Eastern Caribbean Cruise: The Ship Experience

I decided to use Blogger's program rather than wait.

Since we have a 40th anniversary approaching, we decided to
celebrate early by splurging on a Caribbean cruise this winter. We are not water/beach activity lovers. Our main desire was to experience the beautiful new cruise ship Koningsdam and be somewhere warm and sunny.


We flew from Indianapolis to Fort Lauderdale Saturday January 28th and spent the night at a Courtyard by Marriott in Plantation, a suburb inland and west of the airport and city. This hotel is close to an open-air shopping mall. We ate at Padrino's, a Cuban restaurant within walking distance. I liked the plantains that came with my dinner, but after trying the yucca my husband chose, I would not recommend that side dish. [But I tasted it because remember I am “filling the well” this year.]

The next morning we awoke to rain (which had been predicted). The hotel served breakfast for a fee. We had hot oatmeal which came with cups of toppings (nuts, brown sugar, and fruit), juice, coffee, and saved the bananas which were included to take with us.
The hotel shuttle to Port Everglades left at 10 a.m. This seemed a bit early since the port service does not allow the cruise lines to open their check-in services until 11 a.m. According to the instructions provided by our AAA travel agent, we could not board the ship until 1 p.m.

However, once at the docks, there were thousands of people milling about in the rain, either disembarking or there for check-in, taxis and vans and cars moving at a snail’s pace, and the fact that our van driver had 4 different cruise lines for drop-offs made for slow progress. There were 8 ships in port that morning but strung out at different docks with cul-de-sacs.

We were the next-to-last passengers delivered from our van. By the time we found room on the luggage carts for our stuff, it was a few minutes after eleven and we walked out of the misty rain right into the Holland America facility. We were scanned similar to what happens at an airport, presented our passports and boarding passes. We stood in line at the check-in counters maybe 10 minutes, after filling out a health questions survey.

At the counter, our pictures were taken and our ID cards issued, the key to everything on the ship dealing with money as well as the access to our stateroom and the required document to disembark and embark at port calls. Usually, we also needed to show our passport to embark again.

I’ve digitally smudged out my name. You will notice that the cabin number is not on the card. When one purchased items, the clerk asked the cabin number and checked it against the computerized system which also had one’s photo to verify the card was not stolen.
Once past the check-in counters where we were given a boarding group number pass, we entered a huge waiting room where hundreds of people already were sitting. Port Everglades provides free wifi and we took advantage of that because we knew the ship wifi was very slow and very costly to access. We also ate our bananas. About 11:20, a lady announced over the sound system that group 1 could board. The waiting area was full. We were group 5. By 11:45, our group was announced. As we boarded the ship our cards were scanned.

Most people went to the Lido buffet for lunch, but because we were Mariners (had cruised with Holland America before) we went to the main dining room where we ate at tables with white cloths and china and ordered from a menu. I never received this tidbit from Holland America. I saw it mentioned on some of the cruise critic internet sites and then emailed Holland America a few days before we left home. I was told that my computer record viewed at the dining room desk would show I was eligible for this lunch. The dining room was serene; I suspect the Lido was crowded and hectic. At noon, an announcement was made that the cabins were ready to occupy. We leisurely headed to the elevators after a nice lunch, went to level 6, Mozart deck. It took a bit of orienting ourselves to discover the starboard side where our verandah balcony stateroom was located mid-ship. Figuring out which direction to go to reach the front of the ship or the back took getting used to. There are labels at the head of the cabin corridors with room number ranges and starboard or port and diagrams near the elevators, but even toward the end of the cruise, I had people asking me on the elevator which direction to get to the main dining room or the Crow’s Nest or elsewhere.

Our luggage did not arrive until several hours later so we decided to explore the ship. At 3:30 there was a life boat mustering drill. We were to go to the Queens Lounge. Because it was raining, they did not take us outside to our specific boat. They scanned everybody's cards; if you did not show up for the practice, they had the right to disembark you without compensation.

