Ryndam dilemma

[smithro]

Our voage aboard the Ryndam from Tampa, Fl. was scheduled for Key West, FL, Honduras, Guatemala, then Mexico, sail date Dec 26.

Before leaving Tampa the Captain informed us that due to rough seas we would not be stopping at Key West. Another stop missed was Mexico. So we had two ports of call, both in third world countries, both of which I hope never to visit again. I kept notes of experiences throughout the 7 day cruise.

Loved the fact that the luggage was delivered to the room, inside, and not left in the hallway. Check in was quick, painless, and extremely easy.
The first few days the room steward was constantly knocking on the door. Two knocks and the door was opening, I barely had time to get out of bed trying to answer the knock.
The Captains messages could have been shorter. He would tell us our location in degrees & minutes, so I had no idea what he was talking about. His messages should be short & sweet.
I could not figure out why the carpet in various hallways always appeared to be wet.
The ship is really showing its age dispite the fact it has had rehab worj done.
There was a basketball court directly above the main dining facility. The sound from triblers was overwhelming which caused numerous people to complain.
I also noticed that railings, tables, casino chips, etc. always had this sticky fealing that kind of grossed me out. I could not wash my hands enough to overcome this issue.
The staff dines with the passengers, so at least you know your eating what they are. But the bad side is the close down one side for crew and no passengers are served on that side.
The two comedy shows I attended were excellent.
The room were very sizable, we had an inside regular, it was larger then other rooms we have had on other cruises. The A/C seemed to not be able to keep the room comfortable the last three days.
The 24 hour room service was excellent. The assorted cheese and cracker selection concided of four small pieces of cheese and no crackers.
The retractable roof above the pool would be adjusted to afford a comfortable atmosphere.
The one and only 110v outlet in the room was used by the DVD player. Not much on TV, but there is a good selection of DVD's, just order then the first day as they go quick. Our room steward obtained a power strip for us to use in the room.
The tiolet over flowed in the night, and must fixed quickly the next morning.
The food started to seem the same and at times you just din't want to go and eat. I actually lost weight on this trip.

This cruise ranked the lowest on our list of past trips.

[mudscraper]

I didn`t notice any `triblers` on our Ryndam cruise. How many did you encounter?

[maxout]

I take it you never went to the actual Dining Room to eat?

[taxmantoo]

What is the dilemma :confused:

[Krazy Kruizers]

I am also curious as to your dilemma??

We sailed 14 days on the Ryndam in October -- had a great cruise.

Never noticed any wet hallways or sticky handrails or tables.

Triblers??

[SwissMyst]

This cruise ranked the lowest on our list of past trips.

What were your past trips? Your complaints to me sound like what I expect from any cruise line experience. Not everything will be 100%, missed ports due to weather are understood, captains messages are his alone to make -we are under his care, sticky gambling chips probably were disinfectant residue to ensure their cleanliness, overflow toilets can happen on ships, sad but true. Etc, etc, etc. But if you are comparing the Ryndam with Crystal or Silver Seas or Regent, then of course it is easy to see your disappointment because you got half of what you expected, at half the cost. Bummer.

[Fairport]

I always wonder about negative first posters.

[erewhon]

Had never before seen the word tribler.
From Google am informed that tribler is a software program.

[cb at sea]

I'm sure they meant "dribblers" playing basketball!

[Randyk47]

Triblers are those folks who play berserkaball while you're trying to eat dinner in the MDR. :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

I always wonder about negative first posters.


So do I!!

[momatibm]

Triblers are those folks who play berserkaball while you're trying to eat dinner in the MDR. :D


Except the basketball court is on the Sports deck, which is above the Lido Deck, the Navigation Deck and the Verandah Deck, all of which are above the MDR -- must have been playing berserkaball with cannon balls to be heard in the MDR :rolleyes:

[maxout]

Except the basketball court is on the Sports deck, which is above the Lido Deck, the Navigation Deck and the Verandah Deck, all of which are above the MDR -- must have been playing berserkaball with cannon balls to be heard in the MDR :rolleyes:

There was a basketball court directly above the main dining facility. The sound from triblers was overwhelming which caused numerous people to complain.

The staff dines with the passengers, so at least you know your eating what they are. But the bad side is the close down one side for crew and no passengers are served on that side.

As I said above, I don't believe the OP ate in the MDR only in the Lido?

[robertmnch]

I often wondered why there are very few "First Posters"! This scenario is a good example of pulling out the "Welcome Mat"! I wouldn't come back to the HAL CC Site after getting that kind of a welcome from "old timers"!:rolleyes:

I've been "FLAMED" so many times when I asked simple questions! I'm NOT an expert on the CC Boards! I want to learn all I can about HAL!

Chill Out and welcome the Newbies!;)

[jtl513]

As I said above, I don't believe the OP ate in the MDR only in the Lido?That is also indicated by:
The staff dines with the passengers, so at least you know your eating what they are. But the bad side is the close down one side for crew and no passengers are served on that side.

We never noticed any sticky railings on our Dec Ryndam cruise.

I agree that the Captains announcements are a bit long, and he repeats them a second time word-for-word.

I don't understand:
The one and only 110v outlet in the room was used by the DVD player. Does this mean they brought their own instead of using the one provided?

