Top of the World—and the Baltic, too! We signed up for this 35-day extravaganza with some trepidation, as our longest previous cruise was 14-days—and we were not sure if we could stand to be on the ship (or that confined with each other) for that length of time. Turns out we loved every minute of it. As background, we are 60 years old (or so) and this is our 6th cruise. We sailed from Tilbury, England (a London port) on Holland America's MS Prinsendam. We opted for the airport transfer from Heathrow to the ship—which turned out to be a great choice. We waited about half an hour after arrival to collect all the passengers due near our arrival time—picked up passengers at all five terminals in Heathrow—and headed for Tilbury on the M-25. Traffic was horrendous, but painless for us. A worry-free way to get from the airport to the ship. The ship had a Friday boarding for a Saturday sail away—so when we arrived at the passenger terminal, it was empty except for our bus load. Need-less-to-say, the processing and entry onto the ship was painless, and our bags were in our stateroom when we arrived.

We were in room 252 on the Lower Promenade—our choice, because we love walking the deck. The room was about standard size, though the bathroom was larger than normal with a full tub and the room had a large (for a cruise ship) walk in closet with plenty of storage for everything—even for a 35-day voyage. As many reviewers have noted, the Prinsendam is a little long in the tooth, as cruise ships go—but we found it to be well maintained and very comfortable. We had no personal issues with the ship during the entire voyage—though we did hear of sporadic air conditioning/heating and plumbing problems from other passengers we encountered. We met our room steward and his assistant (Yuli and Yulius) upon arrival and they provided terrific service throughout the 35 days. They were low key, but intent on providing good service—and very, very friendly. They always had a smile or a good word...and were great contributors to our enjoyment of the cruise. Our two favorite features of the ship were the (free) self-service laundry rooms and the library. One of the main reasons we chose Holland America is for the library—and though a small ship—the library was well-stocked, cozy, and extremely well-utilized. The librarian—Sabrina—was friendly and helpful—and absorbed unending undeserved haranguing from people with complaints or questions about the internet system—which is co-located with the library. Yes...the internet system is slow, sporadic, and VERY expensive to use—it has been written up many times on nearly all Holland America ships. But...it must be a substantial and reliable revenue source—as they do not seem inclined to change it. We elected "As You Wish" dining and had absolutely no trouble getting a table on a walk-up basis. We enjoy meeting lots of different folks—which is why we select this option. We tended to eat early—around 6:00 pm with no waits...it appeared that there may have been some waits for "as you wish" seating as the time for changeover to the 7:45 fixed seating approached and some diners were languishing over their desserts and coffee. We heard no complaints. In our opinion, the food on board, and particularly in the main dining room was uniformly very good—and occasionally excellent. The executive chef bought fresh fish at the dockside markets in the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Bergen, Norway...so the quality of the seafood was excellent. Only the desserts seemed to lag the rest of the offerings in overall quality and variety. They were fine—just not anything memorable. Given the relatively high average age of the passengers on the cruise—the health club was always busy. Finding a free treadmill or bike was not a sure thing. However, it said a lot about the attitude and fitness of the travelers—which was one of impressive things about the cruise. We did not use the spa. We did use the hot tubs on several occasions—but were disappointed in the relatively tepid temperature that was maintained. They were more like "warm tubs" and in our opinion (especially on the arctic part of the cruise) would have been a great feature had the water been even a little hotter.

We attended quite a few offerings in the showroom during the cruise and found the shows—both the individual entertainers and the on-board singers/dancers to be just that—entertaining. The local talent brought onboard in Iceland was one of the best shows—though certainly not one of the most professional. We did not use the casino...and it appeared that it was very sparsely used throughout the cruise. I suspect that has something to do with the demographics of the passengers on this type of cruise and the Prinsendam. We did patronize the Java Cafe—both for java...and for an afternoon happy hour. It was about the only place on the ship with live news or other programming...which is nice once in a while. The cruise director, Thom, and his assistant, Kevin, did an admirable job arranging entertainment, activities, and information that fit the demographics of the passengers. Thom seems to have a perfect personality for his job (which makes sense) and was a continually upbeat influence throughout the cruise. One of the high points of the cruise was the expert lecturer on board for the Arctic Explorer portion of the cruise. Denis St Onge is an arctic geologist from Ottawa, Canada and recognized expert in his field. On top of that...he is a great communicator and had no problem simplifying some very complex topics so that the mass audience could understand them. His first lecture on "Plate Techtonics" packed the showroom—and attendance was similar at his subsequent lectures. It says a lot about the quality of the lecturer—and the curiosity of the passengers that these lectures were so well attended throughout. Read more