we walked by the entrance to the Kids' Club quite often and it was always hopping...at least for the aforementioned 8 - 12 age group. If you want to keep reading, this is mix of tips, tricks, and recommendations. Pre-Cruise. We had a heck of a time finding a hotel near Canada Place. Turns out, there was a Global AA conference the weekend we arrived. The hotels I could find were over $1,000 a night. So I took a flyer on a pre-cruise package that included transportation to the airport, lodging at the Pan Pacific, and portage for your luggage. It ran a bit over $600, but the room wasn't inflated due to their agreement with Holland America. My biggest gripe pre-trip is I didn't understand how transportation would work from the airport. We were arriving around 11 pm. Three calls to Holland yielded three different responses. An explanation was not clear in the description. I had reconciled to myself that I would just have to find transportation to the hotel. Well, as soon as we came out of customs, there was a HAL representative waiting on us. They provided a voucher for a taxi. No issue getting a taxi. 40-minute ride. The hotel is actually build into the pier where the cruise ships dock. It is a gorgeous property. When we checked-in, the front desk clerk upgraded us to a 600 sf suite. We never got to fully enjoy it, but it was a welcome touch. The bathroom was bigger than our state room on the ship. At 9 am the next morning, HAL called our room to welcome us and confirm some information. At 10 am, representatives from HAL came to our room and got all our luggage. Upon arriving back at the end of the cruise, they did not provide transportation back to the airport, but they did keep all our bags as we had a very late flight. We ended up getting a city day pass for buses and trains. $18 each and free for kids under 12. This includes the airport and the station is five-minutes from the hotel and a 30-minute ride to the airport. Packing - Good luck figuring out what to pack. We had temperatures ranging from 39 degrees to 71 degrees. We had heavy gusts and Forest Gump-esque rain, as well as sunny skies. Take binoculars. Take some basic rainproof gear and footware. I traveled with three girls; if I can survive it, so can you. We did bring a pair of wine bottles on board. Despite what the website says, we were not charged a corkage fee as we kept it in the room. The laundry service was the best money spent. It is $70 for the week. We read a tip to throw a few dollars on top of every bag. While they have 36-hours to get it back, we left our laundry bag on the bed at 6 pm, turndown service grabbed it, and we had it back by noon the next day. We did this every day up until last service at noon on Thursday. Get a balcony. The ship is built for touring Alaska, but the best spots do get crowded. We gave up quick and went back to the room for Glacier Bay. Room service brought us drinks, everything the park ranger said was pumped through our television, and we just sat on the balcony for six-hours enjoying the zen. I will review the excursions separately, but we did two and they were excellent. I mentioned we had a late flight. We took a bus to the Vancouver aquarium...about a 15-minute ride. After a few hours there, we headed back to the Seawall next to Pan Pacific. A beautiful area. Lots of great views, people walking and riding bikes everywhere, and just a very pretty city. They take their eco-friendliness to what I considered a pretty hard-core level, but it is hard to argue with how clean the air and city was...at least for Stanly Park and the Seawall. I'm sure they have their not-so-friendly places like every city, but the areas we visited were a breath of fresh air (literally). I hope this helps. I will link the review in the forums once approved and do my best to answer any specific questions.