Just off the Prinsendam (5/21 - 6/24)

[letsgonow]

Wow, did we have a fabulous cruise on the Prinsendam. On May 21 approximately 650 passengers embarked on a Transatlantic journey, labeled "Epic Explorer" by HAL. So many things were wonderful, with very few disappointments. Imagine being greeted by Captain Christopher Turner and Christine, the Social Hostess, as we boared the ship. Very impressive!

 

We had booked an outside guarantee, and were very pleased with stateroom 444 on the dolphin deck. The midship location provided a very stable ride throughout our journey. This stateroom had a shower instead of a bathtub, but still had the wonderful walk-in closet. Although it may be smaller in square footage than the Statendam class staterooms, the layout made it seem very spacious and efficient. The only negative was the low water pressure. We jokingly called the shower the sprinkle!

 

We had late seating for dinner, table 171, with Sumardi as our waiter. Our assistant waiter left the ship in Maidera when he learned that his father had died in the Indonesian earthquake. He was wonderful, and we missed his genuine smile and attentive service. On his final night, after he told us of his upcoming departure, I quickly ran to the stateroom to get some money for his gratuity. He was so thankful, and we were glad to help him out during this trying time.

 

On our seven days crossing the Atlantic, we enjoyed breakfast and lunch in both the lido and dining room. Breakfast in the lido was great, as they make the pancakes, waffles, and french toast to order. A big improvement over soggy steamtable food! Eddie was the king of the poolside grill, making wonderful hamburgers until five in the afternoon. There were a few passengers for the four day segment (Lisbon to Dover). Some of those men showed up for dinner not meeting the evening dress code. The dining room staff turned them away. I am not sure what the second seating people did, as the lido closed at 7:30.

 

Peter Daems, the Cruise Director, was very personable. We especially enjoyed his coffee chat, hosted by Christine. Lori, Ben, Cynthia, and Ashley rounded out his staff - all were great. Chris ran the bingo - we didn't try our luck on this cruise.

 

Christine, the Social Hostess, made sure we had an invitation to dine with the captain and his charming wife, Avril. It was an enjoyable evening for everyone. In fact, the dining room staff began ringing the bells at 10:45, as they were ready to call it a night.

 

We enjoyed the ports, from Casabanca to Nordkapp. I had planned most of our own excursions, only taking two HAL tours. There was some grumbling among the passengers concerning their tours, mostly due to more time spent in a recommended store than the actual sights. One thing is for sure - we all decided we couldn't afjord the high prices in Norway!

 

We had a small roll call, and we met on the first sea day. Although there were only nine people in attendance, it was fun to see familiar faces throughout the cruise.

 

So what was bad about the cruise? The biggest problem was the Prinsendam crud, named by Ides after the world cruise. Yep, it was alive and well on our journey. After about a week, there were many, many people coughing up a storm. Would you be surprised if I told you that many people don't cover their mouths when they start hacking? One day I saw a man at the ice cream station grab for a couple cookies. Appearantly he changed his mind after picking them up, as he dropped them and selected two different cookies. That helped curtail my afternoon craving for a cookie!

 

We enjoyed at least 20 dinners with the ship's doctor and his fiance. He was only on this cruise, as he works in an emergency room in San Francisco. They invited the two us to join them for dinner in the Pinnacle on the last formal night. The appetizers were very good, and my filet was great. Two people ordered the porterhouse, and felt they were overcooked. My potatoes were inedible - so very, very salty. The aspargus was overcooked and very stringy. We ended on a high note though, as the deserts were superb!

 

The Hotel Manager, Frits Gehner, was incredibly friendly. He was always walking about the ship and willing to talk to any and all passengers. In contrast, the Guest Relations Manager, Sherry, never smiled or greeted anyone. The front desk staff were always smiling and eager to answer questions and help with problems. I will say that the ship doesn't offer the best exchange rate, so it is best to use your cash card in ports for spending money.

 

It was hard disembarking after 34 wonderful days, saying goodbye to new friends and the wonderful staff. We would sail again on the Prinsendam anytime and anywhere. I know those booked on future cruises will have a wonderful holiday.

 

Steve.

[Grumpy1]

Thanks for the report, Steve. We're looking forward to our two cruises on Prinsendam in Sept and January. We just came off rotterdam and will sample Noordam in August, but Prinsendam is still my favorite dam ship.

[jhannah]

Glad you had a fabulous cruise. The Elegant Explorer is truly a fine ship. We've enjoyed our two journeys on her.

