Prinsendam's Windmills & Waterford Cruise

[the2ofus]

Jim, thanks for continuing to post your comments on each port. You get the essence of each port into such a few descriptive words. Leaves me thirsting for more. I'm thinking I'll check the library for some travel books about the British Isles.

 

Of course, I could just book this cruise, but I have not heard of any long-lost relatives leaving me tons of money, so I guess I'll just have to travel vicariously for now.

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

[Ine]

Jim and Donna,

By now you must be tasting the whiskey in Edinburgh.

One of my favorite cities, I am sure you will enjoy.

We still have the good weather you brought from Las vegas.

 

As I donot know how often you have the chance to read this, have a good flight home.

I will send the photos later this week and maybe we will meet again in october

[mii]

Jim: I have thoroughly enjoyed your little dairy of your trip. You are so good with words; it sure makes me want to be with you on that trip. Have a safe flight home.

 

Marilyn

[Robert AG99]

I am enjoying your post. Cheryl is of Irish heritage, but has never been. After reading your great descriptions I think we may just book this cruise ourselves. It would be great to visit Ireland.

Have a great time and keep up the good reports.

;) :D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Jim, I have enjoyed reading your reviews:) I hope you and Donna have a safe and easy travels back home. Will talk once you get back home.

 

Take Care,

[jhannah]

Invergordon was a short day. We took a tour out to Loch Ness and the Urquhart Castle which is in Drumnadrochit. Isn't that a great name? The castle was built to defend the entrance to the Great Glen, and the views from atop its turret of the Loch and the surrounding countryside are breathtaking. We had to leave at high tide, thus we were underway at 1:00. Great stop.

 

Sunday was a very full day in Edinburgh. We did our own thing, relying on a taxi to get to town and the hop on-hop off bus after that. We toured Edinburgh Castle which sits very high on a cliff overlooking the city. We then went down the Royal Mile and visited Holyrood Palace, the local residence of the Queen (and Mary Queen of Scots before.) Enjoyed seeing the place and its gardens very much. Once again, the weather is stunning. Even the locals can't believe it!

 

We had lunch at the Conan Doyle Pub, just across the street from where Sir Arthur was born. Enjoyed haggis, neeps and tatties. Very, very good. Also had to sample their fish and chips.

 

After some shopping, we headed back to the port at Leith and toured the retired royal yacht Brittania. It was somewhat poignant seeing the displayed photos of Princess Diana and her sons taken while they were on board. There's lots of history that has taken place on the yacht, and it was a treat to go through it.

 

Captain Mateboer held a nice Q & A yesterday. A few things from that session:

 

The Prinsendam is not for sale. The question had been asked by someone earlier in the cruise, and so he messaged Seattle who told him it wasn't on the block. Our cruise director Peter said he had recently been to Seattle for a meeting and the Prinsendam is on the schedule for 2007.

 

The harbor pilots cost extra. The cheapest place is Kusadasi, Turkey, where they charge $150. The most expensive proposition is Helsinki, where they charge a flat annual fee of $100,000. Yes, that's not a misprint. Whether you call one time or 100, your ship pays the hundred grand. Amazing!

 

He has written a book titled Captain's Log, available at the major online booksellers. They are out of them on board just now, but I plan to get one. He will go from here to the Noordam.

 

We were an hour late leaving Milford Haven because the anchor picked up a chain, and it had to be cut off.

 

Tonight we're looking forward to watching the fireworks being shot from the castle. Our taxi driver said 200,000 people were expected in town for this, the largest fireworks display in Great Britian. Since we don't leave until 1:00 in the morning, and since our starboard verandah faces the castle, we should have a pretty good seat! We won't hear the musical accompaniment, but that's okay. It is a bit hazy just now, but hopefully it won't be too much to obscure the display.

 

Monday is a sea day, and Tuesday morning will see us off the ship at approximately 9:15. We will head straight for the airport and our flight back home.

 

It has been an excellent cruise. I am sad that this itinerary is not on the schedule for 2006. While port intensive, it has been marvelous to see so many great places and so much history to which we are all linked. I hope they will add it back in at some point.

 

So I guess that's it from The Elegant Explorer. Adieu!

[Aussie Gal]

Jim,

 

I have so much enjoyed your postings from the lovely Prinsendam and am thrilled that you have had such a great cruise.

 

Your descriptions of your time in Scotland brought back some lovely memories of our time there in 1998. It is a lovely part of this world.

 

We are so looking forward to our visit to Ireland in 2007 and have enjoyed reading what you did whilst there.

 

Thanks again.

 

Jennie

[stormyc]

Thank you, Jim, for the wonderful reports... have enjoyed cruising with you!!! :)

[sail7seas]

Is this a new Captain to HAL?

 

Didn't Captain Halle Gunderson and Captain Peter Bos used to alternate on Prinsendam?

