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Live aboard the Prinsendam

KirkNC

By KirkNC,
in Holland America Line

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KirkNC

KirkNC

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Well we are having a great time aboard our first Prinsendam cruise. We are currently in Bordeaux which is a tad wetter than we anticipated. The food and service have been top notch. We love the size and character of the ship but...... the embarkation and disembarkation have been close to a disaster. The initial embarkation in Amsterdam was fine but our first stop St Malo we waited 1.5 hours for a tender while ship excursions offloaded. We were the first independents, a group of five. Two more in our group are five star mariners so they went on the second tender which they said had many open seats. We later also found out the third tender went with only about ten people but we had to sit until tender nine. I understand about the excursions but there was ample room to fit independents on multiple tenders. Than we arrived late in Bordeaux and had to wait close to an hour for the city to try and fail to install a gangplank only to ultimately have the ship install their own gangplank. Today we came back and they were switching gangplanks due to the change in tide so instead of having the new one ready, we had to stand in the rain for about 10 minutes while they opened the new one. I don't understand why this is so hard as it is done every day. Anyway, despite my rant, we are having a great time, of course tomorrow is another tender port so who knows what awaits. 😸

 

We are having a great time with lots of CC people onboard!

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kazu "Live from...." Rare

kazu

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Great to hear from you Kirk:D Hope you will report as time and $ permit.

 

St. Malo seems to be a difficult tender port as we were delayed there as well (including the ship excursions). Hoping everything else goes smoothly for you.

 

Have a great time:)

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

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Too funny about Bordeaux. We were in Bordeaux (on the Prinsendam) about 2-3 years ago and had exactly the same problem with getting a gangplank installed. It took nearly 1 1/2 hours while passengers "stewed" onboard. The problem was that the French labor union refused to allow the crew to unbolt a small portion of a fence that blocked us from putting out our gangplank. After more then an hour 2 Union workers showed-up in their car and it took them about 30 seconds to remove the bolt. When our crew had attempted to remove the bolts they were immediately stopped by the police.

 

Hank

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

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Too funny about Bordeaux. We were in Bordeaux (on the Prinsendam) about 2-3 years ago and had exactly the same problem with getting a gangplank installed. It took nearly 1 1/2 hours while passengers "stewed" onboard. The problem was that the French labor union refused to allow the crew to unbolt a small portion of a fence that blocked us from putting out our gangplank. After more then an hour 2 Union workers showed-up in their car and it took them about 30 seconds to remove the bolt. When our crew had attempted to remove the bolts they were immediately stopped by the police.

 

Hank

 

Thank Hank, for the explanation. That was my immediate suspicion too - French unions.

 

Thanks for the Prinsendam reports as our own countdown to departure continues and the warning since our first stop will be back in France, but hopefully no tenders for Sete and then Toulon.

 

Our concern naturally are the current tensions going on as one sails closer to the Middle East and the Russian Fleet sharing the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, but hopefully sanity will have prevailed by the time we get there in October.

 

However, I got a State Department travel advisory warning about travel in Turkey (Southeastern Turkey-where we are obviously not going) so things can change quickly and cruise companies do have to make alternate plans for everyone's safety.

 

We remain open to a special time also on the Prinsendam regardless, but perhaps not the final itinerary we signed up for, like the recent Noordam passengers who had Israel taken off their travel plans.

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KirkNC

KirkNC

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Too funny about Bordeaux. We were in Bordeaux (on the Prinsendam) about 2-3 years ago and had exactly the same problem with getting a gangplank installed. It took nearly 1 1/2 hours while passengers "stewed" onboard. The problem was that the French labor union refused to allow the crew to unbolt a small portion of a fence that blocked us from putting out our gangplank. After more then an hour 2 Union workers showed-up in their car and it took them about 30 seconds to remove the bolt. When our crew had attempted to remove the bolts they were immediately stopped by the police.

 

Hank

 

That may have been a piece of it, when they final got the ports gangplank installed it was way to steep due to the changes in tide. So then they had to take down another portion of the fence you are referring to so the ship could drop its own gangplank. We did very much enjoy Bordeaux and the ship is rapidly becoming our favorite as well.

