Prinsendam Review
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We just completed the 68 day Prinsendam Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage. It was our first cruise since the 1990s and it was MUCH better than we expected. We loved it and would sail on the Prinsendam again in a heartbeat. We crammed at least 5 peak life experiences into a little under two and a half months. The Panama Canal, The Nazca Lines, Antarctica, Carnival in Rio and the Amazon. Other experiences including, Glacier Alley in Chile, the Falklands, Buenos Aires, Salvador Bahia, and the Railway at the End of the World, to name only a few, were added pluses.
The ports of call are what attracted us to a South America Cruise. Holland America's engagement with Sitka, Alaska, the community where we live, caused us to choose Holland America (HAL supports community events in its ports of call so it is only right that we support HAL.)
But what made this cruise special were our shipmates, a group of curious, intelligent and engaged people, almost all of whom have more cruise experience than we do and were willing to help newbies like us, and the program of lectures and events on the ship. HAL had booked first rate lecturers who put the trip into historical, economic, geological and ecological context for us and prepared us for the ports we were to visit and the areas we sailed through. The combination of our traveling companions and the lectures reminded me of freshman year at college, without the pressure of grades. And there is a well stocked library.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Verandah Ocean-View Stateroom
This is a good cabin. It is midships and "ocean motion" was reasonable. Its location just aft of the atrium made it very convenient. It is two decks up from the dining room, one deck up from the show lounge library, shops and explorer bar and two decks below the Lido. This meant that I used the stairs rather than the elevator. This was good for me. The cabin is on the same deck as the aft swimming pool. Its location right above the library meant that wireless worked from the cabin.
We did not feel engine vibrations and it is in a quiet location.
The cabin has a verandah, which we enjoyed. It has a shower only, which we prefer. If you need a tub this in not your cabin. It is a little small but we found it comfortable enough.
We brought magnetic hooks that gave us places to hang things and some magnetic small "white boards" which allowed us to leave notes for each other. There is one 110 and one 220 electrical outlet. Most of our devices work on either voltage and having a European socket converter helped. Some reviewers for this ship said the beds were too low to stow luggage under. We got our baggage under the beds by lifting a corner. They did fit. Cabin service was first rate.