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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Richard Delanoy
Email: rdelanoy@compuserve.com
Age: 51
Occupation: Real Estate Broker
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Holland-Ryndam
SailingDate: 6 September 1998
Itinerary: Glacier Discovery
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 82
CabinAmenities: 85
FoodLidoDeck: 87
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 88
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 93
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 85
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 80
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 23 Sep 1998
Time: 18:02:43
Remote Name: 199.174.142.56
Remote User:
Comments
We had planned this cruise for three years as a celebration of my wife's parents 50th
anniversary so expectations were quite high. No one in our
party of 12 was disappointed. The golden anniversary celebrants had Suite 002 which served
as a base of operation for the rest of us in outside
cabins on the A Deck. If you can afford it, the luxury suites are the way to go, but the
remainder of us in 'steerage' had quiet, utilitarian,
comfortable cabins near the bow of the ship on the port side.
We had arranged to meet in Seattle for the afternoon flight to Anchorage. The bus
ride from Anchorage to Seward got us to the ship during the lifeboat drill...which was
somewhat disconcerting to first timers. My wife and I had
decided to take our two youngest kids (girl, 8 and boy, 14) out of school for this unique
journey and it turned out to have an unexpected return.
There turned out to be only two other kids on board (7 and 5), so we had the full
attention of the Club HAL activities director. It was if we had our
own personal baby sitter during the days at sea. Also, Club HAL sets up special meetings
with the Glacier Park Rangers and Shipboard Naturalist
so attending these functions with our kids was a one on one experience rather than sharing
these knowledgable folks with 1200 other
passengers. The bottom line is pull your kids out of school for a September cruise...it is
worth it. We were extremely fortunate to have a Dining
Room Steward (Sudipo) who was a cut above the rest. Besides keeping the kids entertained
with origami animals and parlour tricks, he entertained
us as the lead dancer on the night of the Indonesian Crew show.
Needless to say, the 'no tipping' policy of Holland America was not in effect for
the outstanding service we received from Sudipo, Widana, and Ateng. As a group, we went on
a variety of excursion while in port. The prices were
a trifle high for some of the fishing excursions...but hey, you're on vacation... and who
can put a price on the pictures that grace your refrigerator
of your fish catch. We had the misfortune of docking in Juneau with three other cruise
liners so the town was a little to packed for my taste. Sitka
was a joy with the feel of real town rather than a string of t-shirt shops. Everybody did
some form of wildlife cruise while in port and to a person we
were rewarded with sightings of everything advertised.
The Raptor Rehabilitation Center in Sitka is also great for the kids and adopting a
raptor is a
super class project to take back to the lower 48. I did find it curious that the late
dinner (8:00) seemed to be the rock and roll hour as the ship
invariably had left port at 6:00 and had reached a good pitch and roll by the time we had
our appetizers. Since the Rotterdam Dining Room is
located over the stern, it is something you really notice. Speaking of movement, of our
party of 12, 2 needed motion sickness assistance during the
first few days of the cruise. Since our cabin was near one of the infirmaries, I would
estimate that one in 25 passengers required help. Glacier Bay
was beyond belief.
I thought deck space might be a problem as we stopped at the glacier, but given the
average age of the passengers (we
figured 58), only the 'youngsters' were outside. Now a modest complaint. There was not a
decent cup of coffee on the whole ship and to top that
off, the expresso machine in the Java Cafe was on the fritz. The other modest complaint
had to do with disembarkation. We were told with our low
number to anticipate leaving the ship between 8:00 and 8:30. In reality, it was closer to
10:00. All in all, our first cruise experience was marvelous.
In fact, a few days after we got home we viewed the promo video Holland American had sent
to see if they had delivered on their promise. As
advertised, they had.
Name: Terry M. Weekly
Email: tweekly@home.com
Age: 53
Occupation: US Army Retired
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Holland-Ryndam
SailingDate: 13 November 1998
Itinerary: Deep Southern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 98
CabinComfort: 91
FoodRoomService: 89
CruiseStaff: 97
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 91
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 94
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 85
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 92
GoodForSeniors: 96
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 92
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 89
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 92
Casino: 75
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 99
Stabilization: 92
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 99
OverallCruiseValue: 97
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 06 Dec 1998
Time: 21:07:29
Remote Name: 24.2.3.33
Remote User:
Comments
There is little I can find to fault about this ship and crew. The ship is in excellent
condition, is kept immaculate and never
seems crowded, even though is was full. The crew was very courteous and seemed to have
everything under control at
all times. The cabin and dining room service were the best we had experienced on any ship
yet. The food was always very
good, though not always exceptional. The Cruise Director was exceptional.
