JeffElizabeth

So cute!

Agree. One cruise the locks weren't working properly and we missed our flight.

Last year on Riviera, we anchored off the Amalfi coast and we took a boat ride up the coast.

The last cruise of the Prinsendam. We went up to Norway and the Arctic Circle. Nothing like watching whales at 2AM in the morning from the Crow's Nest. Many of the older captains were also on the cruise with us so we got some great lectures about Holland America's history.

We had the fumes issue on a Princess ship many years, but really only was bad on days we were docked and we were always off the ship then. The balcony space was huge! Had more issues with our next door neighbor who spent 50% of the cruise on the balcony conducting business on his phone. What a vacation for him!

We took a cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii years ago and the Canadians on our ship said one of their big travel agents there had pre-bought a whole deck for their customers. Maybe something like that happened.

Agree. One of our worst cruises was a Christmas cruise on Princess about a decade ago. Packs of roving kids disrupting everything.

Agree. We have done both but found the Canal cruise was more interesting. More countries and I love going through the locks. Still fascinates me to see huge ships moved up and down.

We are taking the Boston to Boston cruise this Summer and am glad to hear that these older, smaller ships have nice amenities that the modern mega ships don't.

Actually my BIL got quarantined on an Asian cruise for a bad cold. This was a few years before Covid-19. He spent 75% of the trip in quarantine. He hasn't cruised since.

Cruising has always been interesting because two customers with adjoining cabins most likely paid very different prices for their vacations depending on when they booked and other differences.

We love this thread! We started cruising in 1997 and it has changed so much in that limited of time. Very true that cruises used to be much more expensive. We miss most the piano bar in the Crows Nest, my wife misses the cold soups at dinner. We don't miss the Baked Alaska nights, and we don't mind many of the other cutbacks. I do miss the bound book with the vouchers in it. They must have stopped that in the early 2000's.

My uncle had given up on Holland America a long time ago for various reasons but when we told him we were on the last voyage of the Prinsendam, he had to join us. It was a great trip, many of the retired HA captains were on the vessel too with their families one last time.

The Prinsendam was our favorite HA ship and about half our voyages on the line were trips aboard here. A couple highlights for us, cruising the Kiel Canal. Modern boats are too big. And also docking in the center of town in Antwerp. You had to pay a premium to cruise on her, but so glad we we aboard on her last cruise for Holland. We were so tempted to steal "souvenirs" from her but just couldn't harm her in any way.

If it was really dangerous there, the cruise line would eliminate it from their ports. Acapulco was eliminated a few years ago for this reason. Don't know if ships have returned to docking there yet.

We have been going to Mexico yearly since the 1980's. We have never had an issue with crime, most of our visits have been to La Zona Romantica in Puerto Vallarta. There is crime everywhere, just try to stay alert and travel with others.

My wife will do that as soon as we board with our formal wear.

I do think Holland America does have a much better buffet than Princess. Very disappointed by the Emerald Princess buffet in September. Not a lot of choices and the food was cheaper quality.

Going cheap on the surf and turf, too much pasta, and nothing that really wowed us. It is possible we are getting more jaded, but we didn't have the same issues on Oceania six months before.

We were on Emerald Princess in September and Konigsdam in October. Worst food in twenty years of cruising. Our next cruise is 28 days in July and August on Zuiderdam, hope the food gets better by then.

Interesting. My brother has studied most games and he thinks video poker nets you the best returns. Continued good luck.

We eat out a lot back home and we have noticed quality slipping there too, so maybe it is just the new normal all around, but if I don't like my neighborhood restaurant I can find another one. I don't want to be stuck on a 28 day cruise where the steak cuts like leather.

We were blown away by how good Red Ginger was on our first Oceania cruise 5 years ago, better than our Asian restaurants back home. Our cruise in April 2022? Mediocre.

Agree. One of our favorite features of the Prinsendam was the places it could get into. Bucolic British towns, docking in the center of Antwerp, cruising the Kiel Canal. The big boats drop you off at commercial ports. Some cruise lines are introducing small, expedition ships. We might have to give them a try.

We had a great cruise last March and April on this boat. Food was awesome but I am very worried about budget cutbacks. Norwegian predicts a couple tough quarters coming up.