A Grouch Does the Prinsendam – Live

[MrFunInTheSun]

Great "Live" cruise report. Thanks for taking us along. The grouch in your title makes it all the more humorous!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. Please excuse any typographical errors.

[English_in_Spain]

Did you enjoy it here in Alicante today?

 

At least the sun was shining although not as hot as it was here last week.

 

I didn't manage to get down to the port. Where did you dock? Was it the pier right in the town (no shuttle needed) or were you at the distant terminal with a shuttle to the port gates?

 

[whogo]

November 2, 2012

 

Glad people are following along. Tonight's dessert menu listed “After Eight - $5.95 – Kahlua, crème de menthe & Bailey's Irish crème. Waiters were pushing these, apparently served as three shots. We also declined a third offer of triple filtered water tonight. Thanks to however mentioned curmudgeon, wonderful word.

 

 

The cruise has been great. A few early notes on the Prinsendam, subject to revision:

 

 

 

1. There has been no queueing for anything. There are plenty of seats in the showroom. Many cruisers have already been on for a segment or two and may no longer wish to see the shows. The cruisers aboard may also find the shows of no interest. The songs of Broadway show last night was not to my taste. It sounds like tonight's entertainer, Yacov Noy, is a mime. I can give that a miss, too.
   

 

1. This is definitely an older crowd. My wife may be the youngest passenger. The daily program listed a Gen Next meet up for 18 to 25 year olds. I should have stuck my head in just in to see if there are any on board. My guess is that there are no 26 to 50 year olds, either. The shops could make a killing selling hearing aid batteries and rubber cane tips.
   
2. Hot food has been served hot! Hot food served warm has been a regular gripe of mine about Holland America. Hot food served hot is a treat. Nicely done, Prinsendam.
   
3. The bathroom is great with vertically mounted florescent lights illuminating my face for shaving. The current fashion is to have overhead lights glaring off the top of my head, leaving my neck in shadow.
   
4. Great shower yesterday, but then my wife mentioned the complicated water controls. Once I knew they were complicated, I scalded myself trying to adjust it.
   
5. There is some wear around the ship. Our fake rattan balcony furniture is unraveling, the couch and carpet are threadbare. It doesn't bother me. Holland America is filling the Prinsendam as is. Why spend millions of dollars on new soft goods when they can keep selling cabins? I won't complain of HAL's maintenance and I won't let them inspect and comment on my home.
   
6. There is always some painting going on. One guy holds a short step ladder and dips a 1” wide brush in the paint for the other guy that is two steps up. They paint a few square inches. They do not make much progress, but they keep the industrial strength solvent smell noticeable 24 hours per day on all outside decks and balconies.
   
7. Smoking has been a non-issue. I had to walk through the casino to find a smoker. There are other smokers around, but the smoke has been diluted enough to pose no inconvenience to me. Others would think there is too much or too little smoke.
   
8. The steak knives, fleet wide, are beautiful looking. Unfortunately, they do not fit the hand well and are curved in a way that is guaranteed to make them slide down into the stickiest item on your plate.
   

 

 

Beautiful weather in Alicante, warm and sunny. Just as well our stay was shortened by three hours, I don't do well in the sun. It took fifteen minutes to walk the pier to town, the last block or so past merchants in a tented strip mall. Narrow streets, small shops, and al fresco dining are the hallmarks of the old town. With mass being said in Concatédral de San Nicolás de Bari, we sat quietly at the back to ladmire the altar and a screened balcony. We viewed the facades of the Ayuntamiento (town hall) and the Church of Santa Maria.

 

 

The indoor Central Market amazed us with stall after stall of butcher shops. One gets a better idea of where meat comes from when you see rabbits and lambs displayed with their heads on. Pigs feet, pigs heads, pigs ears, hearts and other organs are on offer. Some slab of meat was folded or rolled like I have never seen. The market continued with fish, fruits and vegetables. I love seeing things that are nothing at all like home.

