Prinsendam:Dec 18,2004-Jan 3,2005

[Slinkiecat]

Jim, I loved your observation that the ship can't just go out of its way and swing by Home Depot! As spoiled as we get on those cruise ships, a bit of reality and a sense of humor will help everyone to accept the malfunctions.

 

I also prefer using the stairs to the elevator most of the time on a ship. Not only is it usually faster, but the exercise is free and helpful to those of us who are mobile and active.

 

People complain about soap, shampoo and other consumables running out in the bathrooms. Maybe one should always have those items packed, just in case. I'm also prepared to have plenty of clothes along in case our laundry is delayed on board.

 

For me the big worry is that my computer will malfunction. Then I will be unhappy!

 

Slinkie

[helenp2]

Florida Lady is taking alot of heat for her comments. Let me say, I also was on the Prinsendam's Holiday cruise and it was truly a DISGRACE. And, she is spot on with her comments.

 

When you spend in excess of $20,000 at the very least you should have access to a private toilet. We had the plumber "camped out" 24/7 for the entire cruise. He was unable to clear any of the cabins on this deck. We were told by guest services to "use the public restrooms" on our floor. This involved having to get dressed if we needed to use the toilet in the middle of the night - NOT GOOD. Unfortunately, my DH was not quite as LUCKY as I, you see the men's room was OUT OF ORDER for the entire cruise, so he had to either go up 1 floor or down 1 floor.

 

Anyway, there were so many, many things wrong with this ship that I won't bore you with all of the various details. Guest Services suggested I call Seattle when I returned home for some sort of compensation. I am waiting for a response from HAL which they said should be shortly. Will post when I hear anything.

 

Sincerely hope all of the plumbing, a/c, elevator and leaking problems are fixed for the world cruise.

[RuffinReady]

Well, there certainly have been a lot of postings on the subject of the Prinsendam's problems. I hope that the current drydock at Freeport will be used to address them as the plumbing leaks/toilet problems are long standing. A former cruisemate sailed on her in October 2003 and told me about the same problems recently. There have been reports of some work being done during the fall of this year. So, one would hope that HAL was able to assemble the material needed to correct this problem(s).

If I had to get up in the middle of the night and go up/down a flight of stairs to use a public restroom I certainly would be pi..ed. :( If anyone had my bladder problems they would understand. :o

 

Grumpy1, do you know if this current work is being done as a drydock or a wetdock? Since it has been a least two years, maybe they are also cleaning the hull to reduce the drag from the barnacles and save on fuel.

 

Ruffin

[dakrewser]

What we all tend to forget is that sailing ships are just like the houses we live in. Stuff breaks or wears out. And at the most inconvenient time. Like when you have out of town guests in the house and your washer malfunctions and overflows, sending water all over the place, just before you're about to leave the house!

 

Like when the power goes out on Christmas Eve (with 3 pies in the oven [1986], the stove dies on Thanksgiving morning [1971] or the kitchen sink clogs and backs up on Christmas Day [2002]? Yeah, stuff happens! :rolleyes:

[Grumpy1]

I don't have direct knowledge, but saw another post that said that the ship would be in drydock in the Bahamas. Since it's been about 2 1/2 years since last drydock, she could probably use a good cleaning/painting.

 

From what I've read, a lot of the plumbing problems were related to the last drydock. I think they flushed out sprinkler piping and didn't get all of the acid out. Leaks sprang up in quite a few places. The other plumbing problems seem to crop up on all ships from time to time when someone overloads the system with items that shouldn't be flushed. I would imagine the onboard Roto-Rooter guy is a pretty busy person.

 

Grumpy

[Grumpy1]

Dave, are you related to the character in the old lil' Abner comic strip that always had that raincloud parked over him?:) things do pick the most inappropriate times to break down, don't they? I had a string of 5 years in a row wher I was called out on emergency repair jobs on Christmas Eve, and that was with 3 different employers.

