Review of Prinsendam Trans-Atlantic, Nov. 2-18, 2017

[RetiredMustang]

10 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the first four pages of the program:

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

10 Nov., at sea (Cont.)

 

Here are the other two pages of the program:

 

 

Here is the dinner menu:

 

 

We had dinner in Pinnacle instead.

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

11 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the first four pages of the program:

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

11 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the other two pages of the program:

 

 

There was a special event today - a short, solemn and moving Remembrance Day service in the show lounge that was well attended. DW and I had had the good fortune to meet a British expat selling the poppies at Funchal, and so were able to wear ones – there were a good many around the ship.

 

Here is the dinner menu:

 

 

I had the scallop and crab gratin and the poussin; DW had the chicken-citrus soup and the New York strip.

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

12 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the first four pages of the program:

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

12 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the other two pages of the program:

 

 

Here is the dinner menu:

 

 

I had the crab and shrimp tower and the lasagna; DW had the Caesar salad and the pot roast.

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

13 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the first four pages of the program:

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

13 Nov., at sea (Cont.)

 

Here are the other two pages of the program:

 

 

Here is the dinner menu:

 

 

I had the vegetable and tortellini soup to start, while DW had the prosciutto; we both then had the prime rib.

 

More later,

Dave

[VennDiagram]

Thank you so much for doing this. The pictures are wonderful. That is a beautiful ship, no wonder she has so many devoted fans.

[Kris73]

Yes thank you so much for doing this. Great job!!!

 

Sent from my VS988 using Forums mobile app

[kazu]

More fabulous posts, Dave :D

 

Thanks for posting the When and Where's.

 

 

Happy to see the organized Bridge and Book Club.

 

 

And, even more - Cellar Master Dinner :D

[Rockers2]

Our first cruise was on the maiden voyage of the Noordam before the current Noordam in 1986... where does the Noordam III fit in the history of Noordam's? Do you know

[Sir PMP]

Our first cruise was on the maiden voyage of the Noordam before the current Noordam in 1986... where does the Noordam III fit in the history of Noordam's? Do you know

 

Well, it's now called the Celebration of Thomson cruises, she has the most unique aft, as you can see on an earlier page when she was in Madeira, together with her sister the Nieuw Amsterdam (now the Spirit) both built in St. Nazaire, France..

[RetiredMustang]

Our first cruise was on the maiden voyage of the Noordam before the current Noordam in 1986... where does the Noordam III fit in the history of Noordam's? Do you know

 

Well, it's now called the Celebration of Thomson cruises, she has the most unique aft, as you can see on an earlier page when she was in Madeira, together with her sister the Nieuw Amsterdam (now the Spirit) both built in St. Nazaire, France..

 

 

Noordam III was the one just before the current Noordam, which is Noordam IV.

 

Also, I learned by doing a Google search of what Marella was that TUI had just very recently changed the name of the Thomson line to Marella. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marella_Cruises

 

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

14 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the first four pages of the program:

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

14 Nov., at sea (Cont.)

 

 

Here are the other two pages of the program:

 

 

Here is the dinner menu:

 

 

I started with the potato and leek soup and DW with the chicken and orzo soup; we both then had the orecchiette.

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

15 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the first four pages of the program:

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

15 Nov., at sea (Cont.)

 

Here are the other two pages of the program:

 

 

Here is the dinner menu, for the third and final gala night:

 

 

I started with the shrimp cocktail, while DW went with the chicken and orzo soup for the second night in a row; we both then ordered the surf and turf, but we swapped and I had both surfs and she had the turfs. We decided to do dessert since there was the flourless chocolate cake, one of our favorites.

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

16 Nov., at sea

 

Here are the first four pages of the program:

 

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

16 Nov., at sea (Cont.)

 

Here are the other two pages of the program:

 

 

Here is the dinner menu:

 

 

I had the mussels and the rigatoni; DW had the sweet potato soup and the tri tip.

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

17 Nov., Half Moon Cay

 

We actually did not get to go ashore at Half Moon Cay. There was a fairly strong wind, apparently from just the wrong direction, and we were not able to run tender operations safely, so the Captain aborted the visit and we went back to sea. The Nieuw Amsterdam was in port as well and was able to conduct tender operations safely:

 

 

Our Captain told us it was because the NA has the newer computer-controlled system to maintain constant position with the azipods – Prinsendam does not have that system.

 

 

After we went back to sea, the staff put together an expanded program for the day and posted the update by the elevator but did not send individual copies to the cabins. The additions were in the categories of earlier openings for the shops and casino, another talk in the show lounge, another ATK demo, etc.

 

Here are the first four pages of the original program:

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

17 Nov., at sea as it turned out

 

Here are the other two pages of the program:

 

 

 

And, for reference, here are the port guide pages:

 

 

 

Here is the dinner menu:

 

 

We ate dinner in the Lido instead, although the menu was similar.

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

18 Nov., debarkation

 

We did not get a daily program, nor a cruise log, but here are the port guide pages:

 

 

 

We had a late afternoon flight to Seattle, so we looked at what the ship had on offer for shore excursions with airport drop-off. There were two – an Everglades airboat ride, and one called Land and Sea that was a combination of bus and walking tour along with a riverboat ride. A couple of years ago, we had taken the Everglades airport excursion on turnaround day of a B2B, so we booked the Land and Sea.

 

We got special stickers, and the usual color-coded tags. Our group was called about 8:30 or so, and we claimed our bags, cleared immigration and walked out to our bus. An interesting point – our packet did not include the usual U.S. Customs form. We thought it was an oversight, so we went to the front office to ask for one. The staff told us that the customs procedure had changed and forms were not required. I don’t know if this was for U.S. and Canadian nationals only, and only for those who had not exceeded the limits on purchases, or what. But, we wrote down what we had bought on a slip of paper and had it handy in case the Bureaucracy Struck Back as we went through the line, but we were never asked -- we just had our passports examined.

 

In any case, we boarded the bus and headed out on our excursion. We drove from the port and up the beach, where I got a shot through the window of Sandy Claus sailboarding, or whatever it was:

 

 

We then drove to the Riverwalk area, past some canals on the way:

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

18 Nov., debarkation

 

At the Riverwalk, we got out and walked a bit down the paths (after a rest stop at public toilets), including past some houses and buildings from Fort Lauderdale’s early days:

 

 

 

 

We then got back on the bus and drove to the marina to board the River Queen riverboat:

 

 

 

More in the next post,

Dave

[RetiredMustang]

18 Nov., debarkation (Cont.)

 

We cast off and went on a ride of about an hour along the canals and the Intracoastal Waterway, passing some amazing mansions of the rich and famous along the way:

 

 

 

 

 

At one point, we approached Port Everglades. We did not get all that close to the piers, but I was able to get a photo of the immense Harmony of the Seas at the north end of the cruise port:

 

 

After that, the boat returned to dock, we got back on the bus, and headed to Fort Lauderdale airport (another bus did the same excursion, but ended up at Miami airport). This was an enjoyable day, and the weather was amazing, clear and warm without being hot and muggy. It certainly was a more interesting way to spend a few extra hours than by sitting around the airport.

 

That concludes my review of Prinsendam’s trans-Atlantic passage. I hope you enjoyed it – thanks to all who have posted kind comments.

Dave