 

 

Our best experiences were unplanned. We stumbled upon a charming little square, well shaded by immense fig trees, and enjoyed a drink from at an outside table. Lovely place. The town hall plaza had everything a toddler could want, pigeons, puddles, and little squirting fountains. It was a joy to see the delight on the kids' faces.

 

 

We took the elevator up to Castle Santa Barbara for good views, a little clambering around, and to see a few artifacts in a couple of small museums. A fellow cruiser, 80 years old, walked up. Well done to him.

 

 

Pheasant tonight was delicious, tender, with white meat and nothing like what gets shot back home.

 

 

I ordered a Swiss chard and chicken soup the other day. My wife reminded me that I would not like the coconut sprinkled on top. The soup arrived with no coconut. I know my waiter was not spying on me and I know that my room steward is not spying on me. They have too much other work to do. Someone else is doing the spying and reporting to them. I am not paranoid.

 

 

It is a great cruise.

[kazu]

oh my it is an absolutely fabulous live thread - and I hate to break it to you - the waiters and stewards do spy a bit:D:D they quickly catch on and are out to make you happy.

 

Pretty sure some of the soft goods will be taken care at her dry dock - but since you are having a good time - that is the main thing. I don't worry about a couple of things if everything else is perfect.

 

I love those unplanned squares in Europe (or the canaries) where you discover nice spots - glad you found one!

 

Have you gotten some of the little munchies at 'happy hour' yet in the crow's nest? Most of them were really good on our cruise:D

 

Love cruising vicariously through you- thanks so much for taking the time (and money) to post.

 

enjoy the Elegant Explorer:)

[Bluwater7]

Appreciate the review on Alicante - thank you so much ...

[Love the beach]

Hi. This is your room steward and I am not monitoring you. Honest!

 

Yes he is :)

 

Enjoying your live from thread!

 

Marge

[Loreto]

I love your comment about the steak knives! DH does not like them...sorry to hear they have found their way on to the Prinsendam.

 

Karen

[goodroe]

Really enjoy reading your posts. Adds to my excitement about being aboard for the first time. Thank you.

 

Waiting for my turn on the Prinsendam....

[Coolcruise02]

Great review! Can't wait for more.

[boaterette]

I am really enjoying your review. Nice writing style.

[0bnxshs]

November 2, 2012

 

<snip>

Glad people are following along.

Wouldn't miss it!

 

<snip>

Great shower yesterday, but then my wife mentioned the complicated water controls. Once I knew they were complicated, I scalded myself trying to adjust it.

This left me hysterically laughing out loud! The dog came running, the wife came running! Sounds remarkably like something that has happened to us!

 

<snip>

It is a great cruise.

 

So glad you are enjoying your cruise! Carry on!

[English_in_Spain]

Glad you enjoyed my home town yesterday. Shame your time was so short.

 

If you think that was warm, try coming here in July or August :D

 

[crazy4cruisn]

Whogo,

 

Thanks so much for your postings. We were supposed to go on this cruise, but had to cancel due to dh came down with pneumonia 2 days before the cruise, so we are enjoying the cruise through your notes. I especially love the info on the spies!!

 

I have been watching your weather through www.wunderground.com. It looks like you have rain in Malaga and possibly in Cadiz. I hope it is better than it looks. There is a wonderful history museum in Cadiz near port if you have a change to go. There are Roman and Phoenician ruins displayed very nicely; it is a lovely museum with wifi just outside.

 

We had booked a tour to Seville with 11 others; I hope the weather will be nice there, and I hope they found 2 to take our place. If you happen to meet Joyce and Gil Weber or Linda Davis, please tell them hello for us and that we sure do miss seeing them!!

 

Thanks again for your wonderful posts; I believe you are not paranoid, just a lot of fun!!

 

Happy sailing,

Nancy

[NYteacher]

Anthony Heywood and Anthony Choice were SADM's CD's in August. Don't know Heywood but Choice is very personable

 

As soon as I read "Anthony" I remembered that was it. How weird they are both named Anthony. We were on the Statendam from August 12-19.

