Hawaii/tahiti The Ryndam Review Part I

[kakalina]

:D RYNDAM REVIEW JAN/FEB 2008

Since I am working from both my faulty memory and a journal you may notice both present and past

tense being used. Please bear with me. This will be sort of long so I will post in parts. Hope you enjoy.

 

Saturday Jan 5

It Never Rains In Southern California??

 

We drove from Scottsdale to San Diego in a one way Avis rental car. We made unbelieveably good

time even though as soon as we crossed the San Bernardino Mountains we hit rain, wind and clouds.

With the hour we gained we hit downtown San Diego at 8:30am. Thank goodness we arranged for early

check in.

We settled into our bayview room at 9:00am. The Oosterdam was in port and she looks huge and

magnificient in the rain. We ducked across the street to Anthonys Restaurant during a lull in the rain.

They serve a pesto butter there for the bread that is divine. The NE Clam Chowder is pretty darn good

too.

There are tons of people in the lobby and it turns out the Oosterdam had the norovirus on board and due

to specialized cleaning won't allow any boarding until 4PM. With the rain pouring down that doesn't leave

much for the folks who had to check out to do.

Those of our CC group who stayed at the same hotel had a preliminary meet and greet at the Elephant &

Castle Pub located in the HI. We were there, Cathy and Carol, Elizabeth & Terry, and Janice and Jo

showed up. We had a few drinks and got to know each other a little bit. We ladies admired each others

shoes and a good time was had by all.

 

Sunday Jan 6

 

ZOOM, ZOOM, ZOOM

We awakened at 4:30AM and watched the Dawn Princess arrive at 6AM. The lovely Ryndam arrived at

6:45. It was still very nasty, rainy and windy. We watched from our window as two crewman climbed up

over the Crows Nest area and removed the Christmas tree. Drinking hot drinks and feeling toasty in our

room we felt sorry for those two guys out there in the wet and the cold.

Amazingly the weather broke about 10AM enabling us to pull our luggage across the street. We entered

the terminal at 10:10 and were in the Lido at 11AM. They checked our luggage for us and we were off to

meet old friends. Our rooms were ready by 1:30 and we had the obligatory fire drill at 4:15. Due to the

weather there wasn't much of a sail away party going on. The ship was rocking and rolling and the "barf

bags" made their first debut by the elevators.

I had early traditional early seating upper at 5:45 at table 303, a table for 10. I explained that I am not

there every single night as I sometimes eat with my DH who always eats in the Lido. My tablemates were

understanding and gracious.

 

Monday Jan 7

 

LITTLE GREEN MEN

Oh my, wonderfully rough, high seas. High winds, rain, cold and fog a great first night aboard! The casino

here has started something new. The slot machines are open 24 hours a day. If you need assistance

with your machine you just fill out a paper, drop it in the box and they deal with it when the cage opens at

9:00AM. It worked very well and gave us something to do at 5AM since it was too cold to go outside.

When we went up to the Lido for breakfast we noticed an awful lot of green people with sea sickness.

Having never experienced that particular malady I feel sorry for them without understanding how it can

happen.

Our CC meet and greet was a great success. The ship provided coffee, tea, cookies and someone to

serve them. 25 of our roll call showed up although a few were down with the "greenies". Our guests from

the staff were Carol Lagmay, purser; David Woods, culinary manager; and Michelle Worthley our CD.

We had a little Q&A and all got to know each other. Many of us have booked the same excursions both

privately and through the ship. We agreed to hold another get together about half way through the cruise.

Thanks to Joe (Clyde3) for the wonderful name tags he made for all of us.

The show was Club Nevada performed beautifully by the very talented cast of the Ryndam. The

featured vocalists Christopher Zenner and Beth Purvis. The second leads Joshua Switzer and Jennifer

Quail. They are very, very good. The dancers, Katie Wendleton, Calli Freyschlag - Parker, Tiffany

Jones, Julianne Wessely, Omar Felix and Chip Nash. A well practiced team that provided excellent

entertainment.

The first formal night dinner was excellent with many choices. I choose the surf and turf. Later in the

evening I sat with friends on the staff and we were joined by the comedienne Janine Turner and singer

Paul Emmannuel. We had a good evening and lots of laughs. They are both very talented people.

