Ryndam S. Caribbean Review Jan 5 - 19, 2014

[humingbird]

I enjoy reading all the comments on Cruise Critic, so thought I would let you know how our latest cruise went.

We took the 14-day South Caribbean Cruise on Holland America Ryndam from January 5 to 19. This was our ninth cruise on Holland America, and, even though there seems to be disagreement about the quality of service and dining, we thoroughly enjoy the size of the ships, the friendliness and attention, and the wonderful cuisine and service. We have not found that anything is going downhill. :)

 

We spent Friday night in the Kansas City Airport Hilton. It is a great place to stay before a cruise. We flew nonstop from Kansas City to Tampa and took the hotel shuttle to the cruise hotel – the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport Westshore. The hotel, itself, was fine, but very noisy. I think we heard every shower running through the pipes! We should have walked to dinner at Charley’s Steak House (right next door). I cannot recommend the dinner or breakfast in the hotel. Very slow service.

The next morning, we sat in the lobby waiting on the HAL busses. HAL was not very organized as nobody would tell us when to load. We finally went outside and saw a line forming, so we were able to get on the first bus to the terminal with a terrific bus driver. This was absolutely the smoothest embarkation process we have ever experienced. There was no waiting to get our key cards. Our cabin was ready, so we left our carry-on bags and went to the Main Dining Room for lunch, signed up for Internet minutes in the Exploration’s Café; signed up for the Navigator’s Wine Package; attended the muster drill; unpacked all of our luggage, and dressed for dinner.

 

We were late leaving Tampa as the ship waited on several passengers who had been delayed by all the bad weather in Northeast USA. Three passengers even boarded in Key West. After dinner, we listened to the Adagio Duo in the Explorer’s Lounge. There were two men who played the piano and violin.

Our day-to-day schedule was very routine. My husband and I do not do many excursions as the cruise ship is our destination. We cruise to enjoy the relaxation, cuisine, and entertainment. We like to read, attend the lectures and demonstrations, walk on the deck, go to wine tastings, play trivia, meet new people, dine, go to the shows, and watch the ocean.

 

A short review of the ship follows:

EMBARKATION: The best ever! Went very smoothly.

 

STATEROOM: We were in an inside stateroom on the Main Deck (5) in the middle of the ship - #585. We are seldom in the cabin, so an inside stateroom works great for us. There was plenty of closet and drawer space and two small cabinets, with locks, beside the bed. There was also a safe in the closet. The bathroom had just a shower and plenty of counter space. The bed was very comfortable with nice linens and the towels were nice and large. We did not experience any plumbing problems and the a/c worked perfectly. In fact, many people were complaining about how cold it was, but we love to sleep in a cool room.

 

We very seldom saw our cabin stewards, but we cannot say enough good things about them.

THE RYNDAM: Weheard the Ryndam is going into dry dock in a few weeks. The interior of the ship looked good. They were constantly working on the fountain in the atrium area, and never did get it to work properly. I especially liked the carpet on the stairs, with the top and bottom steps carpeted in red and the other steps in blue. Of course, there was cleaning going on all the time. The only negative was the worn furniture in the Crow’s Nest, so I imagine it will be replaced in dry dock.

DINING: We were able to get early fixed seating (5:15 p.m.) on this cruise. Our table for four was by a window, so we had an excellent view of the ocean. Our outstanding dining room stewards were Widodo and Jajang and the wine steward was Angelo.

 

Every meal in the MDR was superb. We so enjoy trying different items and my husband always looks forward to the chilled soups. Contrary to many comments on Cruise Critic our service and food was beyond outstanding. The prime rib, beef tenderloin, and lobster were excellent.

 

A pleasant surprise was that on formal nights, there were at least 40% of the men in tuxedos. On smart casual evenings, most passengers were dressed nicely.

 

We ate two lunches in the Pinnacle Grill which were very slow. The food was wonderful and the service very good……..just slow.

 

We chose to eat breakfast in The Lido since we are early risers and the MDR did not open until 8:00 a.m. Personally, I do not care to ever eat in The Lido, but the food was good, and it was not very crowded at 6:30 a.m., so I could tolerate breakfasts there.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: As I stated before, the Adagio Duo was a pianist and a violinist. They did a very nice job, but never said a word and took very long breaks, so we ended up mainly in the Ocean Bar listening to the Neptunes and watching the dancers.