[RuthC]

We were supposed to go on this cruise, but had to cancel due to dh came down with pneumonia 2 days before the cruise, so we are enjoying the cruise through your notes.

I'm so sorry to read you had to miss your cruise. Hope your DH is doing much better.

[whogo]

* November 3, 2012

 

 

A couple more notes:

 

1. I don't need the big mirror in the shower/bath. It surprises me every time. I would rather look at somebody better looking in my shower.
   
2. Bringing my own computer was the right move. Uploading and downloading e-mail and copying and pasting to this thread takes just five or ten minutes of internet time. Composing and reading everything on line would take 45 minutes or more. I must be saving at least $20 per day in internet costs.
   

 

 

Modesty forbids my mentioning yesterday's trivia winners. Seas were calm. We arrived in Malaga in rain, my fault for mentioning that I don't do well in the sun. The daily program promised a complimentary shuttle bus from the pier and Carlos mentioned the complimentary bus twice in his morning announcements. We arrived to find that it costs €4 round trip. I hear there were some very upset cruisers. Travel guide Daniel gave us the right story a couple of days ago. An error correction would have been worthy of an announcement.

 

 

We were dropped off at the Paseo del Parque, a botanical park that is lovely even in the rain. Very lush, I recognized a ginkgo tree and marigolds. The rest will be unnamed. I was concerned about our bicycle tour, I have not cycled much recently and the wet, slippery pavements worried me. Off to a wobbly start, the eight of us headed off with our guide to the Roman amphitheater, a view of the Alkazar, Picasso's birthplace (with photo op beside a seated statue of Pablo), Picasso's baptism church, the cathedral, and Constitution Square. Note that we viewed these attractions and went into none of them. We were set loose inside the Central Market, much like Alicante's, with fish, meats, vegetables and lots of shoppers.

 

 

My favorite stop was at Antigua Casa de Guardia – Vinos de Malaga – Fundada in 1840, a bar whose back wall was lined with wine barrels. I helped them celebrate their 172 birthday with a small glass of Cruzcampo beer. The bar staff keep the tab by writing on the bar with chalk. Pay the bill to get your tab erased.

 

 

Then it was a pleasant ride through the botanical park and along the beach with a spin past new shops in the port area. We had 8 seconds of sunshine, a half hour with no rain, and four hours of rain that varied from barely noticeable to heavy downpour. We were forever putting on and taking off raincoats and only one pedestrian was bumped during the tour.

 

 

Lost at 4:00 trivia and then did Tai Chi on the outside aft of deck seven. Early diners were treated to a view of my backside. We were let down by slow service in the dining room and the criminal substitution of raspberry sauce for chocolate sauce on my triple brownie dessert. Service had been flawless until tonight. We turned down the fourth offer of triple filtered water for $2.95.

[kazu]

Well congratulations on winning trivia:):) Malaga is a great place - we loved the square - ate olives and drank wine there and then went to Picasso's birthplace/museum. You actually didn't miss much not going in;)

 

Sorry to hear about the let down in the dining room tonight - I hope tomorrow goes well - otherwise let the grouch come out and let it be known that it's not satisfactory;) (nicely of course;)) If they don't know, they can't fix it!

[crazy4cruisn]

I'm so sorry to read you had to miss your cruise. Hope your DH is doing much better.

 

Thanks, Ruth. He is still pretty congested but doing much better.....still sounds "froggy."

We have done this cruise a few times, including last year, and it is one of our favorite. I especially love Sintra so was really looking forward to exploring more of it. The main reason I wanted to do it this year was to go on Prinsendam. I had heard so many happy comments, although there have been some pretty negative comments about its age lately. But then, I have some rather negative things about my age too! :confused:

 

Hope tomorrow brings better weather!!

