Prinsendam questions

Not having been on the Prinsendam in a number of years, I have some questions before choosing a 2019 cruise.

When was the last time she was refurbished? When will she be refurbished again? The reviews are not good right now on ship condition.

Also is there a noise factor with stateroom 219?

Has anyone stayed in the HAL pre-cruise hotel in Amsterdam?

Not having been on the Prinsendam in a number of years, I have some questions before choosing a 2019 cruise.

 

When was the last time she was refurbished? When will she be refurbished again? The reviews are not good right now on ship condition.

 

I pay little attention to ship reviews unless they are balanced ;). She is due to be refurbished later this year I believe - after we get off in May, 2018. I think it is in the fall, but my memory is short. Her hull is due for a major check too .

 

Also is there a noise factor with stateroom 219?

This is an AB cabin if I am correct? The issues with those have been that they are not the original P'dam cabins and added a couple of dry docks ago. There were huge problems with vibration and noise back then. Now, it appears some of the issues have been resolved, but, if it were me, I would book an original P'dam cabin as opposed to the cookie cutter cabins there.

 

A lot of people say there are little issues now and others needed a sleeping cabin on one cruise. If I got this right, an AB cabin would not be my choice, but that's just me.

 

I prefer the original cabins of the ship with the wood work, walk in closets, etc.

 

 

Has anyone stayed in the HAL pre-cruise hotel in Amsterdam? Haven't stayed there but the reviews on tripadvisor are not bad.

I tried to help (in red) above with your questions.

If it's any help, we will be on her in May, 2018 and I will be doing a Live thread and will definitely report. We are considering a 2019 cruise as well but I haven't been on for nearly 4 years, so I'm waiting to see how things are too ;)

I do know that CC members I "trust" were recently on and had very good reports. As well as friends who emailed me. So, I think all is good (at least, I hope so).

Will be on Prisendam in October, 2018 and have a guarantee inside cabin, think cheapest one. Just looked at the cabins on the deck plans and it's tiny. Sure wished I had requested a K or M. Does anyone think I may be lucky enough to get one of those? Was on Maasdam last year and had an ocean view, our first Holland cruise and had a great time. Hoping to enjoy this 26 day cruise as much. Any more info about her would be greatThanks

We were on the Prinsendam last fall and the previous fall, and she was in good condition. There was a major drydock in 2016 where they updated the Lido, Ocean Bar, showroom and other areas. The interiornwas a lot brighter. The a/c units were replaced and an RO water system added.

The next drydock will be in December of this year, and more major work will be done.

We were told both years that they have decided to keep her in top shape and sailing as long as she is making money. Prinsendam could be around for several more years.

Will be on Prisendam in October, 2018 and have a guarantee inside cabin, think cheapest one. Just looked at the cabins on the deck plans and it's tiny. Sure wished I had requested a K or M. Does anyone think I may be lucky enough to get one of those? Was on Maasdam last year and had an ocean view, our first Holland cruise and had a great time. Hoping to enjoy this 26 day cruise as much. Any more info about her would be greatThanks

A lot of the inside cabins are small. If a K or M is still available, why not change your booking (unless you have a non refundable booking) to one of those?

You might get upgraded but it's hard to say. Those cabins do get booked and the ship can sell out.

Hope you have a great cruise on her :)

We've booked a cat. K (234) for our cruise in April 2019. Appears to be very large with full sofa and lounge chair. First time for us on Prinsendam, so watching for all reviews.

We have stayed at HAL’s hotel twice. The first time we stayed several days after our cruise. We met a nice young man who helped us with tours in the city. We returned several years later. The same young man was at the front desk and he remembered us. We got a very nice room.

I have a question also. Jacqui is always a wealth of info

Especially with The Elegant Explorer.

Looking at staterooms AA133. It is larger room with Verandah I do see it is by the atrium stairs and elevator. Wish we could do a signature suite for us but we will just be getting off the Volendam from San Diego getting onboard for the 30 day TA cruise to Europe. Any help would be great or what cabin with Verandah on board!

Thanks all👍

Denise:)

I have a question also. Jacqui is always a wealth of info

Especially with The Elegant Explorer.

Looking at staterooms AA133. It is larger room with Verandah I do see it is by the atrium stairs and elevator. Wish we could do a signature suite for us but we will just be getting off the Volendam from San Diego getting onboard for the 30 day TA cruise to Europe. Any help would be great or what cabin with Verandah on board!

Thanks all👍

Denise:)

That is actually an A category cabin I believe Denise.