 

We also enjoyed several fantastic shows in the Showroom at Sea: Joe Yannetty, comedian; Den West, singer and multi-instrumentalist; Michelle Murlin, Broadway vocalist; Paul Pappas, extraordinary pianist; Jeff Burghart, an impressionist-comedian; Steve Stevens, comedian, instrumentalist, and vocalist; Dancing with the Stars; and the Ryndam singers and dancers. All the entertainment was outstanding except for the singers and dancers. The costumes and dancing were beautiful, but the singing (and sound system) was WAY TOO LOUD, and the strobe lighting hitting the audience was awful. We usually love these productions, but had to leave during two of the productions.

 

EXCURSIONS: We walked into town in most ports, but took no excursions. Other passengers reported the tours on the islands were very beautiful. The seas were too rough to tender into Grand Cayman, so I’m sure there were some disappointed passengers.

STAFF: The captain of the Ryndam was Captain Mark Rowden, who did an excellent job keeping us informed of the weather conditions, etc. He was also easy to understand and very personable.

 

Rick Barnes was the Cruise Director and he was a little overbearing, but we liked him better toward the end of the cruise. We played Team Trivia each day with him as the host, and he did an excellent job.

KC, the librarian was the best librarian we have ever had. She was always pleasant and helpful to everyone.

Culinary Arts Center Host, Jess, and Show Chef, Mauricio, were outstanding. Don't miss their presentations.

 

DISEMBARKATION: No disembarkation talk was given, which was rather nice. There was a delay in disembarking because of an immigration problem, but once it started, things went smoothly. We were only disappointed that Luggage Direct is not offered in Tampa, so we had to drag our suitcases to the airport.

No cruise is perfect, but this one was right up there. We had a wonderful cruise on the Ryndam and are looking forward to many more with Holland America. :):D

[Mtn2Sea]

Enjoyed your review. We were on the Ryndam for the 14 day cruise in December and had a wonderful time. We also found the ship to be in very good condition, except for a few things here and there.

[RJ2002]

Thanks for your review of the Ryndam. We were on her several years ago and enjoyed it as well. Always nice to hear favorable comments on the MDR.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your review.

Are you saying that early fixed dining is now 5:15?? That is terrible. It was 5:30 on our Nieuw Amsterdam and we felt that was too early for us.

Sorry you missed Grand Cayman.

[dvcmember]

We too loved the Ryndam. it was our first HAL cruise and not my last. Enjoyed the attention to detaols and the service was fantastic. Really enjoyed PG. Had some of the best meals ever for both lunch and dinner. Went three times for lunch, twice for dinner, and did Le Cirque.

 

We also saw the crew constantly cleaning and smiling. They all looked like they love what they do. Cabin was nicely appointed ans steward was efficient and friendly.

 

Did not care too much for CD Rick Barnes, but not a complete deal breaker.

 

Heading back in March for another great week. The time can't go by fast enough.

[pasta1]

Thank you for the review. We are going on the Ryndam March 9 cruise. This will be our fourth time on the Ryndam,have always enjoyed this ship. Inside cabin works great for us as well. We like the port of Tampa, always go a few days early pre cruise, many places to see.

[RuthC]

ENTERTAINMENT: As I stated before, the Adagio Duo was a pianist and a violinist. They did a very nice job, but never said a word and took very long breaks, so we ended up mainly in the Ocean Bar listening to the Neptunes and watching the dancers.

 

We also enjoyed several fantastic shows in the Showroom at Sea: Joe Yannetty, comedian; Den West, singer and multi-instrumentalist; Michelle Murlin, Broadway vocalist; Paul Pappas, extraordinary pianist; Jeff Burghart, an impressionist-comedian; Steve Stevens, comedian, instrumentalist, and vocalist; Dancing with the Stars; and the Ryndam singers and dancers. All the entertainment was outstanding except for the singers and dancers. The costumes and dancing were beautiful, but the singing (and sound system) was WAY TOO LOUD, and the strobe lighting hitting the audience was awful. We usually love these productions, but had to leave during two of the productions.

 

Thank you so much for your comprehensive report. I, too, love shipboard life, and enjoy reading about it.

Especially thank you for reporting on the entertainment, and for mentioning the entertainers by name. Since they do travel from ship to ship, there is every chance I will run into some of them on a cruise, and it's nice to see a familiar name in the daily program.

 

Tell me, though, who was playing in Mix on your cruise? Any info on that person would be appreciated, too.

 

Welcome home.

Edited January 29, 2014 by RuthC

[erewhon]

Thank you for writing your review.

 

5.15 seems very early for first dinner.

 

Pleased you had a wonderful cruise.

[madera1]

Happy to hear you had a great cruise. Thank you for sharing your experience with the rest of us.

[startwin]

Thanks for your great review. I, too, consider the ship my destination when I do repeat itineraries. Recently there have been very favourable reports on the Ryndam after previous negatives, so good to know the issues have turned around.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report, glad you had a nice time.

