Prinsendam

We were looking at some itineraries and were seeing that the Prinsendam is consistently a lot more expensive than the others. I know she's much smaller than the rest, but aside from her size, what makes the price difference worth it? We're four star and have been on each of the other class-ships ships except the Koningsdam. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

(PS: yes, I know how to use the search feature. I have found that fresh threads yield more robust information than a search alone would.)

I was just going through some of my photographs of our cruise on Prinsendam last October/November, and realize she is just beautiful! :) Staterooms have dark, wood furniture, with little "hallways" leading to more private doors, carpets are new, stairways grand. Just a few complaints we heard - main dining room has very bad acoustics and is noisy. It is more pleasant to eat in the "annex", but I believe that is just for fixed dining times. Another complaint was that with only 4 small elevators, there can be a wait, and a problem for anyone with a walker or scooter, etc.

As she is smaller, she can dock in many ports that are too small for the larger ships, and in fact she has access to many ports that the larger ships can't go to. She has amazing itineraries. We have been in many of the different rooms on Prinsendam, and they all seem very spacious and comfortable. The staff is very good, but of course, the staff is good on all the HAL ships.

Agree with Ann - the ship is beautiful :) Just to add to her post which is well done,

P'dam is more costly because of it's size for one thing. It still costs X to run the ship and there are fewer passengers to cover it.

Many of her itineraries are unique, and, as Ann said she goes to ports the other ships can't. Some of these involve waterways, rivers, squeezing through locks etc. which I am sure must add to the cost.

If you take a look at the number of crew on board, you will also see that the crew to passenger ratio is higher on this ship than the others. That's a huge plus, but it comes at a cost.

We have found things stepped up a notch on this ship compared to the other HAL ships, but not everyone may agree with this. It probably depends upon what little touches appeal to you.

While not everyone is a fan, a lot are (including me). The Prinsendam has the highest repeat passenger ratio in the HAL fleet.

DH is pretty flexible when it comes to the ship we are going on and as long as the itinerary appeals to him. The ship is not an issue and he rarely comments on a ship in general on board. He wasn't on the P'dam for 10 minutes when he said "I love this ship". A cruise on the Prinsendam with her lovely itineraries is an easy sell for me ;)

Hal Capt disclosed in a recent Q&A that even though the P is getting old and always rumored to be sold soon, they keep upping the price because they are worried they will lose her loyal customer base should they ever lose the ship itself.

Our P cruise in 2013, Capt predicted she had about 5 more years - that would be 2018. Irony, that captain is now gone from HAL service, but the P continues to both sail and please.

Hal Capt disclosed in a recent Q&A that even though the P is getting old and always rumored to be sold soon, they keep upping the price because they are worried they will lose her loyal customer base should they ever lose the ship itself.

 

Our P cruise in 2013, Capt predicted she had about 5 more years - that would be 2018. Irony, that captain is now gone from HAL service, but the P continues to both sail and please.

I don't think they are still thinking about a 2018 retirement. We were on her in August 2016 and attended a virtual engineering and bridge tour. We were told that they just completed over 3 Million $ upgrade in the engines spaces, another million or so for the bridge plus what ever it cost to redo the Lido into the Marketplace. So thats 3-4 Million $ n 2016. Unless the ship has a huge profit margin, its going to take more than a couple of yours to recoup that CapEx.

While on the Zaandam in April I put in a future cruise request for the 2019 Grand South America. My TA was told the cruise would come out in about 2 weeks so it appears pretty certain that she will be around well into 2019.

My cruise line of choice is Crystal but the Prinsendam is my absolute favorite non-Crystal ship. It is the only HAL ship built as a luxury ship and while modifications since HAL took over make it unsuitable as an actual luxury ship it still has many of the luxury touches and is a very special ship. Crew and service are a cut above the HAL norm and nice little touches like walk in closets.

Roy

One thing to be careful of. If you are thinking of an inside cabin, Prinsendam has some that are super tiny. So small that the beds won't fit side by side and there is no room for a chair or small table. She also has some that are much larger. We learned our lesson the first time and have always booked an OV on her since then.