 

Grumpy

[Chesterfield]

The problem with the elevators on the Prinsendam is not a new one and apparently one that HAL is not really trying to remedy. Reviewers of the initial cruises on the Prinsendam commented on one or more elevators being out of service consistently. I have had two 14 days cruises on the Prinsendam. On the first in 2002 we were fortunate that all elevators worked. However, on the second in 2003 one of the two forward elevators was out of service for several days at the conclusion of the cruise. Coupled with a late arrival in port having only one elevator for disembarkation was not a good situation to say the least! There have been several drydocks since the initial cruise with HAL and at least one after the 2003 cruise and the problem is still not fixed!

 

Otherwise, I agree with the positive comments made about the Prinsendam. It is a nice size ship and the service on both cruises was excellent. It is a shame that HAL doesn't seem to care about key maintenance issues on a ship that they tag as their "Elegant Explorer". Things do break but when they break they should be fixed not patched!

[HeatherInFlorida]

This is a banner day!!! I'm off topic, but I am so excited to find out Grumpy and SlinkieCat are DH & DW!!! Wow! I never knew. And you guys just days away from your amazing cruise. I want to mark my calendar for your return. Please post your return date, okay?

 

Ruffin, you're always a favorite of mine and so good to hear about your DW's recovery. Make the best of every moment. We really never know what's right around the corner no matter what age we are.

 

On topic, I think FloridaLady raises some good points but perhaps was just a tad strong in her tone. When we got on the Oosterdam in November the glass door leading from the Lido to the aft pool area had a huge crack from top to bottom. We were on the ship very early and it appeared it had been that way because it was taped. I do think they could have replaced the panel while we were in port. It never did get replaced and truthfully it didn't upset me. Still, I can see where it would bother many people. I just never used that door.

[GrammyPL]

Well I guess I will put my 2 cents in on this subject. We were on the Prinsendam for the 28 day Amazon Cruise. That was the cruise just before the Holiday 16 day one. Anyway... When we first boarded the 2 back elevators were working for about 1/2 the cruise. (Our room was in the back of the ship.) Since this was a longer cruise---we had a lot of people in wheelchairs and with canes. I didn't hear any of them complaining. I know that some just went to the Ocean Bar (on the same floor as the dinning room) before dinner. Since we were just one floor down -- we walked up. I also have a bad back and climbing stairs can sometime be a problem. But---I didn't have to wait very long at all for the one elevator that worked any other time then dinner. As far as the Lido back doors go---we didn't even know that there was anything wrong with them. We just pushed them opened. Yes--the Java Cafe latte machine was not working. But, they would go back any time to the kitchen and get you one. They did have a reg coffee machine working there. Now plumbing. Oh Boy. To start with we had a letter telling us that our plumbing would be shut off for a few hrs on a certain day. Every section of the boat had different days. Hubby was talking to some workmen and they had brought on 20 guys to put all new piping in for the air conditioners. They said it took a long time to do each room or section. That is why they were on board for the 28 days. I don't know if that is why the water was off or not. Anyway ---- we loved our cruise and loved the Prinsendam and hope to go on her again. Penny

[helenp2]

You have just confirmed everything that was wrong with this ship. I don't want to be an apologist for the Prinsendam. When you pay top dollar for what is suppose to be their "top ship" there are just no excuses. And, btw, try asking the bartender in the Java cafe how he feels about the espreeso machine being broken. It has not worked for almost 2 months. He does not just go in the back to get a cup of espresso. He must go down a flight a stairs and back up for this 1 cup of coffee. Come on HAL, you can do better.

[Grumpy1]

Hi Heather, Our return date is May 6. I bought a block of 1100 minutes of internet time, so we should be able to post for at least the first week...:rolleyes: we'll try to keep everyone updated. Regarding the broken door on the Oosterdam... that's probably not an item that has a spare on board. Who knows where it is stored or if it has to be custom made. They aren't just made from a big piece of glass that can be cut to size. I think they would have replaced it if they were able to, but probably couldn't get a replacement in time.

