Veendam Versus Ryndam

[notes4theheart]

My husband and I are planning a two week Alaskian Cruise this summer. We've got flexible dates (we're both school teachers) so we were looking into the Statedam, Veendam and Ryndam.

It seems that Veendam is $200 cheaper than the other two, is there a reason? For those of you who've sailed on the Veendam and the Ryndam, which ship would you choose to sail on again?

Thanks for all your help!!

[Copper10-8]

My husband and I are planning a two week Alaskian Cruise this summer. We've got flexible dates (we're both school teachers) so we were looking into the Statedam, Veendam and Ryndam.

It seems that Veendam is $200 cheaper than the other two, is there a reason? For those of you who've sailed on the Veendam and the Ryndam, which ship would you choose to sail on again?

Thanks for all your help!!

Well #1, these two, actually all three you mention, are sisters, members of a four-ship class, each very similar to the other with different interiors/atriums, etc. Having said
that.......................Veendam just finished an extensive dry-dock about a month ago at Freeport in the Bahamas and now has some 'stuff' that Ryndam (nor the other two sisters, Statendam & Maasdam) do not. One of them is a.........., are you ready?, ya sure?, maybe you should sit down; hot topic item coming up.....................venue forever known as the "Retreat":eek: Basically, what you would call a 'wading pool' with about three inches of H2O in it that, when the captain makes a sudden exit stage right also know as a right hook or turn, is apparently known to slosh about said deck. This pool has a bunch of easy chairs in the water (as well as some side benches) where one can sit with feet and hands submerged while thinking endless thoughts of aroma smelling thingies in the spa, dress code police, little bitty dinghies in the big ocean floating around at night, to smoke or not to smoke, that's the question, what have you!;) There is now also a pizza bar called "Slice" on that same wading pool deck as well as somewhat of an exterior big screen TV up high, pointing down where movies, etc, can be watched with or without screaming adolescents.

Additionally, right below said pool, HAL in their infinite (Seattle)wisdom, have added a whole stack of staterooms. Problem is that in doing so, the staterooms in question are now, somewhat.......scratch that, a whole lot, sticking out which has, without a doubt, NOT improved the overal aesthetics of the ship named after that metropolis of all metropoli, that city/town in the northeast of the Netherlands. In other words, Veendam has managed to fall off the ugly wagon and lost her clean lines, at least in the area of her rear end/stern/butt. OK then, don't think you will do much 'wading' in Alaska so if you can live with that new pool and don't mind her new a$$, I'd say go for Veendam (just tell the captain not to make any sudden turns to port or starboard!;))

Oh yeah, almost forgot............the other 'stuff' that came out of that Bahamian dry-dock, apparently received in a much more positive way, is the new "Showroom at Sea" (taking the place of the old "showroom, also at Sea"), a new bar concept called "The Mix", (a combo of the former Piano and Casino Bars) where you can simultaneously consume wine, beer and martini's while listening to a guy plunking guitar strings AND (luckily for our friend Ruth:)) another dude still tinkling the ivory keys, a Canaletto Italian restaurant (part of the Lido and just another option to graze) and a bunch of cabins with access directly to the outside deck called "Lanai cabins".

I'd say (but who am I but just a guy who dribbles a lot:eek:) grab that extra $200 and go for Veendam!

[bepsf]

Veendam:
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/thumbs/rw/912424_800/Ship+Photo+VEENDAM.jpg
Ryndam:
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/thumbs/rw/789514_800/Ship+Photo+RYNDAM.JPG

Any Questions?

[mamaofami]

She sure looks...well, bulky. I guess ugly is as good a word as any.:(

[RuthC]

Take the Ryndam. The Veendam is now butt ugly. Enjoy an S-class ship as originally designed (while you still can).

[bepsf]

...we were looking into the Statedam, Veendam and Ryndam.

It seems that Veendam is $200 cheaper than the other two...

Makes you wonder how HAL is going to pay for those "upgrades", Huh?

[duck tune]

DH and I have sailed on both. We did a 14 day Alaskan Cruise out of Vancouver on the Veendam last May/June before the "butt lift" and enjoyed the trip a great deal. We have also been on the Ryndam before and after upgrades and enjoy that ship as well. Are the ports of call the same for both ships? If there are no other reasons other than the slight price difference then I think that you would enjoy either ship.

[mudscraper]

Dribble
Drivel
Let`s not quibble.


Rich:)

[Copper10-8]

Dribble
Drivel
Let`s not quibble.


Rich:)

There once was a young lady named Rose
Who had a large wart on her nose.
When she had it removed
Her appearance improved,
But her glasses slipped down to her toes:)

[solocanadian]

My husband and I are planning a two week Alaskian Cruise this summer. We've got flexible dates (we're both school teachers) so we were looking into the Statedam, Veendam and Ryndam.

