Ryndam

[Kooolmomma]

We are new to cruising on HAL. Has anyone taken the two week cruise out of Tampa on the Ryndam? We are interested in going next January and wanted some heads up.

[Randyk47]

Haven't taken that particular itinerary, which by the way looks fantastic, on the Ryndam but we've been on her twice and she's our favorite HAL ship. We'd highly recommend her and wanted to take her this year but couldn't get the dates and cabin availability to work out for us so we went with the Volendam.

[cruiserfromohio]

This will be the fourth time we have taken this, or a very similar, itinerary. The other times we went it was on a smaller ship -- twice on the old Noordam and once on the Nieu Amsterdaam. This is a great itineary balancing sea days with some very nice ports of call. We love Bonaire! Will let you know what we think on return. But based on past expeiences, we should have a great time.:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We did a similar itinerary on the OLD Noordam - loved it.

 

Have cruised many times on the Ryndam - most recently November for 20 days - you'll love the ship.

[sail7seas]

We're doing that cruise April 2. We haven't been on Ryndam for a while and are very much looking forward to sailing her again.

[Toad]

Doing the 14 day on Feb. 19th and can't wait! Will let you know.

[bluegrass grannie]

Kooolmomma and Toad--I'm sure you are reading all of the other threads re: just returned from Ryndam etc., so I won't repeat my post. I remember reading everything I could find on the cc boards about the ship and the ports when we were planning and anticipating our recent Ryndam cruise and I'm sure you are doing the same.

 

Amazing that you will be in the same suite we were, Toad! You will love it!:D

[MrLee]

We are new to cruising on HAL. Has anyone taken the two week cruise out of Tampa on the Ryndam? We are interested in going next January and wanted some heads up.

 

 

I just got back from that cruise sunday and have very mixed feelings about it. The itinerary is great but, stupidly I arranged excursions in 7 out of the 9 ports and ended up exhausted. It would be difficult to make choices though since there are some great ports.

 

As for the ship...they have a fantastic crew!!! I fell in love with some of them and my wife totally understood.;)

Lyn (in the casino and elsewhere) is fantastic and the supervisor there (Mel) is terrific.

 

I did find a couple of things annoying however. It took 2 days (and 2 phone calls) to get a bulb changed in the hallway of my cabin. The closets are a bit difficult to see into without it.

 

My biggest peeve though was the dining room. I got the teble I asked for (table for 2) at the 6:15 sitting but the service was exceptionally slow (maybe because it was only 2 people to care for?) Also, I know many people like wine with their meals but my wife and I don't. What we like is coffee. It was impossible to get a cup of coffee with our meal and, the 2nd night we couldn't even get it with dessert. We finally gave up and ate the rest of our meals on the Lido deck.

 

BTW, before that old argument starts again, I still wore my tux on formal nights etc.

 

It was also kind of a rough ride for someone who is used to a larger ship but not that bad...especially since we had gale force winds the last day.

 

All of that being said, it's all just my opinion. Your mileage may vary.

[MrLee]

Incidently, if you utilize room service, check your meal before he leaves. We ordered breakfast 4 times because of early tours and they got it wrong twice. Of course we didn't have time to wait for another delivery.

 

If the food on Lido hadn't been so good I would probably have pulled part of the tip. I tipped the room service waiter all 4 times also because I'm not sure who to blame for the food mixups but doubt it would be the waiters fault.

[bluegrass grannie]

MrLee--We did bounce around a bit didn't we?:mad: That "list" at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday had things crashing and breaking on the Navigation deck--and everywhere else I guess.

 

Our dining room experience, table for two at 5:45 p.m. was just the opposite. We had great, very attentive waiters and my friend's coffee was brought automatically at the end of each dinner without asking once the waiter knew that's what she wanted.

 

The crew really is wonderful and very attentive--and they surely love to sell those drinks! I bought water to bring on board while in port in Dominica as I was tired of paying over $2.00 a bottle plus 15% for the water in our minibar.

 

I thought the Purell stations everywhere were a great idea. It has to help keep illnesses from being passed around. That may be a new thing with HAL. This was my first time with them but others may know if indeed this is a new procedure. When we were in ports with other ships (only a few times and very few other ships) and they saw the portable Purell stations at our gangways, I heard their passengers say they wished their ship had them.

