Prinsedam--after last dry dock

[Poconolady]

looking for a quick comment or two from anyone who has sailed the Prinsendam since the recent re-do. Are there still shower curtains or have they upgraded the bathrooms with shower doors? Is the over all feeling of the cabins more upgraded or did they just do a carpet/bedspread changeover? Thanks in advance, I am currently onboard Zuiderdam and am looking to book onboard tomorrow--just want a little advice about how much the ship has been modernized.
Thanks

[arzz]

Prinsendam is due for dry dock in November.

[surfsidemary]

Just disembarked on March 12th. Still has shower curtains. Hadn't been on her before, so not sure what a cabin upgrade would look like. My cabin was perfectly "nice" with fresh spread and carpet, but certainly not "wow!"

Ship's officers stated that one thing planned for dry dock in November is to enclose the aft deck on the Lido (deck 11) so that there will be more all-weather dining space. IMO, it's necessary because of crowding, but too bad because it was lovely out there.

[arzz]

Surfsidemary -- I agree with you on both counts --necessary due to extreme crowding at times, very unfortunate as it was a wonderful, outside yet protected space.

[NoWhiners]

does this mean there is no large place to sit outside anymore???

We booked a cruise on her for October 2013 and i am trying to get acquainted with her.

Thanks
ML

[RuthC]

Originally Posted by NoWhiners

does this mean there is no large place to sit outside anymore???

Not at all! The entire Lido pool area is outdoors, although there are glass walls on the side, so there is some windbreak. There is no covered dome as the other ships have.

There are also a couple of open aft decks, a bit lower. The aft pool has plenty of room to sit in the open, much like the aft of the Lido area on other HAL ships. IIRC, there's also another aft deck, lower than the Lido, that's an open area.

I love the covered aft area outside the Lido Restaurant, but it isn't always comfortable out there on the itineraries I take (far northern Norway twice on that ship). And the extra dining area is desparately needed there.

I would love it if HAL would install windows that slide open there. That way there can be fresh air, when the temps warrent.

[janmcn]

Oh, no…not the aft Lido Deck! We loved it..even when it was raining it was a great place to photo the sights. One of our favorite things about the P'dam! We never felt the Lido was that crowded that we couldn't deal with it…oh, well…"improvements" again…like combining the Crow's Nest with the Library on some ships…brilliant!

[kazu]

Originally Posted by surfsidemary

Just disembarked on March 12th. Still has shower curtains. Hadn't been on her before, so not sure what a cabin upgrade would look like. My cabin was perfectly "nice" with fresh spread and carpet, but certainly not "wow!"

Ship's officers stated that one thing planned for dry dock in November is to enclose the aft deck on the Lido (deck 11) so that there will be more all-weather dining space. IMO, it's necessary because of crowding, but too bad because it was lovely out there.

darn - I really liked that space - did you hear any other talk about what else they were going to do in November???

[rafinmd]

I'd like to see them take out the aft putting green on at least part of the deck above the Lido. Has anybody seen that area actually used?

Roy

[kazu]

Originally Posted by rafinmd

I'd like to see them take out the aft putting green on at least part of the deck above the Lido. Has anybody seen that area actually used?

Roy

Now that is a BRILLIANT idea - I didn't see anyone using it on our cruise, but we were only on for 20 days

[surfsidemary]

Originally Posted by kazu

darn - I really liked that space - did you hear any other talk about what else they were going to do in November???

I heard that one first hand. Other than that, it was mostly passengers speculating about what needed to be done. Some passengers had severe problems with the HVAC, with water/snow coming in through the balcony doors, work having to be performed in their cabin ceilings for weeks at a time (not sure of the problem, but it was evidently serious enough to justify serious disruption to passengers during a cruise). I also heard that the kitchen failed inspection of the vents (this allegedly from a worker who had boarded near the end to work on the vents during the nights). Many passengers, including myself, received multiple notices apologizing for needing to turn off water at times duriing the day for repair work.

[kazu]

Originally Posted by surfsidemary

I heard that one first hand. Other than that, it was mostly passengers speculating about what needed to be done. Some passengers had severe problems with the HVAC, with water/snow coming in through the balcony doors, work having to be performed in their cabin ceilings for weeks at a time (not sure of the problem, but it was evidently serious enough to justify serious disruption to passengers during a cruise). I also heard that the kitchen failed inspection of the vents (this allegedly from a worker who had boarded near the end to work on the vents during the nights). Many passengers, including myself, received multiple notices apologizing for needing to turn off water at times duriing the day for repair work.

Wow - I knew there were issues with the AB cabins. didn't hear of any others when we were on board. I guess we lucked out. Our cabin was great and we had no issues at all with water being turned off.

thanks

[NoWhiners]

Originally Posted by RuthC

Not at all! The entire Lido pool area is outdoors, although there are glass walls on the side, so there is some windbreak. There is no covered dome as the other ships have.

There are also a couple of open aft decks, a bit lower. The aft pool has plenty of room to sit in the open, much like the aft of the Lido area on other HAL ships. IIRC, there's also another aft deck, lower than the Lido, that's an open area.

I love the covered aft area outside the Lido Restaurant, but it isn't always comfortable out there on the itineraries I take (far northern Norway twice on that ship). And the extra dining area is desparately needed there.

I would love it if HAL would install windows that slide open there. That way there can be fresh air, when the temps warrent.

Thanks Ruth. This all sounds delightful. I was sort of thinking the new area would have sliding doors/windows that could be opened on nicer days but maybe not. It never even occurred to me that there could be snow on a cruise--just not the way I picture a cruise! But it makes complete sense for Norway!

ML