Prinsendam Grief

[DrTee]

Me too!  I did five cruises on the P, four TAs  and one South America/Antarctica. When Hal sold her I went over to some other cruise lines and didn’t cruise with Hal until just a couple of weeks ago.  My favorite spot was the Java Café.

[RuthC]

16 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

That probably means that the wall mirror next to the Signature Suites bathtub's wall allows one to view one's showering/bathing.  That was weird.  

Those mirrors were in the inside cabins with tubs, too. Weird? I would say closer to horrifying. 

[rkacruiser]

16 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Those mirrors were in the inside cabins with tubs, too. Weird? I would say closer to horrifying. 

 

Why did the interior designers of that ship choose to install those?  What were they thinking?  

[Quartzsite Cruiser]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The gentleman recalls regarding the showroom what I remember from the similar venue on Royal Viking Sky.  I don't remember much conversation during the performances.  But, it was a different arrangement of seating.  

 

When I sailed on Prinsendam, every time I walked into the Ocean Bar, I remembered how that space had been used on Royal Viking Sun.  My dining table on Princendam was in the "annex" to the main dining rooms on RVS as well as on Prinsendam.  When I first saw that on a deck plan of RVS, I thought--how horrid!  A second class guest experience!  Well, on Prinsendam, it wasn't.  It was a delightful and more pleasant dining experience than might have been if we had been assigned a table in the MDR.  

 

 

That probably means that the wall mirror next to the Signature Suites bathtub's wall allows one to view one's showering/bathing.  That was weird.  

 

The Gentleman as you called the RVS resident pianist probably noticed the conversations more since he was there to entertain the guest. BTW, his shows on Prinsendam were outstanding, Md even though he had two shows, we never missed his shows, he was that good.

 

As far as the mirrors in the tubs, I either kept my back to them, closed my eyes or made sure I had them really fogged up.  I didn’t want to scare myself.  🤣

[dwc13]

On 10/14/2022 at 8:31 PM, kaymoz said:

I'm still not over it.  I only had a chance to sail ONCE on the Prinsendam, literally her last sailing.  She was clearly my favorite of all the ships I've been fortunate to spend some time aboard.  There is  nothing like her that I know of now! 

 

On 10/14/2022 at 8:39 PM, RuthC said:

I understand precisely where you are coming from. I had barely decided that from that point forward I was going to concentrate on making Prinsendam by ship of choice, and would sail her every opportunity. I would choose that ship over any other, regardless of itinerary. 

 

On 10/15/2022 at 2:00 PM, prescottbob said:

Our  fav HAL ship also. Only spent 80 days plus on ‘her’ that included ‘her’ last month with HAL.

We just saw ‘her’ docked in Montreal 29/30 Sept. methinks date wise prior to boarding the Zaandam.

 

I posted the picture below in another thread. Hope it brings back some good memories.

 

We took Zaandam from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale in October. The other ship docked at Montreal Cruise Terminal at the same time as Zaandam was Amera, formerly HAL Prinsendam until she was sold to Phoenix Reisen in 2018 and subsequently renovated and renamed.

 

Amera (formerly HAL Prinsendam, Seabourn Sun, Royal Viking Sun) at Montreal Cruise Terminal. Photo taken during our sail away from Montreal (10/1/22). 

 

[Copper10-8]

On 10/15/2022 at 12:00 PM, prescottbob said:

Our  fav HAL ship also. Only spent 80 days plus on ‘her’ that included ‘her’ last month with HAL.

We just saw ‘her’ docked in Montreal 29/30 Sept. methinks date wise prior to boarding the Zaandam.

Now re-named the Avera, by the current owner, she looked fabulous, at least exterior- wise. Looking at interior pictures from various sources ‘she’ looks even better inside.

We hope to do a cruise on ‘her’ again if we can. HAL really lost a gem when ‘she’ was sold off IMHO.

 

Be well.

Bob

 

 

Amera with an "m" 😉 It's a girl’s name of Hebrew origin, meaning “princess” and/or “treetop.”  Me thinks the Germans of Phoenix Seereisen had the first meaning in mind when they renamed the former Prinsendam, Seabourn Sun, and Royal Viking Sun

 

 

 

[cruisermsoon]

I still remember fondly my only voyage on Prinsendam, in the Mediterranean, however have discovered a worthy replacement in Azamara.

[Hlitner]

DW and I are still in mourning about the death of the Prinsendam (our favorite HAL vessel).  We spent exactly 200 days aboard that wonderful old ship and loved every day.

 

Hank

[Sir PMP]

The elevators were a little slow, but no one cared:

[TiogaCruiser]

8 hours ago, dwc13 said:

 

 

 

I posted the picture below in another thread. Hope it brings back some good memories.

