Prinsendam Cruise Review ~ 12/2/06 to 12/12/06 (Be warned: This is LONG!!)

[sail7seas]

Heather......

 

Wonderful review!!! I read it slowly and really enjoyed it. I knew you'd love Prinsendam.

 

Can't tell you how happy I am how much you enjoyed yourself. When you are laughing and with people you enjoy, somehow you can overlook a too fatty lamb chop. Sorry the food was not all it could have been.

 

You sound happy and relaxed and eager to return to Prinsendam at the first possible chance.

 

Welcome Back. We missed you.

 

[jhannah]

Welcome back! I'm sorry your dining room service wasn't up to par. Ours was wonderful the times we've sailed the ship. But things do change. She is truly an Elegant Explorer, and offers a very different feel.

[bepsf]

Heather--

Thanks for the wonderful review - I'm so glad that you enjoyed the little Prinsendam.

I certainly hope HAL doesnt' keep up with these staffing reductions you've experienced - I for one would rather pay a bit more for better service than pay less and get less...

[Tricia724]

Nice review, Heather. I got a little pang in my heart when you lavished praise on Cabin 197. We had booked 197 for an Amazon cruise next year....then HAL decided to cancel the cruise and put Prinsendam into drydock at that time. Fortunately we were able to move to the Veendam and take the Amazon cruise this year.....which was exceptional.....but we were both still a little disappointed that we missed out on the famous aft balcony on Prinsendam. Glad you enjoyed it.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Tricia, I'm so sorry you couldn't get 197 ... really a special cabin. Our new friends, Helaine and Kelly, have it booked for next November and arrived at our cabin door insisting they were taken possession then and there.:) Can't say I blamed them!!!

 

Having a devil of a time uploading my pix because Webshots changed it so I couldnt add titles after I created the album. So I deleted the whole thing and I'm starting again.

 

I'll be interested to see how everyone feels over their coming months of cruising. I hope that the staff reductions and cutbacks don't have a far reaching effect. Only time will tell.

 

Still, one of the greatest cruise experiences we've ever had!!! I want to keep mentioning that!:)

[gizmo]

Heather, Thanks for the review. I enjoyed reading it.

 

LOL at the Dover Sole. The first time I ordered it the steward did not remove the bones so I know what the people at your table experienced trying to eat it. :eek:

I never ordered it again until I read on the board that the steward should remove the bones.

 

Good to hear you liked the ship. I saw it docked next to us when we returned to Ft.Lauderdale this past Wed.

[serendipity1499]

Welcome back Heather & thanks so much for your wonderful review of our favorite ship! Peter was one of our favorite CD's too..Loved his stories! He had an Assistant from Australia, but her name escapes me, who was also so very charming..We especially enjoyed her interviews with the various entertainers & Peter's interview with the charming (& down to earth) Capt. Turner..

 

Its too bad that you did not have good DR service, as we had the best service we've ever had on all our HAL cruises in April...But it's nice to hear that you could overlook some of the negatives & enjoy your cruise and your CC table mates..

 

Again Welcome back..:) Betty

[HeatherInFlorida]

I'm so glad so many of you enjoyed the review. I do try to be fair. And the fact is it really was a perfect cruise.

 

Just for fun and to wet your appetite, I'm posting a picture of Glendora's Oceanview Restaurant on Nevis. It's right there in town and an easy walk once you get off the tenders.

 

As I mentioned ... just the 3 tables on the deck so be sure to call ahead!!! I think everyone would really enjoy it:)

 

[KathieKata]

Heather your REVIEW was most interesting and easy to read. Thanks for taking the time to post and let us know about your terrific cruise.

Now as far as FRESH PRODUCE and those shorts you fell in love with............there is a FRESH PRODUCE SHOP in Sarasota.....right in the St Armands Circle. Geez.......I live in Michigan and know that!! :D So drive across the State and get all the shorts you want girlfriend!! I bet it would still be cheaper than E-Bay and the shipping charges that they charge lately!!

Can't wait until your next cruise and review. Thanks!!

