Prinsendam Review

4.0 / 5.0
0 reviews

Highs and Lows with Lots of Odors

Review for Transatlantic Cruise on Prinsendam
User Avatar
ClevelandOhio
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Nov 2011

We just returned from our third lengthy cruise on the Prinsendam. We have sailed on her about 100 days in the last three years. There was a time when we would say that the Prinsendam was our favorite ship but now we are saying that we won't be back anytime soon. I guess you can get too much of a good thing. The Prinsendam is a small ship; and because of its size, she is able to get into many ports that the larger ships cannot visit. As a result the itineraries can be very interesting. She looks more like a ship than a floating hotel. There is a certain charm about the Prinsendam that is undeniable.

When we arrived in Civitavecchia, Italy, we were excited about having just spent two and half weeks in London, Paris and Rome and were genuinely excited about a leisurely sail back to the new world on the "elegant explorer". Things didn't exactly work out that way. Upon arrival we were informed that embarkation had been delayed for several hours because the ship had an outbreak of Norovirus and a special cleaning was being completed. Everyone waited pier side in a huge room with about twice as many people as there were chairs. There were lots of elderly people who were unable to sit. Several hours later we were allowed on to the ship and were informed that the ship would be sailing "under code red conditions".

We had endured a norovius outbreak once before. The situation on the Prinsendam was very different than our previous experience. The norovirus outbreak had started on the previous cruise and had been going on for ten days when we got on the ship. We anticipated that it would end quickly. We were wrong. The ship stayed on "noro lockdown" for the first two weeks of the cruise. When we got on the ship, every hard surface on the ship including mirrors, windows, hand rails, art work, and walls had been sprayed with this cloudy disinfectant which was designed to kill the virus. The spray made the ship look dirty and smeared and was sticky. The crew kept spraying every day in the public areas of the ship, but the virus continued to spread. About half way through the code red, the Captain came on the sound system that you can here in every part of the ship and gave us a stern lecture about reporting illness and staying clean. He was obviously angry. Apparently passengers were sick and attempting to hide their illness from the crew. Also passengers were becoming hostile about the mandatory Purell squirts that happened every place you went on the ship. The whole situation was creepy and remained unresolved for another week after the Captain's lecture. I got so tired of touching disinfectant-sprayed sticky surfaces I couldn't stand it.

Cabin Review

1 Helpful Vote
previous reviewnext review

Find a cruise

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.