Iceland or North Cape on the Prinsendam

[Bobbi48128]

Thanks Linda! Very excited about this cruise.. And my hurtigruten chasing the lights!

 

 

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[Bobbi48128]

Sammie.., yes, the premium in the price is definitely a concern,.., paying so much for a ship that may not be up to par. I did read reviews and see that many were unhappy with it, for many different reasons.. And I don't understand why I would have to pay a single supplement on a single that is smaller than a double. Cabin Even my HAL consultant favored the koningsdam cruise for the itinerary But I have to follow my gut on this. Perhaps after sailing on hurtigruten the winter prior and seeing Norway in the winter, I won't even want to do this cruise.. Who knows!. I've really kind of moved away from cruising altogether, as I find I now like vacations where I can delve into one area.. But the norwegian coastal cruise is on my bucket list, and I'm ready to check it off. Last year I did a safari in Kenya which I LOVED, so much that I'm going back again this summer...So well see how this plays out !

 

 

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Edited February 11, 2015 by Bobbi48128

[Folk Singer]

Thanks Linda! Very excited about this cruise.. And my hurtigruten chasing the lights!

 

 

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Enjoy.

[idiebabe]

When I took this cruise we had to miss one port because of a medical emergency. We were heading to the Polar Ice Cap when we had to return to (IIRC) Longyearbyen to drop the sick passenger off, then headed north again to reach the ice. Getting to the ice floes must have been very important to the captain, as he made that the second priority, after helping the sick woman.

 

We cruised around for a long time trying to find the ice, and were within a half hour of turning back when he found the ice. :) We were 500 miles from the north pole! :D

We stayed there quite a while, with the front end of the ship all the way in the ice to about 1/3 the length of the ship. There was an officer hanging over the bow, with several people holding on to him. He was closely watching the ice and what it was doing to the ship. The neat thing is that on that ship you can see the bow from the same deck---there is no full barrier between the promenade and the bow, just a half wall that you can easily look over.

Eventually we backed out of the ice very carefully and headed south.

 

 

I would rather go in August than May. In May there is still going to be too much snow and ice in many of the ports further north. I've been in both months, as well as July, and really prefer later over earlier.

 

Ruth, thank you so much for sharing your experience of the Polar Cap and the info on the other Ports! :) I also touched base with someone who must have been on your Sailing, Doug (CruisinBoomer), as he mentioned the Medical Emergency and the Captain's efforts to make it in. He also sent me pics of the Ship in the Ice Field. Amazing!

 

Based on both yours and Doug's feedback and further research and comparison of Itineraries, we are switching over to the Prinsendam to do this Itinerary and experience the Polar Cap. It's a great Itinerary with Iceland, Norway, etc. and we love the Sea Days as well as the Scenic Cruising Days. It will also be nice to be back on Prinsendam as she is one of our favorite Ships! :)

 

Thank you again! :)

 

Eileen

[Bobbi48128]

Actually, my single cabin is on the upper promenade. Wish I could hear from someone who stayed in a single...[emoji20]

 

 

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[RuthC]

Actually, my single cabin is on the upper promenade. Wish I could hear from someone who stayed in a single...[emoji20]

I stayed in the single inside on the Prinsendam, and spoke with the two women who were staying in the single outsides. Suffice it to say that their cabins were much more comfortable than mine! They were very pleased with the accommodations.

 

The cabins are in the front of the ship, but that did not give them any extreme motion, compared to the rest of the ship. That's because the hull of the ship is built to cut through the waves, more than ride them.

[Folk Singer]

Ruth, thank you so much for sharing your experience of the Polar Cap and the info on the other Ports! :) I also touched base with someone who must have been on your Sailing, Doug (CruisinBoomer), as he mentioned the Medical Emergency and the Captain's efforts to make it in. He also sent me pics of the Ship in the Ice Field. Amazing!

 

Based on both yours and Doug's feedback and further research and comparison of Itineraries, we are switching over to the Prinsendam to do this Itinerary and experience the Polar Cap. It's a great Itinerary with Iceland, Norway, etc. and we love the Sea Days as well as the Scenic Cruising Days. It will also be nice to be back on Prinsendam as she is one of our favorite Ships! :)

 

Thank you again! :)

 

Eileen

 

 

Agree we are checking this out as well.

