Ryndam - Bad Weather & Bad Experience

[OldCodger73]

I also would like to see the original poster's additional comments but, perhaps, can understand why he or she hasn't been back, given some of the very negative comments following their original post.

[cruznon]

I also would like to see OP return

[tonygreggaz]

[FONT=Arial]I appreciate everyone’s patience for me to get this detail to you, needed to get back into things after vacation. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]First, it is important to know that this was our forth cruise on HAL within the last two years, so we feel have some very real comparisons for our comments. Also, while the weather was bad and the seas were rough, that was not what made the cruise less than satisfactory. There was a series of things that might have been different, such as the cruise only being four nights and not seven, the ship coming right out of dry dock a few days before, the crew being new, or just an overall level of service slipping since they were bought by Carnival. Anyway, here are our comments:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Boarding – This went very well. I must say, Canada Place in Vancouver was the best terminal we have even been at for logistics associated with boarding. From the time we walked in to getting on the ship was no more than 15 minutes. It would be interesting to see how the logistics would work with 2 or 3 other ships there on the same day?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Fruit Basket – I think that it is great they are leaving cards to ask people what type of fruit they want, as I am sure there is lots of waste. The problem was that from the time we left the card, it was well over a day until the fruit showed up. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Heating & Air – When we got on the ship and into our cabin it was cold, though we just through that this was because it was rainy and cold outside. After freezing the first night we asked them to check on the air to see if something was wrong and for an extra blanket. The extra blanket came during the day, but it took until the evening for someone to look at it. We were told it looked like something has disconnected from the thermostat. They fixed it and we were good for the next few days. Then on the last day when the weather finally warmed up a bit, we could not get the cabin cool in the evening and had to open the balcony door for awhile. Given that we were getting off the ship the next day we did not even bother to report it.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Stabilizers – From what the Capitan said in an announcement on Wednesday morning, they were not functioning correctly. We could see this all during the day when the sip was pitching so much from side to side that things were falling off of the buffet line in the Lido, at dinner dishes were flying from the bus stations with things crashing everywhere, and, worst of all, in the duty free liquor shop bottles were falling and breaking. We were wondering if the stabilizers were worked on while in dry dock?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Quality of Food – Maybe we have just been on too many HAL ships in the past two years and there was not much difference in the food variety and choice, but the food was not up to the quality we have had in the past. The portions were small, one fish meal was so bad I did not eat it, the Lido was like cafeteria food, and overall it seems like the quality has declined.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Dinning Room Service – Just not up to par that one would expect or have experienced in the past. No one asked for pre dinner drinks and a few nights where they did not even ask if we wanted coffee. On past HAL trips once they knew that we wanted, coffee was brought to us right after the meal. Maybe they were short staffed, though just not the level of attention that we have had in the past. One positive note was that though we were near a bus station, the activity was much quieter than and not as unobtrusive as we remember (except for the plates falling during the swells).[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Stationary – Maybe this was due to the four nights not seven, though we usually get printed stationary in the room that we keep for our scrapbook. It was not done on this cruise.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Coasters – We did not get the coasters that are given to Mariner Society members on the last night.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Disembarkation – What an utter disaster. I know that the ship was almost three hours late in arriving to San Diego due to the storms and people may have been rushing in order to try to make their flights. That is still no reason for the chaos that transpired. I think that the root problem is the new system where they let people, with independent plans, be the first off and carry their own luggage. It clogs the hallways with people trying to push their way. The culprit appeared to be that they also only had one computer working to scan people off the ship, which led to a single file line and clogging up two flights of stairs. It seemed that it would not have been to hard to have the other scanning computer manned, considering the situation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
Thanks for listening.

Tony & Gregg

[tonygreggaz]

