Prinsendam Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our second cruise with Holland America, and first on Prinsendam. We have also cruised with Azamara, Oceania, NCL, Windstar, Louis, Katarina and several river cruise operators. This cruise was 20 nights, starting and finishing in Amsterdam.
The ship was looking a bit worn in places. The public areas were in better state. Our cabin was looking tatty.
Our first HAL cruise was on the Zaandam, when we found the food to be boring, bland and repetitive. On this second cruise we again found the food to be mainly pretty boring, with a distinct lack of vegetables. The service in the Lido Market was pretty good, particularly from the two wait staff we saw most of. However the area never seemed very clean – there were always excessive food scraps all over the floor. We did not eat in the Main Dining Room, partly because of reports that the service was extremely slow and we preferred to get through meals at our own pace. Also, on checking the menus for the MDR and the Lido the food was the same in both venues.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Verandah Ocean-View Stateroom
We took an upsell from an ocean view cabin on deck 5 to a verandah cabin on deck 9.
The room was comfortable enough, but looking tatty, particularly around the verandah door.
Our room stewards did a good job. The location was convenient.
Port Reviews
Amsterdam
Embarkation & Disembarkation port. Pier is convenient and easy to access. We walked from our hotel next to the railway station to the ship for embarkation. For disembarkation we walked back to the railway station to catch a train to the airport. We had been to Amsterdam before, so apart from one night pre cruise we did not have extra time there, but there is plenty to see and do if you extend your stay.
Lerwick (Shetland Islands)
We did a ship excursion to Jarlshof. We had a good guide and it was a very interesting day. We were dropped off in Lerwick at the end of the tour. Didn’t have much time left, but were able to have a quick walk around the town before catching the last free shuttle back to the ship dock. The Shetland Islands stop exceeded expectations.
Torshavn (Faroe Islands)
There was a free shuttle to take us in/out of the industrial port. We spent the morning walking around the town. In the afternoon we took a ship excursion for a drive around the island.
Akureyri
This is a base for some interesting territory, but we did not wish to travel to previously visited places, so we spent the day walking the town. There are numerous museums and good shopping.
Isafjord
Another small town, which meant travelling some distance to places of more interest. We went walking. Not many shops if you are looking for souvenirs.
Reykjavik
A good base to do the “Golden Circle” trip from, but we had done it before, so stayed in Reykjavik. There is a large array of museums. As we didn’t see the northern lights on either of our trips to Iceland we went to the Aurora Reykjavik, which is a small museum. It has a great continuous film of northern lights. The info centre at the town hall is useful for free wi fi. There are lots of very interesting shops, though not cheap. The cruise port is some distance from the centre of the city. There was a shuttle, which you had to pay for. We walked into town in about 45 minutes. Fortunately there was only a little light drizzle for part of the time.
Kirkwall
We did a HAL excursion to the Ring of Brodgar, Skara Brae & Skaill House. The Ring of Brodgar & Skara Brae were interesting, Skaill House ordinary. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated into rain and wind and it was very unpleasant. The local council ran a free shuttle from the port into the town of Kirkwall. At the end of our tour we caught it into the town which was quite interesting. A pity about the weather, otherwise we would have spent more time wandering.