Prisendam Going into Dry Dock Oct. 14?

[catl331]

Do you know how extensive this upcoming Prinsendam drydock will be, besides the repair of the one now non-operating stabilizer?

She just had her "regular" periodic dry dock last Nov, so I would think that not much needs to be done other than the stabilizer.

[rafinmd]

She just had her "regular" periodic dry dock last Nov, so I would think that not much needs to be done other than the stabilizer.

 

That plus I think the typical drydock modifications require a lot of advance planning and pre-ordering components, and would not be feasible at the last minute. If there are a few other repairs that can be made at the last minute possibly, but there shouldn't be a lot of extra work.

 

Roy

[NoWhiners]

Yes Linda's friend said it has been a nonevent. Not sure what kind of seas they have encountered. We board on Sept 2nd and I am hoping there are no strong hurricanes sending swells into Spain and Portugal :eek:.

 

Hi Kirk

 

This is the cruise you booked in place of the Black Sea--weren't you originally on the RC for the Black Sea cruise? Hope you have calm seas. Maybe you can post when you get back and give an update?

 

cheers

ML

[KirkNC]

Hi Kirk

 

This is the cruise you booked in place of the Black Sea--weren't you originally on the RC for the Black Sea cruise? Hope you have calm seas. Maybe you can post when you get back and give an update?

 

cheers

ML

 

Yes we originally were booked on the Oct 2nd cruise but really like the Sept itinerary so changed to that. Are you on the Black Sea cruise? I'll post how the EE is doing with one wing out of commission!

[kazu]

Yes we originally were booked on the Oct 2nd cruise but really like the Sept itinerary so changed to that. Are you on the Black Sea cruise? I'll post how the EE is doing with one wing out of commission!

 

looking forward to it Kirk - wishing you very smooth seas and a wonderful time on the EE:D

[Storylady]

Besides the stabilizer, are they also going to fix the bow thruster?

[KirkNC]

looking forward to it Kirk - wishing you very smooth seas and a wonderful time on the EE:D

 

Thanks, it is our first time on the Prinsendam so we are excited!

[jtl513]

Thanks, it is our first time on the Prinsendam so we are excited!

I was disappointed in the P'dam. It's a nice ship, but no more "elegant" than the S-class ships IMHO. I think HAL has done a great job of hyping this ship, setting my expectations too high. :(

[NoWhiners]

Yes we originally were booked on the Oct 2nd cruise but really like the Sept itinerary so changed to that. Are you on the Black Sea cruise? I'll post how the EE is doing with one wing out of commission!

 

yes, we are on the Oct 2 Black Sea cruise. Thanks for offering to post your experience with just 1 wing :)

 

Enjoy your September cruise!

ML

[Pettifogger]

Just offhand, I can't remember an instance in which Holland America "hyped" the Prinsendam; I think that if it was "hyped", we did it here.

 

I think perhaps the adjective, "elegant", puts too much emphasis on the ship and not enough on the crew, who are, for me, most of what sets it apart from other ships, except perhaps the Amsterdam.

[wayzer]

Since the Prisendam is going across the Atlantic on Nov 11 for her repositioning cruise, I would think that repairing the stabilizer would be of the upmost importance.

It was in March of 2013 during the Grand South America Voyage that stabilizer was damaged. The Prinsendam has across the Atlantic since it happened and there was no problem.

[kazu]

Just offhand, I can't remember an instance in which Holland America "hyped" the Prinsendam; I think that if it was "hyped", we did it here.

 

I think perhaps the adjective, "elegant", puts too much emphasis on the ship and not enough on the crew, who are, for me, most of what sets it apart from other ships, except perhaps the Amsterdam.

 

HAL does call her the Elegant Explorer. and yes, I think it describes the crew well:D

[KirkNC]

I was disappointed in the P'dam. It's a nice ship, but no more "elegant" than the S-class ships IMHO. I think HAL has done a great job of hyping this ship, setting my expectations too high. :(

 

Hopefully we will not be disappointed. I think a part of its success is the small number of passengers relative to crew. An awful lot of people seem to like her and she commands higher prices than the rest of the fleet so she must do something right.

[OlsSalt]

Hopefully we will not be disappointed. I think a part of its success is the small number of passengers relative to crew. An awful lot of people seem to like her and she commands higher prices than the rest of the fleet so she must do something right.

 

We'll soon find out too - only 600 passengers sounds good to me as well as the smaller ports. I think it will be just fine on all counts.

[jakkojakko]

We'll soon find out too - only 600 passengers sounds good to me as well as the smaller ports. I think it will be just fine on all counts.

 

It is 835 passengers (source hal website). Originally 740, but they added cabins in a retrofit.

[kazu]

Hopefully we will not be disappointed. I think a part of its success is the small number of passengers relative to crew. An awful lot of people seem to like her and she commands higher prices than the rest of the fleet so she must do something right.

 

Kirk, I think you will be fine. She doesn't appeal to those who like newer, shinier ships. She's a small, intimate ship. At last check she has a higher crew to passenger ratio than the others and yes, the crew is wonderful. At least, that has been our experience. She also has some very unique itineraries - hence her name:D

[jtl513]

An awful lot of people seem to like her and she commands higher prices than the rest of the fleet so she must do something right.

That's part of what set my expectations too high. I expected more luxury for the price - better than on S-class or R-class ships - and I didn't see it. IMO the only "elegant" place is the Oak Room, and the rest is standard HAL.

