2014 - Prinsendam sails from IJmuiden instead of Amsterdam.

I just read that announcement in one of the dutch newspapers, Prinsendam will sail 8 times to/from IJmuiden in 2014.

IJmuiden is much closer to the Northsea then Amsterdam, it will safe 3 hours sailing each way and no need to go through the locks.

But I wonder if passengers will be that happy with it.

IJmuiden is about 20 miles west of Amsterdam and has no direct public transportation with Amsterdam or the airport.

Guests most likely will need to take a HAL shuttles as cabs will be rather expensive.

A recently built terminal in IJmuiden, but situated in an industrial area.

Copy:

IJMUIDEN - Holland America Line. De naam alleen al doet de liefhebber van scheepvaart watertanden. Vanaf 1873 vervoert stoomvaartmaatschappij Holland-Amerika Lijn (HAL) vanuit de thuishaven Rotterdam passagiers naar de Verenigde Staten en vice versa. Tegenwoordig legt de rederij zich specifiek bezig met de cruisevaart. Sinds twee jaar vanaf Rotterdam.

Maar met ingang van volgend jaar ook vanuit de IJmondhaven in IJmuiden. Acht keer vaart de Prinsendam vanaf IJmuiden naar Noord- en West-Europa en landen rond de Middellandse Zee. IJmuiden is wat dat betreft start- en aankomstplaats van de cruises.

Thank you for the information.

You are right -- that is going to make some passengers unhappy.

Thank you for the information.

Keith

Thank you for the information.

Possibly because the Amsterdam Terminal has already been booked by another vessel(s).

Much better going to Rotterdam and use fast train to get to Amsterdam.

Thanks for the info ..

The conspiracy theorist would say this is a way for HAL to make more money by sailing a shorter distance, eliminating paying to go through the locks (not sure they have to pay i am guessing here) and forcing people to their over priced transfers.

We are booked on one of these cruises, the 28 day round trip in early July. This is the first I have heard of this, and it may very well cause us to cancel. I just chatted with HAL, and yes, this cruise terminal is 35 minutes away, in the 'greater Amsterdam area'. We had already planned to come in early and stay at the hotel next door to the Amsterdam terminal. All HAL can offer us is yes, going back to the airport to pick up their transfer bus, which I feel confident will be absurdly overpriced. So disappointed, especially after just returning from our first cruise on Regatta. Love the Prinsendam, have sailed on her several times, but this just looks like another way for HAL to save money. Probably won't matter, but I will be calling guest relations shortly.:mad:

We can speculate the reasons for the change but I am sorry for those who are booked or hoped to book. This change has a large impact on ease, cost and enjoyment of pre cruise experience and on expenses. Of course, cruisers would much prefer to fly into Amsterdam, stay in that wonderful city and transfer from hotel to ship easily, quickly and inexpensively.

I also think it disappointing for those who wanted to watch the ship go through the locks. I realize we aren't talking Panama Canal nevertheless it was part of what was offered and was expected to be part of the cruise.

That sort of change is enough it could tilt me away from making a booking I might have made.

"Save" three hours of cruising, and "no need" to go through the locks would not be a selling point for me. I thought it was a lovely sail out of Amsterdam, and thoroughly enjoyed watching us go through the locks. I was looking forward to doing it again some day.

Since I usually do the HAL 1-night pre-cruise hotel, w/transfer, that aspect isn't a concern for me, but the loss of such scenic cruising is. :(

The conspiracy theorist would say this is a way for HAL to make more money by sailing a shorter distance, eliminating paying to go through the locks (not sure they have to pay i am guessing here) and forcing people to their over priced transfers.

No need to be a conspiracy theorist. That's exactly what HAL's doing; cutting quality and reducing value in the pursuit of greater profits. (Chasing quarterly results may turn out to be a Titanic mistake.) In any event, this change, like many others by HAL isn't of benefit to paying passengers. But when did HAL last put clients first.

The conspiracy theorist would say this is a way for HAL to make more money by sailing a shorter distance, eliminating paying to go through the locks (not sure they have to pay i am guessing here) and forcing people to their over priced transfers.

Sounds about right :) Plays into my own "conspiracy theory" that HA is doing a lot to their itineraries to both shorten cruise distances and increase the time between ports (slower cruising=huge fuel savings). Of course the fact that this seems to happen to itinerary after itinerary is just a figment of my overactive imagination :)

Hank

No need to be a conspiracy theorist. That's exactly what HAL's doing; cutting quality and reducing value in the pursuit of greater profits. (Chasing quarterly results may turn out to be a Titanic mistake.) In any event, this change, like many others by HAL isn't of benefit to paying passengers. But when did HAL last put clients first.

