Live – Rotterdam, Prinsendam, Queen Mary II

[GmaPajama]

I so enjoy following this adventure, Roy. Thank you again for sharing it with us!

[Toots]

Love your live report - we'll be there on August 15th!

[rafinmd]

Thank you, Donna. Toots, I sort of look forward to August 15 but will also be a bit sad as my current voyage is really the highlignt of the adventure. Still, will love QM2 MUCH more than being confined in that awful silver tube.

 

My room on the main deck is immediately below the aft entrance to the Promenade deck. While my veranda on the Rotterdam was about 200 feet wider (1500 vs 1300), I share this one with 600 fewer people. I have a full bath, a walk-in closet, fridge, and picture window. Some vibration and engine noise is transmitted up to my cabin but it seemed to have a sedative effect at night.

 

When I inquired Monday night at guest relations I was told my approval for departure at Edinburgh was not in the records. I stopped by early with my approval letter and it is now noted. With that cleared up, I began my walk and finished about 7. The Prinsendam promenade deck, while smallish at 4 full laps per mile, is open with more of a feeling of being close to the sea than on the Rotterdam. It is more open to the wind and I was facing a moderate but not severe headwind for about 100 feet on each lap. The day was very overcast alternating between moderate and calm seas. Temperatures have been in the mid-60's with quite a chilly wind.

 

Our cruise critic group had an open invitation for breakfast at 9am in the LaFontaine dining room and 7 of us were present. Beyond that I had most of the morning free. The port talk was centered on shore excursions, and the Techspert class was full but Chase promises it will be repeated.

 

Team trivia today was 1:30 and I was free to give it a try. Tri-nation is a bit of a misnomer since the US, UK, Canada, and Australia are all represented, but our diversity didn't help much. We got 10 of 15 right but the winner had 13. This was followed immediately by a port talk by Daniel with a lot of useful information and tea at 3.

 

It was the first of 4 formal nights on the voyage. Most people in the LaFontaine dining room were very elegantly dressed, for quite a festive dinner. We had the same 5 people at the table as the first evening, with a likely 3 permanent no-shows. The Arizona couple celebrated their 45th anniversary with a cake and a song from the crew. The evening went splendidly with the group breaking up only near the start of the evening show.

 

This was the night of the Captain's welcome toast. Captain Roberts introduced the senior officers and employee of the month with a champaign toast and then the show began. I was not a fan of the concept of 6 singers and 2 dancers I saw on the Rotterdam but thought it might work on the more intimate Prinsendam. I may never find out. The eight performers were all very active and dancers and most if not all sang as well. Caliente was an energetic tribute to latin music from West Side Story to Gloria Estefon and more and was supremely enjoyable. The Prinsendam does not have the elaborate stage amenities of the larger ships but the performers more than made up for it.

 

I'll cheat a bit on the parting shot and use Captain Roberts announcement at the welcome toast. We were supposed to be tendering at Scrabster due to a round Britain sailing race using their dock space. The Captain had the welcome news that the sailing vessels have moved on and we will be docking instead. The perfect end to a wonderful day at sea.

 

Roy

 

This post comes to you live from the Elegant explorer.

[kazu]

Wow Roy, it seems hard to be believe that you are at the second stage of your cruises already. Looking forward to hearing about the Elegant Explorer and your experiences.

 

Your blog is wonderful. Thanks so much:D

[RuthC]

I know you said your dining table is on the side, but I wasn't clear on which dining room you are in. Are you in the smaller, more forward room? Or the larger dining room?

This last cruise I was in the smaller dining room and loved it! Several years ago I was advised to stay away from that room, and ask to be in the rear dining room---advice I followed.

This time I was so glad to be in the smaller room. It's gorgeous! Intimate, beautiful surroundings as you watch the foot traffic, and sea, go by.

Thanks again for your continuing reports.

[Love Cruises]

We are especially enjoying this blog of your travels. We loved cruising on the msPrinsendam and look forward to your opinion on this "DAM" ship.

