RevNeal LIVE! From the ms Prinsendam

[pspercy]

Though I do have my doubts because of the way it is handled across various lines per Coast Guards regulations.....

 

I read NCL (RCL ?) now stores lifejackets by the lifeboats, NOT in cabins. I'd say this was a mistake.

[Druke I]

Enjoyable thread - great photos.

[2ptu/000]

Rev Neal, I see that you are going to visit Kristiansund Norway. Visit the fish market while you are there and get some fish spice. My jar says Husets Fiskekrydder. It is really good.

[RevNeal]

One thing I was curious about---in Alaska, they usually let passengers out on the bow where the crew posed for that photo. Any idea why not on the Prinsendam?

 

From what I can tell it's due to safety precautions. There is quite a bit of equipment stored on the bow and it might be too dangerous to allow passengers unrestricted access to it. On the S and R ships one can go out there so long as the weather conditions are good, and this is one of the things I like about those ships.

 

The good news about the Prinsendam is that there really is plenty of observation space up the front of the ship, so passengers aren't hurting for access to a forward view.

[RevNeal]

My question: the buildings in your wonderful photographs don't look particularly weather-hardy. Are they? How many people are year long residents? I have many more questions - maybe I will have to make this trip!:)

 

Actually, the structures at Longyearbyen are quite weather-hardy, as you put it. At least, that’s what they tell me. Some of them have been there for 40+ years, and are still in use, so I imagine that they have to be.

 

The population there varies upon the season. Believe it or not, they consider the winter their peak season because that’s when people are back from their summer breaks to Europe and the US and are doing their work. About 3000 people live there … about as many humans as Polar Bears … not counting tourists and other temporary (under 1 month) visitors.

[RevNeal]

Photos of a sunset at sea. Our second night heading south, toward Bergen, we experienced our first sunset in about a week (since leaving Iceland). Wow! It was a lovely one, as the photos may attest:

 



 



 



 



 

[RevNeal]

Bergen! This is a lovely, quite picturesque town, and one that I look forward to visiting again on some future cruise! We had the luxury of staying here overnight and it was a wonderful boon for us all as our first day in Bergen was rainy and dreary. They tell us that this is pretty common for Bergen, with about 250 days of rain a year. That’s just amazing to me, that a city can get that much rain. When do they build things? But, then, I realized that that’s why the cover their construction sites in plastic … to allow them to keep laying down concrete, painting, etc., even while it’s raining. Our first day in Bergen we decide to just walk around and see the sits. We got a HoHo (Hop-on-Hop-off) Bus pass that was good for the whole day and used it extensively. It took us on an excellent orientation tour of the city. After riding it around once we stayed on until we got back to the fish market, where we got off and walked for a while. We then climbed the hill to the Funicular hoping to ride it up the mountain side for a panoramic view of the city, however the weather made such a view impossible. So, we walked down and through the shopping district, paid a stop to St. Mary’s (which was under reconstruction and so we couldn’t go in) and then made our way back to the ship. Our second day in Bergen we had arranged a HAL tour, which included a boat ridge through Bergen and up and down several of the Fjords nearby the city. Wow! What a wonderful, beautiful trip we had!

 

A few photos:

 

In and around the historic district of Bergen:

 



 



 



 



 



 



 

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[RevNeal]

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[RevNeal]

And, of course, I managed to get some good photos of the Prinsendam docked in Bergen from the Fjord boat.

 

 



 

 



 



 



 



 

[onthegogirl]

Those sunset pictures are some of the most spectacular I've ever seen. Thanks so much for sharing. Carole

[VAPERSON]

Thank you for sharing your amazing trip with us! I am enjoying your interesting commentary and spectacular photography so much. I've read some of your previous "Live From" blogs and look forward to following your future adventures!:)

[Conniepo]

Please excuse my dumb question ... I cannot find this cruise listed on the HAL website (Northern Europe - Top of the World). Is that because it is only offered once a year? :confused:

 

Again, I apologize. I just find the itinerary fascinating and would like more info about it. I want to convince my DH to do this cruise in the future. We usually cruise to either Bermuda or the Caribbean.

 

Thanks for any help or info.

 

Connie

[Gerd]

…

 

 

Hello Greg,

 

Did you change recently your camera ?

 

Your pictures are just marvelous. Congratulation about.

