Ryndam...just back!

[haras]

Hi all. I just wanted to do a little post about my first Holland America cruise on the Ryndam. I was on the 12/04 Sea of Cortez cruise. We were in cabin 392 and I have to say that I was very pleastantly surprized! For some reason, I had expectations of a tiny little porthole. So every day before the cruise, I would badger my TA hoping that my waitlist for a balcony would come through. Anyway...suffice it to say, I didn't even need the balcony and was surprized how big the window turned out to be!

 

Embarkation: Very quick and efficient. There were hardly any lines at all. This was a nice surprize since my boyfriend's parents were with us and they're older and I worried about them standing for a long time. We were escorted to our rooms.

 

Food in the Lido: I really liked the food stations and the staff up there really are characters! I booked our cruise through a poker group, so we all had name badges on. My initial reaction was that these guys keep looking at my breasts! But I quickly realized that they were trying read my name tag! So throughout the cruise, everyday at breakfast and lunch, I'd hear one of them sing out "Saarrraaah" or "Laaa Pueeente" (the city where my job is located where my cruise tickets were sent and also happened to be on my name badge) or "Miiiiiiiizzz Viiiiieetnam" it was really cute.

 

The dining room and cabin steward did their job well. We had no complaints on this cruise. I think the only thing that might be worth mentioning was the shower water pressure. It seemed a little odd that the sink water pressure was so good, yet the showers were mediocre. But that didn't take away from my cruise at all. The service was excellent and the staff really made the cruise memorable.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions. I just wanted to do a little post since everyone on the HA boards has been so helpful, that I wanted to contribute also. Sorry my post isn't structured, I'm just typing off the top of my head. One thing I did want to mention was that I was expecting to buy a soda card, and it wasn't available for purchase. Just wanted to give anyone a heads up if you're a big soda drinker that this option isn't available on the Ryndam. Luckily, we did bring some sodas along, and were able to replenish our supply in the ports.

 

Will try to gather my thoughts some more tonight and post again tomorrow. :)

[Ziggy7]

Great review! Thanks for sharing with us, Glad you had a good time! :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have sailed on he Ryndam several times - lovely ship.

Have also done the Sea of Cortez - so do tell us what you thought of the ports.

[DaveOKC]

We were on the same cruise and it was a great one. The only negative was that alot of cabins had toliet problems. Ours was backed up for the first 2 days and three other days it worked only sometimes. The first two nights were really a problem since you had to get up in the middle of the night (you know how us old folks are), get dressed, walk down two decks to a public restroom. That got old fast!

Some cabins had problems for most of the week while others never experienced anything. The front desk was no help at all and quite frankly I was very disappointed in their attitude about it and how they handled it.

Fortunately our cabin stewart (Sri) and the suite conceire (Tiffany) were great and helped us out alot.

The ports were fine if you wanted to see a more 'real' Mexican town. Both La Paz and Loreto were interesting (we did our own walking tour) but an hour or two was all that was needed. Cabo is just the opposite - a fairly modern town with lots to see and do. They are building a new, very nice mall right on the Marina, about a 20 minute walk from the tender dock. The mal is about 1/3 complete now.

DaveOKC

[gizmo]

Thanks for the reviews.

 

We are interested in going back to Mexico. La Paz and Loreta sound interesting. What was there to see?

 

We been to Cabo once, but it was so hot all we did was visit the glass factory and find a bar to sit in and have some Margaritas. What did you do in Cabo?

 

Thanks,

Giz

[DaveOKC]

Giz - on Cabo we spent the day walking and shopping the town. Lots of interesting shops and the new mall of course. We then took the Deluxe Coastal Tour for 2 hours. This took us up and town the coast around Cabo (including Lands End of course) and then we did a bit of whale watching! Be careful of the free drinks on this cruise however - VERY strong (but good).

DaveOKC

[grandma bev]

Thanks a heap for the reviews. Please tell us about the entertainment on the Ryndam. We leave next Saturday for the Christmas Cruise.