[FONT=Arial]I appreciate everyone’s patience for me to get this detail to you, needed to get back into things after vacation. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]First, it is important to know that this was our forth cruise on HAL within the last two years, so we feel have some very real comparisons for our comments. Also, while the weather was bad and the seas were rough, that was not what made the cruise less than satisfactory. There was a series of things that might have been different, such as the cruise only being four nights and not seven, the ship coming right out of dry dock a few days before, the crew being new, or just an overall level of service slipping since they were bought by Carnival. Anyway, here are our comments:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Boarding – This went very well. I must say, Canada Place in Vancouver was the best terminal we have even been at for logistics associated with boarding. From the time we walked in to getting on the ship was no more than 15 minutes. It would be interesting to see how the logistics would work with 2 or 3 other ships there on the same day?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Fruit Basket – I think that it is great they are leaving cards to ask people what type of fruit they want, as I am sure there is lots of waste. The problem was that from the time we left the card, it was well over a day until the fruit showed up. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Heating & Air – When we got on the ship and into our cabin it was cold, though we just through that this was because it was rainy and cold outside. After freezing the first night we asked them to check on the air to see if something was wrong and for an extra blanket. The extra blanket came during the day, but it took until the evening for someone to look at it. We were told it looked like something has disconnected from the thermostat. They fixed it and we were good for the next few days. Then on the last day when the weather finally warmed up a bit, we could not get the cabin cool in the evening and had to open the balcony door for awhile. Given that we were getting off the ship the next day we did not even bother to report it.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Stabilizers – From what the Capitan said in an announcement on Wednesday morning, they were not functioning correctly. We could see this all during the day when the sip was pitching so much from side to side that things were falling off of the buffet line in the Lido, at dinner dishes were flying from the bus stations with things crashing everywhere, and, worst of all, in the duty free liquor shop bottles were falling and breaking. We were wondering if the stabilizers were worked on while in dry dock?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Quality of Food – Maybe we have just been on too many HAL ships in the past two years and there was not much difference in the food variety and choice, but the food was not up to the quality we have had in the past. The portions were small, one fish meal was so bad I did not eat it, the Lido was like cafeteria food, and overall it seems like the quality has declined.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Dinning Room Service – Just not up to par that one would expect or have experienced in the past. No one asked for pre dinner drinks and a few nights where they did not even ask if we wanted coffee. On past HAL trips once they knew that we wanted, coffee was brought to us right after the meal. Maybe they were short staffed, though just not the level of attention that we have had in the past. One positive note was that though we were near a bus station, the activity was much quieter than and not as unobtrusive as we remember (except for the plates falling during the swells).[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Stationary – Maybe this was due to the four nights not seven, though we usually get printed stationary in the room that we keep for our scrapbook. It was not done on this cruise.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Coasters – We did not get the coasters that are given to Mariner Society members on the last night.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Disembarkation – What an utter disaster. I know that the ship was almost three hours late in arriving to San Diego due to the storms and people may have been rushing in order to try to make their flights. That is still no reason for the chaos that transpired. I think that the root problem is the new system where they let people, with independent plans, be the first off and carry their own luggage. It clogs the hallways with people trying to push their way. The culprit appeared to be that they also only had one computer working to scan people off the ship, which led to a single file line and clogging up two flights of stairs. It seemed that it would not have been to hard to have the other scanning computer manned, considering the situation.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial] [/FONT]
Tony & Gregg

[Stevesan]

[quote name='tonygreggaz'][FONT=Arial]I[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Heating & Air – [B]When we got on the ship and into our cabin it was cold,[/B] though we just through that this was because it was rainy and cold outside. After freezing the first night we asked them to check on the air to see if something was wrong and for an extra blanket. The extra blanket came during the day, but it took until the evening for someone to look at it. We were told it looked like something has disconnected from the thermostat. They fixed it and we were good for the next few days. Then on the last day when the weather finally warmed up a bit, we could not get the cabin cool in the evening and had to open the balcony door for awhile. [B]Given that we were getting off the ship the next day we did not even bother to report it.[/B][/FONT]

Tony & Gregg[/quote]

It was likely cold when you boarded because the previous occupants "did not even bother to report it"!

[Stevesan]

[quote name='tonygreggaz'][FONT=Arial]Disembarkation – What an utter disaster. I know that the ship was almost three hours late in arriving to San Diego due to the storms and people may have been rushing in order to try to make their flights. That is still no reason for the chaos that transpired. I think that the root problem is the new system where they let people, with independent plans, be the first off and carry their own luggage. It clogs the hallways with people trying to push their way. The culprit appeared to be that they also only had one computer working to scan people off the ship, which led to a single file line and clogging up two flights of stairs. It seemed that it would not have been to hard to have the other scanning computer manned, considering the situation.[/FONT]

Tony & Gregg[/quote]

I've run into this on Princess. "Express Disembarkation" is a great invention, but it's a mess when the ship fails to support it with proper staff control.

[peaches from georgia]

We have seen pax doing 'express disembarkation' who were trying to take off way too many pieces of luggage by themselves and it was a mess in the hallways. It should be very limited to one rolling bag per person. We have seen people pushing a large piece of luggage and trying to drag another rolling bag behind them.

