Princendam vs Westerdam

[Travelbug 2]

I will be starting research in the new year for a 2006 Baltic (Russia) cruise. I
know this is early but past experience doing this paid off, I researched our recent Med' cruise for a year and everything fell into place very well.

A question for all you well informed cruisers out there. It seems it will be a choice between Prinsendam and Westerdam, the price difference (2005 sailings) is quite a lot between the 2 ships, I presume 2006 will be a similar gap in price.----is it worth the difference? The smaller classic ships appeal to my wife and I more than the large "skyscraper" type and the P/dam looks like a lovely classic ship. Also she is able to sail the Kiel canal.

Your comments would be helpful. Are the extra dollers worth it and is a veranda cabin an advantage for the Baltic cruise?

I will have questions later about shore tours in St Petersberg.

Thank you,

Happy cruising. Bert.

[localady]

Bert-

My husband and I have booked the Prinsendam 7/26 voyage. We have booked a veranda as I believe the day of cruising the Kiel Canal would be wonderful and I i know from a prior cruise, the twilight passage thru the Stockholm Archipelago are spectacular! So that is my vote, although we have not cruised the Westerdam so I can't speak about her. Let us know what you decide! A few of us CCer's are already booked.:cool:

P.S. We booked the cabin right after the 2006 prices were announced. Now they are asking appx. $800 pp more for that cabin!!!:eek: Never too early to book IMHO!!!!!

[TedC]

We've been on both ships and liked them both. We also think a verandah is a plus on any ship and any itinerary. Even if you don't go out on the verandah, and I think you will, you get a huge "picture window" with the glass verandah doors.

The best food we've had on a cruise ship was on the Prinsendam. It's intimate and most of the cabins have walk-in closets but it's going on 17 years old.The Westerdam is larger and new this year, but not what I would consider a megaship in today's world of ships carrying more than 3,000 passengers.

While the Westerdam holds 1848 pax with double occupancy, that's 200 or 300 fewer passengers than many lines would put on the same size ship. The Westerdam never felt crowded except once in awhile when everyone decided to go to the Lido at the same time. And even then, with the food stations, we could always find something we liked without waiting in a long line.

Choosing between the two is a dilemma many would welcome.

[jhannah]

We have sailed the Zuiderdam (one of Westerdam's sisters) and the Prinsendam. We enjoyed them both. I don't believe the Vista class ships feel as large as they are due to the generous passenter/space ratio HAL maintains. While you give up some variety in the boutiques on the Prinsendam, the smaller ship was much easier to get around in and felt more intimate. There wasn't near the mass of people waiting to disembark when arriving in port. And, as noted, the smaller Prinsendam will get into different ports than the larger ships. We enjoyed the Prinsendam enough that we've booked her for a British Isles cruise in 2005. Yes, her cost is more than the larger ships ... but we didn't feel this was a negative in any way considering our experience on board. I think you won't go wrong with the ms Prinsendam.

[RuthC]

Red October. That's the answer to the questions you did not ask: the questions about St. Petersburg.

I took the recommendations of many from this site and booked all my shore excursions through them; it was well worth the extra $$$ over HAL tours. (And this from one who always books her tours through HAL.)
I think I saw everything that was listed on every HAL tour. Because there is a maximum of 6 passengers in their group you can hear your guide while you are seeing the attraction. There is time to ask questions, and you don't feel like you are holding anyone else up.
At the Hermitage we passed HAL groups of 25-30; people at the back of the group couldn't see. At Catherine's Palace we were able to walk to the front of a very lo-o-o-n-n-g line, go through that magnificant building, and head to the next attraction.

I agree with localady that the sail through the Stockholm archipelago is one of the most spectacular sails in the world. Something you must be outside for.

[localady]

RuthC-

Thanks so much for the recomendation for Red October. After Christmas I need to research that as the known CC'ers on our cruise may book it together for a more inclusive and interesting tour.:cool:

[Bill S]

RuthC: ditto from one of "the known CCers"! :cool:

[Travelbug 2]

Bert-

My husband and I have booked the Prinsendam 7/26 voyage. We have booked a veranda as I believe the day of cruising the Kiel Canal would be wonderful and I i know from a prior cruise, the twilight passage thru the Stockholm Archipelago are spectacular! So that is my vote, although we have not cruised the Westerdam so I can't speak about her. Let us know what you decide! A few of us CCer's are already booked.:cool:

P.S. We booked the cabin right after the 2006 prices were announced. Now they are asking appx. $800 pp more for that cabin!!!:eek: Never too early to book IMHO!!!!!


Where did you find 2006 prices? I have searches the web site for HAL but nothing for 2006 !! Am I missing something?

Happy cruising, Bert

[localady]

Where did you find 2006 prices? I have searches the web site for HAL but nothing for 2006 !! Am I missing something?

Happy cruising, Bert
Opps!!!! I meant 2005 prices! :rolleyes:

Sorry, I have typo-itis!:eek:

[Travelbug 2]

Opps!!!! I meant 2005 prices! :rolleyes:

Sorry, I have typo-itis!:eek:

Thank you for the correction-------I was thinking another one of those "seniors moments" was taking over my brain !!

Anyone know when the 2006 prices do come on stream??

Happy cruising, Bert

[jhannah]

It seems like I remember an August/September timeframe before the entire next year is set and posted.

[scluvsrain]

I was on the "old" Noordam in 2003 for the Baltic cruise and she didn't have verandahs at all. Didn't miss a thing by not having a balcony. Really like the smaller ships. Will be on the Westerdam this coming spring for Transatlantic cruise, so we'll see. Have been on the sister ship, Zuiderdam and it was fine. Never felt crowded.

However, my REAL reason for replying is the comment earlier by another poster about Red October. We used them for St. Petersburg and they were absolutely the best!!!!

Don't bother with HAL's excursion in Russia, definitely use Red October!!! You see the same and more with them PLUS no waiting in any lines. They have place markers at all the museums and palaces so we just waltzed right to the front of the lines and toddled in. Very cool.

That whole cruise was terrific, but Red October was like the icing on the cake.