 

Bev

[gizmo]

Dave,

 

Thanks. When we were there it was in Oct, so no whale watching. We had planned on walking around and doing a little shopping but the heat was so bad you couldn't walk around. It was well over 100. The coastal tour sounds nice. Maybe when we go back we will go when I could see whales. :)

[sail7seas]

Thanks for posting your review. I enjoyed reading it. Happy you had such a good time.

 

 

Welcome back.

[bonita bugman]

Did anyone participate in the Texas Hold-Em Tournaments? Was there an extra charge to play poker if you weren't part of the poker group?

[RuthC]

Thanks for your report.

 

May I second Grandma Bev's request for info on the entertainment. I'm interested in the names and your thoughts on the stage entertainment as well as those in the various lounges.

What did you think of the SOE differences from the rest of the S-class ships?

[shipcafe]

Hi all. I just wanted to do a little post about my first Holland America cruise on the Ryndam. I was on the 12/04 Sea of Cortez cruise. We were in cabin 392 and I have to say that I was very pleastantly surprized! For some reason, I had expectations of a tiny little porthole. So every day before the cruise, I would badger my TA hoping that my waitlist for a balcony would come through. Anyway...suffice it to say, I didn't even need the balcony and was surprized how big the window turned out to be!

 

Embarkation: Very quick and efficient. There were hardly any lines at all. This was a nice surprize since my boyfriend's parents were with us and they're older and I worried about them standing for a long time. We were escorted to our rooms.

 

Food in the Lido: I really liked the food stations and the staff up there really are characters! I booked our cruise through a poker group, so we all had name badges on. My initial reaction was that these guys keep looking at my breasts! But I quickly realized that they were trying read my name tag! So throughout the cruise, everyday at breakfast and lunch, I'd hear one of them sing out "Saarrraaah" or "Laaa Pueeente" (the city where my job is located where my cruise tickets were sent and also happened to be on my name badge) or "Miiiiiiiizzz Viiiiieetnam" it was really cute.

 

The dining room and cabin steward did their job well. We had no complaints on this cruise. I think the only thing that might be worth mentioning was the shower water pressure. It seemed a little odd that the sink water pressure was so good, yet the showers were mediocre. But that didn't take away from my cruise at all. The service was excellent and the staff really made the cruise memorable.

 

Please feel free to ask any questions. I just wanted to do a little post since everyone on the HA boards has been so helpful, that I wanted to contribute also. Sorry my post isn't structured, I'm just typing off the top of my head. One thing I did want to mention was that I was expecting to buy a soda card, and it wasn't available for purchase. Just wanted to give anyone a heads up if you're a big soda drinker that this option isn't available on the Ryndam. Luckily, we did bring some sodas along, and were able to replenish our supply in the ports.

 

Will try to gather my thoughts some more tonight and post again tomorrow. :)

 

Hello Haras,

 

I was on the same sailing as you. You were ALSO *two* staterooms down from me ! . . . I can almost see myself having run into you in the corridor one day. Hmm. I was "Tom Cruise" for the Great Pretenders Show if you happened to see that.

 

I agree with all of your posts about smooth embarkation (and disembarkation for that matter), the Lido food and service, the dining room service and food, etc. etc. I am just about to create a separate post about my reaction, etc.

 

Steve

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We were on the same cruise and it was a great one. The only negative was that alot of cabins had toliet problems. Ours was backed up for the first 2 days and three other days it worked only sometimes. The first two nights were really a problem since you had to get up in the middle of the night (you know how us old folks are), get dressed, walk down two decks to a public restroom. That got old fast!

Some cabins had problems for most of the week while others never experienced anything. The front desk was no help at all and quite frankly I was very disappointed in their attitude about it and how they handled it.

Fortunately our cabin stewart (Sri) and the suite conceire (Tiffany) were great and helped us out alot.

The ports were fine if you wanted to see a more 'real' Mexican town. Both La Paz and Loreto were interesting (we did our own walking tour) but an hour or two was all that was needed. Cabo is just the opposite - a fairly modern town with lots to see and do. They are building a new, very nice mall right on the Marina, about a 20 minute walk from the tender dock. The mal is about 1/3 complete now.