[Naomi2]

I hope they also fix the thruster that isn't working as we missed 4 ports because of rougher seas on our Celtic and Baltic cruise June 17-July 15. Without the thruster and the stabilizer the Prinsendam would have had trouble using the tenders or docking in these ports. The captain made the decision not to even try to go into these ports. Thus we missed going to Dublin and Waterford Ireland, Stornoway Scotland and Ystad Sweden. Killibegs was substituted for Waterford but the other ports were sea days. The Captain did offer us a desert champagne with dinner each time we missed a port. By the 4th port we were saying, oh no, not more sweet champagne! We didn't get any OBC in compensation. If they don't fix the thruster I would be reluctant to cruise with the Prinsendam again and we have spent 3 months on the Prinsendam. This last cruise was the first time she missed any ports.

[OlsSalt]

That's part of what set my expectations too high. I expected more luxury for the price - better than on S-class or R-class ships - and I didn't see it. IMO the only "elegant" place is the Oak Room, and the rest is standard HAL.

 

Smaller ships having fewer cabins to sell seem to ask higher prices - economies of scale issues I would expect.

[OlsSalt]

I hope they also fix the thruster that isn't working as we missed 4 ports because of rougher seas on our Celtic and Baltic cruise June 17-July 15. Without the thruster and the stabilizer the Prinsendam would have had trouble using the tenders or docking in these ports. The captain made the decision not to even try to go into these ports. Thus we missed going to Dublin and Waterford Ireland, Stornoway Scotland and Ystad Sweden. Killibegs was substituted for Waterford but the other ports were sea days. The Captain did offer us a desert champagne with dinner each time we missed a port. By the 4th port we were saying, oh no, not more sweet champagne! We didn't get any OBC in compensation. If they don't fix the thruster I would be reluctant to cruise with the Prinsendam again and we have spent 3 months on the Prinsendam. This last cruise was the first time she missed any ports.

 

This was sorry news for you, but thanks for passing it on so we will be prepared when we take her last cruise before dry dock. Makes me think back when we missed a port in Australia on the azipod weakened Oosterdam last fall, on a very windy day -- perhaps the ship in its condition was not up to it as much as it was a weather issue. They did route us through the Whitsunday islands as an alternative which was lovely.

[jtl513]

Smaller ships having fewer cabins to sell seem to ask higher prices - economies of scale issues I would expect.

I used to think that or "supply and demand" too, but on my cruise there were only about 550 out of a capacity of 835. There were "about 100" empty veranda cabins according to my cabin steward. I tried to buy an upgrade about 3 days before sailing but we couldn't agree on a price.

 

I expect they might have sold some more cabins if they lowered the prices, but on our cabin it didn't drop $1 from the time we booked 8 months out until sailing day. It helps keep the "Elegant Explorer" legend alive if they don't discount, even on upsells.

[OlsSalt]

I...... It helps keep the "Elegant Explorer" legend alive if they don't discount, even on upsells.

 

Fair enough. I support this business practice actually for a ship like the Prinsendam. They would probably lose more overall, if they lose this cachet to those trying to get last minute fire sale prices. However I also I see your point that money is money, and unsold rooms are not money in the short term.

 

Had a similar situation in our local downtown during the recession. Landlords held rents high and did not turn the street into a cheap rent sleaze zone knowing it would be harder to turn it back around later if they weakened their own properties high end allure. The lost a lot of money in the short term, but now it is coming back and then some so they did the right thing in the long run.

[CMJ33]

Why do cruise lines keep doing this?

 

They have known about the problems for months but continue to sail with a crippled ship without informing the passengers of the situation.

 

How many passengers will be reluctant to cruise again?

[kazu]

Why do cruise lines keep doing this?

 

They have known about the problems for months but continue to sail with a crippled ship without informing the passengers of the situation.

 

How many passengers will be reluctant to cruise again?

 

Problem was reported by someone on board. It has not had a major impact on the cruises as according to the captain the other stabilizer does 75% of the work.

 

They already tried to repair it with underwater divers but it could not be done so they have scheduled the dry dock.

 

Known about it for months??? A bit of an exaggeration I think. We were on her in May and June and crossed the Atlantic. The ride was as smooth as glass - not that there weren't waves but she handled them well.

 

Suspect it takes time to get parts made/ordered (obviously they needed something if she couldn't be fixed earlier) and mechanics.

 

I would hardly call the ship crippled:rolleyes:

[rafinmd]

Why do cruise lines keep doing this?

 

They have known about the problems for months but continue to sail with a crippled ship without informing the passengers of the situation.

 

How many passengers will be reluctant to cruise again?

 

<snip>They already tried to repair it with underwater divers but it could not be done so they have scheduled the dry dock.

 

Known about it for months??? A bit of an exaggeration I think. We were on her in May and June and crossed the Atlantic. The ride was as smooth as glass - not that there weren't waves but she handled them well.

 

Suspect it takes time to get parts madehou/ordered (obviously they needed something if she couldn't be fixed earlier) and mechanics.

 

I would hardly call the ship crippled:rolleyes:

 

It's not clear but I think CMJ33 may have been referring to a report by Naomi2 about a thruster problem. In any case, I suspect any delay on repairs is due to the time it takes to get parts. I know on my 2004 Crystal Harmony trans-Pacific we extended our port time in Honolulu for divers to do a repair to the thruster. According to the CD, it had been an issue for quite a while and the repairs were scheduled as soon as the parts could be secured. Probably a custom build. It does not seem to me that thruster issues should usually cancel a tender stop. If the anchor can hold the ship in place, that should be sufficient unless conditions are already marginal.

 

Roy