[Copper10-8]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]Tony/Greg[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000080][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000080]Thanks for taking the time to write a review! Sorry things were not up to standard! Vancouver is a great place to embark. They've got their "stuff" together![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000080]Pretty sure that on short "repos" you don't get personal stationary and/or the Mariner tiles. Lisa in Vegas will know for sure.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000080][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial][QUOTE]
[QUOTE].......or just an overall level of service slipping since they were bought by Carnival.....[/QUOTE]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]Not sure if you are aware but that "infamous" purchase occurred back in January 1989 so well before your first three HAL cruises in the last two years;) . [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[/FONT][FONT=Arial][COLOR=#000080][QUOTE]
[FONT=Arial][COLOR=#000080]We could see this all during the day when the sip was pitching so much from side to side that things were falling off of the buffet line in the Lido, at dinner dishes were flying from the bus stations with things crashing everywhere, and, worst of all, in the duty free liquor shop bottles were falling and breaking. [/COLOR][/FONT]
[/QUOTE][/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000080][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000080][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=#000080]No biggie but just a heads up: a ship [U]pitches[/U] up and down and [U]rolls[/U] from side to side/left to right (or if she feels like it and is stubborn, from right to left;) ) [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[jhannah]

[quote name='tonygreggaz'][FONT=Arial]...[/FONT][FONT=Arial] or just an overall level of service slipping since they were bought by Carnival.[/FONT][/quote] You know, of course, that this happened long before you started cruising Holland America, as Copper10-8 pointed out. I understand that is your feeling, but I do not agree that Carnival has deteriorated HAL service.

Sorry your experience was less than you hoped. Sometimes things stack up, and that sounds like what you had.

[DFD1]

Thank you for coming back with your report.

Self-disembarkation works very well if the numbers using it are reasonable and sensible.

We've used it twice now and the first time was a breeze. The second time, last week on the Zaandam, was push and shove because the numbers using it were large and many were literally dragging 4 or 5 pieces of luggage and bags of purchses toward the gangway.

The result made me think of disembarkation many years ago when the whole ship would try and get out the door in the first five minutes. NOT GOOD!

Fortunately the push and shove was over in half an hour and we were off the ship.

HAL is probably going to have to insert some rules as to the amount of luggage and number of packages one can carry off in order to make this work. Dragging everything one owns down the corridors to the gangway is not going to work.

IMO

[kakalina]

Thank you for posting the rest of the story. As others have mentioned the change in ownership was long ago and far away.

I leave in two days on the Ryndam and hope that all shook down well on the first full cruise after wet dock.

I will let y'all know how it goes.

[winemistress45]

[quote name='tonygreggaz'][FONT=Arial]Stabilizers – From what the Capitan said in an announcement on Wednesday morning, they were not functioning correctly. We could see this all during the day when the sip was pitching so much from side to side that things were falling off of the buffet line in the Lido, at dinner dishes were flying from the bus stations with things crashing everywhere, and, worst of all, in the duty free liquor shop bottles were falling and breaking. We were wondering if the stabilizers were worked on while in dry dock?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]

I can't recall if you said you were ill on the cruise. Were a lot of people getting sick?

This happened to me on my one and only previous cruise -- I was sick the whole time -- I'm not good with this cruising thing.

But the last day and overnight we were really rocking and rolling -- and not only did we have rough seas, the crew said that the stabilizers were not working properly as well. Sounds like a similar situation to yours.

That night 75% of the ship was sick -- in their rooms -- throwing full ice buckets and soiled towels into the hallways -- terrible!

Lots of pale folks getting off that ship the next day -- it was a relief to be on land.

I'm hoping for a better experience next month -- but not counting on it.:)

Thanks for a great report OP.

[Copper10-8]

[quote name='winemistress45']
Lots of pale folks getting off that ship the next day -- it was a relief to be on land.

I'm hoping for a better experience next month -- but not counting on it.:) ...[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]Positive thinking, winemistress!;) Here's hoping for smooth seas and wavelets for you! [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Krazy Kruizers]

[B]Thanks you for coming back and writing your review.

I certainly appreciate it.[/B]

[Krazy Kruizers]

[B]Thanks.[/B]

[Jemima]

Tony & Gregg,
Thanks for posting your report. It seems that the short 3 and 4 day cruises sometimes are not up to HAL standards. It could be the length or it could be a difference in passengers. More passengers may have wanted wine with dinner making it difficult for the wine steward to get to everyone. Usually more people don't have dinner drinks than do. The shortness of the cruise may have increased number choosing self-disembark. However, I'd expect a number of people were staying on for the next cruise. Think we won't try any short HAL cruises.
We are on the 10/31 cruise and are hoping the Ryndam's stabilizers work and the cruise is up to the usual HAL standards. Sorry I was impatient waiting for your report.