DaveOKC

Dave sounds like we both enjoyed some of the same things. The day we were in Cabo was the very first day the whales arrived and everyone was quite excited and the Deluxe Coastal Tour turned into quite the Whale Watch excursion. We really had fun. We thought Sri and Tiffany were great they really made us feel special.

[DaveOKC]

I totally agree - Sri and Tiffany were GREAT! I surprised both of them by calling them by name before they had a chance to tell me! I told them both you had told me how good they were. We had a lot of fun with that. They both remembered you and said to say HELLO.

DaveOKC

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I totally agree - Sri and Tiffany were GREAT! I surprised both of them by calling them by name before they had a chance to tell me! I told them both you had told me how good they were. We had a lot of fun with that. They both remembered you and said to say HELLO.

DaveOKC

Dave, That is so nice that you did that. I thought they were both very special and really helped to make our cruise really great. I bet they both got a kick out of that:p

[Himself]

Nice to hear a positive review on the Ryndam. Someone else wrote a review that was quite negative, and they were on the same cruise. Keep up the good work.

 

Himself

[haras]

Did anyone participate in the Texas Hold-Em Tournaments? Was there an extra charge to play poker if you weren't part of the poker group?

 

Hi Bonita,

 

There were 3 tournaments and they were on the sea days. We booked through card player because they said you couldn't play in the card room unless you were part of the group. My boyfriend played in the tournaments, but I couldn't get up at 9 am to participate. It was really nice to have the option to play poker but I really didn't play that much. The highest limit they spread was 10/20 and I normally play a higher limit. I spent most of gambling time in the ship's casino playing 3 card poker. :D

 

The tournament fee was $125 for the first day and the last 5 players ended up chopping it up. They got $1,800 each.

 

Hope that answers some of your questions. Feel free to ask any others.

[haras]

We were on the same cruise and it was a great one. The only negative was that alot of cabins had toliet problems. Ours was backed up for the first 2 days and three other days it worked only sometimes. The first two nights were really a problem since you had to get up in the middle of the night (you know how us old folks are), get dressed, walk down two decks to a public restroom. That got old fast!

Some cabins had problems for most of the week while others never experienced anything. The front desk was no help at all and quite frankly I was very disappointed in their attitude about it and how they handled it.

Fortunately our cabin stewart (Sri) and the suite conceire (Tiffany) were great and helped us out alot.

The ports were fine if you wanted to see a more 'real' Mexican town. Both La Paz and Loreto were interesting (we did our own walking tour) but an hour or two was all that was needed. Cabo is just the opposite - a fairly modern town with lots to see and do. They are building a new, very nice mall right on the Marina, about a 20 minute walk from the tender dock. The mal is about 1/3 complete now.

DaveOKC

 

It's funny how the same people can be on the same cruise and have such different experiences. I totally sympathize, though. I know I would be really upset if my toilet didn't work/got clogged up and smelly. We were in cabin 392 and my bf's parents were in 394, and my best friend was in 380 and none of us had problems. I do recall 2 times where we flushed, and the toilets weren't flushing, but our cabin steward said they turned off the toilets and about an hour later, I heard it automatically flush. I also remember a faint odor of toilet stuff once or twice, but we were lucky and it didn't effect us at all.

 

Regarding the ports...I didn't get off the boat at Loreto nor at La Paz, so I can't help you much there. But Cabo was really great! We did our own tour and did a glass bottom water taxi ride around to see the rock formations up closer. It was $30 for 3 of us and it lasted 45 minutes. The driver gave us a really informative tour by telling us the history of the city. He took us over to see sea lions and ended the tour by taking us over to the beach side of town. (this was nice because we were with my bf's father who couldn't walk for a long period of time) The driver just "docked" right on the beach, and we had to hop off the front of the boat. We spent 2 hours relaxing on the beach where the restaurants are and bought souviouners and ate delicious mexican food.

[haras]

Thanks for your report.

 

May I second Grandma Bev's request for info on the entertainment. I'm interested in the names and your thoughts on the stage entertainment as well as those in the various lounges.

 

What did you think of the SOE differences from the rest of the S-class ships?