[berylde]

There is a Fresh Produce store closer than Sarasota. It is in Fort Lauderdale on Los Olas Blvd.

 

I'm sure they would send you their recent catalogue. Not a bad trip from WPB

 

Love their clothes also

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions for Fresh Produce possibilities. Funny story .... on board I was remarking I was sorry not to have made it to the shop in St. Thomas that carries Fresh Produce. One passenger said "Oooooh, don't worry ... you can't bring any fruits and veggies into the U.S. anyway!":D

 

A CC friend also emailed me about a store in Jupiter (very near me) who carries it. The problem is that no one seems to have the shorts right now (it being the middle of winter:o ), but I'll keep working on it!

 

Also, a particularly good CC soul has offered to look for me in St Thomas on her cruise coming up on the Noordam.

 

You just can't beat CC!!!! Thanks!

[stanford's girl]

Welcome home Heather!!:) What a great review and I didn't think it was long at all. You made us feel like we were right on the ship with you.

 

Sorry the dining room was such a problem but glad to know that it didn't diminish your cruise experience. Gotta love a woman who rolls with the punches as well as the big waves!!

 

Looking forward to seeing your pics!! :cool:

[momK]

Heather,

Thanks for your review, and sorry we couldn't meet up for the Sunday lunch.

This was our 25th anniversary cruise celebration. We were in 196, and it was heaven! I'm glad we booked it. Even though it was aft, I found the movement to be very soothing at night. (The 2 sea days, however, were pretty rough for me, but it didn't matter where I was on the ship for those days! :) Lying down on the bed brought some relief.)This was our 3rd cruise (1st w/HAL) and we loved it! Harry was our steward, too, and he was fantastic. He told us he was leaving the ship in FLL for a much-desired vacation home w/his wife and 3yo girl, after being gone for almost a year! The towel monkey was the greatest!

 

We had table 108 for the first seating, and had no problems w/service. Made (sp?) was a great steward, and we didn't even need to ask for the lobster to be removed from the shell, or have the fish de-boned. The open seating for lunch and breakfast, however, had VERY slow service. The food was overall very good, but the food on our 2000 AK Celebrity cruise was better.

 

We enjoyed the entertainment, and were happy w/our excursions. We went horseback riding in Nevis, and dh and I were the only ones. The sailing/snorkeling in St. Barts was fantastic. Our purple cabana w/butler in HMC was well worth the $$! I brought my small harp w/me, and can now say I played it in the Caribbean while watching the waves wash on shore. Eating filet mignon in a cabana is a once-in-my-lifetime experience that I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

I do not have the cruising experience of most of you, but a few of my observations:

1 -- having a classical music station on the TV was heaven!!

2 -- the self-service laundry was a surprise: no quarters needed! HAL even provides the soap!

3 -- the flowers throughout the ship were gorgeous! I ordered 3 different arrangements for our room. Too bad I couldn't take them w/me.

4 -- 196 is a great cabin! Unfortunately, our side of the aft deck became the smoking section. Depending on the wind direction, the stay on our verandah wasn't always pleasant, esp. the morning a stogie-smoker seated himself right next to our verandah wall! :(

5 -- Leandra in Excursions was wonderfully helpful, esp. since many of our internet-reserved excursions were cancelled/changed. She helped us replan, and we were happy w/the results.

6 -- We're in our late 40's, and I don't think there were many people younger than we were. That was OK with us.

7 -- We ate at the Pinnacle. We had a great table-for-two by the window and a lovely meal (I had the halibut and king crab legs -- yummy!). They even provided an anniversary cake for us. I would probably not spend the $$ again, but it was a nice splurge for the occasion.

8 -- Even w/the little fire in the ship's laundry, and the indoor waterfall down the elevators and stairwell from the Lido flood, the whole trip was peaceful and uneventful. As a mom of 6 (3 at home), it was a wonderful cruise and ship to relax on.

9 -- There was never a time that the HAL employees neglected to give a big smile and greeting to us. Everyone was happy!

10 -- Remember the best joke/worst joke contest? I'm married to the worst joke winner, who also won the ship building contest. He had a blast on this cruise!

