Questions About Prinsendam

[jcmimm]

We are giving some thought to a long cruise in early 2007 on the Prisendam.

Would like some opinions on the ship and its suitability for long cruises. It seems there is more passengers (700+) than there is places for socializing and entertainment. The movie theatre on most HAL ships now has become a gourmet culinary education center.Does the Prisendam pool area have a retractable/sliding cover or is it suitable for just warm weather cruising. We were 35 days on the Maasdam this past Summer and were more than pleased.

[Grumpy1]

Having spent 113 days on the Prinsendam 2005 Grand World Voyage, I can tell you that she is very well suited for long voyages. Although the public spaces may seem small, the actual passenger to space ratio is higher than most ships. Very few places seemed crowded.

 

The movie theatre (Wajang theatre) does have a culinary arts kitchen behind the movie screen. It is usually used in the mornings for culinary arts a couple of times a week, replacing the morning movie, but there will be an afternoon movie showing on those days. On other days there are as many as four movie showings.

 

There is no covering over the pool, but it is fairly well blocked from the wind. In colder climates, swimming and sunbathing are not high on my list of priorities, so it wasn't a problem for me.

 

I think you will enjoy the Prinsendam, should you decide to go. The other thread that you started, that came through very garbled, indicated a 66 day cruise. that would be the Circle South America and Antartic cruise and we are booked on that cruise. We hope you join us.

 

The cabins are large and well appointed. The ship rides well, in my opinion,

[Host Walt]

Folks, this is the thread that got garbled yesterday as a result of a problem. It is a repost so if byou previously replied, please do so again. Thanks.

[jhannah]

We have sailed The Elegant Explorer two times, and we really liked the ship. The only negative (not to me, but to power shoppers) is that the onboard shops are rather small. Otherwise, her more intimate feel is really a wonderful experience.

[jcmimm]

Thank you Grumpy 1. I read your "posts" on your last years trip and they were fascinating. You have anwered my questions just perfectly. The 66 day cruise is the one we are looking at and HAL has some nice incentives for early bookings. Knowing your on the cruise is another incentive.Thanks again for your reply

jcmimm

[Grumpy1]

We have sailed The Elegant Explorer two times, and we really liked the ship. The only negative (not to me, but to power shoppers) is that the onboard shops are rather small.

 

Uhhh, Jim... Grumpy and has credit card consider that to be a BIG positve. Slinkie did enough damage in the small shops... imagine what she could do in a larger one.

 

jcmimm, thanks, and we hope you will join us.

[trubey]

I am not a shopper-type personality, however, I did drop in at the shops each day for some great bargains. Maybe just because our last trip was a transatlantic crossing and they were trying to get rid of their old merchandise, but they had some great sales. I bought a bunch of t-shirts for $4 and some with caps for $5. And a watch for $10.

 

My favorite shopping was for duty-free cigarettes. Don't yell at me!

 

The Prinsendam is my favorite ship, albeit my only ship. But I'm from the old "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" school.

 

And let's make sure to remind everybody about the secret Cruise Critics hot tubs on deck 8. susana.

[Gerd]

Hello jcmimm,

 

During our "Windmills and Waterford" cruise in September 2004, there was very rough sea.

 

It was that important, that the Captain was obliged to cancel the stop at Guernsey, a British Channel Island, and we did directly set sail to Ireland.

 

Oh boy, I can tell your, there was bed weather outside – likely BF 10 and more.

And yes, the ship was doing crazy, and some times, very loud movement, but not that big and uncomfortable, then the one we had during our trip in the Caribbean on the MS Ryndam – but on lower wind and better sea conditions.

 

Hoop this helps you.

 

 

Smooth cruising,

 

 

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

 

82 days - 22 '839 Nm

 

 

 

Future Cruises :

 

MS Rotterdam - Vikings and Czars - July 2006

 

 

MS RYNDAM - Southern Caribbean - March 2007

[Cristiano]

My DW & I spent 12 glorious days on the Princendam last June on the Black Sea Cruise, the ship was glorious and enchanting, our cabin was fabulous, the service and food were excellent and in particular its size and overall ambience impressed both of us.

With a full compliment of crew and passengers on board at no time did we feel encompassed by the masses, at times you could literally walk from one end of the ship to the other without passing anyone.

Apart from the wonderfull balcony off our cabin you could find a quite corner on board and comfortably relax whilst many a secluded area was also availble on deck.

One couple admited quite freely on board as to having been "intimate" one evening on the observation deck below the funnel and having regards to the fact that were travelling with 2 teenage children in their cabin it seemed somewhat understandable.

It truely deserves it's title of the "Elegant Explorer".

Possibly the best compliment I can give is that we both felt at home and truely comfortable.

I would not want to travel on these so called mega-ships with their shopping arcades and myriads of passengers....but then again life would be boring if we all liked the same thing.

Our many thanks to GPY1 for his journal last yearr which convinced us that this was indeed the ship for us.

Cristiano

[jcmimm]

Thank you Cristiano for your reply on the Prisendam.We sailed on the Sagafjord a few years back and it was the ideal size ship. We did the QM2 for 14 days in December 2006 and were somewhat disappointed GPY1 has also been a big help

jcmimm

[jcmimm]

Thanks "trubey" and "Gerd" for taking the time to respond Your comments have been helpfu.

jcmimm