[Bobbi48128]

Oh boy... Changed my mind again....prinsendam out, Rotterdam in! North cape out... Iceland in... Lol. Decided on the 21 day Rotterdam fiords and northern isles.. Jun 11, 2016. I think I'm driving my cruise consultant crazy.. But this one seems to work best for me... The best ports in Norway, Iceland. Faroe isles, and a wee bit of Scotland. I like this ship better not too big, not too small. It must be a good itinerary as the savings this summer are completely sold out!

 

 

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Edited February 17, 2015 by Bobbi48128

[sammiedawg]

Oh boy... Changed my mind again....prinsendam out, Rotterdam in! North cape out... Iceland in... Lol. Decided on the 21 day Rotterdam fiords and northern isles.. Jun 11, 2016. I think I'm driving my cruise consultant crazy.. But this one seems to work best for me... The best ports in Norway, Iceland. Faroe isles, and a wee bit of Scotland. I like this ship better not too big, not too small. It must be a good itinerary as the savings this summer are completely sold out!

 

 

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Good for you, and don't worry about the cruise consultant. We've changed cruises more than once and our TA was happy to assist. We're booked on a cruise in June with similiar ports, minus Norway.

[jagger16]

Funny but as I read your comments I was thinking to myself that maybe you should consider the Rotterdam and then you did! My husband and I sailed on a fourteen day all Norway cruise on the Rotterdam last summer. We loved the size (we usually sail Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam). To us it seemed like being on a small ship. The food was excellent and the service was very personal and all staff went above and beyond. The Rotterdam is a very special ship with some unique traditions that we enjoyed. There are many options for places to sit and hang out for the scenic cruising and because of the size you can switch locations, or go from side to side or hop from indoors to outside swiftly. This happened often because of all there was to see. The pool with the optional cover was a plus as we could sit there during the day and be in the sun but be comfortable as well. I don't know your exact itinerary (please share!) but hopefully you are leaving from Rotterdam which is a unique experience in itself. I often catch myself thinking about that cruise and saying to myself or my husband how special it was. Congratulations on an excellent choice! Have fun planning!

[Bobbi48128]

Funny but as I read your comments I was thinking to myself that maybe you should consider the Rotterdam and then you did! My husband and I sailed on a fourteen day all Norway cruise on the Rotterdam last summer. We loved the size (we usually sail Nieuw Amsterdam and Eurodam). To us it seemed like being on a small ship. The food was excellent and the service was very personal and all staff went above and beyond. The Rotterdam is a very special ship with some unique traditions that we enjoyed. There are many options for places to sit and hang out for the scenic cruising and because of the size you can switch locations, or go from side to side or hop from indoors to outside swiftly. This happened often because of all there was to see. The pool with the optional cover was a plus as we could sit there during the day and be in the sun but be comfortable as well. I don't know your exact itinerary (please share!) but hopefully you are leaving from Rotterdam which is a unique experience in itself. I often catch myself thinking about that cruise and saying to myself or my husband how special it was. Congratulations on an excellent choice! Have fun planning!

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence! Here's the link for my cruise

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?webItineraryIdForAudit=E6S21N&fromSearchVacation=true&destList=EN,ET&dateCode=null&flexibleMonths=false&noOfFlexibleMonths=1&portCode=&shipCodeSearch=&voyageCode=T645A

Let me know what you think!

 

 

 

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[jagger16]

Wow! What a fantastic and diverse itinerary. I wasn't able to view your shore excursions yet. But when they come out do have a look. Basically in every port we picked excursions that took a bus to the viewpoint and if there was a winding road we took it! We usually do a combination of DIY, private excursions and ship excursions but in Norway we didn't see any advantage to arranging private tours so we always took a ship tour. We really enjoyed all of them. The reviews on HAL's website are very helpful. Search for Lars from Alesund on the CC port boards. I followed a lot of his advice. I also downloaded a book called Cruising: The Norwegian Fjords by Brian and Eileen Anderson. It had very practical information about what to do in each port. You're going to have a great trip. Enjoy!