Hi Ruth and Grandma Bev,

 

Maybe Steve or Dave can help you on the entertainment. I only saw one show but it was pretty good. The dancers and singers really seemed to give 100% effort in their work.

 

I did play bingo every day and didn't win a dime. :rolleyes: My group of friends like to gamble, so we spent a lot of time in the ship's casino and got to know the other regular gamblers and the dealers pretty well.

 

Regarding the SOE, I have to say the beds are amazing. Very comfortable I slept like a baby every night. This was my first HA trip, so I have nothing to compare the S-class ships with. My family normally goes on Princess and the ship's we've been on have been big ones with 2000+ passengers. I liked the size of the Ryndam. I like the layout of it. We were (un)convientely located right below the dining room (i think i gained 5 lbs from this trip :eek:), so it was a snap to get there (just one floor up) and the entrance of the lido was close, also. This was nice as my bf's parents are older and have dificulties walking. They're vain, so they won't use a cane, but it was nice that they could get round easily.

 

The movie theater is really nice. It's also the same place as the cooking demonstration.

 

Formal night was Sunday and Thursday. Thursday was also lobster night and baked alaska. Both were delicious. Our waiters were so nice and gave my bf and my best friend's bf as many lobsters as they wanted. I think the final tally was best f's bf 12 lobster tails and mine devoured 10.

 

I can't remember which night was Dutch night b/c they didn't give out the white hats I was expecting.

 

One regret I did have was not going to the pinnicle grill. We made 2 attempts to make reservations the day we wanted to go, and they were booked. I know one of the days was the day they served meatloaf. We tried making reservations around noon when we discovered we didn't really care for anything on the menu, but we couldn't get in. The other day was Friday night, and they were also fully booked. So heads up....don't procrastinate like we did. :cool:

 

Please feel free to ask anything else. :D

[haras]

Hello Haras,

 

I was on the same sailing as you. You were ALSO *two* staterooms down from me ! . . . I can almost see myself having run into you in the corridor one day. Hmm. I was "Tom Cruise" for the Great Pretenders Show if you happened to see that.

 

I agree with all of your posts about smooth embarkation (and disembarkation for that matter), the Lido food and service, the dining room service and food, etc. etc. I am just about to create a separate post about my reaction, etc.

 

Steve

Hi Steve,

 

I think I recall doing a little corridor dance with you. You must've been in 396. My bf's parents were right next to me in 394. I'm glad you have positive experiences, like we did. That sucks about your parent's having the toilet problems in their suite. I think I would've been extra peeved if I paid so much money for a suite and then had to march down the hall every time I had to tinkle. So I can sympathize with DaveOKC. Hopefully Dave was still able to have a good time and HA will give you some type of compensation for the trouble you were caused.

[haras]

Thanks for posting your review. I enjoyed reading it. Happy you had such a good time.

 

 

Welcome back.

 

I know you're a loyal Hal cruiser, and I understand why. I enjoyed Hal, and for the price we paid, I think it's a good value. I'm sort of glad that this was my first Hal cruise, as I have nothing to compare it to. I think the staff is fabulous. Super friendly and full of character. They're the reason why my cruise was so memorable.

[Bug man of Bonita 2]

Thanks for your poker review. Could anyone play poker? Or did they have to have a special pass to get in the poker room? It don't seem like many poker players were on that cruise because you were the only one to post anything about poker. Did they have a no-limit live game?;)

[Georgia]

We were told on the Statendam 2 weeks ago that the Ryndam had some major changes, including a climbing wall and a2-3 story children's play area, divided into age groups. Also the library and card room were changed. Did you see any of that?

 

Georgia

[GTVCRUISER]

I was on the Ryndam March 27, 2004, and I will be back on her Jan 3 2005 is the Captain still Jan Smit and is the cruise director still Steve Wood ?? Thanks

[jstrack]

I'll be on the Jan. 3rd cruise as well. I've never been on a charter cruise and am a bit worried sending them my money. Anyways, the ship looks to be undergoing a nice facelift and there should be a lot of fun entertainment on this particular cruise. Hope to see you on board....I'll be the one checking out all the nametags....lol.