Koningsdam is Holland America’s biggest ship, with 2600 passengers. One of the couples on our hotel shuttle was going on the Allure of the Seas with almost 6000 passengers;  too big for my tastes. Things have changed since our cruise to Alaska almost 20 years ago. Most of the cabins have balconies; we had a small bathroom but a big shower; flat-screen TVs; there are specialty restaurants (for a surcharge); no more midnight buffets (the Lido closes at 10 p.m.); hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the ship; a special handwashing machine in the Lido, very limited smoking areas to name a few. The dress code for the dining room has been relaxed some; no shorts, flip-flops, t-shirts at dinner. We saw two couples turned away because the men wore shorts so it was enforced except the first night when the man next to us had shorts but a collared shirt (the requirement for men). Holland America is considered somewhat stuffy compared to some other cruise lines who do not have dress codes.

Holland America has two gala nights when the passengers are expected to dress up. Traditionally, men have worn suits or even tuxes (no longer required). The specialty restaurants also have this gala dress code. I knew from my internet reading, that the gala nites are usually the days at sea. I didn’t learn this until I had already booked a reservation at the Tamarind restaurant though. We missed the dining room gala nite Monday as we were at the restaurant instead. We saw one couple in the Tamarind in a tux and formal ball gown; many men in suits. I suspect the European cruises have dressier clientele; in the Caribbean there is a more laid-back ambiance.

I wore this shell/jacket top to the Asian Tamarind restaurant as I thought it had a slight Oriental look. I had a pair of dressy black pants and sling-back black shoes.

The sparkly silver threads running through my top.

For the dining room gala nite, I wore the pants, a lacy pullover top, and used a beaded sequined large scarf as a stole. I also wore my dangly Dallas rhinestone earrings. I am sure ladies had diamonds and other real jewels, but I did not, and felt fine.

Food is a big deal on cruise ships. Not always the highest quality, but plenty of choices. Holland America has pretty good food. I was disappointed in the eggs Benedict and in the creme brulee. I tried some “different” items (cold blueberry soup for example), and the menu certainly had some unusual dishes besides standard classics. I think my favorite dining room items were the brisket at the Mariners champagne lunch and a rhubarb tart one evening. The chocolate cake we ordered from room service was delicious, though maybe sitting on our balcony in the moonlight enhanced it. The breakfast pastries, especially the croissants were very good, too.

In some ways, the cruise was too short—too short to try all of the goodies on the buffet and the grilled deli sandwiches which looked so good at the NY Deli and Pizza station next to the swimming pool. We did have personal pizzas, hamburgers and fries, gelato near the Lido pool. On Friday’s gala nite, the surf and turf was very good; I traded my lobster (of which I am not a fan) for my husband’s filet of beef. Our assistant steward was startled when he offered to pour more drawn butter on the lobster to see I no longer had lobster. Generally, I found the hot soups to be too salty. Rather than balance bowls of hot soup on a tray, the bowl had all of the ingredients except the broth/liquid inside, and the waiter poured the liquid from a small pitcher after setting the bowl in front of the guest. The main course portions were also small, but one could have unlimited starters and multiple desserts. Or go to the Lido and graze some more.

The decor theme of the Koningsdam is music. All of the decks are named for composers. The entertainment venues were strung along a corridor called Music Walk. The decorations included musical instruments, the dining room had arches reminiscent of a harp as did the 3-story atrium.

  

The Atrium

Display between the elevators on the Crow’s Nest level

We were assigned table 209 on the upper level of the 2-levels dining room for early seating. There was a flexible option, but people often were given a pager and had to wait awhile for a table.

Table 209; Rendy was the main waiter. Holland America uses mostly Indonesian crew, a result of its colonization of that part of the world. Somebody told me that the bar keepers were Filipino, but since we didn’t use the bars I don’t know. I do think the sommelier at our table was Filipino. I wonder if most Indonesians are Muslims at least nominally; Islam bans alcohol so perhaps they were not conversant with mixing drinks and selecting wines, lacked the expertise?

Views from our table. We did sit on level one for breakfast and lunch.

The arches which were meant to evoke a harp, but most people felt they looked like sitting inside whale skeleton bones.

