Has anyone booked the Dec. 20th Holiday Prisendam cruise?

[Martita B.]

Sailor's~~~Has anyone booked the 15 day Dec. 20th Prisendam Caribbean cruise?

Happy Trails and Sails
Martita

[venicecruiser]

Miss Martita - I have a cabin on hold and will be making my deposit in the next couple days. Surprised to see you on the HAL board rather than Seabourn! Always a pleasure, though!:)

Claudia

[Martita B.]

Hey Claudia~~~I received a packet for upcoming Holland Line's cruises only yesterday. As I have always wanted to sail on the former Seabourn Sun, I reserved a cabin for this 15 day Holiday cruise. As you know I always host gala's while on board. I do love having the parties, but it's ALOT of work, expense and mucho hassle, as you can imagine! I decided that I would simply "book and board" and REST on the Prisendam. I've never sailed on Holland~~~but I have good friends from Nashville that ADORE the Prisendam. They were on the 102 Days World Cruise last year~~~and it's one big reason that I'm considering this Christmas cruise~~~I have 3 Seabourn sailings booked, but I am seriously thinking I would enjoy the Prisendam and this holiday cruise~~~what do you think? Any tips or suggestions?
Smooth seas and Blue Skies!
MB

[venicecruiser]

Miss Martita - I decided on this one because I love the itin and because for HAL, Prinsendam is a small ship. I have to admit the fact that she used to be the Seabourn Sun interests me as well.....

Have you read any of the World Cruise 2005 thread? The couple onboard is posting a wonderful "journal" of their WC. Lots of details about the ship as well as the ports, etc.

Must admit that I will miss not signing chits and I will greatly miss open-seating dining, but I wanted to see Prinsendam and who knows how long she will remain in the HAL fleet........

Really looking forward to meeting the "famous" Miss Martita! So glad you will be onboard, even though there will not be a gala..... However, I'm sure we can still have a grand time!

Feel free to email me - cwmlbk1@comcast.net

Claudia

[Martita B.]

Claudia~~~I have been reading the cruisin' accounts of "Gumpy and Slinkly"~~~what a fabulous book they could write! And yes, many Prisendam tips and information. I've enjoyed their posts throughly! They are TOO funny!
Another reason that I'm thinking of booking the Dec. 20th cruise is the fact it's Ft. Laud back to Ft. Laud! I'm tiring of the airports! After flying into Heathrow last Sept. (what a total fiasco) On our upcoming Pride Crossing, J.B. and I are purposely flying back to Miami from Madrid! Newark is a nightmare the last of March~~~with all the Spring-breakers! I've done it 3 years in a row.........enough is enough! Hahaha I'm flying to Milan in Sept. for my Nephew's wedding and I'm dreading the airports!
Another reason ~~~ during the Christmas holidays the cruise lines almost double their cruise rates. Have you checked Seabourn's 14 day Christmas rates for solo travelers? Almost prohibitive! I almost booked the Pride last Christmas, but it's silly to spend SO much when there are many voyages for half the cost. My T.A. (in N.J.--also an International Yacht Attorney) quoted me a most reasonable rate on this particular cruise.
As I know zip about Holland America and the Prisendam, this board will certainly help me.......have you sailed Holland before?
Happy that you'll be on board!
MB

[venicecruiser]

Miss Martita-

I looked at the Seabourn holiday sailings, too, and the prices were beyond ridiculous. True, they may well drop to 50% off by the fall like they did last year but then the single supp jumps to 200% and so the single sailor ends up paying pretty close to the original ridiculous price........

I've sailed HAL several times in the past and prior to the Prinsendam sailing I will be on Veendam in Oct for two weeks. I will be curious to see how HAL has changed since the last time I was on a HAL ship about 3 years ago.

If you remember that it will not be like Seabourn and can enjoy it for what it is, you will be fine. There are a lot of things I like about HAL and the fact that Prinsendam is smaller is a real plus to me. The Pinnacle Grill-while an extra charge venue- has wonderful food I think and I'm sure I will have dinner there a few times while I'm onboard. For the most part, I've always had very good service on HAL. One nice thing about HAL is that once the staff knows your name you are usually always addressed by name. I'm also hearing wonderful things about the new bedding on HAL ships........

The itin for the holiday sailing, I think, is a great one. I'm looking forward to the Orinoco River portion of the cruise very much.

I will be arriving in Ft. Lauderdale on 12/19..........

There is a HAL Rollcall board here on Cruise Critic. Perhaps we should start a thread there to see if anyone else from Cruise Critic will be onboard too.

Claudia

Claudia

[Martita B.]

Claudia~~The roll call for Dec. 20th--Prisendam is a great idea! Do you want to post it? Perhaps by Dec. we'll know a few of the guests from CC Board.
I'm actually looking forward to NOT hosting a big "affair!" I was on the Pride in Dec. and had a holiday party......we departed from Barbados and I packed ALL the party "goodies" in my luggage......The "Eggnog Social Sing-a-Long" was a huge success, but alas, alot of work and preparations. This cruise will be "refreshing" and work free! I'll be boarding the Pride for the Crossing on March 15th and will be hosting "A Royal Affair" gala......just yesterday I UPS-ed 3 box's to the Ft. Laud Hotel....I'll pick them up on March 13th when I arrive......
Happy Trails!
MB

[venicecruiser]

Miss Martita -

I can start a rollcall thread.

I think we'll have a great time on Prinsendam-even without one of your famous Galas! Hopefully, we will end up at the same table in the dining room.....

Claudia