 

We had Linda as our CD on our 25 day cruise in the msMaasdam this past January and IMO she is a top notch CD. She has a great sense of humor and is very outgoing. Her trivia can be hard ... She puts a lot into making up good questions. She loves to put in a lot of 12 Days of Christmas ones so brush up on the song if you can. Would love to sail again with her.

[Toots]

Roy - if you get a chance, could you see if there is still a self-service laundry room with washers and dryers? We'll be on the P. for a month and although I don't relish doing laundry, I'll probably do several loads.

 

Thanks so much!

Brigitte

[RuthC]

...is still a self-service laundry room with washers and dryers?

They were still there when I sailed the Prinsendam in June.

[Toots]

Ruth - you are a fount of knowledge, as always - thank you!

Brigitte

[rafinmd]

toots, I used the self service laundry just yesterday. It's still FREE. RuthC, I am in the smaller forward dining room. I've been in the big room for breakfast, lunch, and tea but not for dinner.

 

I have 2 days of explorers and menus and will try first to transmit them from land. Love Cruises, I'll also try to do a blog (Internet permitting) on my Grande Caribe/Symnphony combination.

 

 

It looks like time to stop sleeping with the curtain open. Dusk fell just as I went to bed but the room was light at 4:15 this morning and the days will just keep getting longer. With a 3-mile walk planned for this afternoon I first went to the lido for coffee and internet then walked 2 miles on deck. We have been making good time and have slowed to about 8 knots for a timely arrival. There was little wind, calm seas, and the 59-degree air (15C) was very pleasant. It was initially about 75% cloud covered but 80% clear by 8:30.

 

Scrabster, Scotland is one of the very northernmost points of the UK mainland. The actual northernmost point is Dunnet Head, about 11 miles from Scrabster. Scrabster is primarily a harbor and port for supplies and ferry services to the Orkney Islands. The real town is at Thurso, a mile and a half away. We tied up at the unused side of the ferry dock about 10, and the gangway was secured about 10:45. My tour was in the afternoon so I took the shuttle into Thurso, a town of about 5-10 thousand. There are a number of shops, bus and train service to Inverness, and a library with free internet. It turned out the internet was fast but it did not seem compatible with my password scheme so I got little done. After a bit of shopping I returned to the ship for lunch and prepared for my tour "Cliff top Hike and Hoborn Head".

 

26 of us gathered on the pier at 1:30 and were divided into 2 groups, each with a guide who had worked for the local conservation agency. We walked out of the port and followed the coast a mile to the Northwest, away from Scrabster and Thurso. While there was a cliff at the end of our walk, for most of the walk the land sloped steeply but not abruptly to the sea. Due to the rocky soil and harsh northern climate there were no trees and the land was used mostly for sheep grazing. After quickly passing a picturesque lighthouse we climbed to about 150 feet and followed a ridge. There were a number of blowholes, a large cairn, and beautiful views of Islands and Dunnet Head, a sometimes home of the Queen Mother. I had worn a flannel shirt and vest on the walk and it turned out to be a bit much for a beautiful warm (75ish) sunny day. I contemplated taking a layer off but was ok as long as the vest was unzipped. A perfect day for a walk.

 

Near the far end of the walk we arrived at a small column shaped island 100 meters from shore with a great collection of birds. In this area we also saw "Devils Bridge" a narrow crack in the cliff perhaps a meter wide with a couple places near the top where the two sides came together into a kind of natural bridge 150 feet above the sea. In ancient times it was a test of bravery for young men to walk across this bridge.

 

I returned from the walk just in time for team trivia. With many people in port the teams were hastily assembled and mine got 10 of fifteen while the winners had 11 correct.

 

Sailaway was at 5:30 and we had a local group of drummers pipers and young dancers out on the pier from 5:00 on with a very nice show. We lost one of our table members to the late seating but the 4 of us remaining enjoyed a wonderful dinner (Note to RuthC: Tonight's featured Culinary Council Chef was Jacques Torres and we had about 6 forms of chocolate for desert: Rocky Road Ice Cream, Chocolate Yogurt, Chocolate Cake, a Chocolate Platter, Brownies, and one that currently escapes me).

 

The evening entertainment was Paul Del Bene. He was kind of a physical comedian with a pantomime and was not really my cup of tea but many people seemed to enjoy it.

