Traveling with the Jones — Sharing Travel Discoveries

A Look Inside Stateroom 11001 on Holland America’s Koningsdam Cruise Ship

by Janis on July 25, 2016

Our ocean-view stateroom #11001 was one of the highlights of our July 3rd 7-Day Viking Sagas cruise on Holland America’s ms Koningsdam.

We had booked an inside cabin, but took advantage of a last-minute special paid upgrade offer to ocean-view stateroom 11001 on Deck 11 of the ms Koningsdam. You can see the window of our cabin at the front of the ship in the photo above. (Look at the highest deck with windows — note the four center windows — it is the second from the left.) This stateroom is just one deck below the Crow’s Nest.

The staterooms on Holland America’s ms Koningsdam have contemporary, sleek decor. The door markers give a clue to what the style is like inside.

This is the first look as you walk into ocean-view stateroom 11001, with one exception: we closed the window curtains to take the photo. This is an important distinction because our favorite highlight of this room is the view from the window.

Since stateroom 11001 is located on the front of the ship, it offers a fantastic view from window. In the photo above, the ms Koningsdam is still in Amsterdam at the cruise terminal prior to sail away.

This view was particularly enjoyable as our ship sailed through Norway’s scenic fjords.

The sofa is small, but we appreciated the separate overhead storage cabinets for our life jackets. (Being here meant they would be easy to locate in an emergency, and they didn’t take up storage room in the regular closet space.)

We loved the placement of the desk and its three sizable drawers. The drawers were the perfect place to store makeup and hair appliances.

This desk was a functional work desk; note all of the plugs. And, the desk’s placement away from the bed and sofa made for a spacious walkway in our cabin. One of us could be using the desk without the other bumping the other to pass by.

You can also see the flat screen interactive television in the photo above, which also saved space, along with the built-in brochure rack below it.

The light-colored wood cabinets hid a refrigerator /minibar. (There was a little extra space to add your own bottle of water, if you choose to do so.)

The cabinet above the refrigerator hid the in-room safe and an additional storage shelf.

We appreciated the three deep drawers below the refrigerator, which held a significant amount of clothes.

Stateroom 11001 contained two full-length closets with shelves to fold up or use, depending on your needs. One of those closets contains a full-length mirror, plus the robes.

Overall, the bathroom is small but the glassed-in shower is spacious with an adjustable shower head.

The bathroom mirror provided good lighting. The only drawback of this bathroom is that there is very little storage space.

Kudos to Holland America for adding bedside plug-ins and USB ports in all of the staterooms on the ms Koningsdam. Now, if you use your smartphone as an alarm clock like we do, it can be charging by your bedside along with your tablet or e-reader.

Have you sailed on Holland America’s ms Koningsdam? Do you have a favorite stateroom? Please share in comments below.

Check out these other Koningsdam photo tour posts:

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Dining on Holland America’s Koningsdam Cruise Ship

by Janis on July 16, 2016

We enjoyed trying the new dining options on Holland America’s ms Koningsdam during our July 3rd 7-Day Viking Sagas cruise.

From the fresh fruit plate at breakfast in The Dining Room to the deconstructed apple pie served during A Taste of De Librije, the food choices on the cruise line’s first Pinnacle Class ship offered something for most every taste.

Continuing our photo tour of the ms Koningsdam, here is a look at some of the new ship’s dining venues.

The two-story Dining Room at the aft end of Decks 2 and 3 is beautifully light and airy, even if it does remind you of being inside of a whale. We enjoyed breakfast here several days, although it is best to show up when the restaurant first opens rather than deal with the large crowd that appears 15 – 30 minutes before the scheduled closing time. The same is true for lunch during busy sea days.

We were delighted to find new items on the breakfast menu, and disappointed to learn that the wine bottles in the tower are just for show.

Also on Deck 2, you will find the Culinary Arts Center. On the ms Koningsdam, this area is using for cooking demonstrations during the day, but each evening becomes another dining venue. For a fee of $39 per person, the chefs prepare a 4-course meal using fresh ingredients and different kinds of flavor-enhancing cress. The 7 pm dinner includes a welcome cocktail, and unlimited wine from Snoqualmie Winery in Washington State.

While the food was good, we found this dining venue /concept a little uncomfortable and forced. It seems to be a work in progress.

Further down the hallway of Deck 2 is the Sel De Mer seafood brasserie. This small restaurant is charming, with French-inspired seafood that you order a la carte.

