Around the World on Amtrak, KLM, and HAL

[*Miss G*]

Hi Roy. I am wondering if you would mind including a pic of your cabin and random shots around the ship in your upcoming postings? I am considering the Prinsendam for a future cruise but would like to be sure since it's a larger financial commitment than other ships. Thank you and journey mercies!

[DeeniEncinitas]

Relax and enjoy the flight!!! Makes all the difference in the world of travel to enjoy business class or first. Glad you got a good deal. Can not wait for you to get to the Elegant Explorer!!! We are considering her in March 25 2019 30 day from FLL to Europe on a TA.would love to see pics of her from your vantage point!!!

Enjoy your flight!!!

Denise:)

[rafinmd]

Thanks everyone. Arrived at my hotel about midnight yesterday, here but exhausted. Glad tomorrow is a sea day--I need some recovery time.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Checked in with HAL rep a few minutes ago. Hope to be on the first bus to the ship about 8AM.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Day A31, Wednesday, November 1, 2017, Disembark MS Amsterdam, fly to Rome

 

The Oosterdam is in Cartagena. The Prinsendam is at sea from Naples to Civitavecchia.

 

As I walked to the lido for coffee about 5:30 my GPS showed us about 20 miles from Hong Kong. I walked a total of 6 laps around the lower promenade deck, 3 initially and 2 more as the sun was due to rise. I had been online and gotten a bit distracted, getting on deck just a few minutes late but just as I rounded the bow I could see a little slice of sun coming above low lying clouds and it emerged fully as I reached the stern.

 

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By this time the buildings and hillsides of Hong Kong were quite prominent. I walked my final lap as we approached the terminal and docked just in front of the Sapphire Princess. The first lines went out about 7:45 and my group was called off just about 3 minutes before the 8:30 estimate.

 

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We cleared Immigration and arrived quite quickly in an empty baggage hall. A couple minutes later baggage started arriving but we couldn’t pick it up until Customs arrived and looked it over. There were no luggage trolleys but a couple of porters had carts to help with the luggage (not sufficient for everything). I put the backpack on the cart (It’s awkward when the straps are stowed for flying) and pulled the other bag for the 5 minute journey to our bus.

 

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We left the terminal about 9:15 and arrived at the airport just before 10:15, where there was an ample supply of baggage trolleys. When I did the online checkin for my flight I was offered a cheap business class upgrade which I took, not realizing at the time it was only for the short connection to Rome. I had been unable to print the boarding pass on the ship but when I looked at the email copy it suggested I had “Sky Priority” for both flights and I verified that with the lady at the line entrance. The regular checkin line was pretty long so the quick checkin was an early blessing.

 

I have a day pack which I typically use as a carryon. It was under the stated 26-pound limit but with 2 laptops, regular and mini IPAD’s and some personal stuff getting it through security was a production. When I left security I divided the stuff putting some in a small portable backpack that went under my seat and the bigger one which now had space for my jacket and went in the overhead bin. The daypack came in at 15 pounds and the smaller one at 8.

 

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The walk to the gate was pretty long, mostly through endless shops; gate 18 was the end of the line but there was free wifi and generous seating. I had about 90 minutes until boarding started and the plane arrived just a couple minutes after I did.

 

I was one of the first in line for Zone 3, settling into a then mostly empty main cabin. The 747 has a partition down the middle of the cabin, I’m the second row of Economy Comfort with 3 seats on the window side and 2 on the partition side; I’m the aisle seat on the partition side with a man who doesn’t appear to speak English. It’s far from plush but is reasonably comfortable, looking significantly roomier than a regular coach seat.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/comfort.jpg

 

Lunch came about 3:15 Hong Kong time (8:30AM Rome time), a choice of chicken or beef. I chose the chicken, a small amount, with rice, roll, and pudding.

 

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I had brought a book on the history of the Baltimore Symphony; I had read some on tour buses and in the airport lounge; I finished it right about lunch time. I’m starting my post and will probably also re-read Burning Cold, the story of the original Prinsendam, on my IPAD. Our route is taking us due north from Hong Kong, probably close to where we visited the Great Wall and we turned more northwest after crossing into Mongolia. We continued close to St. Petersburg, past Helsinki and Stockholm. Dinner (pasta) was served about 4:30PM Rome time.

 

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On the way out of the aircraft I got a glance at the long haul business class section. Pretty standard for long haul flights these days.

 

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I had 2 hours to make my connection to Rome. Despite a very obtrusive security check I had about 20 minutes free to stop at the KLM lounge. Just about enough time to grab an apple and brush my teeth. My flight to Rome was about 2 hours, landing about 11PM. European business class is essentially coach with a bit more leg room and the middle seat is not assigned. A simple dinner was served.

