My review of Ryndam

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ...

[BlueLadyBlue]

What a lovely review, thank you for taking the time to share with us.

[Beejay4016]

Top review. Thank you so much for such detail. We are sailing on her in August next year and your fantastic review just whets the appetite. :)

[LoveHAL]

Thanks for the detailed review. WE were on the same cruise, just two doors down from Penguin and the location was amazing. The Ryndam is in beautiful shape and the service excellent.

 

As for the entertainment, the Cast shows were excellent (and I usually avoid them because of the poor quality). We were told that these shows (four) were all pretty new and are currently being used on two HAL ships (with more to come on board).

 

About 10 days into the 15-day voyage I decided that this cruise would be called "A vacation voyage of Highlights" because we truly enjoyed every aspect of the adventure.

 

If you are thinking about the MS Ryndam, do not have any concerns. By the way, our air conditioning worked just fine throughout the entire cruise.

[triplets+1]

Thank you PenguinScott! We are looking to sail on the Ryndam this summer to Norway and your review is very encouraging! I didn't know that there is Mass and Bible Study on the HAL ships. OK. Whatever. I really appreciate all the details! p.s. how is the soft serve? We were on DCL and the soft serve was quite "icy". Of course I enjoyed it anyway:rolleyes:!

[triplets+1]

Plan on doing a pictorial of the Ryndam upon my return home. That's what seems so draw so much interest. Besides, pictures speak a thousands words.

 

Please do! We're looking forward to seeing more pics! If you have the chance to take pictures of the teen spaces (Oasis and Loft and "computer game" room) we'd be thrilled!

[dvcmember]

Please do! We're looking forward to seeing more pics! If you have the chance to take pictures of the teen spaces (Oasis and Loft and "computer game" room) we'd be thrilled!

 

My goal is to make a book that includes all areas of the ship. The Oasis looks cool even for adults. I want to have the memories for a lifetime to come. Now all ihave to do is figure out how to post the pics online. I'll figure it out eventually.

[2ptu/000]

I was on this cruise also. I think the bible study was something this particular pastor did. I've never seen it before on a HAL ship.

The soft serve was awful, very grainy. The ice cream was served very soft so it melted before you could eat it. Those are probably the only two things I could find wrong with this ship.

[Riversedge]

We were on this cruise also but my husband and I were laughing when we read your review about how our thoughts were exactly the opposite of yours on several points. We thought the new cruise director that we picked up in Barcelona was one of the worst we've had.

 

Will agree that Captain Timmers was the best Captain we've had on any ship anywhere. So entertaining and approachable. When I was walking the deck he even walked once around with me. We would sail again on any Holland America ship just to have the joy of experiencing him again.

 

While our food was prepared well, we did not care for the menu choices. They seemed to put grits in place of potatoes on several of the options. Maybe it comes from being a Northern gal, but braised beef on a bed of spinach and cheesy grits is not a good thing. We didn't care for the desserts at all and the honey tart you liked the best we couldn't even finish. It's a good thing we all like different things! Of course we still managed to gain 5 pounds.....

 

We had an excellent cruise and enjoyed every minute of it. We had issues with the deck chairs above us slamming down and being dragged across the deck waking us every morning at 6:40 a.m. We put up with it the first two weeks because we were arriving in port and had to get up anyways. But at the beginning of the crossing we finally turned in a complaint. The next day they started the process at 8:00 and sent us a bottle of wine with a note of apology. Can't get any better service than that. That's the only complaint we made. Other than asking for ice to be delivered twice a day we didn't need to ask for anything else.

 

We thought they could have had better lecturers (instead of one of them always forgetting what he was going to say) and it would have been nice to have had some port talks about the ports in Europe rather than just their talks to promote their tours. Since we don't take ship tours we would have liked to have known more about the port before we got off.

 

We had a bad experience in the Pinnacle Grill and probably won't ever do that again because we felt the same way on the last cruise. If I'm going to pay $50.00 for dinner I expect to be served more than one scallop in the first hour. And I expect ice in my water and to have my glass refilled. Didn't happen although they did bring ice 20 minutes after our request.

 

There were lots of great memories and we had such perfect weather in all of the ports on our 29 day cruise. So lucky for this time of year. It was a very enjoyable cruise and really appreciated our balcony on this long cruise. We spent a lot of time out there relaxing and watching the ocean.