I haven't been in that cabin itself, but, I will say that all the cabins on this ship are not the same size nor "cookie cutter" cabins (except for the ones added at the previous dry dock). Some are definitely bigger than others.

I have been in one that is the same configuration and it was definitely a larger cabin. Deck plans are usually pretty accurate so, if you like it and it's available, snatch it. You can always change later ;)

I wouldn't worry about the atrium underneath - little noise from that area IMO. I don't find that the elevators cause any issue noise wise. The only potential issue is someone very loud talking for a moment which I have found is a rarity.

Hope this helps a bit.

That is actually an A category cabin I believe Denise.

 

I haven't been in that cabin itself, but, I will say that all the cabins on this ship are not the same size nor "cookie cutter" cabins (except for the ones added at the previous dry dock). Some are definitely bigger than others.

 

I have been in one that is the same configuration and it was definitely a larger cabin. Deck plans are usually pretty accurate so, if you like it and it's available, snatch it. You can always change later ;)

 

I wouldn't worry about the atrium underneath - little noise from that area IMO. I don't find that the elevators cause any issue noise wise. The only potential issue is someone very loud talking for a moment which I have found is a rarity.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

❤️ Your always so helpful!! I will follow through. I so appreciate your quick response.

Thanks Jacqui!

Denise:)

As we were fortunate to have sailed twice on Prinsendam in 2017 I can perhaps help a bit in answering your questions.

Let's start with the hotel which we have used twice ( independently because of better prices): The Movenpick is directly next to the boarding area where Prinsendam docks - roll your suitcase out of the hotel door and you're there. Absolutely perfect! Both times we got a room in one of the upper levels with a view of the river when we mentioned that we were about to board a cruise ship the next day. Excellent breakfast!! Right next to the hotel there is a stop for the Hopon/HopOff boats - very recommendable to view the city from its canals.

We found the Prinsendam to be in quite good shape - very clean, a few bits of rust and chipped veneer, but nothing that bothered us because we wanted the sights and noth to be disturbed by y few rust flakes. Service is absolutely excellent - the best we have found so far in cruising with HAL, starting from the front desk to the young men and women polishing the hand rails on the stairs! Food varied a bit from excellent to so so - but very good salad bar for lunch!

Signature suite we were lucky to have on one of the cruises was refurbished and absolutely wonderful. I'm not so sure if I can recommend stateroom 219 we had during the second cruise: VERY small compared to the oceanview cabin we had a year before (!), very cramped - for example there was a love-seat and small chair you couldn't use because it had been pushed directly next to the bed. It was also so dilapidated and downright dirty that I always used a towel before I dared putting clothes on it. ( That may change after the refurbishment at the end of 2018 - hopefully so!)

The balcony was really the best feature of the cabin - a wrap-around balcony with views to two side, two loungers and two chairs which we used a lot during the cruise even though we didn't like the blaring speakers above us when there was a lecture during sail-outs. On the other hand we four times (!) during that cruise we almost got doused by dirty water including some paper waste from the deck above when they cleaned the deck, and once or twice seemingly buckets sloshed onto the balcony during a storm due to the pool above. We always were lucky - having left the balcony minutes before to get dressed for dinner etc. but in one case I escaped only by seconds... True story!!

The worst with cabin 219 was the noise - the ship rattled so much during docking in the mornings or afternoons that glasses and bottles were thrown onto the floor, and there was quite a lot of noisy vibration during the night, too. The great balcony might lure us into that cabin again but only after a true refurbishment and for the right kind of cruise. The other Vista suites or even the oceanview cabins are a better deal, in my opinion.

Another thing we personally didn't like too much about cabin 219 was the fact that in the evenings we either had to pass through the casino or tiptoe around the people enjoying the evening piano performance before we could enter the hall leading to the cabins. No problem during the day - and it had easy access to the Explorations Café...

That is actually an A category cabin I believe Denise.

 

I haven't been in that cabin itself, but, I will say that all the cabins on this ship are not the same size nor "cookie cutter" cabins (except for the ones added at the previous dry dock). Some are definitely bigger than others.

 

I have been in one that is the same configuration and it was definitely a larger cabin. Deck plans are usually pretty accurate so, if you like it and it's available, snatch it. You can always change later ;)

Definitely true. You can see from the deck plans that some pairs (next to each other) of A Cabins, one is larger than the other. The larger ones are A132/A133/A136/A137/A156/A157/A172/A173. I had this confirmed on a cruise with the FCC, as they have info available on the exact size of each cabin on the ships. If I remember correctly, if about 50sf, which may not see like a lot, but any extra space in a cabin is a bonus as far as we are concerned.