 

At 11PM Rome airport is pretty dead. My bags were among the first at the carousel and there were plenty of luggage trolleys. The trek to the Airport Hilton was more challenging than I had planned. It’s probably a 20 minute walk from terminal 1 in ideal conditions, and I encountered a sliding door that refused to slide. Trying the outside route I was misdirected by a soldier to one end of the airport and came to a dead end. The route was across a string of parking garages at the other end of the airport. I arrived at the hotel at the stroke of midnight, and lights out was about 12:40.

 

My parting shot, I think I remember a movie called “The Longest Day”. I could write my own version. 27 hours from wake up to lights out is just too long.

 

Roy

[kazu]

Wow! 27 hours is a long time to travel for sure, Roy.

 

You must be zonked.

 

Glad you are there and heading to the P'dam - actually with the time difference you are probably on her now ;)

 

European biz class for short haul flights is not that exciting for sure.

 

Was your long haul KLM? I saw you said the biz class seats looked standard - so ok? Selfish me is asking for their flight next year ;)

 

Welcome aboard the Prinsendam :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Catching up on all your latest travels and pictures.

Glad you found your money envelopes.

No way could we endure those long flights any more. Did that many years ago when we were much younger and healthier.

[ski ww]

Makes for a long day. I could never get a decent sleep on a plane, mostly doze off & on. Hope you get to sleep in.

Allan

[DeeniEncinitas]

Bongiorno Roy welcome to Rome!

For you it is afternoon. 27 hrs. From beginning to end exhausting!!!!!

We flew from San Francisco to Auckland

21 hrs. In air but Ambien and sleep made a good trip!

Looking forward to your wonderful trip!

Like I said we want to do her in 2019 there.

Smooth Sailings Roy.

Denise:)

[Happily@Sea]

Give me a ship any day, but sometimes air is the only way to get there. Last year I tried to book a train from Nice to Southampton, but one month early was the limit and I was already on the EE on my way to IJmuiden. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. France was having rail strikes all over the place and I probably would have been caught up in that mess and had to buy a last minute plane ticket for who knows how much. Meaning - my avoiding flying wouldn't have worked anyway and I would have paid much more. And that was only short distance.

 

You should be able to catch up on sleep on your first days. Good luck.

[bcnvcanada]

So glad you arrived in Rome. What a day you had.

Again, safe travels.

[TiogaCruiser]

Enjoying your blog. Just got caught up.

Did you find a lot of language issues in China?

[rafinmd]

Thank you all. Still catching up on things. Chilly day with more activities than expected.

 

Day P1, Thursday, November 2, 2017, Board MS Prinsendam, Civitavecchia, Italy

 

The Oosterdam is at sea from Cartagena, Colombia to Ft. Lauderdale. The Amsterdam is completing her call in Hong Kong.

 

It was a short night getting to bed at 12:40 and up at 5:00. I cannot say I was terribly impressed with the airport Hilton, although it was probably the best choice for my 11PM arrival. There seemed to be very little activity with airport hotel shuttles at that hour.

 

There was a water pot with instant coffee but only a single creamer so my one cup of coffee was it. I had checked email on my secondary laptop before retiring and when I tried to do a blog post from my primary laptop the message I got trying to get internet was “Call front desk for a code”. I passed n that but did update the antivirus on my secondary laptop. I think the download speed was slower than on the ship.

 

I left the hotel at 7:15. I was unsure where the HAL rep would be at the airport so I decided to check all 3 terminals. The closest was terminal 3 and voila. I was certainly among the first to be there. She initially indicated that the first bus would be at 8, but when 8 rolled around it got pushed back to 9 as checkin at the dock wouldn’t start until 11:30. That first bus did run pretty full. The ride to the pier was about an hour and briefly offered a few glimpses of the Med, as well as of a few of the ships in port, although I didn’t spot the Prinsendam.

 

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We still had over an hour’s wait until 11:30 and I had lost some dental supplies on the flight so the shuttle into town seemed a good idea. It was a nice little stroll through town although my check of the pharmacy was unproductive. When I reached the store I was closer to the ship than the shuttle dropoff and walked back to the ship. An easy checkin was completed about 11:20 and I was one of the first to board the ship.

 

After a day of airline food I decided to treat myself to some of my favorite foods, and the lunch menu cooperated. I skipped an entree and in addition to bread and skim milk I went straight from the fruit cup appetizer to the carrot cake..

 

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As I left lunch I looked out on the shore and huge quantities of fresh produce was being loaded onto the ship.