 

 

Happy cruising and enjoy your cruise

 

G E R D

 

 

 

Our marvelous cruises : :)

 

MS Ryndam – Wayfarer – March 1997

MS Noordam - Transatlantic Island Hook - April 2001

MS Volendam - Southern Caribbean - April 2002

MS Volendam - Westfarer Caribbean - April 2004

MS Prinsendam - Windmills & Waterford – September 2004

MS Westerdam - Western Caribbean - April 2005

MS Statendam - Hawaii Circle - September 2005

MS Rotterdam - Vikings and Czars – July 2006

MS Veendam - Southern Caribbean – March 2007

MS Volendam – Panama Canal – April 2008

MS Noordam – Mediterranean Enchantment – September 2009

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Inaugural Cruise - July 2010

MS Nieuw Amsterdam - Mediterranean Empires - July 2010

 

169 days - 39'247 Nm :

 

 

 

Future Cruise : :p

 

1 open booking

[jhannah]

Mercy! About the time I think your photographs can't be topped ... you turn around and top yourself! The sunsets were truly amazing. Several old hymns came to mind when I saw those. Wow!

[boards]

Wow what fantastic pictures. Thank you so much.

[esther e]

You are in one of our favorite parts of the world. Thank you so much for letting us travel with you. Great photos. I have some of the same ones!:)

[Queen of the Queen]

Thank you for your lovely pictures of Bergen.

 

They bring back fond memories. We were there last summer on the Queen Victoria (Norway to Iceland) and have taken almost the same pictures. We too, had mist and rain and could not see anything from the ride up the mountain. However, we were able to visit St. Mary's Church, no construction at the time.

 

Enjoy reading your diary, keep posting!

 

Lorraine:)

[kenevenpar]

Absolutely stunning pictures. Thanks for sharing!

 

Ken

[MrsMuir]

Rev Greg, I set aside my lunch hour to catch up on "our" voyage. I realized just now that I had reached over and put my jacket on over my shoulders as I read.

 

The sunset pictures took my breath away, especially the ones with the wake in the frame. I'd forgotten how picturesque Bergen is, or else they've brightened the paint since I visited in 1975. We stayed at a budget-wise Temperance Pension, where the guests were awakened every morning at 7:00 by a loud cow bell being rung in the hallway. The 13-year-old boy traveling with our group finally responded on our last morning with a loud "mooo!"

 

Mrs M

[ironin]

Please excuse my dumb question ... I cannot find this cruise listed on the HAL website (Northern Europe - Top of the World). Is that because it is only offered once a year? :confused:

 

Again, I apologize. I just find the itinerary fascinating and would like more info about it. I want to convince my DH to do this cruise in the future. We usually cruise to either Bermuda or the Caribbean.

 

Thanks for any help or info.

 

Connie

 

 

Connie, here's a link to the 2011 sailing. :)

[tjcox9]

Yep, love to do that with sunrises and sunsets.

 

And, depending on the time of day, everyone else is still sleeping, eating breakfast or having dinner, it's a great time to have some alone deck time to enjoy the majesty!!

 

Now, I also have my husband participating in some of this lovely time. Great time to be on deck or on balcony enjoying a glass of wine and taking these spectacular photos. Best ever was on a Pacific crossing on the Dawn Princess!!

 

We're doing another crossing soon (Volendam, September) and hope for more of the same. Thanks RevNeal for the reminder how lovely it is. It's been over two months since last cruise and I'm in serious withdrawal. Can you tell??????

[Tamaracboy]

Mercy! About the time I think your photographs can't be topped ... you turn around and top yourself! The sunsets were truly amazing. Several old hymns came to mind when I saw those. Wow!

 

Greg,

 

Amen to what Jim wrote, plus a repeat of something I wrote pages ago: 'there aren't words'.

 

And, just how do you get that color from a digital ? Reminds me of the old KodaChrome Gold !

 

r

[RevNeal]

I’m going to write up a few final thoughts about this cruise and the Prinsendam and then I’m going to sign off from my LIVE report until I get to someplace with unlimited internet (i.e., home). At least, following this, I don’t have any plans to post anything more LIVE from the ship. That doesn’t mean that I won’t, I just don’t want to spend much more money than I already have in filing these reports and posting these photos. So … here goes:

 