I'd stay away from the cabins on the stern, as they are not original to the ship and don't have things like the walk-in closet. They got added several years ago during one of the drydocks and I've never really seen a good review on them.

Cheers,

As we were fortunate to have sailed twice on Prinsendam in 2017 I can perhaps help a bit in answering your questions.

Let's start with the hotel which we have used twice ( independently because of better prices): The Movenpick is directly next to the boarding area where Prinsendam docks - roll your suitcase out of the hotel door and you're there. Absolutely perfect! Both times we got a room in one of the upper levels with a view of the river when we mentioned that we were about to board a cruise ship the next day. Excellent breakfast!! Right next to the hotel there is a stop for the Hopon/HopOff boats - very recommendable to view the city from its canals.

We found the Prinsendam to be in quite good shape - very clean, a few bits of rust and chipped veneer, but nothing that bothered us because we wanted the sights and noth to be disturbed by y few rust flakes. Service is absolutely excellent - the best we have found so far in cruising with HAL, starting from the front desk to the young men and women polishing the hand rails on the stairs! Food varied a bit from excellent to so so - but very good salad bar for lunch!

Signature suite we were lucky to have on one of the cruises was refurbished and absolutely wonderful. I'm not so sure if I can recommend stateroom 219 we had during the second cruise: VERY small compared to the oceanview cabin we had a year before (!), very cramped - for example there was a love-seat and small chair you couldn't use because it had been pushed directly next to the bed. It was also so dilapidated and downright dirty that I always used a towel before I dared putting clothes on it. ( That may change after the refurbishment at the end of 2018 - hopefully so!)

The balcony was really the best feature of the cabin - a wrap-around balcony with views to two side, two loungers and two chairs which we used a lot during the cruise even though we didn't like the blaring speakers above us when there was a lecture during sail-outs. On the other hand we four times (!) during that cruise we almost got doused by dirty water including some paper waste from the deck above when they cleaned the deck, and once or twice seemingly buckets sloshed onto the balcony during a storm due to the pool above. We always were lucky - having left the balcony minutes before to get dressed for dinner etc. but in one case I escaped only by seconds... True story!!

The worst with cabin 219 was the noise - the ship rattled so much during docking in the mornings or afternoons that glasses and bottles were thrown onto the floor, and there was quite a lot of noisy vibration during the night, too. The great balcony might lure us into that cabin again but only after a true refurbishment and for the right kind of cruise. The other Vista suites or even the oceanview cabins are a better deal, in my opinion.

Another thing we personally didn't like too much about cabin 219 was the fact that in the evenings we either had to pass through the casino or tiptoe around the people enjoying the evening piano performance before we could enter the hall leading to the cabins. No problem during the day - and it had easy access to the Explorations Café...

Wonderful detail :D

219 is one of the AB cabins that were installed at the drydock (I think 2/3 drydocks ago or so). I know they were a huge issue on our 2013 cruise. Not so much last cruise, but still issues. Vibrations, noise & water have been issues. I've known a few people who were given a "sleeping cabin".

On our last cruise there didn't seem to be as many issues as before, but they were still there.

For anyone interested in the P'dam, those "new" cabins are easy to spot since they do not have a walk in closet. I believe those are the only cabins on the ship without some type of walk in closet.

I much prefer to be in one of the original cabins of the ship and if asked, I recommend avoiding the ones installed at dry dock if possible.

The Signature Suites and Neptune Suites are truly lovely on this ship.

Glad to hear about your wonderful service :)

I have a question also. Jacqui is always a wealth of info

Especially with The Elegant Explorer.

Looking at staterooms AA133. It is larger room with Verandah I do see it is by the atrium stairs and elevator. Wish we could do a signature suite for us but we will just be getting off the Volendam from San Diego getting onboard for the 30 day TA cruise to Europe. Any help would be great or what cabin with Verandah on board!

Thanks all👍

Denise:)

FWIW, We were in 121 last year (an AA not an A but only a few cabins down) and LOVED it. No vibrations. If the cabin was incredibly quiet, we could hear faint sounds of entertainers practicing in the afternoon but never heard a sound during the performance. We used it to decide if we were going to the show that night or not!

After having been in a different cabin earlier in the year, we decided that the location for us was about as perfect as it could be. The only word of warning - it was one of those that had the mirror on the shower wall so we let it steam up first least we get a rude awakening early in the morning!

