Need Recommendation/Comments Prinsendam Cabin 402

[soonercruisers]

Hello fellow cruisers. We're able to get a very good rate on the Aug. 30, 2006 sailing on the Prinsendam Cabin 402. We know it's on the lowest deck of the ship at the bow. The itinerary is the 16 night European sailing from Rome to Istanbul.

 

Does anyone out there have any comments good or bad about this cabin, ship, or sailing. i.e noise, ship movement, food, ports, etc. ?

 

Thanks ;) :o

[Ides of March]

We just did 105 days in cabin 438 and loved it. We were amidship and under the internet cafe so had wireless access in our room.

 

402 would be right up front and would be smaller than ours because of the curvature of the hull towards the bow. As well it would have 2 potholes as opposed to a full window as we had, assuming you are in an outside version. You will have more vertical motion in some seas as the bow breaks water for the rest of the boat and when we had a day or two of 20' to 30' seas off Patagonia they battened inside hatches over the portholes as a saftey measure as they were underwater at times. There is some shuddering and banging in bigger waves which the bow breaks but no engine noise and vibration which I believe is a problem on the rear third of the ship at least on lower decks.

 

We had friends right up front and except for those two very rough days they thought their cabin was fine.

 

The ship itself and the food were outstanding at least on the World Voyage where the service levels are cranked up a few notches. We are doing two weeks out of Amsterdam next July (2007) primarily, at least for me, to sail the Pdam again.

 

enjoy

 

Ides

[Grumpy1]

I haven't stayed in the cabins on the lower deck, but visited the one right next door to 402. It was just as Ides of March described it. We will be on the August 30 sailing in Cabin 217. There's a rollcall for that cruise. I think we have close to 20 CC members now. Pop over, introduce yourself and join in the discussions for this cruise.

 

We were on the 2005 world cruise, 113 days, and we have the 66 day So America/Antartica booked for 2007. Obviously we like the ship:) We're especially looking forward to the ports on this itinerary, Venice in particular. The food was very good, the service was excellent when we were on the ship.

 

One thing you will notice in that cabin... if the ship drops anchor early in the morning, you WILL be aware of it. :D

[Grumpy1]

We are doing two weeks out of Amsterdam next July (2007) primarily, at least for me, to sail the Pdam again.

 

enjoy

 

Ides

Your favorite hotel Manager popped in for a visit on the Rotterdam while we were aboard. Word is, he will do the world cruise next year on Amsterdam and then retire.

[soonercruisers]

Thanks IDES and Grumpy for your replies. We're well aware of the noises that are inherent when you're practically underwater and at the bow of the ship. We did sail the Mediterranean on a small ship back in 1994 where the seas got kind of rough overnight and needless to say there were a lot of green faces in the morning. If I recall we were near the bow of the ship for that cruise and things do get quite rocking and rolling. We had all to do to keep from falling out of the bed. Hopefully this won't be a repeat performance.

 

Soonercruiser - Frank

 

PS - Grumpy - When are you planning to arrive in Rome prior to sailing and where, if any, is your hotel? I'm planning to fly in on August 29.