 

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After lunch I took a walk in the port past the other ships with us, Costa Magica and Diadema plus the Norwegian Spirit and Rhapsody of the Seas. A mariners welcome party was held in the Crows Nest from 2 to 3, and then unpacking began.

 

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Muster was at 4:15 and went smoothly with cards scanned as we entered the station. I had expected we would sail at 5 but we were still loading supplies and we had an ambulance waiting While I was watching for the ambulance to leave we had a beautiful sunset and as I turned around a nearly full moon was shining brightly on us. It was getting close to dinner time and I headed down to the lower promenade deck to continue watching. The last of the supplies (actually empty pallets) came aboard about 5:30 and almost simultaneously the lines came in. I had hoped to stay out on deck as we left the harbor but headed inside for dinner instead.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/dusk1102.jpg

 

I am at table 153, an 8-top near the entry to the main section of the dining room. On the first evening there were 7 of us, 5 solos and one couple. Our waiters are Asta and Iwan. All but one of us boarded in Rome. For the first evening I chose the chilled and chicken noodle soups as well as the pasta and apple strudel.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/dishes02.jpg

 

There was a typical welcome aboard show where Cruise Director Linda Minnikin introduced the musical groups and activities team. Fairly typical for the Prinsendam, we have a Junior Activities Director bun no kids on the crossing. She will be helping with the rest of the shipboard activities.

 

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The pianist in the Crows Nest is Lee Strubeck. He was on my spring Zaandam voyage. I did not get up to the Crows Nest as I was in bed by the time he started playing.

 

My parting shot will be about changes in Maritime safety. I had been reading “Burning Cold”, the story of the original Prinsendam sinking and then on the stairwell noticed a Stephen Card painting and also a model of the ship and it really struck me that most of the lifeboats there were open to the elements. The oars that were prominent in the model also really struck me. I had read that the tenders were designed to be able to tow the lifeboats away from danger but the concept of being in one of those open, powerless lifeboats on a cold Alaska night really struck home. Thank God we have moved rather quickly beyond those days.

 

I have now posted the Cruise Log from the Amsterdam:

 

http://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/10/cruiselog.pdf

 

I’m going to start off pretty stingy with my internet minutes so I’d appreciate it if somwbody would copy the link to the Cruise Log thread.

 

Roy

[bennybear]

Done! Thanks for sharing the new cruise log.

 

Glad you are safe and sound back onboard! What a journey. Agree about the walk to the Rome Hilton, it is quite a trek especially late at night with those sliding doors! The concierge was so nice, when we had a very early flight out she arranged a shuttle to the attached airport, lol! And we took her up on It. It does work well for overnight and they will shuttle you into Rome.

 

Enjoy this next voyage!

[josumello]

Yes thanks for sharing cruise log. I expected something much more involved due to the recent unhappiness on CC about the cruise logs being discontinued on many cruises. Doesn't look like it should be that difficult to print out.

 

Roy, as usual your blog is wonderful. I really enjoy reading about your travels. Hopefully this leg will bring you great weather. Thanks so much for bringing us along.

 

Sue

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Happily@Sea]

Cruise log is not as complete as I'd like, BUT I'll take something over nothing.

 

Does Linda ever leave Prinsendam? I don't believe anyone has ever mentioned a different cruise director in their blogs or reviews, or I just missed those particular ones. :D

 

I'm watching Denali puppy cam [which shuts down for the season Monday morning] and it is almost 9:15 am and it is finally getting light enough to really see the puppies and pen toys easily. Remember sail-ins and sailaways in Juneau when the daylight was so long?

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you have made it onto the Prinsendam after your long days and nights of traveling.

Great pictures!!

[DeeniEncinitas]

Have a much relaxing and wonderful time on the elegant Prinsendam!!!

We so enjoy The Mediterranean, and always look forward to all of your blogs!!!

I too also down loaded the cruise log! Thank you Roy.

Glad you got your dental supplies!! Always need a happy mouth. LOL...I used to tell my little patients that at their annual checkups!

Safe travels Roy!

Denise:)

[rafinmd]

Thanks again everyone. I don't think what I shared is the new cruise log which may be somewhat different from what I posted but we'll see.

 

Day P2, Friday, November 3, 2017, At sea, MS Prinsendam

 

The Oosterdam is at sea from Cartagena to Ft. Lauderdale. The Amsterdam is at sea from Hong Kong to Nha Trang.

 

I had decided I needed to sleep more than I needed to walk and woke up around 6:30. My GPS had indicated sunrise would be at 6:45 so I hustled to get out the door quickly. We had passed between Corsica and Sardinia perhaps 4AM and were far enough west of Rome that sunrise had moved to more like 7, and I walked 3 laps before it appeared over a mountain.