Nan

[Jade13]

October 31, 2012 Announcements, announcements, announcements. That is my first impression of the Prinsendam. Ship tour at 1:00, smooth sailing at 2:00, emergency drill at 4:15, ship tour at 3:00, emergency drill at 4:15. Carlos, the cruise director, speaks... very slowly... for those that... are hard of hearing... or have difficulties... processing language... or are kindergartners.

 

 

Showed up for team trivia at 6:00 and there was no cruise staff. Checked for tai chi and there was no lifestylist. No champagne and raffle at the shops. Announcements, announcements, announcements and no mention of changes to the daily program. Maybe they gave everyone else a different daily program. I am not paranoid and wish everyone would quit saying that I am.

 

 

Day Ports of Call Arrival Departure

 

 

1 Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy --- 7:00 p.m.

2 At Sea --- ---

3 Alicante, Spain 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

4 Malaga, Spain 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m.

5 Cadiz (Seville), Spain 7:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m.

6 Cruise Tagus River --- ---

6 Lisbon, Portugal 11:00 a.m. 11:00 p.m.

7 At Sea --- ---

8 At Sea --- ---

9 Horta, Azores 7:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

10 At Sea --- ---

11 At Sea --- ---

12 At Sea --- ---

13 At Sea --- ---

14 At Sea --- ---

15 At Sea --- ---

16 Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida 7:00 a.m. ---

 

Wow. We considered this cruise as a chance to board Prinsendam on a longer itinerary, but ended up deciding to book Celebrity Silhouette for her TA from Civitavecchia figuring there would be more to do on a larger ship with all of the sea days on the TA.

 

I can't believe all of these staff members are missing. This must be the same Carlos that we had on Veendam repositioning from Valparaiso to NYC, and we actually liked him as one of the best Cruise Directors we have had on HAL. But, he did repeat everything in South America in both English and Spanish, so I figured must be totally annoying for anyone who understands both languages. He's a good dancer, and assume he will be doubling as the Dance Instructor.

 

Btw, you are not missing anything with Tai Chi. The instructors we have seen are not doing real Tai Chi, just some exercises.

[Jade13]

 

We had MIss "toddleedoo" (which was driving me nuts) - I don't get it -

 

I could not stand that.

[Jade13]

* November 3, 2012

 

 

A couple more notes:

 

 

 

Modesty forbids my mentioning yesterday's trivia winners.

 

Congrats. When we won in the Crows Nest we received free drinks.

[whogo]

November 4, 2012 Sorry you could not make the cruise, crazy4cruisn. We are carrying on the best we can without you. Fellow passengers are great. There are no weirdos that I have to avoid. Yet.

 

 

A few more Prinsendam notes:

 

1. The bread products are superior on Holland America, I assume they still bake all their own.
   
2. The salt grinders in the Lido are ridiculous. I want salt, not salt gravel, on my scrambled eggs. I know that someone will defend the unique flavor, but I am not convinced. I would love to see salt connoisseurs take part in a blind taste test. Sodium chloride is sodium chloride, give me a plain old shaker.
   
3. I have seen all four shows and have been disappointed in all of them. No standouts among the HAL cast and their choice of songs has been disappointing. Guitarist Byron Johnston is talented, but I did not care for his style. That leaves Yacov Noy, the visual comedian, as the best. Blame me, not the performers, others were wowed.
   
4. After four nights I have the cabin lights figured out. If there is a way to turn on the closet light without turning on the big room lights, too, I have not found it. There is no way for me to use the closet without waking a sleeping wife.
   
5. The unlimited laundry plan is great, $105 for this 15 night cruise. Although they advertise 48 hour service, items sent out in the morning are back in the evening. Were it not for formal nights, I could cruise with just one carry on bag. I'll consider trying it next cruise by wearing a dark suit to the ship.
   