 

For today's parting shot, I noticed a particular plaque in the stairwell. Prinsendam's inaugural call to Scrabster was July 27, 2010, exactly 1 year ago today. This was an anniversary well worth celebrating with today's superb weather and visit.

 

Roy

 

This post comes to you live from the Elegant Explorer.

[RuthC]

RuthC, I am in the smaller forward dining room. I've been in the big room for breakfast, lunch, and tea but not for dinner.

Thanks for answering. As you talk about things on the ship, I like to picture it in my mind, so knowing which dining room helps place me.

It looks like time to stop sleeping with the curtain open. Dusk fell just as I went to bed but the room was light at 4:15 this morning and the days will just keep getting longer.

It took me a few tries and a couple of reminders to get my stewards to leave the draperies open! I loved having it bright as afternoon all night long. So neat to roll over and see the scenery. Made it easy to find my way to the bathroom, too. ;)

[ginger and professor]

Roy, we have enjoyed your narrative and are glad that you like the Prinsendam. We spent 21 days on her in June to the North Cape and Murmansk. The smaller size is a wonderful change. The crew does an excellent job. Linda just came on board at the beginning of that cruise. We look forward to sharing the rest of your adventure with you. Tell Linda, "too, da loo," from us.

Ralph and Jean

[bcummin]

I learned that a folded washcloth over my eyes gave me the darkness needed to sleep well in the northern latitudes.

Jack and I enjoyed the 2010 visit to Scrabster.

Thank you for the memories.

 

Barbara

[DeepWaterMariner]

I recall that we did our North Cape cruise with an inside cabin so no problem with the Midnight Sun.

[rafinmd]

When I began my walk at 5:15 the sun had already been up for half an hour but the day started out clear and I got my best near-sunrise picture so far. While starting out clear and warm, by the time we anchored it had turned misty, somewhat chilly, and windy. This had been billed as a docking port, but it appears these smaller towns have limited docking space and with an official looking ship in a prime dock space we had to tender in.

 

We are quite far north, roughly the same latitude as Anchorage. Shetland Island in about 60 miles North to South and 24 miles wide, with Lerwick on the East side about 20 miles from the South end. My tour today was Jarlshof & Scenic Mainland drive. Guide Jim and driver Andrew met us at the tender pier, and we set of on narrow roads to the South. Much of the area is grazing with many sheep along with Shetland Ponies and a substantial cover of peat bogs. The climate is really rather mild being warmed by the Gulf Stream with normal winter lows about -3C or 27F but a lot of wind. Agriculture was a mainstay in earlier times with family farms, and many farmhouse ruins (stone houses formerly using thatched roofs) remain. The main industry today is support for oil production in the North Sea and the Island is quite prosperous.

 

Our destination was Jarlshof, at the southern tip of the island. It was an ancient settlement inhabited approximately 6000 up to 1000 years ago. The initial inhabitants were celtic people hopping up from the south and there are ruins at Jarlshof of

houses from the Bronze and Iron ages. One impressive house was a Broch, a large circular Iron Age house. It was about 60 feet in diameter with 2 concentric stone walls and a circular staircase between the 2 walls leading to floors on the house used for various functions. The Broch was originally about 40 feet high and would have been the home of the chief of the settlement. There was also a Norse long house from roughly 1000 years ago making a total of 5000 years of ruins represented. The settlement was covered over with sand for centuries but shifting sands revealed it around the turn of the 20th century and the site has been dug free. We spent about 30 minutes touring the site.

 

We returned to Lerwick about 1:30, and after lunch I visited the public library which had excellent internet, and did some shopping, returning to the ship about 4 in time for team trivia, which went rather poorly.

 

We lost one more of our party at dinner but gained another couple so we are back to 5 at our table, and had a wonderful dinner, watching Lerwick fade away outside the starboard windows.

