Prinsendam inside cabins guaranteed to dissapoint

The Prinsendam inside cabins are not functional for daytime use.

The bedroom area is TINY because the oversized bathroom and walk in closet occupy fully half the cabin square footage.

The cabins are uncomfortable, poorly configured, very dimly lit and really only useful as a place to sleep. All inside cabins are the same no matter which category or location on the ship.

There is absolutely nowhere to sit comfortably to read, relax, watch TV etc. The lighting is so poor that reading is impossible even with every light on in the cabin. They were unwilling/ unable to improve the lighting.

There is no desk, no table, no comfortable seating in the cabin. There is a small chair that is always in the way. Your room service tray will have to be placed on the bed and that is how you will eat.

The inside cabin experience was a HUGE disappointment on this ship. I am an experienced cruiser, having sailed with many different lines on many different ships. I have never had a worse cabin in the 50+ cruises I have been on.

I had the cabin to myself, having paid the single supplement. I can't imagine how 2 people could possibly manage.

I wish I had had an opportunity to read this review before I booked my inside cabin on the Prinsendam !!!!!!!

So sorry to hear. We sailed the Prinsendam last fall, and we were advised on these forms to go with oceanview which we did and were very pleased.

Yes, sorry to hear that. It would be interesting to hear from some of Prinsendam's many fans.

Thank you for the information on the inside cabins on the Prinsendam.

I did not know about those cabins until now.

I've had inside cabins on Prinsendam quite a few times and found them entirely satisfactory. That said I don't eat meals in the cabin or look to be entertained there.

Sorry to hear!

We have never had an inside cabin. On her we have had an ocean view, and several balcony cabins.

She is a very gracious,older ship that has so much character, and charm with us.

Just like IMO, when we book hotels for it's charm in Europe, we know it will be smaller, have it's own character and style.

I know that having a wonderful vacation/holiday is exciting, especially with a cruise, and it falls short when you are so disappointed with your cabin and expectations.

I HOPE you can cruise on her again in the future, and maybe try another cabin category.

Thank you for your review which will be helpful to many CC cruisers.

Sincerely,

Denise:)

Our ocean view cabin was musty (especially the closet) with rotting woodwork, endless rattling of the bathroom door, coffee table and chair. We kept a stash of washcloths to try to stop the rattling noise but never figured out how to quiet the bathroom door. The cabin was generously sized and furnishings were in good shape. The AC died repeatedly in the middle of the night and we would return from port mid afternoon to a sweltering cabin.

Many Uber fans of this ship book suites which I'm sure are nice but OV was an overpriced disappointment.

Everyone has different expectations. I believe one of our more "trustworthy" and reliable members likes the insides on P. If memory serves me, they are NOT all alike and you have to know which one to choose.

We have had decent OV's on P, which I prefer to the OV's on HAL's other ships, because of the large window adjacent to the sitting area. A window over the bed is a waste, IMHO. May as well save the money and get an inside.

P is getting old and they are not doing much to upgrade cabins at this point. Our verandah cabin wasn't in good shape, BUT......we still enjoyed it and the ship.

If you want a new ship in perfect condition, stay away from P. We say that here all the time. If you didn't listen, you only have yourself to blame. Sorry. You have to do the research.

I sailed in the single inside on the Prinsendam. The cabin is identical to the other insides along the same passageway, with the exception that it has one bed, instead of the two. That missing bed created quite a bit of extra floor space. I had plenty of room for the table and chair that were in the cabin.

I did have the opportunity to visit another inside along that passageway, and saw that it is quite tight. The passengers had the beds moved from the "L-configuration to a queen bed, which left no space to walk.

Other than that, they had the same bureau/desk and "entertainment center" of shelves, fridge, and TV that I had.

I loved the single inside, but if I were sharing with another, would prefer one of the outsides across the passageway. Those are a very nice size.

Or, I would look at the insides on a higher deck; I understand there are some that are quite a bit larger.

We experienced the same tiny inside cabin with the L shaped beds on our first Prinsendam cruise in 2013. Couldn't believe that if you wanted to eat in your room you had to put the tray on the bed. That was a 28 day cruise. But we loved the ship so much that we took B2B 37 days more on her that year, but booked an outside that time. I have since learned from postings on CC that there are some large insides on her, but I haven't personally seen them.

Looked at the deck plans and even the smallest Prinsendam inside cabin is still larger than the cruise line we just sailed on in an ocean view cabin - 130 sq ft. From the deck plan it reports Prinsendam insides start at 160 sq ft and goes up well into the 200's. That is pretty generous since most HAL standard cabins for two are around 170 sq ft (need to check ????) No we did not have room to eat from a tray in that prior cruise line cabin for two either, as expected. Comes with the territory on the older ships. I suspect some of these smaller inside cabins were originally designed for traveling "attendants" for other passengers on the other decks. And the expectation in the older cruising days one would spend their time with fellow passengers in the more generous public rooms.

