Ryndam Rules! (A completely unbiased report)

[Vict0riann]

Well, almost completely unbiased! We returned on Saturday from a month away. Half that time was spent on the ms Ryndam in Norway on a "Voyage of the Midnight Sun" - an amazing journey. I thought I would start with a little about the ship, which we have never sailed on before, but now she is one of our favourites.

 

The Captain and crew were the best! Our room stewards, Agos and Eta, knew our names when we arrived, and were friendly and attentive. They told us they look after 19 rooms, all suites, except for one inside stateroom. The two Neptune concierges, Peach and Vincent, were always helpful, arranging dinners on the verandah and also a little drinks party for some of our new friends. The lounge itself was spotless and beautifully decorated - and yummy! This was our first (and probably only - unless we win the lottery) Neptune suite, and we certainly made the most of it (most being 11 pounds for DH and 3 pounds for me!). We used the laundry regularly - it usually came back within 24 hours, and a couple of times when we got it out before 9 a.m., it was back the same day. We had breakfast every morning in the Pinnacle, and found the service great. We went to all the parties - the first formal night there was a party in the Neptune Lounge for suite passengers and we met the Captain, Mark Rowden, his wife, the Cruise Director, Hotel Director, and many others. The next formal night, the Captain threw a party in the Crow's Nest, and he also appeared and chatted at the Mariners' lunch and the Suite passengers' Indonesian lunch. He was frequently seen around the ship, and very approachable. His wife and family were also on board.

 

I thought I would try to add a few photos, so will break off for now.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great start.

You stewards were lucky having only 19 cabins to take care of. We have been in PS and SA and our stewards have had 30 - 34 cabins.

Looking forward to more.

[kazu]

Thanks Ann - it sure sounds like you had a great cruise.

 

Looking forward to hearing more and thanks for taking the time to share.

 

And, of course, welcome home:D

[startwin]

Welcome back:D Glad to hear it was a great cruise, and looking forward to hearing much more about it.

[Vict0riann]

Sorry I had to race off - I almost missed my bone scan appointment! This photo is of the atrium - beautiful, with a wide glass staircase.

 

[Vict0riann]

Here's the Neptune Lounge, with goodies all over the place!

 

[Vict0riann]

And flowers in the Neptune Lounge.

 

[Vict0riann]

We enjoyed all the food on board, of course! The Pinnacle Grill was excellent, the Rotterdam Dining Room and Canaletto were good, and the Lido Restaurant perhaps just a little less good - of course I'm probably comparing it to the Eurodam, which certainly was a lot larger, and so could present the food better. We found the service to be good, and the wine stewards attentive. (And I don't think we ever had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table.) This photo is of the Rotterdam Dining Room - we were in open seating, so sat downstairs, but I had to do a bit of sticky-beaking!

 

[Vict0riann]

Some samples of what we had to put up with! Photo 1 is the Dessert Extravaganza, then the next one will be my last dinner in the Pinnacle - a super-lobstertail.

 

[Vict0riann]

[Vict0riann]

The suite was very comfortable. We heard some sounds from above during the day, but nothing disturbed our sleep at night - if you could call it night. We actually had three days of 24-hour daylight! Someone had said on our roll call, I think, that this would be one cruise where one would want an inside room in order to sleep, but it was such an amazing experience to wake up at, say, 2 a.m., and see full daylight. I wouldn't have missed it!

 

[Vict0riann]

As well as the living/bedroom area, there was a good-sized dressing room, with tons of closet space, and a bathroom with a shower in the bathtub. I will send more info on the room to Joanie.

 

[kazu]

very nice pics Ann. Love the atrium on this ship. Haven't been on her - just on her sister ship. She looks great!

 

Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time.

 

by any chance would there be more:D:D Please???

[Vict0riann]

The verandah was to die for! We spent so much time out there, as we had fantastic weather - shirtsleeve weather at the North Cape, even. I was chatting with a lady on the Lido deck, and I said to her that I thought our captain had made a terrible mistake and driven us to the Bahamas instead of Norway, and she said "Oh, no, they don't have mountains like this in the Bahamas!" It really was balmy. We had dinner twice on the verandah while we cruised the fjords, and it was magical.

 

[Vict0riann]

very nice pics Ann. Love the atrium on this ship. Haven't been on her - just on her sister ship. She looks great!

 

Thanks so much for sharing and taking the time.

 

by any chance would there be more:D:D Please???

 

Ha ha, Jacqui, you may regret having said that. Between us, I think we took a couple of thousand photos!

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks very much for doing a review with pictures, which are awesome. Glad you had a good time on your cruise on the Ryndam.:) We have a soft spot for her as she was our first ship on Hal.

[innlady1]

Thank you, Ann! Great photos and I'm glad you enjoyed Ryndam. We were on her in January/February and loved it as well. Captain Rowden was on board when we were and we've never seen a Captain as engaged with the passengers as he is.

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for the start, looking forward to the rest.

 

Beautiful food presentation.

[sevenseasnomad]

Keep the review coming. Am loving it. We're on Ryndam Christmas week. The desserts are stunning. Did you try any?

 

We usually just take photos, don't eat any of it. Too full from dinner.

[Vict0riann]

Keep the review coming. Am loving it. We're on Ryndam Christmas week. The desserts are stunning. Did you try any?

 

We usually just take photos, don't eat any of it. Too full from dinner.

 

We, too, just take pictures. It almost seems a shame to destroy it! However, I think most passengers did enjoy it all very much. There were crowds around the tables.

[Vict0riann]

Am I allowed to include pictures of the art? It was amazing. I think I'm a little bit psychic - this next just seemed to me to have been painted by someone from Bermuda! It was greatly admired, especially as the Beautiful Ryndam seemed to be in the fjords (or could it be Alaska?)

 

[Vict0riann]

On the Main Deck there was a series of (I think) Dutch prints, which were fascinating.

 

[Vict0riann]

And outside the dining room on the lower level, in a cabinet, there was this beautiful table setting.

 

[1of4]

Oh thank you so much for this thread!

 

I just changed a booking for New Years from the Noordam to the Ryndam. These photos and your experience really help me imagine what we are in for...except the cabin as we are not in a suite.

 

I hope the captain is still onboard as we have a Renewal of Vows scheduled for our anniversary. It would be lovely to know he is that engaging. All 4 of us will be in full highland dress for this event.

 

More photos please!!!!

[Skipper's Mom]

Thanks for posting. We are with you on the Ryndam for the 12/29 sailing! :D