 

The evening entertainment in the Showroom at Sea was Sally Jones. She performed a mixture of about 15% standard comedy (mostly lame), 60% standard singing (quite good) and 25% comedic variations of standard songs (superb). She had a great takeoff on the indulgences of being on a cruise and a truly hilarious takeoff on "memory" dealing with the trials and tribulations of those of us at the age where memory starts to fade. It started with a litany of the common remedies (Ginko, etc) to the simple "senior moments" to "was I going up the stairs or down". A wonderful highlight of a very enjoyable evening, and she'll be back for a Sunday matinee.

 

I'll end with a parting shot on potentially dangerous territory. The phasing out of trays in the HAL lido has been somewhat lamented. I must say the trays were probably nice but as Sally Jones tribute to indulgence suggests they do not seem to me are necessary. I have found the usual platters in the lido are quite large and can easily handle any quantity of food I would ever want to put on a tray. JMO.

 

Roy

 

This post comes to you live from the Prinsendam

[rgaudet]

Enjoying your posts Roy. Also like the photos, menus and programs on your blog. How have you enjoyed the food on this voyage? Comparable to the Rotterdam?

[rafinmd]

Ginger and professor, message delivered. Rob, I'd say the food is comparable to the Rotterdam with one exception. In the lido, a lot more things seem to be cooked fresh to order rather than precooked (pancakes, french toast, etc). Overall, I'd rate the corresponding food a half step below Britannia and a half step above Kings Court.

 

The seas turned moderate overnight and we had a noticeable but moderate pitch most of the evening. It has been overcast since Lerwick with about 20-knot winds and temperatures in the mid-50's (15C). For most of my morning walk we had either a significant head or tail wind nearly all the way around the ship.

 

It was a bit unusual today that we were not the only cruise ship in port but we were the largest. Nearby in the harbor the Marco Polo was tendering passengers to shore.

 

The Faroe Islands are an self governing possession of Denmark. There are 18 islands, all but 2 inhabited and connected by a network of bridges, tunnels, and ferries. About 20,000 of the 49,000 residents live in or near the capitol of Torshavn. Our visit came on a national holiday, the festival of St. Olaf (representing the anniversary of Christianity coming to the islands), and most shops were closed.

 

My tour was "Countryside of Eysturoy". The "East Island" is reached by a bridge across "the Atlantic", roughly 500 meters between the two islands. After driving an hour we stopped at a "woolen mill". While there was a short speech on the weaving process it was mostly a showroom. It was not my idea on a great stop but with 1 toilet for 45 people we needed most of the hour there. We continued on to Noroagata where we toured a church built around 1800 and used until 1995, along with traditional homes and a boatshop. The buildings were wood with grass roofs. Trees do not grow on the Faroe Islands as the many sheep will eat them before they have a chance, but either driftwood or imported wood is used. The grass roofs have excellent insulating qualities and a lifespan of about 20 years. The buildings in the Noroagata complex were black but most of the current houses in Torshavn are painted in bright pastels making the villages very colorful.

 

The Faroe Islands are quite hilly with elevations of about 300 meters (1000 feet) and settlements and roads hugging the coast line. Where it is necessary to cross the summits most roads now use tunnels, but on our return to the ship we came across the summit offering a combination of scenic views and dense fog. We passed 2 radar installations (American and Danish) from the cold war era but both are being phased out. We returned to the ship about 2.

 

After lunch on board I walked briefly into town. There had been celebrations and a parade (I believe around noon) but by 3 there was not much activity except for a few people in beautiful traditional attire. I returned to the ship for trivia (Very unsuccessful) and a 5PM sailaway.

 

The evening show is guitarist Robin Hill. He played mostly traditional guitar music but included some unexpected numbers also, sometimes accompanied by the Prinsendam Orchestra. I have another favorite guitar virtuoso but Mr. Hill put on an excellent show and a fitting prelude to the fantastic Filipino Crew Show. That 11PM performance was a stretch for my schedule but a worthwhile one and gaining an hour overnight was a bonus. While I am a world champion party pooper I did take advantage of my late activity tonight to stop by a few of the other venues on the way to the crew show. Robin was great in the Crow’s nest. The Moonlight Trio in Explorers Lounge and Prinsendam Orchestra in the Ocean bar were also good but if staying up late Robin would be my first choice.

