Flying Visit to see a King

Last weekend I was lucky to spend a night in Amsterdam with 2 of my colleagues to visit the newest

Holland America ship Koningsdam. Koning is the Dutch word for King and this ship is definitely the

King of the fleet. We arrived into Amsterdam early on Saturday morning and spent the night at the

Movenpick Hotel along with other travel agents from various companies. We were taken on a

walking tour of Amsterdam in the morning and then taken to a lovely restaurant for lunch. This was

hosted by the lovely Lucy and Becky from Holland America who were our hosts for the weekend

along with the lovely Ben from Superbreak.

When in Amsterdam must drink Dutch Beer

After this we had some spare time before heading back to the hotel to get ready for our evening in

Amsterdam. We had a lovely 2 hour river cruise with a 4 course meal washed down with some lovely

wine.

The Very handsome Captain of our River Boat!

On Sunday we had an early start as we made our way to see Koningsdam. We didn’t have far to walk

though as the Movenpick Hotel is situated right next to the cruise terminal and would be a great

hotel for an overnight if you are sailing from Amsterdam. The hotel is about a 15 minute walk from

Central Station and only 1 stop on the tram if you don’t want to walk. The train journey from the

airport takes about 15 minutes and only costs about 5-6 euros.

View from our hotel room, that’s how close it is!

As this was the first time I had seen a Holland America ship so I was excited to see what she had to

offer. Once onboard I wasn’t disappointed. The ship was very light and airy and had a very

contemporary feel.

We got to see a few of the cabins and these were tastefully decorated in neutral colours and were

spacious with a lot of storage space although some of cabins I felt had wasted space. The shower

cubicles in the bathroom were of a good size and I also learned that the bar in the bottom is for

ladies to use when they are shaving their legs! And no shower curtains to be seen anywhere, just

lovely glass cubicles.

                  After all my years of cruising I now know what this bar is for!

My colleague  Alison clowning around in the shower. I was so tempted to switch it on!

The Open deck areas also had a modern feel to them with curvy glass panels around the upper

decks. There was comfy sofa seating around the top deck too so you would look over the deck

below. These were covered with waterproof fabric which I think is a great idea as on many ships they

have lovely seating but these soon become stained with people sitting on them with wet swimwear.

On deck 12 there is the retreat where they have private Cabana’s but you do have to pay for these.

Inside they have lovely sunbeds with thick mattresses and also provide bottled water, a fan and a

water mist spray for when you get hot and bothered. One thing that was a bit odd abaout this area was big green bunny! Im not quite sure what the purpose of that was!

There is also an open screen out on the deck where films are shown and you can enjoy popcorn

while watching a movie.

Blend is a first for Holland America and this is where you can blend your own wine and then taste it

 

 

World Stage which is the theatre situated over 2 decks was striking as it wraps its self around a

centre stage which means everyone gets a great view from wherever you sit.

The Queens Lounge situated on Deck 3 is where they have live music and it had a beautiful wooden

dance floor and reminded me a lot of the Queens Room on Queen Mary although not quite as big.

 

I also loved this sweeping wooden staircase in the middle of the ship.

 

The Lido Market which is the buffet restaurant was brightly decorated in yellows and greens and had a great system for washing your hands before entering. The machine was like a dyson hand dryer but was filled with water that automatically switched on when you put your hands in, like a mini Jacuzzi just for your hands!

 The Main Dining room was also lovely a bright room in shades of yellow and cream and with a splash of purple thrown in. Here we were served our delicious lunch

Although we were only on board for a few hours it was lovely to get an insight to a Holland America and I have to say I was really impressed. This is one ship I would definitely like to cruise on.