I don't think they are still thinking about a 2018 retirement. We were on her in August 2016 and attended a virtual engineering and bridge tour. We were told that they just completed over 3 Million $ upgrade in the engines spaces, another million or so for the bridge plus what ever it cost to redo the Lido into the Marketplace. So thats 3-4 Million $ n 2016. Unless the ship has a huge profit margin, its going to take more than a couple of yours to recoup that CapEx.

Agree. They put a massive amount of money into systems, A/C, etc. on her. They have invested in her for a reason.

As to profit margin, I was told by the Captain and Staff Captain that the Prinsendam has the highest profit per passenger in the fleet. Of course, it is not the most profitable overall, since the number of passengers is less, but.. it certainly is profitable :)

We were looking at some itineraries and were seeing that the Prinsendam is consistently a lot more expensive than the others.

I am surprised you are able to find cheaper, similar itineraries on other ships. Do you have an example?

We were looking at some itineraries and were seeing that the Prinsendam is consistently a lot more expensive than the others. I know she's much smaller than the rest, but aside from her size, what makes the price difference worth it? We're four star and have been on each of the other class-ships ships except the Koningsdam. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

(PS: yes, I know how to use the search feature. I have found that fresh threads yield more robust information than a search alone would.)

We did one Prinsendam sailing several years ago and did not see the value added component. Food, menus and service were standard for the fleet. The physical plant was substandard, we were not in the suites many rave about. We had a musty smelling mid range cabin and had AC issues on a daily basis. I usually love each cruise ship we sail but this one did not impress.

They have put money into it since we sailed.

Agree. They put a massive amount of money into systems, A/C, etc. on her. They have invested in her for a reason.

 

As to profit margin, I was told by the Captain and Staff Captain that the Prinsendam has the highest profit per passenger in the fleet. Of course, it is not the most profitable overall, since the number of passengers is less, but.. it certainly is profitable :)

A high profit margin supports my contention that menus, food service levels were standard for the fleet.

We just got off the Prinsendam and she is, without a single doubt, our favorite of the HAL fleet. Admittedly we have not been on the Konigsdam but we did see her in port in Amsterdam on Sunday from the river (we were on a small canal boat tour at the time) - and that ship is huge (and, to be truthful, more than a tad ugly) so I doubt we will find ourselves aboard her unless it is for something really special.

According to our Captain on the first segment of our cruise the Prinsendam will be around for a while - and we, too, booked a reservation to book the 2019 Grand South America so she is expected to be around at least until then. We have seen the "beta" version of the itinerary and it should be available to book very soon.

We feel this ship is special. She is in great condition. BTW air conditioning was not a problem - our cabin resembled a cold storage locker for a few days until we figured out how to get it warmer - I heard no one complain about spaces being too warm.

A high profit margin supports my contention that menus, food service levels were standard for the fleet.

actually, it doesn't.

It's simply a matter of charging more $, passengers spending more $ in on board expenses (think shore excursions in places that are rarely gone to).

As to food - Ours was not standard and little touches that we appreciated. Your experience is yours. Ours is ours and we have spent a number of days and cruises on her. And for good reason.

It seems we have both had "one off cruises" on the other's favourite ship. Your favourite O was a disaster for us and our favourite P was not good for you. Such a shame.

We just got off the Prinsendam and she is, without a single doubt, our favorite of the HAL fleet. Admittedly we have not been on the Konigsdam but we did see her in port in Amsterdam on Sunday from the river (we were on a small canal boat tour at the time) - and that ship is huge (and, to be truthful, more than a tad ugly) so I doubt we will find ourselves aboard her unless it is for something really special.

 

According to our Captain on the first segment of our cruise the Prinsendam will be around for a while - and we, too, booked a reservation to book the 2019 Grand South America so she is expected to be around at least until then. We have seen the "beta" version of the itinerary and it should be available to book very soon.

 

We feel this ship is special. She is in great condition. BTW air conditioning was not a problem - our cabin resembled a cold storage locker for a few days until we figured out how to get it warmer - I heard no one complain about spaces being too warm.

Nice on your new booking Arzz :) that should be a fantastic cruise.

Very much enjoyed your live thread and thanks for the update on condition.

I am surprised you are able to find cheaper, similar itineraries on other ships. Do you have an example?

Wait, what's your question? I was just looking at the HAL website for the dates we wanted and noted the price difference between other ships in the fleet and this one. I'm not sure I said what you think I said...