Prinsendam Question

I haven't been on the boards in awhile so please forgive me if this has been discussed in the last few months. I did search, but the search function baffles me. DH came home last night from a golf outing and casually dropped a) that one of the league members was going on a fall cruise on the Prinsendam (I'm so jealous) and more importably b) that he said the Prinsendam was going to be decommissioned in 2018. Is this true? Or just another rumour about HAL's Elegant Explorer?

I haven't been on the boards in awhile so please forgive me if this has been discussed in the last few months. I did search, but the search function baffles me. DH came home last night from a golf outing and casually dropped a) that one of the league members was going on a fall cruise on the Prinsendam (I'm so jealous) and more importably b) that he said the Prinsendam was going to be decommissioned in 2018. Is this true? Or just another rumour about HAL's Elegant Explorer?

As I'm booked on a cruise on the Prinsendam in the fall of 2018, I hope it's just another rumour. And I'm on here on a daily basis.

She won't be leaving the Fleet that soon -- probably in 3 or 4 years.

The word from the Prinsendam Captain, when we were on her in Sept 2013, was probably five more years.

Then we heard from Cpt Albert last year (2016) HAL keeps upping the sale price, because they really don't want to lose her loyal followers. He said they were worried they just might jump ship and go to her new owner.

So there you have it - situation unknown.

When we were on her last fall, she had just undergone a drydock in May. HAL spent a lot of money to repace the a/c units, add an azipod stern thruster, redo the Lido, and completely redecorate the public areas. She was in the best shape since we've been sailing on her.

At several Q&As with top officers, we were told she would be in the fleet as long as she was making money. They mentioned five to ten years.

Hope they were correct.

When we were on her last fall, she had just undergone a drydock in May. HAL spent a lot of money to repace the a/c units, add an azipod stern thruster, redo the Lido, and completely redecorate the public areas. She was in the best shape since we've been sailing on her.

 

At several Q&As with top officers, we were told she would be in the fleet as long as she was making money. They mentioned five to ten years.

 

Hope they were correct.

Those all sound like nice long-term investments .......... or hoping to get a better sale price. :hearteyes: Love to see her buffed up from her 2013 condition when we were on her - loved our super Prinsendam Neptune Suite, but the rest of the ship was more quirky and ho-hum than we expected to find on the long awaited Elegant Explorer - they are putting money in the right places from your report. However, do we ever miss our Pinnacle breakfasts on that ship. She spoiled us.

In late 2018 the Prinsendam will be 30 years old. According to Captain Schuchmann it will then need a complete inspection including x-raying the hull. They do not expect any surprises but the results of the inspection will determine how much longer it can sail.

Those all sound like nice long-term investments .......... or hoping to get a better sale price. :hearteyes: Love to see her buffed up from her 2013 condition when we were on her - loved our super Prinsendam Neptune Suite, but the rest of the ship was more quirky and ho-hum than we expected to find on the long awaited Elegant Explorer - they are putting money in the right places from your report. However, do we ever miss our Pinnacle breakfasts on that ship. She spoiled us.

We did one sailing in 2014 and we are still scratching our heads on this ship. We thought food and service were standard for the fleet. We don't stay in suites so believe me when I say our midrange cabin was below even ho hum standards. We had repeated AC outages.

The public areas were dated, the decor was uneven ranging from overly flowery to plain Jane. The decor in many areas consisted of wall plaques commemorating a zillion port stops. Some areas were shabby with rotting window and door frames, the outdoor furniture was in bad shape, broken loungers, etc.

I could say a lot more.