Koningsdam Review
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Additional details
This cruise was my second cruise in Europe, my third cruise with Holland America, but my first on the Koningsdam.
We stayed one night in Rome before the cruise and one night after, both at the Starhotel Metropole which is less than ten minutes’ walk from Termini station, a location very convenient for transfers to and from the airport as well as the cruise port in Civitavecchia as we did both independently by train.
A week or so before the cruise we got an email from Holland America indicating that they would like us to arrive at the cruise port at 3:00 pm. We had been planning to arrive a couple hours earlier, but we took them at their word and took the 12:42 train from Termini to Civitavecchia and were on board by about 2:45. When I bought the tickets I selected on the machine that I was going to Civitavecchia Port and therefore bought the ticket for the train and also for the PortLink bus without really intending to, but that made it very convenient when we arrived in Civitavecchia as we did not have to find someone to buy bus tickets from or walk the mile to Largo della Pace. Upon arrival at Largo della Pace you are immediately put on a shuttle to your ship; at ship side there is a temporary building/tent where check-in takes place. Check in was very quick they did not even want to see our boarding documents just our passports then they took our picture gave us our ship card and we were on our way.
Cabin Review
Verandah Stateroom
Our cabin was a partially obstructed view balcony cabin. It is a triple room with the third birth dropping down from the ceiling (weight limit 220lbs) over the head of the main beds. The cabin steward raised and lowered the bed every day so it was out of the way during the daytime. There was plenty of storage, we had some drawers and cupboards that we did not use, but we are light packers and limit ourselves to a carry-on bag for all trips. The bathroom seemed reasonably roomy by cruise ship standards, but it had seen some hard use, the showerhead hose leaked badly and the sink was cracked. This cabin is positioned behind the lifeboats which does somewhat limit the view. We deliberately chose a cabin that was between lifeboats and I think it did improve the view a little bit, but you did generally have to be standing up to see much. A new feature was a motion detection night light which came on when someone walked around the cabin after the lights were out and woke everyone up, not our favorite. Our steward did not catch on to our schedule as fast as I have experienced in the past and we had to ask for a laundry bag, but he also took time to help us search for a small item we thought we had lost (it turned up in a pocket of one of our bags) and he was very friendly.
Port Reviews
Rome (Civitavecchia)
We were excited to have time to visit The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Rome, Italy Temple which just opened this year and its beautiful visitor center. It was easier to get to than we had anticipated just a Metro and Bus ride from Termini station. We also enjoyed walking around and revisiting some sights from our previous trip.
Rhodes
We did not book an excursion here but walked off the ship and explored Rhodes town on our own. It is an adorable medieval town with quaint picturesque streets every-way you look. The Palace of the Grand Master is a beautiful museum, as is the Archaeological museum.