[humingbird]

In answer to a couple of questions:

 

The early dining on the Ryndam was 5:15 p.m. That time worked very well for us as we do not do many excursions. There were several passengers who arrived at 5:30 p.m. Maybe it is earlier because there were three main stage shows offered most evenings -- 6:30; 8:00; and 10:00.

 

In The Mix, the Solo Guitarist was Terry (no last name). He drew a nice crowd. The Piano Bar Entertainer was David Anthony. He also had a good crowd, but it was quite loud. People were really enjoying the sing alongs.

 

The HALCats were also very talented doing a terrific job as backup artists with the different entertainers. Really remarkable. We did not attend any events in the Crow's Nest with Show Host Phil.

[RuthC]

Thank you for the additional info re: the entertainment. It's much appreciated.

[G&G]

Thanks for your excellent review.

 

We did this same cruise in January 2013 and also had problems with high winds in Grand Cayman. HAL tendered from the south side of the island and very few passengers went ashore.

[realnurse2]

Happy to hear a good report! Booked for the same cruise on Feb 16th. :)

[doncarlos]

we enjoyed this cruise ...capt mark is the best !....the lunches [we did 6 ] in pinnacle were great and a real break from the crowd ...that they took time was because each item [ cept the rasberry sorbet LOL:D ] was cooked to order and great ...the nick and dime over recent years is obvious but not a deal braker ...rick was just not my cup of tea ....thought i was at the ball park and he was the announcer ::::now battttiinggggg for your seeeeeattttleeee marinersssssssss, seconddd basseman nunberrrrrrr 9 robieeeeeeeee canoooooooooooo ....he was so loud he was hard to tune out but to each their own ....our meet and greet was good and capt mark came as he always has done .....love that ship in so small part cause he makes it hum [ well rick cant :rolleyes:] ...may she always have fair winds and following seas :)

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for taking the time to share your extensive review.

[erewhon]

Thanks for returning and confirming the early dining time.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the reivew of your Ryndam cruise.:)

[496and706]

Regarding the fountain in the atrium... I asked about it. They are only allowed to have the fountain on in Alaska and Northern Europe. (Norway, etc.)

[HALFans]

So glad to hear a positive review of the Ryndam; especially the improved quality of the beef.

 

Thanks for your review and happy you enjoyed your cruise!

[crusinbanjo]

Mrs Banjo & I were on the cruise just following the this, (Jan 19 -26) and I agree almost completely with the OP. If I could ad; We booked a suite, as we normally do, it was as expected, fantastic. We did find the senior staff a bit "stand off ish", different from other cruises.

 

We booked reservations into the P/G on the first night to avoid the rush of first night open seating dining. IMHO, the P/G is sadly lacking in many respects; The wait staff, worked very hard, and were very pleasant, but their English language skills were not the best, so communications were difficult. The food was overcooked, no matter how it was ordered, it came to the table WELL Done, even when sent back it returned, WELL done. Finally the room itself was FREEZING, they should offer a blanket as the first course. We did, of course ask if the room temperature could be adjusted, but were told that the system was not responding. The P/G was really cold all week long, when ever we had breakfast or lunch there we were sure to wear sweaters. We did not rebook for another dinner.

 

We did find the Candaletto to be a welcome change. It was warm, not very busy and the menu, although limited was well prepared and very nice. We ate at this venue twice and enjoyed it more than either the P/G or the MDR.

 

The MDR was nice, the staff needs better English skills, but the food was prepared and presented well.

 

Mrs Banjo and I both noted the officers and senior staff are fewer & fewer Europeans, I guess this is ok, but I think because of the cultural differences we don't relate as well and, as I said at the start, they seem "stand off ish" or maybe it was just me?

 

Not to be to harsh, just my two cents, hoping HAL reads this and uses it to improve the cruise experience. Mrs Banjo & I enjoyed the ship and the staff and the cruise, It was great to get out of the cold & warm up!

In any case this will be my last cruise for some time because next week I go into hospital for cancer surgery. We'll have to wait & see how that all works out before I plan any future cruising.

Edited January 31, 2014 by crusinbanjo

[Mtn2Sea]

In any case this will be my last cruise for some time because next week I go into hospital for cancer surgery. We'll have to wait & see how that all works out before I plan any future cruising.

 

Hope everything goes well next week and you and Mrs. Banjo are back cruising soon!

[aliaschief]

Thanks for your review. Also curious as to why the atrium fountain can only be run in Alaska and Europe?

[erewhon]

 

In any case this will be my last cruise for some time because next week I go into hospital for cancer surgery. We'll have to wait & see how that all works out before I plan any future cruising.

 

Sending you very best wishes for a successful outcome.