[jhannah]

Yes, they did. Now there is a four-month rotation ... so maybe they've changed things up a bit. As I mentioned, Hans Mateboer got off the ship when we did Tuesday and after holiday will go to the Noordam. I had hoped to see him next August when we'll be sailing the Noordam, but he will be on vacation then. He was a very personable man, and we enjoyed him very much. His wife was with him on this sailing. He met her on the Statendam!

[jhannah]

We are safely back home after a marathon flight back from Amsterdam. We ran into dear friends in Memphis (our one stop enroute back to Las Vegas) who were on the plane home with us.

 

Our sea day Monday was relaxing. Peter Daems, the cruise director, and three other crew members conducted a "life at sea" talk in the afternoon. They told how they came to the seafaring life and answered audience questions. Very interesting.

 

Disembarkation could not have been smoother. Our hats are tipped one more time to Louis (HAL's head of embark/debark operations) for a very smooth transition. Disembarkation began a little before 8:00 a.m., and we (number 9) were called a bit after 9:00. Bags were easy to find in the terminal, and we were soon on the bus to Schipol Airport. We did get to chat with Louis again for a bit. We saw him in the Lido while we were having breakfast. His job entails overseeing the summer European sailings, then he moves elsewhere for winters. I think it's great that HAL has someone on site at these embarkations and disembarkations to make sure they run as smoothly as possible.

 

Our itinerary never took us very far each night. The average speeds between ports reflect this. Our slowest night of travel was between Dublin and Douglas, Isle of Man. Six-point-three knots! Our fastest was 18 knots between St. Peter Port and Milford Haven.

 

The Prinsendam consumes an average of 26,420 gallons of diesel fuel each day.

 

The weather held out beautifully for us. Just a spot of rain in two places. Otherwise, partly cloudy to sunny and wonderfully pleasant temperatures.

 

One final note on the crew. There is just something we find on Holland America ships that we don't find elsewhere we've been. (And I know we're neophytes in comparision of many of you ... but I'm speaking from my own experience.) This was manifest during the "premier" of the cruise video when it was shown in the Wajang Theater. We had an absolutely wonderful yum-yum man by the name of Rahmat. He greeted us each evening after dinner, and for breakfast and lunch in the Lido. He would always greet us by name, and was a very personable young man. When he appeared briefly in the cruise video, many in the audience clapped. Now, how many other cruise lines have this sort of endearing crew? Not that the others are not good at what they do, or that they're not pleasant. But I simply find a quality in the Indonesian and Fillipino crew that I just don't see in European staff.

 

Thank you HAL and the crew of the Prinsendam for a magnificent vacation experience. And thanks to the Good Lord for the fine weather and calm seas. While we've thoroughly enjoyed our other cruises, I'm beginning to feel this one is our favorite so far. Again I say I hope they restore this itinerary to the schedule in the future for others to enjoy.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Welcome Home Jim and Donna, I am glad you made it safely back home to Vegas. As you can see our weather has cooled down just a bit and it actually quite nice.

I am so glad to hear you had such a wonderful cruise, looking forward to seeing the pictures.

P.S. we will have to chat later I have some questions for you about your 4 day repositioning cruise you did, since we just booked 4 days on the Veendam for September 2006.

[Bill S]

Welcome home, Jim and Donna! Glad you are back safe and sound. It took us about 2 weeks to recover from the jet lag from our flight back from Amsterdam last month--hope you fare better than us!

Let us know when your pics are ready so we can meet up and share our recent cruise experiences. I have two CDs, one just of Bruges and one of the actual Baltic Cruise, itself.

 

We really enjoyed the Prinsendam as well. Peter was a hoot and Rahmat was great-he made Virginia laugh each night with his greeting.

 

Rest up!

[Sail With Me]

Hi Jim and Donna,

 

We just arrived home and agree that this was a cruise to top all others. It was wonderful meeting and sailing with the two of you and we hope to do so again in the future.

 

Ine and Ton, we had two wonderful days in Amsterdam after our cruise and we will be back next July when we sail on the Prinsendam once again out of Amsterdan to the Norwegian Fjords and Iceland. We hope to see you again either in the USA or Amsterdam. Thanks so much for following the ship the day of departure. It was fun to see you at the locks.

 

To all of our new friends, we thank you all for making our voyage so very special and we wish you many more voyages like this one.

 

Karen and Bob

[localady]

Welcome back Jim and Donna and Karen and Bob!

 

We absolutely agree that our Prinsendam Baltic cruise in July was probably as close to perfect as they get. The only thing I could think to even comment on was the cool and wet weather we experienced in Amsterdam and on the cruise. It sounds as though you all had luck even with that!!!:D

 

You all will just have to adjust again to no fresh squeezed OJ delivered to your cabin for breakfast too......:eek: ;)

[Copper10-8]

Welcome home Jim! Thanks for the review and great to hear you had a nice cruise! Glad you liked my home town too:) Captain Johannes "Hans" Mateboer is a very nice guy, We had the pleasure of meeting him when he was Chief Officer on the Oosterdam in OCT 03. He had just come to HAL at the time after spending some years with Disney Cruise Line as captain. Good to hear he's now getting the new Noordam:)

[Ine]

Karen and Bob.