I have pictures and will be glad to share if you want.

Does anyone know if the Cat A or AA cabins with shower-only are smaller than the tub cabins? In looking at some limited traveler pictures, it almost appears as though the bathroom is narrower. If so, I'm wondering of the the whole room is narrower (like the space between the foot of the bed and the wall/table)?

I prefer the shape of a squarer shower instead of a slick/narrow tub, but not if it's going to cost us space in the rest of the room.

Not having been on the Prinsendam in a number of years, I have some questions before choosing a 2019 cruise.

 

When was the last time she was refurbished? When will she be refurbished again? The reviews are not good right now on ship condition.

 

Also is there a noise factor with stateroom 219?

 

Has anyone stayed in the HAL pre-cruise hotel in Amsterdam?

We did a TA in 208 - one of the add-ons, but not over the stern like 219. We experienced no particular nois or vibration of the sort some mention.

Does anyone know if the Cat A or AA cabins with shower-only are smaller than the tub cabins? In looking at some limited traveler pictures, it almost appears as though the bathroom is narrower. If so, I'm wondering of the the whole room is narrower (like the space between the foot of the bed and the wall/table)?

I have been in two A-category cabins on the Prinsendam, one with a tub, and one with a shower.

The bathroom with the shower is smaller, but the arrangement of the fixtures is different, so there is still plenty of room in there.

In the one with the tub, the tub runs along the wall abutting the closet, the sink is by the door from the main part of the cabin, and the toilet is next to the sink, along the passageway wall.

The cabin with the shower has the sink next to the closet wall, with the shower near the passageway wall, and the toilet next to that.

The main cabin does not feel any smaller, but must be, as there is one less nightstand.

The cabin with the tub has two nightstands, whereas the one with a shower has one. That nightstand can be on either side of the bed, or between if the beds are spilt.

I didn't sense any difference in the amount of space between the foot of the bed and the desk area. It is not all that wide, and the bench needs to be pushed in to get through, but it isn't tight if the bench is pushed in.

There is plenty of space between the love seat and the entertainment center.

We will be on the EE for three months beginning in August so we are voting with our wallets. She did have a major refurbishment in 2016 as mentioned. Not sure the timing of the next one. Depending who you ask they spent somewhere around $15mm.

We will be on the EE for three months beginning in August so we are voting with our wallets. She did have a major refurbishment in 2016 as mentioned. Not sure the timing of the next one. Depending who you ask they spent somewhere around $15mm.

The cruise schedule for the Prinsendam shows a gap from Dec 7-21 2018, so presumably that's the next refurbishment.

Looking for any hints to make our 2019 Jan4th 80 days to South America and Antartica more enjoyable. Let us know how your trip of 68 days jan 3rd 2018 went,to the same area.

Would appreciate any info,as we have not cruised this area.

Regards

Mary

Definitely true. You can see from the deck plans that some pairs (next to each other) of A Cabins, one is larger than the other. The larger ones are A132/A133/A136/A137/A156/A157/A172/A173. I had this confirmed on a cruise with the FCC, as they have info available on the exact size of each cabin on the ships. If I remember correctly, if about 50sf, which may not see like a lot, but any extra space in a cabin is a bonus as far as we are concerned.

 

I'd stay away from the cabins on the stern, as they are not original to the ship and don't have things like the walk-in closet. They got added several years ago during one of the drydocks and I've never really seen a good review on them.

 

Cheers,

The real sad thing is to see how many cabins HAL has packed into the ship, and all the wonderful spaces and decks that were eliminated from when she was built for Royal Viking in the 80's. Every dry dock brings it seems, more and more cabins The Ship was built for 750 Today they are pushing close to 950 at 2 per cabin, thats 100 new cabins !!!. Word has it that they want more !

The real sad thing is to see how many cabins HAL has packed into the ship, and all the wonderful spaces and decks that were eliminated from when she was built for Royal Viking in the 80's. Every dry dock brings it seems, more and more cabins The Ship was built for 750 Today they are pushing close to 950 at 2 per cabin, thats 100 new cabins !!!. Word has it that they want more !

Prinsendam capacity is 835 - not the 950 that you state.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Resp.action?requestPage=ships_msPrinsendam&showHeader=true&showFooter=true

As we were fortunate to have sailed twice on Prinsendam in 2017 I can perhaps help a bit in answering your questions.