[Himself]

I have not done that itinery yet, but I know people who have done it and they raved about the itinery. However I have been on the Ryndam several times and I like this ship very much.

[1particularharbor]

We returned from the Ryndam recently( 1.22.06 )...we received mixed reviews among the passengers we talked to during the cruise and I will list them below ...the last day and night were indeed rough at sea/we nearly fell out of bed and dishes on dresser went flying to floor and broke as did other items on the dresser....also the tender going to Grand Cayman was not good ...several got injured during one of the tender stops in Cayman :( (me included) the tender hit the dock straight on (so to speak) and did not slow down and therefore we experienced a very hard stop on the dock .....

 

As a seasoned cruiser, I would like to add that I found the security in place during one incident on our deck to be less than acceptable ..the incident involved a very loud passenger and the staff dealing with his issues on our deck near/at our cabin door late at night ...the security officer did discuss personally with us the situation the following day and I found the security officer to be very nice and was happy to hear him express his hopes of making things run smoothly in the future as it relates to dealing with unruly passengers ....

 

We enjoyed the cruise very much overall ..having room service breakfast each morning was delightful and very good ...we enjoyed the service on LIDO too ...very nice staff there I might add ...we did not attend too many of the ongoing activities other than the movies...the new library is excellent ...and the young lady from Canada in the library is very, very nice and helpful...as was the internet staff.......

 

Some comments I heard from other passengers were the following and do not express my opinion but did want to share with you...

 

1..The food was not good and variety limited on LIDO....

2. Not enough activities i.e. karaoke ...fun activities were not available ...

3. Many passengers were rude esp. as they progressed in the lines at the LIDO buffet(pushing/breaking in line/picking up items with their fingers) I did personally experience seeing this take place frequently...

4. Not enough good options for excursions...

 

I did this cruise 2 years ago on the Noordam ...I did not see (on the Noordam or other cruise lines I have cruised on) the rudeness nor the poor manners that I saw on this cruise ...so as a seasoned cruiser, I know the make-up of the passengers and their habits changes with each cruise ...so little can be done about this IMHO...just have to take it in stride and get ready for the next cruise :) and hope to have a better experience...

 

All of the staff were courteous and helpful ..no complaints there...excellent cabin steward ...our veranda cabin was nicely furnished, comfy and spacious...we enjoyed the ports and the fellowship of the passengers we met ...all in all a great cruise ...

[dot73]

I did a similar itinerary on the last Caribbean run of the Noordam a couple of years ago. I absolutely loved it, especially the ports of Bonaire and Aruba where the snorkelling was amazing. I have just booked my folks for their 50th anniversary on the Ryndam out of Tampa. I sailed the Ryndam last year on the Sea of Cortez. She is my favourite HAL ship and I am planning a 30-day Hawaii/Tahiti cruise next January on her. I don't you will be disappointed with the ship or the itinerary.

[shelbird]

This was my first HAL cruise. Having sailed primarily on Princess and Celebrity many times and being an avid reader of the HAL boards here for the past year I was expecting an exceptional experience. Boy was I disappointed! We had a veranda suite and found it spacious. We were assigned the 6:15 dinner seating and the waiters were friendly but I felt the service rushed. Definitely not the attentive service I've received on the other lines, but adequate. The wine steward, Lourdes, was great, however. The dining room food was consistantly the worst I've ever had on any cruise line. Rarely was the meal hot and the sauces made many meats inedible. The only meat they seemed to do well was the beef but the steaks were of very poor quality. There was no imagination when it came to salads. They always offered the same salad dressing selection, Caesar, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island, French or Italian. Even when a Greek Salad was on the menu I had to choose from those boring dressings. The head waiter would always come over and ask how things were and was anxious to replace the meal if it was not satisfactory, but it was just replaced with another mediocre meal. Also I found the soups really skimpy on ingredients. The executive chef, Dennis Starch, is fairly new on the Ryndam. It seemed to me he excelled in presentation rather than flavor.

I found the food in the Lido to be equally uninspired. I'm a grazer and I will ask for a small portion of several things to taste and when I find one I particularly like I'll return for a full portion. I never had a full portion in two weeks. The hamburgers and bratwurst seemed the least of all evils. The taco bar was scary as the meats were never at a temperature that I felt safe eating. I actually lost 3 pounds on this cruise!!!!! Also the bar staff on the lido is responsible for keeping the outside tables cleared of dirty dishes and they do not do their job well. Many days I had to search someone out to clear the table and at one time a waiter was very rude to me when I politely asked him to clear a table for us. I ended up filling out a comment card for the front desk and they responded within 24 hours with an apology and a bottle of wine. The one exception on the Lido was Lyn, who is also a waitress in the casino at night. She was a delight!