 

There are five sea days between San Diego and Hilo. We had some wonderful lectures by Donna

Giesler ( The Star Lady ) Charlie Urbanowicz ( Professor Emeritus in Anthropology at California State

University), Dan Ostler (Biophysics University of Waterloo, and married to the lovely Star Lady ).

For entertainment we had the funny and lovely Janine Turner, swing clarinetist Larry "Link" Linkin, the

comedy and magic of Bruce Block and vocal stylings of Paul Emmanuel. I've seen the first two before

and throughly enjoyed seeing all of them. I liked the timing of the shows 6:30 and 8:30 for the most part.

The band in the Ocean Bar Yu4 is wonderful and we have sailed with them before also. The pianist

Donald in the Crows Nest was excellent and late at night he would sometimes make up the most

hilarious lyrics to commonly known tunes. Darlene and the HalCats performed in various venues

throughout the cruise.

 

Friday Jan 11 HILO, HAWAII

 

WHERE IS THE SUN???

 

We arrived in Hilo and it was still raining. Since we had no tours planned in Hawaii at all we boarded the

bus to Walmart with our friend Connie while her DH Rick went to see the volcano. We visited with a

friend of ours Leona who owns Lins Lei Shop in the terminal. Later we took the bus to Hilo Hatties and

purchased some island wear. One sort of has to you know. Then we took Connie to the Prince Kuhio grill

for an authentic Hawaiian Plate lunch. Yum is all I can say. Kalua pig rolled into taro leaves, sticky rice, pickled onion. Good eating.

Just as an aside this was our 8th trip to Hawaii and we didn't plan any excursions because we have

already done so many and wanted to save it for French Polynesia so to speak. The weather in Hawaii

way way too cold for us to go swimming while we were there.

It was Hawaiian night on board and everyone was sporting their island clothing. Very colorful night. It was

also the night of the " VIP " party. We had received our invitation so after a very good dinner we

attended the party. It was held in the Hudson Room, one of those rooms just past the Wajang Theater.

There were about 40 people there plus the officers. I had a couple of Lemon Drops and DH had some

Sprite. We munched a few appetizers but having just had dinner weren't really hungry. There was a nice

spread for those who hadn't dined yet. After the party I went up to the CN and hung out with some

friends from the cast that I have sailed with before. We had a few cocktails and talked for awhile while

Darlene and the HalCats performed.

The sail past Kilauea Volcano was a real bust. It was so cloudy and rainy you could barely make out a

dull glow in the distance. It was a real shame for those that have never seen it really pouring out the lava

in her full glory. It is a stunning sight when she shows her stuff.

 

Saturday Jan 12 KONA, HAWAII

 

CHEAP IS STILL CHEAP

 

Today was a very sad day for us. We went to visit a friend of ours who resides in Kona as a working

artist and discovered he had been overtaken by a swift and virulent cancer. We spoke on the phone with

his widow and didn't stay very long in town at all.

I did go in and talk with the Beverage Manager about arranging some glasses and cheese and crackers

or something for our CC get together on Jan 19. We appeared to have worked it all out when the

Culinary Manager came into the office and advised me that they would be happy to accomadate me but

they would send me a bill. Astounded I said "Excuse me, a bill? For what?" I was advised that they no

longer provide food for free for private parties. We're talking 30 or so people, c'mon some cheese and

crackers would kill 'em?? I was not a happy camper when I left the office and am not certain how we will

handle the get together now.

 

Sunday Jan 13 LAHAINA, MAUI

 

ARE WE THERE YET??

 

We got up early and grabbed our snorkel gear. Connie and Rick rented a car and have invited us to join

them for a day at the beach. We tendered into shore and soon the rental car agency van showed up. We

got the rental car and headed out for a spot a friend of Ricks had told him about. We drove through

some of the most beautiful scenery looking for Hanalua Bay. We took the highway until we ran out of

road. Then we took the scenic route. We were on the side of a large hill, small mountain, whatever; and

could see the shoreline below us. Eventually we found out where the place was. We arrived there and

found the rain and wind were so bad that they only folks in the water were the surfers with wet suits. So,

we went to Whalers Village where we did some shopping and had a nice lunch. Then we returned to the

ship. Later that evening DH and I went back on shore to Bubba Gumps where we had some of the best

food. Those HushPups are pretty darn good.

