Prinsendam 2005 World Tour... it has begun

[Cuttle]

Prinsendam 2005, Barbados

 

 

 

 

 

Grumpy and Slinkie (wishing they were still on board the beautiful Prinsendam)

 

I'll bet! Who wouldn't!

 

Thanks for the latest post. As always, very descriptive. I guess you must be back with your land legs by now and living in the real ;) world.

Regards.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Grumpy, I just love Barbados. We took a Cunard cruise in the early 80's called a "Sail 'n' Stay". Cunard owned a hotel on Barbados (the Paradise Beach) and also one on St. Lucia (La Toc). You could get off the ship at either island, stay the week at the hotel, and get back on (in the same cabin:D ) when it made its way 'round the following week. You then continued the rest of the cruise. It was awesome!!!

 

I wondered if you heard mention of the "Animal Flower Caves" while you were there. They were located on the Atlantic side and you would walk down into the caves which then opened directly to the sea. The "animal flowers" were in the tidal pools there. They were luminescent and absolutely beautiful. But I've looked it up on the internet and found nothing.

I just loved reading your description of Barbados ... we've since visited the island many times by ship, but you told me things I did not know. Thanks!:D

[Slinkiecat]

I loved Barbados too, Heather. My favorite recollection from that port is the farm where our tour bus stopped to see up close the black-bellied sheep. The owner (shepherd?) had corralled them into a wooden-fenced pen beside the road for us to get close to them, and a little lamb escaped through the fence into the crowd of people, running to and fro in an attempt to find its way back in. Finally the attendant was able to catch it with his shepherd's crook and get it back to the flock. I was able to pet it as it ran past me. They were adorable.

 

Slinkie

[Skeeter3]

Grumpy and Slinkie: I was on the 113 day trip with you and talked with you a few times. I'm re-reading your fantastic log and remembering many things I'd forgotten. Great job you did! (I sat next to you at the Capt's Farewell party.)

[Grumpy1]

Hi, Skeeter3, thanks for posting. If Grumpy's brain cells aren't to badly fried... that hot tropical sun will do that, you know... he thinks he knows which one of the cruisemates you were. You were also just to the right of Grumpy in the 100 day Mariner photo, weren't you?

 

Feel free to jump in and add your own comments about the ship, the cruise, the people, the ports, the food... Grumpy and Slinkie certainly enjoyed the cruise and meeting so many nice people like yourself... they hope that you had an equally good time.

 

Grumpy

[Sweetdreams]

Glad you arrived back home safe and sound. Thank you for sharing your journey of a lifetime! Have been catching up of the past 6 or so pages tonight-been busy since we just returned on 5/12 from our cruise to the S.Caribbean. We loved Barbados too, though didn't spend much time on land. Spent our time on a catamaran excursion the whole time & had a blast! Would love to go back & explore more. Again really loved following you journey & plan to copy to re-read again. Can't wait to view all the "Kodak moments" Grumpy. Slinkie, you expressed my exact thoughts about the world beyond ours and we only visited 6 ports. We have amazing freedoms & opportunities here in the US and oh what little insight we have on how others survive in this world. Happy memories to you both as you share these adventures with your family & friends again & again. "Sweetdreams" of your journeys yet to come!

[Mariner05]

Dear Folks:

We arrived home with little problem in New York City/ We had a day a rough waters on the way up to NYC due to a Northeasterly that was off the coast ahead of us but it was not too bad..the Prinsendam cut through the waters valiantly! We had a lovely quiet day on board in Ft. Lauderdale. Some new people embarked in Florida but only about 160 of us disembarked in NYC It was not what we expected at all. Our wonderful captain was at the red carpet to to say good by to us and porters were waiting to take our luggage which was neatly assembled to our transport. We made it home as NYC residents in about a half hour. Sorry to hear you had some difficulty with some luggage but you are home now and happy all went well. Thank you again for being so kind to us on the journey and organizing our CC get together....would you believe I missed the first one!We miss everyone and the ship and of course the wonderful service, When we left Florida the ship went off World Cruise Status which was a disappointment because we thought we were on that status until NYC. The menu and some service changed. We did have some great entertainment on the way up. Thanks again for making the trip so pleasant and keeping us informed throughout the entire trip......you were wonderful! Lou and Grace

[Slinkiecat]

Hi, Grace! I'm not surprised that you had rough waters going up the east coast. We had the same going up and down the west coast. It was a relief to get back into the equatorial zone whenever we strayed too far north or south.

 

I had heard that the service would change some at the official end of the World Tour on Prinsendam. If I had still been on board I think I would have been a bit disappointed too. I loved all the attention of crew in the Lido and La Fontaine at mealtimes. For me, the Lido was tops for breakfast and lunch because of all the choices which you could see, then pick and choose every bite. It was fantastic, every single day, and never a bite wasted. What a way to get spoiled!