I did enjoy the entertainment, primarily the various comedians. Bobby Broughton, the cruise director was very talented, but his staff left a lot to be desired. I found them rushed and not overly enthusiastic.

Some toilet problemd did exist on this cruise. The starboard side of deck 9 was without water for half of a day. Also one morning another deck had problems causing some to miss their scheduled tours because they awoke to no water.

All in all I liked the Ryndam, but would never recommend her to anyone over a Princess or Celebrity ship. In fact we have friends planning on sailing to Alaska on her this summer and they've changed their plans.

[MrLee]

This was my first HAL cruise. Having sailed primarily on Princess and Celebrity many times and being an avid reader of the HAL boards here for the past year I was expecting an exceptional experience. Boy was I disappointed! We had a veranda suite and found it spacious. We were assigned the 6:15 dinner seating and the waiters were friendly but I felt the service rushed. Definitely not the attentive service I've received on the other lines, but adequate. The wine steward, Lourdes, was great, however. The dining room food was consistantly the worst I've ever had on any cruise line. Rarely was the meal hot and the sauces made many meats inedible. The only meat they seemed to do well was the beef but the steaks were of very poor quality. There was no imagination when it came to salads. They always offered the same salad dressing selection, Caesar, Blue Cheese, Thousand Island, French or Italian. Even when a Greek Salad was on the menu I had to choose from those boring dressings. The head waiter would always come over and ask how things were and was anxious to replace the meal if it was not satisfactory, but it was just replaced with another mediocre meal. Also I found the soups really skimpy on ingredients. The executive chef, Dennis Starch, is fairly new on the Ryndam. It seemed to me he excelled in presentation rather than flavor.

I found the food in the Lido to be equally uninspired. I'm a grazer and I will ask for a small portion of several things to taste and when I find one I particularly like I'll return for a full portion. I never had a full portion in two weeks. The hamburgers and bratwurst seemed the least of all evils. The taco bar was scary as the meats were never at a temperature that I felt safe eating. I actually lost 3 pounds on this cruise!!!!! Also the bar staff on the lido is responsible for keeping the outside tables cleared of dirty dishes and they do not do their job well. Many days I had to search someone out to clear the table and at one time a waiter was very rude to me when I politely asked him to clear a table for us. I ended up filling out a comment card for the front desk and they responded within 24 hours with an apology and a bottle of wine. The one exception on the Lido was Lyn, who is also a waitress in the casino at night. She was a delight!

I did enjoy the entertainment, primarily the various comedians. Bobby Broughton, the cruise director was very talented, but his staff left a lot to be desired. I found them rushed and not overly enthusiastic.

Some toilet problemd did exist on this cruise. The starboard side of deck 9 was without water for half of a day. Also one morning another deck had problems causing some to miss their scheduled tours because they awoke to no water.

All in all I liked the Ryndam, but would never recommend her to anyone over a Princess or Celebrity ship. In fact we have friends planning on sailing to Alaska on her this summer and they've changed their plans.

 

 

Speaking of the Lido deck, whoever designed those bar stools has a strange idea of human anatomy! I spent a lot of time on that deck during the 2 weeks and NEVER saw anyone who could sit on them for more than a minute or 2. (That Lyn was a real doll wasn't she?)

[shelbird]

How right you are!!!!! Also the bar stools in the ocean lounge couldn't hold the backside of any normal sized human. Tried to sit on them during the Art Auctions and kept sliding off.

[flashdog_1]

We are new to cruising on HAL. Has anyone taken the two week cruise out of Tampa on the Ryndam? We are interested in going next January and wanted some heads up.

 

Please tell me the date in January Ryndam leaves from Tampa. I went to the HAL website and it shows no cruises in January (is it due for a rehab at that time?)

 

I had read about rude passengers out of Tampa on the Celebrity board and wondered if it was just a single sailing. This is scaring me! I'm booked on Veendam March 17 out of Tampa.

Thanks.