 

As a parting shot tonight, I have up to now been to essentially new ports on this trip. I have of course been to New York and London before but Torshavn was the first actual port that I am revisiting (previously in 2006). Torshavn and the Filipino Crew Show as the first repeated experiences coming in the same day were a welcome combination.

 

Roy

[erewhon]

Roy,

Am enjoying the reports of your cruise.

 

The late Queen Mother purchased the Castle of Mey shortly after she was widowed and created a home there. It is a lovely little Castle, we were fortunate to visit there on one of our trips to Scotland.

[rafinmd]

The morning was overcast almost to the point of drizzle but the wind was down and the temperature was still around 54 (15C), allowing a pleasant walk on the promenade deck. We anchored about 9 and I had one of the first excursions, moving directly from the tender to our excursion boat for our Papey Island tour.

 

 

Our boat was a yacht which slept about 6 people but the only seating was room for about 5 around the dining chair, a strange choice of boat for a 45 minute ride for 15 people. About 2/3 of the way through the ride we paused to watch a number of seals on some rocks near our island.

 

Papey is a privately owned island. For many years it was a sheep ranch and was home to a family of about 20 people. There were several houses and a small church with cemetery. The last of the permanent residents died in 2003, one family member still stays on the island in the summer months. A few of the buildings are in ruins but most are still well maintained. While there are many birds on the island, they stay on seaside cliffs and are not seen from land; the only animal I saw from the island was a solitary sheep in the distance. We explored the island for about 45 minutes and then returned to the boat. Circling the island there were thousands of puffins and related species of birds on the steep shores. We returned to Djupivogur around noon. Our boat passed the ship and fog was starting to roll in leaving the bottom half clear and the upper decks taking on a ghostly appearance. I looked briefly around town and then returned to the ship for lunch.

 

I returned to town in mid-afternoon but did not really find much of interest in the settlement. On return to the ship I had missed the start of Team Trivia and all the teams were at capacity when I arrived. In the afternoon the fog came in quite thickly and has remained quite heavy into the evening. There were reports that yesterday was a clear sunny day in Djupivogur. I listened to the Moonlight Trio in the Explorers lounge for a while before heading to the Showroom at Sea. The Prinsendam Singers and Dancers in Escapade, an energetic collection of songs celebrating music by and about women.

 

For today’s parting shot, the comments I get from these accounts are often valuable to me. I got the following comment from Cruise Critic Member RuthC:

 

“It took me a few tries and a couple of reminders to get my stewards to leave the draperies open! I loved having it bright as afternoon all night long. So neat to roll over and see the scenery. Made it easy to find my way to the bathroom, too.”

 

I tried it with the curtains open last night and found I can handle moderate amounts of light at night. Thank youk RuthC

 

Roy

 

This post comes to you live from the Prinsendam.

 

Day P5 - July 29 – Torshavn, Faroe Is

 

Ginger and professor, message delivered. Rob, I'd say the food is comparable to the Rotterdam with one exception. In the lido, a lot more things seem to be cooked fresh to order rather than precooked (pancakes, french toast, etc). Overall, I'd rate the corresponding food a half step below Britannia and a half step above Kings Court.

 

The seas turned moderate overnight and we had a noticeable but moderate pitch most of the evening. It has been overcast since Lerwick with about 20-knot winds and temperatures in the mid-50's (15C). For most of my morning walk we had either a significant head or tail wind nearly all the way around the ship.

 

It was a bit unusual today that we were not the only cruise ship in port but we were the largest. Nearby in the harbor the Marco Polo was tendering passengers to shore.

 

The Faroe Islands are an self governing possession of Denmark. There are 18 islands, all but 2 inhabited and connected by a network of bridges, tunnels, and ferries. About 20,000 of the 49,000 residents live in or near the capitol of Torshavn. Our visit came on a national holiday, the festival of St. Olaf (representing the anniversary of Christianity coming to the islands), and most shops were closed.

