Midnight Sun Explorer Cruise Reviewed by Sandra

We were fortunate to be able to experience the Midnight Sun Explorer Cruise on the Holland America Prinsendam July 10 through July 31. This was one of the best cruises we have ever sailed on. The Prinsendam is an elegant ship that only holds 793 guests. The ship was great and the Midnight Sun itinerary was fabulous and even the weather cooperated to make it perfect.

Our cruise was round trip Amsterdam, Holland. It was a 21 day cruise and took us North through the fjords of Norway. We had 7 ports of call in Norway and several days of scenic cruising with narration, including the Polar icecap. We experienced 3 ports in Iceland and one in the Shetland Islands and our final port was Edinburgh, Scotland. Truly a wonderful itinerary.

Embarkation: We were on the ship very quickly even though H.A. apologized for delay as they were having difficulties with the cameras they use to take the passengers photo before they embark the ship.

Cabin: Thrilled was the word for how we felt about our cabin. We were expecting a port hole and had a nice big window, a refrigerator, a tub, and a walk-in closet. We felt that we were in heaven.
The bedding on Holland America is very luxurious and so comfortable. Robes in all cabins. These came in handy the day we "swam the Arctic Circle".
We had a very efficient cabin steward, actually we almost never saw him.
The ship is going to be in dry dock soon for a 26 day refit. They said the cabins are to be redone, especially the bathrooms.

Internet: We took our lap top and found an unsecured signal in several of the cities. We also paid to use the internet in some ports. We did not use internet on the ship. There were places we were that they could not get a signal and it not inexpensive.

Ship in General: The Prinsendam was built to as the luxury cruise ship called the Royal Viking Sun, later it was the Seabourn Sun. It is a luxurious ship and very comfortable. Public spaces have a more roomy feeling than on most ships. Everyone on board seems to love the ship and the Future Cruise person was constantly busy. Many people were booked for two more consecutive cruises following the 21 days we were on. I overheard the Future Cruise person talking to a client telling her that her travel agent would get the credit for the future cruise. The client said she did not want the agent to have the credit. The client was told that she would have to sign a form stating that this was her choice and that she had been given the option to give credit to her agent. I had to restrain myself to keep from putting in my two cents worth. I was glad that the opportunity was given, even if the client did not take it. This ship still has the 'free' Java Bar. Lovely specialty coffees and cookies all day and evening.
There were no problems with the elevators during the entire cruise. With many older passengers this was essential. This ship seemed to have public restrooms in all the right places. Very roomy and spotless at all times and with cloth hand towels.

Dining: he food was excellent from the dining room to the Lido to the chocolates that they put out at 9 pm. Everyone needs late night chocolates! We have never seen so many choices on a cruise menu. 9 entree choices every night (not including the always available chicken or steak). We went to the dining room the first night. Our dinner mates were quite demanding of the staff. We tried it two more nights and both nights the other couple was more than 20 minutes late for dinner. This put a real strain on the staff. They performed well, even under these circumstances but were treated like servants by our table mates. Since we love eating in the Lido, we chose to eat there the rest of the cruise rather than change tables or eat with our rude, inconsiderate new acquaintances.
There was a third couple at the table and they made the same decision after 4 nights. We knew the Lido Manager from a previous cruise and he treated us like royalty, so that made the Lido even more enjoyable. Many of the workers in the Lido remembered our name after only one day. The buffets there were excellent and the evening meal was wonderful. We did not eat in the Pinnacle and noticed some evenings there were not many people dining there. One night they did offer a special 'Sommelier's Dinner' at $75 per person and that night sold out. It included wine with each of 6 or 7 courses.

Casino: They had the cutest small craps table. At first they seemed to be giving away money but that changed later in the cruise. We did enjoy the friendly staff in the casino. Daytimes and several evenings their tables had only a $3 minimum. One night the casino was totally non-smoking.

Shore Excursions: Sometimes we toured on our own and sometimes we took the ship's excursions. We were very pleased with the shore excursions that we purchased from H.A. Also, the shore excursion staff was very helpful and seemed to be open longer hours than on some ships. The port lecturer (not shopping--no recommended stores on this cruise) was extremely helpful. She gave a talk on each port and it was well attended.
She gave lots of info that would help you if you decided to do the port on your own. She is also the one that narrated the scenic cruising. Even though she was a part of the Shore Excursion Staff, she also was there to assist the independent traveler.

Entertainment: They did a good job in providing a wide variety of evening etertainment. In Edinburgh, we had a folkloric show. The singers and dancers for the Prinsendam were probably better than on most ships. That is usually not our favorite kind of show but we went to two of them this cruise. They showed very good current movies in the theatre and seemed to have good movies on TV also. There were two lecturers on for the entire cruise and they were very popular. We enjoyed their lectures on the areas we were traveling to, the people of the regions and the wildlife.
Catholic, Protestant and Jewish services were held on the ship.

Passengers: The passengers were mostly retirees. There were a few young people on board and the kids program was operating and they seemed to be having a wonderful time together. The few young couples that were on board also seemed to be enjoying themselves. There were many more Europeans on board than we usually see on Holland America. We wondered it they had a last minute sale in the Netherlands to fill the ship. I know I did not see any reduction in price here in the States. Of course, it was such a different itinerary, and was round-trip Amsterdam so that would attract local people.

Itinerary: Fabulous itinerary. The ports in Norway and Iceland were so clean, the air was crisp and we had the best weather we could ask for. Bad weather could really make or break this cruise. The scenic cruising of the fjords with so many glaciers was a bonus we did not expect.

Pools and Hot Tubs: They were used even though we were on a very northern itinerary. In fact they had a "Swim the Arctic Circle" event and we have our certificate to prove that we were in the water at that time.