[HeatherInFlorida]

I'm so sorry ... what a shame that your cruise was such a disappointment and I can only hope that you were still able to have some good times.

Of course, HAL is not responsible for the bad seas so that's not their fault. As for the stabilizers, stuff happens even if they were recently maintained. But I have to wonder if the service problems, etc., aren't related to it being a repo cruise ... not saying that's an excuse at all, but it's possible that there was a transition of staff, etc.

For the rest of us with HAL cruises on the horizon, I'm just going to hope this was a fluke that also ended up with bad seas just to put the icing on the cake. Still an awful shame for you:( .

I don't think it has anything to do with Carnival taking over HAL because it was so long ago ... 1989 if I'm not mistaken. As all cruise lines try to attract more and more passengers to their ships, the prices have become very reasonable. So "somethin's gotta give":) ... food and service seem to be one of those on many lines.

Thanks so much for sharing your experience!

[ekerr19]

Thanks for coming back and giving us the update.

I'm also sorry to hear it wasn't all you expected. Snafu's at disembarkation are never fun - we had a delay off the Noordam Inaugural and it seemed to take forever before pax finally got to disembark. People were piled up all over the place, not fun. :(

I hope you have a chance to take another HAL cruise.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

[SIZE=3]I too am very sorry this truned out to be a not so great cruise even more so since up till the end of June I was booked on this cruise with you and decided to cancel so that we could return to the Noordam so I really feel bad.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]As for the Tiles HAL does not normally five them out on cruises less than 7 days but if you aks for one they will gladly give you one. You could also email the Mariner's Society and I am sure they will be glad to mail you one.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3][/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]I spoke to a friend that was working on the Ryndam while you were on and she had stated that many of the crew were also ill from the motion sickness and that could be one of the reasons the service was no up to HAL standards. Could be the shortest felt or lack of service was because they were down in their cabins quite ill.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Unfortunately it has been reported before that the repositioning cruises tend to feel a bit off which is unfortunate. Hopefully you next cruise will be a full 7 days or more and will be drastically better with calmer seas.:) [/SIZE]

[terrydtx]

[quote name='jhannah']You know, of course, that this happened long before you started cruising Holland America, as Copper10-8 pointed out. I understand that is your feeling, but I do not agree that Carnival has deteriorated HAL service.
.[/QUOTE]

If any thing the purchase of HAL by Carnival brought Canival up a notch or two becasue of the cross line competition

[hammybee]

I too am sorry to read of your dissappointment. Like others, I suspect just coming out of dry dock /new crew/ repo combined with nasty weather and faulty stabilizers, for a real mess.

We too noticed smaller portions on the Noordam earlier this summer. Actually, I think it a good idea, given no one knows better than a cruise line how much goes to waste. If we want more, all we have to do is ask for it.

Carnival's acquisition of a near bankrupt HAL is closing in on 20 years now. Nothing about the overall cruising business/experience is the same as it was almost 20 years ago, except that prices of cruises and airfare tend to be the same or less than they were in the late 80's. I wish I could say the same for the cost of everything else.

The cabins and in cabin ammentities are substantially better than they were 20 years ago as are the opportunities for incremental onboard spending.

Cruising has indeed changed in the past 20 years. I think the kind of service and food that once was, is still available on the luxury cruise lines, at multiples of the cost of an average cabin on HAL. In other words, it comes at a price that the majority of cruisers cannot or choose not to pay and therefore is limited to those relatively few who will, no different than the way cruising used to be.

Again, I am sorry for your sorry experience and my intent is not to make excuse for what you experienced.

[Copper10-8]

[quote name='terrydtx']If any thing the purchase of HAL by Carnival brought Canival up a notch or two becasue of the cross line competition[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]If Carnival wouldn't have bought HAL, I doubt very seriously that HAL would have survived. Things were looking pretty bleak at the time for the Dutch line [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Krazy Kruizers]

[quote name='Copper10-8'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]If Carnival wouldn't have bought HAL, I doubt very seriously that HAL would have survived. Things were looking pretty bleak at the time for the Dutch line [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]You are so right!!!!![/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

[Krazy Kruizers]

[quote name='Copper10-8'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]If Carnival wouldn't have bought HAL, I doubt very seriously that HAL would have survived. Things were looking pretty bleak at the time for the Dutch line [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]

[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]You are so right!![/SIZE][/FONT][/B]

[Krazy Kruizers]

[quote name='Copper10-8'][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=navy]If Carnival wouldn't have bought HAL, I doubt very seriously that HAL would have survived. Things were looking pretty bleak at the time for the Dutch line [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote]


[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=4]You are so right!![/SIZE][/FONT][/B]