[lizf]

Steve-

We got off our Amazon Explorer, in Ft. Lauderdale, just before you got on. I've been waiting to hear about the 'Prinsendam cough' and how it affected you folks. Our trip had some pretty bad consequences from it. You can look at the last two pages of our roll call thread.

 

DH and I will be back onboard for the 46 day Taste of Two Continents in October. I surely hope they can do something about that virus before then, but I wonder now. I hadn't noticed it from Ides postings, but I will check back and read his reports again. Not that it will help anything. I just overlooked it I guess.

 

Glad you too enjoyed some of the nice things about the ship that we did. Like the fresh cooked to order Lido each morning. We also fell in love with the staff. We are from the small town that Fritz is from and it was nice meeting him. Didn't Christine do wonderful at the coffee chats? We enjoyed them a lot. She is just so talented.

 

Welcome home.

[Barocl]

We are so happy to hear you enjoyed your cruise. We hope Fritz will be still on board when we cruise in November from Cape Town. We have always enjoyed all the cruises when he is the Hotel Manager. Take care.

[Copper10-8]

Thanks for the report and great to hear you had such a nice time on Prinsendam. Also good to hear that Dutchman Pieter Daems is now a cruise director! When we last saw him on Maasdam in FEB 01, he was still an assistant cruise director. Hope he stays on board for another 33 days!;)

[Bill S]

John: Peter was "the" CD last summer on our Prinsendam Baltic Cruise--he was a delight--loved his sense of humor and "groaners" of stories!

Glad to read that the Prinsendam is still pleasing guests! Our favorite ship!

[Copper10-8]

John: Peter was "the" CD last summer on our Prinsendam Baltic Cruise--he was a delight--loved his sense of humor and "groaners" of stories!

 

Glad to read that the Prinsendam is still pleasing guests! Our favorite ship!

 

Thanks for that info, Bill! We kinda lost touch with him since that Maasdam cruise

[Ides of March]

I hope I didn't leave the impression that I coined that term. Instead it was the common moniker onboard for the scourge that ruined or greatly diminished the enjoyment of so many pax. The only ones seemingly unaffected were the smokers. Go figure.

Dr. Casey Hill jumped on the problem early and knowing it was bacterial went right to antibiotics when it presented in a new pax. If hit hard it usually abated in a week but untreated...forever it seemed.

The Lady who usually posts on the X boards who was on tha Amazon run came down with it and it certainly ruined her cruise plus the replacement Doc didnt seem to know what he was facing from her reports.

It must be lingering because of the crew who have stayed on. I see that Ben, Lori and Cynthia aka "Chaquita" are still there. I'm not suggesting its them but the majority of the crew must still be onboard.

 

Thanks for the great report.

 

Ides

[AWED23]

I hope I didn't leave the impression that I coined that term. Instead it was the common moniker onboard for the scourge that ruined or greatly diminished the enjoyment of so many pax. The only ones seemingly unaffected were the smokers. Go figure.

Dr. Casey Hill jumped on the problem early and knowing it was bacterial went right to antibiotics when it presented in a new pax. If hit hard it usually abated in a week but untreated...forever it seemed.

The Lady who usually posts on the X boards who was on tha Amazon run came down with it and it certainly ruined her cruise plus the replacement Doc didnt seem to know what he was facing from her reports.

It must be lingering because of the crew who have stayed on. I see that Ben, Lori and Cynthia aka "Chaquita" are still there. I'm not suggesting its them but the majority of the crew must still be onboard.

 

Thanks for the great report.

 

Ides

We were on board for the Amazon cruise..Neither of us got the "CRUD" fortuneatly. WE both quit smoking last July...My Doctor, here in Friday Harbor, feels that since both of us were on an antibiotic cycle to prevent Malaria we were protected from the malady...Sooo I now have 2 antibiotic cycles to take with us July 10 on the Prinsendam again up to the Arctic...And also,for John, Peter will be the cruise director on that cruise. Not very long to wait for our third cruise on Prinsendam and 26th cruise on HAL....PS....Capt. Chris and Fritz make dam fine team !!!.The best "Team" we have ever had aboard any of our HAL cruises.

[serendipity1499]

Hey Steve..Welcome Home to you & DW...So glad you enjoyed the "Prinsendam"..

Agree the crew was wonderful..Still miss Peter's nightly stories..We also enjoyed Christine's & Peter's coffee chats...The food was wonderful & our waiters ,Andri & Artha (late seating) were the best! We too enjoyed going up to the Lido for Lunch..Tha Pasta Bar did me in- now on another diet!..Hope you tried the Bread pudding..Only had breakfast in the Lido once but it was very impressive..Eggs cooked to order & hot WOW!