Self-Service Laundry: Thank goodness for this. I always wondered why people washed clothes on their first day of a cruise. Now I know, they have been traveling for 3 weeks before they get on the ship. We made good use of the self-service facilities. They have 2 laundries on the ship. The washers and dryers are free.............yes, free. And get this, they also furnish the detergent. Also 2 ironing boards and irons in each laundry room.

Disembarkation: Disembarkation was very smooth. Numbers were being called by 8 am and people were smoothly moving off the ship. We got a taxi when we left the ship. We find it is usually cheaper than the ship's shuttle. This time due to construction we had to take a long way around to the airport. Our driver tried to get to us with a much higher price than he had told us. We eventually agreed on a price and it was still less than the price of the shuttle times 2.

Impression: We LOVED this ship and this itinerary was very special. The ports were wonderful. We would do it again in a minute. Good job HOLLAND AMERICA.

Prisendam Review - Southern Caribbean Cruise

Dennis and I sailed the Holland America MS Prinsendam for 14 days (Southern Caribbean) over the Christmas and New Years Holidays with our two teenagers...girl 15 and boy 17.
The Prinsendam was built in 1988 as the Royal Viking Sun and then sold to become the Cunard Sun and then the Seabourn Sun. Holland America bought the ship from Seabourn in 2001 and refurbished it. When built in 1988 by Royal Viking it was considered the most elegant ship afloat at that time. Only 38,000 tons..........called "The Elegant Explorer"..........and has an interesting intinerary schedule...........its own Holland America brochure..........and does long voyages and World Cruises. This is not your typical 7-day rotation ship ! The voyage following ours was for 58 days to go to Antartica, Amazon River and around the Horn of South America. You just felt such a history and connection to a by-gone era.
We thought it was a beautiful small ship ! This was our third Holland America cruise---and have sailed the Maasdam and the Veendam in the Caribbean in the past few years. I had heard so much about this ship---its interesting history---and am enthralled with its long voyages. We sailed Seabourn last summer, which we really enjoyed, and love Holland America so were interested to experience their small ship of only 796 passengers with 450 crew.
We found the food and service to be wonderful, attentive and friendly.
We thoroughly enjoyed the dining room every night as well as most lunches and some breakfasts. Lido features fresh cooked-to -order breakfasts (not the big bins of precooked scrambled eggs), which are nice.
The Mariner Parties were top notch. Formal Nights were lovely----------with everyone all dressed up. I did not see a single man not in a Tuxedo and the Gowns were beautiful (people really dressed--wow )! The Staff onboard goes out of their way to get to know your names and to recognize you when they see you ! With a small ship---its a warm feeling. We found many Prinsendam repeat sailors..........many who do this ship every single year for the Holidays (many in the same staterooms).........many who have been on its long voyages. The onboard cruise gal was swamped most of the time....really busy.
This was certainly not the best ship choice for teenagers, which we knew ahead of time. There were only 10 or so onboard for the Holidays and just a few smaller kids. Our kids arrived truly exhausted from a full school/sports/social schedule at home (and a shoulder surgury) and just really wanted to relax, recup and enjoy the Caribbean sunshine. We have sailed a lot and they knew that this would be a quiet ship for them....which it was. They enjoy all the service and non-stop food and room service.We chose this because it was a nice long Holiday voyage. Two pools were tiny and retro "Love Boat" episode style. (Hard to believe how far cruise pools have come since 1988 !!) We enjoyed the Aft Pool and Hot Tub (particularly in the early evening as the sun was starting to set)..........you felt such a close connection to the ocean (as we were so much closer to it than you normally are on a big ship). Spa was gorgeous.
The new Food & Wine onboard cooking demonstrations were fantastic. Congratulations to Holland America on this wonderful new venue on their ships ! I think there should be at least 2-3 of these presentations per voyage. Really fun...........like being in the audience watching Emeril Lagasse.
Our basic oceanview staterooms featured a large walk-in closet (so unusual !), which we really enjoyed. Beds very comfortable. This ship was built before the current pre-fab stateroom shipbuilding methods started. Many of the rooms are different from one another.
My only strong suggestion/criticism to Holland America is that they change their overall approach to their Music Selection (fleetwide). With so many "baby boomers" now in their 60's........it would be so much more fun to have Music from Motown, R&B, "oldies" from the 50's and 60's..........and really kick this up a notch in their clubs for dancing, in the lido, on the elevators, by the pools, and overall to all of their shows. We spent 14 days in the Caribbean and didn't hear ANY Caribbean music onboard (that we remember). There is just too much of a slant towards "Moon River" throughout the ship. Spinning some different tunes would transform some of their lounges........and they would probably sell alot more liquor ! They need to mix it up a bit more like other cruise lines seem to. One lounge is this.........another one that. I don't think this would cost them a nickel more to do this ! On a different note....They DID have the most WONDERFUL strolling Violinists onboard.....(where do you ever get that ??).........what a wonderful touch to dinner ! They stopped at our table every single night and asked what we would like to hear. They were fabulous.........and their could get really lively with their Russian music in one of the lounges. Holland simply needs more interesting VARIETY overall (in our opinion).
This is a terrific ship for an upscale customer looking for a small, elegant ship with wonderful service, quality, attention and nice food. This is not the ship for people looking for tons of activity and hubb-bubb--or the latest and greatest shipboard new designs. It was lovely--and just what we needed for this vacation this time ! Our next scheduled cruise with our kids will be big and "wild and crazy" with 3200 passengers..............we will be fondly reflecting on the upscale class and taste-level of the Prinsendam, I am sure.