I agree.......

This change is not 'for the comfort and benefit of their guests'.

Sad.

No need to be a conspiracy theorist. That's exactly what HAL's doing; cutting quality and reducing value in the pursuit of greater profits. (Chasing quarterly results may turn out to be a Titanic mistake.) In any event, this change, like many others by HAL isn't of benefit to paying passengers. But when did HAL last put clients first.

I'm sure you are so right, and it is so sad.:(

I just read that announcement in one of the dutch newspapers, Prinsendam will sail 8 times to/from IJmuiden in 2014.

IJmuiden is much closer to the Northsea then Amsterdam, it will safe 3 hours sailing each way and no need to go through the locks.

But I wonder if passengers will be that happy with it.

IJmuiden is about 20 miles west of Amsterdam and has no direct public transportation with Amsterdam or the airport.

Guests most likely will need to take a HAL shuttles as cabs will be rather expensive.

A recently built terminal in IJmuiden, but situated in an industrial area.

 

Copy:

IJMUIDEN - Holland America Line. De naam alleen al doet de liefhebber van scheepvaart watertanden. Vanaf 1873 vervoert stoomvaartmaatschappij Holland-Amerika Lijn (HAL) vanuit de thuishaven Rotterdam passagiers naar de Verenigde Staten en vice versa. Tegenwoordig legt de rederij zich specifiek bezig met de cruisevaart. Sinds twee jaar vanaf Rotterdam.

Maar met ingang van volgend jaar ook vanuit de IJmondhaven in IJmuiden. Acht keer vaart de Prinsendam vanaf IJmuiden naar Noord- en West-Europa en landen rond de Middellandse Zee. IJmuiden is wat dat betreft start- en aankomstplaats van de cruises.

Is the address in IJmuiden or is it A'dam Sloterdijk?

Just came home from 31 day cruise to the Baltics on the MS Prinsendam.I booked the 28 day Celtic Kingdoms cruise on this our Fave ship.7 times now.I am going to cancel this Cruise and look at something else.A lot of things have changed on this ship in the food in the main dining room Paying for coffe other than regular. We had no indo crew show this trip,do not know

why and no explanation given.WINE bought 3 bottles of red wine in 2 ports.

The bottles were given to a wine waiter and the names of the wine noted on paper,I was then asked for my cabin number,I asked why this was happening

I was told it did not mean anything? this happened twice so I asked the Beverage manager about this he said they were trying to find out how much wine was being brought on board but that I should never have been asked for

my Cabin No.When I asked if this meant that HAL was going to stop Pax bringing wine on board he said it could well be?IMHO we are being nickled and dimed to death and still being charged high fares.After 362 days with

HAL I think this may be our last after we cruise 28 days xmas and new year

2013.We shall see Sorry if I was ranting on a bit. jim:D:D:D

Just came home from 31 day cruise to the Baltics on the MS Prinsendam.I booked the 28 day Celtic Kingdoms cruise on this our Fave ship.7 times now.I am going to cancel this Cruise and look at something else.A lot of things have changed on this ship in the food in the main dining room Paying for coffe other than regular. We had no indo crew show this trip,do not know

why and no explanation given.WINE bought 3 bottles of red wine in 2 ports.

The bottles were given to a wine waiter and the names of the wine noted on paper,I was then asked for my cabin number,I asked why this was happening

I was told it did not mean anything? this happened twice so I asked the Beverage manager about this he said they were trying to find out how much wine was being brought on board but that I should never have been asked for

my Cabin No.When I asked if this meant that HAL was going to stop Pax bringing wine on board he said it could well be?IMHO we are being nickled and dimed to death and still being charged high fares.After 362 days with

HAL I think this may be our last after we cruise 28 days xmas and new year

2013.We shall see Sorry if I was ranting on a bit. jim:D:D:D

You weren't ranting, IMO

I am very sorry to read this post. Makes me sad.

Just came home from 31 day cruise to the Baltics on the MS Prinsendam.I booked the 28 day Celtic Kingdoms cruise on this our Fave ship.7 times now.I am going to cancel this Cruise and look at something else.A lot of things have changed on this ship in the food in the main dining room Paying for coffe other than regular. We had no indo crew show this trip,do not know

why and no explanation given.WINE bought 3 bottles of red wine in 2 ports.