 

My tour was "Countryside of Eysturoy". The "East Island" is reached by a bridge across "the Atlantic", roughly 500 meters between the two islands. After driving an hour we stopped at a "woolen mill". While there was a short speech on the weaving process it was mostly a showroom. It was not my idea on a great stop but with 1 toilet for 45 people we needed most of the hour there. We continued on to Noroagata where we toured a church built around 1800 and used until 1995, along with traditional homes and a boatshop. The buildings were wood with grass roofs. Trees do not grow on the Faroe Islands as the many sheep will eat them before they have a chance, but either driftwood or imported wood is used. The grass roofs have excellent insulating qualities and a lifespan of about 20 years. The buildings in the Noroagata complex were black but most of the current houses in Torshavn are painted in bright pastels making the villages very colorful.

 

The Faroe Islands are quite hilly with elevations of about 300 meters (1000 feet) and settlements and roads hugging the coast line. Where it is necessary to cross the summits most roads now use tunnels, but on our return to the ship we came across the summit offering a combination of scenic views and dense fog. We passed 2 radar installations (American and Danish) from the cold war era but both are being phased out. We returned to the ship about 2.

 

After lunch on board I walked briefly into town. There had been celebrations and a parade (I believe around noon) but by 3 there was not much activity except for a few people in beautiful traditional attire. I returned to the ship for trivia (Very unsuccessful) and a 5PM sailaway.

 

The evening show is guitarist Robin Hill. He played mostly traditional guitar music but included some unexpected numbers also, sometimes accompanied by the Prinsendam Orchestra. I have another favorite guitar virtuoso but Mr. Hill put on an excellent show and a fitting prelude to the fantastic Filipino Crew Show. That 11PM performance was a stretch for my schedule but a worthwhile one and gaining an hour overnight was a bonus. While I am a world champion party pooper I did take advantage of my late activity tonight to stop by a few of the other venues on the way to the crew show. Robin was great in the Crow’s nest. The Moonlight Trio in Explorers Lounge and Prinsendam Orchestra in the Ocean bar were also good but if staying up late Robin would be my first choice.

 

As a parting shot tonight, I have up to now been to essentially new ports on this trip. I have of course been to New York and London before but Torshavn was the first actual port that I am revisiting (previously in 2006). Torshavn and the Filipino Crew Show as the first repeated experiences coming in the same day were a welcome combination.

 

Roy

 

This post comes to you live from the Elegant Explorer

[Keith1010]

Roy, just wanted to let you know that I continue to enjoy your live posts.

 

Your visit to the privately owned Island sounded wonderful along with seeing the thousands of those very cute Puffins.

 

Like you, it's nice to experience new ports but also nice to revisit others.

 

Continue to enjoy!

 

Keith

[kazu]

Enjoying 'cruising with you' Roy. your blog is wonderful. The menus look quite decent. i think I could suffer through a few meals :rolleyes:. How do you like the elegant explorer?

[ironin]

Roy, your Papey excursion sounds wonderful to me despite the shortage of seats on the boat (then again, I wasn't one of those w/out a seat :D) Hope you got a relatively close view of the puffins on the cliffs. Remarkable birds.

 

Thanks so much for posting photos on the blog, too.

 

Reminder: Roy's blog includes photos, menus and daily programs from these three voyages and can be found here:

Arctic Triple.

[rafinmd]

Enjoying 'cruising with you' Roy. your blog is wonderful. The menus look quite decent. i think I could suffer through a few meals :rolleyes:. How do you like the elegant explorer?

 

I had planned to do this post, and I think now is the time (with a few updates)

 

Some of the readers know that my cruise line of choice is Crystal, and I should deal with that here. Would I prefer to be doing this on a Crystal ship. ABSOLUTELY! But Crystal tends to be an expensive company and this is an expensive itinerary. My budget works with one expensive but stacking two on top of each other is a challenge(But more on that later.). If not on the Elegant Explorer I wouldn't be on the other ship; I’d be home making my own bed, throwing what passes for meals into the microwave, and looking out the window at the same back yard every morning. Do I need to insult your intelligence by spelling out which of those I prefer. I don’t think so.