[sevenseasnomad]

Special thanks for your review and thanks to those who gave differing opinions. We sail on Ryndam in 27 days, so it's good to read differing perspectives.

 

One aspect all of you seem to agree upon is Captain Timmers. We do hope he is still aboard, as he sounds like a fabulous captain and all-around good guy. This will be our 7th HAL cruise. On several of them, we never saw the captain. He would make daily announcements to update ship position etc., but they could have been playing a recording! It's nice to hear of a captain who enjoys occasionally mingling with passengers. We are really looking forward to this holiday cruise.

[Hlitner]

Thanks for your review. We would agree that the lack of an objective port lecturer is a real negative factor on most HA cruises (this has been discussed in other threads). HAL used to have some excellent port experts (Frank Buckingham comes quickly to mind) but it seems that the line has eliminated those positions from all but a few cruises (usually Grand Cruises). Not sure if this is just one more cut-back in staffing to save money...or whether its a veiled attempt to keep cruisers ignorant of independent options in ports and thus sell more excursions (a nice profit center).

 

By the way, speaking of the lack of port lecturers, we strongly recommend reading the various Ports of Call forums here on these CC boards. You will find all kinds of detailed info and there are quite a few folks (including moi) always willing to answer specific questions and give detailed instructions on how to handle most ports on your own (sans excursions).

 

Hank

[sammiedawg]

The biggest slip Holland America has made is in the port lecturer department. On a recent 14 day cruise to Norway the so called expert knew less than passengers about the ports. I suspect she knew next to nothing about the history, climate and geography of Norway. Her so called port talks were nothing more than descriptions of ship shore excursions and she read from a corporate power point. She could not answer questions other than to refer people to the excursion desk or to the port tourist information center. She passed out maps a couple times. Apparently she went out on some excursions and we heard people complain how she held up the group because she couldn't find a pair of ski pants small enough to flatter her figure. This excursion required special clothing to be worn and all the other passengers just made do with the available attire. Big big disappointment.

Edited November 24, 2013 by sammiedawg

[TraelorMex]

Thanks for your review. Ryndam is a fav of ours as well. You mention the 'adagio' strings......could you tell me if this was composed of 2, or 4 musicians?

 

thanks..

[Hlitner]

I think we should clarify that a port expert/lecturer is a totally different person then the port excursion lecturer. Nearly every cruise line will have lectures conducted by a representative of the excursion office (on most lines these folks are not even employees of the cruise line) whose primary focus is to describe all the excursion options and promote those excursions. The cruise line gets a nice cut from all excursion sales and has a vested interest in promoting these lectures.

 

But a true port lecturer/expert is somebody not even connected with the excursion office, but rather a very well traveled person who generally knows the ports backwards and forwards, can lay out all the various options, explain the public transportation systems, etc. When HA had these experts (they still are on a few longer cruises) they would also have office hours (often in the library) where any cruiser could stop by, discuss the ports, ask questions, find out train schedules, etc. But the problem is these experts do not generate any revenue for the cruise line, and in some cases can cost the cruise line money since their presence can serve to promote independent travel. A good example of their service might be as follows: The excursion office lecture would promote all the tours from the Port of Civitavecchia and tell folks who want to go on their own that they should take the excursion that provides bus transportation to Rome. This bus will probably cost about $89 per person. Now a real port expert might explain that passengers can purchase a BIRG ticket for 12 Euros ($16)..which provides round trip train transportation between the port and Rome and also covers all days use of Rome's Metro/bus system. But of course this latter information would only hurt sales of that $89 bus transportation/tour so most cruise lines now do their best to keep this information away from cruisers.

 

Hank

Edited November 24, 2013 by Hlitner

[greatver]

Adagio was a pianist and a violinist.

[Tampa Girl]

Adagio was a pianist and a violinist.

 

 

And the violinist was very good. We thoroughly enjoyed them

[Tampa Girl]

Riversedge - you are making me feel better about declining the ice cream and most of the desserts, even including the creme brulee. I agree about the grits, but I try not to eat many carbs, anyway. Have you found that the desserts are not one of HAL's better offerings? I have never been too impressed with them. The cookies, on the other hand, and the delicacies in the Neptune Lounge were very good. Must be where my 7 pounds came from!