 

We took Zaandam from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale in October. The other ship docked at Montreal Cruise Terminal at the same time as Zaandam was Amera, formerly HAL Prinsendam until she was sold to Phoenix Reisen in 2018 and subsequently renovated and renamed.

 

Amera (formerly HAL Prinsendam, Seabourn Sun, Royal Viking Sun) at Montreal Cruise Terminal. Photo taken during our sail away from Montreal (10/1/22). 

 

As lovely as ever. Just the wrong color hull and wrong graphics on her funnel.

[mcrcruiser]

We wish we knew of her when we sailed so many times on Celebrity Cruises . she looks like a vessel that will wrap herself around you  . We  will be on  Zandam in April 2024  coastal Calif cruise

[Copper10-8]

1 hour ago, Sir PMP said:

The elevators were a little slow, but no one cared:

 

Looks like Cees Tesselaar with his front office crew; cool pic!

[Loreto]

DH and I were just discussing the Prinsendam and our wonderful Amazon Explorer cruise….Capt Gunnerson’s final voyage before retiring.  After our not so great coastal cruise on the Koningsdam last month we say “no” to Pinnacle Class ships.

HAL needs a small ship again!

[Sir PMP]

28 minutes ago, Copper10-8 said:

 

Looks like Cees Tesselaar with his front office crew; cool pic!

Yep.

[Sir PMP]

18 minutes ago, Loreto said:

DH and I were just discussing the Prinsendam and our wonderful Amazon Explorer cruise….Capt Gunnerson’s final voyage before retiring.  After our not so great coastal cruise on the Koningsdam last month we say “no” to Pinnacle Class ships.

HAL needs a small ship again!

All with you.

[Copper10-8]

Captain Halle Thon "Hi, it's me again" Gundersen entering Prinsendam's show room on formal night for the staff introduction and toast

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

I was fortunate to sail on the Prinsendam only once Christmas 2018 and loved it. Wish I could have sailed her more. Cees Tesselaar had retired by then but had known him on other ships, Ryndam I think. Such a gracious person.

[durangoscots]

Like so many, I really miss the Princendam.

 

Susan

[REOVA]

It's a shame HAL (CCL) didn't order new ships designed around her, between the Vista and Signature ship orders. Especially before the Pinnacle Class. Is the goal to keep Seabourn small (new expedition ships), Carnival large and HAL in between with no overlap? Maybe they can bring bread and butter in on Pinnacle Class but still offer their "marketed" longer itineraries on new(er) smaller ships (<1200). I don't think they will have a problem selling out smaller ships, smaller ports and "re- rebranding" HAL even by offering both options. 

[gwilli]

The first time we sailed on the Prisendam was just before she retired. Loving the small ship atmosphere we jumped ship to Azamara. We find it to be just as wonderful. 

[knitter]

We did 2 Northern Europe cruises on her - one being the last cruise pre-pandemic. I really enjoyed being aboard. There was a port in Iceland that was usually a tender port but the sea was calm and the captain decided to take her in- with just a couple of feet to spare. It apparently was the largest ship to dock there and the captain was so excited! Sailing on the Nieuw Amsterdam in February b/c we had to use a deposit before we lost it, and Azamara in August. I also love the Masdam- hate to go bigger than that.

Sandy

[cruisemom42]

43 minutes ago, knitter said:

We did 2 Northern Europe cruises on her - one being the last cruise pre-pandemic.

 

Prinsendam left HAL's fleet July 1, 2019. She was already sailing as Amera for Phoenix Reisen by fall 2019.

[knitter]

Our last one on her, not her last one!

[Infi]

We were lucky enough to sail the Prinsendam 3 times, and she was truly our favorite. Her decor and layout were first class and the service was always impeccable. Such a loss for HAL and her fans when they sold her; her itineraries just can't be replicated anymore. I remember rumors on CC in 2019 that HAL was considering replacing her with another smaller ship. Does anyone else remember those? Now I doubt those will come to pass. 

 

For those who are missing the Prinsendam or wish they had a chance to sail her, vote with your feet and let HAL see there is still demand for the smaller ships. We are concentrating all of our future cruising on the remaining R class sisters, as I fear they are not long for this world and I want to enjoy them as long as they are with us. Did the same with the S class and Amsterdam/Rotterdam prior and when we lost them in 2020, I was so glad I had been intentional about only sailing them while they were still in the fleet. I personally refuse to sail the Pinnacle class until the time comes (hopefully many years from now) when there are no other smaller options. They will be around a lot longer than their smaller counterparts, and there will be plenty of time then. 

[aliaschief]

Our solution to missing Prisendam is that we are really enjoying Azamara ships. Even smaller then Prisendam in a beautiful boutique setting with a wonderful crew.