The bottles were given to a wine waiter and the names of the wine noted on paper,I was then asked for my cabin number,I asked why this was happening

I was told it did not mean anything? this happened twice so I asked the Beverage manager about this he said they were trying to find out how much wine was being brought on board but that I should never have been asked for

my Cabin No.When I asked if this meant that HAL was going to stop Pax bringing wine on board he said it could well be?IMHO we are being nickled and dimed to death and still being charged high fares.After 362 days with

HAL I think this may be our last after we cruise 28 days xmas and new year

2013.We shall see Sorry if I was ranting on a bit. jim:D:D:D

Jim, they also asked me for my room number when they were doing their wine survey. So, it wasn't just you.

Our MDR experience was good. No problems with the food and some very exceptional evenings.

From cruise critic I knew they would be charging for the expressos, cappucinos, etc. So, we were totally prepared and didn't really see it as a big deal.

There was indeed a crew show - so I'm kind of confused by this???? Our concierge was in it as well as our Bar Steward. It was a nice show by the way. Also there was the Phillipine Independence Day show.

Hope you have arrived safely home:D

I, too, am surprised by this decision and I imagine it has something to do with fuel cost savings. Truly, if they need more money to operate itineraries that are varied and, dare I say innovative, because of the cost of fuel, I would prefer they re-institute the per day fuel surcharge. I am tired, in the Caribbean, of HAL's ho-hum, rarely/never changes itineraries with the same ships doing the same itineraries year after year.

I am looking forward to my August sailings on the Eurodam from Amsterdam. It will be scenic and interesting--something that helped my traveling companion and I to choose these two cruises. I feel sad for the Prinsendam guests sailing next year.

I, too, am surprised by this decision and I imagine it has something to do with fuel cost savings. Truly, if they need more money to operate itineraries that are varied and, dare I say innovative, because of the cost of fuel, I would prefer they re-institute the per day fuel surcharge. I am tired, in the Caribbean, of HAL's ho-hum, rarely/never changes itineraries with the same ships doing the same itineraries year after year. ..............

 

The solution is quite simple. Cruise on a different cruise line. We look forward to our Nov cruise on Celebrity. In fact, even though we are 4 Star Mariners and enjoy HA, we would no longer cruise on HA unless they offered an itinerary that we found of interest. At this point in time we find some other cruise lines to be a significant improvement over HA except in the itinerary department. One can just hope that HA reverses their constant "cut-back" attitude before they have nothing left to cut back.

 

Hank

Dam!

So, what is the choice?

Book a Schiphol hotel, take the train into and back from Amsterdam for each of the few pre-cruise days we would be there? Then hop on the HAL transfer to the new port?

Or book the Amsterdam hotel we planned and take the train back to Schiphol to get the transfer to the new port.

And miss the locks!

Dam!

I am sorry to hear this. I love the sail into Amsterdam up the canals and the docking location in the city. Ithink it really takes away from the cruise experience. I would have to weigh everything out carefully, but I think it might influence my decision on whether or not to take a specific cruise.

Susan

I, too, am surprised by this decision and I imagine it has something to do with fuel cost savings. Truly, if they need more money to operate itineraries that are varied and, dare I say innovative, because of the cost of fuel, I would prefer they re-institute the per day fuel surcharge. I am tired, in the Caribbean, of HAL's ho-hum, rarely/never changes itineraries with the same ships doing the same itineraries year after year. ..............

 

The solution is quite simple. Cruise on a different cruise line. We look forward to our Nov cruise on Celebrity. In fact, even though we are 4 Star Mariners and enjoy HA, we would no longer cruise on HA unless they offered an itinerary that we found of interest. At this point in time we find some other cruise lines to be a significant improvement over HA except in the itinerary department. One can just hope that HA reverses their constant "cut-back" attitude before they have nothing left to cut back.

 

Hank

 

Dear Hank,

 

I did cruise Celebrity in February on the Eclipse. Celebrity did some things better than HAL. Some things, like cuisine and menu selection, significantly worse. When was the last time that you had the final two meals in the main dining room on a ship that was terrible, with some items inedible? (And that opinion was shared by others at my table.)

 

The disembarkation mess at Terminal 25/24 at Port Everglades for Eclipse will prevent me from sailing on her again from that terminal. After many, many complaints on CC by those of us who sailed her this past Winter, I was hoping some changes would be made. Looking at the views on the Port Everglades web cam, I certainly do not see any alterations to what are terminals that are very ill-suited to the size of vessels docking there.

Is the address in IJmuiden or is it A'dam Sloterdijk?

The terminal is in IJmuiden, almost next to northsea. Amsterdam sloterdijk would not have been that bad.

The terminal is in IJmuiden, almost next to northsea. Amsterdam sloterdijk would not have been that bad.

If you go to google maps and put in IJmuiden IJmondhaven, you will see where the terminal is situated.