 

While this is my 4th voyage on HAL, it’s actually the first time I have chosen it. My first time was the last season of Rotterdam V and the objective was to experience a classic ship before it faded into history. Who’s ship it was never was a consideration. My 2nd on the Zaandam was totally outside my choosing as it was part of a package for a land tour with an unrelated company. My selection of the Prinsendam, was based on a final selection between the Ryndam and Prinsendam which I discussed with Love Cruises in the lounge of the Grande Caribe last July, clearly a HAL choice. The Rotterdam? Actually I’d just rather be on any ship rather than an airplane and would even have booked NCL if they were the only ones with a convenient crossing. Even if you reject that argument, I'll point out that I CHOSE the Prinsendam about 2 months before even considering the Rotterdam, so clearly Prinsendam is my FIRST choice of a HAL ship.

 

I'll be choosing HAL again in February. I was drawn to a Crystal world cruise segment from Singapore to Hong Kong but it is one of their very expensive itineraries. By moving to the Zaandam’s February Asia Explorer I will save enough money to cover a 7-day Crystal roundtrip from Montreal with very unusual port calls like St. Pierre and Miquelon along with their 14-day northern Atlantic crossing AND getting to that crossing via QM2. For me 3 weeks on Cunard/HAL including a bucket-list Asia cruise AND 3 weeks on Crystal for the price of a 16-day Crystal voyage is a real win-win.

 

Back to the original question. I'll start with my peeves about the Prinsendam, beginning with what I find an annoying circular staircase at the front near the front desk. It seems to be almost intentionally designed to be difficult and time consuming to get between the bottom landing of 1 stair and the top landing of the next. That’s worth a formal complaint but HAL didn't design it and I don’t know how to reach Royal Viking’s complaint department. In the same area the showroom at sea is smallish and not easily expanded but there are far too many tables and chairs crowded into a small area. The furniture is packed so closely together it is very difficult to get a person into each chair. It’s ok where there are 2 evening shows but for something like Sally Jones matinee performance it’s a real problem. At the rear, HAL needs to consider what the deck 12 is supposed to be. While jogging is prohibited on deck 7 and deck 12 is labeled and signed as a "jogging track", much of it has been covered with putting greens leaving a treacherous 8 inches of space in some areas for jogging. A deck below, the lido can be very crowded. There is a nice aft outdoor area that can be nice but is not viable in cool weather. Moving the aft lido partition back a few feet should not be a big problem and would help a lot. Better yet, extend deck 111 back about 5 meters and add a stairway down to the Seaview pool. Having an exterior stairway that runs from the promenade deck to the lido has been a favorite place of mine on other ships and I really miss it on the Prinsendam.

 

Those peeves aside, the Prinsendam is a very tasteful, traditional, and beautiful ship, generally well laid out and easy to get around. It is a wonderful environment, but that's not really what's important to me in a ship. The two most telling features about a ship are where it goes and the crew. Does the Prinsendam ever do ordinary itineraries? I can't think of any. The Elegant Explorer is a ship for serious travelers looking for new experiences and that helps make the atmosphere special.

 

What is really special about the Prinsendam is the crew. Much of what is great about a crew crew is little things that don't translate well to listing in a narrative and this crew has done that but there are also a few specific things I'll mention.,

 

1. In doing my blog I've been posting menus. They are not routinely given to passengers in regular cabins. On the Rotterdam I was furnished menus to scan by a suite passenger but asked my waiter for copies as a backup. I was promised the menus but never received them. On the Prinsendam I asked Farula once the first day and they have been given to me at the close of every meal without any need for reminders.

2. A few days into the cruise a senior housekeeper dropped by my room just to ask "Is everything ok in your room?" I also got a call from the front desk with similar questions about the voyage in general.

 

These touches are not conclusive but they are consistent with the overall feeling of service I've gotten from the crew in general.

 

Kazu, I guess the best way to answer your question is this. I've sailed about 20 cruise ships, and if the itinerary is right I'll consider any ship or cruise line. Up to now there have been 5 ships (all run by either Blount Small Ships or Crystal) where I've said "I want to go back to that ship". There is now a sixth. I haven't said that about ships where it might be expected like the Silver Whisper or the Wind Surf, but I will say it about the Elegant Explorer. While I'm not sure this will happen, I've said it strongly enough that I have a booking to come back.