 

Thanks for recommending HAL and the best cabins in the world (Prinsendam 196 and 197).

 

momK

[HeatherInFlorida]

MomK, I am so sorry you didn't come to our lunch or introduce yourselves to us on "our" aft deck! I'm sure I saw you and just didn't know who you were! That's a shame and I'm so sorry we didn't meet up.

 

I forgot to mention the fire! We were both lying on our bed taking a little snooze when the fire alarms wailed!!! That was an eye opener and we were relieved when Captain Turner announced all was well. It had been a fire in one of the washing machines. The other relief was we were in port. I'm sure there would have been more mayhem had we been at sea.

 

The flood in the Lido was horrendous from what I heard. I didn't go up and didn't realize it was pouring down the elevators!

 

That's a shame you had a smoker outside your veranda. We could barely use ours due to the high winds so were relieved we had the aft deck to fall back on. We just took over the tables right outside our cabin. It was much nicer out there anyway:) .

 

I'm so glad you had great service at your sitting ... so maybe it varied Steward to Steward. Good to know. As I said it didn't bother me because the whole cruise was so wonderful.

 

Not surprised you weren't well with the rough seas. There were so many affected by that. I talked to one woman who had over 800 days on HAL and had never been sick on any cruise (including Prinsendam), but this one got her. So you weren't alone!

 

BTW, did you catch Ray and me in the Marriage Game? I forgot to mention in my review that we came in last!!! It was very embarrassing. Only good thing was the winners were also the longest married ... 47 years or something like that:) .

[ekerr19]

You came in LAST on the marriage game???? :eek: This is too funny, lol!!! I know my DH so well, but you know what? We'd probably be last too!! Every time we've seen the show - I aske him what his answer would be and it's usually wrong, lol!

 

Anyway - welcome home Heather! I'm so glad you had a great cruise. I know I'll have to give the Prinsendam a try for sure now. Thanks for posting such a comprehansive, concise and well written review. It was a joy to read. :)

 

The new webshots system has been giving me fits too. Argh!

 

Now, I'll have to see if I can convince you to reconsider Vista class and try the new Noordam. ;) You certainly know my feelings about my lone Vista experience (Zuiderdam) and I was pretty adamant to avoid all Vista class at any cost, but the Noordam seems to be so different to me.

 

I'll know for sure how I feel after our Anniversay cruise in March on the Oosterdam - (which is no longer a surprise, btw... of all the HAL brochures DH decides to grab to give to someone at work, he picks the one that has the inovice for the cruise inside of it!)

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share your cruise! :)

[ekerr19]

You came in LAST on the marriage game???? :eek: This is too funny, lol!!! I know my DH so well, but you know what? We'd probably be last too!! Every time we've seen the show - I aske him what his answer would be and it's usually wrong, lol!

 

Anyway - welcome home Heather! I'm so glad you had a great cruise. I know I'll have to give the Prinsendam a try for sure now. Thanks for posting such a comprehansive, concise and well written review. It was a joy to read. :)

 

The new webshots system has been giving me fits too. Argh!

 

Now, I'll have to see if I can convince you to reconsider Vista class and try the new Noordam. ;) You certainly know my feelings about my lone Vista experience (Zuiderdam) and I was pretty adamant to avoid all Vista class at any cost, but the Noordam seems to be so different to me.

 

I'll know for sure how I feel after our Anniversay cruise in March on the Oosterdam - (which is no longer a surprise, btw... of all the HAL brochures I have laying around at home, DH decides to grab one to give to someone at work, he picks the one that has the invoice for the cruise inside of it!)

 

Thanks again for taking the time to share your cruise! :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

LOL! So much for surprises, Laura. I actually am considering the Noordam so that is a definite maybe for us if the itinerary was right. But I think I still prefer these smaller ships. We'll have to put our heads together on that one on our Veendam cruise.