 

I have tried to send some photos by e-mail to you, but it all came back.

If you still have Ton e-mailaddress pls. let me know if you want those pictures and to what address. Some of them can be found as mentioned at the start of this link.

 

We are out of the country 16 sept -oct 5, the S. California trip will be by the end of october.

[doxiemom]

I just finished reading all of the cruise posts provided by Jim. Well done, once again. We are still recovering from the jetlag. It was a wonderful cruise. Disembarkation in Amsterdam was soooo smooth - best ever. It was so nice to meet such wonderful fellow travelers, Donna and Jim, Karen and Bob, Suzanne and Stuart. The precruise dinner that we had with them as well as Ine and Ton in Amsterdam won't be forgotten. As I write this, my washing machine is shuttering in fear.

[doxiemom]

We want you to know how much we enjoyed meeting you both at dinner before our cruise. We heard that you had been waving from shore as our ship passed from Amsterdam to the canal. We did recall a waving couple standing in front of a large home as the port side of the ship passed by them. Could that have been you?

Our cruise was wonderful. As usual, we were more than well fed. Believe it or not, we did eat some of the Dutch chocolates and wafer cookies while on board. There were several occassions when these hit the spot. We are now enjoying the remainder at home. Your thoughtful kindness is appreciated.

We hope to see you when you come to Las Vegas. I did find your pictures on the CC site and have printed them to add to our cruise memory box. Again, thanks for all that you have done.

 

Don and Kay Stroud, Las Vegas

[Sail With Me]

Karen and Bob.

 

I have tried to send some photos by e-mail to you, but it all came back.

If you still have Ton e-mailaddress pls. let me know if you want those pictures and to what address. Some of them can be found as mentioned at the start of this link.

 

We are out of the country 16 sept -oct 5, the S. California trip will be by the end of october.

 

Hi Ine and Ton,

 

We loved meeting you and so enjoyed the goodies you brought to us. You can send me the photos to karenjburnham@hotmail.com. Have a wonderful trip and please let us know when and where you will be in Southern California. We would love to see you both!

 

Karen and Bob

[Ine]

Don and Kay, we enjoyed the dinner in Amsterdam with all of you too.It was a nice way to meet and talk to you, thanks to Jim and Donna.

Yes it was us who waved to you, but that big appartment doesnot belong to us.

We also drove to the locks as the pictures show.

 

Glad you liked the stroopwafels and chocolate tulips.

I will send more photos to Jim, so if you need more or better ones, maybe you can get in touch with him.

 

Karen I will send them to your e-mail.

 

Until tomorrow we still have great summerweather, ever since you were here. Till then it was the coolest and wettest summer since over 100 years.

[slotl]

Hi Jim and Donna,

This is Lois from the 'Lois and Ken' that AussieGal mentioned. We were on the Windmills cruise with you on the Prinsendam.

 

It's funny, we were on Main Deck and received the "old" Royal Dutch brand shampoos and soaps. I guess the higher class rooms get the new stuff.

 

We also enjoyed the cruise VERY MUCH. It was very tiring. A new port each day with touring and walking. Most ports were tender ports.....If I was exhausted, I cannot imagine the HAL sailors who were responsible for our safety in the docking and tender operations.

 

The weather was great. Only two poor weather days (Dover and Belfast) and the foggy day in Stornoway.

 

When we were in Guernesey, we took the tour to Sark. It was the best tour I was on during the cruise. Sark is a small island with no cars. We traveled on horse and bench and horse and carriage around the island. It was quaint and peaceful with beautiful gardens. The island was overrun by the German Army during WWII. There was no defense of the island.

 

In Belfast we went to the Giant's Causeway. It is a volcanic part of the island where the ground seems to be made of pillars. The volcano created the pillar shapes. It is very unique and unusual.

 

We have sailed HAL many times. It was good to see many familiar faces from the crew and staff. We even met our dining steward who served us on the Noordam on two different cruises.

 

To see pictures from the cruise, visit the following website:

 

copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AcuGzNo5aMRu (part 1)

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=9AcuGzNo5aMRM (part 2)

 

Another wonderful cruise has ended and the countdown begins until our next adventure.

 

 

Slotl

[ldog]

thank you for the great reports. We are very interested in this itinerary. Hope they put it back in future years.

[Ine]

Great pictures of the cruise Slotl.

You might have noticed I posted some of our pictures of prinsendam in the locks at the beginning of this link. I have more here, so should you want some of these (maybe you are on it?), I can send them to you if you leave an e-mailaddress..

 

Don and Kay, of course I can also send the pictures to you, then you donot have to ask Jim for them. Only I donot have your e-mailaddress. If need be, you can mail Ton directly with yours.

[Copper10-8]

Goeiemiddag Ine!

Still coming to Redondo Beach?