Meantime on the Lido deck they had the BarBQ and the local Hawaiian Dance Troup performing. I really

think they should hold these kinds of shows in the main show lounge. Only the very few folks in the very

front could see the show because everyone starting standing up to take pictures. We finally gave up on

trying to see the show. They showed the movie " The Holiday" in the show lounge. Later in the evening

the Indonesian Crew show was held. They are great and work so hard to bring us this entertainment after

performing their regular duties all day.

 

Monday and Tuesday Jan 14 & 15 HONOLULU, HAWAII

 

MALLS ARE THE SAME EVERYWHERE

 

We got the good dock at Aloha Towers. We waited until the crowds were off and then walked off to take

a look around. Not much has changed since our last visit. We went over to the kiosk a friend of ours Trin

owns and said hello. Then we just walked around through the mall and looked through the windows as

not much was open yet.

There are a ton of wonderful things to do in Honolulu. We did none of them this time around. We did hop

on the Bus and go to Ala Moana shopping center. DH wanted to go to Reyn's and get a good Aloha

shirt. We wandered around there for awhile and then headed back to the ship. The entertainment

Monday was the movie Blue Hawaii in the show lounge and the harmonica stylings of Bernie Fields. Not

my cup of tea but many thought he was excellent.

 

Wednesday Jan 16 NAWILIWILI, KAUAI HAWAII

 

THE PARTY IS ON! A CHEESE PLATE BY ANY OTHER NAME

 

After discussing it DH and I decided to just get our own stuff for the CC get together. We went up to

Walmart and bought all kinds of good nuts, chips, dips, salsa and etc . We also picked up some

invitations to send out. We took the shuttle to Hilo Hatties and got dropped off at Anchor Cove shopping

center. We wandered around for a bit and then back to the ship.

We sat at the desks in the promanade deck area and filled out the invitations. We decided since HAL

was being so chintzy on the cheese and cracker thing we would ask each cabin to bring a cheese plate

from room service. There is more than one way to skin a cat! Then DH and I split up the floors and took

off to deliver our invites. Since the management was being stuffy we decided we didn't want any stuffies

at our party. So, we invited the entire cast, and some of the event staff that we liked. Our favorite

waitress Katherine agreed to come in her spare time and pour, etc. We asked everyone to bring a dollar

or two to tip her.

It stayed windy, rainy and chilly throughout our visit to the Hawaiian Islands. They are just as enticing and

lovely as always, however this time as we sail away from Paradise, another, more beautiful Paradise is

whispering our names. We are heading South, towards adventure, sea, sun and fun in TAHITI! Up next,

French Polynesia!!:D

[cruisinjudy]

I am reading your review with great interest. We do want to do this itinerary someday, but for now we wll be on the Ryndam for ten days in a little over a a week. Keep it coming!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Am enjoying your review.

 

Keep it coming.

[Sage]

We too would love to do this itinerary, and we are really enjoying your review. Thanks, and please do write more. :D

[weluvcruisin']

Thanks for the review we are really enjoying it as we have booked this cruise for Jan/09.

 

Looking forward to more.

[KSCnCA]

Great review, keep it coming. I have been waiting patiently for your review. I read you came back with a cold and I hoped you were taking it easy and getting well before posting your review. Thanks for the info - we leave in 3 weeks on the Ryndam so I am interested in any and all info related to the ship & our itinerary.

[kryos]

Great review! Now I'm just dying to hear about French Polynesia. Keep it coming! It's whetting my appetite for September! I can do without the rain, though. :(

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kakalina]

I promise I will add more tomorrow. I meant to mention that the food this cruise was significantly better than it was in October. It was rare that I couldn't find something on the menu to satisfy.

Obviously we like the itinerary, we are going back in Sept. for the third time.

[wrp96]

Sunday Jan 13 LAHAINA, MAUI

 

ARE WE THERE YET??