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madera1

madera1

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Thanks for letting everyone know about your experience in ports. What did you see while at St Malo since you did not take a ship excursion? We are due to stop there Sept 2014 aboard the same ship. It is still a year out but with so many ports there is a lot to plan. You mentioned that this is becoming your favorite ship...Can you say what is so special about her?

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KirkNC

KirkNC

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Hi Kirk

 

Thanks for the report. I guess a few glitches always happen! Any info on the stabilizer?

 

have a great time

ML

 

No news but we are missing it a little today. We arrived at Hendaye but there was too much swell to tender so we have an extra sea day. The sea is not rough from wind but there are moderate ground swells that have a little motion to the ocean. We enjoyed watching the aft pool empty itself as we sailed away.

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KirkNC

KirkNC

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Thanks for letting everyone know about your experience in ports. What did you see while at St Malo since you did not take a ship excursion? We are due to stop there Sept 2014 aboard the same ship. It is still a year out but with so many ports there is a lot to plan. You mentioned that this is becoming your favorite ship...Can you say what is so special about her?

 

In St Malo we went to the Mont St Michel and than on to Dinan, a beautiful Brittany town were we ate mussels and crepes, yum. We used Westcapades.

 

As to the ship, we love the size, the ship is unique in many ways from the walk in closets to the different rooms. We also find a little different breed of cruiser aboard. Lots of very experienced cruisers with 100's of days on HAL. The cruisers are very friendly and due to small number you really get to start up friendships. The crew also appears a notch above other cruises, again probably part a size of ship issue. Now she is a little long in tooth and you see that in many places, that's not an issue for us but probably is for some.

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falcon10156

falcon10156

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In St Malo we went to the Mont St Michel and than on to Dinan, a beautiful Brittany town were we ate mussels and crepes, yum. We used Westcapades.

 

As to the ship, we love the size, the ship is unique in many ways from the walk in closets to the different rooms. We also find a little different breed of cruiser aboard. Lots of very experienced cruisers with 100's of days on HAL. The cruisers are very friendly and due to small number you really get to start up friendships. The crew also appears a notch above other cruises, again probably part a size of ship issue. Now she is a little long in tooth and you see that in many places, that's not an issue for us but probably is for some.

 

 

I love the Prinsendam. Size, staff and staterooms are topnotch. Nice that it gets into ports some of the big ships can't as well.

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CJcruzer

CJcruzer

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In St Malo we went to the Mont St Michel and than on to Dinan, a beautiful Brittany town were we ate mussels and crepes, yum. We used Westcapades.

 

As to the ship, we love the size, the ship is unique in many ways from the walk in closets to the different rooms. We also find a little different breed of cruiser aboard. Lots of very experienced cruisers with 100's of days on HAL. The cruisers are very friendly and due to small number you really get to start up friendships. The crew also appears a notch above other cruises, again probably part a size of ship issue. Now she is a little long in tooth and you see that in many places, that's not an issue for us but probably is for some.

 

Currently, I am in correspondence with a couple who are on your cruise, as they are on tours I have set up for this winter's Indonesian cruise on the Rotterdam......Say hi to Linda and Jerry if you run across them! They too were disappointed in missing the port, hopefully you get to Lisbon earlier?

Enjoy the remainder of your cruise!:o

 

Carol

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

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We loved the old bucket of bolts MV Discovery for her small size, intimacy, off beat itineraries, in depth enrichment programs and passenger mix.

 

She too was long in the tooth which showed up primarily in bubbling rust spots and layers upon layers of paint trying to keep those decades of sea away. Is this the case on the Prinsendam too, though she looks a lot more elegant and substantial in decor and cabin layouts than the MV Discovery. (Former Island Princess).

 

Counting the days and hours now before walking on board soon in Barcelona.

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KirkNC

KirkNC

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Currently, I am in correspondence with a couple who are on your cruise, as they are on tours I have set up for this winter's Indonesian cruise on the Rotterdam......Say hi to Linda and Jerry if you run across them! They too were disappointed in missing the port, hopefully you get to Lisbon earlier?

Enjoy the remainder of your cruise!:o

 

Carol

 

I will, Linda and Jerry are great, they went on our St Malo tour and than our dinner in Bordeaux, a lovely couple!

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