Noordam v. Volendam / Ryndham

[GMoney]

Hi - I am currently planning a May 2007 cruise to Alaska. To start, we will be sailing either on the Noordam (21 days from NYC to Seattle) or RCI Serenade (28 days from San Juan to Vancouver).

 

I need help with the Alaksa cruisetour portion, where I am considering Princess or HAL. To be upfront, I am fairly neutral on HAL as a line - not a big fan, but not a big critic either. My objective is to do Alaska the best way possible. My only experience with HAL is the Noordam, which I really enjoyed, but I think that may just be b/c she was very nice, and a larger HAL ship. My Alaska choices are the Volendam or the Ryndham, which are both older and smaller.

 

Based on the excellent sticky from one of the hosts, I at least have an understanding of the classes these ships fall into. Beyond that, can anyone offer some basic compare / contrast points on the 3 ships in terms of age, facilities, etc? I am not interested in things like food or entertainment quality; I know those are very subjective, and neither will impact my cruise.

 

Thank you.

[shuttle-c]

I haven't been on The Volendam, but have been on the other two.

Even though the Ryndam is smaller than the Noordam, They both made you feel like you had some privacy. Never ship felt crowded.

The part I don't like about the Newer ships (Noordam/westerdam) is that they don't have a self-serve Laundry.

The Pinnacle Grill was larger or seemed larger on the Noordam.

The embarkation and debarkation, seemed just as efficient on both.

The entertainment (stage - sound system, lights) were nice because it was newer.