It seems that Veendam is $200 cheaper than the other two, is there a reason? For those of you who've sailed on the Veendam and the Ryndam, which ship would you choose to sail on again?

Thanks for all your help!!
Regardless of the Veendam's large butt, I'd choose her. Was on the Ryndam April 23 to May 8 and there were many mechanical problems such as poor ventilation too hot or too cold cabins, many elevators out of service and an odor of rotting vegetation between the casino and Main Dining Room that also wafted into some of the cabins on A Deck. There was also repetative problems with the main laundry that made it difficult to chang towels as usual. Choose the Veendam.

[garydm]

Sorry to hear the laundry is still a problem on Ryndam. In early April it was down for 3-4 days. We had one towel for the cabin. Just as I was about to wash it in the self serve laundry, they fixed the ship laundry. Must have been a major pain for staff.

Gary

[middle-aged mom]

For me, in cruising to Alaska it's the itinerary that I choose first, and the ship second. This year, the Ryndam offered the most interesting itinerary, as far as I'm concerned. I've never done an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver, and the scenery is exceptional as you pass between the BC mainland and Vancouver Island. I appreciate the extra port stops that the Ryndam is doing (four each way; I'm doing the 14-day b2b), some of which are new to me, and I've also never been to Hubbard Glacier. So I picked the Ryndam. Plus, I got a good price:) I would advise choosing the itinerary that appeals most to you.

[oldengine]

We'll be on the Veendam this July. In fact, that aft has a bustle!

[geshaw30]

As MAM said- go with the route that best suits your needs. That being said we were on the Ryndam for 11 nights last month and make no mistake about it she needs time in dry dock badly. The crew does a fantastic job in keeping her "looks" up and she, for the most part, is clean-- but age is age and the ship is really starting to show hers. Given the choice I'd wait on a Ryndam sailing until she returns from her refit next year if other suitable options are available. Even with the needed repairs and replacements we had a cruise of a lifetime. It was fantastic (San Diego-Victoria-Vancouver-Juneau-Skagway-Glacier Bay-Ketchikan-Vancouver).

I kept a running blog while on board. If you have an interest in reviewing our Alaska trip you can find it here;
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=981580&highlight=

[canadarocks]

For me, in cruising to Alaska it's the itinerary that I choose first, and the ship second. This year, the Ryndam offered the most interesting itinerary, as far as I'm concerned. I've never done an Alaska cruise out of Vancouver, and the scenery is exceptional as you pass between the BC mainland and Vancouver Island. I appreciate the extra port stops that the Ryndam is doing (four each way; I'm doing the 14-day b2b), some of which are new to me, and I've also never been to Hubbard Glacier. So I picked the Ryndam. Plus, I got a good price:) I would advise choosing the itinerary that appeals most to you.

We're on a b2b on the Ryndam from July 31-August 14. I believe you will have returned by then, so please please let us know how it went! :D

[solocanadian]

Veendam:
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/thumbs/rw/912424_800/Ship+Photo+VEENDAM.jpg
Ryndam:
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/thumbs/rw/789514_800/Ship+Photo+RYNDAM.JPG

Any Questions?
Brian: Thanks for the photos. Veendam sure is butt ugly. Wondering if the Upper Dining Room is darker now. Gail:)

[solocanadian]

Sorry to hear the laundry is still a problem on Ryndam. In early April it was down for 3-4 days. We had one towel for the cabin. Just as I was about to wash it in the self serve laundry, they fixed the ship laundry. Must have been a major pain for staff.

Gary
I felt real sorry for the staff. They had to off-load huge bundles of laundry in Puerto Vallarta to have the laundry done somewhere on shore. That sure added to their daily workload. Gail

[jbeb]

My husband and I are planning a two week Alaskian Cruise this summer. We've got flexible dates (we're both school teachers) so we were looking into the Statedam, Veendam and Ryndam.

It seems that Veendam is $200 cheaper than the other two, is there a reason? For those of you who've sailed on the Veendam and the Ryndam, which ship would you choose to sail on again?

Thanks for all your help!!
We just did a 14 day back to back on the Veendam and thought we had a very nice time, with an extra blanket for our room we were comfy. We were mid ship outside cabin and found smooth sailing. For all the talk the retreat was mostly unused due to chilly temps. The food was good and no trays in the lido helped keep our weight gains down!

We did notice the level of detail cleaning post "Code Red" and drydock seemed to be coming along and they were fixing issues daily that we noticed along the way.

Great crew!

$200 dollars would make a nice shore tour or wine package possible so if all things are equal on the stops, I would take the Veendam.