Three, four and five-star Mariners received a 25 – 50 percent discount on their bill, since this is a specialty restaurant.

Everyone dinner at Sel De Mer begins with freshly baked bread, addictive salted butter and a plate of tapenade toppings. We enjoyed the intimate atmosphere and fantastic service provided by Gladys.

On Deck 3, just off of the musically-inspired atrium is the Grand Dutch Cafe.

Holland America Line has hit a home run with this cafe that serves coffee and beer, along with a range of Dutch-inspired snacks.

The Cafe Latte is served in a blue and white Delftware mug with a traditional Dutch cookie. You have to pay for the drinks but the food is complementary. The morning pastries with this coffee make for a quick breakfast at this popular venue.

For a lunch or afternoon snack, the vegetable quiche and salad hits the spot. Orange – the color of Holland – utensils complement the Delftware.

You can keep track of all of the dining venues, their menus and your reservations on the Holland America Navigator app (download and access free on your smartphone) while on board the ms Koningsdam.

This screen shot (pictured above) shows part of the Taste of De Librije menu that is served one night per cruise in the Pinnacle Grill. We loved the food, the wine pairings and the service of this special evening. De Librije is a famous 3-star restaurant in the Netherlands outside of Amsterdam, and food and wine-lovers should not miss this evening on the ms Koningsdam.

For a very casual dining alternative, cruisers on the ms Koningsdam can head to Deck 10 to the New York Pizza & Deli. From bagels for breakfast to New York-style deli sandwiches made to order, this small restaurant over-looking the Lido Pool is open morning to evening. Thin-crust pizzas are made to order, and there’s also salad and dessert options. I would like to have a set of the dishes from this venue.

We did not dine in the Lido Market, which has been upgraded from the standard buffet restaurant with a variety of food stations. We did check out the self-serve beer station at the Lido Bar long enough to take a photo, but we’ll continue to rely on our favorite Holland America bartenders to pour and/or make our drinks.

A favorite of our dining spots on Holland America’s Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam ships, the Asian-inspired Tamarind Restaurant has a new location on the ms Koningsdam.

It is located at the aft end of Deck 10, overlooking the Sea View Pool.

While the Tamarind menu favorites were consistent with the other ships, we appreciated this new soft shell crab appetizer on the ms Koningsdam.

As we enjoyed the gracious service and terrific food of the Tamarind, we also were graced with this view as the ship sailed out The Netherlands into the North Sea, headed to Norway.

There are more dining options on the ms Koningsdam, from cooked-to-order burgers and hot dogs at the Dive-In to 24-hour room service.

Have you sailed on Holland America’s ms Koningsdam, or one of the line’s other cruise ships? What is your favorite dining venue?

Stay tuned for more of our photo tour, and check out these prior posts:

Or, you might want to compare to other cruise ship photo tours:

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Or, check out our boards on Pinterest and/or our photos on Instagram.

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A Photo Tour of Entertainment on Holland America’s Koningsdam

by Janis on July 11, 2016

The tiny village of Flam, Norway was one of the port stops during our July 3rd 7-Day Viking Sagas cruise from Amsterdam on Holland America’s ms Koningsdam.

This post is a continuation of our photo tour of the cruise line’s first Pinnacle Class ship. The entertainment options are one of the highlights of the new musically-inspired ship.

The World Stage is the largest entertainment venue on the ms Koningsdam. The two-story theater features a 270-degree video screen that completes lectures and production shows with an ever-changing background of sights and sounds.

ABBA Fab, a group of entertainers billed as “the Ultimate Tribute to Abba” was one of our favorite performances on the World Stage during our cruise on the ms Koningsdam. Other performances in this venue included Comedian Tony Daro, Instrumentalist Amy Lee, Frozen Planet Live from BBC Earth, and two cast production shows, of which “Off the Charts – Billboard hits Rewind” was a favorite.

All of the World Stage shows are presented three times per evening, generally at 7:15 pm, 8:30 pm, and 10 pm. The 10 pm ABBA Fab show was standing room only.

As you exit the World Stage on Deck 2, you head past this artwork into the Music Walk, an area of the ms Koningsdam with three different stages that present a variety of live music.

The first area is known as Billboard Onboard with a bar and two pianists playing 50 years of top songs.

The two singer/pianists play three sets most nights, and also play requests from the crowd.

We loved this entertainment option, usually while enjoying a pre or post-dinner cocktail such as the Blue Glacier martini pictured above.