 

We got up early and grabbed our snorkel gear. Connie and Rick rented a car and have invited us to join

them for a day at the beach. We tendered into shore and soon the rental car agency van showed up. We

got the rental car and headed out for a spot a friend of Ricks had told him about. We drove through

some of the most beautiful scenery looking for Hanalua Bay. We took the highway until we ran out of

road. Then we took the scenic route. We were on the side of a large hill, small mountain, whatever; and

could see the shoreline below us. Eventually we found out where the place was. We arrived there and

found the rain and wind were so bad that they only folks in the water were the surfers with wet suits. So,

we went to Whalers Village where we did some shopping and had a nice lunch. Then we returned to the

ship. Later that evening DH and I went back on shore to Bubba Gumps where we had some of the best

food. Those HushPups are pretty darn good.

Meantime on the Lido deck they had the BarBQ and the local Hawaiian Dance Troup performing. I really

think they should hold these kinds of shows in the main show lounge. Only the very few folks in the very

front could see the show because everyone starting standing up to take pictures. We finally gave up on

trying to see the show. They showed the movie " The Holiday" in the show lounge. Later in the evening

the Indonesian Crew show was held. They are great and work so hard to bring us this entertainment after

performing their regular duties all day.

 

 

I just want to say that I took a picture of you (actually your ship) from just outside Bubba Gump's that day (I agree with you about the hushpups!). The wind was definitely an issue that day.

 

I posted a thread with the picture that week, but there's also a link in my signature to my Maui photos if you are interested.

[Toad]

You write a very nice review..... How many times have you done this itinerary?

[sail7seas]

Great Review, Kakalina. Really enjoying it but sorry to read all the rain you encountered. Doesn't seem to have badly impacted your good time.

 

Eager to read more. :)

 

[Seago2]

Thanks for the review (so far)!

 

All I can think is that if you are going to WalMart twice on one cruise, it just might be time to try a new itinerary. But I see you are doing it again, so...

 

Well, eagerly awaiting Part 2!

[Cruising-along]

Thanks for the review, I'm looking forward to Part 2 :)

[MrsMuir]

Reviews like yours are the next best thing to being aboard. Take care of your cold and tell us about the rest of your cruise as soon as you can!

 

Mrs Muir

[kakalina]

Toad : Twice with the third booked in September on the Statendam.:D

 

Carla: Walmart is not my idea of where to go in Hawaii, however circumstances were not ideal. Having been to Hawaii 8 times before there was nothing we were willing to get soaked to go see this time. After all, we knew we would be back later this year.;)

 

Thanks for reading the review I will post more today ( I hope ):)

[G&G]

Great Review

 

You are making it easy for me to put together my (your) journal and photo album of this trip. It is like I was there !

 

Rick & Connie

[Comptech]

Hi,

What was the condidtion of the ship? We are sailing on her much later this year.

[G&G]

The Ryndam is in very good shape. I understand it just came out of drydock in September.

 

The interior of the ship looks almost new.

[Gsel]

Thanks so much, looking forward to the next installment. Sailing on her soon and this just makes our anticipation even more intense.

[Gsel]

Thanks so much, looking forward to the next installment. Sailing on her soon and this just makes our anticipation even more intense.

[zentmrs]

We'll be on board on March 6th and are loving your reviews! We are also envious - this is one of the itineraries we would LOVE to take (one of these days anyway).:D

[G&G]

Thanks for the review (so far)!

 

All I can think is that if you are going to WalMart twice on one cruise, it just might be time to try a new itinerary. But I see you are doing it again, so...

 

Well, eagerly awaiting Part 2!

 

Because of the airline restrictions (Yes, not all of us live in CA) it is wonderful to be able to visit the Walmart when on a 30-day cruise and pick up necessities. :D

[G&G]

Thanks for the review (so far)!

 

All I can think is that if you are going to WalMart twice on one cruise, it just might be time to try a new itinerary. But I see you are doing it again, so...

 

Well, eagerly awaiting Part 2!

Because of the airline restrictions (yes, not all of us live in California!) it is wonderful to be able to shop at Walmart for necessities ... after all, it is a 30 day cruise!