Ryndam Review - February 16 - March 2, 2014

I enjoyed an excellent 14-Day Southern Caribbean cruise onboard the Ryndam, Roundtrip Tampa, Feb. 16 to Mar. 2./14

The CD was Rick Barnes & I thought that he was excellent!

Embarcation began at about 11:10 & it went very smoothly! Both the Check-In & Embarcation process was the most efficient that I have ever experienced with HAL!

I had an Interior Stateroom, Main Deck, with Deni & Dodi as my stateroom stewards. They were highly visible throughout the cruise, very friendly/personable, made up my stateroom early every morning & kept it well maintained/supplied throughout the cruise.

I like to keep my stateroom cool, & with the thermostat kept as low as possible, the temperature remained constant at 70F, (slightly higher than I have ever experienced before in an interior stateroom)! I like it to remain at 63 - 65F day & night!

In my stateroom bathroom, I noticed that the circular-shaped 50 gram size Elemis white 'Pure Zest Cleansing Soap'; (once replaced by a rectangular-shaped 40 gram green 'Fig & Olive my earth' soap), had fortunately, returned to the bathroom! Also, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were actually keys in each of the two top drawers of my bedside stands! The water flow from the bathroom tap was, surprisingly, quite strong, with obviously no 'low-flow' aerator installed! The bathroom linens seemed to have a 'dingy' 'off white' colour to them; I believe due to the ? 'environmentally friendly' detergent that is being used for laundry?

I enjoyed all my meals in the Lido. There was always a large varied selection & the meals were served by an efficient & friendly staff. Although french fries were always on the menu for lunch, one had to ask for an order to be prepared. Strawberries were only available twice; once each at breakfast & lunch! However, I had only to request a bowl of strawberries at any meal, & they were delivered directly to my table! Interestingly, I found that there was a far better selection of food items at lunch than at dinner, including a more extensive offering of desserts! Baked potatoes, (my favourite), though weren't ever offered at dinner!

I enjoyed an excellent 'free' dinner of spaghetti & meatballs, which were the best that I have ever eaten; along with outstanding service, at Canaletto, under 'explore4'. The Canaletto menu looked much the same to me, except that lasagna had been removed from it.

Interestingly enough, the menu board at 'Terrace Grill' was 'interactive'! Perhaps the Ice Cream board in the Lido will be next? The ice cream was too soft for my liking!

I attended a few events, which were quite good, in the 'Showroom At Sea'. BTW, there were three shows every evening; 6:30, 8:00 & 10:00. So, it was quite convenient to be able to dine in the Lido, then proceed to Showroom At Sea for the first show event at 6:30.

I saw several recently released, first-run movies in the Wajang Theater.

There were no hanging ash/butt pots on the (Upper) Promenade Wraparound Deck. There three small ash/butt pots hanging on the railing at the forward end of the Observation Deck 12, where two HAL Managers & a few cruisers would have a smoke every morning. Smoking concerns was never an issue on this cruise.

There were very few children; I believe two as well as a baby in a stroller. This cruise was quite quiet!

I didn't use either the Lido Pool or Seaview Pool & only used the so-called 'Hot" Tub at the Lido once as the water temperature was barely lukewarm!

I added to/updated my HAL t-shirt inventory at the Lido Pool Deck Sale near the beginning of the cruise where t-shirts were selling 3 for $20!

I did only one shore ex in Key West; 'History & Legends', which involved a trolley tour, with stops at the home of Ernest Hemingway & Harry S. Truman's Little White House, both of which were quite interesting & enjoyable!

I observed very few persons using the Internet in the Library near Explorations Cafe, (where the price of a Chai Tea Latte, Tall has increased from $1.85 to $2.65!

Sadly though, Cinnamon Buns are no longer available in Explorations Cafe! The staff said that they had been discontinued on the sailing prior to ours! They have been replaced with three large circular-shaped trays, each holding a different kind of cookie. The case is very bland & plain! Strangely though, the cinnamon buns suddenly & miracuously reappeared for one day only, on the very same day that the baker was giving a demonstation, in the Culinary Arts Center, on how to make them, along with a take home menu!

The disembarcation process went very smoothly & I was off the ship in a timely fashion & on my way to TPA, via HAL transfer, to check-in for my return flight home.

I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise onboard the Ryndam, who would soon be going into drydock. I saw no issues related to (lack of) either maintenance or cleanliness! All the staff were friendly & hard working! HAL rocks!

If anyone has any questions/comments, I would be more than pleased to respond.

Thank you very much for reading & all the best to everyone in their future cruise travel adventures! :)

Your review brings back fond memories of our cruise on the Ryndam in December. We thought the ship looked to be in great condition. I wonder if the dry dock will address some AC conditions?

Thank you for the review.

Thanks for the info ..

Thank you for your review.

Glad you had a wonderful cruise.

We also noticed that the ice cream was too soft on our Nieuw Amsterdam cruise.

Funny -- we like our cabins cold as well-- 62 -66 works for us. Our house in the winter is always set for 66.

Thanks for the helpful review.

I forgot to include in my review that all of the teak loungers, onboard the Ryndam, on the (Wraparound) Upper Promenade Deck appeared to have been stripped of all the varnish, (except for about eight on the Observation Deck, forward, port side)! Since it must be labour intensive to refinish/revarnish the loungers, I would assume that this process is no longer being done. :confused: Although the wooden rails were being sanded & refinished. :)

Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review of your Ryndam cruise. Sounds like you had a good cruise.:)