 

Chesterfield, you say that the elevator problem is not being addressed, but then go on to say that all elevators worked on one of your cruises and one was out of service for part of your second cruise. There have been reports of all of them working on cruises since then, so obviously they do address the problems. Elevators seem like very simple machines, but they are very complex with more safety devices and interlocking controls than you could imagine. There are several hundred things that can go wrong and cause one to stop. Sometimes the problem can be located and repaired in minutes, other times it might be a problem with a part that is normally so reliable that a replacement is not on board.

 

Grumpy

[dakrewser]

Reviewers of the initial cruises on the Prinsendam commented on one or more elevators being out of service consistently.

 

I can't remember being on a cruise without elevator problems (well, except for the barge cruise which didn't have an elevator!). I'd be shocked if there were no elevator problems....

[GrammyPL]

helenp2---I think you took me wrong. I was not complaining about what was wrong with the ship. We just take that stuff in stride. This was our 14th HAL cruise since 2000 and have yet not to have something go wrong. I know we all pay a lot for a cruise but---HAL to me does a great job and I won't care to try another line. (Did that once on a Carnival and never again). I think that the Prinsendam crew workes very hard to keep that ship in the best shape they can. We had a lot more attention and little things that made the Prinsendam the best of the HAL ships. (Example-A hostess who was great-good lectures-even the daily program is nicer then the other HAL ships. A staff that will bend over backwords to make you happy even for those that complain about everything. (We had one woman that we got seated with for lunch a couple of times that couldn't stop complaining--we asked to not be seated with her) OHH the dinning room was open every day even in port for both lunch and breakfast. We liked that and always ate there except when late coming back from a tour. I am sorry you didn't like the Prinsendam and didn't think you got your moneys worth--- but we loved the ship-loved the size of her (we met so meny nice people and had great table mates) the cruise up the Amazon was great and would go on the Prinsendam in a flash if we could. (We are looking to sail on her again) Penny

[Chesterfield]

Chesterfield, you say that the elevator problem is not being addressed, but then go on to say that all elevators worked on one of your cruises and one was out of service for part of your second cruise. There have been reports of all of them working on cruises since then, so obviously they do address the problems. Elevators seem like very simple machines, but they are very complex with more safety devices and interlocking controls than you could imagine. There are several hundred things that can go wrong and cause one to stop. Sometimes the problem can be located and repaired in minutes, other times it might be a problem with a part that is normally so reliable that a replacement is not on board.

 

Grumpy

 

Grumpy, believe you missed my point. HAL has an intermittent problem with the elevators that they are not fixing - they are providing a temporary repair that addresses an immediate problem instead of taking the time and money it would require to make a permanent fix. I don't know what the permanent fix would be - it might be replacing the controls, etc. I do know that if I had a problem that was chronically inconveniencing my customers over a two to three year period I would be finding out - not taking a quick, cheap approach. [i do appreciate the complex nature of elevators. I've had to purchase several in my career as an engineer.]

 

Believe my comment on the manner in which HAL addresses the specific elevator problem, probably applies to many of the other mechanical problems discussed in this thread. If you keep doing quick and dirty fixes instead of spending the time and money to make proper repairs the result is unhappy passengers that move on to other cruise lines where the elevators work - yes they do exist - and things don't routinely break and rebreak or stay broken.

[dakrewser]

Grumpy, believe you missed my point. HAL has an intermittent problem with the elevators that they are not fixing - they are providing a temporary repair that addresses an immediate problem instead of taking the time and money it would require to make a permanent fix.

 

AS I said previously, I've never been on a cruise that didn't experience elevator problems - in any cruise line. I'ts not simply a HAL problem but a predictable outcome of salt water, rocking motion - and elevators.

 

-dave

[Grumpy1]

Penny and Dave, we would enjoy cruising with you someday. I hope we get that chance.

Grumpy and Slinkie