 

Yes, LAST!!! 22 years of marriage and I was sure we'd do so well. We know each other so well, but it's anwering the way the other would answer that's hard. And when they ask what kind of a car your guy looks like fresh from the shower, am I really going to say Ford Pinto? I don't think so!!! So I said "stretch limo" to be nice and what does DH say????? Ford Pinto!!! Go figure!:D

[HeatherInFlorida]

Just want to let you know I've started posting my pics on Webshots. If you're interested, they are here: heatherinflorida's photos and albums on webshots

 

These are more scenic and ship shots than people pictures although you will see some of the CCers that added so much joy to our cruise.

[Aussie Gal]

Heather,

 

What a wonderful read. I am so glad you liked the Prinsendam as it is one of our favourite ships.

 

We made a vow when we were on the Veendam that we are only going to cruise on the smaller ships from now on - ie. the size of the Prinsendam and smaller as we like the more intimate feel of the smaller ships.

 

We looked at a cruise in 2008 on the Prinsendam sailing from Cape Town to Lisbon - 45 days - but when we received the quote from our Cruise Consultant we decided to sleep on it as it was horrendously expensive.

I am wondering if HAL is pricing the Prinsendam way, way higher than she is normally priced.

 

Jennie

[HeatherInFlorida]

Jennie, yes I think they're pricing it very high. The quoted me over $12,000 for the 2007 Holiday Cruise which we couldn't go on anyway, but at that time we were interested in the 2008 (which they haven't opened for bookings yet). That price is over double what we're paying on a 14-day in 2007 on the Veendam. It's just too much for us.

[Aussie Gal]

Heather,

 

For the 40 odd day cruise in 2008, for an ordinary verandah, not a mini suite, the price was over $12000USp.p. which makes the cruise over $30,000AUD for us. I remember asking Tina (our Cruise Consultant) the cost and thinking that it was the total for the two of us and then realized it was only for one.

 

Our cruise on the Veendam of 34 days was only around $8500US p.p. for a BA. This is a huge difference for a few extra days, remembering that we went through the Panama Canal and had to have pilots on board for the entire 2000 miles of the trip up and back on the Amazon which would have cost quite a bit.

 

In the meantime we have now found and booked a wonderful 35 day cruise, with an even better itinerary on Oceania's Nautica for a more realistic price.

 

Jennie

[HeatherInFlorida]

..............I remember asking Tina (our Cruise Consultant) the cost and thinking that it was the total for the two of us and then realized it was only for one.

 

.............Jennie

 

Too funny, Jennie! I had the same reaction. Char (FCC) wrote down the figure $6000+ (can't remember exactly) and I said ... "for both of us?" (frankly a bit surprised it was that low but never dreaming she meant for one).

 

When she answered that was for one, I could barely contain myself considering we had just spent $3100 TOTAL for a 10-day in the exact same cabin!!!!!:D

 

In our case I know that part of the reason is they charge far more for the Holiday Cruise.

 

BTW, all my pics are now up on Webshots. There are 6 albums in all (lots of pictures) and they go in order of the cruise. Each album is labelled if someone is only interested in a certain area.

[CDRMark]

Thank you for the great review.

All grist to the mill...

Sorry it wasn't better for you.

Super meeting you in FLL prior to the Hal-o-ween DAM cruise.

Now we can vouch for one anothers reality!:)

Cheers

Mark

"I post therefore I am."

[HeatherInFlorida]

............Sorry it wasn't better for you.

.....

 

Better, Mark???? Huh? Did you get from my review that it could have been better?

 

If so, I failed. This was one of our best cruises ever. Nothing is perfect and the least important part of a cruise for me is the food. So if I found a few entrees lacking, I promise it didn't affect our overall enjoyment at all!!!

 

I loved meeting you, too! Maybe on another ship one day:) .

[HeatherInFlorida]

............Sorry it wasn't better for you.

.....

 

Better, Mark???? Huh? Did you get from my review that it could have been better?

 

If so, I failed. This was one of our best cruises ever. Nothing is perfect and the least important part of a cruise for me is the food. So if I found a few entrees lacking, I promise it didn't affect our overall enjoyment at all!!!

 

I loved meeting you, too! Maybe on another ship one day:) .