On the negative side, there are really only 2 things worth mentioning. First, the Casino
is very, very smoky. Due to the
poor ventilation, it should be made non-smoking. Smoking was well controlled in all other
areas of the ship. Secondly, the
shore excursions are overpriced compared to what you can arrange on your own. In most
cases we were able to arrange
island tours for our party of 6 for less than half the price per person it would have cost
us with the ship excursion.
In summary, we love the consistency of the Holland America Line product(this was our 3rd
HAL cruise). I can't imagine
finding a ship in this price category any better than the Ryndam. This is an excellent
ship and the crew does a great job.
Name: Chris Cianciolo
Email: hankc@erinet.com
Age: 45
Occupation: Real Estate Associate
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Holland-Ryndam
SailingDate: 12/13/98
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 99
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 99
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 96
PrivateIsland: 99
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 99
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess: 90
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 88
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 98
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 30 Dec 1998
Time: 12:54:44
Remote Name: 207.90.121.65
Remote User:
Comments
10 Day Seafarer Cruise – ms Ryndam
Embarkation was a little slow but fairly smooth. We were met at the gangway and escorted
to our cabins. We had a verandah
suite which was nicely sized and decorated. The bathroom was adequate but smaller than the
one on the Norway. We loved
having a balcony. Worth every dime. We were at sea for 3 ½ days. Very restful and
although we had some rough seas (probably
due to the very high winds) the ship did rock considerably for a few nights but not enough
to keep anyone away from dinner.
However it was difficult to dance. But we had beautiful sunny days everyday (except while
in the rain forest in St Lucia) The
intinerary was Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, St Lucia, Barbados and Half Moon Cay the
private island. I don’t need to say
anything about these stops as there is plenty of info on them. Highlights – Nassau,
we took a cab over to Paradise Island and
hung out at the Atlantis resort. Fantastic, don’t miss it, they have an aquarium you
can walk through by clear tunnels. Really a
beautiful place. Paradise Point on St. Thomas – million dollar view for $12. St.
Lucia – see it by catamaran, it is a beautiful island
but the cities aren’t safe (according to some people in the know) and there is much
poverty. Interesting, as our friends who took
the catamaran did not see that aspect of the island, while we who took a land tour saw
very much of it. But it is a very lush
tropical island. I have to say the private island was wonderful. The beach was one of the
best we visited, powdery white sand,
beautiful blue water. Best private island so far. Plenty of water sports and nice shaded
picnic areas for eating. Holland America
runs a very nice cruise. The ship is very pretty, nice size not too big, not too small. We
never had to wait in line for anything,
even getting off the ship and tendering. We found the crew to be exceptionally friendly,
very helpful and thoughtful. If you go,
check out the kids in the Crows Nest Lounge where we spent most of our evenings dancing.
Rachel, Erwin, Edwin, Jonathon and
Ronald. They were so much fun to be with. And in the Lido I must mention another Ronald
who was so attentive and friendly.
Everyone was friendly, always speaking and smiling. I was most impressed by the crew. HAL
also has some really nice touches
e.g. at St Lucia we docked at Castries but at the end of the day they took the ship to the
Soufriere side of the island so we could
get a good look at the Pitons, it was a lovely site very impressive and they brought a
steel drum band on board to play us off into
the sunset. Also the ice cream is free for those of you who mention that they hate having
to pay for their ice cream. Also the ship
was beautifully decorated for the holidays. Even the steel drum band played Christmas
carols. The food was okay in the
beginning but got progressively better as the trip went on. By the end of the trip the
food was outstanding. We are in our mid 40s
and found many people our age and younger and we had a very lively group to hang out with.
They have music for every age
group and we had our choice of ballroom dancing, disco or rock, 50’s and country
western. Our past cruise experience has been
with Norwegian, and we love Norwegian. Holland America is a little more low key and a
little more classy. And on HAL the
photographers and the drink waiters were less obtrusive. I felt the service was better but
I have to say Norwegian had better food.
But I am sure this differs from ship to ship. Our group was aged 45 to 80 and everyone
loved the ship. We will definitely cruise
with HAL again. One last note, tipping – not required but definitely deserved.
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