Embarkation day, wow we are actually here. This is a journey we have tried to take a few times but just could not seem to do it and now, here we are on the final Grand Voyage of the Holland America Prinsendam. This ship is leaving the HAL fleet in the middle of this year and will be sadly missed by many, us included. We sailed on her for 30 days back in 2008 on the Baltic and North Seas, so its good to be back on her for her last big adventure as we go around the continent of South America (including Antartica), we are thrilled and blessed.
We stayed at the Quality Inn hotel in Fort Lauderdale, nice inexpensive, clean hotel that offers a shuttle service both from the airport and to the Cruise Terminal. We did have a problem with our booking which I will need to sort out upon my return and depending how things go over the next week I will fill you on my experience. Take note and heed the warning, when using a discount online service where payment is made in advance, be prepared to lose said payment. Lets just say I am glad it is only a one night loss but still we feel we have been conned. Stay tuned to the end of that story in a separate blog entry. Now back to our ship.
Embarkation was quick and easy as well showed up at the designated 1 pm time and pretty much walked onto the ship. We met Marcel and Marianne surprisingly at the hotel (who would have figured of all the many hotels in Fort Lauderdale that we would be staying at the same one) and traveled with them on the free shuttle to the Port. We were lucky to make it to the dining room for the tail end of the Mariner lunch - its just so much nicer to have a sit down lunch in the dining room rather than in the Lido. We ordered, chatted a bit and then noticed a fellow Yaletown neighbour sitting at a close by table, Ingi, wow. Ingi (sp), is a person we have seen on many cruises and is the person that actually got us interested in living in Yaletown, so fantastic. We then began seeing many more fellow guests we have seen on previous longer cruises, about a dozen I would say. We do find that there are only so many people that like the longer cruises so the chances of seeing some familiar faces is always a good one. Further on that is that those would do take the longer Grand Voyages know what an amazing experience it is over a regular cruise that just keeps them coming back. That said, there are some cut back changes already in this GV but not enough at this point to provide too much negative comments. Stay turned as the cruise continues as I identify both the good and the not so good, I know first world problems. lol.
Welcome mariner cocktail hour was very nice in the show lounge with the band playing in the background, nice, complimentary cocktails and appetizers were all very good as this led to the muster drill at 4 pm. After which was another complimentary drinks and appetizers for all guests at the Lido pool as we were getting set to sail away. Again very nice as we continue to meet new and old guests, so nice on this smaller ship, I think we have a great crowd on this voyage. It always nice to have a few beverages before unpacking, makes the job a bit easier. For those new to the Prinsendam, this ship was designed for longer cruising where all cabins have walk in closets, nice again. For us we took a last minute, very well priced, upgrade to a verandah suite, so we are very happy with not only the room size but we now have a good sized balcony right smack in the middle of the ship. 8 o’clock dinner went very well, it did take a few minutes to get our table organized as we like it but it is now all sorted with little difficulty. We retired to our room right after our dinner as not much happens on a first day of a long cruise. The dining room was only partially full as many only arrive on the day of the cruise and it is usually a long travel day for many. So we have a few sea days to find our sea legs and adjust to our sea life. That is it for now, good night from the Prinsendam from out here as we sail into the Caribbean sea…
Quote of the day from Winnie the Pooh - A Grand adventure is about to begin.
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