 

BTW, although our Alhambra tour (HAL's) was much more expense than your private tour, it was very good, namely because it included a wonderful lunch buffet with wine. Be thankful,by the way, you did not take the HAL tour and end up on the bus with the two toddlers. That was an interesting little group.

[Beejay4016]

Riversedge - you are making me feel better about declining the ice cream and most of the desserts, even including the creme brulee. I agree about the grits, but I try not to eat many carbs, anyway. Have you found that the desserts are not one of HAL's better offerings? I have never been too impressed with them. The cookies, on the other hand, and the delicacies in the Neptune Lounge were very good. Must be where my 7 pounds came from!

 

BTW, although our Alhambra tour (HAL's) was much more expense than your private tour, it was very good, namely because it included a wonderful lunch buffet with wine. Be thankful,by the way, you did not take the HAL tour and end up on the bus with the two toddlers. That was an interesting little group.

 

What on earth are grits? I don't recall anything on our Volendam cruise which made us go "What is that?"; all vegetables were normal. I'm assuming grits are a vegetable. We found the food to be everywhere from fine to excellent. We had two meals in the Pinnacle - the Cirque dinner and the Sommelier. The Cirque was great, and as it was my husband's birthday they brought out a beautiful little cake for him and sang happy birthday. The Sommelier dinner, though, was worth every penny and is something we still talk about. Will definitely be looking for that on our Ryndam cruise next year, if they do them on a seven night cruise.

 

Re the quality of the food, though, everybody is different. I have read reviews which say that the food on HAL is too bland, and I have read reviews which say that the food on HAL is too spicy. We're all different, and I like the title of this thread "My Review". Good not to generalise too much.

[Riversedge]

Special thanks for your review and thanks to those who gave differing opinions. We sail on Ryndam in 27 days, so it's good to read differing perspectives.

 

One aspect all of you seem to agree upon is Captain Timmers. We do hope he is still aboard, as he sounds like a fabulous captain and all-around good guy. This will be our 7th HAL cruise. On several of them, we never saw the captain. He would make daily announcements to update ship position etc., but they could have been playing a recording! It's nice to hear of a captain who enjoys occasionally mingling with passengers. We are really looking forward to this holiday cruise.

 

Not sure if Captain Timmers will still be onboard when you sail. He told me he had one month to go and then he was off for 3 months. I believe he told me that when we still had a week to go on the cruise so you might miss him. I hope you are lucky....he was like having an extra comedian onboard. Even when the 3rd fire alarm went off (at 4:00 a.m.) he was joking around that we should all stay up and watch us sail into the Bahamas so we could say Land Ho!

 

Yes, Tampa Girl, we felt that the desserts definitely were lacking. But I guess that was a good thing in my case since it's usually my favorite part of the meal!

 

It's hard to explain grits. It's a southern thing in the US. I can only compare them to sticky oatmeal but grit lovers would probably disagree with me! Spinach must be cheap. They seemed to include it on the plate with several entrees.

 

We loved the food and service in the Cannelleto. For us it was a much better value than the Pinnacle. The service was outstanding, the food came quickly and was excellent.

[WeBeGone]

Thanks for the review. We're looking forward to our first HAL cruise on the Ryndam in Sept.

[Tampa Girl]

What on earth are grits? I don't recall anything on our Volendam cruise which made us go "What is that?"; all vegetables were normal. I'm assuming grits are a vegetable. We found the food to be everywhere from fine to excellent. We had two meals in the Pinnacle - the Cirque dinner and the Sommelier. The Cirque was great, and as it was my husband's birthday they brought out a beautiful little cake for him and sang happy birthday. The Sommelier dinner, though, was worth every penny and is something we still talk about. Will definitely be looking for that on our Ryndam cruise next year, if they do them on a seven night cruise.

 

/quote]

 

I had to laugh at your question re grits. Obviously you are not from the South. Here is Wikipedia's description:

 

"Grits refers to a ground-corn food of Native American origin, that is common in the Southern United States and eaten mainly at breakfast. Modern grits are commonly made of alkali-treated corn known as hominy." Wikipedia

 

Being a northern gal myself, and also not liking corn, I never have cultivated a taste for this dish, although cheese and grits is quite good. One of the dishes on the Ryndam cruise was a shrimp and cheese grits plate for dinner. I found that a little strange since one normally does not associate grits with shrimp. The grits were actually good, but my low carb diet does not allow such indulgences.