Unfortunately many people on our Amazon Cruise had the Crud & coughed up a storm..One of the gals on our April Roll Call sadly lost her mother a week or so after their return to the states..They were transfered to a hospital in Manaus but the care was not up to U.S. standards..Even with insurance she still ended up paying for the Medivac flight home herself..Another of the gals on our Roll Call also became very ill & she was very unhappy with the Dr. (not the same one you had) on board..

We were on Malaria pills but my Husband came back with a very bad cough.. Dr. here sent him for an X-ray because he was concerned about pneumonia..They treated him with Prednisone & antibiotics.. Fortunately his next x-ray was clear & the cough only lasted a few weeks..

In spite of his illness we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the Prinsendam.. We were in outside cabins on main deck..Also only had a shower but the water pressure was fine..We did have a couple of plumbing problems & a leak which were promptly taken care of..

Love the smaller ships...It would be great if they all had walk-in closets.. You'll have to try the Amsterdam or Rotterdam one day..Outside of the Prinsendam the Amsterdam is our favorite ship..

I'm getting antsy now & would like to book another cruise real soon.. Unfortunately have to wait for a bit as we're in the process of getting quotes on new Hurricane Proof doors for our patio!:( Have been pushing our luck for too long now & these 35 year old doors must be replaced before the next Hurricane hits..

Again Welcome home!

Betty

[letsgonow]

lizf & Betty -

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed the Amazon cruise. I went back and read your roll call and can't believe what happened to Carolyn, her mother, and Gail. The doctor on our cruise was only onboard for the 35 days, and I know he was competent. I did hear some passenger complaints about the female nurse though. She has left the Prinsendam and transferred to the Maasdam.

 

It is hard to believe that the port agent in Brazil didn't have Carolyn's mother brought to the best equipped hospital. I am not sure what the insurance company requires for an emergency evacuation, but she seemed to qualify in my opinion.

 

We always travel with over the counter medicines and a couple Z packs, which helped us avoid the crud.

 

Betty - I am glad you are getting new hurricane proof windows. Because you are going to all that expense and effort, we will have a calm year. It makes sense, right?

 

Steve

[lizf]

Steve-

It sometimes helps to check the surrounding cruises from the one you are on and I am surely following the ship until we leave in October. I too, travel with antibiotics. But that said you must be very careful and not take them until you have a bacterial infection. Fortunately I didn't get the stuff until the last night and I sure thought it could have been bad. Since we got off the next morning, I only had the sore throat and didn't have to use the pills.

 

I am hoping that it isn't in the air system. I'll keep watching the threads and hope they get a handle on it, but what can anyone do? Just let it run its course, I guess.

 

Sounds like you folks had a wonderful trip. I wish we could have continued on but when you book a trip thats longer you just don't know how you'll feel at the end and as it was, I was glad to leave because of the possibility of getting sick. Hoping your next trip doesn't do a repeat of that. Please let us know when you return.

 

Other than that we can hardly wait to see the ship again in Lisbon. Fritz will be rejoining also at that time, just finishing his leave. Great team=great trip. Enjoy your July trip. Lucky you.

[susiesails]

I was on the world cruise on the Princendam this year and I can't believe the crud is still there. Many of the pax came down it it 3 and 4 times. I only got it once and mom (age 77) had it twice. The only thing that works to get rid of it post haste is niquil day and night formula. BRING LOTS OF IT WITH YOU. I think we bought 6 bottles of Robiussin from the ship at $9 for 4 ounces and then we got stuff off the ship by pantomine and my poor spanish. I felt sorry for so many of the PAX as they got pneumonia and bronchitis. This is a terible virus!

We stopped using the handrails and rubbed our elbows on the walls to steady ourselves when necessary.

The ship store ran out of cough medicine on the first segment, and the ship doctor ran out of cough medicine too. I heard that at the end of the cruise when someone went down for the crud, they were given 3 doses of theraflu. What was that supposed to do??????? 3 doses for something that can last for weeks?

I have to say the ship tried to do everything to get rid of it, changing the table clothes every night between first and second seating and so forth. All the utensils were changed many times on lido during meal times so you didn't get contaminated by toughing them after many other hands did too. And yes, some one said it right, that people don't cover their coughs with their hands. We thought it was the long bus rides that spread it so fast during shore excursions. Many people starting going off on their own shore excursions so they didn't have to sit with other infected people spreading their germs thru the bus.

The virus was broght aboard by someone out of fort lauderdale, I am so sorry to hear it is still there. Susiesails

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=345532