First: I think, by now, most of your realize that I consider the Prinsendam the best dam ship in the whole dam fleet. She’s a lovely lady, lovingly maintained by an amazing crew of attentive, superlatively competent, hard working men and women. Over the past 20 days we’ve noticed this crew working hard to maintain the vessel. A few days ago, not long after we docked in Bergen, they went to work again, spraying down her exterior with fresh water in order to clean off the salt residue; then they began chipping and painting the metal hull surfaces and varnishing the railings; they also were lowering and doing maintenance on the tenders and life boats. Even during our times at sea the crew have been in evidence, all over the ship, cleaning, polishing, varnishing, repairing, doing maintenance on all sorts of equipment, surveying areas that need to be worked on, addressing problems before they arise. I notice such things going on around me, and I greatly appreciate the work this crew does to keep this ship going. Some may choose to denigrate my paying attention to these details, but my observations are in stark and unflinching contrast to the repeated claims (on CC) that this ship is an untended, decrepit old rust bucket in need of being sent to the breakers. Nothing could be further from the truth! She was built and launched in 1988; yes, she’s not “new,” glitzy, big or “happening.” She is elegant and “old fashioned” in many ways, most of which are endearing to my soul. There are many features of her interior decor that hearken back to the days of the grand ocean liners, which I’m sure some look at and sneer but which I adore. Occasional rust spots she most definitely has – though, based upon how much work is being done aboard during this cruise, not as many as when I boarded her (though the battle against rust will always continue)! – and I would expect nothing less of a hard-working, always-in-use, ocean going vessel like the Prinsendam. She’s a wonderful ship! Does she need TLC? Absolutely! And, guess what? She’s getting it. HAL takes good care of this ship. They have to if they want to keep using her … and they do want to keep using her. Among all the vessels in the HAL fleet, the Prinsendam has the highest repeat-passenger percentage. Yes, that’s right … while HAL has the highest repeat passenger ratio in the industry, the Prinsendam has the highest repreat passenger ratio in the HAL fleet. And there is a reason for this: she’s a fabulous ship, she has a fabulous crew, and HAL know it and wants to continue with her for as long as possible. When Captain Albert spoke of the Prinsendam’s future with the Line during a recent lecture on the history of HAL, he spoke of her future as being in the 5-10 year range … which should tell us something about HAL’s thinking. She’s not leaving the fleet this year, or next year, or even the year after that … and, so, the crews are going to keep taking good care of this elegant lady. And, when the day does come to retire her, the current debate in at HAL HQ regards whether or not they’ll do a new-build of the Prinsendam’s size and character, one that can continue to provide exotic cruises to ports of call that the big ships can’t manage and will draw the loyal passenger-base that the Prinsendam has amassed over the past 8 years with the Line. The bean counters want yet another big tub, but the Line’s marketing and many in the upper administration in Seattle and in Carnival Corp. appear to be saying that the fleet has enough big tubs for now, and that the next new-build may be something in the Prinsendam’s size range, specifically designed for this type of long-duration, exotic cruising. Captain Albert said we’ll know in about 3-5-or-so years what the Line decides to do. So, those of us who really like the Prinsendam and really want HAL to continue to priovide this kind of cruising option (exotic, longer duration cruises) should really let HAL know. Of course, the best way to do that is keep packing the Prinsendam with repeat and new passengers, cruise after cruise. They don’t seem to be having too much trouble doing that, even though the price-per-day target on this ship is rather much higher than it is on the big tub, most people who want to sail on the Prinsendam know this and accept it as the price for sailing aboard her. I know that was true in my case!

 

Second: This is one of the best crews in the fleet. I’ve been on ships with crews that were superb, crews that were “average,” and crews that were not yet “together” or “with it” in taking care of the passengers. The Prinsendam’s crew sets the definition for what it means to be superb. They are “Excellent” with a capital “E.” They remember who you are, what your likes and dislikes are, are always courteous, and will go the extra mile to make sure that things are done right. They can’t read minds … sometimes one does have to ask for something … however, it is amazing to behold how often they are quick to catch on to, and then anticipate, any given need or desire, and how hard they work to make it possible.

 

Third: This itinerary is definitely one to be replicated. I wouldn’t mind doing it again someday, and that says lot about this itinerary particularly given the vast number other potential cruises in my future cruise hopper! If you’ve been thinking about doing a version of this cruise next year or the year after, do it. Don’t wait. Book the instant it becomes available, because the cabins amidships usually tend to sell out very quickly.

 

Today we are docked in Oslo for the day, if weather and my health holds out I’m going to do the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus to go to the Vigeland Park to see the statues, and then we may do a little shopping or some such before returning to the ship. Not much. Following today we have a day at sea heading to Amsterdam, then on Saturday August 14th we disembark the Prinsendam and go home.

 

It’s been an excellent cruise; I’ve loved the Prinsendam, I’ve loved this itinerary; the entire experience has gone a long way toward restoring my faith in HAL that, despite all the whining to the contrary, they can indeed still deliver the high-quality product that I have long come to expect and enjoy from them.

 

Blessings on you all!

[onthegogirl]

Thank you for your wonderful commentary and pictures. I am evaluating whether I can do the cruise next year as a result. Wishing you a safe journey home where I hope the summer temperatures will moderate soon.

 

Carole

[jhannah]

I'm glad the Prinsendam has another fan! She truly IS a wonderful ship. I'm sure this cruise will be high among your cruising memories.