By the last night of the cruise, these pianists had developed a loyal crowd of fans, including the ABBA Fab singers who joined in a sing-along.

The showtimes of the Billboard Onboard area are staggered with those of the Lincoln Center Stage, the popular classical music venue across the hallway.

You will also find the Notes whiskey bar in the Music Walk area on Deck 2 of the ms Koningsdam.

The third venue of the Music Walk is the two-level Queen’s Lounge. This stage becomes the B.B. King’s Blues Club six out of seven nights of a typical cruise on the ms Koningsdam.

The B.B. King’s All Stars singers and band members entertained for three separate shows six nights of our cruise. They know how to get the crowd on the Koningsdam on the dance floor.

All of these entertainment options make the ms Koningsdam a draw for a guests with a wide variety of musical interests. We enjoyed something from each of the venues.

Have you sailed on Holland America’s newest cruise ship? What is your favorite entertainment venue?

If you missed it, here’s our Photo Tour of the Koningsdam’s upper decks. Stay tuned for a tour of the dining options.

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A Photo Tour of Holland America’s Newest Cruise Ship: the ms Koningsdam

by Janis on July 8, 2016

We sailed on Holland America Line’s new ms Koningsdam cruise ship on the July 3rd 7-Day Viking Sagas cruise from Amsterdam.

Big and beautiful, the first Pinnacle Class ship features 13 guest decks and houses 2,650 guests (not counting third and forth guests sharing a stateroom), in addition to 1,036 crew.

The fluid curves of musical instruments inspired the ship’s design by hospitality designer Adam D. Tihany and ship architect Bjorn Storbraaten.

Curved shapes appear throughout the ms Koningsdam, as seen in the Panorama Deck over the Sea View Pool at the aft end of the ship. This area also includes the Sea View bar and outdoor tables for dining just outside of the Lido Market restaurant.

Sun seekers have three decks of lounge chairs to catch rays at the aft end of the ms Koningsdam. The view pictured above is from the Deck 11 Sun Deck overlooking additional sunning areas on the Panorama Deck and the adults only Sea View Pool.

Mid-ship on Deck 11 near the ship’s stack, you will find the Sport Court for basketball and other games. The area is fully-enclosed to keep errant balls out of the sea. The blue-surfaced Sport Court has bleacher seats for spectators.

Mid-ship, the Lido Pool is a two-level affair, with a retractable roof and a poolside outdoor movie screen.

On the deck 11 Sun Deck, a jogging track circles the sliding doom cover that is closed during inclement weather. The photo above also provides a view of the popular lounging areas on Deck 10, one deck above the Lido Pool.

The lounge chairs and day beds are popular spots for folks to hang out in shade during the day, and/or to watch the evening movie showing on the outdoor screen while perhaps enjoying a cocktail from the Panorama Bar or a casual meal from the New York Pizza and Deli.

During one of only two sea days during our cruise, the hot tubs in theLido Pool area where popular.

Further forward on Deck 9 is the Greenhouse Spa and Salon, and then the fitness center. At the front of the ship, this gym offers treadmills with an ocean view.

Another room in the Fitness Center houses Ryde Indoor Cycling and TRX classes, which cost $20 per class on the ms Koningsdam.

You will find the Crow’s Nest up three levels on the Deck 12 Observation Deck. Like other Holland America ships, it features floor to ceiling windows.

The rest of the Crow’s Nest is quite a departure from the prior Holland America standard design.

The contemporary decor is fun and fresh, but not very functional for cocktails, events or conversations.

The bar is square, and the tall backed chairs cut up the room. Our biggest disappointment on Deck 12 was the library. A highlight of other Holland America ships filled with New York Times bestsellers, the library on the ms Koningsdam has been relegated to a small corner with only a few destination books and magazines.

One thing that has not been removed from the ms Koningsdam: beautiful fresh flower arrangements are found throughout the ship.

Another highlight of Deck 12 is The Retreat, a private sunning area for those who pay extra for a private cabana space. The green bunny keeps a watch over this area, sure to be popular on Mediterranean and Caribbean cruises.

Have you sailed on Holland America’s new ms Koningsdam? What is your favorite spot?

Stay tuned for more of our photo tour.

A Photo Tour of Entertainment on Holland America’s Koningsdam

Meanwhile, you might want to check out these other cruise ship photo tours:

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook

Or, check out our boards on Pinterest and/or our photos on Instagram.

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