 

 

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I walked an additional 3 laps for a total of 1 ½ miles before heading to the lido for a waffle. One thing is a little backwards on the Prinsendam from the rest of the HAL fleet. I believe it is their only ship with an open midship pool. While dining around the pool is climate controlled on the other ships those tables are open to the weather on the Prinsendam while the aft area is a Wintergarden installed in 2012 that is both climate controlled and scenic. With my fleece on it was a perfect day to enjoy the waffle around the pool.

 

In my experience enrichment has been a big Holland America weakness. This voyage has been very different with quite a packed schedule. The day opened with a 10AM talk by location guide Heather on Cartagena and Malaga. There was also a 10:30 galley tour; I missed that as I’ve toured Prinsendam’s galleys a couple of times and Heather was still finishing her presentation. She was followed at 11 by Dr. Adrian Cooper with “How was the Mediterranean Formed?”. I missed that presentation for the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet in the Crows Nest. There was quite a large vital group although I forgot to get out my camera until pretty late.

 

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Both Captain Willems on the Oosterdam and Captain Eversen on the Amsterdam gave their midday presentations around 12:45. Captain Dag Dvergastein was right on the dot at noon. He indicated we would continue to enjoy nice weather but cautioned we would also have “company” at our first 2 ports of call. It sounds like he will end each of his updates with a short literary passage. The first one was about mermaids.

 

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Lunch was pizza, milk, and ice cream spread over a series of snacks tucked in between lectures. The first was retired Navy Captain Tom Anderson on “Geography and Current Affairs”, dealing with geography, especially a country’s access to seaports, and how that affects their conduct of international affairs.

 

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Anderson was followed at 3 by Chris Mason. He will talk mostly about ships and ocean liners but his first talk was about Funchal and some of the ships that have called there over the years..

 

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This was the first of 3 Gala nights on the voyage. When I sat down there were just 4 of us at the table. One (the only holdover from the previous cruise) was dining with friends at another table, one may be perennially late (late yesterday, 6:15 today), and one was unaccounted for. The chef sent around small glasses of an unidentified juice that was quite tasty; in addition I enjoyed the pineapple plate, pasta, and black forest cake.

 

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This was the evening for Captain Dag’s welcome toast, along with the introduction of his senior staff.

 

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The featured entertainment was The Prinsendam Singers and Dancers in “Atlantic Crossing”. I believe the Prinsendam’s cast is a bit smaller with 4 singers and 4 dancers; I think I remember 6 dancers on the Amsterdam. In any case, they put on a very good show.

 

https://solocabinchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/atlcrossing.jpg

 

My parting shot comes from the Times Digest put out by the ship. It doesn’t affect Maryland but a number of states are having state and local elections, selecting some of the leaders who will go on to become our national leaders. If you have an opportunity to vote on Tuesday, please do so.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Miss G, can I refer you to a blog post I made last time I was on the Prinsendam where I compared a number of venues on the Prinsendam to one of my other favorite ships, the Crystal Serenity:

 

https://serenitytokiel.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/comparison-of-crystal-serenity-and-prinsendam-venues/

 

Those views are still pretty current although the machines in the laundry room on deck 10 are new. The photo was from deck 6 and I haven’t been there on this cruise.

 

There’s a website that I can’t name on Cruise Critic that I can’t name but you can probably find it with a google search on “HAL cabins”. They do not yet have a picture of the Prinsendam solo cabins but I’ll mention it here when they publish mine. I want to get a photo from shore where I can pinpoint my location before I submit an entry but I’ll mention it when my entry is published.

 

If there are any other areas you would like to see let me know.

 

Roy

[kazu]

Great pic of Captain Dag, Roy.

 

Glad to hear that the Prinsendam still has it's tradition of enrichment speaker. It sure makes a difference on any cruise and one of the reasons we like that ship ;)

 

Question on your Gala Night for one of my roll call members please? How dressed up were the passengers? A fair number of suits, tuxes/ jackets?

 

Haven't sailed on the P'dam since formal night was changed to gala so my experiences may not be accurate for them.

 

Great posts as always! And thanks when you have time

[Krazy Kruizers]

I never get tired of your reports and pictures.

Always great.

[ski ww]

As always great write up & pics. Liked that side by side comparison of the two ships.

Allan

[*Miss G*]

Thank you Roy. That was exactly what I was interested in seeing.

[DeeniEncinitas]

Hi Roy!!!

It never gets old for me seeing a beautiful sunrise in The Mediterranean.

Glad you realized sleep was alittle bit more important than walking so early.

I will have to try those waffles when I am on board.

Having those enrichment programs are great and am glad they will be abundant for you on board!!

Till next time! Enjoy the sail.

Denise:)