(This review is in two-parts).

This review is going to be nauseatingly long for several reasons besides my natural tendencies: 1) the Prinsendam is new to Holland America (we were on the third cruise) so there has been curiosity about the ship, 2) we visited some uncommon ports (Riga, Klaipeda, Visby, Esberg) which I had trouble finding information about before the cruise, 3) this was our first cruise on HAL after five in a row on Princess (before that RCL, Celebrity, and Premier) so I have lots of comparisons to make, and 4) I have been so grateful for all the information I have gotten from other posters on Cruise Critic that I wanted to share everything.

I will apologize in advance for any errors I make in assuming that what we experienced is true of other Holland America ships. For example, we were very impressed that lots of dishes at the Lido restaurant were made to order at breakfast and lunch and at the grill. This was great for taste, but a little slow, and might not be feasible on a ship with a larger number of passengers. Please feel free to correct any inaccurate assumptions I make. Read more