Ryndam (Retired) Review

4.0 / 5.0
0 reviews

Great Cruise--Weather, Food, Service, and Ports of Call All Excellent

Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on Ryndam (Retired)
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rockytoo
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Oct 2014
Cabin: Large Ocean-View Stateroom

We are relatively experienced cruisers, with about 15 cruises--more than 10 with Holland America. We fit the Holland America demographic and enjoy the smaller ships. We embarked on this cruise in Istanbul, after a three day stint exploring the city. As the "sail away" from Istanbul was not until 11:00 pm, we had elected to board in the late afternoon. There was absolutely no line, so baggage drop off and embarkation processing was super smooth. It was less than 10 minutes from the time we arrived at the port until we were walking across the gangway to the ship. With a late afternoon boarding, our cabin was ready upon boarding and our luggage was delivered within 30 minutes. Can't beat that.

This is our third cruise aboard the Ryndam. The ship is showing its age, with layers of paint, and corrosion apparent on the exterior decks. However, the public spaces, including the Lido deck and cabins are all well maintained and pleasant. We are very familiar with the layout of the Ryndam and that makes shore to ship transition easy. We are always big fans of the libraries on Holland America ships, and this cruise was no exception. With this cruise (a "collector voyage" of two cruises combined) including a transatlantic crossing, the library was under higher than normal pressure and the selection of available books declined as the sea days added up.

Often a cruise is dramatically effected by the weather. On this cruise, it was uniformly awesome, with partly cloudy skies, moderate temperatures, and very mild seas nearly every day. We had one evening/night with about six foot seas--other than that, as calm as we have ever seen. This weather made the cruising and the port calls memorable. The activities on board were typical of Holland America and we are not big participants. We do attend events in the Culinary center and Barbara, the culinary center manager for this cruise was truly exceptional...what a personality. She hosted the daily "Sip and Savor" with a wine tasting and hors d'oeuvre prepared in the Pinnacle grill. It was a "sold out" event each day.

Cabin Review

Large Ocean-View Stateroom

Cabin E

We prefer being on the promenade deck, for easy access to the walking deck. This room was far enough from the stairs/elevators to be quiet, very close to a deck exit/entry (but not too close), and also close to the self-service laundry (a plus on a 30-day cruise). Other than that, it is a standard ocean view room.

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