Let's start with the hotel which we have used twice ( independently because of better prices): The Movenpick is directly next to the boarding area where Prinsendam docks - roll your suitcase out of the hotel door and you're there. Absolutely perfect! Both times we got a room in one of the upper levels with a view of the river when we mentioned that we were about to board a cruise ship the next day. Excellent breakfast!! Right next to the hotel there is a stop for the Hopon/HopOff boats - very recommendable to view the city from its canals.

We found the Prinsendam to be in quite good shape - very clean, a few bits of rust and chipped veneer, but nothing that bothered us because we wanted the sights and noth to be disturbed by y few rust flakes. Service is absolutely excellent - the best we have found so far in cruising with HAL, starting from the front desk to the young men and women polishing the hand rails on the stairs! Food varied a bit from excellent to so so - but very good salad bar for lunch!

Signature suite we were lucky to have on one of the cruises was refurbished and absolutely wonderful. I'm not so sure if I can recommend stateroom 219 we had during the second cruise: VERY small compared to the oceanview cabin we had a year before (!), very cramped - for example there was a love-seat and small chair you couldn't use because it had been pushed directly next to the bed. It was also so dilapidated and downright dirty that I always used a towel before I dared putting clothes on it. ( That may change after the refurbishment at the end of 2018 - hopefully so!)

The balcony was really the best feature of the cabin - a wrap-around balcony with views to two side, two loungers and two chairs which we used a lot during the cruise even though we didn't like the blaring speakers above us when there was a lecture during sail-outs. On the other hand we four times (!) during that cruise we almost got doused by dirty water including some paper waste from the deck above when they cleaned the deck, and once or twice seemingly buckets sloshed onto the balcony during a storm due to the pool above. We always were lucky - having left the balcony minutes before to get dressed for dinner etc. but in one case I escaped only by seconds... True story!!

The worst with cabin 219 was the noise - the ship rattled so much during docking in the mornings or afternoons that glasses and bottles were thrown onto the floor, and there was quite a lot of noisy vibration during the night, too. The great balcony might lure us into that cabin again but only after a true refurbishment and for the right kind of cruise. The other Vista suites or even the oceanview cabins are a better deal, in my opinion.

Another thing we personally didn't like too much about cabin 219 was the fact that in the evenings we either had to pass through the casino or tiptoe around the people enjoying the evening piano performance before we could enter the hall leading to the cabins. No problem during the day - and it had easy access to the Explorations Café...

We had one cruise on this ship, I will always remember it as a a “washcloth Cruise.”. Vibrations were severe, we also had items thrown from tables onto the floor. The vibrations must be a routine thing because the cabin steward automatically left a stack of wash clothes, am and pm. We were instructed to shove washcloths under uneven, broken table and chair legs and in between drawers. Multiple dresser drawers were broken, as were a couple coffee table legs. The pocket door into the bathroom rattled non stop, we never solved the noise and racket.

Some regulars love to blame vibrations on cabins that were an addition to the ship. We were in an original cabin, not an add on.

We also thought the layout was peculiar. I remember having to cut through occupied areas to get to another area.

Some areas were quite musty, including our walk in closet. As soon as I got home I gathered a huge pile of clothes needing a thorough dry cleaning after 14 days in a musty closet.

We also noted significant issues with ventilation. Casino smoke trails could be seen in adjacent rooms and hallways and it smelled like an old time VFW Hall.

Our cabin AC died repeatedly.

We had one cruise on this ship, I will always remember it as a a “washcloth Cruise.”. Vibrations were severe, we also had items thrown from tables onto the floor. The vibrations must be a routine thing because the cabin steward automatically left a stack of wash clothes, am and pm. We were instructed to shove washcloths under uneven, broken table and chair legs and in between drawers. Multiple dresser drawers were broken, as were a couple coffee table legs. The pocket door into the bathroom rattled non stop, we never solved the noise and racket.

Some regulars love to blame vibrations on cabins that were an addition to the ship. We were in an original cabin, not an add on.

 

We also thought the layout was peculiar. I remember having to cut through occupied areas to get to another area.

Some areas were quite musty, including our walk in closet. As soon as I got home I gathered a huge pile of clothes needing a thorough dry cleaning after 14 days in a musty closet.

We also noted significant issues with ventilation. Casino smoke trails could be seen in adjacent rooms and hallways and it smelled like an old time VFW Hall.

Our cabin AC died repeatedly.

I believe you were last on around 4 - 5 years ago at least?

The P'dam has undergone a lot of major renovations since then, so your reports while real at the time may no longer apply in 2018.

Any comments regarding AB vista suites, Looking at 204. Thanks