I was surprised that the dining room often was not open for lunch on port days. It was also closed to the “public” on the two full sea days as there were two Mariner Lunches hosted on those days. However, the Lido buffet was always available as well as the hamburger /hot dog place and the deli/pizza place plus you could order room service any time, though a more limited menu. Alcoholic beverages, sodas, and gelato were fee-based. We were lucky that we had $75 of ship credit as a gift from AAA and that we don’t imbibe cocktails so the money went far. Alcohol is served throughout the ship with several bars and drink service at the shows and at the swimming pools and spa.

The Lido buffet had food stations on both sides of the center core, with seating starboard and port. You could also carry the food to the pool area where there were two fast-food options and tables to sit.

Plentiful food choices: stir-fry, sandwiches, pastries, ice cream, cookies, pudding, cake, breads, salads, casseroles, for breakfast pancakes, waffles, cereal, yogurt, fruit, scrambled eggs and on and on. The server dished up most items and handed to you; cleanliness and hygiene definitely a concern.

Good views from the Lido deck up on the 9th level.

A unique eating venue was the Dutch Cafe to the side of the atrium. A lot of people ordered specialty coffees to go, but it had breakfast sandwiches, desserts, quiche, pickled herring, sandwiches all based on Dutch cuisine. The servers were young people from the Netherlands. My husband and I split a piece of apple pie for a coffee break one day. We also ate lunch here one day. It overlooked the promenade deck; one was reminded by the exercising walkers that there was a way to get rid of all of these calories.

The public restrooms had cloth towels. There was a paper towel dispenser next to the door with a sign to use to open the door, then toss in receptacle. The welcome aboard information encouraged people to use their own bathrooms but of course there were times when a public facility came in handy.

I did feel Holland America fell a little short on day activities. There were special sales on the Lido deck and in the jewelry stores. Spa specials. Cocktail specials and get-togethers on the Sun Deck and at the Lido pool area. Basketball courts, a track (which my husband, an early riser used in the morning). A casino.There were 2 craft sessions but on days we were away on excursions. Bingo for $25 for 5 cards. None of these appealed to me. Fortunately, I am a reader, and found a few quiet spots as well as sitting on my balcony.

I did take the kitchen tour. I also walked the promenade a few times as well as sunning on a chaise lounge on the Sun Deck.

Plating charts so things were dished up with flair each time.

I attended a session at the Culinary Center (which also was a restaurant in the evening, farm to table style) where the chief baker showed us how to make a few items and offered samples and recipes. He got up at 2 a.m. every morning to bake with his assistants bread and yeast-based food for 2600 passengers and over 1000 crew. There was a vegetable carving demo I skipped.

There was a demo on how to fold the towels and washcloths into “animals”. I didn’t attend, but kids would enjoy. Every evening our cabin steward left us chocolates, the announcement sheets for the next day, and a creature (fish, turtle, seal, etc.) made out of folded linens with two jiggly eyes resting in the right place.

Of course, there were two swimming pools which I never used. LOL

The big screen with the design hanging above the Lido pool area was used for movies. We almost went one night (free popcorn provided), but ended up watching a movie in our cabin.

There were lots of evening choices. We especially enjoyed the string quartet and piano playing classical music, sometimes featuring one composer, at the Lincoln Center Stage.

The B.B. King Blues shows in the Queen’s Lounge were rousing and entertaining.

This became a disco dance floor at 11 p.m., but we were never up that late. This is also where afternoon tea was served, but it lasted 30 minutes, and the reviews were that you could get yummy things at the Lido that were better.

A huge auditorium at the rear of the ship had a comedian, a juggler who was really a comedy routine, BBC presentations about nature, a song and dance show with a surround-screen background that was impressive. I didn’t much like the comedian, but the other shows were good.

This is the Koningsdam’s inaugural year. She started in Europe, moving to the Caribbean in October. She is the direction that Holland America is moving, and I probably got a little spoiled. I had no sea sickness, but then we had calm seas and only a little rain the first afternoon and evening out of Fort Lauderdale. I would cruise on her any time, but probably not on the itinerary to the Eastern Caribbean. At our Mariner lunch, we shared the table with another couple who had sailed on Holland America once before; on the Koningsdam in Europe. They returned. So would I.

The Delft tile we received as a gift at the Mariner Champagne Lunch; really special as it indicates this is the inaugural season for the Koningsdam.