We also missed two of four ports (Key West and Montego Bay) but were given a letter entitling us to a credit toward another cruise booked in 2011 in the amount of 15% of the price we paid for the current cruise. I thought that was a pretty fair deal, considering that they had to give us nothing at all. :)

[m steve]

negative 1st posters should be ignored. They never seem to return to defend their comments. We were on Ryndam for 2 weeks in Nov. and had a great cruise. We missed several ports due to weather but that can be expected. I f they thought that the Lido was the main dining room, they are not very knowledgeable about cruising. I wonder if they tipped any staff?

[jtl513]

I f they thought that the Lido was the main dining room, they are not very knowledgeable about cruising.And yet it apparently wasn't their first:
This cruise ranked the lowest on our list of past trips.

[peaches from georgia]

negative 1st posters should be ignored. They never seem to return to defend their comments.
Why should they have to return to defend anything? They gave a review, period.

Should "positive" 1st posters also be ignored? I take it not. So in other words it's any negative comments that couldn't be believed because it is a first post, but positive comments are perfectly truthful and valid? I've been around CC a long time and have never ever seen anyone say that a 1st post couldn't be believed because the poster said their cruise was 100% perfect or asked to defend their cheerleading.

[crusinbanjo]

Mrs Banjo & I were on the following cruise on the Ryndam with the same IT. I can fully understand the position of the OP. We spoke to much of the crew and officers, the previous week had terrible weather and rough seas. They missed both Key West and Costa Mya because of the weather. Had I been on that cruise, I might not have given it rave reviews either. As far as the food, I do think they must have eaten in the lido as well. Personally we do not eat dinner ever in the lido because we like the food and service better in the Main Dinning Room, (MDR for the newbie). Come to think of it the only meal we at on the lido was lunch on embarkation day and once on the last sea day.

Mrs Banjo & I had a great cruise, but I know there were a whole lot of unhappy people the previous week...... .....although I don't think the Captain or the crew could have done much to improve the situation. I felt sad for the previous cruise Pax.

Can't change the weather, no matter how hard we try. Just have to grin & bear it!

[rafinmd]

The first few days the room steward was constantly knocking on the door. Two knocks and the door was opening, I barely had time to get out of bed trying to answer the knock.
.

Doesn't HAL provide "Do not disturb" door signs?

Roy

[catl331]

I was on the Dec 12 Ryndam cruise and we missed Key West and Jamaica due to weather. This is the first cruise that I became seasick on. Has nothing to do with HAL or the RYndam. I finally was able to make it down to the Doc and get pills. I did not gain weight on this cruise! I thought the ship looked very nice. There are these spots on many HAL ships where I think the crew scrubs the rugs due to spilled items from passengers. I saw someone spill a cup of coffee once and just walk away. The rugs never look dirty just look wet. The last night we ate in the Lido opposite of Canaletto and aft and someone was dribbling a basketball overhead in the dark. One side of Lido was closed but probably was because not many people were eating there for dinner. I do not mind the staff eating in the Lido or officer et al joining cruisers at their dining room tables. Found nothing sticky and I used the sanitizers often. I think the captain repeated his announcement for us because many were quite important and he has a Dutch accent. Everyone has their own opinions and expectations. This wasn't my best cruise but not due to anything HAL or the RYndam did. I loved the smallness of the ship and my feet enjoyed it also!!:)

[gebo]

Usually a first post is a questioning one asking for information (I know mine was). This post initially concerned me since I am booked on the Ryndam in March; then I noted the number of posts. I'm gonna' have fun no matter what!

[jtl513]

Doesn't HAL provide "Do not disturb" door signs?

RoyActually they say "Privacy Please" (and "Service Please" on the other side.) But you should dead-bolt the door, because kids or maybe some wise-guy adults sometimes flip them. Maybe the OP didn't put the sign out at all.

[Essiesmom]

And yet it apparently wasn't their first:
I think it was their first cruise, otherwise they would have known about the MDR. Not that they didn't say past cruises, just past trips. EM

[jtl513]

I think it was their first cruise, otherwise they would have known about the MDR. Not that they didn't say past cruises, just past trips. EM
The room were very sizable, we had an inside regular, it was larger then other rooms we have had on other cruises....

[rafinmd]

The first few days the room steward was constantly knocking on the door. Two knocks and the door was opening, I barely had time to get out of bed trying to answer the knock.

Actually they say "Privacy Please" (and "Service Please" on the other side.) But you should dead-bolt the door, because kids or maybe some wise-guy adults sometimes flip them. Maybe the OP didn't put the sign out at all.

On further reflection I'm thinking that after the first few days the steward caught on that the OP was totally negligent about putting out his sign.

Good catch on "cruises" vs "trips, Essiesmam.

[jtl513]

Good catch on "cruises" vs "trips, Essiesmam.No, see my post just before yours.

[Koshlong]

I often wondered why there are very few "First Posters"! This scenario is a good example of pulling out the "Welcome Mat"! I wouldn't come back to the HAL CC Site after getting that kind of a welcome from "old timers"!:rolleyes:

I've been "FLAMED" so many times when I asked simple questions! I'm NOT an expert on the CC Boards! I want to learn all I can about HAL!

Chill Out and welcome the Newbies!;)

I think that the "irritation factor" about negative first posts is that people wonder how the poster found the site to complain when he/she didn't find it early enough to do some research that might have prevented the problem or prepared him/her for it.

[emaoffive]

The wet carpeting was to clean the vomit from sick passengers (which coincides with you having to miss two ports of call; the seas were especially rough on your cruise).