 

We checked the book in our cabin after our steward changed several pages, but didn't really find what we looked for - the increased prices on drinks, etc. They seemed to be the same. What did you see changed after FLL?

 

It was our good fortune to have met you and Lou after Capetown. Thank you so much for contacting us and for joining in the get-together in the Crow's Nest at sailaway from Barbados.

 

Slinkie

Still wondering why we were the only ones in pirate costumes that night. haha.

[joangg]

To Grumpy, I, too, enjoyed reading all the wonderful posts, and am sorry the voyage has ended. We took the last round the world cruise on the old Rotterdam in 1997, I think, and the extra entertainment and food were wonderful. Did you post your photos? I haven't found the link. Thanks again for the time you spent at your computer so we could experience the trip vicariously! I haven't given up going on another one, but family and health are prevailing to prevent it at this time. I'll never give up, I'll never give up hoping that is. Joan in Texas

[Skeeter3]

Yes, Grumpy, I'm sitting to your right in the photo. I'm back home now in the Fla Panhandle and suffering World Cruise Withdrawal.

My luggage was delivered right on schedule (one week after leaving the ship in FLL) and I realize that it's to way to go...use the port service for luggage. I couldn't believe it when I heard one passenger say she came on board with 9 suitcases and left with 27. I bought two extra large ones in Hong Kong myself.

Time to start looking at the next cruise!

[cindiedee]

Mea Culpa for not posting the photos sooner - been up to me a&$ in alligators since we got back - going to try to post a link to the photos. The casual photo from Grumpy did not arrive before we left, so with apologies to G&S, they traveled to the islands with us in formal wear. I MISS reading of your WC-it was (almost) like being along with you both - I am a very unappealing shade of green right now - with envy! Welcome home and can't wait to read more about your readjustment to our wonderful state! ;)

Cindiehttp://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mimicindie/album?.dir=/75d0&.src=ph

[cindiedee]

One more try and if this doesn't work, I give up!

 

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mimicindie/album?.dir=/75d0&.src=ph :eek:

[stanford's girl]

Is the review of HMC coming soon? I can't wait to find out how the cruise ended.:)

[Mariner05]

Dear Slink and Grump:

Thank you....for arranging such a great CC get together. We found that the bottles served in the room went up in price in the book in the cabin. They were almost double.We had a bottle of gin in the cabin to keep us company just in case.....left over from the Capetown leg.We really enjoyed the World Cruise service...We met so many wonderful people on the cruise as well. We are enjoying all the goodies we brought home too. We are off on the Crystal Symphony in August with the family to enjoy the Baltic. We are getting all our shore excursions ready and really devoting our attention now to that cruise. We will be back in the Amazon in September all the way to Manaus. We are taking the Veendam from Vancouver to Brazil and ending in Tampa.we will be in Tampa in October. Thanks again for being sooooo nice .You both are great! Lou and Grace

[trubey]

When we left Florida the ship went off World Cruise Status which was a disappointment because we thought we were on that status until NYC. The menu and some service changed.

 

As a past and future Prinsendam cruiser(though probably never a world cruiser), I am curious as to what exactly changed. Can you tell me?

 

susan.

[Slinkiecat]

Hi, Lou and Grace! I guess one should pack one's own supply in the checked luggage (suitably protected, of course). The prices on board the world cruise were unbeatable in the stores in ports everywhere we checked. However, some were only slightly higher.

 

We had no problem with the wine we bought in ports - They were x-rayed and then checked by Security before releasing them to us. I assume that inspection was to make sure these were sealed bottles and not contraband liquor that had been repackaged before boarding.

 

Since I prefer wine myself, it was no problem shopping for bargains in ports. The only problem was that some of those bargains were not of great quality. haha.

 

It was our pleasure to meet you and others boarding the cruise in Cape Town. Please feel free to email me on aol. My address is on my profile.

 

Slinkie

[WCB]

Hi Grumpie and Slinkie,

 

We can't believe the trip has ended two weeks ago!! We are still having withdrawal pains!!

Sure was fun meeting you two, and sharing several evenings in the Crow's Nest. Randall was sure a HOOT! Hope he got to sing again after the trip ended.

Our get-together with Steve Samao was quite imformative. Hope he listened to our comments about updating the music, movies, and entertainment. They need to climb out of the 20's and 30's to appeal to the baby boomers.

We are looking into another trip on the Prinsendam in October 2006, for 62 days from Athens to Ft. Lauderdale, via the west coast of Africa.

Did you hear about the changes the ship made after she left Ft. Lauderdale?

Bet the price of drinks went up. It was nice to have reasonable prices while on the WC.

Hope to see you two again on another cruise!

