The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Old school still cool
Holland America refreshes just enough for its more mature core customers
At a Rotary International fundraiser six years ago, my wife and I were the highest bidder for a Holland America Line cruise for two. The certificate didn’t have an expiration date, so we agreed to hold on to the silent auction item for about 20 years, when both of us would be in our 70s. By then we’d be the right age for our first Holland America cruise — or so we were told by people supposedly more savvy about that particular line.
So, when an opportunity came up for me to test the waters on a virgin sail with the Seattlebased company that turns 150 next year, I was prepared to spend several days on a floating old folk’s home. Talk about having the wrong perception. While plenty of septuagenarians were aboard the recent voyage on the gracious and gorgeous MS Koningsdam, the passenger manifest had a range of guests much wider than perceived. Sixty-two percent were age 51-74, according to the ship’s guest relations desk, and the majority had cruised previously with the luxury line (hollandamerica.com). Of the few 30-somethings and under among the half-full Pacific Coastal cruise from San Diego to Vancouver, British Columbia, all seemed to be traveling with parents or grandparents.
While an older demographic made up most of the 1,222 passengers, a buoyant retirement community this wasn’t. The onboard seniors, this AARP card carrier included, had the time of our lives, thanks to superb accommodations, cuisine, entertainment and activities on the 2,650-capacity ship, which is spending the summer cruising Alaska before heading to Southern California for runs up the coast after a stopover in Ensenada, Mexico, starting in October.
Koningsdam is scheduled to sail out of San Diego; Seattle; Anchorage, Alaska; and Vancouver through 2024, and the Pacific Coast is the better for it. Besides sporting an attentive and genuinely hospitable crew — the best I’ve seen now that Crystal Cruises is dearly departed — Holland America’s 6-year-old Pinnacle Class ship is loaded with the fleet’s most popular venues.
Four of them are along Music Walk, Holland America’s mix of Memphis’ Beale Street, New York’s Carnegie Hall and New Orleans’ Bourbon Street. The eclectic sounds on Deck 2 range from classical as played by a virtuoso ensemble on Lincoln Center Stage, R&B and blues at B.B. King’s All-star Band, classic rock in the Rolling Stone (Magazine) Rock Room, and 70 years of charttopping hits with a nightly all-request set in the piano bar. A plus is that the performers don’t drown each other out as you amble from one joint to another. Shows on the World Stage, the ship’s gorgeous and technically advanced main theater, include innovative dance performances by the multidisciplined Step One Dance Company and a multimedia experience combining live music with a backdrop of stunning footage from the BBC Earth TV series “Planet Earth II.”
Foodwise, the main dining room, cleverly named The Dining Room, is a reliable and fareincluded option for breakfast and dinner, and lunch on sea days when desiring a full staff of servers. A more relaxed vibe is found at Lido Market, one of the better buffets at sea. Props to
Holland America for still making omelets with fresh eggs. Sister lines in the Carnival Corp. portfolio, including Princess Cruises and Cunard Line, don’t except by request (which they won’t tell you).
Poolside are Dive In for tasty burgers and Nathan’s hot dogs, and New York Deli & Pizza, where satisfied was this lover of hot corned beef sandwiches and firm pizza slices edged with a slightly charred crust. For quality coffee drinks and snacks authentic to the Netherlands, from maatjes herring to an apple and bacon pancake, or pannenkoek, the Grand Dutch Café can’t be beat.
Koningsdam went 4-for-5 with its specialty restaurants on the cruise. The Thai-influenced tom kha kai soup and Chinese-inspired baby back ribs are both to-die-for starters at Tamarind, which is even the captain’s go-to dinner option. Representing cuisines of Southeast Asia, China and Japan, the restaurant doubles as Nami Sushi, which does justice to recipes of master sushi chef Andy Matsuda. Another winner is Pinnacle Grill, the ship’s steakhouse, home of perfectly prepared cuts and salmon, and the Omgworthy Clothesline Candied Bacon from celebrity chef and restaurateur David Burke. No slouch, either, is Rudi’s Sel de Mer, an intimate, Frenchhinting brasserie from master chef Rudi Sodamin. The weak link among the specialty restaurants is Canaletto, which makes a decent veal and sage meatball and that’s about it. The search continues for a nautical Italian restaurant worth the upcharge.
As for Koningsdam itself, refreshing it is to feel like you’re on a cruise ship and not an amusement park. Bumper cars, water slides and zip lines are a blast, for sure, and on mainstream cruise lines, going all in on attractions is necessary to grow market share with families. That said, Holland America is a nice change of pace from a Six Flags-at-sea.
“You can try to be multigenerational, being what you’re not, or you can just own what you are,” said Ron Bontenbal, Koningsdam’s hotel general manager. “I think for a few years we tried to fight what we were and that didn’t make any sense.”
The longtime Holland America officer added that less emphasis is being placed on children’s facilities in favor of the music walk, dining and extensive variety of ports and shore excursions.
“These are the pillars we’re evolving around much more than having rock climbing walls and donkey rides onboard,” Bontenbal said half-jokingly in the presence of the ship’s cruise and travel director, Nick Hollevoet, who added, “Our ships still look like cruise ships from the outside and inside. You still get the feeling that you’re on a vessel.”
Holland America’s brand of old-school cruising has a year-round home in San Diego. From the cruise line’s only California-based home port, vacationers can embark on adventures near and far. Besides up to Canada and Alaska and down to the Mexican Riviera, itineraries out of Southern California include Hawaii on the Koningsdam and Noordam; the Panama Canal aboard the Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Zaandam and Zuiderdam; and the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand on Noordam and Volendam. Destinations that embark abroad include Northern Europe, Asia, South America, Antarctica, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean.