The Prinsendam Grand South America 2010 (January 13 to March 24.) We enjoyed seventy days on the Prinsendam and loved every minute of it. There were a few delays along the way and a couple of disappointments but all in all we loved the Grand South American Cruise and would do it again.

Introduction:

Safety. 9/10.The priority on any trip like this has to be safety. The Prinsendam is a strong ship, according to Captain Schoonberdeek and the size of the ship is smaller than most, holding about 700 passengers and 400+crew, comfortably. The ship is old; it was built in 1986 and has changed hands a few times before becoming one of the 'Dam" ships of Holland America. The crew is trained to handle emergencies and there were several dry runs and practices. We felt that the staff was conscious of any possible danger and they are always there when needed. Thank goodness we didn't need it. Wheelchairs and walkers are deftly managed and the staff goes over and above their duty to assist while on the ship and while on shore excursions. The tenders are showing their age. On two occasions there were maintenance problems that were fixed with attendant delays for those going ashore. Condition. 4/10. The Prinsendam is shows signs of needed overhaul of major utilities and heavy equipment. There were maintenance issues during the cruise some of which were ill-timed. The elevators weren't working one day. The plumbing was shut down completely albeit as scheduled, but remained unavailable for a good part of the morning which was most inconvenient. We couldn't flush the toilets; and, another serious malfunction was there was no hot water for more than a half day. Some of our friends had a flood in their cabin that took several days to dry out and clean up. We heard that a pipe burst but we aren't sure about that. There was a quick response to all these problems, the staff did what they could do. The Captain and crew made amends by having free wine at dinner one evening and on another occasion free cocktails before dinner. It would seem that dry docking the ship and completely re-doing the heat, air-conditioning and plumbing system would be time and money well spent because people love this ship Read more