 

While this isn't a regular daily post I do have a parting shot. On August 13 about 40 of my friends from the Crystal forum will be boarding the Symphony for 12 days in Alaska. Bon voyage to keith1010, nancygp, judith02, digtexas, and all the rest of you.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

We are preparing to sail north where internet service is unreliable. I may be a few days delayed but I will post when internet returns.

 

All menus and programs should be up to date. My internet cafe didn't support pop mail so I'll post this with pictures when I return to the ship.

 

I slept until about 5:30 today, and after coffee took about a 40-minute walk from the port. As I returned to the Prinsendam about 6:45, the Maasdam was just starting to sail past us and I watched her dock from the Lido.

 

Our Cruise Critic group had booked a tour with Netbus Iceland for a very attractive price. Ken(pronounced yen) picked the 15 of us at 9 in a nice 16-seat minibus for a Golden Circle tour. After briefly hitting the highlights of Reykjavik (Parliament, Church, Harbor, and Perlan, an interesting observation dome built atop a group of hot water tanks) we headed out of the city.

 

Ken explained that Iceland was first settled in the 9th century as a possession of Norway in an arrangement both places found beneficial. Denmark came into the alliance and in the 15th century Norway lost some power and Denmark became the less benevolent ruler. After a long, nonviolent, struggle, Iceland gained it's independence in 1944. The language is a derivation of Old Norse, once common with Norway and Denmark but Icelandic has changed less than the other 2 languages and is now distinct. Iceland is about the size of Kentucky but has a population of only 300,000, about half near Reykjavik. The chief economic engines are fishing, tourism, and industry (particularly aluminum due to the abundance of electricity.

 

Our first stop was Pingvellir, home to the first Icelandic "Parliament" in the 9th through 15th centuries. In the days before written law, this was a group of chiefs who remembered and interpreted the law. In nomadic times there was no fixed building but a rock served as a landmark. This site is also at a place where the North American geologic plane meets the European one with a small rift valley between them. In some nearby places people can walk from geological North America to Europe, although here the rift is a mile or so wide.

 

We continued on to Geysir, an active geothermal area with a number of active geysers, and also a lunch stop. Here a drizzle caught up with us as an annoying rain, and out stay was rather short. Just a few minutes away was Gullfoss, a large waterfall, falling in 2 stages. At the lower stage the falls run parallel to the stream and the water falls into a narrow gorge, an arrangement reminding me somewhat of Africa's Victoria Falls.

 

Our outbound journey stayed near the coastline, on a fairly level route. We returned to Reykjavik via an inland mountainous route, stopping at Kerio, a large volcanic crater active 6500 years ago. The crater has a lake in the bottom which rises and falls with the water table. Ken returned us to the Elegant Explorer about 5:45.

 

A local group of singers and dancers came on board for the evening shows, "An Icelandic Journey through the History of Music". In a rousing show they started with Icelandic fold songs, morphing quickly into Abba's "I Will Survive" styled as an Icelandic folk song, and continued with a rousing combination of Icelandic Music, 50;s rock, and most every hit song Abba released. It was a wonderful evening.

 

After the show, I watched the Maasdam sail past my window about 10:30

 

My parting shot today will highlight one of the tourist attractions we visited today. Usually, storage tanks are a hideous eyesore. What a great idea Reykjavik had to take a group of ugly hot water tanks and surround them with a beautiful observation tower, shops, and restaurants. A stroke of pure genius.

 

Roy

 

This post comes to you live from Tea Kaffi in Reykjavik.

[RuthC]

There is a nice aft outdoor area that can be nice but is not viable in cool weather. Moving the aft lido partition back a few feet should not be a big problem and would help a lot.

Although I'm able to enjoy it out there unless the wind is coming directly on, I agree that it can get too cool for comfort out there. So, you'll be happy to know that there are plans to enclose the area, making it sort of a wintergarden. At least that's what I was told when I was there in June.

Personally, I'd be happy if they would just replace that canvas "roof". It is most disconcerting to be near the rail when the ship shifts, and the puddled water comes pouring down!