[gophercruiser]

Being lazy and a poor typer I seldom input to this board although I read it every day, but the info just submitted By Shelbird makes me check the date of our most recent Hal cruise and yes it ws the Jan 22 departure on the Ryndam. I had to check as after some 25 cruises on various lines I could not believe the 6:15 dinner seating could have been as bad as reported ,as on the 8:00 main seating we had the exact opposite diner experiance. Granted that as each waiter and his assistant have more tables than we would like to see...the quality of the overall food experiance in our opinion was excelllent.Yes, the salad dressings did not have a huge range but to say boring, this was not the case. We then move to the Lido and again wonder if we went to a different Lido deck than Shelbird as again we had no problems with the quality of the food and yes, unfortunately we did manage to stretch our waistline on the 14 days, I'm not proud of this but just stating a fact. Everyone has their own standards and must report what they feel their experiance was, ours was great and as a p.s. we have 77 days booked with Hal over the next 24 months.

[Islandbuoy]

The ryndam does it in the fall of '06 , then leaves for West coast.

Veendam then alternates 7 day western and 14 day southern in spring '07.

 

Regarding rudeness my observations chocked this off to "people from New York" , and you'll get those on all ships. These are the same people who are complaining b-4 they even leave port.

[flashdog_1]

The ryndam does it in the fall of '06 , then leaves for West coast.

Veendam then alternates 7 day western and 14 day southern in spring '07.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. Guess Koolmama will either have to sail in Dec on Ryndam or wait until Spring for Veendam.

 

I noticed that you sailed Zenith before your recent Ryndam cruise. Would you care to make any comparison of the two? I'm booked on Zenith for the Panama/Costa Rica Thanksgiving cruise and have not sailed her before. If I like HAL after my March cruise on Veedam I may change some dates and switch itineraries/cruiselines. I booked Zenith while on Century and got the onboard credit, which i don't want to lose, so need to know as much as I can to make an intelligent decision about this.

 

Of course I can't really do anything until I see HAL's spring/fall '07 itineraries. I just stumbled across some info on AAA offering cheaper rates than HAL's website for Zuiderdam next winter. Then I read here that HAL hadn't posted its early booking discounts yet. So I wait. Thanks

[Islandbuoy]

Ryndam, Veendam, Zenith are all basically same sized ship and very suited to our tastes. The maindraw back to the Zenith is the rock hard beds!!!! Having just come off the Ryndam with the SOE beds, an amazing difference.

Otherwise no major knocks on any of these ships, although no lobster on our 4 nite Zenith.

 

You can get the HAL schedule by going to their website and looking at the 2007 carribean brochure on line.

[gizmo]

I found the food in the Lido to be equally uninspired. I'm a grazer and I will ask for a small portion of several things to taste and when I find one I particularly like I'll return for a full portion. I never had a full portion in two weeks.

 

Shelbird, sorry you were disappointed with your cruise.

 

Hal does not serve large portions from the buffet BUT all you need to do is ask for more as they are putting it on your plate. You can get as much as you want. I have never had a problem with this.

[shelbird]

What I meant is that I never in 2 weeks tasted anything while "grazing" that made me want to request a full portion. I realize everyone has different standards and tastes and I guess I expected "more" from HAL. I found the pastas overcooked and sauces "canned" tasting. The soups were watery and often only lukewarm. The stir fry dishes were interesting, but most had some sweet undertaste I found strange. I thought the "Carving Station" was a joke. One day they presented "meatloaf!" Comparing the Lido buffet to Celebrity, Princess and even the one Carnival cruise I've been on they all have it all over HAL in my humble opinion.

[flashdog_1]

Thanks for the heads up about the 2007 schedule/pricing being on the HAL website now. It's a little hard to find, but I did locate exactly the cruise I was looking for.

[bluegrass grannie]

Shelbird--did you ever eat in the Pinnacle Grille on this cruise? We enjoyed dinner there several times and felt each meal was well prepared, presented and tasty. Portions are small and the menu never changes, but Shashir, the chef, is very good and tries hard to create the fine dining experience. (We loved taking his cooking classes, too).

 

I was surprised not to gain any weight on this cruise, but attributed it more to small portions in the dining room and some fast walking around the promenade!

 

In the cooking classes I did hear several people complain to Shashir about the food in the dining room and he said he would talk to Dennis about it. He is very sincere in his desire for passengers to enjoy dining on the ship. He hopes to reach Executive Chef status within a year or so and I think he will do a great job on whatever ship signs him.