Bill and Mary Ann

[Member]

G&S, thanks for sharing your ventures with us. We got our Prinsendam documents last week to learn that we're confirmed on an "Early" 6:00pm dining instead of our requested "Main" 8:15pm one (so can have a cocktail after coming back from the Europe land tour in the late afternoon). Were you in the early dining? Was it more time for the show and dancing after dinner?

[Slinkiecat]

One more try and if this doesn't work, I give up!

 

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mimicindie/album?.dir=/75d0&.src=ph :eek:

 

Oooohh!! I always wanted to go to St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Antigua! Thanks so much for taking us there! I hope you had a wonderful time, and it gave us a warm feeling having you share it with us.

 

I hope you carry us on with you.

 

Slinkie and Grumpy

[Grumpy1]

Hi, Lou and Grace... Bill and Mary Ann... Yes the Post Cruise Depression is still with us. No definite plans right now for future cruises, but we're kicking around some ideas... glad you all made it home OK.

 

Stanford's girl... yes, Grumpy hasn't forgotten that he still has to do a report on HMC...

 

cindiedee... looks like Grumpy and Slinkie had a good time in some places they've never been before... dressed a little formal for the occasions, though...

 

Member, Slinkie and Grumpy had the late seating, but have pretty much decided to do an early seating on future cruises. There's definitely more time for the shows and dancing after the early dinner. With late dinner, we were often too tired to enjoy the late show and usually didn't stay up late enough to hit the Ocean bar or Crow's Nest after the show. There was only one or two times that we would have had trouble getting to the dining room on time for early seating after a day on shore, and that was really the main reason for choosing late seating.

 

Grumpy and slinkie hope you enjoy the Prinsendam as much as they did.

 

Grumpy

[cronestein]

Thanks to Grumpy I booked on the very last minute.

Without any documents to Schiphol AMS.

There was the email ticket and hotelvoucher for Sheratonbeach,Ford L.

After 17 yes 17 hours ,

with a lot of delay,I arrived at midnight in the hotel

The next day to the ship------------------------,

Thanks to Ruffin who told me to fill in my -papers- on internet,was boarding

very easy.

Its was a wonderfull voyage,cold from NY.to the Azores,but the sea was endless.

I am going to bed and write later on more.

Back in a GREEN Holland but longing for the next cruise.

 

Eternity , Ingrid

[KathieKata]

Just got back from our 2 week vacation on Longboat Key, FL. To us it was great and the water in the gulf was warm like a bathtub! Always sunny and in the high 85's to 89's everyday!

Grumpy and Slinkie: Glad you made it home and can't wait to find out where you plan on going next. Perhaps in the Fall or Early next year!! Thanks for the great reviews on your World Cruise.

[tjcox9]

After the shortest two weeks of my life, I arrived back at DFW late last night and am trying to get back to reality today.

 

I liked the Prinsendam the first time I cruised on her, and today, she is in better shape that in 2002. It was nice to find Andy, one of the head waiters from the 2002 trip was on board and once we reacquainted, he couldn't do enough for me. Now I know the feeling that many cruisers on HAL mention when this occurs. And on Ponta Delgada, I ran onto a couple that we did three private tours with in 2003 on Celebrity Millenium. The Celebrity Galaxy was in port also that day. They said there was also another couple we toured with from that cruise on board, but they were not on the tour with them. Small world.

 

Service was a little awkward the first few days of the cruise due to 80 new crew members coming on board in NY. It leveled out as the days went by. The entertainment was a bit spotty, but I was usually ready to turn in since we generally didn't finish dinner til 10:15 or so.

 

The crossing was cool, but once we started arriving at ports, the weather was quite nice. The only blip was the first day in Horta where, as warned we were unable to see the caldeira.

 

Good to be back but already planning for the next............

Teresa

[Member]

Grumpy, we'll keep the 6:00pm dining slot not only to go with the flow but also have more sleeping time to prepare for the morning shore excursions which must get ready to depart mostly before 9:00am. And if we want to eat late one particular night, besides showing up a bit late that night, we can always go up to the Lido restaurant if the Pinnacle Grill is full. Or try to arrange something with the matre'd in advance.

Have you been to the A-196 cabin? Any comment on the room setting, balcony and the "private" deck around it?

[Grumpy1]

Member, I haven't been in A196, but know the couple that were in it on the World Tour... They loved it. The balcony is huge, but the deck aft of those cabins is no longer considered to be private... at least that is what we were told shortly before the end of the cruise... but not to worry, the aft decks don't get used all that much anyway.

 

tjcox9... welcome back and we're glad you enjoyed the short two weeks...

 

Ingrid... we're so happy that everything turned out OK and you got on board in Fort Lauderdale without any problem. It would have been nice to meet you as we got off, but things were pretty hectic about that time... perhaps another time.

 

KathieKata... we're glad you enjoyed your stay here in our Sunshine State

 

Grumpy