Looking for Transatlantic Advice

[hudval2]

Greetings to all HAL cruisers. We are considering the late October/early November 2018 transatlantic Prinsendam sailing. Of concern is the small size of the ship and the potential for rough seas. Any comments from sailors with experience on the Prinsendam during fall transatlantic crossings would be appreciated. Thanks.

Andrea

[rafinmd]

I haven't yet sailed this itinerary on Prinsendam (booked for this November) but have 75 days on her. The way a ship handles in rough seas is a combination of size and hull design. What Prinsendam lacks in size she largely makes up for with a narrow prow that cuts into waves rather than being severely bounces with them and I would expect Prinsendam to not be significantly rougher than most other ships with the exception of QM2,

 

I have sailed this route on several ships including the Allure OTS with some rough days; seas are unpredictable so there's no assurance of a smooth ride but that won't deter me from the Elegant Explorer.

 

I will be doing a live thread on my journey so feel free to ask me any questions then.

 

Roy

[rkacruiser]

I have not done a trans-Atlantic on the Prinsendam, but from my experience, she is a good sea boat. Having been built for the Royal Viking Line when they offered world-wide cruises, I believe she was constructed to offer her guests the best at sea experience that she was possible.

[Sir PMP]

Greetings to all HAL cruisers. We are considering the late October/early November 2018 transatlantic Prinsendam sailing. Of concern is the small size of the ship and the potential for rough seas. Any comments from sailors with experience on the Prinsendam during fall transatlantic crossings would be appreciated. Thanks.

Andrea

 

Having done about 20 of them since 1998 and 5 or 6 on the Prinsendam including last October, it will be mostly very smooth, southern Atlantic is pretty calm, temperatures in the high 70s, but sometimes it can be windy, the most chop you might get is the first day out of, say, Lisbon, and one later near the Sargasso Sea, and the Prinsendam loves the rolling motion of the Ocean, because she is a real ocean

liner other than the bigger hotel ships that move a lot more...

[RuthC]

I've sailed on the Prinsendam enough to agree with the above posts. She rides the waves very, very well.

I would be thrilled to sail a trans-At on the Prinsendam.

[elc41]

Greetings to all HAL cruisers. We are considering the late October/early November 2018 transatlantic Prinsendam sailing. Of concern is the small size of the ship and the potential for rough seas. Any comments from sailors with experience on the Prinsendam during fall transatlantic crossings would be appreciated. Thanks.

Andrea

Have made 5 westbound 'TA ' cruises. Various ships. Seas no problem. Never did Prinsedam but did Eurodam last year

 

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[dockman]

The Pdam is a damn good ship...long may she sail.

[navybankerteacher]

We've sailed Autumn T/A's six times - three from Rome: one on RC Mariner to Galveston, one on Noordam to Fort Lauderdale, and our most recent was on Prinsendam to Fort Lauderdale in 2015. Of course sea conditions vary, but she rode as well as any larger ship - and we did, in fact, hit heavy seas - going further south -to Madiera, rather than the scheduled Azores. While we avoided the worst, there were still as heavy seas as any we experienced on any crossing - she rides as well as any.

 

Beyond that, of course, is the beautiful layout, the small size, and the wonderful service resulting from the pride her crew feels for being assigned to her.

 

We hope to sail her again.

[Btimmer]

We've done the trans Atlantic on the Prinsendam, Nieuw Amsterdam, and Ryndam, and we're booked to do it on the Nieuw Statendam in 2018. All have been wonderful crossings in Nov/Dec.

 

 

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[kazu]

have done several TA's on the P'dam including your itinerary. Rafinmd puts it well when he says that she cuts through the waves.

 

She's my choice for any TA because of the way she rides. She was built to sail the oceans. :)

 

Our sailing was smooth but I was surprised when the Captain announced the wave height at our noon hour report as the ship was sailing so smoothly.

 

No guarantee on any sailing of course but she's the ship I would want to be on for any TA and, if you see signatures, you will see that we are doing another on her next year.

[arzz]

In our opinion the Prinsendam sails rough seas better than any other ship we have experienced. We have been on the Pdam for several TA's and also for a real hurricane type storm (seas better than 45 feet, winds up to 80 knots) on our way down to Antarctica in 2007 and she handled all with grace and elegance. She is a real ocean liner, built for the seas, and takes them in stride.

 

You will experience no worse than you would on a larger ship, and possibly better.

[dag144]

We have crossed seven times on Windstar ships (considerably smaller than what passes for a HAL small ship). Each crossing was in either late October or November sailing from Lisbon to Ft. Lauderdale and/or various Caribbean ports. No trouble at all and the largest Windstar (the Windsurf) carrier only 300 guests.

[hudval2]

Many thanks to those who replied to my post. We booked today for the October 28, 2018, transatlantic from Lisbon. Great to have all of you available for expert advice. Happy sailing.

Andrea