A grand voyage — sailing the Mediterranean and Black seas
by Larry Hughes, Houston, TX
Long cruises have a certain appeal, and Holland America Line offers several. Labeled “grand,” these voyages are in excess of a month in length — some lasting as long as 100 days.
My wife, Phyllis, and I have been on two such cruises. One, titled “Voyage of the Vikings,” began and ended in Boston and followed a route across the North Atlantic and back, with stops in Canada and Europe.
The other grand voyage we took, and the subject of this article, began and ended in Ft. Lauderdale. Lasting 54 days (March 24-May 17, 2010), it included ports in both the Mediterranean and Black seas and served up new experiences, for us, as well as revisits to places we had enjoyed before.
Getting there
There is a decided convenience to beginning and ending a cruise in a US port. The advantage for US citizens is that there are no lengthy flights to endure. Also, on “grand” voyages, if one purchases a cabin at D level or above, Holland America Line (HAL) will provide FedEx baggage service from your home to the ship and back at no cost.
HAL has cruises that depart from the East or West coast, depending on where the ship is going.
After an easy flight from Houston to Ft. Lauderdale on Continental Airlines, we spent a relaxing evening at the Hampton Inn near the Port Everglades cruise terminals. The next morning we arranged a shuttle to the port, and by early afternoon we were aboard the Prinsendam enjoying lunch at the Deck 12 Lido buffet.
The ship
The Prinsendam is our kind of ship: small. With a passenger capacity of 835, it is one of the smallest HAL crafts, but the amenities are many.
One of the most enjoyable amenities, for us, was the large Explorer’s Lounge, a library complete with librarians, reference works, fiction and nonfiction books, computers and games, from Scrabble to jigsaw puzzles.
There was also a showroom with live evening entertainment, a movie theater and a presentation kitchen, not to mention a pianist in the Crow’s Nest and classical string performances in another lounge. For the physically fit, there was a well-equipped health club, including a sauna. And when the ship was at sea, the casino was in operation.
A large number of lecturers gave presentations on a variety of subjects, including the cultures of the people at various stops, historic events, upcoming onshore excursions and special topics such as camera usage and cooking. So one could be as busy as one cared to be.
Some of the lecturers were good, others not so much, but the variety of subjects was good.
Setting sail
“What were the highlights of this grand cruise?” you might ask. I will try to avoid the usual litany of stops we made and focus largely on those events that seemed special to us.
From Ft. Lauderdale we faced a nine-day crossing of the Atlantic, interrupted only by a one-day stop at the French island of St. Barthélemy and the resort city of Gustavia. As we reached the end of our nine days, we were ready for our first port near Europe: Funchal, on the island of Madeira.
There was much to see on Madeira, and several shore excursions were offered as options. Sights in the city of Funchal included a large farmers’ market, a botanical park and, of course, a winery where one could sample and buy the wine of the island: Madeira.
A one-day voyage to Tangier was next on the schedule, but high seas and drifting anchors prevented our visit to that port. Apologies from Captain Gundersen were accompanied by complimentary wine at dinner.
This was the only occasion when the weather was terribly disturbing. We did have a few days when the handrails in the halls were useful, but we had no rollicking, seasickness weather.
Almería, Spain — a new port, for us — was interesting. We toured Cabo de Gato National Park and the rough terrain of the area, but the highlight was a stop in the village of Nijar, with its main-street handicraft shops and a band of girls on their way home from school. I stopped them for some conversation. My Spanish is bad, but their English was better, so we were able to talk. Charming!
We had several more Mediterranean stops before Istanbul and our entry to the Black Sea. All of these stops were memorable, though a couple were not particularly positive.
Ibiza in the Balearic Islands and Katakolon in Greece had little to offer, in our opinion. We were glad we stopped, but the scenery was disappointing and the particular tour we chose in Ibiza did not measure up.
The high point in Katakolon was a horse-drawn wagon ride. I must confess that the reason we stopped there was not to see the village, itself, but because of its closeness to Olympia, to which there were tours.
On to the Black Sea
Istanbul is a great place to visit. This was our second trip to the city. The views from the ship as we passed by were magnificent, the minarets of the mosques standing high on the hillside.
After an overnight in Istanbul, the Prinsendam continued on to the Black Sea, for us a new adventure. There we stopped at four ports: Sochi, Russia; Batumi, Georgia, and Trabzon and Sinop, Turkey.
Sochi, which will host the 2014 Winter Olympics, is known as the Russian Riviera and has many spas and attractive beaches. It was well worth it to take one of the offered excursions. Besides, unless you’re on a cruise-sponsored tour, you need a Russian visa to leave the ship.
In Batumi we took a tour that featured a panorama of the city and a stop at a woodcarver’s studio. The city has a magnificent Gothic church and a great seaside park, once one navigates the narrow streets. Much of the city was under construction, and its cobblestones were in need of replacement.
Our guide in Batumi was a delight. She had spent a year in the United States as an exchange student — one of only three selected by the government — and her English was superb. Her remarks about Batumi and Georgia, itself, were insightful and interesting.
Our tour of Trabzon and Sinop offered a panoramic view of the cities from Boztepe Hill. Sinop, which occupies a long isthmus, has one of the prettiest harbors on the Black Sea.
Mediterranean stops
Back on the Mediterranean, much remained to be seen as we sailed toward Cadiz and Lisbon. Santorini and Malta stood out. The steep cliffs and charming villages of Santorini; the vineyards of both islands, and the walled city of Mdina on Malta will remain in our memories.
After Malta, we spent two days at sea before reaching Cadiz. We took a tour of nearby Seville, about an hour’s drive away. Seville was a delightful city, remarkably free of the debris and graffiti found in most urban areas.
Entering Seville on a broad boulevard, we then moved onto the narrow streets of the city’s interior, visiting a bullfight arena and the Old City with its massive cathedral, one of the word’s largest Gothic buildings.
From Cadiz we took a short, day-long voyage to Lisbon, where the ship docked overnight. Many tours were available both in Lisbon and to nearby villages and cities.
We selected an evening city tour that included a fado show and dinner. The dinner was a disaster — a very tough steak served with potato chips! The tour was expensive as well, $159 for each of us. We complained to HAL but received only an apology.
Lisbon was our final stop on the European continent. We then sailed for two days to Ponta Delgada, on São Miguel in the Azores.
The Azores was a good stop before beginning the return trip across the Atlantic.
Heading home
We found Bermuda, a one-day stop, to be crowded and expensive but pleasant after a long voyage.
A day’s sail away, New York City rose out of the gloom of a cloudy day, its skyline soaring as we strove to make out some familiar buildings. Everyone had to disembark in New York and clear Customs, whether planning on going into the city or not. Many guests ended their cruise there.
An uneventful two-day journey took us back to Ft. Lauderdale. In retrospect, it would have been just as well for us to have disembarked in New York and spent a day or two there before flying home.
This grand voyage cost $22,769 for the two of us, with accommodation in a main-deck, midship (Category D) cabin, plus an additional $700 for taxes, fees and airport transfers. We had received an early-booking discount of $9,100. Our insurance from Travel Guard totaled $2,729 for two (I was 79 and Phyllis, 77).
Shore excursion costs varied, depending on activities and ports. We paid as little as $59 each and as much a $159 each.
Tips were included in the cost of the cruise, although we gave an extra amount to our waitstaff and housekeepers for what we thought was outstanding service.