We have done three cruises on her & booked an inside each time. The first cruise they upgraded us to an outside. The next two we had K232 which is an inside on the Promenade Deck, huge cabin bigger then any other inside and even bigger then some of the balcony cabins. We don't spent much time in our cabins, mainly to sleep & change. What we save on the cost of the cabin we put to another cruise. On our last cruise a TA from Rome to Ft Lauderdale we were up graded to a balcony on Upper Promenade at no additional cost. Best cruise ever.

Allan

I've had inside cabins on Prinsendam quite a few times and found them entirely satisfactory. That said I don't eat meals in the cabin or look to be entertained there.

Same here, always worked for us.

We have done three cruises on her & booked an inside each time. The first cruise they upgraded us to an outside. The next two we had K232 which is an inside on the Promenade Deck, huge cabin bigger then any other inside and even bigger then some of the balcony cabins. We don't spent much time in our cabins, mainly to sleep & change. What we save on the cost of the cabin we put to another cruise. On our last cruise a TA from Rome to Ft Lauderdale we were up graded to a balcony on Upper Promenade at no additional cost. Best cruise ever.

Allan

Have been in skiww's inside a couple of times and it was HUGE. As big as an SS IMO. (or awful dam close). Very spacious and plenty of room.

All the interior cabins on the Prinsendam are NOT the same size. It just goes to show, it pays to research ;)

I didn't realize some regular posters are "trustworthy", which implies some of us who find fault with the Prinsendam are not. I agree buyer beware applies.

I just didn't get the charm factor of the ship. The decor in most common areas was dark and plain Jane with hundreds of tacky plaques on the walls. I smelled must in various areas of the ship, not just my cabin. Because we booked an OV we spent time on the promenade deck. Doors,windows and floorings were quite rotten on the promenade deck. There were a handful of padded lounge chairs on each side and most were broken, no longer adjustable, rusty hardware on the chairs. There were no padded lounge chairs at either pool area.

I didn't see a value added component for this ship verses the rest of the fleet for food and service. Menus were standard for the fleet, food choices possibly a little substandard due to limited lido selections. Service was standard for the fleet.

I didn't realize some regular posters are "trustworthy", which implies some of us who find fault with the Prinsendam are not. I agree buyer beware applies.

 

I just didn't get the charm factor of the ship. The decor in most common areas was dark and plain Jane with hundreds of tacky plaques on the walls. I smelled must in various areas of the ship, not just my cabin. Because we booked an OV we spent time on the promenade deck. Doors,windows and floorings were quite rotten on the promenade deck. There were a handful of padded lounge chairs on each side and most were broken, no longer adjustable, rusty hardware on the chairs. There were no padded lounge chairs at either pool area.

I didn't see a value added component for this ship verses the rest of the fleet for food and service. Menus were standard for the fleet, food choices possibly a little substandard due to limited lido selections. Service was standard for the fleet.

It does not rank as a favorite for us either, and we had a really nice Neptune suite - it is an odd ship mainly because it was built for another era of cruising and attempts to update it make it neither fish nor fowl.

But we did love the overall compact size, number of passengers and the uniqueness and flexibility of her itineraries. So with eyes wide open we would have no problem sailing the Prinsendam for those exact reasons. I came away thinking she is better identified as the Exotic Explorer, not the Elegant Explorer.

Loved seeing her sail up the Norwegian waters a few months ago while we were sailing down on another cruise ship of similar size, vintage and quirky layout. Friend to friend - we go where few others attempt.

I didn't realize some regular posters are "trustworthy", which implies some of us who find fault with the Prinsendam are not. I agree buyer beware applies.

 

I just didn't get the charm factor of the ship. The decor in most common areas was dark and plain Jane with hundreds of tacky plaques on the walls. I smelled must in various areas of the ship, not just my cabin. Because we booked an OV we spent time on the promenade deck. Doors,windows and floorings were quite rotten on the promenade deck. There were a handful of padded lounge chairs on each side and most were broken, no longer adjustable, rusty hardware on the chairs. There were no padded lounge chairs at either pool area.

I didn't see a value added component for this ship verses the rest of the fleet for food and service. Menus were standard for the fleet, food choices possibly a little substandard due to limited lido selections. Service was standard for the fleet.

First of all I don't think the term "trustworthy" made by another poster was to mean that others were not. It is simply that we do have an inside cabin expert on the boards who has I think nearly 700 days on the ships and 99% of the time in inside cabins, so yes, many of us regard RuthC as highly trustworthy. No reason to take exception to a fact.

now you are really going over the top ! Methinks you are exaggerating a bit too much :p

no padded loungers at the pool? rotten boards?

You must have been on the cruise from H*LL. I was on not long after you if memory serves and the loungers were padded and I saw no rotten boards and yes, I do know how to spot a rotten board.