 

 

Early arrival in Cadiz to rain. Again. The cabin steward is still spying on me. My wife said we should leave the cabin in a couple of minutes and our steward was waiting to get in as we left. The rain stopped before we left for our excursion:

 

 

“White Villages and Countryside

“Departs: 8:30 am Approximately 5 Hours Adult $79.95; Child $44.95

“Drive through Cádiz and take in the most important monuments and places of the city, which your guide will point out. At the beautiful village of Vejer de la Frontera, you’ll have some time to explore on foot the hilly cobblestone streets, hidden patios and typical houses. Free time will be allocated so you can browse in the souvenir shops or try some of the local specialties (at your own expense). Re -boarding the bus, you will take the scenic Atlantic Route, packed with stunning countryside scenery, passing by the La Brena Nature Park, a protected pine forest that offers impressive views from its cliff tops up to 300 feet tall. Time and traffic permitting, you’ll stop for photos at Trafalgar Cape lighthouse, where the famous and infamous Battle of Trafalgar took place in 1805. The Franco-Spanish troops fought against the English side led by Lord Horatio Nelson in an encounter that ended in English victory and the death of hundreds of soldiers. This route leads to Conil de la Frontera—a city between forests of pine groves and the sea. It is a typical Andalusian town where Arabian influence is evident in the narrow streets and low white houses. Its courtyards and small squares attract legions of visitors who come to enjoy the beaches and the surf of Cabo Roche, and to taste local specialties such as the pescaito. Enjoy some free time there before you drive back to the Cádiz and the ship.”

Panoramic tour of Cadiz was more detailed than I expected, then a long drive to our first stop (after a biological stop). A highlight of the drive was the nests and storks on power line pylons along the drive. I had never seen more than one nest at a time. Guide Mauro led us through the streets of Vejer de la Frontera, a hilltop village from the middle ages with old walls and white houses with a strong Moorish influence. I took plenty of pictures of twisty streets, little squares, and courtyards. It would be dazzling with a sunny blue sky. As it was, the sky was the same as the white houses.

Made a very short stop for photos of Cape Trafalgar (of Nelson fame), then a forty five minute stop at Conil de la Frontera. Not nearly as picturesque as Vejer, one of us had a tea and one of us had a beer in a sidewalk cafe, then another beer, they were small. Most everything was closed on Sunday. Five of the 37 coach passengers had coughs, Number 1 had a deep, wet cough, Number 5 had a dry, hacking cough, and Numbers 2, 3, and 4 were in between. I took a good look at each cougher and when I come down with cough 1 through 5 I will know just who to blame.

 

 

 

Lamb chops again for dinner, I am a happy camper. Another dessert oddity: My chocolate chip ice cream was vanilla ice cream with four chocolate chips on top. The Prinsendam cast heard my comments about the show and put on a good one tonight. No star gazing again, it is windy and rainy.

[kazu]

Have to laugh Whogo - your cabin steward is attentive and not spying methinks:p Sounds like you enjoyed your excursion - Cadiz is one of our favourite ports - so many things to do -- the White Villages, the horses of Jerez, sherry of Jerez, Seville and of course Cadiz is a gem all unto herself.

 

I think we have stopped there three times and are still not running out of things to do;)

 

Sounds like the grouch is having a semi-good time to me:p

 

enjoying your reports - please don't stop as long as you have the time and the money and the patience - btw - have you seen your views on your thread ???

 

A lot of people are enjoying reading your posts :) me included!

[crazy4cruisn]

Glad to hear you can carry on without me; unfortunately, I am having difficulty carrying on without your posts! I check my computer periodically during the day hoping to see your daily reports....thanks! I ran several off to show my dh who says he is glad he will not be suspect as one of the coughers! We both agree it would be fun to cruise with you onboard! (if we are not coughing or spying :p)

 

Thanks so much for all the fun and updates!

Nan

[Copper10-8]

Have you heard/seen Captain Halle Thon "Hello, it's me again" Gundersen around the ship yet? This is his last year before retiring. The man's been around a couple of times, and most of it on the same ship you're on:)