[momatibm]

What on earth are grits? I don't recall anything on our Volendam cruise which made us go "What is that?"; all vegetables were normal. I'm assuming grits are a vegetable. We found the food to be everywhere from fine to excellent. We had two meals in the Pinnacle - the Cirque dinner and the Sommelier. The Cirque was great, and as it was my husband's birthday they brought out a beautiful little cake for him and sang happy birthday. The Sommelier dinner, though, was worth every penny and is something we still talk about. Will definitely be looking for that on our Ryndam cruise next year, if they do them on a seven night cruise.

 

/quote]

 

I had to laugh at your question re grits. Obviously you are not from the South. Here is Wikipedia's description:

 

"Grits refers to a ground-corn food of Native American origin, that is common in the Southern United States and eaten mainly at breakfast. Modern grits are commonly made of alkali-treated corn known as hominy." Wikipedia

 

Being a northern gal myself, and also not liking corn, I never have cultivated a taste for this dish, although cheese and grits is quite good. One of the dishes on the Ryndam cruise was a shrimp and cheese grits plate for dinner. I found that a little strange since one normally does not associate grits with shrimp. The grits were actually good, but my low carb diet does not allow such indulgences.

 

Shrimp and Grits is a very common dish on menus here in the south, sometimes even on the breakfast menu.

[penguinscott]

I only tried the soft serve once. It was so soft, it had to be consumed immediately, as it was already dripping when it was handed to me. From then on I kept getting bowls, because they usually had crushed Butterfingers and chocolate sprinkles!

 

Sorry other's didn't find the cruise as grand as I did. About the honey butter tart dessert...I am sure they made at least 25 pies, maybe I got a better batch? Or maybe it's just that you can pretty much put honey on anything and I'll love it. It was rich and decadent and the crust, as was the case for all desserts I had with a crust, was devine! I really do wish I had not found the desserts on this ship to be so good. I've never tasted so many wonderful desserts on a cruise before. Dammit!

 

I always do my own research about ports, as on any ship I've ever been, I find them lacking in information. I do start here on CC with the Ports of Call Forums. They have been a huge help for me the past 3 cruises. I also research the ocean areas. If you've been on other roll calls with me, you know I normally do a video of the day and information in a simulated voyage (the first day is where the ship will be on day 1; second posting the next day is day 2 of the voyage, etc. It's a fun way to learn and get to know the roll call. I didn't do it on this voyage, as so many had already left [our roll call was a combination of 3 voyages] and I was so busy in the 11 days I had left after booking).

 

The Oasis area was very awesome. We had a total of 2 kids on this voyage...tots. So the Oasis went unused. That is until a group of us who enjoyed happy hour each evening decided to move it up there. We'd get our happy hour drinks from Crow's Nest, a plate of snacks, and meet up there. Great when the wind wasn't too strong, but then we just hung out in the empty pool, which had a wind block. Great fun!

 

On this voyage, the Adagio Strings were a piano player and a violinist. On my last HAL, they were a group of 4 women on various strings. I think it varies from ship to ship and certain contracts. I loved them very much and the addition of piano was great.

 

Grits are a wonderful dish made from corn that some may know as polenta. Being a southern boy, I loved them. Again, this is where the food opinions vary. But this is why I titled this as being "my" review. Cheese grits with shrimp is a very southern dish and one I've been familiar with almost all my life. Arriving into Tampa, I thought it was appropriate to have on the menu.

 

Great discussion. Glad this has been possible. Thank you all, once again.

[Tampa Girl]

So now I have learned about shrimp and grits! Since I am not a Southern food afficionado, it explains why I thought the combination was strange. And PenguinScott, Tampa is not much of a Southern town. It is more Italian and Spanish, with a lot of Cuban thrown in. Southern food is not what Tampa is known for. But we won't get into some of the things that it is really known for!

[dvcmember]

We found the food to be everywhere from fine to excellent. We had two meals in the Pinnacle - the Cirque dinner and the Sommelier. The Cirque was great, and as it was my husband's birthday they brought out a beautiful little cake for him and sang happy birthday. The Sommelier dinner, though, was worth every penny and is something we still talk about. Will definitely be looking for that on our Ryndam cruise next year, if they do them on a seven night cruise.QUOTE]

 

How much was the Sommelier dinner?