jaspersmycat

Maasdam - 28-May-19 - 21 day Ultimate Alaska & Pacific Northwest Adventurer (R/T San Fran)

Please add me - Jaspersmycat

Roy,  thanks again for the Luggage Forward advice. It really helped on last years European trip.

it was an artificial tree. 

I was on the Grand South America cruise this year (2017). At all stops in Brazil, the ship location person warned of pick pockets. We were also told not to show our electronics. A woman was injured when someone tried to pull her purse off her shoulder. Others had their I-phones snatched out of their hands. One crew member was robbed at knife point. All these incidents happened at stops along the Amazon. I always traveled in a group, never went off ship after dark, and I had no problems. These things could happen in any city. On two stops, they recommended only using the ship shuttle to the center of town to a handicraft market and not to go anywhere else. I had friends in both stops walk from the ship to town without incident. HAL has changed some itineraries to drop at least one of the ports where problems occurred.

Go to the location lectures to find out what they recommend. If you are worried, then take a ship or private excursion.

Regretably, I have had to cancel the 2018 World Cruise leaving Jan 4, 2018 on the Amsterdam. Please remove me from the list.

I have decided to sell my house next year when hopefully I will be done getting it fixed up and getting rid of my and my late DH's excess stuff.

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.

I was also on this year's Grand SA. I had 2 bag shipped and they were brought to my cabin. They were not there until late in the day around 5pm.

At disembarkation, all your bags will be in the arrival hall and you are responsible for getting them through customs/immigration and then turning them over to Fedex. This year there were not enough porters and many passengers had to either wait for a porter or try to maneuver their bags plus carryon bags.

I just finished binge-reading your blog. Now I know I want to do that cruise! Your photographs are amazing (especially the penguins that looked like they were posing for you). What kind of camera do you have?

 

How many dam dollars did you end up with and what did you "buy" with them?

 

Loved playing along with the trivia!

I have a Canon Powershot SX50. It has a 500 zoom through the lens and 100 digital zoom.

I collected over 200 dam dollars but gave them all away to friends who wanted a Kindle (200 grand dollars).

This was the 67 day Grand South America and Antarctica cruise on the ms Prinsendam. It sailed from Ft. Lauderdale to Ft. Lauderdale. The only segment port was Buenos Aires where passengers could disembark or embark for a partial cruise.

I loved this cruise. It is the longest I have done and at no time did it feel too long. The ship was in good condition. My cabin – #336 Oceanview – had plenty of room. Even though the closet space was bigger than most ships, I am not sure I would have had room for a 2nd person’s clothing. Of course, I packed knowing I would have a lot of room.

The ship was is good condition. It will be 30 years old next year so there is some wear and tear but nothing that prevented me from having a great time.

The crew from the Captain on down were friendly and accessible. After 2 weeks I was greeted by name by all of the crew that I had contact with. It seemed like everyone knew our names. There were 627 passengers until Buenos Aires and then 570 for the 2nd segment. There was a crew of 470.

I thought the itinerary was very good. I was disappointed in many of the Brazil stops because they were large cities with reputations for crime. Some crew and passengers were robbed in Recife and Salvador de Bahia. I felt like I either had to take a ship’s excursion or stay on board in these ports. If I did this cruise again, I would only sail as far as Buenos Aires. To clarify, I loved Rio, Boca da Valeria, Parintins, and Manaus in Brazil but only need to see them once.

The dinner menues were not that different than a normal cruise. The food was very good.

My only complaint would be that movies were repeated 2 or 3 times during the cruise. I don’t usually spend time in my cabin watching movies but the few times I looked they were repeats.

Detailed information about each port on my blog including the Grand Cruise differences.

https://www.elsiestravelblog.com

Just back from the Grand SA and small DR was fixed and Large DR was both fixed and open seating.

I'm heading over to the Prinsendam at 10:45. This cruise is a dream come true for me.

Have a great cruise Bruce and Susan.

Four days until I sail on the Grand South America & Antarctic cruise. Excited? YES!!!

I will be blogging - see link in my signature.

Thanks everyone. I'll be blogging during the trip at http://elsiestravelblog.com I'll also try to post on Cruise Critic when I can but pictures will only be on the blog.

What cabin number please.

It is easy to set up a separate email address for using on cruise critic and communicating with people you meet on cruises. That is what I did and I check it once a week. I also do not give my city - just region. I am on the roll call where the PDF was published and I am not worried about exposure due to taking these steps.

It is actually SSSS which stands for secondary security screening selection.

I am going on my first Grand Voyage in January. I have noticed that in addition to the usual wine packages (Admiral and Navigator) we are offered Compass and Compass Premium wine packages. These are a little less money

(per bottle) and in quantities of 12, 24, or 36 bottles.

Can any of the regular Grand Cruises let me know if these wines are of equal, better, or less quality than those of the usual packages?

Do these packages qualify for the 4-star Mariner discount?

A funny picture placement in the ON location below the "Better Breakfast" at 9am. It really made me laugh.

Have a great cruise. I'll be following along vicariously.

Have a great trip. See you in January.

P.S. Don't forget to write.

Thank you all for posting your information. I am afraid that it would be impossible for me to bring a tree on the plane from Phoenix to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I love this photo posted by jaspersmycat (neat Handle there) and have made up my mine to buy one. Now for the next question, did you purchase aboard the Prisendam or did you pre-order through ship services?

 

Again thank you very much.

I called Ship Services to order it. When I got to the cabin it wasn't there yet. I mentioned it to the room steward and it magically appeared whIle I was at dinner.

The ship itself was beautifully decorated with trees on all floors.

The trees are artificial. Real trees would be a fire hazard.

I bought one of the smaller trees last year for the Prinsendam Holiday cruise. It cost $47.99. It had a battery pack that powered the lights. The tree was between 16 and 18 inches tall and very nicely decorated.

I have posted a blog on two cruises. I write the text offline in a word processor app. I reduce the size of photos using a photo editor app. I wait until after 11pm to go online and upload everything to Wordpress. This has worked well for me.