I hope Oceania lives up better to my expectations than the Prinsendam did to yours. And no, I won't be taking a magnifying glass;)

First of all I don't think the term "trustworthy" made by another poster was to mean that others were not. It is simply that we do have an inside cabin expert on the boards who has I think nearly 700 days on the ships and 99% of the time in inside cabins, so yes, many of us regard RuthC as highly trustworthy. No reason to take exception to a fact.

 

now you are really going over the top ! Methinks you are exaggerating a bit too much :p

 

no padded loungers at the pool? rotten boards?

 

You must have been on the cruise from H*LL. I was on not long after you if memory serves and the loungers were padded and I saw no rotten boards and yes, I do know how to spot a rotten board.

 

I hope Oceania lives up better to my expectations than the Prinsendam did to yours. And no, I won't be taking a magnifying glass;)

Well said Kazu!

I feel the same way!!Ruth in my eyes is an expert as well as knowledgeable?

We have been on Oceania, and love the service and the staff.

Denise:)

We booked a back to back Prinsendam inside Guarantee and couldn't get upgraded as the second segment we were booking sold out. Thus we were booked in the smallest cabin ever for a month. The beds were L shaped and we could not have them changed to next to each other. There was practically no floor space and you tripped over the one chair that took over what little space there was left in the middle. On the second two weeks we bought our way out to a Veranda that miraculously became available. The inside room couldn't have been more than 140 square feet, if that. It was quiet and didn't smell or rock much. However, for a couple that still have romantic inclinations, it was close to impossible.

Thanks OP for your review of the inside cabins on the P'dam. A small and poorly lit cabin can be very difficult experience. I would especially find it very difficult having to eat on the bed. This is great information for CC'ers to know.

We would like to think or ourselves as "trustworthy." Both DW and moi consider the Prinsendam to be our favorite HAL vessel and we have posted this a few times over the years. We also have said that this is an old ship where passengers seem to have a "love it" or "dislike it" attitude with few in the middle of those opinions. Having spent about 150 days on the vessel, we have never fully understood our love of the ship. We have seen all kinds of deficiencies on the vessel, but rather then get annoyed we usually find ourselves roaring with laughter. We once spent 62 days on the P'Dam where we got to look at a very large missing window in the Crows Nest which had been replaced by a carefully placed large piece of plywood! On that same cruise, the old aft awning (behind the Lido) was so fragile that the crew used tie down straps (with ratchets) to keep the entire complex in place (they removed the straps the day before we docked in Ft Lauderdale because of an upcoming Coast Guard inspection).

So why does anyone love this old ship? There is not much logic....but we just do. And I would add that DW and I love the forward Cat G or H cabins that have port holes! Go figure.

Hank

Very sorry for your disappointment but thank you for posting. It is good information for others to keep in mind if choosing an Inside on Prinsendam.

Thanks OP for your review of the inside cabins on the P'dam. A small and poorly lit cabin can be very difficult experience. I would especially find it very difficult having to eat on the bed. This is great information for CC'ers to know.

Even better for CC members to have a list of the exact inside cabin numbers that are reported here to be small and poorly lit, and those other inside cabins that many have reported to have been just fine and even grandly large. Best way to avoid getting the small inside one if this does not suit one's preferences for space and accommodation.

We would like to think or ourselves as "trustworthy." Both DW and moi consider the Prinsendam to be our favorite HAL vessel and we have posted this a few times over the years. We also have said that this is an old ship where passengers seem to have a "love it" or "dislike it" attitude with few in the middle of those opinions. Having spent about 150 days on the vessel, we have never fully understood our love of the ship. We have seen all kinds of deficiencies on the vessel, but rather then get annoyed we usually find ourselves roaring with laughter. We once spent 62 days on the P'Dam where we got to look at a very large missing window in the Crows Nest which had been replaced by a carefully placed large piece of plywood! On that same cruise, the old aft awning (behind the Lido) was so fragile that the crew used tie down straps (with ratchets) to keep the entire complex in place (they removed the straps the day before we docked in Ft Lauderdale because of an upcoming Coast Guard inspection).

 

So why does anyone love this old ship? There is not much logic....but we just do. And I would add that DW and I love the forward Cat G or H cabins that have port holes! Go figure.

 

Hank

This is a very nice post about the Prinsendam.

I fall into the dislike category of passengers and I have no idea why some get riled up over my opinion. I have a rich, full life and have no reason in the world to make up lies about an aging cruise ship.

This is a very nice post about the Prinsendam.

I fall into the dislike category of passengers and I have no idea why some get riled up over my opinion. I have a rich, full life and have no reason in the world to make up lies about an aging cruise ship.

It seems that every cruise line board has their "cheerleaders" who just cannot accept that others do not share their own opinions. We have seen a lot of this on the HAL board (and on our HAL cruises) and find it fascinating to listen to opinions. But this thread actually got me thinking that DW and I had better hurry-up and book another long Prinsendam cruise.....because her time as a HAL cruise ship will come to an end sooner rather than later.

Hank